THE GAME 

Opponent: Paul Quinn 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 19 

Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Byron Anderson, Play-by-Play 

ABOUT THE MATCHUP 

Tarleton gets a well-deserved pit stop at home on Friday when it meets Paul Quinn in its first countable home game in 2021-22. A total of 18 days have passed since the Texans appeared in Wisdom Gym, when they defeated Central Christian (Kan.) 73-50 in an exhibition game on Nov. 1. Tarleton and Paul Quinn are meeting for the eighth time on the hardwood. The Texans and Tigers were scheduled to meet on Dec. 31, 2020, during Tarleton's first season at NCAA Division I before COVID-19 developments forced the cancellation of the contest. 

• Gillispie and Paul Quinn head coach Brandon Espinosa worked together at Ranger College during the 2015-16 season. Espinosa served as an assistant under Gillispie in his return to his junior college alma matter. There, Espinosa helped Gillispie orchestrate one of the biggest program turnarounds in college basketball history. Ranger went from 2-23 the previous year to 35-3, qualifying for the NJCAA National Tournament and advancing to the Final Four for the first time in the school's 90-year history.

• The teams last squared off on Dec. 15, 2015, inside Wisdom Gym. Tarleton won the game 100-65. 

• The Texans own a 5-2 edge in the all-time series and are 5-0 vs. the Tigers in Stephenville. 

• Tarleton is 11-3 in home-openers since 2007 and 6-3 at home under Billy Gillispie. 

• A win over the Tigers would boost Tarleton's home record to 200-35 dating back to 2007. Including its exhibition contest vs. Central Christian, Tarleton would also extend its home winning streak to three games with a victory on Friday. 

• Friday's game counts as an exhibition for Paul Quinn, which competes at the NAIA level in the Red River Conference. The Tigers return nine letter winners from 2020-21. 

• Paul Quinn is 3-0 this season. The Tigers faced fellow Western Athletic Conference member UTRGV in an exhibition affair on Tuesday, where they fell 85-68. 

• The Tigers did not compete in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns. 

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 

Fans can purchase single-game general admission tickets to attend Friday's contest in one of three ways: online at TarletonSports.com/Tickets, in person at the Tarleton Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 254-968-1832. The Tarleton Athletic Ticket Office is located on the west side of Memorial Stadium and is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. A link to purchase tickets to all Tarleton men's basketball home games can be found on the team's schedule page at TarletonSports.com. Doors will open hone hour before tipoff at 6 p.m. 

TEXAN NOTABLES 

• All three teams Tarleton has faced to open the year rank inside the top-75 of the Pomeroy Basketball Ratings. Kansas is No. 2 as of Nov. 14 while Wichita State and Stanford rank No. 69 and No. 72, respectively.  

• Tarleton held Wichita State to 27 rebounds on Tuesday - its lowest figure in more than three years. Conversely, the Texans finished with a season-high 31 rebounds. 

• The Texans committed an uncharacteristic 20 turnovers vs. the Shockers. It marked just the third time Tarleton has given the ball away 20-or-more times under Gillispie. 

• Montre Gipson led Tarleton in scoring for the second time this season and eighth in his career with a 16-point effort at Wichita State. He ranks seventh in the WAC in scoring (16.7 ppg). 

• Shakur Daniel has been a stat sheet stuffer as Tarleton's primary ballhandler. The 6-6 guard is averaging 6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2 steals per outing. He is tied for the team lead in assists and steals.  

• Despite his listed height of 5-11, Gipson is also Tarleton's leading rebounder on the offensive glass, as he is averaging 2.3 offensive rebounds per game. Tahj Small is the team's top rebounder at six boards per outing. 

• Gipson tallied his 16 points on the strength of 6-12 shooting. The senior has now shot at-or-above 50 percent from the field in 14 of his 22 career games in Purple and White. He leads Tarleton in field goal percentage (.487). 

• Small and Daniel are both shooting above 44 percent this season. Small is not far behind Gipson, as he is connecting at a 46.7 percent clip from the field and 13-22 mark (.590) inside the arc. Small tallied eight points on 4-8 shooting at Wichita State. Daniel is hitting 44.4 percent of his shots thus far. 

• Freddy Hicks netted a season-high nine points at Wichita State. Seven of the sophomore's points came in the second half. 

• Noah McDavid played a career-high 32 minutes off the bench vs. the Shockers. The 6-5 freshman finished with six points, three rebounds and one assist. The Dallas native went 4-4 from the foul line. 

• Fellow newcomer Kylon Owens also set season and career-highs in minutes (five), rebounds (two) and steals (two) at Wichita State. 

• Daniel is Tarleton's active leader in games started at 22.  

• Gillispie rolled with a starting five featuring Daniel, Gipson, Hicks, Small and Shamir Bogues on Tuesday. The contingent has made 87 combined starts. 

TARLETON-WICHITA STATE WRAP-UP 

• Tarleton's 10 steals were a season high. Six players stole the ball at least once. Daniel, Gipson, Hicks and Owens each finished with two steals. 

• The Texans went 12-14 (85.7 percent) at the foul line and were in the bonus in both halves. The effort marked single-game highs in made free throws and free throw percentage and the first time Tarleton entered the bonus in any game this season. 

• The Texans were forced into five shot clock violations during the first half. 

• The Texans led 20-17 at the 5:15 mark of the first half before Wichita State pestered the Tarleton into eight turnovers to fuel a 12-0 run that had the Shockers in front 29-20 with less than a minute to go. 

• Tarleton got within five points of the Shockers at 37-32 with less than 14:00 remaining following a pair of 3-pointers by Hicks and Gipson. Wichita State then countered with a 12-4 scoring run to take control of the game. 

• Tarleton's 14 first-half turnovers were its most in a half this season. 

• The Texans were held to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and 3-16 (18.8 percent) from long range. 

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON 

The frequent flyer miles will be plentiful once more for Tarleton, as the Texans embark on another daunting, week-long road trip following their tilt vs. Paul Quinn. 

The Texans make the jaunt north to face North Dakota State, which earned a 2019 NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the Summit League Tournament Championship in March, on Monday. The Bison are 2-2, with their losses coming at UNLV and Arizona.  

Tarleton then draws its second team ranked in the AP top-10 in No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. The Wolverines are the first of two opponents who earned No. 1 seeds in the 2021 NCAA Tournament Tarleton will face. 

The latter of the two is the top-ranked team in the country, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, whom Tarleton draws on Nov. 29 inside The Kennel in Spokane, Washington. 

Tarleton plays five of its next six games inside Wisdom Gym following the trip to the Inland Northwest. The Texans host Charleston Southern (Dec. 5), Dallas Christian (Dec. 7) and Southwestern Assemblies of God (Dec. 8) in a three-game homestand. Nonconference play concludes with consecutive home games vs. South Alabama on Dec. 14 and Air Force on Dec. 21. 

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. 

BEST OF THE WAC 
Tarleton is featured across the top of the Western Athletic Conference stat leaderboards in multiple categories 10 days into nonconference play. 

Montre Gipson 

1st in minutes (39.3 mpg, 118 minutes) 

2nd in free throw percentage (.875, seven free throws made) 

7th in scoring (16.7 ppg, 50 points) 

13th in offensive rebounding (2.3 rpg, seven offensive rebounds) 

Shakur Daniel 

2nd in minutes (37.7 mpg, 113 minutes) 

T-6th in steals (2 spg, six steals) 

Shamir Bogues 

T-6th in steals (2 spg, six steals) 

Tahj Small 

8th in minutes (34.0 mpg, 102 minutes) 

17th in rebounds (6.0 rpg, 18 rbs) 

Freddy Hicks

9th in blocks (1 bpg, 3 blk) 

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING 

"You've got a chance to have a good team. A really good team. You've got interchangeable parts, everybody's about the same size, and as you get into the season, that will become much harder to score against because you guys are tough. You won't let bigs be bigs because you're tough." - Bill Self, Kansas head coach 

"Coach told us going in it was going to be a tough game, and they were going to pressure us a lot. That's something we didn't see against Michigan State, it was pretty much the opposite. Coach told us it was going to be a dog fight the whole time." - Christian Braun, Kansas guard 

"Billy Gillispie's teams really get after you defensively." - Isaac Brown, Wichita State head coach 

"The pressure certainly bothered us. Their game plan was really, really good, and they executed it very, very well." - Jerod Haase, Stanford head coach 

PRESSURE, PUT YOU DOWN 

Due to NCAA Division I transition rules, Tarleton does not qualify for NCAA statistical rankings. Had they been eligible last season, the Texans would have ranked first in the nation in steals per game (10.5), second in turnovers forced per game (19.5) and 15th in points allowed per game (62.3).   

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 has turned over each of its three opponents at least 13 times to begin 2021-22. The Texans' 16 forced turnovers vs. the Shockers were a season high. Tarleton turned Stanford over 14 times in its regular season opener on Nov. 9. The Texans then posted a positive turnover differential against the nation's No. 3 ranked team. The Texans forced 13 turnovers and swiped the ball away nine times on at No. 3 Kansas. Tarleton limited its giveaways to nine. 

The Texans rank third in the WAC in steals (43) as of Nov. 18. 

'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. Beginning with its game against the Jayhawks, Tarleton draws the three highest-rated teams in the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings as of Nov. 14: No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Kansas. 

In total, the Texans will play nine games opposite teams ranked inside the top-150, face seven top-125 programs and draw five foes listed in the top-75. Wichita State and Stanford are ranked No. 69 and No. 72 respectively, while future foes New Mexico State (No. 103), North Dakota State (No. 127), Grand Canyon (No. 141) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 143) all cracked the top-150 of the ratings.  

Tarleton is rated eighth among its conference peers at No. 218, ahead of Utah Valley (No. 234), Lamar (No. 288), Dixie State (No. 298), UTRGV (No. 311), 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 21 of a possible 23 games since Gillispie took the reins and Tarleton began its D1 transition.