The Teams: Weber State Wildcats (2-4, 0-0 Big Sky), Tarleton Texans (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gymnasium (3,000)
Day and Time: Tuesday, Nov 29, 2022
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: KTRL 90.5 FM
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP:
 

• This is the second meeting between the Texans and Wildcats of Weber State. Their previous matchup occurred in January 2021, the first season of Division I basketball for Tarleton, and resulted in a 94-79 win for the Wildcats.
• Tarleton is 3-3 on the season after going toe-to-toe with Wichita State on Saturday. The Texans had a successful showing at the Paradise Jam tournament, earning the programs first win against a Power Five opponent with a 70-54 routing of the ACC's Boston College. They also dominated perennial powerhouse Belmont in the first round of the tournament 89-81. The Texans are led by head coach Billy Gillispie, who is in his third season at Tarleton.
• Weber State is 2-4 on the season, coming off a 1-2 performance at the Vegas 4 tournament in Las Vegas. They have picked up wins against Western Colorado and WAC member Abilene Christian. The Wildcats are under the directions of new head coach Eric Duft, who has been an assistant coach at Weber State for 15 seasons.

 
QUICK HITS:
 

• The Texans are T-5 in all of Division I basketball with 11.8 steals per game, only outranked by Missouri (13.9), Morgan St. (12.4), Kent St. (12.) and Tennessee (12).
• Tarleton is ranked third in the WAC, and T-12 in all of Division I basketball, in turnovers forced per game at 19.83. 
• The Texans are making their way to the free throw line at record breaking pace. They are second in the WAC, only behind UTRGV (28.9), and T-11 in Division I basketball in free throw attempts per game at 26.2.
• Weber State is currently ranked sixth in all of NCAA Division I basketball in free throw percentage, going 96-of-118 (.814) so far this season.

 
WHO'S HOT:
 

• 23 Jakorie Smith: Jakorie Smith continues to impress on the big stage. He led Tarleton in scoring against the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday, securing 19 points (7-10 FG, 2-2 3PT). He also grabbed three rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• 2 Freddy Hicks: Tarleton's leading scorer for the season, Freddy Hicks, picked up hist fourth double-digit scoring game with 14 points against Wichita State on Saturday. He led the team in rebounds with eight and dished out five assists.
• 5 Lue Williams: Lue Williams couldn't miss Saturday against Wichita State. He was perfect from the field, scoring 14 points off 5-of-5 from the field and went 2-for-2 from range. He has scored in double-digits three of Tarleton's past four games.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
 

• 5: Tarleton turned the ball over ONLY FIVE TIMES in their matchup against the Shockers on Saturday. That is the fewest number of turnovers yielded by Tarleton since they rolled McMurry 112-54 on Feb. 9, 2021, the Texans first year playing Division I basketball.
• 10: Tarleton recorded it's fifth game this season with DOUBLE-DIGIT STEALS after LOGGING 10 against Wichita State on Saturday. The Texans are the first opponent of the Shockers this season that has earned double-digit steals against them.
• 19: Jakorie Smith scored a career-high 19 points against Wichita State on Saturday, Smith appears to gravitate toward the main stage. He has scored in double-digits against some of Tarleton's toughest opponents this season including Arizona State, Belmont and Wichita State.
• 22.8: Freddy Hicks' 22.8 POINTS PER GAME puts him ranked fourth in all of NCAA Division I basketball and first in the WAC. He has played in four games this year so far and already set a career-high 30 points in the game against Belmont.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will host Wiley College on Saturday, Dec 3, for their annual Toy Drive game. Fans who bring a new or slightly used toy will earn free admission to the game. Attendees will also be able to take pictures with Santa Claus prior to tip-off set for 2 p.m. CT. Get in the Christmas Spirit by getting into Wisdom Gym this upcoming Saturday.