Preview: Chicago State Men's Basketball at Abilene Christian Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.

The Chicago State men's basketball team will travel to Texas this week for a pair of first-time meetings. The Cougars will first travel to Abilene, Texas to face Abilene Christian at the Teague Center on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. The Cougars enter the contest 6-15 overall and 2-6 in conference play but did win their most recent conference road game, at Lamar (79-65), while the Wildcats are 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the WAC. ACU is 9-3 at home this season but have lost three of their last four at home.

CSU will complete the two-game set on Saturday, Feb. 5, traveling to Stephenville, Texas to face Tarleton State at 7 p.m. This is the second two-game Texas trip for the Cougars. CSU split a pair of games on their initial trip, falling at UTRGV 85-63 then bouncing back with a 67-56 win at Lamar.

Chicago State is 2-6 in conference games which is already more wins than the Cougars posted in league play since 2014-15 when CSU finished 4-10. The year prior, 2013-14, the first year the Cougars competed in the Western Athletic Conference, Chicago State went 8-8 in league play and 13-19 overall.

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Last time out...vs. Dixie State
Prior to facing Dixie State, Chicago State had shot better than .500 percent from the field in the two games leading up the game with the Trailblazers, hitting that mark at Lamar (23-of-46) to go along with .542 against Utah Valley. The team is now shooting .390 from the floor, improving .014 to .376 following the last two games (at Lamar, vs. Utah Valley). The Cougars shot .393 from the floor against Dixie State.

Dominique Alexander was one of three players in double figures with 10. He still ranks third in free throw percentage (87.0) in the Western Athletic Conference despite not attempting a free throw against Dixie State.

Brandon Betson was held to a season-low three points. He was the team's leading scorer entering the game and now ranks second behind Ali Dibba (13.4).

Jahsean Corbett was one of three scorers in double figures with 16 and also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. He has scored in double figures in five consecutive games and in all but five games this season.

Coreyoun Rushin led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven. It was the second time this season he led the team in scoring and eighth time he led the team in rebounds. He also contributed two assists, two blocks and three steals and is the team leader in blocks (15) and steals (25).

Milestones...
Chicago State's season-opening win over St. Thomas was head coach Gerald Gillion's first as a collegiate head coach ... That win also snapped a 28-game Cougars losing streak, dating back to December 2019, an 89-81 win over SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois ... The game against St. Thomas was the Cougars first action in nearly a year, last playing Dec. 20, 2020, in what turned out to be a nine-game, COVID-shortened 2020-21 season ... The Cougars win over SIUE (67-56) marked the Cougars first two-game win streak over Division I opponents since the 2014-15 season (Feb. 26 vs. GCU, W, 74-70; Feb. 28 vs. Utah Valley, 65-44) ... Chicago State won three straight home games for the first time since 2018-19 after winning the first three home games of the 2021-22 season ... The road win over IUPUI win was the Cougars first on the road this season and first road win since Dec. 4, 2019 at SIUE (89-81), a span of 24 games away from the Jones Convocation Center (includes two neutral site games) ... the Cougars earned their first Western Athletic Conference victory since March 2018 (vs. UMKC, W 96-82) when the Cougars beat California Baptist 58-56 at home on Jan. 8 ... Chicago State's 67-56 win at Lamar was the Cougars first conference road victory since Jan. 12, 2017 when CSU beat Utah Valley in Orem, 70-61.

About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).  The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.

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