The Teams: Tarleton Texans (15-14, 9-8 WAC) at UTRGV Vaqueros (14-15, 5-11 WAC)
Where: Edinburg, Texas
Arena: UTRGV Fieldhouse
Day and Time: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Tarleton is 4-2 all-time against UTRGV, with the Vaqueros snapping the Texans' four-game winning streak in the series earlier this season, 68-65 in Stephenville on Feb. 4.
• In the first matchup, Tarleton rallied from a 12-point halftime hole to take the lead, but missed the game-tying shot as time expired. Shamir Bogues led with 19 points, five boards and four steals.
• UTRGV has lost four straight WAC home games, dropping Thursday's contest 88-81 vs. Utah Tech.
• The Vaqueros are No. 11 in the WAC Resume Seeding System, while Tarleton is seventh.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton just rolled the WAC's top team, Utah Valley, 77-58. The Texans outrebounded the Wolverines 39-38, a Utah Valley team who entered the game No. 6 in the nation in rebounding at 40.3 RPG.
• The Texans have guaranteed themselves a .500 or better conference record for the second straight season in the WAC. A win Saturday would have them finish 10-8 in WAC play, which would be their first conference winning season of the Division I era.
• Now at 15 wins, Tarleton has already set a new Division I era record for wins in a season. With a win Saturday, Tarleton would have their first winning season since joining the D1 ranks.
• This is Tarleton's final regular season road game this year. They've won two of their last four since starting 0-9.
• If the season ended today, No. 7 Tarleton would match up with No. 10 Utah Tech in the opening round of the WAC Tournament, while No. 11 UTRGV would face No. 6 Stephen F. Austin.
• In the last game, Tarleton rolled out a new starting five for the first time since Jan. 19, breaking a 10-game streak of the same group. They started Garry Clark instead of KiAndre Gaddy, while the other four remained the same (Shakur Daniel, Lue Williams, Shamir Bogues, Freddy Hicks).
• The Texans just shot 31.7 percent from the field, their second lowest mark of the year, and they still won by 19. They hadn't won a game with that low of a FG% since March 9, 2013, a 53-50 W at Midwestern State (.315). On Thursday, the Texans made 34-of-38 (.895) FT, their most FTM and highest FT% this year. The last time they had 34+ FTM was Feb. 8, 2018, at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Freddy Hicks – Hicks just went to the free throw line 13 times, making 12 for a 92.3 percent clip. He's now second in the nation in free throw attempts per game at 8.7, only behind UTRGV's Justin Johnson (9.0). Hicks has averaged 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last two games.
• Lue Williams – Williams has three straight games with 10+ points, averaging 13.7 points over the span. He's now made 45-of-109 (.413) 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.
• Shamir Bogues – Bogues just recorded 16 points, five rebounds and three steals, his third 10+ point, 5+ rebound, 3+ steal game of the season, first since Feb. 4 vs. UTRGV. He now has 139 career steals, two short of matching Brandon Lee (2002-04) for the seventh most in program history.

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
5: Out of 29 games, Tarleton has won the turnover battle 23 times, posting MORE TURNOVERS THAN THEIR OPPONENTS just five times this season. Nationally they're tied-seventh in average turnover margin (+4.8, second in the WAC) and tied-12th in TO's forced per game (17.2, fourth in the WAC).
  
70: The number 70 usually means a win for Tarleton, as the Texans are 13-1 THIS SEASON WHEN SCORING 70+ POINTS, and 2-13 when scoring under 70. Tarleton is 14-2 when leading at halftime and 13-3 when outshooting their opponents.
 
2: Tarleton allowed just TWO FIELD GOAL MAKES IN THE FIRST HALF of their last game, forcing Utah Valley to shoot 2-of-17 (.118) in the first 20 minutes. For the game, Tarleton forced the Wolverines to 31.8 percent from the field, an opponent season-low.
 
3: After just attempting 38 free throws, Tarleton is now tied-third in the country in FREE THROW ATTEMPTS PER GAME, going to the line 24.8 times per contest. They trail only Texas A&M (25.5) and UTRGV (25.1).
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will play their rescheduled regular season finale, and final home game of the year, against Dallas Christian on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT inside Wisdom Gym. This will be Senior Night for the Texans as they celebrate their most seasoned veterans on the team.