RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball is heading into a week of high-profile matchups as they compete in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational and head to Florida for a game against the Central Florida Knights this week.

The Acrisure Series has been touted as one of the best multi-team events of the basketball season, with big names such as USC, TCU, and Michigan State in attendance at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, during the Thanksgiving break. The Lancers are competing in one of the several brackets in the series and are joined by SMU, Washington State, and Fresno State. The Acrisure Holiday Invitational will be a national stage for the Lancers as the games will be broadcast on TruTv and streamed live on MAX.

CBU will first match up with newly-minted ACC member SMU on Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM. The Mustangs are 4-2 and have several blow-out victories under their belt in the early going of the season. The Mustangs have wins against Tarleton, Florida A&M, UNC Greensboro, and Prairie View A&M and their two losses have come against Butler and Mississippi State. The Mustangs, under former USC head coach Andy Enfield, bring plenty of experience to the table, with five players playing in 100+ games and three players crossing the century mark in total points. Boopie Miller, the Wake Forest transfer, is SMU's leading scorer at 18.3 points per contest and leads the team at six assists per game as well.

SMU features a top-15 offense through six games, averaging nearly 90 points per contest. The Mustangs are top 30 in the country in bench points, fastbreak points, free throw attempts, and free throws made, contributing to their first-rate offense.

The second game of the Holiday Invitational will be a contest against either Fresno State or Washington State. The Bulldogs of the Mountain West are 3-2 in the early going, picking up wins over Sacramento State, Long Beach State, and Prairie View A&M. The WSU Cougars were an NCAA tournament team a season ago and are 5-1 this season. The Cougars went 25-10 last season en route to the Big Dance and took down #10 Drake in the first round before losing to #2 Iowa State in the round of 32. Former Eastern Washington Head Coach David Riley is heading the Cougars this season, and he brought over a large contingent of Eagles with him, including leading scorer Cedric Coward. All three of the teams in the tournament would be first-time matchups for the Lancers, and the game against SMU will be the first-ever ACC game for CBU.

The final game of the week will be a trip to Orlando, Florida, as the Lancers battle the Knight of Central Florida on Sunday, December 1. Central Florida of the BIG 12 in 4-2 in the early going, dropping their last two contests against #19 Wisconsin and LSU in triple overtime. The Knights will take on Milwaukee at Financial Arena in Orlando before hosting the Lancers, a building in which they are 4-0 this season. The Knights have three double-digit scorers, including Jordan Ivy-Curry. Ivy-Curry, a UTSA transfer, is averaging 17.3 points per game and three rebounds per contest. UCF also has high school phenom Mikey Williams on its roster. Williams, who has yet to suit up for UCF, was the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year in high school and a four-star recruit out of San Ysidro High School.

CBU has enjoyed a 4-2 start to its non-conference season, with home victories over Incarnate Word, Kennesaw State, LIU, and Eastern Washington. The Lancers are the only team to defeat Kennesaw State this season after the Owls pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2024-25 season by downing #24 Rutgers at home. A large reason for the early success of CBU has been the Lancer's ability to take care of the basketball. The Lancers are #9 in the nation in turnovers per game at 9 per contest and outside of an outlier of 14 against Eastern Washington. CBU has not turned the ball more than ten times in one game this season. Star guard Dominique Daniels Jr. is leading the way for CBU as he did last year, averaging 19.5 points per contest. Daniels Jr.'s points per game average is top 50 in the nation and the best mark in the Western Athletic Conference to this point.

GAME INFORMATION:

CBU vs SMU:

DATE/TIME: Nov. 26 @6:30 PM PT

LOCATION: Acrisure Arena- Palm Desert, CA

WATCH: TruTV/MAX

CBU vs. Washington State/Fresno State:

DATE/TIME: Nov. 27 @6:30 PM/9 PM

LOCATION: Acrisure Arena- Palm Desert, CA

WATCH: TruTV/MAX

CBU at UCF:

DATE/TIME: Dec. 1 @1PM PT

LOCATION: Financial Arena- Orlando, FL

WATCH: ESPN+