PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 15 UWF men's basketball (24-3, 16-3 GSC) will battle No. 8 Valdosta State (25-2, 18-1 GSC) at The Complex tonight in a nationally-televised matchup. Tip vs. the Blazers, who have clinched the regular season conference title, is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT.
The NCAA has selected the basketball doubleheader between West Florida and Valdosta State on Thursday, February 22 as a Division II Showcase Game. The contests will stream live from Valdosta on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
UWF, which has clinched the second-seed in the Gulf South, will host a GSC Tournament home game for the first time in program history Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the UWF Field House against a still-to-be-determined opponent.
ARGOS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT
* UWF men's basketball (24-3, 16-3 GSC) wrapped its regular season home schedule with a 72-60 win over the Union Bulldogs (12-15, 6-13 GSC) Saturday in the UWF Field House. Five Argos finished in double figures. The day included a postgame ceremony to honor the squad's four seniors: Darryl Tucker, DJ Thorpe, Moter Deng and Marvin Jones.
* Rashaan Benson proved to be the key player for the Argos in the second. He scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. The junior point guard also passed out two assists and snared one steal in the second half. Union was able to cut the deficit to 60-56 with 3:39 to go on a three by Tyree Boykin. But Benson proved the hero, scoring the next eight points to open a healthier lead.
* Jones narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine boards. Tucker finished the afternoon with 16 points and eight rebounds. Benson accumulated seven total assists in addition to his 14 points. Ventoniemi finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Moter Deng scored 10 points while also recording five rebounds, two assists and one block.
UWF MOVES UP TO NO. 15 IN NABC POLL
* The University of West Florida men's basketball team (24-3, 16-3 GSC) rose in the latest NABC poll released Tuesday, checking in at No. 15. The team once again held steady at No. 17 in the latest D2SIDA poll, also released Tuesday.
* UWF rose one spot in the latest NABC poll from No. 16 to No. 15. The Argos originally entered the NABC Top 25 Dec. 5, when they were ranked No. 25, and have remained in the Top 25 ever since. UWF garnered 182 points in this week's poll.
* The Argos have been ranked in the Top 25 in every D2SIDA poll since Nov. 28, meaning the team has now been ranked in the Top 25 for eleven straight polls. UWF garnered 158 points in the latest poll.
UWF REMAINS AT NO. 3 IN SOUTH REGION POLL
* UWF once again checked in at No. 3 in the South Region in the second NCAA Division II regional rankings of the 2017-18 season released on Wednesday.
* West Florida, whose 16 conference wins have reset the single-season high for the program, is ranked behind just one other GSC team. Valdosta State, the current leader in the GSC and No. 8 team in the nation, checked in at No. 2 in the South Region poll. Morehouse (23-1), ranked No. 9 in the NABC and No. 13 in the D2SIDA poll, topped the South Region. Clark Atlanta, Barry, Eckerd, Claflin, Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern and West Alabama rounded out the rest of the South Region Top 10.
ROAD RECORD
* The Argos have a program-record 11 wins (nine away, two neutral floor) away from Pensacola this season. Since UWF restarted its men's basketball program in 1993-94, only the 1997-98 team also had double-digit wins outside of Pensacola in a single season.
SCOUTING VALDOSTA STATE
* The Blazers have put together an impressive 2017-18 campaign, going 25-2 and 18-1 in GSC play. Valdosta State is 13-0 at home and 10-2 on the road. The team is also 2-0 on neutral floors.
* The Blazers are ranked No. 8 nationally in both the NABC and D2SIDA polls. The team has been the No. 2 team in the South Region for two straight weeks.
* Beau Justice ranks third in the GSC in scoring at 20.7 points per game. Among qualified players, he leads the GSC with a .433 3-point field goal percentage. He is second in the conference with 3.0 3-pointers per game. KJ James ranks behind only UWF's Darryl Tucker in the GSC in field goal percentage (.603).
* Moter Deng notched his first double-double of the season, and Darryl Tucker added 27 points and 9 rebounds as then-No. 19 UWF downed then-No. 16 Valdosta State 97-88 at the UWF Field House Saturday Dec. 2. Rashaan Benson chipped in 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as the Argos got the victory over the reigning regular season conference champs.
* UWF is 7-20 all-time vs. Valdosta State and 1-6 under head coach Jeff Burkhamer. Three of the six losses under the current head coach have come by one possession.
For the latest information on the men's basketball program, follow the team on Twitter @UWFMensBBall.
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