No. 7 Tiger Men's Basketball looks to continue their hot season as they return to Calgaard Gymnasium to take on St. Thomas and Centenary.
 
The Tigers (15-0) took two wins in hard-fought games last week. The Tigers would start out with a thrilling 82-81 win over Schreiner and then picked up an 84-69 win over Colorado College. Senior Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) put together a monster game, collecting 32 points on 12-13 shooting and 7-7 for three. The Tigers would shoot at least 50 percent from the field and three. Against Colorado, Christian Green (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial) would notch 23 points on top of a crucial win. The Tigers rank 12th nationally in scoring margin this season (+16) and are top 50 in the country in scoring offense. With the wins, the Tigers remain in the top spot in the SCAC standings, followed by St. Thomas, Centenary, and Schreiner. 
 
D3hoops.com Rankings - Lucky Number Seven
 
D3hoops.com bumps the Tigers up two spots to seventh, nationally. This is a two-spot jump from their ninth rank in the previous poll. The Tigers remain the only SCAC team to be in the top 25 right now. However, St. Thomas has been consistently receiving votes this season. Hampden-Sydney stays in the top spot with Guilford now occupying the second rank.
 
SCAC Player of the Week & D3hoops.com Team of the Week- Tanner Brown
 
For the first time this season, senior Tanner Brown has been selected as the SCAC Player of the Week. Brown is the third Tiger to win the award this season. Along with the conference award, Brown was selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week.
 
From the SCAC Press Release:
 
Brown led the No. 9 Tiger men's basketball team to a close victory over Schreiner last weekend, defeating the Mountaineers 82-81. Brown put up 32 points on 92.3 percent shooting (12-of-13) from the field, 100 percent from the charity stripe (1-for-1) and an astonishing 100 percent (7-for-7) from three-point range. He ended up nailing a game-winning three-pointer and held Schreiner scoreless over the final minute and forty-four seconds of the contest. Brown added five rebounds, three assists and three steals to his career night of 32 points. This extends Trinity's win streak to 15 games and an unblemished record of 6-0 in conference play.
 
HoopDirt.Com Coach of the Week - Jimmy Smith
 
Head Coach Jimmy Smith has been selected as the NCAA Division III Coach of the Week by HoopDirt.Com.
 
From the HoopDirt Press Release:
 
Smith's NCAA D3 #9 Tigers went 2-0 last week to remain a perfect 15-0 on the season. Trinity handed Schreiner their first conference loss of the season in an 82-81 win on Tuesday. They then travelled to Colorado College on Friday where they blew open a game that was tied at the half to pull away with a 84-69 win. Trinity is the only undefeated team remaining in SCAC play (6-0), and are 8-0 at home on the season.
 
Click to view the full release:

HoopDirt Press Release
 
Preview - In the (Cal)Gaarden
 
The Tigers will take on the University of St. Thomas on Friday, January 12th at 5:30 PM, and then play against Centenary College on Saturday, January 13th at 4:00 PM. 
 
On the St. Thomas Celts: The Celts are 13-2 (5-1 SCAC) so far this season. The Celts took their losses against LeTourneau earlier this season and then dropped a recent game to the University of Dallas at the beginning of December. The Celts are on a seven-game winning streak and six of those wins were by double-digits. The Celts rank 20th in the country in scoring margin this season (+14) and 23rd in three-point defense (27%). The Celts are led by junior guard Calvin Williams IV. Williams is averaging 17.9 pointers per game this season 
 
On the Centenary Gents: The Gents are 9-6 (4-2 SCAC) this season. The Gents have dropped their two conference games against Austin College and St. Thomas. However, the Gents are on a four-game winning streak. Before coming into Calgaard, the Gents will play against Schreiner University. The Gents are led by senior forward Seth Thomas. Thomas is averaging 18.7 points per game and shooting better than 40 percent from both the field and three-point. All time, the Tigers are 13-12 against the Gents since their first matchup in 2012 and have won the last two matchups, both of which were at home. 
 
Keys to the Game
 
Live And Die By The Three: For St. Thomas, their offense is going to live and die by the three-point shot. The last time the Celts were playing in San Antonio this season, they shot 40 percent for one game and 58 percent in another as they would route Luther and Washington & Lee. However, in their two losses this season, they shot less than 30 percent from behind the arc. Look for the Tigers to force bad outside shots to hold the Celts to a lower percentage from deep.
 
Keep 'Em Under 70: 70 points is the line for the Gents. In all of their losses, they have scored less than 70 and have scored more than 70 in all of their wins. So look for the Tigers to hold them to under 70 points to give them more of a chance to secure a victory.
 
Looking Ahead - Staying At Home
 
The Tigers will take on Southwestern and Texas Lutheran on January 19th and 20th.