The Angelo State men's basketball closed out nonconference tournament play last weekend, improving to 6-0. The Rams will now get a closer look at what Lone Star Conference play will be this season, taking on Texas A&M International and Texas A&M – Kingsville in two nonconference contests on the road on Thursday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 4.
 
LAST WEEK:
For the third consecutive weekend, the Rams finished 2-0 in tournament play after defeating Missouri Baptist and Arkansas Tech at home in the Ed Messbarger Classic. ASU remained undefeated after bouncing back against the Spartans in a 73-70 comeback win while holding off the Wonder Boys to win 70-68 with a late bucket by Devaughn Thomas to seal the victory. Tyrell Carroll led the Rams on the weekend, averaging 17.5 points while collecting 10 assists with only two turnovers. He also shot 54 percent from the field.  
 
ANGELO STATE RAMS (6-0) at TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (6-0)
Thursday, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m. CST – Laredo, Texas – TAMIU Kinesiology Building
Live Video: lonestarconferencenetwork.com/asu
Live Stats: angelostats.com
SERIES HISTORY:
All-Time Series: ASU leads the all-time series 6-0.
Last Meeting: Feb. 27, 2021: ASU, 75-67 – Laredo, Texas
The Rams picked up two road wins over the Dustdevils last season, winning 92-60 and 75-67 to close out the regular season. ASU has won every contest against TAMIU since their first meeting back in 2008.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL:
The Dustdevils have had an equally strong start to their season, entering this week's play with a 6-0 record, only losing to UTRGV in an exhibition. TAMIU started the year with an 82-73 win over Chadron State while picking up wins over other DII opponents in South Dakota Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, and No. 25 UC Colorado Springs.
 
TAMIU is led by Greg Bowie II and Jermaine Drewey have started five games, averaging 13.4 and 11.6 points respectively. Daniel Kiely has collected a team-high 20 assists while La-Quiem Walker has a high of 28 rebounds on the season.
 
The Dustdevils rank towards the bottom of the Lone Star Conference in offense, scoring 72.3 points per game who is 14^th in the league while defensively, they have allowed the fewest points, giving up only 54 points per game.
 
#12 ANGELO STATE RAMS (6-0) at TEXAS A&M - KINGSVILLE (5-1)
Saturday, Dec. 4, 4 p.m. CST – Kingsville, Texas – Gil E. Steinke Center
Live Video: lonestarconferencenetwork.com/asu
Live Stats: angelostats.com
SERIES HISTORY:
All-Time Series: The Rams lead the all-time series 58-56.
Last Meeting: Mar. 2, 2021: TAMUK, 73-65 (LSC Playoffs)
The Rams and Javelinas split their regular-season meetings last year with ASU winning 83-66 in game one and TAMUK evening things in game two, 79-67. The Javelinas currently hold a two-game winning streak over the Rams, winning the opening round of the LSC playoffs.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M – KINGSVILLE:
The Javelinas hold a 5-1 record to begin the season, facing many of the same teams the Rams have after playing opposite of each other in the last two tournaments. ASU and TAMUK both secured wins over Dallas Christian and Northwest Nazarene at the Javelina Classic, while both teams also went 2-0 against Arkansas Tech and Missouri Baptist at the Ed Messbarger Classic. The Javelinas also earned a win over Chadron State while their lone loss of the season came against South Dakota Mines, falling 84-72.
 
TAMUK ranks eighth in the Lone Star in points per game, averaging a score of 76.5 while defensively, the Javelinas has allowed the fifth-fewest points with 65.2. The Javelinas are also fifth in three-point field goal percentage and rank second in assist to turnover ratio.
 
Darek Luna is the top scorer for the Javelinas, averaging 14.8 points per game while CJ Smith is second on the team with 13.2 points per game. Smith is also the leading passer with 24 assists, adding nine steals, while Davante McClellan is the top rebounder, averaging 6.8 boards per game.
 
QUICK HITS:
-The Rams rank third in the Lone Star in scoring, averaging 86.7 points per game. Devaughn Thomas leads the rams with 14.5 points per game which is the 17^th highest average in the LSC.
-ASU holds the eighth-best field goal percentage in the conference at .466 while holding opponents to the sixth-lowest shooting percentage at .416.
-The Rams have attempted the most free throws of any team in the LSC, shooting 180 attempts while holding a .733 percentage.
-ASU is the fifth-best rebounding team in the conference, averaging 38.7 boards per game.
-The Rams jumped six spots in the latest NABC Top 25 Rankings, holding the 12th overall ranking.