STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball heads to Abilene Christian to take on the Wildcats to begin the two programs' two games in three days stretching beginning on Saturday afternoon at the Moody Coliseum at 3 p.m.
The Texans (12-12 overall, 3-8 WAC) will take on the Wildcats (11-13, 3-8) for the second time this season. ACU got the best of Tarleton State on Jan. 8 at the EECU Center, 84-80. Saturday's contest will be the first and only meeting between the two squads in the Moody Coliseum this season. The two schools will meet for the final time in the regular season on Monday at the EECU Center.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Clayton Neville will have the radio call on 90.5 KTRL and online on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. For the most up to date highlights, news and updates follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram and X.
Andy Sigiscar had a stellar road trip averaging 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals. Andy tied his career high with 18 points on the road at CBU on 2/5. Sigiscar shot 9-for-11 from the floor. He picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes remaining but continued to play finishing with 32 minutes of action, a new career best. He also tallied a team-high three blocks. The redshirt-freshman made his third start and scored in double figures for the fifth time this season. The Orleans, France native followed up his performance at CBU with a 14-point night at SUU on Saturday.
Tarleton State is averaging 18.58 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 seven games. The Texans are also second in the nation in steals per game averaging 11.0. The squad has snagged double digit steals in 12 of the last 15 contests. The Texans are also 14th in the nation with a +4.0 turnover margin.
The Texans have played the same opponent in back-to-back games six times in the D1 era and 11 times total. In six of the 11 cases, the games were played in opposite cities. Five of those six times came in the 2020-21 season when Covid-19 forced the WAC to play back-to-back games against the same team in the same city. Only one of those six times in the D1 era the Texans played the same team in back-to-back games in opposite cites, North Alabama, 12/14/21 & 12/17/21. Prior to 2020, it happened just five times with the games happening no less than four days apart. 91-92 Ambassador (2 W's), 01-02 Angelo State (2 W's), 08-09 and 09-10 Midwestern State, 11-12 Texas A&M-Commerce (2 W's). The Texans have won the pair of games just four times and lost both three times, splitting five times.
In six of the last seven games, the Texans have held the opponent's leading scorer to not lead the team in scoring. In four of the last seven games, the Texans have held the opponent's leading scorer to single digits. Southern Utah's Jaiden Feroah entered Saturday's game as SUU's leading scorer but was held to 15 points, less than their leading scorer of the game, Elijah Duval with 18. Utah Tech's Ethan Potter is the only player to enter the game as the leading scorer and led the opponent in scoring that night with 23 on 1/17 during the stretch. Overall in WAC play, the Texans have not let the leading scorer lead the opponent in scoring in six of the 10 contests.
Abilene Christian has lost seven of its last eight games after starting WAC play 2-1. ACU's last win before their skid came at Tarleton State on Jan. 8, an 84-80 win. ACU is 2-4 in their six WAC games in Moody Coliseum this season. Five of ACU's eight WAC losses have come by ten or more. In both of the Wildcats conference wins, they have scored more than 80 points. In each of their seven losses they scored less than 80 points. The Wildcats defense is top notch again ranking behind the Texans in the NCAA in 12th in steals per game (9.6) and sixth in forced turnovers (16.2). Earlier this season ACU traveled on the road in the same week to #1 Arizona and #10 BYU. Three of their 10 wins this season has come against non D1 programs. Head coach Brette Tanner is in his fifth season in his first D1 head coaching stop.
Tarleton State will face the same Wildcats in just over 48 hours after the conclusion of Saturday's game at the EECU Center. The Texans will host ACU on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
