Texas Rio Grande Valley (12-15, 7-6) vs. Cal State Bakersfield (11-17, 5-8)
Icardo Center, Bakersfield, California; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Cal State Bakersfield seeks revenge on Texas Rio Grande Valley after dropping the first matchup in Edinburg. The teams last met on Feb. 1, when Cal State Bakersfield made only 13 free throws on 15 attempts while the Vaqueros hit 29 of 45 on the way to a 70-59 victory.
LEADING THE WAY: The Vaqueros are led by Lesley Varner II and Javon Levi. Varner has averaged 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds while Levi has accounted for 10.8 points, 8.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The Roadrunners have been anchored by Taze Moore and Czar Perry. Moore has averaged 10.9 points while Perry has put up 8.6 points per game.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Levi has either made or assisted on 41 percent of all Texas Rio Grande Valley field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has accounted for nine field goals and 25 assists in those games.
YET TO WIN: The Vaqueros are 0-9 when they score 67 points or fewer and 12-6 when they exceed 67 points. The Roadrunners are 0-10 when allowing 73 or more points and 11-7 when holding opponents below 73.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Vaqueros have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Roadrunners. Cal State Bakersfield has 21 assists on 62 field goals (33.9 percent) across its previous three matchups while Texas Rio Grande Valley has assists on 61 of 83 field goals (73.5 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Texas Rio Grande Valley defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 25.2 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Vaqueros ninth among Division I teams. Cal State Bakersfield has turned the ball over on 20.6 percent of its possessions (ranking the Roadrunners 287th, nationally).
