ABILENE, Texas _ A little more than two weeks ago, the University of Central Arkansas Bears stood at 1-2 in Southland Conference play.
Four consecutive victories later, the Bears head into Saturday's showdown with Abilene Christian at 10-10 overall, and more importantly, 5-2 in league play. UCA will face an ACU team with an identical SLC mark and a 16-4 overall record. The Bears and Wildcats are tied for second place in the SLC behind 6-0 Sam Houston State, the last team to beat the Bears on Jan. 9.
The Bears are in the midst of a unique scheduling quirk in which they have played the team they are tied with in the SLC standings in three consecutive games. UCA and Nicholls were tied for fourth last Saturday when the Bears pulled out a 74-68 win at the Farris Center. On Wednesday, UCA and New Orleans were tied for third when they met in Conway, with the Bears also winning that game 76-71 for their fourth straight win, tying the best streak in the Coach Russ Pennell era.
Now its a battle for sole possession of second place at 3:30 at Moody Coliseum on ESPN+. The Wildcats should be the toughest of the three challengers. They lead the SLC in multiple statistical categories, including scoring defense (63.8 points per game), scoring margin (+11.5), field goal percentage (48.7) and three-point percentage (41.0). ACU is also first in assists (15.8 per game) and turnover margin (+4.2).
The Wildcats, who are 9-0 at home this season, are coming off a last-second 61-60 loss at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, which broke a four-game winning streak. ACU, which also has a loss to Sam Houston State, has won seven of its past nine games.
UCA counters as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, hitting 36.2 percent, and one of the top individuals in sophomore guard DeAndre Jones (42.9 percent). Jones also leads the league in assists at 4.7 per game. Sophomore center Hayden Koval has been on a tear for the past two weeks, averaging 18.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5 blocked shots while shooting 60.6 percent overall and 42.9 percent from three-point range in his past three games.
The Bears and Wildcats split their two meetings a year ago, with UCA winning 80-63 in Conway and UCA taking the rematch 74-72 in the final seconds in Abilene. In the first game, ACU made 10 of 22 from three-point range and shot 50 percent overall, placing five players in double figures, led by Jalone Friday with 18 points. ACU outscored UCA 42-26 in the second half by shooting 55.2 percent.
UCA got 28 points from senior Jordan Howard (4 of 7 from three-point range) in the second game. He was the only UCA player in double figures but Koval had six of UCA's seven blocked shots.
The Bears are on the road against next Wednesday, taking on SFA in Nacogdoches, Texas, before returning home for three consecutive games, beginning Feb. 2 with Northwestern State.
