STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball will open WAC play for the third time in four seasons against UT Arlington, this time on the road on Monday night at 7 p.m. at the College Park Center.

The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.  Fans can listen on the radio on 90.5 KTRL or online on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network with Kyle Crews on the call. Live Stats will be provided by Stat Broadcast. For the latest updates, content and highlights, follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram and X.

The Texans are 4-1 in WAC openers since joining the WAC in 2020. Tarleton State is 2-0 in WAC openers against UT Arlington, with a 1-0 record at the College Park Center. The Texans are also 3-2 on WAC road openers.

Tarleton State is averaging 19.6 forced turnovers per game, the most in the NCAA. Last season the Texans finished second in the category. So far this season, the Purple and White have forced at least 20 turnovers in six games. The Texans are also fourth in the nation in steals per game averaging 11.2. The squad has snagged double digit steals in six of the last seven contests and in each of the last four.

Jordan Mizell tallied a Texan season best and set a new career-high with eight assists against Florida A&M on Dec. 19. Mizell previous career high was six assists, which he achieved in three separate games last season. He is tied for the third most assists in a single game in the Texans D1 era. Montre Gipson owns the record with 14 assists in 2021, followed by Adam Moussa in 2024. Mizell is tied with Shakur Daniel who reached the mark twice during his Texan career in two different seasons.

Tarleton State tops the nation and leads the WAC in bench points per game. The Texans 572 bench points is also the most in the nation in total bench points. The Tarleton State bench has outscored their starters in nine games this season, with their leading scorer coming off the bench in each. Bench points account for 54.6 percent of their total points.

The Lou Henson Award is awarded annually to the top mid-major college basketball player in the country. Johnson is on the list as one of the best 50 at this point in the season that could potentially take home the honor at the end of the season.  The junior is one of three WAC players on the list joined by Utah Valley's Jackson Holcombe and CBU's Dominque Daniels Jr.

Leroy Kelly IV became the third Texan this season to notch four made three pointers this season. He joins Kade Douglas and Dior Johnson who have also accomplished the feat. Kelly IV started out four-for-four from deep setting a new career best with four made triples. Douglas and Johnson also only took five shots to make four against TAMU-CC, but he did not start four-for-four. Douglas took seven shots to make his four at LSU.

So far this season, Chris Mpaka has won 7 of the 9 tip offs to start the game. In the games he won the tip off, the Texans are 2-3, and they are 2-0 when we loses. Mpaka has not lost a tip on the road (5-0) and he has only won two of the first four at home games.

The Mavericks enter WAC play with an 8-4 record and a 4-0 record at home. UTA played one Power Four opponent, Stanford, a 16-point loss in Palo Alto. UT Arlington's three other losses were all on the road at New Mexico, Campbell and Arkansas State. Current Texan, Kade Douglas played his first two seasons of his collegiate career at UTA. He averaged 4.8 points in 51 games with eight starts. UTA is 1-2 in WAC openers and 1-2 in home WAC openers since they joined the WAC ahead of the 2022-23 season. UT Arlington is 4-0 this season when they score at least 70 points in the game. Head coach KT Turner is in his third collegiate season as head coach. The former UTA Maverick player is in his 12th different school as a coach.

The Texans are 3-5 against the Mavericks in Arlington. UTA has a win in the lone OT game in series history. The Purple and White have scored 80+ in the series three times, resulting in only one win. UTA has scored 80+ eight times, all resulting in wins. The Texans are 5-2 in the series since both teams have been Division I. Tarleton State is 5-1 when the series has been played on a campus site during that span. Coach Gillispie is 3-1 against the Mavericks with coach Jones holding a 2-1 record during the 2023-24 season.

Tarleton State will return home for their first WAC home game on New Year's Day against Utah Valley at 7 p.m. The Texans will host three consecutive WAC games followed by California Baptist (Jan. 3) and Abilene Christian (Jan. 8).