THE MATCHUP 

Teams: Tarleton (4-8) vs. Air Force (7-3). 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday  

Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

Kyle Youmans, Play-by-Play 

Mike Hardge, Analyst 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Scott Garner, Play-by-Play 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: AIR FORCE 

Tarleton is hosting Military Appreciation Night inside Wisdom Gym on Tuesday in its final nonconference game, and a quintessential opponent is paying a visit to Stephenville. Indeed, the Texans will welcome the United States Air Force Academy to the Lone Star State in the first-ever meeting between the programs. 

• The game is Tarleton's first versus a U.S. Service Academy in any sport. 

• Tarleton is 46-7 in December home games since 2007 following Friday's win over South Alabama. 

• A win over the Falcons would give Tarleton its second true D1 nonconference victory and extend its home winning streak to four games. The Texans have won three of their last four ballgames after beginning the season 1-6 over a three-week stretch that spanned six road games – five of which came against teams ranked in the top-80 of the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. 

• Air Force is off to its best start to a season since it began the 2012-13 season with an 8-2 record. The Falcons have shattered preseason expectations set by the Mountain West Conference media. Air Force was picked to finish last in the MWC Preseason Poll but currently boasts the fourth-best record among its conference peers. 

• The Falcons have lost two straight games, both of which have come on the road. Air Force arrives in Stephenville following a 68-46 loss at Arkansas State on Saturday. 

• Air Force has four players from Texas on its roster, tied for the most from a single state. Its top-two playmakers hail from the Lone Star State. Senior A.J. Walker is averaging a team-high 17.8 points per outing. The 6-2 guard arrived in Colorado Springs by way of St. Mary's Hall in San Antonio. Freshman Ethan Taylor has filled up the stat sheet for the Falcons 10 games into his collegiate career. The Houston native and Pasadena Memorial High School graduate leads Air Force in rebounds per game (5.7) and assists per game (3.7) and is second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per contest. Taylor ranks third in the nation in minutes per game (38.2) and 21st in steals per game (2.3). 

• Tuesday's tilt projects as a defensive chess match. Air Force enters ranked 29th nationally in scoring defense (59.7 ppg). Tarleton is not far behind, limiting teams to 63.3 points per game. The Texans rank third in the Western Athletic Conference in the category and have been especially stingy on the defensive end of the court inside Wisdom Gym. The Texans have held opponents under 60 points in nine-of-14 home games under Gillispie. On Friday, they limited South Alabama to a season-low 52 points. 

• Air Force turns it over an average of 15.2 times per game. Tarleton forces 16.8 giveaways per game and has pestered each of its 11 opponents into 13-or-more turnovers this season. The Texans have forced at least 15 turnovers in all five of their home games. 

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 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 

• Friday's win over South Alabama was Tarleton's first over a team ranked in the top-100 of the NCAA NET Rankings. The Jaguars entered ranked No. 79 and riding an eight-game winning streak. 

• The Texans currently rank fifth in the nation in strength of schedule according to KenPom.  

• Tarleton continues to lead the WAC in free throw percentage with a 76.5 percent clip. Tahj Small ranks third in the conference at 88.5 percent. 

• Tarleton is one of just two teams in the WAC with a pair of top-15 scorers in Montre Gipson (15.1 ppg) and Small (14.4 ppg). They rank eighth and 13th, respectively. 

• The Texans sit near the top of the WAC statistical leaderboard in most defensive categories. They rank second in turnover margin (+4.33) and third scoring defense (63.3 ppg), turnovers forced per game (16.8) and steals per game (8.7). 

• Due to NCAA Division I transition rules, the Texans are not eligible for inclusion in NCAA statistical rankings. If they were, the Texans would rank 30th in the nation in turnover margin (+4.33). They lead all reclassifying teams in the category. 

• Tarleton shot a season-high 40 percent from behind the arc in its 13-point victory over South Alabama on Friday. The Texans went 6-15 on 3-point field goals. Small went 4-6 from downtown to lead all players. 

• Gipson (181 points) and Small (173) points are responsible for 48 percent Tarleton's cumulative scoring (743 points) this season. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES 

• Small has been on fire over Tarleton's last three games. The senior recorded his second double-double of the year and fourth of his career with a 16-point, 12-rebound effort on Friday. He is shooting at a 52 percent clip and averaging 18 points and nine rebounds per contest in that stretch. 

• Small has increased his scoring average by 5.1 points per game from his mark in 2020-21 (9.2 ppg). The 6-5 guard is also Tarleton's leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per outing. 

• Gipson has scored 56 points in Tarleton's last two home games. He led all scorers with 27 points vs. South Alabama on Friday. 

• Gipson's effort vs. the Jaguars on Friday marked the 11th time in his Texan career he has led Tarleton in scoring and his 23rd career double digit scoring performance. The DeSoto, Texas native is Tarleton's active leader in career points scored (471) and minutes played (1,032). 

• Only 28 players in the nation are averaging more steals per game than Shamir Bogues (2.27 spg). The sophomore swiped the ball away seven times on Dec. 14 at South Alabama, the fourth-most in a single game in school history and most by a WAC player this season. 

• Freddy Hicks (8.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg) has turned in his best performances of the 2021-22 campaign at home. The 6-6 swingman is averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in home affairs. Hicks has twice scored a season-high 16 points inside Wisdom Gym. The sophomore dished out a career-best four assists in Tarleton's victory over South Alabama on Friday. 

A WIN OVER AIR FORCE WOULD 

• Give Tarleton its fourth win in its last five outings. 

• Extend Tarleton's home winning streak to four games 

• Make Tarleton 5-1 inside Wisdom Gym this season 

• Improve the Texans record in December home games since 2007 to 47-7 

• Make Tarleton 204-36 (.850) in home games since 2007 

• Boost Gillispie's home record at Tarleton to 11-4. 

• Be the Texans' seventh true D1 victory and third at home 

• Cap Tarleton's December slate at 5-2 overall 

TARLETON-SOUTH ALABAMA WRAP-UP 

• With the score tied 45-45 at the 9:54 mark of the second half, the Texans ripped off a 14-2 run to assume a 59-47 lead with 2:15 to go and lock up the win. 

• Gipson and Small combined for six points to knot things at 22-22 with 3:14 left before halftime. Tarleton then took its second and third leads, respectively, of the game behind a layup from Gipson that made the score 24-22 and three straight points by freshman Noah McDavid that staked the Texans to a two-point halftime lead.  

• Daniel scored the first four points out of the intermission to up the Texans edge to 31-25. The Texans then maintained a multi-possession lead to the tune of a 43-36 advantage following a 3-pointer from Bogues and drive inside by Gipson. Hicks drained a triple after the Jaguars tied the game at 45 to ignite Tarleton's conclusive run. Gipson followed with six straight points to effectively put the game out of reach.   

• South Alabama went 5-11 at the foul line shot 41 percent (20-48) from the field. 

• Tarleton won the battle on the boards vs. the Jaguars' 36-30. The Texans were out-rebounded 40-23 in the teams' first meeting. 

• Tarleton again won the turnover battle, forcing 15 Jaguar giveaways to its 10. The Texans have now posted a positive turnover differential in 11-of-12 games this season and forced opponents into 13-or-more turnovers each time out. 

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON 

Just like that, Tarleton's second year of Division I nonconference play is over. 

Indeed, after breaking for Christmas, the Texans begin their 18-game WAC slate with a trip to the Beehive State to face Dixie State and Utah Valley on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1. The Texans split both season series in 2020-21. Tarleton earned the first WAC win in school history in any sport with a 70-62 victory over the Wolverines on  Jan. 30. The Texans later defeated Dixie State on Feb. 19 in St. George 77-59 to earn their second of an eventual four nonconference road victories.  

Tarleton's conference home-opener is set for 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 vs. Sam Houston. 

ACROSS THE RANKINGS 

NCAA NET Rankings

Tarleton jumped 41 spots from No. 268 to No. 227 following its 65-52 win over South Alabama on Friday. Air Force checks in at No. 248 ahead of Tuesday's showdown. 

The Texans have faced off with four teams currently ranked inside the top-75 of the rankings in No. 6 Gonzaga, No. 7 Kansas, No. 35 Michigan and No. 74 Wichita State. 

Tarleton is slated to draw an additional quartet of foes ranked inside the top-100 in Grand Canyon (No. 70), New Mexico State (No. 76), Utah Valley (No. 82) and Abilene Christian (No. 96) during conference play. 

NET Rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to help set the 64-team field. The NET utilizes 

two factors in ranking teams: Team Value Index (factors in results, quality of opponent and location) and the team's NET efficiency (metrics scaled for quality of opponent and location). The rankings do not include games played against non-Division I opponents. 

BEST OF THE WAC 
Tarleton is featured across the top of the Western Athletic Conference stat leaderboards in multiple categories with two weeks remaining in nonconference play. 

Tahj Small 

3rd in free throw percentage (.885, 23 free throws made) 

5th in minutes (34.7 mpg, 416 minutes) 

13th in scoring (14.4 ppg, 173 points) 

13th in rebounding (6.3 rpg, 75 rebounds) 

Montre Gipson 

7th in minutes (34.1 mpg, 409 minutes) 

8th in scoring (15.1 ppg, 181 points) 

T-9th in free throw percentage (.778, 28 free throws made) 

Shamir Bogues 

T-2nd in steals (2.2 spg, 26 steals) 

Shakur Daniel 

6th in minutes (34.4 mpg, 413 minutes) 

Freddy Hicks 

10th in blocks (0.8 bpg, 9 blocks) 

11th in free throw percentage (.769, 30 free. throws made) 

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING 

"That was tough. Billy did a great job. We saw that - how they played Michigan. Even their KU game was tough deep into the second half. On short prep, we tried to get the guys ready for that and it was harder than it looked on film. We just did a great job of surviving it. Intense, pressure on the basketball, and they front, they rake you in the lane, and they reach, and poke, and grab, and they do a good job with it."  - Mark Few, Gonzaga head coach 

"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 

"We got what we signed up for. They're scrappy. They play incredibly hard. They're arguably one of the hardest-playing teams in the country. They're really well-coached. Coach Gillispie is a great coach. I'm from Kentucky. I remember when he coached at Kentucky, Texas A&M and UTEP. He's done this for a long time. He's got a scrappy group. We saw it when they went to Gonzaga, we saw it when the went to Michigan, we've seen it every game they've played. They made us uncomfortable." - Richie Riley, South Alabama head coach 

"Tarleton is very good at getting into passing lanes, being active with their hands, feet, and their energy." - Juwan Howard, Michigan head coach 

"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 

THE HARDEST SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY 

The words spoken by Gillispie on Tarleton's Preseason WAC Media Day on Oct. 19 have never been more true.   

The Texans currently rank fifth in the nation in strength of schedule in the Pomeroy College Basketball ratings. Six of their first seven games - all of which were on the road - came against teams ranked in the top-150 of the rankings. Three of the contests were against teams ranked in the top-10 at tipoff time. Gonzaga occupied the top spot when the teams squared off on Nov. 29, Kansas ranked No. 2 when the teams met at Allen Fieldhouse on Nov. 12 and Michigan was eighth prior to the teams' game on Nov. 24. 

In total, 11 of the Texans' games are opposite teams ranked inside the top-150 while the team will face seven top- 130 programs and draw five foes listed in the top-100. Tarleton has already squared off with No. 60 Wichita State and No. 83 Stanford as well as North Dakota State, which was ranked No. 146 when the teams met on Nov. 22 in Fargo. Tarleton meets New Mexico State (No. 106), Grand Canyon (No. 118) and Abilene Christian (No. 140) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 142) during conference play. 

This season, Tarleton 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 sit at No. 200 in the rankings as of Dec. 16. 

Tarleton is rated seventh among its conference peers. New Mexico State, GCU, ACU and SFA are the conference's highest-rated teams while, Utah Valley (No. 157) and Seattle U (No. 199) rank No. 5-6. 

The Texans are slotted in front of California Baptist (No. 218), Sam Houston (No. 232), UTRGV (No. 280), Dixie State (No. 289), Lamar (No. 307) and Chicago State (No. 353). 

GIPSON STARS IN BIGGEST GAMES IN SCHOOL HISTORY 

The national stage and high-profile matchups have elevated the play of the Preseason All-WAC first team honoree.  

Gipson has scored in double figures in six of Tarleton's first seven and led Tarleton in scoring three times. His 15 points vs. Stanford were a team high as were his 16 at Wichita State and 17 in Ann Arbor. Gipson, who followed Gillispie from Ranger College in 2020, has finished with double-digit point totals in 10 of Tarleton's last 11 ballgames and 11 of 13 dating back to the 2020-21 campaign.  

Despite his listed height of 5-11, Gipson has been one of the Texans' most consistent rebounders in primetime. He tied for the game-high on the glass with seven boards at No. 20 Michigan, finished with six rebounds at North Dakota State and No. 3 Kansas.  

Gipson was a pest at No. 3 Gonzaga. He led Tarleton with five assists and swiped the ball away a game-high three times. 

He led all scorers with 27 points in Tarleton's 65-52 victory over South Alabama on Dec. 17. 

SMALL PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF 

Small delivered one of the finest performances of Tarleton's D1 era against arguably the best team in the country, tallying a career-high 25 points at Gonzaga on Nov. 29. Small led all scorers, knocked down a game and career-high five attempts from long range and led Tarleton in rebounding with seven boards. 

He followed up the performance with a 24-point effort on 9-16 shooting to lead all scorers in Tarleton's first of two games against South Alabama on Dec. 14. 

The Troy transfer has recorded two double-doubles this season. He scored 13 points and snagged 10 boards vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God on Dec. 8 and delivered a 16-point, 12-rebound performance vs. South Alabama on Dec. 17. 

The 6-5 guard has increased his scoring and rebounding averages considerably from 2020-21. He is tallying 14.4 points per game compared to 9.2 in his first year in Stephenville. Small is Tarleton's leading rebounder with 75 boards (6.3 rpg). 

PRESSURE, PUT YOU DOWN 

Tarleton has forced 15-or-more turnovers in 22-of-32 games under Gillispie. It has held opponents under 50 points nine times. The Texans recorded single-game highs in the Gillispie era in turnovers forced (41) and steals (28) in a 97-26 win over Southwestern Adventist on Feb. 6.    

Tarleton has turned over each of its 11 opponents at least 13 times to begin 2021-22. The Texans' 22 forced turnovers at South Alabama on Dec. 14 were a season-high. Tarleton induced No. 20 Michigan into a season-worst 21 turnovers on Nov. 24 in Ann Arbor. Tarleton forced 14 turnovers against Stanford in its regular season opener on Nov. 9. The Texans then posted a positive turnover differential against the nation's No. 3 ranked team on two occasions. The Texans forced 13 turnovers and swiped the ball away nine times at Kansas on Nov. 12. Tarleton pestered Gonzaga into 16 turnovers on Nov. 29. The Texans gave the ball away just nine times in both contests. 

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).