Texas Rio Grande Valley (12-16, 7-7) vs. Grand Canyon (12-16, 7-7)
Grand Canyon University Arena, Phoenix; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Grand Canyon goes for the season sweep over Texas Rio Grande Valley after winning the previous matchup in Edinburg. The teams last played on Jan. 30, when the Antelopes outshot Texas Rio Grande Valley 58 percent to 46 percent and made six more 3-pointers en route to an 87-79 victory.
STEPPING UP: The Vaqueros are led by Lesley Varner II and Javon Levi. Varner is averaging 14.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while Levi is putting up 11 points, 7.9 assists and 2.3 steals per contest. The Antelopes have been anchored by Alessandro Lever and Carlos Johnson, who are scoring 16 and 15 per game, respectively.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Levi has made or assisted on 42 percent of all Texas Rio Grande Valley field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has accounted for 12 field goals and 21 assists in those games.
YET TO WIN: The Antelopes are 0-9 when they score 62 points or fewer and 12-7 when they exceed 62 points. The Vaqueros are 0-10 when they fail to score more than 67 points and 12-6 on the season, otherwise.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Vaqueros have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Antelopes. Grand Canyon has 40 assists on 79 field goals (50.6 percent) across its previous three outings while Texas Rio Grande Valley has assists on 51 of 78 field goals (65.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The disruptive Texas Rio Grande Valley defense has forced opponents to turn the ball over on 24.9 percent of all possessions, the ninth-best rate in the country. Grand Canyon has a forced-turnover percentage of only 16.9 percent through 28 games (ranking the Antelopes 313th among Division I teams).
