Men's Basketball 2/3/2023 7:34:00 PM

Texans try to stay perfect both at home and against UTRGV on Saturday

The Teams: Tarleton Texans (12-10, 5-4 WAC) vs. UTRGV Vaqueros (11-12, 2-8 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Arena: Wisdom Gym
Day and Time: Saturday at 4 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Byron Anderson, Chris Reisman)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Crews)

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

Tarleton is 4-0 all-time against UTRGV, all 10+ point wins, a 14.3 point average margin of victory.
UTRGV has lost four of their last five games. Their win was a 64-58 victory vs. California Baptist.
The Vaqueros are 1-9 on the road this season with five straight such losses.
UTRGV is tied-11th in the WAC standings and 11th in the WAC MBB Resume Seeding System.
The Vaqueros are second in the WAC in scoring (78.7 PPG), fourth in shooting (.472) and fourth in 3PT% (.356). They are last in scoring defense (78.5 PPG), third-worst in opposing FG% (.441)

QUICK HITS

Tarleton has won two straight and four of six. A win Saturday would tie a season-long winning streak (Nov. 10-20) and they'd be 3+ games above .500 for the first time as a D1 program.
Tarleton is a perfect 10-0 at home, their best start at home since 2014-15 (11-0). They also have 12 straight home wins, their longest such stretch since Jan. 21-Nov. 21, 2015 (13 straight).
Tarleton is off to their best conference start through nine games since joining the WAC at 5-4. With a win Saturday, they can continue that trend, as they began 5-5 last year, 3-7 in 2020-21.
Tarleton is the only team in the nation both undefeated at home (10-0) and winless on the road (0-9). The closest team to both feats is Arkansas, who is 11-1 at home and 0-5 on the road.
The Texans just pounded GCU 81-62 after leading by 33. They shot 32-of-52 (.615), 7-of-12 (.583) 3PT, both their highest percentages as a D1 team. Their last FG% so high was Feb. 20, 2020 (617). Their last 3PT% so high was Dec. 21, 2019 (.611). Tarleton shot 75.0 percent (15-20) in the second half.
Tarleton is tied-sixth in the WAC standings with a 4.5 game cushion to make the WAC Tournament with nine games to play. The Texans are seventh in the latest WAC MBB Resume Seeding System.
Freddy Hicks has dominated UTRGV, scoring 20+ points thrice, with a 29-pointer last year and a 21p/11r double-double in 2020-21. He's at 20.3 PPG (.556/.625/.813) and 6.0 RPG against them.
In the last game, Shakur Daniel played fewer than 35 minutes for the first time since Dec. 21. He leads the WAC in minutes played per game at 35:52, 30th most in the country.

WHO'S HOT

Freddy Hicks – Hicks just had his best game back since returning from a nine-game absence, posting 18 points (7-10 FG, 2-3 3PT), eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. It was his highest scoring game since the Paradise Jam and he was a board short of tying a season-high.
KiAndre Gaddy – Gaddy didn't miss a field goal in the last game, making 7-of-7 for a career-high-tying 15 points, to go with two steals. It was the tied-third most makes in a game without a miss in the WAC this year. He's at 61.5 FG%, tied-seventh best in the WAC (min. 30 FGA).
Shamir Bogues – Bogues scored his 20th career 10+ point game with 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3PT) in the last game, adding three rebounds. Bogues' two three-pointers were a season-high. He's played the second most minutes on the team, owning the most rebounds (79) and most steals (34).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
18: Tarleton allowed just 18 rebounds by the Lopes on Saturday, the Texans' FEWEST AMOUNT OF REBOUNDS ALLOWED in the past five seasons (18 at Le Moyne College on Dec. 18, 2018). GCU entered that game fourth in the WAC and 43rd in the nation in rebounding average at 38.3 RPG.

70: The number 70 usually means a win for Tarleton, as the Texans are 11-1 THIS SEASON WHEN SCORING 70+ POINTS, and 1-9 when scoring under 70. Tarleton is also 12-1 when leading at halftime and 11-2 when outshooting their opponents.

50: Tarleton's 61.5 percent shooting in the last game was the eighth time this year Tarleton has shot 50+ percent. The Texans are now 8-0 this season when SHOOTING AT LEAST 50 PERCENT FROM THE FIELD, and 20-0 in such games under head coach Billy Gillispie since he took over in 2020-21.

51: Tarleton and UTRGV are two of the top teams in the nation in getting to the free throw line with a COMBINED AVERAGE OF NEARLY 51 FTA PER GAME (50.9). The Vaqueros lead the country at 26.3 free throw attempts per game, while the Texans are seventh at 24.6 FTA per contest.

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will have their makeup game at UT Arlington on Monday at 4 p.m. CT at the College Park Center.

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