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FRISCO, Texas – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back in the Lone Star Conference tournament for the 24th time in program history and for the second-straight season. Before the Greyhounds play in the first round, please read the Starting Five:
1.) LSC History: As stated prior, this will be the 24th appearance in the tournament for ENMU. The last and only time the Greyhounds won the tournament came in 1993. They posted wins over Cameron (75-69) and Texas A&I (76-68) to win the championship. Last season, they earned a bid to play in the tournament after posting 12 wins in conference play during the 2022-23 season. The last win in the tournament for Eastern New Mexico came March 4, 2003 against East Central (112-79).
2.) Greyhounds Score: It's no secret that ENMU scores points. The Greyhounds have hit the century scoring mark eleven times, including nine against teams in the Lone Star Conference. Over the last four games, the Greyhounds have scored 108.25 points per game. The team has the leagues leading scorer in
Jahcoree Ealy (20.7) and the sixth leading scorer in
Greg Johnson (17.8). Eastern makes 49.6% of their shots from the floor and sinks 42% from behind the arc.
Junior Hodnett leads the team with 62 made three pointers at a 45.6% clip.
3.) In The Past: ASU leads the overall series versus ENMU, 47-37. The teams last met inside Greyhound Arena on February 1, 2024. The Hounds came out on top with a 100-79 result. Head coach
Brent Owen is 2-3 against Angelo State and looks to equalize that with a result Thursday night. The two teams have met twice on neutral floor with Eastern New Mexico winning both games. The first game in Commerce (3/3/1990) saw Eastern win the contest, 80-70. The second one in Abilene (3/2/1992) saw the Hounds earn a 68-61 result.
4.) Similar Side: When scouting Angelo State, several key statistics between Eastern New Mexico and ASU are quite similar. The Rams are fourth in the Lone Star Conference in assists (14.9), blocks (3.2), fastbreak points (13.18), field goal percentage defense (42.5), free throw percentage (76.9), defensive rebounds (25.43), three-point percentage (38.4), and three's per game (9.0). Some of ENMU's similar stats include assists (17.3), three-point percentage (42.5), field goal percentage defense (41.6), and defensive rebounds (27.8).
5.) NCAA Tourney Bid Chances: Eastern New Mexico currently sits in sixth in the NCAA DII south central regional rankings. The selection committee takes the top-eight programs. A win Thursday night will be a strong resume builder for ENMU to earn their third bid ever in the national tournament. The last time Eastern made a trip to the tournament was in 2004. The Greyhounds will find out their new ranking in the region later today. Angelo State currently sits on the outside looking in for a bid to the tournament. They must win to sniff a chance at additional postseason play. Thursday's game will have major NCAA tourney implications for both programs.
