| Date | Time | Opponent | Location | Venue | Links |
| Friday, January 3 | 7:30 p.m. | Midwestern State | Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center | Stats | FloSports | Game Notes |
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M hits the floor for the first time in the 2025 calendar year on Friday, Jan. 3 when the Buffs host Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference action. Tipoff between the Buffs (9-2, 4-1 LSC) and Mustangs (8-2, 3-1 LSC) is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the First United Bank Center.
LIVE COVERAGE
The Athletic Communications Department from West Texas A&M will provide live stats and a pay-per-view web stream. Fans will need to purchase a monthly ($19.99) or annual ($107.88) subscription with FloSports, the official streaming provider of the Lone Star Conference. The subscription allows fans access to any content available on FloSports.
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS
The Buffs are led by junior guard Ahamed Mohammed who averages 18.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Noah Pagotto follows Mohammed with 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Jailyn Sledge paces the team with 6.6 rebounds per game while making 20 steals. Isaac Ayoubi leads the team with 40 assists while Pagotto has blocked 10 shots.
SCOUTING MIDWESTERN STATE
The Mustangs visit Canyon with an overall record of 8-2 including 3-1 in conference play. Midwestern State is led by head coach Justin Leslie who is in his sixth season in Wichita Falls and 18th overall. Mast has produced an 71-74 record at the helm of the Mustangs with a 337-195 mark in his career.
On the season, Midwestern State averages 77.2 points per game on 46.1 percent shooting from the field while giving up 67.4 points per game to opponents. Three players for the average double-digit scoring for the Mustangs paced by Mason Gibson’s 18.8 per contest. Pierre Sanders (11.0) and Will Shepherd (10.1) also average double-figures. Reggie Hill leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game while Pierre Sanders paces the team with 40 assists. Additionally, Gibson leads the team with 19 steals while Shepherd holds a team-high seven blocks.
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Midwestern State 45-34 including 31-9 in Canyon. The Buffs took both regular season meetings from the Mustangs with an 89-62 victory in Canyon and a 72-67 decision in Wichita Falls. Tom Brown is 11-6 against Midwestern State in his tenure at the helm of the Buffs.
W, 89-62 – Canyon, 2024
W, 72-67 – Wichita Falls, 2024
L, 86-92 – Wichita Falls, 2023
W, 72-71 – Canyon, 2022
W, 87-55 – Frisco (LSC), 2022
LAST TIME OUT
In a game that saw 15 lead changes and 14 ties, the West Texas A&M men’s basketball team came up just short of the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, 76-69. The Buffs enter 2025 with a 9-2 overall record and 4-1 mark in Lone Star Conference play. Two Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Friday afternoon led by a team-high 19 from Noah Pagotto. Ahamed Mohammed (10) also ended his day in double figures. Mackenzie Morgan hauled in a team-high eight rebounds while Mohammed dished out three assists. Jailyn Sledge blocked a pair of shots with three steals.
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 11th season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation. He has guided the Buffs to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 275-64 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 81.1%. Brown registered his 250th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau.
NABC TOP 25 POLL
Nova Southeastern continued its reign atop the poll with 15 first-place votes and 399 points while Washburn remained at No. 2 with 383 points. Daemen (1 fpv, 354) and Ferris State (338) each moved up a spot to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, with Minot State (328) taking over the No. 5 spot. Alabama Huntsville (308), Pace (304), West Liberty (279), Lincoln Memorial (261), and DBU (221) make up the top 10.
The South Central Region is represented by three teams in the poll with DBU leading the way. WT (13th) and Colorado School of Mines (16th) also earned spots in the poll. MSU Denver, Midwestern State, Lubbock Christian, and Eastern New Mexico received votes in the poll.
ON THIS DAY: JAN. 3
Friday’s game marks the 30th time the Buffs have played on this date and first since 2019. WT is 19-10 in games on Jan. 3 including 2-0 under Tom Brown. The Buffs are 5-0 in their last five games on this date and 8-2 in their last 10.
W, 83-82 – UT Permian Basin, 2019
W, 105-58 – Hillsdale Baptist, 2015
W, 85-65 – Hillsdale Baptist, 2014
W, 77-47 – Hillsdale Baptist, 2013
W, 79-68 – Southwestern Oklahoma State, 2009
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT earned the top spot in the poll with 28 first-place votes and 687 points followed by Dallas Baptist with 12 first-place votes and 671 points. Lubbock Christian (4 fpv, 628) took the third spot while Angelo State (555) and St. Edward’s (545) make up the top five. Texas A&M International (1 fpv, 427), Eastern New Mexico (391), Cameron (386), UT Permian Basin (338), and Oklahoma Christian hold the sixth through 10th spots, respectively. Midwestern State (318), St. Mary’s (313), Texas A&M-Kingsville (198), UT Tyler (152), Western New Mexico (124), and Sul Ross State (63) finish out the poll.
THE LONE STAR
The 2024-25 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men’s teams in two divisions with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
The Lone Star Conference presents its 51st men’s basketball tournament March 7-8-9, 2025, played at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The eight-team bracket includes the East and West Division winners, who automatically receive berths, with the remaining qualifiers and seeding based on results versus all LSC teams. The Division II Men’s Basketball Championship starts with regionals March 14-18 at campus sites and continues to the Elite Eight March 25-29 in Evansville, Ind.
2023-24 REVIEW
The Buffs returned to the Final Four in the 2023-24 season, capturing the program’s fifth regional title. Despite seeing its run of consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament titles come to an end, WT earned the top seed in the South Central region, hosting the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Buffs swept their way through the regional tournament, defeating eight-seeded Angelo State and fourth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dallas Baptist to reach the championship game. Facing off against third-seeded and No. 6-ranked Colorado Mesa, a big second half lifted the Buffs to the regional title with Larry Wise earning Tournament MVP honors. At the Elite Eight, WT defeated fifth-seeded and No. 14-ranked North Georgia 90-76 to advance to the Final Four where top-seeded Minnesota State outlasted the Buffs, 79-72.
HOME SWEET HOME
West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Buffaloes since January 26, 2002. The Buffaloes are a staggering 272-56 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 82.9%. The Buffs are an astounding 151-15 at the First United Bank Center under Tom Brown including three undefeated seasons at home.
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director’s Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top 10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top 5.
UP NEXT
WT faces rival Lubbock Christian on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m. to finish out the weekend.
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
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