THE MATCHUP
Teams: Tarleton (10-13, 5-5 WAC) vs. Chicago state (6-16, 2-7 WAC)
Date: 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 5
Location: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas
TELEVISION: ESPN+
John Liddle, Play-by-Play
Mike Hardge, Analyst
RADIO: Tarleton Sports Network, KTRL 90.5 FM
Byron Anderson, Play-by-Play
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
-
Saturday commences Tarleton's longest stay at home this season. The contest vs. Chicago State begins a three-game homestand. Five of the Texans next six games take place inside Wisdom Gym.
-
A home-cooking may be just what the doctor ordered as the Texans aim to move up the Western Athletic Conference standings as the 2021-22 season approaches its stretch run. The Texans are 13-6 at home in the Gillispie era and 206-38 (.844) inside Wisdom Gym over the last 15 years. Of their five remaining home games, four are against teams with conference records at-or-below .500.
-
The Texans and Cougars are meeting for the first and only time in Stephenville as WAC adversaries. Tarleton was scheduled to host CSU on Feb. 12-13 in Stephenville last season before the Cougars elected to cancel their season due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns. The teams play again on Feb. 19 in the Windy City.
-
Tarleton head man Billy Gillispie will coach his 300th career game as a Division I head coach on Saturday. A win would be Gillispie's 170th career victory at the D1 level.
-
The Cougars are under the direction of first-year head coach Gerald Gillion. Chicago State is enjoying its most competitive season in recent memory with Gillion at the helm. The Cougars earned their first WAC win in four years on Jan. 8 in a 58-56 home victory over California Baptist. The program's six victories are its most since 2016. Chicago State has been a tough out despite its 2-7 conference record. It has lost by 20-plus points just once. Most recently, the Cougars nearly knocked off Abilene Christian in a 77-73 road defeat on Wednesday inside the Teague Special Events Center.
-
It's no secret that Tarleton has played one of the toughest schedules of any mid-major program in the country. The Texans rank 54th in strength of schedule as of Feb. 3 according to the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings – by far the top mark in the WAC. Chicago State represents just the fourth team Tarleton has faced this season with a losing record.
-
Good looks at the basket should be present for Tarleton on Saturday. Teams are outscoring Chicago State by an average of 12 points per outing. The Cougars allow an average of 75.2 points per game, which ranks 12th out of 13 teams in the WAC.
-
Keep an eye on the long ball Saturday evening. The Cougars attempt an average of 24 shots from behind the arc each game. They rank third in the WAC in 3-point field goals made (169). Conversely, Tarleton knocked down a combined 17 field goals from downtown in its road sweep of Lamar and UTRGV last week – its most in a two-game stretch this 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.
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.
INSIDE THE SERIES: CHICAGO STATE
Saturday's game is the lone opportunity Tarleton fans and alumni and Stephenville residents alike have to watch Chicago State on the Wisdom Gym floor. At least on the Western Athletic Conference stage, that is.
Chicago State announced on Jan. 14, 2021 it will voluntarily leave the WAC this summer as the conference continues its expansion into the southwestern United States. The Cougars are still searching for a new conference to call home but have expressed their intent remain at the NCAA Division I level.
Had COVID-19 not reared its ugly head on the Cougars' men's basketball program, Saturday would have been the third time in less than a year Chicago State and Tarleton have met in Stephenville. The Texans were slated to host the Cougars in back-to-back ballgames on Feb. 12-13, 2021. Chicago State, though, elected to cancel its men's basketball season on Dec. 23, 2020 after competing in just three games.
The Texans and Cougars will not have to wait long to run back Saturday's show down. Tarleton heads to the Windy City for the first time on Feb. 19 to complete its season series against Chicago State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT. The road trip marks the final time Tarleton has to leave the Lone Star State this season.
Chicago State earned its first WAC win in four years on Jan. 8 with a 58-56 home victory over California Baptist.
A WIN OVER CHICAGO STATE WOULD...
-
Extend Tarleton's winning streak to three games
-
Spike Tarleton's conference record above .500 at 6-5
-
Move Tarleton as high as fifth in the conference standings
-
Bost the Texans' home record to 8-3 this season, 14-6 under Gillispie, and 207-38 over the last 15 years
-
Signify Tarleton's second three-game winning streak in WAC play since joining the conference in 2020-21
-
Give Tarleton its 11th all-time WAC victory and fourth at home
-
Be the Texans' 13th true D1 win
-
Improve the Texans' all-time WAC record to 11-12
-
Spike Tarleton's record in February games to 5-2 in its D1 and WAC era
-
Make Tarleton 10-3 in games played inside the state of Texas this season
-
Be Tarleton's 10th victory in its last 16 games
-
Give Gillispie his 170th career D1 win.
TEXAN NOTABLES
-
Tarleton shot 50 percent clip from the field in its 15-point victory at UTRGV on Saturday. The Texans built a 42-26 halftime lead behind a 60 percent shooting clip - its best in a half this season.
-
The Texans trailed for a combine 2:11 in its pair of victories in south Texas last week.
-
The Texans are averaging 72.7 points per game in home contests - seven more than their season average (65.6 ppg).
-
Tarleton ranks second in the WAC and 11th in the country in turnover margin (+4.61). The Texans have finished with a positive turnover differential in nine-of-10 conference games thus far.
-
Tarleton posted a +6 rebounding margin (33-27) in its road victory at UTRGV on Saturday. It marked the second time this season Tarleton has posted a positive rebounding margin in conference play.
-
Tarleton has forced 43 more turnovers combined than its WAC peers at the midpoint of conference play.
-
Tarleton is now 14-2 in games against teams from the Lone Star State in its D1 era following Saturday's win at UTRGV . Its lone losses came against Texas A&M and eventual Southland Conference champion Abilene Christian during the 2020-21 campaign.
-
Tarleton has notched 18 wins in the Gillispie Era when leading at the half. They are 12-1 at home when leading at halftime under Gillispie.
INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
-
Freddy Hicks scored a game, season and career-high 29 points in the win. He is averaging 17.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in conference play, both of which are team-highs.
-
Hicks has increased his scoring average (12.4 ppg) by 3.7 points since WAC play began.
-
Hicks is averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game in Tarleton's 10 home contests thus far.
-
Montre Gipson hardly takes a breath once he steps onto the court. The senior leads the nation in total minutes (810) and has played at least 38 minutes on 17 occasions this season.
-
Gipson ranks in the top-15 in the WAC in five major statistical categories: minutes played (1st, 810), points per game (9th, 15.4 ppg), free throw percentage (12th, .780), assists per game (13th, 2.9 apg), and steals per game (14th, 1.3 spg).
-
Gipson was invaluable in helping Tarleton notch its second-ever WAC road sweep last week. He scored a game-high 18 points at Lamar, then dished out a season-high seven assists against UTRGV.
-
Gipson has scored in double figures in 14 straight ballgames and 34 times in his career.
-
Shamir Bogues is second in the WAC and tied for 17th nationally in total steals with 45.
-
Bogues delivered one of his better all-around performances of the year in Tarleton's win over the Vaqueros. He scored 13 points, dished out a season-high six assists, snagged five rebounds and stole the ball twice. Bogues leads the team in field goal percentage (.478).
-
Tahj Small leads Tarleton on the glass (5.8 rpg) and ranks second on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg). He tied for the team-high in rebounds with seven at Lamar on Jan. 26
-
Noah McDavid became the first player in Tarleton basketball history to receive multiple sets of WAC weekly accolades on Monday. McDavid was named the WAC Freshman of the Week for the second time in four weeks after averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in Tarleton's triumphs over Lamar and UTRGV.
-
McDavid has quietly been one of the top foul shooters in the WAC. The freshman has knocked down 33-37 (.892) of his attempts at the charity stripe
ACROSS THE RANKINGS
NCAA NET Rankings
Tarleton is No. 185 in the rankings ahead of Saturday's ballgame vs. Chicago State. The Cougars rank No. 340 - 12th out of 13 teams in the WAC.
The Texans have faced off with six teams currently ranked inside the top-100 of the rankings in No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 9 Kansas, No. 53 Michigan, No. 80 New Mexico State, No. 82 Wichita State and No. 89 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. 177 in the rankings as of Feb. 3
Tarleton is rated eighth among its conference peers. New Mexico State, UVU, GCU, Seattle U, SFA, ACU (No. 171) and Sam Houston (No. 174) are ahead of the Texans.
The Texans are slotted in front of California Baptist (No. 231), Dixie State (No. 270), UTRGV (No. 277), Chicago State (No. 337) and Lamar (No. 342).
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 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.
MCDAVID EARNS SECOND SET OF WAC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
The 6-5 guard was named the TicketSmarter WAC Freshman of the Week for Jan. 24-30 after helping Tarleton notch consecutive road victories over Lamar and UTRGV.
McDavid started in both contests and averaged 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He also connected on 5-12 attempts from long range.
Three of his makes from behind the arc came in the Texans' 62-57 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday as a part of an 11-point, four-rebound and three-assist performance. McDavid played the full 40 minutes in the victory.
McDavid's points vs. UTRGV came at key junctures of the Texans' 79-64 victory on Saturday. He connected on his first of two 3-pointers with 13:33 remaining in the first half to give Tarleton its first double-digit lead of the evening at 17-7 and force the Vaqueros to burn a timeout. McDavid then scored five straight points behind a pair of free throws and 3-pointer from the right key to increase the Texans' edge to 72-53 with 4:40 remaining and effectively ice the game.
He is the first athlete in Tarleton basketball history to receive multiple sets of WAC weekly accolades.
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 17th in the nation in total steals with 45 as of Feb. 2. He is tied for second amongst his conference peers in steals per game (2.1).
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 16 of his 42 games in Purple and White.
He is Tarleton's active leader in career steals with 83.
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 14.6 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 206-38 (.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.
