Game Info	Opponent Info
#19 UT Tyler vs. Eastern New Mexico UTT: 6-0, 2-0 LSC | ENMU: 5-3, 0-2 LSC Thursday, Dec. 15th | 8:30 P.M. CST Portales, N.M. | Greyhound Arena		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
#19 UT Tyler at Western New Mexico UTT: 6-0, 2-0 LSC | WNMU: 6-2, 0-2 LSC Saturday, Dec. 17th | 4:00 P.M. CST Silver City, N.M. | Drag's Court		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS IN LONE STAR CONFERENCE PLAY

UT Tyler used five scorers in double figures to cruise to 6-0 on the year with a 96-48 win over Dallas Christian on Saturday afternoon. Barnell Davis led the Patriots with 19 points, 15 of which came on five made three-pointers, to establish a season high for the UT Tyler newcomer. Jordan Hairston (14), Jordan Love (13), Mohamed Diallo (12) and Adrian Walker (11) all joined Davis in double-digit scoring figures on an afternoon in which the Patriots shot 52.3 percent (34-of-65) from the field. UT Tyler never trailed at any point in the contest and built a 20-plus point lead just over 10 minutes into the ballgame. That 28-7 lead with 9:46 remaining in the first half extended to as many as 29 on a Love three-point make with just over two minutes remaining in the opening 20 minutes of action. The Patriots held Dallas Christian to less than 10 made shots from the field in both halves, limiting the Crusaders to just 34.0 percent (18-for-53) for the night. UT Tyler forced Dallas Christian into 23 turnovers throughout the contest, turning those mistakes into 41 points. UT Tyler went 12-for-30 (40.0 percent) from the beyond the three-point line for the game, and 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from long range in the second half alone. That efficiency from long range helped continue to extend the Patriot advantage as Dallas Christian failed to get the margin back within 20 points at any point during the second half.

WHAT COACH WILSON IS SAYING

On what his team will do to prepare for a two week road trip ... "Our focus is to make sure as Mariano Duncan of the '96 Yankees used to say, "We play today, we win today." As far as the road trip that follows, we've done that, that was what the trip to Arkansas Tech and Northeastern State was about, to give us the opportunity to play a road weekend and see what that felt like. So hopefully that experience will translate when we go on the road to close out before the Christmas break."

On the challenges of a long road trip to the state of New Mexico... "That trip is a slice of heaven and we just can't wait to get there. It's an exceptionally hard road trip in this league, not only because you have two really good basketball teams, but it's just a long time on the bus and it will take a lot out of you. But no excuses, like i said, " You play today, you win today", that's what we're trying to get done."

On what receiving a national ranking says about the emergence of the program on a national level... "In "coach speak" you say, well we don't worry about those things because we just take care of our business and what people think about us good or bad it doesn't matter. But in reality, it's always good when you are nationally ranked and the guys are recognized for their efforts. When you have 13 new basketball players and you're off to an unblemished start in the first five games, I could sit here and nitpick us to death, but as I told them in the locker room, sometimes you just have to give kids credit. So good for our kids, you're being nationally recognized, you're doing a good job thus far. The next game is what's important - coach speak. We're happy with where we're at."

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS

Eastern New Mexico enters Thursday's meeting with the Patriots 5-3 on the year, but disappointed in their opening weekend of Lone Star Conference play with 91-63 and 76-66 losses at the hands of St. Edward's and St. Mary's on Dec. 1st and 3rd. The Greyhounds were picked 15th in the 2022 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll after going 7-17 and 3-11 in Lone Star Conference play last season. Errol White highlights a Greyhound lineup with an average of 13.4 points per game, and leads the Lone Star Conference with an average of 9.5 rebounds per contest. Eze Dike (13.0 ppg) and Grehlon Easter (12.2 ppg) join White with an average north of 10.0 points per contest for an offensive unit that ranks eighth in the LSC with an average of 73.9 points per game. UT Tyler is 2-0 all-time against Eastern New Mexico, but will make the program's first trek to Portales, N.M. as each of the first two meetings came inside the Herrington Patriot Center.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

Like Eastern New Mexico, Western New Mexico struggled over the first weekend of LSC play with losses at St. Mary's and St. Edward's, but enter this weekend's play against DBU on Thursday night with a 6-2 record. The Mustangs are led by a pair of guards in Keith Littles and Tony Avalos, who both average double-digit scoring figures entering this weekend's play. Western New Mexico ranks 11th in the LSC in scoring offense (73.4 ppg) and sixth in the league in scoring defense (66.9 ppg). UT Tyler is 3-1 all-time against Western New Mexico, and enters Saturday's contest on the heels of three straight wins in the series. The Patriots are 1-1 all-time in Silver City, N.M., including a 63-52 win in last year's visit to Drag's Court.

MOVING UP IN THE NATIONAL POLL

The University of Texas at Tyler men's basketball program moved up three spots to no. 19 in this week's edition of the NABC Division II Men's Basketball National Top 25 poll. The Patriots are once again the highest ranked Lone Star Conference representative in the fourth edition of the national poll after beginning the year with a 6-0 record. UT Tyler is the only remaining undefeated team in the Lone Star Conference and one of 12 remaining undefeated teams across the Division II national landscape. UT Tyler received their inaugural national ranking in a national poll last season, earning the no. 25 spot of the D2SIDA Men's Basketball National Media Poll back on Dec. 15^th, 2021. The Patriots debuted in the NABC Men's Basketball National Top 25 poll last week in the no. 22 spot, and improved their highest ever national ranking at no. 19 this week. West Texas A&M stands as the lone other LSC representative to receive a top 25 ranking in the no. 24 spot, while Angelo State appeared in the receiving votes category.
 

NABC Division II National Top 25 Poll (Week #4)
1	Northwest Missouri State (14)	10-0	397	1
2	Indiana (PA)	8-0	377	2
3	Nova Southeastern (1)	8-0	367	3
4	West Liberty	9-0	343	4
5	Black Hills State (1)	10-0	342	5
6	Hillsdale	10-0	325	7
7	Missouri-St. Louis	9-0	296	11
8	Lincoln Memorial	9-1	274	10
9	Fort Lewis	10-0	273	12
10	Colorado School of Mines	9-1	233	8
11	Central Oklahoma	8-1	225	6
12	Augusta	7-1	215	13
13	Virginia Union	8-1	198	14
14	Minnesota State	10-1	185	9
15	Cal State San Bernardino	6-1	168	15
16	Florida Southern	8-1	159	18
17	UNC Pembroke	9-1	148	17
18	Bentley	8-1	125	20
19	Texas-Tyler	6-0	117	22
20	West Virginia State	8-1	72	21
21	Dominican	9-1	57	23
22	Emporia State	8-1	53	16
23	St. Thomas Aquinas	9-1	47	25
24	West Texas A&M	6-2	43	24
25	East Stroudsburg	8-0	42	NR

AS GOOD AS ANY ON THE DEFENSIVE END OF THE FLOOR

Head coach Louis Wilson's high-pressure defense has been clicking on all cylinders so far in 2022-23, as the Patriots lead the Lone Star Conference and rank within the top 10 nationally in both field goal percentage defense (37.7 percent) and scoring defense (58.3 ppg). That scoring defense ranks sixth in all of Division II basketball and has prevented the opposition from reaching the 60 point threshold in four out the their six outings so far this season. UT Tyler leads the country in three-point percentage defense as opponents have connected on just 24.8 percent of their three-point opportunities against the Patriots. The defense truly shined in the first two Lone Star Conference wins for the Patriots over Cameron and Midwestern State as coach Wilson's unit surrendered just 56.5 points per game, nearly seven full points better than the next closest scoring defense in the Lone Star Conference.

ON THE HUNT FOR HISTORY

UT Tyler is 6-0 for a second consecutive season and will have the opportunity to rewrite the Patriot record books this weekend. A pair of wins against Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico will move UT Tyler to 8-0 on the year, a mark which would stand as the best start to a season in program history. Last year's 2021-22 Patriots currently hold that best start mark after beginning the year at 7-0, making for what could ve easily two of the best beginnings to a year in the history of the program in back-to-back campaigns.

COACH WILSON

Head coach Louis Wilson is in his fourth season at the helm of the UT Tyler men's basketball program in 2022-23, and eighth season overall as a head coach at the Division II level. The 2022-23 season will mark the 31st year of collegiate basketball coaching experience for Wilson, as he accumulated 23 years of experience at the Division I level as an associate or assistant head coach prior to his time in Tyler. He spent five years as head coach at Division II foe Adams State of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) from 2010-15, totaling a 95-46 record as head coach of the Grizzlies, and led the program to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament from 2010-13. Coach Wilson enters Monday night with a record of 42-39 in his four years as head coach of the Patriots.