COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team turns the page and looks ahead to Southland Conference play on Saturday as it hosts UIW in its first conference game as a Division I opponent.  
 
WHO: UIW at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Field House
WHEN: Saturday, December 31 | 4:30 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 4-10 on the season, while the Cardinals are 6-7.   
RANKINGS: Neither team is nationally ranked, but the Lions are No. 276 in the NCAA NET rankings and the Cardinals are ranked No. 337.   
 
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/e3ab936f-e3eb-4dc5-b23b-0db47dd9985c
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/428362
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | UIW
 
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE OPENER
• The Lions begin conference play on Saturday against the Cardinals, playing their first Southland Conference game ever.
• Under coach Jaret von Rosenberg, the Lions are 3-2 in conference openers.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE CARDINALS
• The Lions and the Cardinals are meeting for the first time since 2013 with the Cardinals owning an 8-5 advantage.
• A&M-Commerce won 86-84 in San Antonio on 2/13/13 in the last meeting between the two teams before UIW moved up to Division I. The Cardinals have won the last two in Commere.
 
WINNING STREAK SNAPPED
• The loss at Denver on December 4 snapped a three-game winning streak, which was the longest winning streak of the season. 
• It was the longest streak for the Lions since winning four in a row during the 2021-22 season.
• The Lions had a winning streak of six games as well as two streaks of four consecutive wins last season.
• A&M-Commerce is currently on a six-game losing streak, which is the program's longest since the end of the 2006-07 season and start of the 2007-08 season. 
 
IMPRESSIVE HOME OPENER
• After being on the road to start the season for the first six games of the season, the Lions hosted Arlington Baptist on November 28.
• The stretch of the first six games being away from the Field House is the longest stretch since six games to begin the 2009-10 season.
• The Lions scored 100 points or more for the first time since 2019 in the win over the Patriots.
 
LIONS TIE SINGLE-GAME ASSIST RECORD
• A&M-Commerce tied the program record of 31 assists against Arlington Baptist, which it also had against Our Lady of the Lake on November 13, 2018.
 
VON ROSENBERG WINS NO. 50 IN FIELD HOUSE
• The win over ABU gave coach Jaret von Rosenberg his 50th win at home. He is 50-12 all-time in the Field House.
 
DEMONIA NAMED TO ALl-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Demarcus Demonia continues his great start to the season by being named to the all-tournament team for the Capitol Classic in Atlanta.
• He is averaging 14.8 points per game, which is seventh in the Southland.
 
NEVER COUNT OUT THESE LIONS
• A&M-Commerce has fought back from 10-point deficits in five games against Division I opponents this season to either tie the game or make it a one-possession game.
• The Lions were down by six at Air Force before winning the game, while fighting back from being down 20 at Northern Colorado to tie the game in the final minute.
• In the win over Eastern Kentucky, the Lions trailed by seven points.
• Last week, the Lions trailed IUPUI by as much as 14, but made it a two-point game in the second half.
 
FIRST NET RANKINGS
• The NCAA released its first NCAA NET Rankings on December 5. The Lions were ranked No. 203 among all teams in the NCAA in the first rankings as a Division I program.
 
A HISTORIC FIRST WIN
• A&M-Commerce collected its first win in NCAA Division I on November 14, prevailing in overtime over Air Force.
• The Lions trailed by as much six points in overtime, but sealed the win via a dunk by Demarcus Demonia.
• The Lions moved up nine spots in the KenPom rankings following the win.
 
THEY WERE CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
• The Lions played two close games to start the season, but failed to secure the win in both games.
• In the loss at Northern Colorado, the Lions had two chances to tie the game in the final minute, but could not get the shot in the net.
• Season-opening game at SMU was tied with 13 minutes left in the second half before the Mustangs pulled away.
 
ALOHA LIONS
• A&M-Commerce picked up a thrilling 53-51 win at Hawaii on November 30.
• The Lions led by as much as 14 points in the game, which was the largest Hawaii had faced up to that point this season.
• A&M-Commerce had the lead for nearly 33 minutes, while Hawaii had only trailed for only 19 minutes all season prior to the game.
• The Lions jumped up 20 spots in the KenPom rankings following the win over the Rainbow Warriors.
 
UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
• A&M-Commerce is in its first Division I season and the Southland Conference. 
• The Lions are coming off four NCAA Tournament appearances in their last six chances to close out the Division II era.
• This is the first time A&M-Commerce has switched classifications since moving up from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1980s.
 
LIONS APPEAR IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
• A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 276 in the  NET rankings released by the NCAA and No. 298 in the KenPom rankings, through games played on Thursday.
 
LIONS PICKED SEVENTH IN THE SLC
• A&M-Commerce was picked to finish seventh in the Southland Conference, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
• The Lions tallied 56 points in the rankings, a point better than Houston Christian.
 
RE-TOOLED ROSTER
• The Lions return just one starter from a year ago in Demarcus Demonia.
• This season's roster features six new transfers and four freshmen.
• Of the six transfers, three come from other Division I schools and three come from the Junior College level.
• The Lion freshmen come to Commerce from all over the country including Texas, Minnesota, and New Jersey.
 
YOUNG AND HAPPY
• Based on our research, A&M-Commerce's coaching staff is the youngest in NCAA Division I this season with a combined age of 128 among head coach Jaret von Rosenberg and assistant coaches Coleman Furst, Yolonzo Moore, and Ted Rawlings.
 
Youngest Staffs in the Country

Team	Combined Age
A&M-COMMERCE	128
UT Martin	135
Portland	139

 
TIME ZONES ARE AMAZING
• A&M-Commerce is slated to play in four time zones this season and have at least one game in each of the four time zones in the month of November.
• The Lions are playing in the Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Hawaii Time Zones in 2022-23.
• There are 12 other teams in Division I that are playing in four time zones as well.
 

School	Time Zones
Boise State	ET, CT, MT, PT
Creighton	ET, CT, PT, Hawaii
CSU Bakersfield	ET, MT, PT, Hawaii
Dayton	Atlantic (Bahamas), ET, CT, PT
Iona	ET, MT, PT, Hawaii
Missouri State	ET, CT, MT, PT
Rice	ET, CT, MT, PT
A&M-COMMERCE	ET, CT, MT, HAWAII
Texas State	ET, CT, PT, Hawaii
Southern	ET, CT, MT, PT
Southern Utah	CT, MT, PT, Hawaii
Stanford	ET, CT, MT, PT

 
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST BLOCKERS
• A&M-Commerce blocked 5.7 shots per game last season, which was second among all Division II teams.
• The Lions blocked 11 shots in the win over Harding (December 6) and nine against Oklahoma Christian (December 11).
 
LIONS LOVE BUZZER-BEATERS
• Last season, the Lions made three buzzer-beaters from near half court.
• Augustine Ene drilled a jumper to beat the buzzer and tie the game at 28 against Seattle Pacific on December 13.  
• Jairus Roberson beat the first-half buzzer against Ouachita Baptist from about 40 feet away on November 26.
• Alphonso Willis also made his buzzer-beater from about 40-feet away. His shot gave the Lions the win at UTSA on November 15.
 
A&M-COMMERCE OFFICIALLY JOINS NCAA DIVISION I AND THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
• After 90 successful years as charter members of the Lone Star Conference, the Lions begin a historic transition to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences since 1931.
• The Lions are eligible to win the Soutland Conference, though they are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament during the four-year transition period.
• Winners  of the NAIA National Championship in 1954-55.
• Founded in 1889, A&M-Commerce serves rural and urban Northeast Texas with distinction, consistently delivering on a promise that founder Professor William Leonidas Mayo made more than a century ago: "No industrious, ambitious youth shall be denied an education if I can prevent it."  To this day, the institution remains committed to its core mission: "Educate. Discover. Achieve."
• Formerly known as East Texas State University, the 2,100-acre Commerce campus provides many opportunities for students to learn and grow. The university offers more than 135 degree programs at the bachelor's, masters and doctoral levels. A vibrant student life experience includes 14 competitive NCAA athletic teams, a thriving Greek system and more than 120 student organizations. Programs are delivered on site at the Commerce campus as well as in Dallas, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite and Corsicana. A robust online academic menu of classes is also a point of distinction, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked several programs at Texas A&M University-Commerce among the best in the nation for 2021.
• A member of The Texas A&M University System since 1996, the institution provides quality education to an inclusive community of diverse learners as one of the most affordable universities in East Texas.  Students work with world-class professors who dedicate themselves to excellence in teaching and research. The university maintains strong relationships with local industries to create relevant academic programs and valuable internship and networking opportunities that prepare career ready graduates.
• Serving nearly 12,000 students, Texas A&M-Commerce is a leader in competency-based education, and is the nation's first institution to offer an accredited competency-based bachelor's degree in criminal justice and organizational leadership. The agriculture program is also a national stand-out, featuring one of the only programs where students grow their own experimental crops on the university's 1,500-acre farm. In addition, A&M-Commerce upholds a 130-year legacy as an exceptional teachers' college, graduating more than 400 certified educators in 2019. In 2020, the university opened the 113,470-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Building, featuring a state-of-the-art simulation hospital.
 
SOUTHLAND MEMBERS IN 2022-23

Institution	Offers Men's Basketball?
A&M-COMMERCE	YES
Houston Christian	Yes
Incarnate Word	Yes
Lamar	Yes
McNeese State	Yes
New Orleans	Yes
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern Louisiana	Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Yes