BEAUMONT, Texas – Four games, that is all that remains of the 2024-25 basketball regular season. For Lamar University, who currently sits alone in second place in the Southland Conference standings, the remaining games are evenly split with two on the road and two at home. The Cardinals will begin the first of their two remaining road games Saturday when they travel to Houston, Texas to take on the Houston Christian Huskies.
 
Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two schools in nearly two months (Jan. 4^th in Beaumont). The Cardinals won that game by two points. The Huskies are a vastly improved team this season but have hit some hard times recently. After getting off to a strong start in conference play, HCU has now dropped three straight and five of its last six. The Huskies enter the Saturday's contest with an 11-16 (.407) overall record and tied for sixth in the league standings with an 8-8 (.500) mark.
 
Houston Christian is currently sitting 2.0 games out of fourth place in the standings, 4.0 games back of Lamar but a full game up on the eighth and final playoff spot.
 
While Lamar leads the overall series between the two schools, the Cardinals have struggled in Houston. Big Red has won just two games all-time and holds a 2-9 (.182) record against the Huskies in Houston. Lamar will step on the court Saturday looking for their first win in Houston since the 2019-20 season.
 
Lamar has already clinched a spot in next month's conference tournament with their win Monday at Northwestern State. That victory over the Demons also secured Lamar's second-straight winning season which is the first back-to-back winnings seasons for Lamar since the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
Saturday's game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start from Sharp Gym in Houston. The game will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 and streamed live on ESPN+.
   
LU vs. the Huskies
The Cardinals lead the all-time series against Houston Christian, 20-12 (.625) and have won consecutive games in the series and four of the previous six. Things have not been easy for the Red and White in Houston. The Cardinals have just two all-time wins in Sharp Gym (2-9/.182). The Cardinals lost last year's game in Houston on a last second three-pointer and enter Saturday looking for their first road win since the 2019-20 season.
 
LU in February
The Cardinals are 295-293 (.502) all-time in the month of February. Big Red has produced above .500 records in the month 28 times in program history, which includes four perfect months (1960-61, 1963-64, 1983-84 and 2007-08). The Cardinals posted a school record 10 wins in the month twice (1960-61 and 1983-84). The February record jumps to 190-111 (.631) all-time in home games.
 
Tournament Seeding
While there is still a lot of basketball yet to be played the Cardinals are currently alone in second place in the conference standings. If the SLC tournament was held today the Cardinals would be the No. 2 seed, which would be the highest tournament seed for Lamar since 2007-08. 
 
Back-to-Back Winning Seasons
Following LU's win at Northwestern State, Lamar has secured a second-straight winning season. It's the first time since 2018-19 and 2019-20 that LU has recorded consecutive winning seasons.
 
Pursuing a Benchmark
A benchmark for success in basketball is a 20-win season. The Cardinals finished one game shy of that mark last year but still have a shot at 20 wins this season. Lamar needs just three more wins to get to 20. It would be LU's first 20-win season since 2018-19 and 14th in program history.
 
Magic Number is 0
Although it is not quite time to start focusing on the Southland tournament, the Cardinals clinched a berth in next month's SLC Championship tournament with their win at Northwestern State. LU will be making its 22nd appearance in the conference tournament and looking for their fifth conference tournament title.
 
Improving on the Past
Last season, the Cardinals posted a seven-game improvement in conference play winning 12 games – their first 12-win conference season since 2018-19. Big Red has equaled that mark this season and needs just one more win to record its first 13-win conference season since the 2007-08.
 
Cleaning Up the Glass
Lamar has been dominant on the glass over the past two games posting a +34-rebound margin. The Cardinals have also recorded a 36-14 advantage in offensive rebounds during that stretch.