CINCINNATI — For the first time in program history, Tarleton State Men's Basketball is heading to the state of Ohio to take on Cincinnati on Monday night at 6 p.m. CT at Fifth Third Arena.
The contest will be streamed on ESPN+. 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.
Freddy Hicks returned to the Texans starting lineup on Friday evening after missing nearly two full games against Rice and Angelo State last week. The senior nearly notched the first double-double of the season finishing with 11 points and eight boards in a 67-57 win against Midwestern State. Hicks currently ranks second among active NCAA D1 players with 504 career made free throws.
Dior Johnson currently sits second in the nation with 23.6 points per game and 13th with 165 total points. Johnson leads the WAC in both categories as well as free throws made (54) and he also ranks sixth in the nation. He is also 41st in the nation and third in the WAC with 50 made field goals.
Tarleton State has been making the most of their opportunities at the free throw line so far this season. The Texans are shooting from the charity stripe at a 79.5 percent rate ranking 11th in the nation and top of the WAC. Tarleton State is averaging 21.1 made free throws per game to rank 21st in the NCAA and lead the WAC. Tarleton State notched 31 freebies against Angelo State and have tallied 29+ in three games this season.
Johnson was named the WAC Player and Newcomer of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday following his pair of 29+ scoring efforts last week. He is one of just two players in the WAC in the last three seasons to win back-to-back WAC Player and Newcomer of the Week Awards. He joins UVU's Dominick Nelson who did both a season ago. He is the first Texan to win multiple WAC Weekly Awards in a season. Johnson earned the Texans' first WAC Weekly Award since Lue Williams was named WAC Player of the Week on Feb. 5, 2024. He is the first Texan to win Newcomer of the Week since Devon Barnes earned the distinction on Feb. 26. He is the only Texan to win both WAC Player and Newcomer in the same week since the league started acknowledging both honors ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Tarleton State is fifth in the nation and leads the WAC in bench points per game. The Texans 345 bench points is second in the nation in total bench points. The Tarleton State bench has outscored their starters in six games this season, with their leading scorer coming off the bench in each. Bench points account for 59.4 percent of their total points.
Cincinnati (5-2) dropped their last game against EMU, 62-54, without leading scorer Baba Miller. Miller is averaging a double-double in his 5 games played this season. UC ranks 16th in the nation and 1st in the Big 12 in lowest opponent field goal percentage (36.7 percent). The Bearcats are 12th in the nation and second in the Big 12 in forced turnovers per game (17.29). Cincinnati holds an 81.6 winning percentage in Fifth Third Arena (475-107).
It will mark the first meeting between the two programs and for Coach Gillispie as well. Cincinnati is one of four new opponents for the Texans this season joining (LSU, Merrimack and MVSU. The Texans have only played one Ohio program in school history, Findlay at home in 2006. The D2 school near Toledo lost to the Texans in Stephenville, 85-82 in OT in the Texan Tip Off Classic. Coach Gillispie nor the Texans have never traveled to the state of Ohio for an NCAA contest.
Tarleton State will head back to Stephenville for a pair of games against non-Division I opponents to close out the week. The Texans will host Howard Payne on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the EECU Center. The Purple and White will close out the week as the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 7 scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
