THE GAME 

Opponent: No. 3 Kansas 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 9 

Location: Allen Fieldhouse 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Casey Hogan, Play-by-Play 

ABOUT THE MATCHUP 

Tarleton is set to walk in the footsteps of basketball icons James Naismith and Phog Allen when it meets one of the most storied programs in all of basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks, inside historic Allen Fieldhouse on Friday. Two present legends of the sport – head coaches Billy Gillispie and Bill Self – will take center stage as they make their much-anticipated coaching reunion. 

• The Jayhawks are the highest-ranked team Tarleton has ever faced. Kansas upended Michigan State 87-74 on Tuesday inside Madison Square Garden at the State Farm Champions Classic to commence its season. KU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last season's 21-9 team that finished second in the Big 12 with a 12-6 record. KU advanced to its NCAA-record 31st-consecutive NCAA Tournament in 2020-21. 

• The game marks Tarleton's third regular season affair vs. a Power Five program in school history and first versus a team ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. Kansas is the first of three teams currently ranked in the AP Top-10 Tarleton will draw this month. 

• The meeting between Gillispie and Self is overdue. Tarleton and Kansas were scheduled to square off on Dec. 13, 2020 before COVID-19 developments forced the cancellation of the contest. Gillispie served as an assistant under Self at Tulsa (1997-200) and Illinois (2000-2002), where he was a part of the only coaching staff in NCAA history to lead two different schools to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons. In his final year under Self, Gillispie helped the Fighting Illini ink a consensus top-10 recruiting class. Gillispie is 1-4 in head-to-head meetings opposite his former boss. In his final year as the head  man at Texas A&M, the Aggies memorably defeated the sixth-ranked Jayhawks 69-66 to spearhead an eventual run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 

• Tarleton enters the game three-days removed from a hard-fought 62-50 defeat against Stanford. The Texans led for 14 minutes of the contest, took a 26-24 lead into the intermission, and assumed a seven-point lead at 35-28 with under 14:30 to go. Three players scored in double figures: Montre Gipson (15 points), Tahj Small (11 points) and Shakur Daniel (10 points) Small was Tarleton's leading rebounder with eight boards while Gipson dished out a team-high four assists. 

GAME COVERAGE 

Fans can access a live stream to the game at Plus.ESPN.Com. Links to the video broadcast as well as live stats can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at TarletonSports.com. A complete radio broadcast of the game can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network at TarletonSports.com/Watch and on the flagship station of Tarleton athletics – KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tipoff. 

ATTENDING THE GAME 

For Kansans or fans interested in making the trip to the Sunflower State, the Jayhawks have a dedicated section inside Allen Fieldhouse for Texan Nation to sit in. Fans can purchase tickets inside section 13A and sit alongside their fellow faithful in Purple and White. Face coverings must be worn at all times inside the facility. Links to purchase tickets inside Tarleton's section can be found on the men's basketball schedule page at TarletonSports.com. Tickets in section 13A are $36 apiece. 

TEXAN NOTABLES 

• The Texans have been within single digits in the final minute in both matchups vs. Power Five teams as a D1 squad. Tarleton led for 28 minutes in a 73-66 loss at Texas A&M in 2020 and used an 11-4 run to get within nine points of Stanford at 59-50 with 47 seconds remaining on Tuesday. 

• Daniel made his 20th consecutive and career start in Palo Alto. He is Tarleton's active leader in games started. 

• Gipson turned in his 15 points on the strength of 6-12 shooting from the field on Tuesday. He has now connected at or above a 50 percent clip from the field on at least five attempts in his Texan career. His 6-12 effort against Stanford marked his fifth consecutive outing in which he has shot 50 percent-or-better. 

• Gillispie deployed nine players on a 20-man roster vs. Stanford, four of whom saw 30-or-more minutes of action. 

• Tarleton forced 14 Cardinal turnovers on Tuesday. The Texans have forced 19.2 turnovers per game in the Gillispie era. The Texans ranked first in the nation in the category last season (19.5). Overall, Tarleton has turned teams over 403 times in 21 games under Gillispie. 

• Tarleton made just one free throw in its loss to Stanford. The charity stripe - and a noticeable Cardinal height advantage - loomed large in the defeat. Tarleton got to the line just three times whereas Stanford went 16-22 on foul shots 

TARLETON-STANFORD WRAP-UP 

• Tarleton used a 12-0 run - the largest unanswered run in the game - from 11:10-7:49 of the first half to assume a 16-11 lead. 

• The Texans scored seven straight points early in the second half to transform a 28-28 gridlock into their largest lead of the evening at 35-28. 

• The Cardinal took control of the game with a 26-4 extended scoring run over the ensuing 10 minutes.  

• Stanford's 64 points marked its fourth-lowest scoring figure dating back to 2020. 

• Tarleton limited Stanford to 42 percent shooting from the field. The program has held teams under 45 percent shooting in 13-21 outings under Gillispie. 

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON 

Friday's ballgame continues perhaps the most daunting three-week stretch any team in the country will face to open the 2021-22 season.  

Following its tilt Allen Fieldhouse Tarleton draws perennial NCAA Tournament fixture Wichita State on Nov. 16. A home game vs. Paul Quinn follows on Nov. 19, but it doesn't get any easier from there. The Texans then travel to North Dakota State, which earned a 2019 NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the Summit League Tournament Championship in March and No. 6 Michigan for games on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24. The 20-day gauntlet is capped by arguably the toughest road test a team will face in college basketball this season – a trip to The Kennel in Spokane, Washington to face No. 1 Gonzaga. 

A December-heavy home slate - and a well-deserved one at that - concludes nonconference play for Tarleton. The Texans play five of their next six games inside Wisdom Gym following their date with Gonzaga. 

THE NATION'S BEST PRESSURE DEFENSE? 

Tarleton turned teams over 20-or-more times on seven occasions last season and held opponents under 50 points in 40 percent of its games. The Texans recorded single-game highs in turnovers forced (41) and steals (28) in a 97-26 win over Southwestern Adventist on Feb. 6.  

Four players swiped the ball away at least 20 times last season. Sophomore Shamir Bogues led all players with 37 steals while fellow guards Daniel (32 steals), Gipson (27 steals), and Tahj Small (21 steals) joined Bogues atop the 20-steal threshold. 

Tarleton turned Stanford over twice in its regular season opener on Nov. 9. 

'IT'S PROBABLY THE HARDEST SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY' 

The words spoken by Gillispie on Tarleton's Preseason WAC Media Day on Oct. 19 ring louder than ever. 

In total, the Texans will play three teams ranked in the top-10 of the Preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, draw six opponents who made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and face 14 opponents who posted winning records last season. Abilene Christian, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon and Michigan earned automatic berths to the Big Dance in March as conference regular season and tournament champions while Kansas and Wichita State secured at-large invitations. 

WHAT KEN POMEROY THINKS 

The Texans are slated to play the three best teams in the country within the first three weeks of the 2021-22 season. At least, according to college basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy, they are. 

Tarleton draws the three highest-rated teams in the first set of Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings within its first seven games: No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Kansas. In total, the Texans will play nine games opposite teams ranked inside the preseason top-150, face seven top-125 programs and draw five foes listed in the top-70. Wichita State and Stanford are ranked No. 62 and No. 68 respectively, while future foes New Mexico Statte (No. 109), North Dakota State (No. 125), Stephen F. Austin (No. 138) and Grand Canyon (No. 149) all cracked the top-150 of the ratings.  

Tarleton is rated eighth among its conference peers at No. 216, ahead of Utah Valley (No. 222), Lamar (No. 276), UTRGV (No. 304), Dixie State (No. 310) and Chicago State (No. 357). 

GIPSON RACKING UP THE ALL-WAC ACCOLADES 

On Oct. 19, the 5-11 senior made history when he became the first basketball player in Tarleton's WAC and D1 era to receive Preseason All-WAC first team honors as voted on by the conference media. Gipson was one of just eight players to receive the distinction. He was also named to the Preseason Coaches' All-WAC Second Team. 

The accolade continued Gipson's inceptive two-year run at Tarleton. In April 2020, he became the first-ever Division I basketball signee in Tarleton sports history when he followed Gillispie from Ranger College to Stephenville. Following a standout 2020-21 campaign, Gipson was named to the All-WAC Newcomer and Honorable mention teams. He was also the first men's or women's player in school history to receive TicketSmarter WAC Player of the Week recognition after picking up the honor for March 1-7. 

Gipson earned his quartet of credentials on the strength of one of the best individual offensive seasons in the WAC last winter. He led Tarleton in points per game (15.3), assists per game (3.0) and free throw percentage (85.2) and his 50 percent mark on 3-pointers ranked first in the WAC. The 5-11 guard accounted for exactly 20 percent of Tarleton's field goals made with 106. His 290 points scored were tops on the team and represented 19.7 percent of the Texans' cumulative scoring. 

FOUR ALL-WAC HONOREES IN FIRST OF FOUR D1 TRANSITION YEARS 

Hicks headlined Tarleton's list of award winners last season when he was named the conference's Freshman of the Year on March 9. The award was voted on by conference head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.  

No freshman in the conference enjoyed as strong a second half as the Searcy, Arkansas native. The 6-6 swingman led all WAC first-year players in scoring (8.2 ppg) and elevated his game as the schedule shifted to conference play, averaging 8.6 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game. Hicks led Tarleton with three double-doubles, all of which came on the road vs. conference opponents. He posted seven double-digit scoring games, including three in Tarleton's final five WAC games. 

Daniel and Small joined Gipson and Hicks atop the All-WAC pedestal, as they each were named to the All-Conference honorable mention team in March. Daniel was Tarleton's 'glue guy (7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 apg) while Small was Tarleton's leading rebounder (5.8 rpg) and ranked third in the WAC in 3-point field goal percentage (45.7). 

THE END OF AN ERA 

Only one member of Tarleton's 2021-22 roster can lay claim as to having experienced both the Lone Star Conference and Western Athletic Conference. 

Junior Javontae Hopkins is the last remaining player within the program to have suited up for Tarleton during its Division II era. 

The 6-0 guard was recruited to Tarleton ahead of the 2019-20 season by former head man and current senior associate athletic director Chris Reisman. Hopkins was rated the No. 55 overall player in the state of Texas out of Houston-based Fort Bend Travis High School. 

He has appeared in 19 of a possible 21 games since Gillispie took the reins and Tarleton began its D1 transition. 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

Since 2007, Wisdom Gym has arguably been the toughest venue to play in over the state of Texas at any classification. Tarleton is 199-35 (.850) in home games over the last 15 years. The Texans were 6-3 at home in 2020-21. From 2007-2017, the Texans lost just 17 times at home. Tarleton posted a perfect 15-0 home record during the 010-11 season. The program's 18 home victories against one defeat marked its most home wins in a single season. Under legendary head coach and current Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Lonn Reisman, Tarleton  went an astounding 171-22 (.886) at home from 2007 through the 2017-18 season, when he stepped down as head coach and transitioned into a full-time Athletic Director role Tarleton eclipsed two home losses just once in Reisman's final 11 years as the head man.