THE MATCHUP 

Teams: Tarleton (7-9, 2-1 WAC) vs. Stephen F. Austin (9-4, 1-0 WAC) 

Date: 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 8 

Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas 

TELEVISION: ESPN+ 

Brant Freeman, Play-by-Play 

Mike Hardge, Analyst 

RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM 

Scott Garner, Play-by-Play 

ABOUT THE MATCHUP 

• The Texans and Lumberjacks are meeting for the first time in nearly 45 years. The teams last met in 1977. SFA owns a 14-1 edge in the all-time series between the two teams, though Tarleton won the most recent game – a 71-67 victory in Nacogdoches. 

• Saturday's game is the lone contest between the two schools this season. 

• Tarleton is 6-1 in home games this season and 12-4 all time under Gillispie inside Wisdom Gym. The Texans have outscored opponents by 96 points (498-402) in home games this year. Tarleton turns teams over an average of 21.2 times per game in home contests under Gillispie. 

• The Texans are playing perhaps their best stretch of basketball in Tarleton's Division I era ahead of Saturday's showdown. With Thursday's 75-64 win over Sam Houston, Tarleton has now won six of its last eight ballgames and five straight at home. 

• The Texans are an astonishing 205-36 inside Wisdom Gym since 2007.  

• The Lumberjacks' foray to the Cowboy Capital will be just their fourth road trip this season. SFA is 2-1 in road games and is fresh off arguably the most impressive result in Western Athletic Conference play thus far. The Lumberjacks notched a wire-to-wire 64-58 victory at Abilene Christian (11-3) on Thursday. 

• Tarleton and SFA share a common opponent in No. 4 Kansas. The Texans were competitive the whole way in a 26-point defeat to the Jayhawks on Nov. 12 at Allen Fieldhouse. SFA nearly pulled off the upset of the year last month, falling 80-72 on Dec. 18 in Lawrence. The Lumberjacks were within one possession of the Jayhawks with 60 seconds left to play. 

• A win over the Lumberjacks would give Tarleton its first victory over a team ranked in the top-150 in both the NCAA NET Rankings and the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings this season. SFA is No. 120 in the NET Rankings and 134th in KenPom. 

• Tarleton and SFA boast two of the WAC's best teams at pestering teams into giving the ball away. The Lumberjacks rank second among their conference peers in turnovers forced per game (18.7). Tarleton is one spot behind at 16.8 turnovers forced per game. 

• SFA ranks second in the WAC steals per game (10.0) while Tarleton is fourth (8.7 spg). 

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 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN WOULD 

• Give Tarleton its seventh win in its last nine outings 

• Be Tarleton's sixth consecutive home victory 

• Provide Tarleton with its first 3-1 start to conference play in three years 

• Mark Tarleton's third-ever WAC home victory 

• Improve the Texans' all-time WAC record to 8-8 

• Hand Stephen F. Austin its first WAC loss in school history 

• Boost Tarleton's record in January games to 6-7 as a D1 program 

• Be the Texans' 10th true D1 victory 

• Make Tarleton 7-1 in home games this season 

• Raise the Texans record inside Wisdom Gym since 2007 to 206-36 

• Signify Tarleton's sixth WAC win in its last seven tries dating back to the 2020-21 campaign 

• Spike Gillispie's home record at Tarleton to 13-4 

• Give Gillispie his 166th career D1 victory 

TEXAN NOTABLES 

• Tarleton has suffered just one home loss when leading at halftime under Gillispie. The Texans are 12-1 when ahead on the scoreboard entering the intermission. 

• Tarleton is tied with Kansas for the 22nd-best turnover margin (+4.67) in the country. The Texans rank second in the WAC in the category. 

• Tarleton shot a season-high 59 percent (30-51) from the field in its win over SHSU on Thursday. The Texans began the game 7-10 from deep and went 8-13 (61 percent) from behind the arc in the first half. 

• The Texans dished out 17 assists in Thursday's victory - their most in a true D1 game this season. 

• Tarleton is one of just two teams in the WAC with a pair of top-10 scorers in Tahj Small (15.4 ppg, 8th) and Montre Gipson (14.7 ppg, 9th). 

• Tarleton is turning teams over an average of 17.1 times in home games this year.  

• The Texans make an average of 12 free throws per game. Tarleton continues to lead the WAC in free throw percentage at 74.4 percent. 

• Tarleton has shot a combined 58.5 percent (55-94) from the field in consecutive double-digit home victories over Air Force and Sam Houston. 

• Tarleton has limited opponents to 57 points per game in home contests this season. It has held four opponents under 60 points and rendered Air Force to a season-low 45 points on Dec. 21 

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES 

• Tahj Small netted a game and career-high 28 points on 11-14 shooting on Thursday. Small is averaging 20.5 points per game over his last four outings. Small has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive ballgames. 

• Gipson was every bit as efficient offensively as Small on Thursday. The 5-11 guard tallied 18 points on 8-13 shooting and dished out a season and game-high six assists. Gipson has notched seven consecutive double digit scoring performances in conference play. 

• Gipson earned the distinction of becoming the first player in Tarleton's D1 era to reach 500 career points on Jan. 1 at Utah Valley. Gipson is Tarleton's active leader in points scored (525) and minutes played (1,182). 

• Gipson has played the second-most minutes (558) among all Division I players this season. The senior has played 39-plus minutes in 11-of-16 contests this season. He has gone the full 40 minutes seven times vs. WAC foes in his career. 

• Freddy Hicks has scored 64 points (16 ppg) over Tarleton's last four outings. He tallied a game, season and career-high 27 points on 9-18 shooting in Tarleton's win at Dixie State. Hicks' 27 points scored were tied for the third-most in a single game by any Texan this season 

• Hicks has been at his best on the glass inside Wisdom Gym. The 6-6 sophomore averages a team-best seven rebounds per home game. 

• Hicks increased his scoring average from 8.1 points per game to 9.9 points per game following his pair of double-digit scoring efforts in the Beehive State.  

• Shamir Bogues is among the conference and nation's elite on-ball defenders. Bogues ranks third in the WAC in steals per game (2.1) and tied for eighth nationally int total steals (33). His two-swipe effort against Sam Houston on Thursday was his 18th multi-steal game in his two-year Texan career and eighth this season. His seven steals at South Alabama were a conference single-game high.  

LAST TIME OUT: TARLETON 75, SAM HOUSTON 64 

• The Texans led by as many as 17 points and never trailed outside of a 5-0 hole 30 seconds into the ballgame.  

• The win was Tarleton's fourth all-time over Sam Houston. 

• Tahj Small netted 18 of his points in the first half to help stake Tarleton to a 42-31 lead. He scored 16 of Tarleton's first 25 points on a 4-4 mark from downtown. 

• Small also 6-7 forward Savion Flagg scoreless through the first 20 minutes on an 0-7 shooting clip. Flagg is the WAC's leading scorer at 19.6 points per game. 

• Montre Gipson and Freddy Hicks also scored in double figures. Gipson scored 18 points and dished out a game-high six assists. The DeSoto, Texas native has notched seven consecutive double digit scoring games against WAC opponents. Hicks finished with 12 points and led Tarleton with nine rebounds 

• The Texans limited Sam Houston to 22-55 shooting (40 percent) and dished out 17 assists to the Bearkats' 11. Tarleton's 17 dimes were their most in a game vs. a D1 opponent this season. 

QUOTABLE 

"He played great. Probably the best game he's played in his life, but he's capable of that. For him to be able to do that after being out with COVID, that shows you really how tough he is. He was breathing a little bit harder. I kept asking him if he needed a break and he said 'No,' and that he wanted to be in there. But he played tough just like all the rest of them." - Billy Gillispie on Tahj Small 

"They're tough. They had a legit chance to beat Kansas. We played well against Kansas but we never really had a chance to win the game. I mean, it would have been a miracle. They had a real chance to beat them. Abilene Christian already has two road wins. They're way out front in the conference and they're a really good team. Whatever [SFA team] we see on Saturday will be an outstanding team and one that thinks it can win the conference." - Billy Gillispie on Stephen F. Austin 

"I was a little tired but coach did a good job of helping me prepare and get my wind for the game. He knew I had been out. We practice real hard. We always try to stay in shape anyways" - Tahj Small after returning from a two-game absence due to COVID-19 protocols 

"It says a lot. Coach G always instills toughness in us. Yeah, we took an 'L,' but we came back to practice and we got tough, we prepared for this, we looked forward to it, and we got the win." - Tahj Small on bouncing back from a 22-point loss at Utah Valley on Jan. 1 

ACROSS THE RANKINGS 

NCAA NET Rankings 
Tarleton has risen 82 spots in the rankings over the last three weeks, climbing from No. 268 to No. 186 following wins in four of its last five ballgames. 

The Texans have faced off with five teams currently ranked inside the top-85 of the rankings in No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 7 Kansas, No. 54 Michigan, No. 77 Utah Valley and No. 84 Wichita 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. Tarleton is slated to draw three more foes ranked inside the top-100 in Grand Canyon (No. 76), New Mexico State (No. 86) and Abilene Christian (No. 87). 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. 

Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings 

The Texans sit at No. 174 in the rankings as of Jan. 7. 

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

The Texans are slotted in front of Seattle U (No. 184) California Baptist (No. 216), Sam Houston (No. 243), UTRGV (No. 284), Dixie State (No. 313), Lamar (No. 314) and Chicago State (No. 350).