- Full Gamenotes

RETURNING TO ACTION
The Tarleton Texans will return to action on the road and will be looking for their first road victory of the season.  

Tarleton will play at Central Oklahoma at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 6 in Edmond, Okla. before traveling to Northeastern State for a 4 p.m. tip-off in Tahlequah, Okla. on Saturday, Jan. 8.

STRONG AT HOME
    The Texans are strong at home this season, going 8-0 so far in Wisdom Gym.

ON THE ROAD
However, the Texans have struggled in their two road games thus far, losing at Cameron on Nov. 27 (49-44) and at Southwestern Oklahoma on Dec. 7 (76-63).

In the two losses, the Texans averaged  their two lowest shooting percentages of the season – .306 at Cameron and .314 at SWOSU.

DOWNING THE NORTH
Tarleton is 64-16 against the Lone Star Conference North Division teams since the 2001-02 season, including a three-year stint when Tarleton competed in the North Division.

Head coach Lonn Reisman is 87-42 all-time against the current teams in the North Division.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE
The Tarleton defense is ranked No. 1 in the nation scoring defense, allowing opponents to score an average of 49.7 points per game heading into this week.  Tarleton is also No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 34.4 points per game.

FORCING TURNOVERS
Tarleton is forcing lots of turnovers this season, but giving away less.  The Texans are No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin with a 10.3 margin in favor of the purple and white.

Part of turnovers is taking the ball away, and the Texans are No. 5 in the country in doing so, averaging 12.0 steals per game.

REBOUND THAT BALL
Heading into this week, the Texans are No. 7 in the nation in rebound margin (11.6).  The Texans have outrebounded every foe this season except Cameron and Texas A&M-Commerce.

Tarleton is outrebounding opponents by an average of 40.7 to 30.6 after Monday's game against the Lions.

LEADING THE TEXANS
This season, the Texans are led by Corin Henry with 13.1 points per game while Devon Hills is second with 10.9 points per outing.  The Texans are led by Wes Dipprey with 6.4 rebounds per contest while Donta Smith is second with 4.9 boards per game.  Fabian Wilson's eight blocks tops the squad.

D-E-F-E-N-S-E
Tarleton is 17-1 this season when holding opponents to below .400 shooting percentage from the field.

OUTSCORING FOES
The Texans are outscoring foes 81.6 to 51.3.  The Texans'  biggest win of the season came against Arlington Baptist – 108-30 (78 points).  The smallest margin of victory is four at home against Texas A&M-Commerce (70-66).

SHOOTING TEXANS
Tarleton is averaging .460 from the floor, .359 from the three-point arc and .681 from the charity stripe while holding opponents to .352 from the field, .307 from the arc and .690 from the line. 

IN THE CONFERENCE
The Texans are first in the LSC in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, rebounding defense and rebounding margin (5.2).  Tarleton is second in offensive rebounding percentage (.389) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.354).

SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 12-2 this season and is coming off a 93-72 win at home against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Dec. 30. 

The Bronchos are led by Dauntae Williams with 22.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.  Brent Friday is second with 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while Tyler Phillips (11.3) and Shane Carroll (11.2) are also averaging in double figures. 

UCO is averaging .480 from the field, .360 from the arc and .651 from the line while opponents are shooting .408 from the floor, .348 from the arc and .650 from the stripe.  The Bronchos are outrebounding opponents 37.6 to 37.1 and outscoring them 85.5 to 70.3.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State enters the weekend 5-7 and is scheduled to host Midwestern State on Thursday, Jan. 6.  The RiverHawks have lost five of their last seven contests, including a 72-64 decision at Arkansas Tech on Monday.

Dominique Gaines leads the squad with 19.4 points per game while Antoine Branch is second with 13.0 points per outing.  Jermaine Bransford's 5.6 rebounds per game average is tops on the squad with Justin Johnson (5.2) second in the category.

The RiverHawks are averaging .417 from the field, .299 from the arc and .645 from the line while opponents are shooting .434 from the floor, .360 from the arc and .673 from the stripe.  NSU is being outscored 67.6 to 66.1 and outrebounded 36.8 to 35.5.   

ALL-TIME SERIES
UCO leads the all-time series between the two teams 17-10.  The Bronchos won last year's meeting in Stephenville on Dec. 1, 2009, 76-72.  Tarleton is 2-9 in Edmond, Okla. against UCO.  The last time the Texans played in Edmond, they lost 79-68 on Dec. 15, 2008.  Tarleton's last win in Hamilton Field House came on Feb. 19, 2004 (82-68).

Tarleton leads the all-time series against NSU, 12-5.  The Texans took last year's meeting in Stephenville on Dec. 3, 2009 (61-47).  Tarleton has won eight straight against NSU, and the Texans are 3-2 in Tahlequah, Okla.  The last NSU victory came on Feb. 21, 2004 (62-40) in Tahlequah.  Tarleton won 48-41 in Tahlequah on its last visit on Dec. 13, 2008.

ON THE AIR
Fans can listen to the broadcast on KSTV 93.1 FM. Live stats are also available for the games at UCO and NSU.