ABILENE, Texas – Riding the WAC's second-longest winning streak, the UT Arlington men's basketball team looks to stretch that to four in a row Saturday when the Mavericks head to Abilene Christian for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 19	UT Arlington (9-9, 4-3 WAC) @ Abilene Christian (6-11, 1-5 WAC)
Date | Time	Saturday, Jan. 20 | 3 PM
Tickets	Purchase Online
Video	ESPN+
Radio	620 AM | 102.5 FM
Audio Stream	Varsity Network App | UTAMavs.com
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Abilene Christian | WAC
WAC Rankings	Standings | Seeding System

OPENING TIP(s)

• UTA's current three-game winning streak only trails Grand Canyon's 14-game run as the longest in the WAC; GCU's is the second longest in the nation (Samford: 16).

• The Mavs will be in search of their first four-game winning streak since Dec. 22, 2021, to Jan. 6, 2022 (one of those victories was against a non-Division-I opponent). The last time UTA won four straight against D-I foes was a five-game run from Feb. 23-Mar.16, 2019 – the last of which came in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals.

• During the three-game winning streak, UTA is averaging 84.7 points and shooting 47% from floor. UTA has scored 80+ in three-straight games – the first time that has happened against D-I competition since a four-game run Feb. 22-Mar. 9, 2018. In the previous two seasons combined, UTA scored 80+ in regulation against a D-I opponent three times total.

• Three of the Mavs' five-highest scoring games this year versus D-I opposition have occurred during the streak, including the highest at 91 in an 18-point win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday.

• In that contest with the Vaqueros, UTA went 24-25 (96%) from the free throw line. That is the 2nd-best percentage (minimum 20 makes) in single-game program history, bested only by a 96.4% (27-28) showing on Feb. 22, 1968, at then-#1 Houston. It is also the 5th-best percentage in the nation this year among teams that have made at least 24 free throws (best: UNC Asheville going 24-24 versus USC Upstate).

• UTA also knocked down 15 3-pointers (15-36, 42%) to tie for the 5th-most makes all-time and match the 3rd-most triples in program lore versus a D-I foe (record: 17 earlier this year versus UT Tyler, and also against Bradley on Dec. 8, 2015).

TWEETABLES
1) Aaron Cash (5.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) missed Thursday's game due to concussion protocol and is questionable for Saturday. Cash scored a team-high 17 points last Saturday versus Seattle U.
2) Shemar Wilson reached 1,000 collegiate points with a free throw on Thursday with just over a minute remaining. He had 375 points in one junior college season and now 625 in 2+ years with UTA.
3) UTA has used nine-different starting lineups this season, which is tied for the 8th most in the nation. Seven of those lineups have won a game, which is tied for the 2nd most in the country (Furman: 8).
4) The Mavs have had five double-figure scorers in each of their last two games. That is the first time that has occurred since Jan. 4-6, 2018, versus Troy and South Alabama.
 
AMONG THE WAC'S BEST

• In conference games, UTA leads the WAC in assists (16.4), 3-point percentage (39.9) and 3-pointers made (9.9). The Mavs' 69 triples in league contests are 22 more than any other team, but they do not have a single player in the top 5 in terms of makes (seven players between 6-12 made 3s).
• True freshman Makaih Williams ranks 2nd in the league in assists in conference play (4.3), Akili Vining is 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and Shemar Wilson is 3rd in blocks (2.0); for the entire season, Wilson leads the WAC at 2.1.
• UTA's 11 double-doubles this season are the most in the WAC: Wilson (6), DaJuan Gordon (4) and Aaron Cash (1). Wilson leads the league in double-doubles and double-figure rebounding games (9).

HOME/ROAD DIFFERENTIALS
UTA is 8-1 at home this year, but 0-8 on the road (1-0 neutral site). The Mavs played the nation's 13th-hardest non-conference schedule, including a league-most six NET Quad 1 opponents – all of them on the road. UTA battled two nationally ranked teams; the rest of the WAC combined faced two.
 
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
A 10-0 run late in the 1st half by UTA turned a four-point deficit into a six-point lead, and the Mavs led for the final 26 minutes en route to an 86-71 win over ACU on Nov. 29 at the College Park Center in the conference opener.
 
The Mavs shot a season-best 57% from the floor (27-47) – the best any UTA team has shot against a D-I opponent since 2018. UTA also went 12-22 (54.5%) from 3-point range, which represented a season-best percentage from beyond the arc and tied for the 7th best in single-game program history.
 
UTA issued 25 assists on those 27 made field goals. 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.
 
The Mavs did all of that without Phillip Russell, who wasn't eligible until two weeks later. Since then, Russell leads UTA in points (16.5) and assists (4.7), and is coming off a 24-point, six-assist performance in Thursday's win over UTRGV.
 
ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN

• ACU has lost three games in a row following its lone conference win to this point, 91-89 in overtime against UTRGV, on Jan. 6.
• The Wildcats opened their season by going to Stillwater and knocking off Oklahoma State on Nov. 6, 64-59.
• ACU is 19th in the nation in free throws attempted (24.3) and 20th in makes (17.6).
• Ali Abdou Dibba leads the Wildcats in scoring this season at 15.2, followed by Airion Simmons at 12.8 and Hunter Jack Madden at 12.
• UTA and ACU were both founding members of the Southland Conference in 1963. UTA remained in the league until 2012; ACU left the league in 1973 to join the Division-II Lone Star Conference before re-joining the Southland and D-I in 2013, and the WAC in 2021.
• ACU assistant coach Cinco Boone was an assistant coach for UTA last season.
• In 2021, #14 Abilene Christian defeated #3 Texas in the NCAA Tournament, 53-52. UTA head coach KT Turner was the associate head coach on that Longhorns' team.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
While Wilson leads the WAC in double-doubles, Gordon is tied for the 3rd most with four. Three of those came consecutively to begin his career – one of only two UTA players in program history to begin a 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.
 
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), Williams (24), Kade Douglas (20), Akili Vining (16), Cash (17, 2x), Fabio Basili (15), Brandyn Talbot (14), Dwayne Koroma (12) and Freds Pauls Bagatskis (11).
 
Of those 11, Wilson (4x), Russell (3x), Gordon (3x), Douglas (3x), Cash (2x), Williams (1x), Basili (1x) and Vining (1x) have led UTA in scoring.
 
CLEANING UP THE WEEKLY AWARDS
UTA has had three-different players win either WAC Player of the Week or Newcomer of the Week this season: Gordon (Player, Nov. 13), Wilson (Player, Nov. 20) and Russell (Newcomer, Dec. 18). UTA and Grand Canyon are the only schools in the WAC with three-different players earning weekly awards this year.
 
Gordon and Wilson 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
 
PROLIFIC OFF THE BENCH
Gordon is one of just five players this year 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.
 
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 tie for the 8th-most offensive rebounds by any team in the nation this year.
 
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 (five players with 11; six with 10). The 17 total rebounds are the most by any player in the WAC this season.
 
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.
 
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 undergoing surgery in mid-December. He is expected to be out the rest of the season.
 
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 nine other players in the country have registered that stat line as a reserve against a D-I opponent.
 
1) Wilson finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three steals at Texas Tech – one of only three players in the nation this year with at least those totals in a game.
 
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-D-I opponents – in which four UTA players grabbed double-figure rebounds.
 
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).
 
9) Nine times already this season UTA has scored 75+ points against D-I competition; the Mavs accomplished that feat just four times all of last year (regular and postseason). Furthermore, UTA has tallied 80+ in regulation six times this year; that occurred three times total in the previous two regular seasons.
 
19) Talbot had a streak of 19-straight made free throws dating back to Nov. 12, 2022, snapped in the closing minute of the Utah Valley contest on Jan. 11, 2024.
 
25) The Mavs had 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.
 
36) UTA had a stretch of 36 days in-between home contests from Dec. 6 to Jan. 11. That was the second-longest break in-season by any team in the nation this year, trailing only Delaware's 38-day gap.
 
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.
 
84) 85% of Douglas's points (99 of 117) this year have come via the 3-pointer (33 makes); he has five games of 3+ triples.
 
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.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will have a week off before returning to the College Park Center for an extremely stern test next Saturday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. against Grand Canyon. GCU is currently 17-1 overall and 7-0 in the WAC, ranked as the #1 mid-major team in the nation and is just outside the national top-25 poll. The Lopes have won 14-straight games entering a road tilt with Seattle U on Saturday night.
 
UTA had a 67-62 lead at GCU on Dec. 2 with under four minutes to play, but the Lopes closed the game on a 14-2 run to claim a 76-69 win – the smallest winning margin by GCU in conference play.
   
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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