The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (4-7, 1-1 WAC) at UT Arlington Mavs (4-8, 0-2 WAC)
Where: Arlington, Texas
Arena: College Park Center (7,000)
Day and Time: Thursday at 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network (Clayton Neville)
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the ninth all-time matchup. UTA owns a 7-1 advantage, with the first six played between 1977-91, the most recent two last year. Tarleton is in search of their first road victory at UTA.
• In the WAC standings, Tarleton is tied-fourth, UTA tied-ninth. In the WAC Resume Seeding System, UTA is fourth, Tarleton ninth.
• UTA has won three straight after starting 1-8. Two of those wins came against former WAC foes.
• UTA is familiar with the transfer portal. Their top four scorers are transfers, the top two from WAC teams SFA and Seattle U. They lost the reigning WAC WBB Player of the Year to the portal.

 
QUICK HITS

• This is the resumption of conference play. The Texans won their last WAC game 72-66 at UTRGV. With a win Thursday, Tarleton would start WAC play 2-1 and match their WAC win total from last season (2-16). They haven't started 2-1 or better in conference play since 2016-17 (3-0).
• The Texans are 2-1 on their active four-game road trip. With a win Thursday, they would win consecutive games for the first time in a single-season since Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2022.
• Faith Acker is the reigning WAC WBB Player of the Week and WAC WBB Newcomer of the Week. Acker recorded a monster double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds in Tarleton's lone game last week, a 52-40 win at Texas Southern. She became the first Texan freshman to achieve a double-double since Ikpeaku Iwobi notched two in her true freshman season of 2013-14, plus is the first Texan freshman to post a 20-10 game in at least the last 10 years.
• Tarleton's defense has been stellar. They just forced 25 turnovers and allowed 40 points on 5-of-54 (.278) shooting, 3-of-22 (.136) from distance. WAC-wise, they are first in opponents' field goal percentage (.352), first in opponent's three-point percentage (.257), first in blocks per game (4.8) and third in scoring defense (60.8 PPG).
• Tarleton just won despite shooting under 40 percent for the first time since Feb. 19, 2022.
• The Texans are second in the WAC in rebounding margin at a positive 2.1 on average. Last year the Texans were last in the WAC in rebounding margin at -6.6 on average.

 
WHO'S HOT

• Faith Acker: Acker has two 20-plus point games this year, posting 23 points and 12 rebounds in Tarleton's last game. In Tarleton's last WAC game, she went for 20 points and eight boards. She now leads Tarleton State in scoring (12.3 PPG), rebounding (7.3 RPG) and blocks (1.3 BPG).
• Jakoriah Long: Long just dished out a career-high five assists, adding 10 points and a tied-career-high three steals. Over her past three games, she's averaged 14.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Her best game was a 34-point day at McNeese on Dec. 16.
• Elise Turrubiates: Turrubiates just posted six points, six rebounds and two steals at Texas Southern. She has secured 5-plus rebounds in eight of 11 games this season, and is now second on the team in rebounding at 5.2 RPG. She's also second in field goal percentage (.548) and three-point shooting (.667).

 
NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 3: Tarleton has only BEEN OUTSHOT THREE TIMES this season, and only once over the past eight games. Tarleton is shooting 42.4 percent from the field (third in the WAC), and is allowing a .352 field goal percentage (first in the WAC, tied-27th best in the country).
• 53: The Texans have 53 BLOCKS ON THE YEAR, averaging 4.8 per game. That's the best average in the WAC (next closest is 3.8 BPG), tied-36th best in the country. Their most in a finished D1 season is 4.3 (2021-22), and they're averaging double their mark from last year (2.4 BPG).
• 4.4: Despite being 4-7, the Texans still have an AVERAGE SCORING MARGIN of +4.4, averaging 65.2 PPG to opponents' 60.8 PPG. Their highest PPG average in a finished D1 season is 62.9 PPG. First halves have been close (28.5 to 28.3), but second halves have not (36.6 to 32.5).
• 500: The JUNIOR CLASS has led the way this year, scoring 500 points as a group, which accounts for 70 percent of their offense this season. Tarleton's leading scorer, however, is a true freshman (Faith Acker).

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton State will have a weeklong break for the last time until mid-February, as they'll host California Baptist on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at Wisdom Gym. The game, sponsored by Tikiz, will be a Purple Out, with early-arriving fans receiving purple shirts and all others encouraged to don Tarleton's signature color.