Islanders Put Unbeaten Home Record at Stake against SLU, UNO at American Bank Center

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – With a 7-0 home record, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program will host Southeastern at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and New Orleans at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the American Bank Center.
 
Saturday's game against New Orleans will be sponsored by KIII News.
 
All of A&M-Corpus Christi's (10-6, 3-0 SLC) home wins have been by double-figures. The most recent one was a 91-61 thumping over UIW, which was the third-largest conference win in school history.
 
The Islanders are coming off back-to-back wins over the Cardinals. On Saturday, they went on the road to win 80-71. A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 13-6 all-time against UIW and 4-0 and under head coach Steve Lutz.
 
With a 3-0 SLC record, the Islanders are off to their best start since 2015-16 when they began 7-0 and finished 15-3.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi has four student-athletes averaging in double-figures. Senior Isaac Mushila nearly averages a double-double with 13.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Senior Terrion Murdix scores 12.2 points per game, senior Trevian Tennyson 12.1 and graduate Ross Williams 11.1.
 
Murdix leads the conference in assists with 4.4 per outing. In conference, he averages a team-high 18.7 points per game to go along with 6.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Murdix and Tennyson have scored in double-figures in all three games matches.
 
Over the last six games, Williams has had the hot hand and is 19-for-37 (.514) from three-point range.
 
The Islanders rank 16th in the nation in free throw percentage (.769), 17th in turnovers forced per game (17.4), 17th in steals per game (9.8) and 18th in bench points per game (29.5). Individually, Williams is 19th in the country in three-point percentage (.44) and Mushila is 23rd in offensive rebounds per game (3.4).
 
The Islanders rank first in the Southland Conference in scoring (79.0 ppg), scoring defense (71.5 ppg), free throw percentage (.769), rebounding margin (+1.6), assists (16.0 apg) and assist:turnover ratio (1.2).
 
Thursday is a rematch of the 2022 SLC Championship game which saw the Islanders win 73-65 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. It was the second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the first since 2006-07.
 
SLU (8-8, 2-1 SLC) is coming off back-to-back home wins over HCU 71-59 and Lamar 89-84. The Lions have non-conference victories over Wyoming 76-72 and Campbell 70-69. Boogie Anderson leads the team with 12.1 points per game including 15.3 in conference.
 
UNO (5-9, 2-1 SLC) is also coming off consecutive wins over Lamar 81-55 and HCU 82-59 at home. The Privateers are led by Jordan Johnson who scores 16.4 points per outing, including 20.7 in conference. UNO ranks 13th in the nation in three-point percentage with a .392 mark as Johnson is 45-of-92 (.489).
 
Both games can be watched live with a subscription to ESPN+ with Steven King on the calls.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 218-106 all-time at home and 143-77 at the American Bank Center.
 
- The Islanders are 13-9 all-time against Southeastern, 7-4 at home and 2-1 under Lutz.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi has the highest NET Ranking in the Southland Conference at 184 out of 363 Division I schools. The Islanders are the only team in the SLC under 200.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 148-124 all-time in the Southland Conference since joining the league in 2006-07.
 
- In two seasons under Lutz, the Islanders are 13-0 when they shoot over 50 percent from the field and 22-1 when the opposition scores below 70 points. This season, the team is 7-0 when they shoot above 33 percent from three-point range.
 
- In conference games, A&M-Corpus Christi shoots .377 from three-point range and limits teams to a .227 mark.
 
- With wins of 91-61 over UIW and 98-67 over Alcorn State, the Islanders have posted multiple 30-plus point wins over Division I schools in the same season for the first time since 2005-06.
 
- The Islanders opened conference play with a road win at Northwestern State. A&M-Corpus Christi trailed 54-53 with 2:14 remaining when it went on a decisive 8-0 run to go up 61-54 with 34 seconds left. The Islanders improved to 14-7 all-time against NWST and 3-1 under Lutz. A&M-Corpus Christi knocked the Demons out of the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top-25 poll.
 
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