No. 7 seed Cal State Bakersfield (12-19, 6-10) vs. No. 2 seed Texas Rio Grande Valley (14-16, 9-7)
Western Athletic Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Orleans Arena, Las Vegas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the WAC semifinals is on the line as Cal State Bakersfield is set to take on Texas Rio Grande Valley. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last met on Feb. 27, when the Roadrunners shot 51.9 percent from the field while limiting Texas Rio Grande Valley's shooters to just 35.7 percent en route to the 20-point victory.
STEPPING UP: Texas Rio Grande Valley's Lesley Varner II has averaged 15.6 points and six rebounds while Javon Levi has put up 11.4 points, eight assists and 2.4 steals. For the Roadrunners, Taze Moore has averaged 11.5 points while Czar Perry has put up 8.4 points.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Levi has made or assisted on 47 percent of all Texas Rio Grande Valley field goals over the last three games. Levi has accounted for 17 field goals and 20 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: The Roadrunners are 0-10 when they allow 73 or more points and 12-9 when they hold opponents to anything under 73 points. The Vaqueros are 0-10 when they score 67 points or fewer and 14-6 when they exceed 67.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Vaqueros have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Roadrunners. Texas Rio Grande Valley has an assist on 41 of 78 field goals (52.6 percent) across its previous three matchups while Cal State Bakersfield has assists on 34 of 71 field goals (47.9 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Texas Rio Grande Valley defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 24.8 percent of all possessions, which is the seventh-highest rate in the country. Cal State Bakersfield has turned the ball over on 20.3 percent of its possessions (ranked 270th among Division I teams).
