THE MATCHUP 

Teams: Tarleton (8-13, 3-5 WAC) at Lamar (2-17, 0-8 WAC) 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Jan. 26 

Location: Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Byron Anderson, Play-by-Play 

ABOUT THE MATCHUP 

• Tarleton and Lamar are meeting for the first time on the men's basketball hardwood. The teams play again on Feb. 26 in Stephenville in what will be the Texans' final home game of the 2021-22 season. 

• Both teams are eager to right the ship at the midpoint of conference play. Tarleton has dropped four straight games since beginning WAC play with a 3-1 record. The Cardinals are riding a 10-game losing streak and last won on Dec. 5. 

• Tarleton is 12-2 in games versus teams from Texas in its Division I era. 

• No team has endured tougher sledding with injuries and the COVID bug than Lamar. The Cardinals were forced to forfeit a pair of home games vs. New Mexico State and Grand Canyon on Jan. 6-8 due to a lack of player availability. Lamar has entered 10 players over its last five conference games.   

• The Texans have dropped just one game to a team with an overall record under .500. All-but-one of the  Texans' D1 opponents this season have come against teams with even or winning records. 

• The Texans' swing through south Texas represents a prime opportunity to even their conference record. Tarleton next draws UTRGV (6-13, 1-6 WAC) at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Edinburg. The Vaqueros sit one spot above the Cardinals at the basement of the conference standings. The Texans notched a road sweep of UTRGV on March 5-6, 2021 to close its inaugural Division I season. 

• Wednesday marks a special reunion between the teams' head coaches. When Billy Gillispie strides onto Billy Tubbs Court shortly before tipoff inside the Montagne Center, he'll likely pause beside Tarleton's team bench, then walk toward the scorer's table to greet a colleague present for some of the high points of his coaching career. The Cardinals are coached by Alvin Brooks, who served as an assistant coach under Gillispie at UTEP during the 2003-04 season when the Miners went 24-8 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament and throughout his three-year tenure at Texas A&M. Brooks then followed Gillispie to Kentucky, where he served as the program's director of operations from 2007-2009. Gillispie posted an overall record of 94-34 (.728) and earned three combined berths to the Big Dance with Brooks serving as an assistant coach. Six years under Gillispie's wing spawned an opportunity for Brooks, 62, to return to his hometown of Houston. Brooks spent the last 11 seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Houston. Brooks is in his first season as the head man at Lamar. Wednesday's ballgame marks the first time Gillispie and Brooks will be on opposite benches as head coaches. The Texans and Cardinals next meet on Feb. 26 in Stephenville in Tarleton's final home game 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. 

A WIN OVER LAMAR WOULD 

• Be the first in Tarleton basketball history over the Cardinals. 

• Snap a four-game losing streak. 

• Move Tarleton within a game of .500 in the conference standings at 4-5. 

• Match Tarleton's WAC win total from the 2020-21 season (four) at the midpoint of conference play. 

• Give Tarleton its sixth-ever WAC road victory. 

• Be the Texans' 11th true D1 win. 

• Improve the Texans' all-time WAC record to 9-12. 

• Spike Tarleton's record in January games to 8-11 in its D1 era. 

• Make Tarleton 6-0 in games opposite teams from the state of Texas this season. 

• Be the Texans' third consecutive conference road victory in Texas. 

• Give Gillispie his 168th career D1 win. 

TEXAN NOTABLES 

• Entering Wednesday's contest, the Texans are 54th in strength of schedule according to KenPom. The ranking is tops in the WAC and fifth among all mid-major programs.  

• Tarleton ranks second in the WAC and 16th in the country in turnover margin (+4.67). The Texans are turning teams over an average of 17.9 times per game in conference play. 

• The Texans averaged 76 points per game last weekend vs. CBU and Seattle U, their most in a two-game stretch this season. Lamar yields an average of 72 points per outing. Opponents are outscoring the Cardinals by an average of 10.3 points per game. 

• Tarleton is one of just two teams in the WAC with a pair of top-10 scorers in Montre Gipson (8th, 15.4 ppg) and Tahj Small (9th, 14.9 ppg). 

• Following Saturday's showdown at UTRGV, Tarleton will play five of its next six games inside Wisdom Gym. 

• Shooting above 45 percent is key for Tarleton. The Texans are 14-3 when eclipsing the threshold since Gillispie took the reins in 2020. 

• Tarleton is connecting at a 75 percent clip from the charity stripe, which ranks second in the WAC. Freddy Hicks accounts of 75 of Tarleton's 290 makes (26 percent) at the charity stripe and has knocked down the second-most free throws of any player in the conference. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES 

• Gipson hardly takes a breath once he steps onto the court. The senior ranks third the nation in total minutes (732) and has played at least 38 minutes on 15 occasions this season.  

• Gipson has scored 12-or-more points in 15 of Tarleton's last 16 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 (614). He tallied a game-high 23 points in Tarleton's 76-68 loss to Seattle U on Saturday. 

• Sophomore Shamir Bogues is second in the WAC and tied for 12th nationally in total steals with 42. 

• Freddy Hicks has been on a tear of late. He leads Tarleton on the glass with 121 total rebounds (5.8 rpg) and has increased his scoring average from 9.4 points per game to 11.2 points per game during WAC play. 

• Hicks averaged 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in Tarleton's home contests vs. California Baptist and Seattle U last week. The 6-6 sophomore has snagged seven-or-more rebounds in five of the Texans' last six ballgames. 

• Tahj Small ranks in the top-15 in the WAC in four major statistical categories: minutes per game (5th, 34.2 mpg), points per game (9th, 14.9 ppg), free throw percentage (12th, .782) and rebounds per game (T-13th, 5.8 rpg). 

• Small led Tarleton with 23 points in its four-point loss to the Lancers on Thursday, then registered his third double-double of the season with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against Seattle U. The 6-4 senior has scored in double figures in 17-of-19 games this year. 

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

• McDavid has quietly been one of the top foul shooters in the WAC. The freshman has knocked down 31-35 (.886) of his attempts at the charity stripe 

• 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 games vs. NMSU, GCU and CBU from Jan. 13-20. 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 

BEST IN THE WAC 
Tarleton is featured across the top of the Western Athletic Conference stat leaderboards in multiple categories entering the fourth week of conference play.  

Montre Gipson 

1st in minutes (34.9 mpg, 732 minutes)  

8th in scoring (15.4 ppg, 324points)  

11th in free throw percentage (.785, 62 free throws made)  

12h in steals (1.3 spg, 27 steals)  

Tahj Small

5th in minutes (34.2 mpg, 649minutes)  

12th in free throw percentage (.782, 43free throws made)  

9th in scoring (14.6 ppg, 249 points)  

T-13th in rebounds (5.8 rpg, 111 rebounds)  

Shamir Bogues

2nd in steals (2.0 spg, 42 steals)  

Freddy Hicks  

9th in blocks (0.9 bpg, 18 blocks)  

10th in free throw percentage (.789, 75 free throws made)  

T-13th in rebounds (5.8 rpg, 121 rebounds) 

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, 14 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. 88 Wichita State and No. 92 Stanford along with New Mexico State (No. 101), Grand Canyon (No. 111), Utah Valley (No. 118), Seattle U (No. 137) and Stephen F. Austin (No. 140). North Dakota State was ranked 146th at tipoff time on Nov. 22.  

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. 197 ahead of Saturday's ballgame against Seattle U. The Cardinals rank 349th out of a possible 358 teams. 

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. 38 Michigan, No. 82 Wichita State, No. 88 New Mexico State, No. 92 Grand Canyon and No. 95 Stanford.  

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. 195 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. 25. 

The Texans are slotted in front of California Baptist (No. 227), UTRGV (No. 274), Dixie State (No. 285), Lamar (No. 336) and Chicago State (No. 340). 

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 12th in the nation in total steals with 42 as of Jan. 25. 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 79. 

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 14.9 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 206-38 (.844) 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.