The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-14, 8-8 WAC) vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (21-6, 12-2 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Thursday at 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (John Liddle, Scott Garner)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This marks the fifth all-time meeting, all within the last two years. Utah Valley leads the all-time series 3-1 and took the lone game in Stephenville 69-56 last year.
• Last year, Freddy Hicks averaged 14.0 PPG, 3.5 APG and 2.5 RPG against the Wolverines in two games.
• Depending on results of Sam Houston's and Southern Utah's games Thursday, Utah Valley could clinch a share of the WAC regular season title with a win Thursday. They lead the WAC at 12-2.
• Utah Valley is No. 73 in the NCAA MBB Net Rankings, Tarleton's fifth highest ranked opponent of the year.

 
QUICK HITS

• With a win Thursday, Tarleton will guarantee themselves a .500 or better conference record for the second straight season in the WAC. The Texans went 9-9 in WAC play last year.
• With a win Thursday, 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.
• With a win Thursday, Tarleton would have their most home wins in a season in their D1 era at 11, surpassing their 10-5 home record last year. At home under head coach Billy Gillispie, Tarleton is 26-10 (.722.).
• Tarleton would avoid matching a season-long skid of three games with a win Thursday. They'd also avoid three straight home losses, a streak they haven't suffered under head coach Billy Gillispie.
• This is a matchup between two top-seven ranked teams in the WAC Resume Seeding System. Utah Valley is first, and Tarleton is seventh. Tarleton has already clinched a spot into the WAC Tournament, and as of now, are scheduled to open the tournament against No. 10 UTRGV.
• The Texans just replaced their regular season finale, originally scheduled March 3 against New Mexico State, for Feb. 28 at home against Dallas Christian. The Aggies canceled the rest of their season.
• Five of Tarleton's last six games have been decided by five points or fewer. The average margin of difference in the final score over the past six games has been 5.3 points.
• The Texans have started the same five players in 10 straight games; Shakur Daniel, Lue Williams, Shamir Bogues, Freddy Hicks and KiAndre Gaddy.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Freddy Hicks – Hicks just earned his 40th career 10+ point game with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds in the last game. He's averaging the fifth most points in the WAC at 15.7 PPG. No Texan has finished a season with such a high scoring average since 2018-19 (Josh Hawley, 17.3 PPG).
• Lue Williams – Williams has back-to-back 10+ point games, shooting 6-of-11 (.545) from distance over the span. He's now made 44-of-103 (.427) from downtown on the season. He's on pace to finish with 49 3PM, a number that hasn't been reached at Tarleton since 2018-19.
• Jakorie Smith – Smith has posted consecutive 10+ point games for the first time since Dec. 3-18. Smith has recorded multiple rebounds in all but one of his games played this year, and he's now second on the team in rebounds per game at 3.7.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
5: Out of 28 games, Tarleton has won the turnover battle 22 times, only posting MORE TURNOVERS THAN THEIR OPPONENTS five times this season. Nationally they're ninth in average turnover margin (+4.6, second in the WAC) and 15th in turnovers forced per game (17.3, fourth in the WAC).
  
70: The number 70 usually means a win for Tarleton, as the Texans are 12-1 THIS SEASON WHEN SCORING 70+ POINTS, and 2-13 when scoring under 70. Tarleton is 13-2 when leading at halftime and 13-3 when outshooting their opponents.
 
6: Rebounds will be key on Thursday, as Utah Valley enters SIXTH IN THE COUNTRY IN REBOUNDS PER GAME at 40.3 (tops in the WAC), and second nationally in defensive rebounds per game at 29.7, only behind Alabama (32.1). Tarleton is 9-1 when outrebounding their opponents this year.
 
4: Tarleton is tied-fourth in the country in FREE THROW ATTEMPTS PER GAME, going to the line 24.3 times per contest. They trail UTRGV (25.2), Texas A&M (25.1) and Ball State (24.4). Freddy Hicks is third in the country in individual FTA per game at 8.5.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will head out for their last road regular season game, scheduled for Saturday at UTRGV at 6:30 p.m. CT in Edinburg, Texas. The Vaqueros dealt Tarleton their first home loss of the season on Feb. 4, 68-65, snapping the Texans' 12-game home winning streak.