THE MATCHUP 

Teams: Tarleton (8-12, 3-4 WAC) vs. Seattle U (14-4, 5-0 WAC) 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 22 

Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Scott Garner, Play-by-Play 

ABOUT THE MATCHUP 

• Tarleton and Seattle U are meeting for the first time.  

• The teams were scheduled to play back-to-back games on Jan. 22-23, 2021 in Stephenville before COVID-19 developments within the Redhawks program forced the cancellation of the contests. 

• Seattle U occupies sole possession of first place in the WAC standings following its 72-62 win over ACU on Thursday. 

• The Redhawks are 3-2 on the road. Tarleton is 13-5 inside Wisdom Gym under Billy Gillispie. 

• Seattle U is 13-3 since Chris Victor was appointed interim head coach in place of Jim Hayford on Nov. 8. 

• The Texans and Redhawks are the lone schools in the WAC with a pair of top-10 scorers. For Tarleton, Tahj Small (15.6 ppg) and Montre Gipson (15.2 ppg) rank eighth and ninth, respectively. Cameron Tyson (5th, 16.4 ppg) and Darrion Trammell (6th, 16.2 ppg) are the architects of the Redhawks' offense. 

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. 

A WIN OVER SEATTLE U WOULD 

• Be the first in Tarleton basketball history over the Redhawks 

• Give Tarleton its eighth victory in its last 13 tries 

• Up the Texans' conference record back to .500 at 4-4 

• Mark Tarleton's fifth WAC home victory in six tries dating back to last season 

• Make the Texans' home record 8-2 this season 

• Improve the Texans' all-time WAC record to 9-11 

• Boost Tarleton's home record to 14-5 under Gillispie and 207-37 since 2007 

• Spike Tarleton's record in January games to 7-10 in its D1 era 

• Be the Texans' 11th true D1 victory 

• Mark Tarleton's first-ever victory over a team leading the WAC standings 

• Be Tarleton's third win over a team ahead of it in the conference standings at tipoff time. Tarleton previously defeated Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, who sit in second and fifth place, respectively 

• Give Gillispie his 168th career D1 win. 

• Signify Tarleton's third victory over a team ranked in the top-130 of the NCAA NET Rankings. 

TEXAN NOTABLES 

• Beginning with Saturday's showdown vs. Seattle U, Tarleton will play six of its next nine games inside Wisdom Gym. 

• The Texans have led at halftime in 13-18 home games in the Gillispie era. They are 12-1 when leading after the first 20 minutes. Tarleton earned its first home victory when trailing at halftime in its 77-71 comeback OT win over SFA on Jan. 8. 

• Tarleton's 88-84 loss vs. CBU snapped a six-game home winning streak. The Texans are 206-37 (.848) in home games over the last 15 years. 

• Tarleton ranks second in the WAC and 18th in the country in turnover margin (+4.63). The Texans turn teams over an average of 21 times per game in 18 home contests under Gillispie. 

• Tarleton and CBU were whistled for 54 combined fouls - 27 apiece - on Thursday. 

• Tarleton and California Baptist attempted a combined 72 free throws in Thursday's ballgame. The Lancers knocked down 32-42 free throws while Tarleton was 28-34 at the line. 

• The Texans' 56 points scored vs. the Lancers were their most in a single half this season. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES 

• Gipson hardly takes a breath once he steps onto the court. The senior ranks second the nation in total  minutes (692) and has played at least 38 minutes on 14 occasions this season. He played 85 combined minutes in Tarleton's two-game homestand vs. SHSU and SFA. 

• Gipson has scored 12-or-more points in 14 of Tarleton's last 15 conference games dating back to last season and eclipsed 10 points in all-but-three of his career WAC outings. Gipson is Tarleton's active leader in points scored (592). 

• Sophomore Shamir Bogues is second in the WAC and tied for 13th nationally in total steals with 39. 

• Freddy Hicks led all scorers with 23 points on Thursday. The sophomore leads Tarleton on the glass at 5.7 rebounds per outing. 

• Hicks averages 13 points scored per home game. The 6-6 sophomore has increased his scoring average from 9.4 points per game to 10.9 points per game since conference play began on Dec. 30. 

• Tahj Small tallied a game-high 23 points in Tarleton's matchup with CBU on Thursday. The senior went 7-10 at the line and also grabbed seven rebounds. He has scored in double figures in 16 of his 18 appearances this season. 

• Noah McDavid delivered one of his finest efforts in his first year in Purple and White vs. the Lancers. He posted a stat line of 16 points, six rebounds (career high), two steals and one assist in 40 minutes of action. 

• Jayshawn Moore has dialed it up a notch one-third of the way through WAC play. Moore is averaging seven points and 3.3 rebounds per game over Tarleton's last three affairs. He tallied 10 points and a career-best five steals in 25 minutes off the bench at GCU on Jan. 15, then snagged a career-high five boards vs. CBU on Thursday 

QUOTEABLE  

"They're good. They're undefeated in conference. I haven't really studied them. I've seen them play because they played California Baptist on Monday night, then we played them tonight, so we watched that game. By all accounts, they have two of the better guards in the league and some other players as well." - Billy Gillispie on Seattle U 

"You always say that you want to prepare for an opportunity before it comes. In the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a head coach again. I didn't know when it was going to happen — and when the opportunity was going to come — but I knew that when it did, I would be ready for it."- Chris Victor, Seattle U interim 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, 12 of the Texans' games are opposite teams currently ranked inside the top-150 while the team will play eight top- 130 programs and draw five foes listed in the top-100. Tarleton has already squared off with No. 90 Wichita State and No. 93 Stanford along with Grand Canyon (No. 108), New Mexico State (No. 113), Utah Valley (No. 118) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 129). North Dakota State was ranked 146th at tipoff time on Nov. 22. Seattle U is ranked No. 149 ahead of Saturday's matchup. 

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. 

ACROSS THE RANKINGS 

NCAA NET Rankings  

Tarleton sits at No. 196 ahead of Saturday's ballgame against Seattle U. The Redhawks rank 129th - the fourth-best mark in the conference. 

The Texans have faced off with six teams currently ranked inside the top-100 of the rankings in No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 7 Kansas, No. 53 Michigan, No. 84 Grand Canyono, No. 85 Wichita State, No. 95 Stanford, and No. 98 New Mexico State.  

South Alabama was ranked 79th when Tarleton defeated the Jaguars 65-52 inside Wisdom Gym for its first win over a top-100 team. 

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. 

Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings 

The Texans sit at No. 191 in the rankings as of Jan. 7. 

Tarleton is rated eighth among its conference peers. New Mexico State, GCU, UVU, ACU, Seattle U, ACU (No. 158) and SHSU (No. 178) are ahead of the Texans as of Jan. 21. 

The Texans are slotted in front of California Baptist (No. 227), UTRGV (No. 269), Dixie State (No. 291), Lamar (No. 334) and Chicago State (No. 343). 

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 

TAHJ SMALL, NOAH MCDAVID SWEEP WAC WEEKLY AWARDS 

Tahj Small was named the TicketSmarter WAC Player of the Week for Jan. 3-9 after leading Tarleton to home victories over Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 6-8. Additionally, Noah McDavid was chosen as the WAC Freshman of the Week for his efforts in helping the Texans secure the wins.  

A 6-4 guard, Small becomes the second player in program history to receive WAC Player of the Week honors. He joins position-mate Montre Gipson, who received the recognition on March 8 at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.  

Small averaged 23 points per game in Tarleton's home sweep of its east Texas rivals. The Durham, North Carolina native delivered the best all-around performance of his two-year Texan career in Tarleton's wire-to-wire 75-64 defeat of the Bearkats on Jan. 6. The senior racked up a game and career high 28 points on 11-14 shooting in the Texans' win. 

His 28 points scored were an individual game high in true Division I games for Tarleton this season. Small was as efficient and aggressive as he's been offensively in the first half. He scored 16 of Tarleton's first 25 points behind a 4-4 mark from downtown and ended the half with 18 points scored to stake the Texans to a 42-31 lead.  

Defensively, recorded a game, season and career high four steals. He played the full 40 minutes and did so despite missing Tarleton's previous two games due to COVID-19 protocols.  

Small followed up his career night with an 18-point, five rebound effort in a come-from-behind 77-71 overtime victory over SFA two days later. He scored on two of Tarleton's first three possessions in overtime to give the Texans a 68-66 lead they never relinquished. Small was 6-6 from the foul line in the victory.  

McDavid's accolade is equally significant. He is the first player in Tarleton basketball history to receive WAC Freshman of the Week honors.  

The 6-5 guard was instrumental in helping Tarleton upset the Lumberjacks on Saturday. McDavid played 40 minutes for the first time in his career, finishing with six points along with career-highs in rebounds (five) and steals (three).  

His lone field goal of the night was one of the biggest buckets of the evening. With Tarleton nursing a 68-67 lead with under 3:00 to play in overtime, McDavid attempted a 3-pointer from the left baseline. The shot clanged off the front iron, but McDavid curled right around two Lumberjack defenders, secured his own rebound and converted a contested second-chance layup to keep Tarleton in front 70-67 with 2:20 to play.  

The Texans closed the game on a 9-4 run beginning with McDavid's layup.  

Two days prior, McDavid scored nine points on the strength of three makes from downtown in 37 minutes of action in the Texans' win over the Bearkats. McDavid was a part of Tarleton's best shooting night of the season. The Texans shot a season-high 59 percent (30-51) from the field and were 8-13 from long range in the first half. 

BOTHERSOME BOGUES 

Few players have been as big of a thorn in the side of opponents defensively than sophomore Shamir Bogues. 

The 6-5 guard ranks second in the WAC and is tied for 13th in the nation in total steals with 39 as of Jan. 21. He is third amongst his conference peers in steals per game (2.0). 

His two-swipe effort vs. CBU on Jan. 20 was his 20th multi-steal game in his two-year Texan career and 10th this season. Bogues' seven steals at South Alabama were a conference single-game high.  

For his career, Bogues has recorded four-or-more steals on six occasions and reached three steals in 14 of his 37 games in Purple and White. 

He is Tarleton's active leader in career steals with 76. 

Bogues averaged four steals per contest as a senior at Killeen Ellison High School. 

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. 

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 scored in double figures 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. 

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 leads Tarleton in offensive rebounds with 31 and is third on the team in rebounds per game (5.1).  

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 then 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 game-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. Small then netted a game and career-high 28 points on 11-14 shooting to pace Tarleton to a 75-64 win over SHSU on Jan. 6.  

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 15.6 points per game compared to 9.2 in his first year in Stephenville.  

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. 

Shakur 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). 

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 206-37 (.848) 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 2010-11 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.