SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team prepares for second meeting with Northwestern State in Wednesday night, Feb. 10. Tip-off set for 7 p.m. 

THE GAME THIS WEEK 

• The Cardinals are back at the McDermott Center to take on the Northwestern St. Demons on Wednesday night, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. (Watch | LiveStats) 
• UIW snapped a four-game losing streak against NSU with a 75-67 win in Natchitoches, La. 
• The Cardinals are seeking their first series sweep of the Demons since joining the Southland Conference. 
• A win would mark UIW's second series sweep over an opponent of the season after it defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday night. 

THE CARDINALS 

• With a win, the Cardinals will tie their best conference start in back-to-back seasons under third-year head coach Dr. Carson Cunningham. 
• Sophomore Keaston Willis was named Southland Conference Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points in two road wins against Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. 
• Willis is in the nation's top-100 in free throws made (22nd, 83), free throw attempts (24th, 107), points per game (62nd, 234) and total points (55th, 311). 
• In his first two games back after missing five, sophomore Marcus Larsson recorded a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double against Lamar and nine-point, nine-rebound performance against the Islanders last week. 
• Senior Des Balentine ranks second in the league and 68th in the country with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.26. 
• Logan Bracamonte is making the most of his seven straight starts in league play. The freshman is shooting 42.5% (17-for-40) from 3-point range. He ranks fourth in conference 3-point percentage at 41.3% (26-of-63) this season. 

THE CUNNINGHAM CULTURE 

• Since taking over as head coach in 2018-19, Dr. Carson Cunningham has guided the Cardinals to new heights in the classroom, in the community and on the court.  
• Overall team GPA rose from sub-3.0 in 2017-18 to 3.23 in 2018-19, 3.46 in 2019-20 and a Fall 2020 GPA of 3.35.  
• In 2018-19, the Cardinals registered the program's first 1,000 APR score.  
• In 2018-19, UIW completed 282 hours of community service. The team was also the top men's program at UIW by completing 261.5 service hours in 2019-20.  
• UIW had a five-win improvement in conference play, going from one (2018-19) to six (2019-20) - the highest conference wins total since the team went 7-11 in the 2016-17 season.  
• This season, the Cardinals are one of the top-25 teams in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (14th, 38.9%) and 3-point field goal defense (11th, 27.9%). 

SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENT 

• UIW is 3-6 all-time against Northwestern St. The Cardinals defeated the Demons, 75-67, in the first meeting of the season to open Southland Conference play on Jan. 6. 
• The Cardinals are 2-2 all-time against the Demons inside the McDermott Center. 

SCOUTING THE DEMONS 

• Northwestern St. is riding a three-game win streak, but have been idle since defeating Central Arkansas, 81-77, on Jan. 30. 
• The Demons rank second in the conference in 3-point field goal attempts (423), total blocks (58) and total rebounds (699). 
• Trenton Massner was the last student-athlete to be named league Player of the Week prior to Keaston Willis. Massner scored a team-high 17 points the last time out against UIW. 
• Massner is converting on 48.3% (87-for-180) of his shots and averaging 1.5 steals per game this season. 
• Jairus Roberson leads the Demons and ranks fourth in conference 3-point shooting (33.1%) 
• Larry Owens and Jamaure Gregg are coming off back-to-back double-double efforts for the Demons. Owens posted a 16-point, 11-rebound performance against New Orleans and Gregg, a 16-point, 12-rebound game against HBU. 

FOLLOW ALONG

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwathletics.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 
 
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWMBB and on Instagram @UIWMensBasketball.