STILLWATER, Oklahoma – Tarleton State will conclude its non-conference road slate with a Thursday night tilt against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Gallagher-Iba Arena.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ by Adam Hildebrant and Bryndon Manzer. Kyle Crews will have the call on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast available on tarletonsports.com. Follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram, X and Facebook for live updates, highlights and content.
 
Last night, the Texans fell to UTEP, 67-62 in head coach Billy Gillispie's return to El Paso. Despite taking a nine-point deficit into the half, the Texans battled back and cut it to a three-point game in the final ten minutes of action. But a three-point dagger from former Texan Devon Barnes deflated the Tarleton comeback, ultimately resulted in UTEP's third victory of the series.
 
Bubu Benjamin ranks second in the WAC in four different categories. The sophomore is second in the WAC in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. Benjamin has scored 20-plus points in four games this season. The Canadian broke is career-high for the third time this season with 29 against Dallas Christian. Benjamin posted 21 points in the season opener at SMU and then broke his career high again against Iona with 22 in the Bahamas. He also ranks second in the league in minutes per game (35:02), field goals (71), total points (207) and is third in field goal percentage (.550).
 
Izzy Miles tallied eight steals against UCF, the most by a player in a single game this season in the NCAA. His eight is the second most steals in a single game by a Texan in the D1 era.Miles notched eight steals against UCF on Sunday 12/8. He was only three steals short of Shamir Bogues D1 era and program record 11 steals on Feb. 28, 2023 vs. Southwestern Assemblies. In program history, Miles mark of eight is fourth since 1988.
 
Freshman Keitenn Bristow has played the last two games after missing the first nine due to a lower body injury. Bristow earned his first collegiate start playing 35 minutes at UCF. He tallied eight points and seven boards but committed eight turnovers. In his first game, he registered nine points in 22 minutes against Dallas Christian. Bristow is the only Texan to have been named a Texas Mr. Basketball finalist during his prep career. The 5A Player of the Year was a prized recruit that the Texans won last year.
 
Tarleton State will be playing its 178th matchup against an Oklahoma program and its first against Oklahoma State. Wednesday night will mark the Texans 70th contest in the state of Oklahoma since 1988. Heading into the tilt, TSU is 35-34. Oklahoma State will be the Texans first Oklahoma D1 opponent. Tarleton took on current D1 program Oral Roberts in 1990 during their two years as an NAIA school. During its time in their NAIA and D2 era, the Texans have taken on 16 different programs from Oklahoma. Their most played Oklahoma opponent is Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. The Texans are 33-12 against the Aggies.
 
After starting six of the first seven games, Mizell has been a piece of the Texan bench the past five games. The freshman posted a career-high 14 points of the bench in 35 minutes of action, the second Texan this season to record 35 or more minutes off the bench.
In the first two weeks of the 2024-25 NET Rankings, the Texans rank 23rd in SOS. Tarleton has the highest ranked SOS in the WAC. The average NET of Tarleton opponents is 22. Tarleton's NET ranking is 347.
 
Head Coach Billy Gillispie is chasing the 200-career win mark, needing six more to eclipse the milestone.
 
Tarleton State will finish off its three-game week with a home tilt against Howard Payne on Saturday evening. The Texan men will be the second part of a women's and men doubleheader at Wisdom Gym. The women will tip off against St.Mary's (TX) at 2 p.m. followed by an expected 4 p.m. tip for the men's game. Saturday will be Whataburger's Hoops for the Holliday with Whataburger in the main concourse giving away promotional items. Early-arriving fans to both games will receive a free Texan mini hoop as part of "Hoop There it is Night".