- Tarleton Basketball Championship Central
- South Central Region Tournament web site
WICHITA FALLS - The Tarleton Texans will return to action at their seventh NCAA South Central Region tournament in the last nine seasons when the purple and white face Nebraska-Omaha in a first round match-up at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 13 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
The Texans are 23-7 overall and are coming off their sixth appearance in the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament title game, losing to Midwestern State, 65-55. The Texans had two players named the all-tournament team, Corin Henry and Effran Bryant, but the Texans fell short of capturing the postseason crown.
Tarleton will now advance to the regional tournament as the four-seed and will play the fifth-seeded Mavericks for just the second time in school history. The two teams met in the High Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. on Dec. 18, 2004. UNO won 73-60.
This season, the Texans are led by Devon Hills with 13.3 points per game while Bryant (12.1), Henry (11.7) and Jeremiah Wilson (10.6) are each averaging in double digits. Wilson leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per contest and Donta Smith is second with 6.4 boards per game. Wilson also tops the squad with 50 blocks while Wilson's 127 assists is first on the team.
Tarleton is averaging .438 from the floor, .351 from the three-point arc and .677 from the charity stripe while holding opponents to .381 from the field, .322 from the arc and .665 from the line. The Texans are outrebounding foes 37.2 to 32.7 and outscoring them 71.2 to 58.8.
Tarleton is ranked No. 3 in the nation in field goal percentage defense and No. 5 in scoring defense. The Texans are also ranked No. 17 in scoring margin (13.2), No. 31 in won-lost percentage (.793) and No. 33 in rebounding margin (5.2).
In the South Central Region, the Texans are first in field goal percentage defense and second in scoring defense to Texas-Permian Basin (56.2). Tarleton is tied for fourth in win-loss percentage in the region, is third in scoring margin and is fourth in rebounding margin.
Bryant is ranked No. 37 in the nation with 2.8 three-point field goals per game and No. 35 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.410). Wilson is No. 75 in the country in rebounds per game and No. 58 in blocked shots per game (1.6).
Nebraska-Omaha enters the tournament 22-8 overall after winning the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship title on Sunday with a 69-67 win over Washburn. The Mavericks have won their last three and eight of their last 10 contests.
Tyler Bullock leads the squad with 19.2 points per game while Jeff Martin (12.4), Andrew Bridger (11.6) and Dion Curry (11.2) are also averaging in double figures. Eugene Bain tops the team with 6.5 rebounds per game while Matt Newman is second with 6.3 boards per contest. Bridger's 187 assists leads the Mavs while Bullock has 43 steals to top the squad.
The Mavs are averaging .481 from the field, .351 from the arc and .726 from the line while opponents are shooting .427 from the floor, .335 from the arc and .705 from the stripe. UNO is outscoring opponents 85.1 to 77.9 and outrebounding them 38.5 to 35.9.
This will be the 12th trip to the national tournament for the Mavs. UNO is 4-7 in NCAA first round games and 7-13 overall in the tournament.
Tarleton is 12-6 overall in the tournament and is 5-1 in the first round of the postseason event.
The last time the two teams met, the Mavs were ranked No. 14 in the country, and though UNO walked away with the victory, the Texans later went on to reach the final four teams in the Elite Eight after winning Tarleton's first regional title in 2005.
The game will be broadcast on KSTV 93.1 FM. Live stats will also be available through the Midwestern State web site as is the tournament information. For more information on following the Texans and the TexAnns in the regional tournament, see Tarleton's Championship Central.
