ARLINGTON, Texas – A former conference foe will be The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team's first non-conference road opponent as the Vaqueros take on the UT Arlington (UTA) Mavericks Saturday at 6 p.m. at the College Park Center.
 
This will be the 38^th meeting between UTRGV (2-1, 0-0 Southland Conference) and UT Arlington (3-1, 0-0 United Athletic Conference) in a series dating back to 1959. UTRGV trails its former Western Athletic Conference foe, 20-17, in the all-time series and is looking to snap a five-game losing skid to the Mavericks. UTRGV's last win in the series was on Dec. 1, 2018 in a 76-65 game in Arlington. These teams played last December and UTA picked up a 58-50 win in Edinburg, but the only player returning from that game on either team is redshirt senior Always Wright, who scored six points with three assists in last year's contest. 
 
UTRGV comes into this one following a tough 72-65 loss to Texas State. The Mavericks won two of three games in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic in Hawaii, with their last contest being a 116-65 victory over Bethesda. 
 
Head coach Brandon Chambers put his team through a tough practice before hitting the road for Arlington. The Vaqueros were challenged regarding the effort shown in Tuesday's loss to Texas State. They had to grind through a fast-paced, physical, detailed practice with a mission to improve toughness, habits and connectedness. 
 
But there were positives in the loss – UTRGV's defense continues to force turnovers at a high rate, including 10 steals and four blocks against Texas State which turned into 16 points off turnovers. The Vaqueros displayed their no-quit attitude as they responded and erased double-digit deficits. Turning the page to UT Arlington, the Vaqueros will likely see some changes in the lineup and a determination to show their fight from the opening tip to the final whistle. 
 
Redshirt junior Jace Posey leads UTRGV scoring 16.3 points per game and averaging 7.0 rebounds per game this season while shooting 49% from the field. Senior B.B. Knight is contributing 12.7 PPG and has "the ultimate green light" to take any shot he wants from Chambers. Senior Devon Pryor and sophomore Bobby Crawford Jr. have been great in spurts, with Pryor leading the team with 10 assists and Crawford scoring 7.3 PPG while shooting 91% from the field. Redshirt senior Always Wright has brought a spark with his three-point shooting, sitting 6-for-7 from deep through three starts. 
 
Teodor Simic leads UT Arlington averaging 14.9 PPG with 8.5 RPG. Five Mavericks are averaging 10+ PPG early in the season, with Niko Bundalo (12.8), Mier Panoam (12.3), Noah Shelby (12.0) and Tristan Hankins (10.0) pacing the offense. UTA is averaging 89 PPG with a 46% clip from the field compared to UTRGV's 71.3 PPG with a field goal percentage of 45.6%. The Mavericks have good size and will challenge the Vaqueros down low, but athleticism will help UTRGV push the pace and defense will be a key. 

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