Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, January 24
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Texas State
Men’s Basketball Hosts Texas State on Wednesday Night
1/23/2024 2:41:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – After a two-game road trip, the Troy men's basketball team returns to Trojan Arena for a mid-week dual against Texas State on Wednesday night.
The Trojans played two intense and close battles on its road trip to South Alabama and Southern Miss last week, but came out on the losing side each time. Troy was unable to come up with the defensive stops needed to slow down the South Alabama offense. Against Southern Miss, Troy blew an 18-point lead in the second half and was unable to get a game-winning shot off at the final horn.
Texas State is in the midst of its own two-game losing streak. It fell to Louisiana and Arkansas State at home. Its lone conference win came at ULM.
Troy is 7-9 all-time versus Texas State but has won four of the last five matchups, including the last two.
Game Information
The Matchup: Texas State (7-12, 1-6 SBC) at Troy (11-8, 5-2 SBC)
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena (5,200)
When: Wednesday, January 24 – 6 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Game Promotion: Suits and Sneakers
There's No Place Like Home
It's been nearly impossible to take down Troy in Trojan Arena this season, as Troy boasts an impressive 10-1 home record, including 4-0 in conference play. On the road this season Troy is 1-7, including 1-2 in conference play.
During Scott Cross' tenure as the Troy head coach, the Trojans have been difficult to beat at home. Troy is 44-20 all-time at Trojan Arena under Cross. Over the course of his 17-year head coaching career, Cross is 183-61 when coaching at home.
The Trojan offense has been much better at home than on the road this season. When playing in Troy, the Trojans are averaging 87.5 points compared to 69.4 on the road. Troy has also been much better at shooting the ball at home (47.4 percent) versus on the road (37.4 percent).
Troy has won eight straight games at home.
Keys to Victory
For the Trojans to get back to their winning ways, Troy will need to continue to get off to fast starts offensively. The Trojans are 9-2 this season when taking a lead into the halftime break and 1-5 when trailing at halftime.
They will also need to rely on their havoc-creating defense. Troy is undefeated this season when holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. The strength of the defense this season has been its ability to create turnovers.
Troy is forcing 15.7 turnovers per game, which is 22nd nationally and second in the Sun Belt. Many of those turnovers have come via steals, an area in which Troy is the best in the Sun Belt and one of the best nationally.
Led by Tayton Conerway's 33 steals, Troy is averaging 10.2 steals per game. That number is good for first in the Sun Belt and ninth nationally.
The Trojans will also continue to feed star guard Christyon Eugene, who is leading the team in scoring at 15.6 points. He has scored in double figures in 16 of 19 games this season, including scoring 19 at Southern Miss on Saturday.
Scouting Texas State
These two teams last matched up on Feb. 4, 2023, in Troy. The Trojans came away with a 68-64 victory.
The Bobcats have been led by Jordan Mason and his 13.6 points per game. He is shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
As a team, Texas State hasn't shot the three-pointer well this season, making just 31.9 percent of its shots. Overall, the Bobcats have knocked down 44.5 percent of its field goal attempts this season.
Trojan Notables
• Troy has been letting it fly from distance this season, and are averaging 9.2 three-pointers made per game this season. That number is 41st in the country and Troy has made ten or more threes in nine games this season.
• Troy continues to be an elite offensive rebounding team this season. The Trojans average 14.1 offensive rebounds per game – first in the SBC and 10th nationally.
• Head coach Scott Cross is four wins shy of 300 career wins. Seventy-one of those wins have come while leading the Trojans. At UT-Arlington Cross was 225-161.
• Going into Wednesday's game, Troy sits at 152 in the NET Rankings – fourth in the SBC. In the KenPom Ratings, the Trojans are sitting at 145 – fourth in the Sun Belt.
• The Sun Belt and MAC announced the matchups for the second game of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Monday afternoon. The Trojans will host Kent State in Trojan Arena on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3:33 p.m. CT.
• Troy has 60 combined starts by players who had not started a D-I game prior to this season.
The Trojans played two intense and close battles on its road trip to South Alabama and Southern Miss last week, but came out on the losing side each time. Troy was unable to come up with the defensive stops needed to slow down the South Alabama offense. Against Southern Miss, Troy blew an 18-point lead in the second half and was unable to get a game-winning shot off at the final horn.
Texas State is in the midst of its own two-game losing streak. It fell to Louisiana and Arkansas State at home. Its lone conference win came at ULM.
Troy is 7-9 all-time versus Texas State but has won four of the last five matchups, including the last two.
Game Information
The Matchup: Texas State (7-12, 1-6 SBC) at Troy (11-8, 5-2 SBC)
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena (5,200)
When: Wednesday, January 24 – 6 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Game Promotion: Suits and Sneakers
There's No Place Like Home
It's been nearly impossible to take down Troy in Trojan Arena this season, as Troy boasts an impressive 10-1 home record, including 4-0 in conference play. On the road this season Troy is 1-7, including 1-2 in conference play.
During Scott Cross' tenure as the Troy head coach, the Trojans have been difficult to beat at home. Troy is 44-20 all-time at Trojan Arena under Cross. Over the course of his 17-year head coaching career, Cross is 183-61 when coaching at home.
The Trojan offense has been much better at home than on the road this season. When playing in Troy, the Trojans are averaging 87.5 points compared to 69.4 on the road. Troy has also been much better at shooting the ball at home (47.4 percent) versus on the road (37.4 percent).
Troy has won eight straight games at home.
Keys to Victory
For the Trojans to get back to their winning ways, Troy will need to continue to get off to fast starts offensively. The Trojans are 9-2 this season when taking a lead into the halftime break and 1-5 when trailing at halftime.
They will also need to rely on their havoc-creating defense. Troy is undefeated this season when holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. The strength of the defense this season has been its ability to create turnovers.
Troy is forcing 15.7 turnovers per game, which is 22nd nationally and second in the Sun Belt. Many of those turnovers have come via steals, an area in which Troy is the best in the Sun Belt and one of the best nationally.
Led by Tayton Conerway's 33 steals, Troy is averaging 10.2 steals per game. That number is good for first in the Sun Belt and ninth nationally.
The Trojans will also continue to feed star guard Christyon Eugene, who is leading the team in scoring at 15.6 points. He has scored in double figures in 16 of 19 games this season, including scoring 19 at Southern Miss on Saturday.
Scouting Texas State
These two teams last matched up on Feb. 4, 2023, in Troy. The Trojans came away with a 68-64 victory.
The Bobcats have been led by Jordan Mason and his 13.6 points per game. He is shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
As a team, Texas State hasn't shot the three-pointer well this season, making just 31.9 percent of its shots. Overall, the Bobcats have knocked down 44.5 percent of its field goal attempts this season.
Trojan Notables
• Troy has been letting it fly from distance this season, and are averaging 9.2 three-pointers made per game this season. That number is 41st in the country and Troy has made ten or more threes in nine games this season.
• Troy continues to be an elite offensive rebounding team this season. The Trojans average 14.1 offensive rebounds per game – first in the SBC and 10th nationally.
• Head coach Scott Cross is four wins shy of 300 career wins. Seventy-one of those wins have come while leading the Trojans. At UT-Arlington Cross was 225-161.
• Going into Wednesday's game, Troy sits at 152 in the NET Rankings – fourth in the SBC. In the KenPom Ratings, the Trojans are sitting at 145 – fourth in the Sun Belt.
• The Sun Belt and MAC announced the matchups for the second game of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Monday afternoon. The Trojans will host Kent State in Trojan Arena on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3:33 p.m. CT.
• Troy has 60 combined starts by players who had not started a D-I game prior to this season.
Players Mentioned
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