Texas State (19-5, 8-3) vs. Arkansas State (10-14, 4-7)
Convocation Center, Jonesboro, Arkansas; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Texas State looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over Arkansas St.. Texas State has won by an average of 9 points in its last six wins over the Red Wolves. Arkansas State's last win in the series came on Jan. 17, 2015, a 78-73 win.
VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in the outcome of this game. Ty Cockfield II, Grantham Gillard and Tristin Walley have combined to score 52 percent of Arkansas State's points this season and 58 percent of the team's points over its last five games. For Texas State, Tre'Larenz Nottingham, Alex Peacock, Jaylen Shead and Eric Terry have combined to account for 51 percent of all Texas State scoring, including 69 percent of the team's points over its last five games.
NIJAL IS A FORCE: Nijal Pearson has connected on 40.9 percent of the 159 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 11 of 32 over the last five games. He's also converted 65.6 percent of his free throws this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Arkansas State is 0-7 this year when it scores 64 points or fewer and 10-7 when it scores at least 65.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Bobcats have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Red Wolves. Arkansas State has 30 assists on 71 field goals (42.3 percent) across its previous three matchups while Texas State has assists on 44 of 84 field goals (52.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The sturdy Texas State defense has held opponents to just 63.8 points per game, the 19th-lowest in Division I. Arkansas State has given up an average of 77.2 points through 24 games (ranked 273rd, nationally).
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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
