Toby Rhodes

Men's Basketball 12/28/2021 12:00:00 PM

Tarleton set to begin Western Athletic Conference play at Dixie State on Thursday

THE MATCHUP

Teams: Tarleton (5-8) at Dixie State (7-6)

Date: 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 30

Location: Burns Arena in St. George, Utah

TELEVISION: ESPN+

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM

Casey Hogan, Play-by-Play

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

The most important two months of the athletic calendar year have arrived for Tarleton, as Western Athletic Conference play is set to commence on Thursday. The Texans draw fellow transition school Dixie State on Thursday in the Beehive State in their first of an eventual 18 conference games.

Both teams are hot ahead of their WAC-opener. Tarleton enters the contest as winners of four of its last five ballgames and riding consecutive double-digit victories over South Alabama (10-3) and Air Force (7-4). The Trailblazers won six of their final nonconference outings – five of which game at home and four opposite non-Division I opponents – but are fresh off an 87-59 road loss at soon-to-be WAC rival Southern Utah.

The game is the third-ever meeting between the two schools and lone this season.
Tarleton finished one spot ahead of Dixie State in the WAC standings last season. The Texans placed sixth out of nine teams with a 5-7 conference record while the Trailblazers were 4-10.
The Texans and Trailblazers split the 2020-21 season series on Feb. 19-20 in St. George. Tarleton won the first game 77-59 before Dixie State returned the favor 24 hours later in a 64-48 victory.
The teams share a common opponent in Gonzaga. Dixie State opened the 2021-22 campaign in The Kennel against the top-ranked Zags, falling 97-63. Tarleton made the trip to Spokane three weeks later and came a few points and plays shy of notching what would have been the largest Division I college basketball upset in 25 years in a 64-55 defeat.
Thursday's showdown bills itself as a prototypical clash of styles. Tarleton is one of the elite defensive teams in the conference and nation. The Texans rank second in the WAC and 25th nationally in turnover margin (+4.50) and third amongst their conference peers in scoring defense (61.1 ppg), turnovers forced per game (16.8) and steals per game (8.7). Conversely, the Trailblazers boast the conference's No. 2 scoring offense at 81 points per outing but allow an average of 75.5 points per game, which ranks 12th out of 13 teams.
Something's got to give in St. George. The Trailblazers have eclipsed 70 points in all-but-two of their games, a feat that only two teams have accomplished versus Tarleton. The Texans have held 10 teams at-or-below 65 points this season.
Montre Gipson enters as Tarleton's returning leading scorer against Dixie State. The senior scored 16 points in the Texans' 18-point win over the Trailblazers in February and is averaging 12.5 points per game against Dixie State.
Freddy Hicks is no stranger to success in St. George. The 6-6 swingman recorded his second-of-three double-doubles in 2020-21 with a 13-point, 13-rebound performance in the second meeting between the schools.
The Trailblazers are led in scoring by Frisco native and Lone Star High School graduate Cameron Gooden. The 5-11 junior averages 14.5 points per game. 6-8 forward Hunter Schofield ranks second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and leads Dixie State on the glass (5.2 rpg).

INSIDE THE SERIES: DIXIE STATE

Tarleton's win over the Trailblazers on Feb. 19 capped a season-best four-game winning streak and was the Texans' second-of-four WAC wins. The Texans led from the get-go in the first meeting, using a 16-0 run early in the first half to assume a 20-7 lead. Tarleton led by as many as 17 points in the half and took a 36-23 advantage into halftime. Gipson scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half while Shamir Bogues filled up the stat sheet at both ends, finishing with 11 points and a game-high four steals. Tarleton shot 50 percent from the field and from behind the arc.

Tarleton kept it competitive early in the second game of a back-to-back vs. the Trailblazers the following evening but couldn't overcome a hot shooting night by the hosts. The Texans trailed 34-31 at the intermission following a first half that featured eight ties. Dixie State knocked down 11 shots from long range and used a 25-4 extended second half scoring run to pull away.

A WIN OVER DIXIE STATE WOULD

Give Tarleton its fifth win in its last six outings
Extend Tarleton's WAC winning streak to four games dating back to last season
Be Tarleton's fifth WAC road victory
Improve the Texans' WAC road record to 5-7
Make the all-time series between Tarleton and Dixie State 2-1 in favor of the Texans
Boost Tarleton's record in January games to 3-6 as a D1 program
Be the Texans' eighth true D1 victory
Mark Tarleton's first road victory of the season

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 Utahns or Tarleton fans alike interested in making the trip to St. George, single game tickets can be purchased at DixieStateAthletics.com or by calling the DSU Ticket Office at 435-652-7800

UP NEXT: UTAH VALLEY

Tarleton makes the five-hour bus ride north to Orem to face the Wolverines (9-3). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT inside the UCCU Center. The game will be the first of two between Tarleton and UVU. The Wolverines return the trip to Stephenville on Feb. 16.

The Texans memorably earned the first WAC win in program and school history over the Wolverines in a 70-62 road victory on Jan. 30. The teams split the season series in 2020-21.

TEXAN NOTABLES

Including its 77-59 win over Dixie State on Feb. 19, Tarleton has held teams under 60 points in 15-of-33 games under Gillispie.
The team's 25-50 mark from the field in its victory against the Trailblazers was its best in road games last season.
The Texans continue to lead the WAC in free throw percentage at 75.1 percent.
Tarleton shot 77 percent from the field in its 67-45 victory over Air Force on Dec. 21. The Texans knocked down 17-22 shots and began the half 11-12 from the field. The shooting percentage is Tarleton's best in a single half in the Gillispie era.
Tarleton's 45 points allowed vs. Air Force were its fewest vs. a Division I opponent.
The Texans forced 15 turnovers in both games vs. the Trailblazers last season. Tarleton has pestered opponents into 15-plus turnovers nine times this year and 23 overall since Gillispie was named head coach.

Tarleton is one of just two teams in the WAC with a pair of top-15 scorers in Gipson (14.8 ppg) and Tahj Small (14.4 ppg). They rank seventh and 11th, respectively.

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

Shamir Bogues is among the nation's elite on-ball defenders. The sophomore ranks ninth in the nation in total steals (29) and 21st in steals per game (2.23). He is second in the WAC in both categories. Bogues' three-steal effort in Tarleton's victory over Air Force marked his sixth multi-steal game this season and 16th of his career.
Bogues was a pest against Dixie State last season. He swiped the ball away seven times in the teams' two meetings.
Hicks nearly recorded the fourth double-double of his Texan career vs. Air Force, tallying 11 points and nine rebounds. Hicks snagged 18 rebounds in Tarleton's two meetings with Dixie State last season. He is averaging 5.3 boards per game vs. D1 foes this year.
Gipson has been on fire offensively. The senior is averaging 21 points per game over Tarleton's last four outings. Gipson scored a season-high 29 points in the Texans win over SAGU on Dec. 8 and followed up the performance with a 27-point effort to lead Tarleton to a 65-52 home victory against South Alabama nine days later.
Gipson is 17 points shy of becoming the first player in Tarleton's D1 era to reach 500 career points. He is the team's active leader in career points scored (483).
Small is Tarleton's leading rebounder at 5.8 boards per outing. He ranks in the top-20 in the WAC in four categories: scoring, free throw percentage (5th, .857), minutes per game (6th, 34.2) and rebounding (16th).
Small has scored in double figures in 10 straight games and 12 times this season.
Shakur Daniel (6.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg) is Tarleton's active leader in career minutes played with 1,098. The Toronto, Ontario native has played 35-plus minutes in eight ballgames this season while serving as Tarleton's primary ballhandler.

TARLETON-AIR FORCE WRAP-UP

Tarleton took a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The Texans knocked down 11 of their first 12 shots out of halftime to build a 46-27 lead at the 10:36 mark of the second half. Tarleton later assumed its largest lead of the evening at 65-40 with less than 2:00 remaining.
Tarleton shot a season-high 58 percent (25-43) for the game – its best mark opposite against a D1 team and second-highest in its D1 era. The Texans also connected at a season-best 43 percent from long range.
Tarleton rendered the Falcons' leading scorers A.J. Walker (17.8 ppg) and Ethan Taylor (9.8 ppg) ineffective, limiting the Texas natives to six and four points, respectively.
The Texans forced 15 turnovers and limited the Falcons to 7-20 shooting from the field in the first half. The team's 14 points allowed were tied for its fewest in the first half under Gillispie. Air Force gave the ball away 18 times for the game.
Tarleton finished with a positive rebounding differential (25-22) for the second time in as many games.
Four players scored in double figures for Tarleton. Small finished with a game-high 14 points on 6-12 shooting. Gipson scored all 12 of his points out of halftime to help ignite Tarleton's offensive outburst. Hicks and Bogues tallied 11 points apiece.
Hicks' all-around effort continued his strong showing in home games. He is averaging 10.5 points and eight rebounds per outing inside Wisdom Gym.

WHAT KEN POMEROY THINKS

The Texans sit at No. 177 in the rankings as of Dec. 16.

Tarleton is rated sixth among its conference peers. New Mexico State, GCU, ACU, UVU and SFA are the conference's highest-rated teams.

The Texans are slotted in front of Seattle U (No. 195) California Baptist (No. 214), Sam Houston (No. 244), UTRGV (No. 279), Dixie State (No. 300), Lamar (No. 308) and Chicago State (No. 354).

ACROSS THE RANKINGS

NCAA NET Rankings

Tarleton has risen 99 spots in the rankings over the last two weeks, climbing from No. 268 to No. 169 following back-to-back victories over South Alabama and Air Force. Dixie State sits at No. 270 ahead of Thursday's tilt.

The Texans have faced off with four teams currently ranked inside the top-75 of the rankings in No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 7 Kansas, No. 34 Michigan and No. 65 Wichita State. South Alabama was ranked 79th when the teams squared off on Dec. 17. Tarleton is slated to draw an additional quartet of foes ranked inside the top-100 in Utah Valley (No. 79), Grand Canyon (No. 82), New Mexico State (No. 83) and Abilene Christian (No. 85) 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.

Field of 68 Mid-Major Top 25

The Texans win over South Alabama marked its first victory over a team featured in the poll. The Jaguars were ranked 22nd at tipoff time. Conference foes New Mexico State and Grand Canyon are ranked 11th and 16th, respectively.

CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25

Gonzaga, whom Tarleton played competitively in a 64-55 defeat on Nov. 29, is the top-ranked team. The WAC has three teams featured in the poll in No. 10 New Mexico State, No. 14 Grand Canyon and No. 20 Utah Valley.

BEST OF THE WAC
Tarleton is featured across the top of the Western Athletic Conference stat leaderboards in multiple categories ahead of the start of conference play.

Shamir Bogues

2nd in steals (2.2 spg, 29 steals)

Tahj Small

5th in free throw percentage (.857, 24free throws made)

6th in minutes (34.2 mpg, 444 minutes)

11th in scoring (14.4 ppg, 187 points)

16th in rebounding (5.8 rpg, 76 rebounds)

Montre Gipson

7th in scoring (14.8 ppg, 193 points)

7th in minutes (33.7 mpg, 438 minutes)

11th in free throw percentage (.763, 29 free throws made.

Shakur Daniel

5th in minutes (34.7 mpg, 451 minutes)

Freddy Hicks

11th in blocks (0.7 bpg, 9 blocks)

13th in free throw percentage (.756, 34 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

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

"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 they went to Michigan, we've seen it every game they've played. They made us uncomfortable." - Richie Riley, South Alabama 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.

Tarleton was ranked first in the nation in strength of schedule in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings following its game at Gonzaga on Nov. 29.

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, 13 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. 64 Wichita State and No. 90 Stanford as well as North Dakota State, which was ranked 146th when the teams met on Nov. 22. Tarleton will face New Mexico State (No. 104), Grand Canyon (No. 122) and Abilene Christian (No. 131), Utah Valley (No. 135) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 142) during conference play.

This season, Tarleton 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.

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 11 times during nonconference play and led Tarleton in scoring five 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 scored a season-high 29 points vs. SAGU on Dec. 8 and 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.

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).

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