PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball closes out the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season with two nonconference games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before ENMU tips against Western Oregon and Westminster (UT), please read the Starting Five Preview:

1.) Gritty Conference Win: Only three teams remain unblemished in Lone Star Conference standings. Eastern New Mexico improved to 3-0 with a 90-83 result over LSC newcomer UT Dallas last week. The win over the Comets helped ENMU stay in first place in the conference and sends the team to the 2026 portion of the season with a perfect mark in the Lone Star. The Greyhounds had four players score in double figures in the win. Cooper Jackson led the way for ENMU with a career high 22 points and eight assists. The Lawrence, Kan. native also added four rebounds and four steals to add to his conference leading 3.33 steals per outing. Jose Murillo had a productive outing with his fifth double double of the season after posting 16 points and 10 rebounds. Treyvon Byrd (12 pts) and Austin Abrams (11 pts) also scored in double figures. The Hounds shot lights-off from the field going 36-of-61 (59%).

2.) Many Ways To Victory: Eastern New Mexico sits in a three way tie for first in the conference because of their best start to a season since 1996-97. They lead the conference in fastbreak points (18.56) and field goal percentage (50.4%). The program is second in the LSC in rebounding (38.33 rpg), scoring margin (+14.4), steals (11.3 spg), and field goal percentage defense (40.7%). Six of the team's eight wins have come by double digits. They have won every game by three or more possessions. The only loss for ENMU came in a 76-73 home opener to Fort Lewis. Eastern New Mexico also has plenty of options offensively with four student-athletes averaging double digit scoring efforts. Jose Murillo (15.3 ppg), Mo Austin (14.4 ppg), Cooper Jackson (12.7 ppg), and Austin Abrams (11.9 ppg) are consistent scorers for the team.

3.) Taking Care of Business: Eastern New Mexico only commits 12.3 turnovers per game. They force 15.8 turnovers per contest and are scoring 20.8 points per outing on those takeaways. ENMU has consistently shown that they have the ability to dish out the ball to score baskets as they are posting 15.3 assists per game. Mo Austin (41) and Cooper Jackson (33) lead the team in total steals just nine games into the 2025-26 campaign. The Greyhounds are also the only team in the LSC connecting on more than 50% of shots from the floor. Jose Murillo (67.6%), Mike Tangermann (60.0%), Treyvon Byrd (55.7%), and Mo Austin (53.6%) all greatly contribute to that number. Five players on the roster are grabbing at least one steal per game. Jackson (30) and Austin (26) lead the Hounds in total steals.

4.) The First Time Ever: For the first time in program history, Eastern New Mexico will face Western Oregon in men's basketball action. WOU comes into the matchup with a 4-5 record. Despite never facing the Wolves, ENMU has played two games in Monmouth, Oregon. The Hounds traveled to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of games during the 2017-18 season with the hounds coming away with a win over Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and an overtime loss to Dixie State. One area where WOU excels is controlling fouls. They commit the third least fouls in the nation at 12.9 per game. They also do an excellent job controlling possession as they post just 11.3 turnovers per contest, which is second in the conference. The Wolves tend to struggle in a few areas. They rank last in the GNAC in rebounding (28.67 rpg), scoring (65.7 ppg), and scoring margin (-1.4).

5.) Looking At The Griffins: Eastern New Mexico has not faced Westminster (UT) since the 1969-70 season. Eastern beat the Griffins in Salt Lake City, 93-72, during a season that saw ENMU finished third in the nation and just falling short of back-to-back national championships. Westminster holds a 6-4 mark in 2025-26. They are first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in bench points (37.80 ppg), rebound margin (+8.4), rebounding (39.20 rpg), turnovers (11.8), and scoring margin (+17.5). Michael Frazier is a key contributor as he is third in the conference with a 53.1% shooting percentage. Cole Kadoguchi is someone to keep an eye for as he connects on 49.1% of his tries from behind the arc. They rank near the bottom of the RMAC in free throw percentage (65.6%) and blocks (2.1 bpg).