PORTALES, N.M. – No. 18 Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is set for a Saturday matchup against UT Tyler. Please read the Starting Five Preview to get ready for the contest:

1.) Cooooop For The Win – In case you missed it, Cooper Jackson connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to give ENMU a 76-73 win over No. 24 DBU on Thursday. The energizing play came via an in-bounds with 2.7 seconds left. Austin Abrams caught the pass and tossed it over the Jackson who gave it nothing, but net to seal the deal. Both teams shot the ball well as they connected on 50% or more of their field goals. The Patriots struggled early from three-point range, but caught some fire late in the game. However, the Greyhounds led the entire way and earned the win that puts them in a tie for first place in the league.

2.) History for UTT – UT Tyler earned their school's first win over West Texas A&M on Thursday night. The 91-85 road win bumped them to 10-7 (4-7 LSC) and was aided by an early 15-2 run that set the tempo for the game. The Patriots shot the ball light's out as they made 28-of-47 (59.6%) from the floor, including 7-for-15 from three-point range. Guard Kyle Morgan hit six of those three's for UTT and guided the team with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Down low, Sam Phipps took care of business with 10 points and nine rebounds. Phipps is a talented returning big for UT Tyler who can be challenging for players in the paint. Defensively, UTT was sound as they forced WT to shoot just 40.7% from the floor.

3.) Patriotic Notes – The visitors are a talented bunch who do several things well. The most important aspect of their game is crashing the glass. UT Tyler leads the Lone Star Conference and is in the top 60 nationally with 38.76 rebounds per game. Another area where they excel is field goal percentage defense as they force opponents to miss at a high rate. This year, they rank second in that category with foes making 40.9% of their attempts. The matchup will be quick-paced as ENMU and UTT are first and second respectfully in fastbreak points per game. The biggest red flag for the Patriots is the turnover battle. They are 12th in the conference giving up 14.3 turnovers per contest. They also hold a -1.2 turnover margin.

4.) Conference Implications – The Greyhounds need a win to continue separating the race for the Lone Star Conference crown. Right now, there are three teams in the LSC with two league losses. Eastern is tied with DBU with a 9-2 conference record and they are both ahead of LCU who is 8-2 in league play. The Lone Star Conference also features a stacked top with Western New Mexico (9-3), St. Edward's (7-4), and St. Mary's (6-4). The top eight teams in the conference have six or more wins at this point of the season. The remainder of ENMU's schedule will not have any of those previously mentioned teams left.

5.) Keep it up ENMU – Eastern New Mexico is second in the conference scoring 82.2 points per game. They are tied with LCU as the top shooting team in the conference as they make 49.9% of their shots. The Greyhounds rebound the ball well with a +5.1 rebounding margin and they corral 37.7 boards per game. Another excellent aspect of the Hounds game is that they hold a +3.42 turnover margin which is fourth in the LSC. Several individuals are making noise for Eastern statistically. Jose Murillo is fifth in the league scoring 16.4 points per game and he is second with 9.3 rebounds. Murillo continues to be one of the best shooters in the country as he leads the LSC with a 65.1% shooting mark. The Mexico native leads the conference with 1.6 blocks per game. Guard Mo Austin is second in the LSC with a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio. He is third in the LSC with 4.3 assists per contest. Jackson and Austin are number one and two in the league (third and fourth nationally) in steals.