PORTALES, N.M. – No. 24 Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back on the road. This time, ENMU will travel to Wichita Falls, Texas to face Midwestern State. Please take a look at the Starting Five Preview to learn more about the Greyhounds next conference contest.

1.) Looking Ahead: Eastern New Mexico dropped a pair of home conference matchups against top 25 foes last week. ENMU lost to St. Mary's, 63-54, on Thursday night. StMU forced Eastern to commit 18 turnovers. The Hounds shot poorly from the field (36.5%) and only two players, Mo Austin and Austin Abrams, scored in double figures. On Sunday, Eastern dropped a 84-81 battle to St. Edward's. Five players scored in double figures and ENMU connected on a season-high nine three pointers. However the nine treys were not enough as SEU went 17-of-34 from behind the arc themselves. Jose Murillo finished with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double (his eighth of the season).

2.) Still Ranked: The Greyhounds are one of five teams in the Lone Star Conference ranked in the top 25 in this week's NABC poll. Eastern sits at No. 24, which is the second time they have earned that mark in the last three polls. With their third time included in the rankings this season, it marks just the third time in school history that that has happened for the Hounds. Eastern New Mexico is receiving 28 points, which is two points ahead of fellow LSC foe DBU. The only conference school receiving votes outside the top 25 is St. Mary's who has the 29th most points among DII schools.

3.) Greyhounds to Watch: Five Eastern New Mexico student-athletes are averaging double figure scoring marks. The Greyhounds are guided by Jose Murillo who leads the team in points per game (15.8), blocks (23), rebounds per contest (9.1), and field goal percentage (62.1%). Murillo recently broke the school record for most starts in a career as he made his 99th during his time as a Greyhound. Another player who has excelled for ENMU this season is sophomore guard Mo Austin. The Pueblo, Colo. native has scored in double figures in six-straight contests and has played 36+ minutes in each of the last three games. Austin ranks second in the LSC with 4.1 assists per outing.



4.) Series History: Midwestern State owns the overall series over Eastern New Mexico, 38-20. In games played in Wichita Falls, MSU holds the edge 18-8. Eastern has won the last two games over the Mustangs and four of the last five. ENMU swept the series last season, which including two wins by a combined three points. The two schools first met in 1985 with Midwestern State earning an 81-55 win in Portales.

5.) Scouting the Mustangs: The most notable aspect of Midwestern State's game is that five different student-athletes average double figures. Charles McClennahan Jr. is one of the go-to players for MSU as he is posting 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per outing. He has started 10 games along with 11 appearances total. He helps control the game in the paint. MSU's shooter to watch is Jonathan Jackson who boasts 2.46 three pointers per contest. Jackson has started all 13 contests for Midwestern State and holds a season-high 31 points from a contest against University of Colorado, Colorado Springs where he made 9-of-12 shots from behind the arc. MSU does an excellent job utilizing their bench as they are third in the LSC with 32.62 bench points per game. One area where they struggle is scoring defense as they allow the 14th most points among conference institutions with 80.9 per game.