STEPHENVILLE - The Tarleton men's basketball tied for the Lone Star Conference lead and will now face Abilene Christian Saturday, who is near the bottom of the conference standings.  The Texans are 6-0 in LSC play while the Rams are 7-8 on the year with just one win in league action.  Tarleton holds a slim 31-30 lead in the all-time series.

GAMETIME

    Tip-off is at 4 p.m. for the men's game and 2 p.m. for the women's game at Moody Coliseum in Abilene.

LAST TIME OUT

    The Texans (14-1) hosted Angelo State and kept the Rams out of the conference win column with a 21-point blowout in Wisdom Gym. Tarleton was led by four, double-figure scorers. Fabian Wilson's 15-point, 12-rebound effort led the Texans while Brian Word (14), Chris Harrell (12) and Coleman Furst (11) were the other top scorers.

THIS YEAR

    On the season, Tarleton is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, 32.8 percent from three-point land and 70.9 percent from the charity stripe.  The Texans are averaging 70.7 points per game and 35.7 rebounds per game.

HOLDING OFF OPPONENTS

    Opponent's are shooting just 35.1 percent overall and averaging 51.9 points per game against the Texans.  Tarleton is No. 1 in the nation in points allowed and field goal percentage allowed.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

    Chris Harrell continues to lead the Texans in scoring with 13.3 points per game.  Fabian Wilson (10.2) is the only other Texan averaging double figures while Zach Nelson and Shedrick Haynes are at the 9.5 ppg mark. Haynes has been the main distributor with 3.6 assists each contest.  Wilson leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game.

SIZING UP THE OPPONENT

    The Wildcats have struggled since conference play has began. After starting the season 5-2, ACU has dropped six of their last eight games. They are also winless at home in LSC play this season. 

STOPPING THE RAMS

    Overall, the Wildcats are averaging 71.3 points per game and giving up just 69.1 points to opponents.  As a team, ACU is shooting 43.9 percent from the floor and 33.1 percent from three-point range. 

WHO TO LOOK FOR

    ACU is led offensively by senior Zach Williams and his 13.3 points.  The Wildcats also have a trio of double-figure scorers in Antonio Bell (12.3), Kendall Durant (12.0) and Armani Williams (10.6).

    Williams is tied for ninth in the conference in scoring with Tarleton's Chris Harrell, while Bell and Durant are 16th and 18th in scoring in the conference.

AMONG THE BEST

    The Texans are ranked near the top of almost every statistical category in the conference.

    Tarleton is No. 1 in scoring defense (51.9 ppg) and No. 1 in scoring margin (+18.9).  The Texans are also No. 1 in field goal defense (.351), No. 2 in rebounding defense (29.8) and No. 3 in rebounding margin (+5.9).

    Individually, Chris Harrell is No. 9 in scoring (13.3 ppg), while Fabian Wilson is No. 3 in rebounding (7.0) and No. 3 in blocks (1.0).  Zach Nelson is sixth in the conference in field goal percentage (.580).  Shedrick Haynes is No. 3 in assist-to-turnover ratio as well (1.3) and No. 3 in assists (3.6).

NO. 1 DEFENSE

    Tarleton finished the 2010-11 season as the No. 1 defense in the nation.  That was not only at the Division II level, but also in Division I, III and Junior College ranks. This year's team has big shoes to fill, but has held opponents in check thus far as opposing offenses have averaged just 51.9 points per game.  That is good enough for No. 1 in the nation again at the DII level.

REMAINING IN THE RANKINGS

    Tarleton was ranked No. 8 in the NABC/NCAA Division II Preseason Polls and No. 1 in the Lone Star Conference Preseason poll.

    The Texans are now No. 6 in the nation and tied for No. 1 in the LSC standings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

    The Texans travel to Abilene Christian Saturday and Commerce Wednesday for a 8 p.m. match-up with the Lions..

REISMAN'S QUEST FOR 500

    Head coach Lonn Reisman is just three wins shy of getting his 500th victory at Tarleton.  He entered the season with a career record of 483-210.

DID YOU KNOW?

    A pair of Texans were named Lone Star Conference Players of the Week this week.  Chris Harrell was named Offensive POW, while Wes Dipprey was named Defensive POW.  This is the first award for both players this season.

Live stats and live video can be found at TarletonSports.com, while the live radio broadcast is provided by KSTV 93.1 FM.

For results and post-game information, check out TarletonSports.com.