SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The reigning SLC regular season and tournament champions of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team will get underway with the 2023-24 conference schedule this weekend, taking on UIW Saturday at 5 p.m. and then returning home for a 7 p.m. tip against HCU Monday.
Saturday will mark the first SLC game for A&M-Corpus Christi (7-6) this year, who will be beginning its campaign towards another title after head coach
Jim Shaw helped the Islanders win three conference championships in the last two seasons. It included back-to-back SLC Tournament titles and the 2022-23 SLC regular season crown. The Islanders earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.
The Islanders are taking a win into the conference schedule after topping Schreiner 84-61 in their nonconference finale. Redshirt sophomore
Owen Dease led the game with 16 points after going 2-for-2 from three and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He was one of three Islanders in double figures along with junior
Garry Clark (15) and redshirt sophomore
Stephen Giwa (13). All available student-athletes saw time on the court with everyone taking a shot to tune-up before league play.
A&M-Corpus Christi has used a balance scoring attack this season as a pair of Islanders average 10.5 points per game in junior
Dian Wright-Forde and Clark. The Islanders score 76.9 points per game and have 11 student-athletes scoring over 5.0 per outing.
The Islanders possess the league-best rebounding team, topping the conference in total rebounds per game (42.0), offensive rebounds per game (13.9), defensive rebounds per game (28.1), and rebounding margin (+8.3). They also lead the league in 3FG% defense (.284).
At least seven different Islanders have grabbed a rebound in every game this year.
Clark is the team's leading rebounder with 7.9 per outing, which ranks fourth in the Southland Conference. Though, he ranks second in the SLC in offensive rebounding with 3.5 per game. Graduate
Marion Humphrey ranks 2nd in the SLC in assist/turnover ratio (3.0) and averages 1.7 steals per game to rank fourth in the league. Senior
Lance-Amir Paul ranks third in FT% (.825).
UIW (5-8) had produced the fourth-leading scorer in the conference after nonconference, as Sky Wicks averages 15.5 points per game. The Cardinals and the Islanders are evened in field goal percentage, both shooting .436 from the field this season.
HCU (2-9) will open its SLC schedule against Nicholls before making the trip to Corpus Christi. Similar to the Islanders, the Huskies faced a tough nonconference schedule that saw three Big 12 opponents, though, they enter SLC play right behind A&M-Corpus Christi in team rebounds (40.8 rpg) as Michael Imariagbe ranks third in the league with 8.6 rpg.
Both games can be watched live with a subscription to ESPN+. A&M-Corpus Christi's game at UIW can also be heard live for free on 1440 AM K-E-Y-S with Steven King on the call.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 13-6 all-time against UIW and hold a 6-4 edge when the teams play in San Antonio. The Islanders have swept the Cardinals in the yearly series for the last two seasons, making
Jim Shaw undefeated against UIW since joining the staff in 2021-22.
- The Islanders hold a 14-6 advantage in the all-time series with HCU and is 8-1 at home.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 22-0 over the last three seasons when shooting over .500 FG%. The Islanders are 22-0 over the last two seasons when holding the opposition to 70 points or less.
- The Islanders average 40.54 bench points per game, which ranks 3rd overall in the NCAA. A&M-Corpus Christi also ranks 12th in turnovers forced per game (16.85), 14th in steals per game (10.0), 16th in fast break points (16.23), and 17th in rebounding (42.00 rpg).
- Last year, the Islanders won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game with a 75-71 victory over SEMO in the First Four as A&M-Corpus Christi led for over 38 minutes. Ironically, the 75-71 score was the same as the SLC Championship against Northwestern State.
- The new-look Islanders brought in 11 newcomers, similar to when Shaw first arrived in 2021-22 when the team welcomed 10 newcomers and ultimately advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Two of this years transfers played within the league as Paul is a transfer from Nicholls and
Dayne Prim from Northwestern State.
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