STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men's Basketball heads down I-20 to take on UT Arlington on ESPNU in front of a nationally-televised audience for the third time in program history on Saturday evening at the College Park Center at 7 p.m.
 
The Texans (11-16 overall, 6-6 WAC) are in the middle of the pack in the WAC separated by a game with four teams for the third spot in the league. The Mavericks are one of those teams which would draw even with the Texans (12-14, 5-7) with a win on Saturday. The two squads met on the first game on conference play in Stephenville, with the Texans coming out on top, 77-74.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPNU with Brandon Johnson and David Saltzman. Saturday will be the third time Texan basketball has been featured on a nationally-televised ESPN network. The game is one of three selected within the WAC this season to be aired on ESPNU. 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.
 
After just one season donning the Purple and White, Chris Mpaka has tallied the second most blocks in a career by a Texan in its D1 era. Mpaka has tallied 44 blocks this season. He ranks 40^th  in the nation and second in the league. He trails KiAndre Gaddy (2022-24) who recorded 72 total and needs just eight blocks this season to tie Gaddy for the D1 era single season record. Gaddy's 52 is tied for the 15th most all-time in program history.
 
Bubu Benjamin ranks in the top five in the WAC in six different categories. He leads the league and ranks 39^th  in the nation averaging 35:44 minutes per game.  The sophomore is third in the WAC tallying 134 made field goals and with 298 attempts. The Canada native is third in points (401) and fifth in points per game (14.9). He ranks second in total steals (44) and fifth in steals per game (1.63).
 
Dantwan Grimes has posted 16 points in back-to-back games. Grimes tallied 16 points, 6 boards, 6 assists and 6 steals on Thursday. On Saturday, he posted 16 points on 11 made free throws. He added three assists and three rebounds. Grimes has yet to start a game but has played at least 30 minutes in six of the last seven.
 
Every squad under coach Gillispie is very defense oriented, and this year's crew is no different.
Tarleton leads the nation in forced turnovers per game, averaging 17.0 per game. The Purple and White have forced at least 20 turnovers in seven games this season. Tarleton has forced double-digit turnovers in all but one game this season (11/30 vs. Hofstra). The Texans rank fifth in the nation and are second in the league averaging 10.0 steals per contest. The Purple and White have tallied at least 10 steals in 14 games this season.
 
The Texans lead the WAC in conference play shooting 79.1 percent from the line, more than five percent better than the next best team, Utah Tech (74.0). In WAC play, four Texans rank in the top seven in free throw percentage in league play. In total this season, the Texans are shooting 74.6 percent from the line, the 85^th  best in the nation and second in the league. TSU has made at least 20 free throws in 11 contests this season. The crew has shot 90 percent or better in three contests this season, all resulting in losses.
 
Tarleton hasn't lost in the regular season to the Mavericks since becoming a D1 program in 2020. The Texans are 5-1 against UTA with the only loss in Vegas. The Texans are in search of their third-straight season sweep of the Mavs. UT Arlington last won in Arlington against the Texans on Nov. 29, 1986, also their last regular season win over Tarleton. The two squads have met 15 times in program history, UTA leads 9-6. The first five meetings went to the Mavs with the Texans' first win in the series coming on Nov. 27, 1976 in Arlington, 67-64. Eight of the 15 meetings have been decided by three points or less. Each of the last four contests have been decided by three points or fewer. The first meeting between the two schools was Dec. 11, 1965 in Stephenville.
 
The two programs met to open the WAC conference slate and the new year on Jan. 4 for the second consecutive year. The Texans played one of their best games of the seasons to that point to overtake UTA, 77-74. Bubu Benjamin scored 21 points, his most in a WAC game this season. He made three triples at a 50 percent rate. Grimes added 18 off the bench, with a pair of triples. Jordan Mizell forced five steals, in part of the Texans forcing 23 Mavs turnovers. The back-and-forth contest saw six lead changes and three ties. UTA led as late as 1:59 to go in the game, before the Texans took over for good.
 
Tarleton State has back-to-back weeks with just a single game. Next week, the Wildcats of Abilene Christian come to Stephenville on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Texans will host Dollar Hot Dog Night with all fans able to purchase hot dogs for a buck.