RIVERSIDE, California ­— Tarleton State Men's Basketball hopes to extend their perfect 3-0 record in the state of California as the Texans take on California Baptist in its 100^th game as a Division I program on Thursday night at 9 pm CT.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Braiden Bell and Steven Douglas on the call. Kyle Crews will have the radio call on 90.5 KTRL. Live Stats will be provided by StatBroadcast and can be found on TarletonSports.com. For highlights and live score updates follow @tarletonmbb on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Tarleton has opened WAC play 3-0 for the first time in program history. The Texans have had a flare for dramatics so far in league play coming out on the winning end of a trio of two-point games. Jakorie Smith beat the buzzer in Wisdom Gym to give the come-from-behind squad a 77-75 victory over UTRGV. Tarleton earned a stop at the buzzer in Nacogdoches on the Lumberjacks three-pointer at the buzzer to open WAC play in November.
 
Lue Williams knocked down a triple at the top of the arc in the final twenty seconds to lift the Texans to a 78-76 victory over UT Arlington last week. Emmanuel Innocenti posted a career-high 19 points and led the Texans in scoring last week against the Mavericks in the Texans' lone game of the week. Tarleton knocked off the Mavericks, 78-76, on Thursday night in Wisdom Gym.
 
The Texans are in their fourth year of reclassification into NCAA Division I. Thursday will mark the Texans' 100^th game as a Division I institution. Men's basketball joins baseball, softball and volleyball as the fourth program to reach the century mark in total games played. Tarleton is the sixth men's basketball program since 2010 to win at least 50 games in its first 100. The Texans have the eighth-best winning percentage of all 31 reclassifying programs since 2010. Tarleton has the highest winning percentage this season among all 11 reclassifying teams just edging out St. Thomas (MN) who is 12-5.
 
Tarleton has found success in the state of California this season winning each of its three games in the state so far. Six of the Texans ten wins have come in the state of Texas. However, with Tarleton hosting three non-D1 opponents in Stephenville, the Texans have beaten three D1 opponents in Texas and in California. With a win on Thursday, the Purple and White will have more wins against a D1 team in California than Texas so far this season. Coming into the 2023-24 season, the Texans were a combined 0-4 in the state in the Division I era.
 
KiAndre Gaddy leads the league in double-doubles (five) and offensive rebounds (61). Gaddy ranks in the top six in five different statistical categories in the conference. Gaddy was named the WAC Player of the Week last Tuesday for the last week of 2023.
 
As a unit, the Texans lead the WAC in free throw percentage (74.3) and are tied for the top in turnover margin (+2.9). Tarleton is in the top three in six different team statistics in the conference.
 
Joseph Jones will be standing on the Texan sideline for his tenth-straight game. Jones has been filling in for coach Billy Gillispie since Nov. 19 who has not been with the team due to medial circumstances. Jones was named the acting head coach on Dec. 19. He holds a 7-2 record during his time on the sidelines.
 
California Baptist enters the match-up 8-7 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Lancers dropped a pair of games last weekend on the road at Seattle U and Utah Valley. For the second time in the last three seasons, CBU started conference play, 1-3. Rick Croy is in his 11^th season at the helm of the Lancers and is the only head coach during the program's D1 era.
 
The Lancers have not lost to the Texans in the four previous meetings in the two programs' history. California Baptist is 3-0 against Tarleton in Riverside. Last season, the Lancers were 77-48 victors over the Texans in Riverside.
 
The Purple and White will close the weekend in Phoenix against Grand Canyon, who is receiving votes in the latest AP Poll, on Saturday night at 8 p.m. in GCU Arena.