The Abilene Christian Wildcats have grown up more quickly than your average 6-year-old. In just its sixth season of Division I hoops, the Wildcats earned an invite to college basketball's ultimate party with a 77-60 victory over New Orleans in the Southland Conference tourney final. Coached by alum Joe Golding, the 2019 conference coach of the year, Abilene Christian earned a coveted spot in the field of 68 despite dismissing two key players in February. Will the Wildcats add another memorable chapter to a great season with a first-round upset in its first-ever March Madness appearance?
ESPN+ has your answers, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of bracketologists to compile advanced metrics, key scouting intel and best- and worst-case tournament scenarios for all 68 teams to help you make smart picks in your bracket.
TOURNEY PROFILE
Best wins: at Pacific, New Orleans in the Southland Conference title game
Worst losses: at Stephen F. Austin
Regular season conference finish: 2nd, Southland
Polls and metrics: Abilene Christian is ranked 155th in the NET ratings.
All-time tourney record: 0-0
Coach (tourney record): Joe Golding (0-0)
PERSONNEL
(Note: Player statistics are through games of March 16.)
Starting lineup
F Hayden Farquhar (6.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG)
F Jaren Lewis (13.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
G Jaylen Franklin (10.2 PPG, 4.9 APG)
G Payten Ricks (11.7 PPG, 2.0 APG)
G Damien Daniels (3.5 PPG, 1.8 APG)
Key bench players
G Trey Lenox (2.3 PPG, 1.2 RPG)
F Joe Pleasant (5.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG)
F Clay Gayman (2.1 PPG, 1.0 RPG)
Biggest strength: Abilene Christian has an experienced starting five with three seniors and one junior. This combined level of experience will be a huge plus when managing the jitters that will undoubtedly come being a newbie to the Big Dance. Senior swingman Lewis, junior guard Ricks, and senior guard Franklin all average in double figures for the Wildcats.
Biggest weakness: Abilene Christian dismissed two juniors, 6-foot-9 Jalone Friday and 6-5 B.J. Maxwell, for violating university policies. Friday, a 13.1 PPG scorer this winter and a former Southland Conference Freshman of the Year back in 2016-17, and Maxwell, a 9.2 PPG scorer, were two proven bucket-getters for the Wildcats. In addition, their dismissals took away some height that would have come in handy as the Wildcats step up a weight class from Southland Conference play to a first-round game in the Big Dance.
Best players: Lewis and Franklin. The two guys with the lowest uniform numbers (Franklin wears 0 and Lewis wears 1), have the largest impact on the game for the Wildcats. A second-team All-Southland Conference selection, Lewis had 20 points in the Southland title game win over New Orleans. Lewis is a double-double threat every time he steps on the court and also ranks in the top 10 among active Division I men's players in career steals. Franklin is a quick-twitch athlete who strikes that tricky balance between scoring himself and setting up others as his 16-point, six-assist gem vs. New Orleans in the conference title game demonstrates.
X factor: The net-snapping jumpers of starters Franklin (.444 3PT), Ricks (.408 3PT), Farquhar (.390), as well as aptly named sub Trey Lenox (.441 3PT), will stretch defenses and could give the Wildcats a puncher's chance of pulling off a monumental upset.
SCOUTING REPORT
How they beat you: The Wildcats ride the perimeter pop of the team's three double-figure scorers (Lewis, Ricks, and Franklin) and the team's airtight defense to victories. On the offensive end, Abilene Christian expertly spaces the floor and shoots an eye-popping .382 from behind the arc. At the other end of the court, everyone who checks into the game for Abilene Christian is fully committed to defending. The Wildcats are ranked among the top 20 nationally in scoring defense (63.1 PPG allowed, 18th in nation), steals per game (8.73 per game, 14th nationally), and turnovers forced per contest (16.5, 12th in country).
How you beat them: The Wildcats will be a small fish in the big pond this week. With the 6-9 Friday dismissed from the team, Abilene Christian's tallest starter is the 6-7 Farquhar from the one traffic light town of Throckmorton, Texas. One of ACU's starters, freshman guard Daniels, is literally the size of a middle school kid at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds. So pound the ball inside, get Farquhar in foul trouble, and the Wildcats' overall size and chances of pulling off an NCAA tourney upset will both shrink.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 16.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 186th (103.8)
Defensive efficiency, 119th (101.7)
3-point percentage, 19th (38.3)
3-point percentage D, 123rd (33.5)
Free throw rate, 141st (34.5)
Free throw rate D, 296th (38.4)
TO percentage, 95th (17.4)
TO percentage D, 8th (23.4)
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: One NCAA tourney win
One could argue that Abilene Christian has already won just by making the tournament. The amount of national coverage the school and the sixth-year Division I hoops program will garner in the coming days is priceless. The Wildcats are playing with house money, so if they come into the NCAAs and play loose and hit 10 to 12 3-balls, then the program could have "One Shining Moment" in the Big Dance.
Worst-case scenario: One and done
Abilene Christian's lack of frontcourt size, with essentially four guards and a 6-foot-7 pivot in the starting five, will likely result in an all-too-short stay in the Dance.