The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-13, 8-7 WAC) vs. Sam Houston Bearkats (19-6, 9-4 WAC)
Where: Huntsville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Saturday at 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Byron Anderson, Scott Garner)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This marks the 22nd all-time meeting, although just the fourth game since 1977. Playing three times since last season, the home team has won each time.
• In the first matchup this season, Shamir Bogues recorded 24 points (9-15 FG, 5-5 FT), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Freddy Hicks missed the seven-point game due to injury.
• Sam Houston is No. 60 in the latest NCAA MBB Net Rankings, the highest spot by a WAC team.
• The Bearkats are 7-1 over their last eight. They're 8-5 on the road, second best in the WAC.

 
QUICK HITS

• This is Tarleton's first home game since Feb. 4 following a four-game road trip. In the last home game, Tarleton lost for the first time in nearly a year, Feb. 16, 2022. The loss snapped a seven-year best 12-game home winning streak. They had their best home start (10-0) since 2014-15.
• At home under head coach Billy Gillispie, Tarleton is 26-9 (.743).
• This is a matchup between two top-seven ranked teams in the WAC MBB Resume Seeding System. Sam Houston is second, and Tarleton is seventh. Tarleton has already clinched their spot into the WAC Tournament. That will be Tarleton's first D1 conference tournament across all sports.
• The Texans' March 3 game vs. New Mexico State has been canceled as the Aggies have shut down their 2022-23 season. The WAC granted Tarleton a conference win for seeding purposes due to the forfeit, making Tarleton 8-7 in WAC play. The overall record goes unchanged.
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton would have their most season wins in the D1 era, surpassing the 14 wins from last season. The Texans need two more W's to finish with their first winning record.
• The Texans have started the same five players in nine straight games; Shakur Daniel, Lue Williams, Shamir Bogues, Freddy Hicks and KiAndre Gaddy.
• Defensively, Tarleton is one of the top teams in the WAC, third in steals (9.0 SPG), fourth in turnovers forced per game (17.3), and fifth in scoring (67.7 PPG). They also have the second best average turnover margin in the WAC (+4.7), tied-eighth in the country.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Shakur Daniel – Daniel did it all in the last game, recording nine points (4-7 FG), six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Over his last two games, he's at 9.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 RPG and 2.0 SPG, moving into the WAC's top-15 assists leaderboard (tied-15th at 3.0 APG).
• Lue Williams – Williams just had a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-3 3PT). He's shooting a team-high 42.1 percent from distance (min. 15 3PA) at 40-of-95. He just set the most three-point makes in a season in Tarleton's D1 era, surpassing Montre Gipson's 39 from last year.
• Jakorie Smith – Smith just recorded his seventh 10+ point game of the year, posting 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Smith has recorded multiple rebounds in all but one of his games played this year, and he's now tied-second on the team in rebounds per game at 3.6.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
5: Out of 27 games, Tarleton has won the turnover battle 22 times, only posting MORE TURNOVERS THAN THEIR OPPONENTS five times this season. Nationally they're tied-eighth in average turnover margin (+4.7) and 13th in turnovers forced per game (17.3).
  
70: The number 70 usually means a win for Tarleton, as the Texans are 12-1 THIS SEASON WHEN SCORING 70+ POINTS, and 2-12 when scoring under 70. Tarleton is 13-2 when leading at halftime and 13-2 when outshooting their opponents.
 
50: The Texans are 10-0 this season when SHOOTING AT LEAST 50 PERCENT FROM THE FIELD, and 22-0 in such games under head coach Billy Gillispie since he took over in 2020-21. This is their most games shooting 50+ percent in a single-season in their D1 era.
 
4: Tarleton is tied-fourth in the country in FREE THROW ATTEMPTS PER GAME, going to the line 24.5 times per contest. They trail UTRGV (25.8), Texas A&M (25.4) and Ball State (24.7). Freddy Hicks is second in the country in individual FTA per at 8.5, behind UTRGV's Justin Johnson.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will go from playing the No. 2 ranked team in the WAC MBB Resume Seeding System to the No. 1 ranked team, as the Texans will host Utah Valley on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT. The themed game will be Greek Night, as Greek Organizations will be set up in the lobby before the game, plus Tarleton will be giving away free koozies, while supplies last.