DENTON, Texas – Coming off a hard-fought effort which just fell short on Thursday at Texas Tech, the UT Arlington men's basketball team faces a quick turnaround when the Mavericks head to North Texas for their final game of the 2023 calendar year on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1 p.m. from The Super Pit.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 12	UT Arlington (6-5) @ North Texas (5-5)
Date | Time	Saturday, Dec. 23 | 1 PM
Video	ESPN+
Radio	620 AM | 102.5 FM
Audio Stream	Varsity Network App | UTAMavs.com
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | North Texas

OPENING TIP(s)

• After trailing by as much as 20 in the 2nd half at Texas Tech, UTA fought back and only faced a six-point deficit, 64-58, with six minutes to play. However, an 11-2 run by Tech over the next four minutes paved the way for a 77-66 Red Raiders' win.
   
• Phillip Russell again paced the Mavs' offense in Lubbock, scoring 18 points – 16 of which came in the 2nd half. In the two games since he's been eligible to play, the multi-time transfer is averaging 23 points and 4.5 assists. The junior guard has led UTA in scoring both contests, and on Monday was named the Western Athletic Conference's Newcomer of the Week after scoring 28 points against Air Force this past Saturday.
   
• Shemar Wilson finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three steals at Tech to become the first player in the nation this year with at least those totals in a game. Last season that stat line was only accomplished eight times.
   
• Russell is the third different UTA member to win a weekly WAC award this season as DaJuan Gordon (Nov. 13) and Wilson (Nov. 20) claimed Player of the Week honors. UTA is the only school in the WAC that has had three different players earn weekly awards this year.
   
• North Texas (94th) will be the second of three straight top-100 KenPom opponents for UTA, and also the second of three consecutive NET Quad 1 or 2 opportunities for the Mavs (at Tech: Quad 1, at North Texas: Quad 2 and at Texas: Quad 1). UTA has already played the nation's 23rd-hardest schedule; of its nine D-I opponents, five were in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year and the Mavs are 2-3 against that group.
   
• UTA boasts the following top-45 team and top-65 individual national rankings:
  Team
  Assists: 25th (17.3)
  Rebound Margin: 31st (+7.2)
  Offensive Rebounds: 46th (12.9)
  Rebounds: 46th (39.8)
  
  Shemar Wilson
  Offensive Rebounds: 16th (3.7)
  Double Doubles: 31st (4)
  Rebounds: 51st (9.1)
  Free Throws Attempted: 62nd (67)
  
  DaJuan Gordon
  Defensive Rebounds: 21st (6.5)
  Double-Doubles: 31st (4)
  Rebounds: 57th (8.4)

TWEETABLES
1) Brandyn Talbot (7 points per game) did not play at Texas Tech due to a concussion suffered against Air Force, and he is questionable for Saturday against UNT.
2) All six of UTA's wins have come when it has scored 70+ points; four of its five losses have occurred when the Mavs have failed to score at least 70 (exception: 82-80 at New Mexico).
3) UTA's nine double-doubles leads the WAC: Wilson (4), Gordon (4) and Aaron Cash (1). The next closest teams are Grand Canyon and Tarleton State with six each. Additionally, those nine are two more than five schools combined: Stephen F. Austin (1), Abilene Christian (1), Seattle U (1), Southern Utah (2) and Utah Valley (2).
4) Gordon became just the fourth player this year against a Division-I opponent to score at least 15 points and grab 15 rebounds when he accomplished the feat versus Air Force (more info later).
 
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS

• Ross Hodge is in his first year leading the Mean Green after serving as an associate head coach with UNT. He replaced current Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland, who UTA just faced on Thursday.
   
• North Texas went 31-7 last year en route to the 2023 NIT title; the 31 victories were the most in program history. The Mean Green are now in their first season as an American Athletic Conference member after moving from Conference USA this past July.
   
• Through 10 games, UNT owns the nation's 7th-most deliberate offense. UNT averages 63.3 possessions/40 mins. UNT led the nation in most deliberate offense each of the previous two years; defensively, the Mean Green have led the country in fewest points allowed each of the last two seasons.
   
• The Mean Green have lost three games in a row – at Boise State, versus Fordham and against Mississippi State – for the first time since Feb. 27-Mar. 6, 2021. UNT hasn't dropped four-straight games since losing seven consecutively between Feb. 9-Mar. 9, 2019.
   
• Jason Edwards leads a trio of UNT double-figure scorers at 14.5 per game coming off the bench in all 10 contests. He is followed by Aaron Scott (12.9) and Rubin Jones (12).

PROLIFIC OFF THE BENCH
Gordon became just the sixth player in the nation this year – and only the fourth versus a D-I opponent – to come off the bench and record at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game when he accomplished that feat against Air Force on Dec. 16. Furthermore, he's now only the second player to achieve those totals off the bench in a winning effort against a D-I foe (Missouri State's N.J. Benson with 17 points and 16 rebounds in an 87-69 victory over fellow WAC member Abilene Christian on Nov. 20).
 
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCES
In its 74-37 win over UNT Dallas on Dec. 6, the Mavs had 26 offensive rebounds to tie for the 6th most in single-game program history and most in any game since 1996. Of those 26 o-boards, 25 were secured by players (one team rebound) to represent the 5th-most offensive rebounds by any team in the nation this year: South Dakota (28), Saint Mary's (28, 2OT), Texas A&M (26) and South Carolina State (26, OT).
 
Individually, Cash – who had 17 points and 17 rebounds – was responsible for 12 offensive rebounds to tie for the most in program lore with Johnny McDowell (1992) and Sam Norton (1984). Those dozen o-boards are also the most by any player in the nation this year (three players with 11; four with 10).
 
Defensively, the 37 points UTA allowed were its 2nd fewest all-time behind only a 36-point performance against SMU in 1989 – a game the Mavs actually lost, 36-31. Those are the only two times in the 64+ years of the program UTA has held a team under 40 points.
 
SCORING DEPTH
The Mavs have already had 11 players reach double-figure points in a game this year (highs): Wilson (29), Russell (28), Gordon (24), Kade Douglas (20), Akili Vining (16), Cash (17), Fabio Basili (15), Talbot (14), Makaih Williams (14), Dwayne Koroma (12) and Freds Pauls Bagatskis (11).
 
Of those 11, Wilson (3x), Gordon (2x), Douglas (2x), Russell (2x), Basili (1x) and Cash (1x) have led UTA in scoring.
 
CLEANING UP THE WEEKLY AWARDS
With Gordon (Nov. 13) and Wilson (Nov. 20) claiming WAC Player of the Week honors, the duo became the first set of UTA teammates to be named conference Player of the Week in the same season since 2017-18 when Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal both received the recognition when the Mavs were in the Sun Belt Conference. Furthermore, since the WAC began issuing Player of the Week honors in 1982-83, that was just the sixth occurrence of the same school winning each of the season's first two awards:
 
1984-85: San Diego State
1998-99: New Mexico
1999-00: SMU
2015-16: New Mexico State
2017-18: Utah Valley
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Gordon is one of only two UTA players in program history to begin his tenure with the Mavs by posting three-straight double-doubles. The only other was Damon Johnson in 1994 (Nov. 26-Dec. 2). No player has ever had four-consecutive double-doubles to begin a UTA career.
 
RECORD-TYING 3-POINT PERFORMANCE
UTA tied a single-game program record with 17 made 3-pointers on Nov. 11 against UT Tyler. That mark had only been reached once previously – on Dec. 8, 2015, against Bradley. Those 17 triples are three more than any other WAC team this year.
 
LONG-RANGE THREAT SIDELINED
In that UT Tyler contest, Bagatskis knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 11-straight points for UTA in the 1st half. However, the Georgia Tech transfer has not played in a game since then after suffering a left ankle injury in practice the week of Nov. 13, and he will be out indefinitely.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
0) Vining did not have a turnover while issuing eight assists against Alcorn State on Nov. 22, becoming just the fourth UTA player since 2010 to have at least eight assists and zero turnovers versus a D-I foe, joining Javon Levi, Brian Warren and Neal. Additionally, with seven points and five rebounds to go along with the eight assists and no turnovers, Vining was the first player in the nation to finish with at least those totals coming off the bench since Feb. 26, 2022; dating back to 2017, only eight other players in the country have registered that stat line against a D-I opponent.
 
1) UTA defeated Oral Roberts in the season opener on Nov. 6, 75-71. It was the only game in the last 13 years that the Mavs won, scored at least 70 points and shot less than 35% from the field.
 
2) Both Wilson (29 points, 11 rebounds) and Gordon (13 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles at New Mexico on Nov. 16 to become the first UTA players since Nov. 28, 2020, to accomplish the feat.
 
3) The Mavs had three players secure double-figure rebounds versus Oral Roberts: Wilson (14), Gordon (14) and Koroma (11). That marked just the second time since 1990 that UTA had three players with 10+ boards in a game (2016 vs. Arkansas State). There have only been two games in program history – both against non-DI opponents – in which four UTA players grabbed double-figure rebounds.
 
5) Five times already this year UTA has scored 75+ points against D-I competition; the Mavs accomplished that feat just four times all of last season (regular and postseason). Furthermore, UTA has tallied 80+ in regulation three times this year; that occurred three times total in the previous two regular seasons.
 
7) UTA connected a 54.5% clip (12-22) from 3-point range against Abilene Christian on Nov. 29 in the WAC opener to tie the 7th-best percentage in single-game program history (minimum 10 makes).
 
8) Gordon did not score against Texas State on Nov. 25, but pulled down eight rebounds before fouling out. He is just the fifth UTA player since 2010 to secure 8+ rebounds in a game and not score (Montez Young Jr., Jabari Narcis, Hervey and Stuart Lagerson).
 
17) Talbot has made 17-straight free throws dating back to Nov. 12 of last season when he missed late in the 2nd half against Southwestern.
 
25) The Mavs distributed the ball to the tune of 25 assists on 27 made field goals versus Abilene Christian. Only three other teams in the nation since 2015 have had 25+ assists on 27 or fewer makes: Minnesota in March of 2023, Davidson in February of 2020 and Pittsburgh in February of 2017.
 
38) Against Grand Canyon on Dec. 2, UTA shot 46.2% (24-52) from the floor while holding the Lopes to 37.5% (21-56) – representing just the second time since 2010 the Mavs lost a road game when shooting at least 46% and holding their opponent under 38% (Mar. 5, 2015, at Georgia Southern, 76-64).
 
40) Cash played all 40 minutes in the UNT Dallas contest, becoming just the third UTA player in the last 13 seasons to log all 40 minutes of a regulation game (Erick Neal and Lonnie McClanahan).
 
46) The Mavs shot 46% from the field and finished +9 in the rebounding column (45-36) at New Mexico, representing their only non-conference loss since 2010 when shooting at least 46% and posting at least +9 on the glass.
 
57) Opposite ACU, UTA shot a season-best 57% (27-47) from the floor – the best any Maverick team has shot against a D-I opponent since 2018.
 
75) UTA's 75 points against Oral Roberts were its most in a season opener against a D-I opponent since notching 85 against Loyola Marymount in 2017.
 
80) Versus New Mexico, UTA lost a road non-conference game (82-80) when scoring 80+ points for the first time since a 90-81 setback to Creighton on Dec. 18, 2017.
 
86) The 86 points UTA scored in its 86-71 win over Abilene Christian were its most in any regulation conference game since a 91-86 win over Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana on Jan. 15, 2021. The Mavs scored 86 despite no player making more than five field goals.
 
90) 90% of Douglas's points (72 of 80) this year have come via the 3-pointer (24 makes); five games of 3+ triples.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will return to the court on New Year's Day with a 1 p.m. tilt in Austin against Texas to close out its non-conference schedule.
   
PURCHASE TICKETS
Secure your seat(s) all season long to see the re-energized UTA men's basketball program in action at the College Park Center. Purchase single game or season tickets at UTATickets.com, call 817-272-9595 or email boxoffice@uta.edu.

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