STEPHENVILLE, Texas — For the second-straight season, Tarleton State Men's Basketball heads to Foster Pavilion to take on the Baylor Bears on Friday night at 8 p.m.
 
The Texans head to Waco on a two-game winning streak after winning their first two home games in their brand new EECU Center. The Texans topped TAMU-CC and Merrimack to even their winning percentage to .500. Tarleton State opened the season on the road with losses at SMU and LSU. The matchup against Baylor is the third of four total Power Four contests for the Texans this season, with the final matchup at Cincinnati on Dec. 1. Baylor has opened the season win a pair of home wins against UTRGV and Washington to start 2-0.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Pete Sousa and Pat Nunley on the call. The game will also be streamed on the radio by 90.5 KTRL and available online on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. Live Stats will be provided by Stat Broadcast. For the latest updates, content and highlights, follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram and X.
 
Chris Mpaka set a new high with 24 points against Merrimack on 11/11. He brought home five dunks or alley-oops with four coming in the final ten minutes of the game. He set a new team season high with 10 made field goals also setting his new career high. Mpaka was one rebound shy of his first double-double of the season notching nine boards and adding four blocks.
 
Mpaka and Freddy Hicks became the first Texan duo in the D1 era to each notch at least four blocks in a single game. Hicks split his four blocks evenly across the two halves with two in the first half and two in the second.  Mpaka swatted only one block in the first with three coming in the second. His fourth and final block came with 45 ticks to go to wrap up the feat. Mpaka ranks second all-time in Texan D1 history with 56 total blocks, followed closely behind by Hicks with 51. KiAndre Gaddy is the D1 era leader notching 72 in his two seasons with the program. The last Texans to accomplish this feat were Clashon Gaffney and Jesse Hill against Eastern New Mexico in the end of the 2018-19 season on March 7, 2019.
 
After the first four games, Dior Johnson ranks in the top 75 in the nation scoring 61 total points. He has the second most points among players in the WAC. Dior Johnson has notched a pair of 20+ point games with his new career high of 32 against TAMU-CC. He led the team in scoring off the bench in the season opener at SMU and the home opener against the Islanders.
 
Freddy Hicks returns for the Texans for his sixth collegiate season and fifth as a Texan. Hicks led the team in points, rebounds and assists per game last season, playing in seven contests. Hicks is the Texans D1 era leader in nine different categories: games played (85), minutes played (2434), rebounds (460), total points (1084), field goals made (316), field goals attempted (756), free throws made (395), free throws attempted (536) and games fouled out (16). He will tie Shamir Bogues for games started at 77 on his next start. Hicks missed the first 16 games of the season due to a foot injury and then reinjured it and missed several more contests. He became the first Texan in its D1 era to score 1000 points in his Texan career coming on a free throw against Utah Valley in the final regular season game of the season.
 
Tarleton State is averaging 22.3 made free throws per game. The Texans rank first in the WAC with the mark and 35^th in the nation. Tarleton State made 29 in their first game against SMU and last game against TAMU-CC. They also made under 20 in each the Merrimack (18) and LSU games (13).
 
Tarleton State is ranked 37th in the nation and second in the WAC in bench points per game. The Texans 161 bench points ranks fifth in total bench points in the nation. The Tarleton State bench outscored their starters in each of the first three games, with their leading scorer coming off the bench in each. In game four, the streak snapped with 24
 
With Friday ending three-straight home games to open the season, Baylor plays their last home game in November against the Texans. Cameron Carr leads the Bears in scoring after opening the season with 28 against UTRGV and putting up 16 against Washington, both team highs. Freshman Tounde Yessoufou enters his freshman season after graduating HS as the ninth-rated prospect in the ESPN Top 100. Now in college, the freshman is expected to be the second Baylor NBA Draft Lottery pick in the past two seasons joining VJ Edgecombe. Only two of Baylor's 15-man roster hail from Texas. The Bears represent six countries including the US. The 2025-26 season marks the third season for the Foster Pavilion. Head coach Scott Drew is the brother of GCU head, former Texan WAC foe Bryce Drew.
 
The Texans won the first two meetings in Waco but then lost the next 8 total. Baylor has scored 100 in five of the last eight matchups. When winning team scores under 60 points, the Texans are 2-0. Coach Gillispie is 2-4 at Baylor, 2-3 when Baylor is unranked. Gillispie has played against Baylor twice when the Bears were top 10, with an 0-2 record. Coach Gillispie hasn't won at Baylor since Feb. 18, 2006.
 
Tarleton State will return to Stephenville for another matchup within three days hosting Angelo State on Nov. 20. Tip-off is slated for Monday night at 7 p.m.