ARLINGTON – Now in a three-way tie for 1st place in the Sun Belt Conference, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (11-12, 7-3 SBC) looks to remain hot and break free of the pack when the Mavericks welcome Appalachian State (8-15, 3-7 SBC) to the College Park Center for a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ by clicking here with veteran play-by-play man Ron Thulin on the call and longtime college coach and current WNBA assistant coach Mike Petersen serving as the analyst. The Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours will have the call on the radio at KEXB 620 AM and streaming via the TuneIn App and iHeartRadio. Furthermore, for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos from not only this game, but all season, be sure to follow @UTA_MBB on Twitter and @UTA_Hoops on Instagram.
 
SUN BELT RESET
Arguably the hottest team in the Sun Belt, UTA has won seven of its last eight games, with the lone slip-up coming at preseason favorite Georgia State, 77-71. Just past the midway point of the conference regular season, GSU and Texas State are both knotted at the top of the 12-team standings with UTA at 7-3, while Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina are both lurking just a game back at 6-4. Georgia State plays at Louisiana on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. later this evening (Friday), while Texas State hosts Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
 
In a testament to the statement 'defense wins championships', UTA (1st, 67.7 points per game allowed), Texas State (2nd, 69.6) and Georgia State (3rd, 72.5) are the three-best defensive teams in SBC play, and all three reside at the top of the league standings. Offensively, UTA (12th, 71.6 points per game), Texas State (11th, 72.4) and Georgia State (9th, 74.5) are three of the four lowest-scoring teams in league play.
 
UTA was picked 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, and its current 1st-place standing represents the largest increase (+10) among all 12 league members by a lot. Texas State (+7: 8th to 1st) and Coastal (+6: 10th to 4th) are the only others who are better than +3. Since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14, UTA has won 63 league regular-season games, and is the only program to finish in the top 5 of the conference standings every year. Only Louisiana (66) and Georgia State (72) have more league wins in that time.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In 260 Characters Or Less
1) Edric Dennis is just 19 points shy of 1,000 for his career. The junior scored 272 points at Hill Junior College as a freshman, tallied 406 as a sophomore at Jackson State and has 303 with UTA this season. He would be the second UTA player to reach the mark this year (Brian Warren).
2) At 7-3, this is tied for UTA's best-ever start through 10 games of an SBC season – and that came from the 2016-17 club which won the SBC Regular Season Championship with a 14-4 league mark.
3) UTA held Coastal Carolina to a season-low 22.6 percent from the floor on Thursday in the 74-54 win – the Mavs' largest margin of victory against a Division-I opponent this year (previous: App State, 10). CCU came into the game averaging 79 points per game in SBC play.
4) Helping aid in UTA's turnaround – the Mavs were 4-11 overall after the first two SBC games – is that they are averaging just 13.4 turnovers per game (15.9 in the non-conference), issuing 13.8 assists per game (10.5 non-conference) and making 17.2 free throws per game (15 non-conference).
5) The Mavs ranks 11th nationally in 3-point percentage defense (28.9). Only one opponent (Tulsa, 55.6 percent) has shot better than 42 percent against the Mavs this year; just two others (Little Rock, Appalachian State: 41.2) have shot over 40 percent.
 
Bonus Tweet
Through UTA's first 23 games, head coach Chris Ogden has utilized 13 different starting lineups – the 2nd-most such starting 5 combinations in the nation to this point (UT Martin: 15).
 
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Andres Ibarguen pulled down 15 rebounds – tied for the 2nd-most by any SBC player in a game this year – and added 12 points for the second double-double of his season against Coastal on Thursday.
 
ABOUT APPALACHIAN STATE
App State dropped a tough 74-71 contest at Texas State Thursday night, despite Ronshad Shabazz scoring a game-high 23 points. Shabazz ranks 2nd in App State history with 1,902 career points.
 
The Mountaineers had won three in a row prior to the setback to the Bobcats after starting the league slate 0-6. However, five of those losses came by a combined 15 points; UTA defeated App State by 10, 82-72.
 
In that meeting Jan. 10 in Boone, UTA used a 54-point 2nd-half effort for a season-high point total versus a D-I opponent in regulation and season-best 48.3-percent clip from the floor (28-58). Trailing 32-28 at halftime, UTA came out of the locker room on an 11-0 run to create a 39-32 lead which it never relinquished.
 
LOCKING IN ON D
In each of UTA's first 10 SBC games, the Mavs have faced a player who ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, and all 10 times they have held that player below his season average:
 
4) Ty Cockfield (ASU): 20.8 (16 vs. UTA)
5) Rayjon Tucker (LR): 20.4 (15)
6) D'Marcus Simonds (GSU): 19 (15 & 1)
7) Zac Cuthbertson (CCU): 18.6 (17 & 5)
8) Ronshad Shabazz (APP): 18.3 (16)
9) Nigal Pearson (TXST): 18.2 (15)
10) Tookie Brown (GS): 17.2 (4 & 11)
 
In addition to holding every player below his season average, the Mavs have held nine of 10 SBC opponents below their conference scoring average.
 
Included in that stretch was UTA limiting two opponents (Coastal Carolina, 58; Arkansas State, 59) below 60 points – just the third time in program history the Mavs have held consecutive Sun Belt foes under 60 points.
 
The previous occurrences:
Jan. 18 & 23, 2014: Texas State (48), Troy (56)
Jan. 19 & 22, 2015: Texas State (55), ULM (57)
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following a pair of game-extending shots as part of a career-high scoring performance, Brian Warren was named the league's Player of the Week on Monday, sharing the honor with Coastal Carolina's Zac Cuthbertson.
 
Warren poured in a career-best 30 points, but it was six key points which helped lead UTA to an impressive 84-77 double-overtime win at Texas State Saturday, silencing the largest crowd in Strahan Arena history.
 
With a little over 15 seconds remaining in regulation, the guard drove to his left from the wing opposite the UTA bench, stepped just inside the 3-point line at the top of the arc and rose up over his defender, knocking down a tough 18-footer to force overtime, 60-60.
 
In overtime with about the same amount of time remaining as regulation, Warren drove straight downhill from the top of the arc, stepped just inside the left elbow and put up a contested floater which rolled around the rim twice as he fell to the floor before falling through to force double overtime, 68-68.
 
With the game tied for the 12th, and final, time in the second overtime, 72-72, Warren converted a pair of free throws with a little over three minutes remaining which ultimately proved to be the 14th, and final, lead change of a frenetic afternoon.
 
In addition to his scoring exploits, the Indianapolis native grabbed five rebounds, issued a team-best four assists and finished 7-9 from the free-throw line as the Mavericks knocked off a team receiving votes in the national polls.
 
BATTLE TESTED
ESPN published an article last month detailing the toughest non-conference schedules in the country this year, of which UTA ranked the 7th-most difficult; click here to read the full article (note: ESPN+ subscription required).
 
At the time of the non-conference schedule concluding, UTA played an incredible seven Quadrant 1 (Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75) non-league opponents, based on the NET report (NCAA's new RPI), and all seven of those came on the road – the most in the nation.
 
NEXT UP
UTA hits the road next week as the Mavericks make the return trip to Arkansas to face Little Rock (Thursday, 6:30 PM) and Arkansas State (Saturday, 4 PM).
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
In an effort to enhance public safety and the fan experience, for all UTA men's and women's home games this season the College Park Center will implement a clear-bag policy. All purses, containers, backpacks or anything larger than a small clutch bag are prohibited, and items must be placed in a clear tote bag not to exceed 12" x 6" x 12". For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UTAMavs.com/BasketballGameday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
To secure tickets for upcoming games and find out about additional gameday procedures, log on to UTATickets.com. Additionally, for updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTA_MBB) and Instagram (@UTA_Hoops).