Game 15 • Longwood (11-3)  at SMU (10-2, 2-0 ACC)
Date & Time	Sunday, December 29, 2024 | 2 p.m. (Eastern)
Location	Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Game Notes	Longwood | SMU | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | SMU | Big South
TV/Stream	ACCNX
Live Stats	Live Stats
Tickets	https://smumustangs.evenue.net/list/ATH-MB
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

THE OPENING TIP
•    Longwood wraps up non-conference play with a trip to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU.
•    The matchup with SMU will pit the Lancers against the highest ranked team in the NET (30) this season.
•    Prior to the game against SMU, the Lancers also played against NCAA Net top 100 member McNeese at the Paradise Jam.
•    Longwood has three true road wins this season and is 4-2 away from Farmville when factoring in neutral site games as well.
•    SMU comes in having won six straight contests, including a 103-77 win at Boston College that marked the fourth time this season the Mustangs have scored at least 100 points.
•    SMU is also 2-0 in the ACC with a win over Virginia in the first year in the conference.
•    Longwood will play its first conference game to open 2025, meanwhile, with a trip to Presbyterian.
 
LAST TIME OUT
•    Longwood put together a strong effort in its final game before the holidays with an 82-67 win at North Carolina Central.
•    The Lancers gave N.C. Central only its sixth home loss in non-conference play since 2016.
•    Longwood's defense was sharp in the first half, holding N.C. Central to 27 points in the opening 20 minutes.
•    Meanwhile, a balanced attack on the other end powered the Lancer offense as four players scored in double figures.
•    Colby Garland led the team with 17 points, with Michael Christmas (14 points), Elijah Tucker (13 points) and Kyrell Luc (12 points) also scoring in double figures.
•    The Lancer defense helped open a double-digit lead after halftime, and Longwood pushed it to 20 points before closing out the game calmly by fending off every N.C. Central run.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
•    Longwood is playing its third road game out of four as part of a four-game road swing.
•    The game against SMU features the fourth opponent that is ranked in the top 150 of the current NCAA Net rankings, with Longwood also facing off against McNeese (89), Milwaukee (112) and Kansas State (122)
•    The Lancers, meanwhile, are No. 178 in the NCAA Net rankings, the third-highest ranking in the Big South.
•    The Big South has five teams inside the top 200 of the NCAA Net rankings, and the league is ranked 16th in the KenPom analytics rankings out of 31 conferences.
•    Longwood has three true road wins this season (at Binghamton, Campbell and North Carolina Central).
•    Longwood is one of four teams in the Commonwealth of Virginia that has already reached double figures in wins. VCU, Radford and Liberty are the other three.
•    The combined win total (19) of Longwood's men's (11) and women's (eight) teams is tied for the lead in the Commonwealth.
•    Longwood leads the Big South in turnover margin (+3.6), a mark that ranks 38th in the nation.
•    The Lancer defense is second in the league and 13th nationally in turnovers forced per game (16.4).
•    The forced turnovers lead to 19.1 points on offense for Longwood.
•    Longwood has three players (Angelo Brizzi, Kyrell Luc and Colby Garland) who average more than one steal per game.
•    The Lancers surrender only 66.5 points per game, a mark that is second in the Big South.
•    Longwood is 6-0 when surrendering 65 points or less.

QUOTABLE
"Another great outing by the Lancers tonight. We got great contributions from so many players. We have been working to play more and more connected, and this team has really taken positive steps this week! While the group is ready for a well-deserved break to enjoy Christmas, I know this group is excited about the trajectory it's on and our potential!"
—Head Coach Griff Aldrich after an 82-67 win at North Carolina Central