Levelland, TX – The No. 5 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Basketball squad returns to action this weekend with the Texan Classic hosted by South Plains College (TX).

DETAILS: Texan Classic

Levelland, TX  |  Texan Dome

WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV

The Warriors (9-3) make their second premiere out-of-state trek of the year with a trip to Levelland, TX and the Texan Inivte at South Plains College (TX) for a pair of high-level matchups in the Lone Star State.

STARTING FIVE

• Behind the team's trip to Twin Falls, ID in November, this week's trip to West Texas marks the second-longest of the year for the Warriors, more than 900 miles south to the Texas/New Mexico border.
• The Warriors are 3-0 on the road this year and 2-0 in neutral site contests, outscoring their opponents by an average of 13.6 points per game away from the Hellyer Center.
• Indian Hills moved up in the national rankings for the fourth consecutive week this week, checking in at No. 5.
• Sophomore William Buegre-Kassi, the leading scorer and rebounder for the Warriors, was named the ICCAC Athlete of the Week this week for the second time this season.
• Indian Hills has put at least 10 players in the scoring column in nine games this year as the Warriors are averaging 41.7 points from its reserves.

SCOUTING THE TEXANS

Two of the premiere junior college basketballs of all-time are set to square off in Friday's opener at the Texan Dome.

• South Plains (9-3), entered the year as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, but have dropped three of its last seven contests. The Texans received votes in this week's NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Poll.
• Following three consecutive losses, the Texans have bounced back to win four in a row, including three by double-digits.
• Four players are scoring in double-figures for the Texans, led by Issac Taveras' team-high 16.5 points per game.
• The Texans currently rank 143rd in the NJCAA in offensive efficiency.
• Indian Hills is 5-2 all-time vs. the Texans as the two squads that have combined for six national championships and 33 national tournament berths have split two games against one another at the national tournament.
• The Texans took the most recent matchup vs. the Warriors, a 74-68 win at the Hellyer Center on December 1, 2023.

SCOUTING THE PLAINSMEN

Having posted three consecutive losing seasons, including a five-win season a year ago, the Plainsmen are off to an impressive start at 9-1 on the year.

• Frank Phillips has won five in a row to jump into the national rankings at No. 18 in this week's NJCAA poll.
• All but three of the Plainsmen's wins have come by double-digits this year as Frank Phillips is averaging 84.2 points per game.
• The Plainsmen are shooting 38.6 percent on the year from three-point range, the 17th best mark in the nation.
• Mady Traore is averaging a double-double on the year with 17.8 points and 10.2 rebounds on the year.
• Saturday will mark the Warriors' first all-time meeting with Frank Phillips.

WHAT'S NEXT

Indian Hills will return home to close out the first half of the year with the three-day Financial Partners Classic at the Hellyer Center, opening up with a primetime matchup vs. No. 3 nationally ranked Snow College (UT) at 7:30 PM on Friday night.

Buy tickets in advance to the Financial Partners Classic: FINANCIAL PARTNERS CLASSIC

HOW TO WATCH

As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills men's basketball games, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:

• Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
• GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
• Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
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