PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Fresh off a win at Nebraska last week, the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team hits the road again on Wednesday night for an 8 o'clock tip at Grand Canyon University.
The two schools have a lot in common as both joined NCAA Division I last year after making the move from Division II. The two teams have never met on the court, but many other UIW and GCU programs have met on the playing field over the past few seasons and the men's soccer teams are both part of the Western Athletic Conference.
The Cardinals (6-1) are currently ranked 37
th in the RPI and they are 26
th in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll put out by College Insider. The team averages 84.4 points per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range. Senior
Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) leads the team with 19.4 points and 3.1 steals per game while chipping in with 6.4 rebounds per contest. He needs 19 points to move into the top 10 in school history in points.
In addition to Livingston, the Cardinals have two other players who rank among the top scorers in the Southland Conference. Freshman
Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) was the Southland Player of the Week this past week and is the #2 scoring freshman in the nation with 19.0 points per game. He is shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from three-point land. Junior
Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) is scoring 16.8 points per game while shooting 59.3 percent from three-point range, eighth-best in the country. He also leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game.
The Antelopes (5-6) have played a tough schedule so far with losses at Kentucky and Indiana on their docket. They are averaging 63.5 points per game, but recently added DeWayne Russell to the lineup. He has played the past two games and is averaging 14.5 points per game. Royce Woolridge and Jerome Garrison are both averaging more than 10 points per game. The Lopes are coached by Dan Majerle, the former NBA star and member of Dream Team II.
The game will be televised on local Phoenix cable TV on will be streamed online for free at
www.cox7.com.
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