The Abilene Christian Wildcats and UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros are the two bottom teams in the WAC standings but will hook up in Edinburg, Texas on Thursday looking to get their seasons back on track.
Abilene Christian Wildcats (-2.5, 149) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros
Both teams have had their share of struggles on defense with Abilene Christian and Rio Grande Valley ranked 162nd and 254th in points allowed on a per-possession basis, respectively. Both teams’ raw point totals balloon even further due to their fast paces.
The Vaqueros rank ninth in the nation in total possessions per game while the Wildcats rank 43rd in this category on top of allowing at least 74 points in 19 of their 21 games against Division I opponents this season.
Both teams have similar issues in allowing second-chance scoring opportunities, as Grand Valley is 350th in the nation in defensive rebound rate, allowing opponents to pull in 33.1% of their missed shots while Abilene Christian is 309th in this category, allowing 30.4% of missed shots to become an offensive rebound.
While both teams are not great 3-point shooting teams with Abilene Christian ranked 226th in 3-point shooting percentage and the Rio Grande Valley ranked 337th at 29.1%, neither team relies on them for the offensive success. Only 22.1% of Abilene Christian’s points come from 3-point range, the 22nd-lowest percentage of points from three-pointers while Rio Grande Valley has the 11th-lowest percentage at 21%.
Both teams have had similar struggles guarding inside the 3-point arc with Abilene Christian ranked 273rd in opponents’ 2-point shooting percentage at 52.7% and Rio Grande Valley ranked 278th at 52.9%.
The last time these two teams faced each other, Rio Grande Valley squeaked out a 91-89 overtime win, a game that ended 80-80 in regulation and Thursday’s game sets up to be another game involving lots of points on both sides.
The Play: Abilene Christian vs. UT Rio Grande Valley Over 149
