team: Tarleton Texans (5-4, 0-0 WAC) vs UCF Knights (6-2, 0-0 AAC)
Where: orlando, florida
Arena: Addition Financial Arena
Date and time: Sunday 11am CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
wireless: Tarleton Sports Network (Kyle Cruz)
About match
- This is the first ever meeting between these two programs.
- This will be Tarleton’s first time playing in Florida. UCF is his fifth program faced by Florida Tarleton, after Tampa, Palm Beach Atlantic and Lynn and Rollins College. The Texans have gone 5-1 with his Florida team dating back to 2000, the last time he played against him in 2018.
- UCF has won six of its last seven, beating Florida and Oklahoma. The Knights required overtime three times, including the final game, 80-77 OT W vs. Samford.
quick hit
- This is the second of three consecutive tough road games for Tarleton. No. 12 Baylor, UCF, Air Force. In Baylor Tuesday, the Texans trailed by just three in the second half.
- The Texans are looking to record a five-game losing streak that stretches back to last season. His two wins in his jam at Paradise in the Virgin Islands were considered neutral his games.
- Tarleton’s competition remains as tough as ever. Three of the Texans’ five wins were against. Belmont currently 157-45 (.777) over the past seven years. Boston College, the first Power Five in team history Tarleton’s victory in his conference. In his last two seasons he went 38-18 (.679) with Weber State.
- A win on Sunday would give Tarleton the highest 10-game mark since 2018-19 (8-2).
- Tarleton continues to force miscues on his opponents and now averages 21.0 forced turnovers per game, the fifth highest in the nation. The Texans’ +7.9 average turnover rate is his second highest in the country (tied with his UNLV, second only to Missouri). UCF’s turnover margin is 0 because Knights’ number of turnovers and forced turnovers are exactly the same (125).
- Tarleton tied for third in the nation with 11.8 steals per game against Tennessee.
- In five of Tarleton’s nine games, the Texans shot 50% or more from the field (all wins). Under his coach Gillispie, Tarleton is 17-0 with over 50% shooting percentage.
- The WAC got off to a great start to the year with 11 of the 13 teams above .500.
WHO’S HOT
- Shakur Daniel – On Tuesday, Daniel led his team in points (13, tied for season), rebounds (8, tied for career), assists (3), steals (3, season) and minutes played (40, season) . -high). It was his 10th time he played an entire game, the first since his game against Alabama on December 17, 2021.
- tiger booker – Booker scored a season-high 11 points at No. 12 Baylor and added a season-high two steals in a season-high 22 minutes. He helped lead the bench to his 33 points. This is the group with a season average of 30.0 points. The Texans averaged 10.1 bench points last year.
- Chiandre Gadi – On Tuesday, Gadi made it 4-4 from the field and scored eight points in 22 minutes. He led the team in his 83.3 field goal percentage and started the season with 10 of 12 shots. This is the highest field goal percentage of any player in the WAC with two or more tries.
numbers to know
1: Tarleton is averaging 28.3 free throws per game and knows how to get to the stripes. Average of all NCAA Division I ties (tied to Seton Hall and Denver). Freddie Hicks We signed 28 FTAs with Belmont on November 18th.
19: In an era of basketball that relies heavily on the three-point shot, Tarleton is unconventional. Only 19.0% of Tarleton the point came across the arc this year. The UCF average is almost double that, with 34.2% of the points going through the 3-point line.
2: Tarleton has two players. WAC Top 25 Scoring LeaderboardWhen Freddie Hicks 4th in 17.9 PPG, Jacory Smith 11.5 PPG tied for 21st. The last Texan to finish the season with 17.0+PPG was Josh Hawley (17.3PPG) in 2018-19.
10.7: At 75.3 points per game, Tarleton averages 10.7 points. more points per game better than last season’s average. Through nine games, Tarleton is averaging 15.9 more points per game than his (59.4).
What’s next for Tarleton
Tarleton wraps up a grueling three-game road trip with the Air Force in Colorado Springs on December 18 at 2:30 PM CT. Last season, the Texans and Falcons faced off in Stephenville, with Tarleton winning his 67-45 victory.
