THE GAMES 

Teams: Tarleton (1-7) vs. Dallas Christian (0-2); Southwestern Assemblies of God (8-1) 

Time and Dates: 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Wednesday 

Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: DALLAS CHRISTIAN 

• The Texans and Crusaders are meeting for the 12th time on the hardwood. The teams first competed against each other in 2002. All 11 matchups have taken place inside Wisdom Gym. 

• Tarleton owns an 11-0 edge in the all-time series between the two teams. 

• The Texans earned their first win as a D1 program with a 103-48 victory over DCC on Nov. 25, 2020. Tarleton forced a then-school record 38 steals in the ballgame. Five players recorded at least four steals, highlighted by a career-high five swipes from Shamir Bogues. Small and fellow guard Javontae Hopkins each had four steals. Tahj Small tallied 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Tarleton in both categories. Tarleton also knocked down a season-high 26 free throws in the win. 

• DCC's official record is 0-2, but the Crusaders have played 10 times thus far. Their first eight games counted as exhibition contests. DCC is winless on the season. 

• The Crusaders compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association 

• Tarleton's average margin of victory over DCC is 44 points. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD 

• Tarleton caps a three-game homestand – its first of two this season – and plays its third game in four days against one of the top NAIA programs in the country in SAGU. The Lions posted a 13-3 overall record in the 2020-21 campaign and advanced to the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament. They are 46-7 over the last three seasons under head coach Delton Deal. 

• Wednesday's matchup will be the sixth meeting between the two schools. Tarleton is 4-1 all-time vs. SAGU. 

• SAGU will enter as the most recent victor in the all-time series. The Lions stunned Tarleton 73-60 on Nov. 12, 2012 inside Wisdom Gym. The defeat is Tarleton's lone loss in a home-opener since 2007. The Texans went on to win the Lone Star Conference Tournament and finished the season with a 20-10 overall record. 

• The game marks the return of a familiar face to folks acquainted with Tarleton basketball in Isaiah Boling. The 6-3 guard spent three seasons with the program from 2017-2020. After redshirting in his first year in Stephenville, Boling made eight starts across 54 games under former head coach and current senior associate athletic director for administration Chris Reisman. Boling averaged 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. The Van Alstyne, Texas native is a senior with the Lions' program. 

• The Lions compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference. 

• SAGU has defeated Dallas Christian twice this season, first by a score of 115-84 on Oct. 28 in both teams' season-opener and later to the tune of a 77-49 final on Nov. 12. Both games took place on the campus of SAGU in Waxahachie. 

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 both contests 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 

• Tarleton's average margin of victory in home games under Billy Gillispie is 38 points. The second-year head coach is 7-4 inside Wisdom Gym. All-but-one of the victories have come by at least 29 points. 

• Excluding its game at No. 3 Kansas, Tarleton is limiting teams to 51 points per outing. The Texans have held opponents under 65 points in nine-of-11 home games under Gillispie. 

• The Texans rank near the top of the WAC statistical leaderboard in most defensive categories. They are third in scoring defense (62.4 ppg), turnovers forced per game (15.9) and turnover margin (+4.38). 

• Tarleton is the top free throw shooting team in the WAC at 76.1 percent. The Texans knocked 

• down 16-18 attempts at the line vs. Charleston Southern on Sunday. Small leads the WAC in free throw percentage (1.000, 12-12 FTM). 

• Tarleton is one of just four teams in the Western Athletic Conference with two top-15 scorers in Montre Gipson (13.8 ppg) and Tahj Small (13.5 ppg). 

• All five of Tarleton's starters played at least 33 minutes on Sunday vs. Charleston Southern. The Texans entered just seven players. Freddy Hicks went the full 40 minutes while Gipson and Shamir Bogues each played 39 minutes. 

• Tarleton led for 12 minutes of and by as many as seven points in the second half in their 59-57 defeat against the Buccaneers. The Texans held a 57-54 lead with 1:50 remaining. CSU scored four points in the ensuing 30 seconds to steal the win. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES 

• Hicks (8.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) scored a season-high 16 points vs. the Buccaneers on Sunday. Hicks also matched his season-high on the glass with nine rebounds. 

• Small leads the Western Athletic Conference in free throw percentage (1.000, 12-12 FTM) and is Tarleton's top rebounder at 5.6 rebounds per contest. The Durham, North Carolina native has increased his scoring average by 4.3 points per game from last year. Small is also averaging 14 more minutes per contest (35.2 mpg) from his debut season in Stephenville. 

• Gipson leads Tarleton in points per game (13.8) and assists per game (2.4). The 5-11 guard is also third on the team in rebounds per game (5.1) and leads Tarleton in offensive boards with 15.  

• Gipson snagged a season-high seven rebounds on Sunday as did Bogues. 

• Bogues matched his season-high in steals with three against the Buccaneers. Bogues now has 15 multi-steal games for his career. 

• Gipson ranks second in the WAC in minutes per game (37.0) and has played 296 of a possible 320 minutes for the Texans. He has scored in double figures in 20 of his 27 games in Purple and White. Gipson is Tarleton's active leader in career points scored (400). 

• Gipson and Small have each made 42 field goals thus far. The duo is responsible for exactly 50 percent of Tarleton's makes from the field and 48 percent of its cumulative 42 scoring (218-451 points). 

• Bogues and Shakur Daniel have been pests for opponents defensively in the half court. Bogues leads Tarleton in steals with 15 while Daniel has 12.  

TARLETON-CHARLESTON SOUTHERN WRAP-UP 

• Hicks (16 points), Bogues (12 points), Gipson (12 points) and Small (12 points) accounted for 88 percent of Tarleton's total offensive output. 

• Hicks scored nine of his season-high 16 points in the second half. 

• Bogues and Gipson each finished with seven rebounds while Daniel had six. 

• Gipson and Hicks knocked down six free throws apiece. Gipson went 6-6 and has been perfect at the line in three games this year. 

• CSU went 3-6 behind the arc through the first five minutes but Tarleton limited the Buccaneers to a 3-18 (17 percent) mark from long range the rest of the way. 

• The Buccaneers' 59 points scored were their second-fewest in a game this season. 

• The Texans continued their recent run of success against opposing big men, limiting 6-9 center Sadarius Bowser to just four points and one rebound in 12 minutes. 

• Tarleton forced 13 CSU turnovers and had 11 of its own. The Texans have posted a positive or even turnover differential in seven of their eight games. 

• The Texans' 36 rebounds were a season-high in games vs. D1 opponents. 

• The Texans took their largest lead of the night at 48-41 with 9:10 remaining and led 57-54 with 1:50 to go. 

• Bowser completed a three-point play with 1:20 remaining and CSU knocked down a free throw with two seconds remaining to steal the win. 

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON 

A rarity in the college basketball scheduling spectrum: a home-and-home, back-to-back matchup. Tarleton travels to Mobile to face South Alabama on Dec. 14. The Jaguars will return the trip 72 hours later on Dec. 17 in Stephenville. It will be the first time Tarleton and South Alabama, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference, have met. Tarleton then concludes nonconference play vs. Air Force on Dec. 21 inside Wisdom Gym. 

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

Tahj Small 

1st in free throw percentage (1.000, 12 FTM) 

5th in minutes (35.2 mpg, 282 minutes) 

15th in scoring (13.5 ppg, 108 points) 

18th in rebounding (5.6 rpg, 45 rebounds) 

Montre Gipson 

2nd in minutes (37.0 mpg, 296 minutes) 

T-6th in free throw percentage (.818, 18 FTM) 

14th in scoring (13.8 ppg, 110 points) 

Shamir Bogues 

6th in steals (1.9 spg, 15 steals) 

Shakur Daniel

6th in minutes (35.0 mpg, 280 minutes) 

12th in steals (1.5 spg, 12 steals) 

Freddy Hicks

8th in free throw percentage (.793, 23 FTM) 

19th in rebounding (5.3 rpg, 42 rebounds) 

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 

"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 truer.  

The Texans were ranked first in the nation in strength of schedule in the Pomeroy College Basketball ratings as of Dec. 5. 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, nine 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-75. Tarleton has already squared off with No. 54 Wichita State, No. 89 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. 114), Grand Canyon (No. 132) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 144) in three of its first seven conference games come January. 

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 dropped 26 spots in the latest Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings following their loss to Charleston Southern. Tarleton sits at No. 210 in the ratings as of Dec. 6. 

Tarleton is rated seventh among its conference peers. New Mexico State (No. 114), Grand Canyon (No. 128) and SFA (No. 147) are the conferences highest-rated teams while Abilene Christian (No. 153), Utah Valley (No. 164) and Seattle U (No. 189) rank No. 4-6. 

The Texans are slotted in front of Sam Houston (No. 215), California Baptist (No. 216), Lamar (No. 287), UTRGV (No. 297), Dixie State (No. 308) and Chicago State (No. 356). 

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. 

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. 

The 6-5 guard has increased his scoring and rebounding averages considerably from 2020-21. He is tallying 13.7 points per game compared to 9.2 in his first year in Stephenville. Small is Tarleton's leading rebounder with 41 boards (5.9 rpg). The Durham, North Carolina native has snagged six-or-more rebounds in all-but-two of Tarleton's contests, including a season-high eight at Stanford.  

Small currently leads Tarleton in field goal percentage (.437) among players with at least 25 attempts from the field and ranks first in the WAC in free throw percentage (1.000, 10-10 FTM). 

PRESSURE, PUT YOU DOWN 

Tarleton has forced 15-or-more turnovers in 18-of-27 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 eight opponents at least 13 times to begin 2021-22. The Texans' 21 forced turnovers at No. 20 Michigan were a season-high. 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).