ACU goes up against Howard Payne

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Howard Payne vs. Abilene Christian (4-5)

Moody Coliseum, Abilene, Texas; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Abilene Christian Wildcats will be taking on the Yellow Jackets of Division III Howard Payne. Abilene Christian is coming off a 102-34 win at home over Dallas Christian in its most recent game.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: Payten Ricks has averaged 13.3 points and 2.2 steals this year for Abilene Christian. Complementing Ricks is Joe Pleasant, who is averaging 10.6 points and five rebounds per game.POTENT PAYTEN: Ricks has connected on 38.5 percent of the 65 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 8 of 21 over his last three games. He's also made 91.3 percent of his foul shots this season.

A YEAR AGO: Abilene Christian scored 90 and came away with a 37-point win over Howard Payne when these two teams faced off last season.

DID YOU KNOW: Abilene Christian went 7-3 overall against out-of-conference competition last season. The Wildcats scored 67.3 points per matchup in those 10 games.