Abilene Christian visits Tarleton State following Johnson's 34-point performance

Published Jan. 8, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Abilene Christian Wildcats (9-6, 1-1 WAC) at Tarleton State Texans (11-5, 2-1 WAC)

Stephenville, Texas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Texans -6.5; over/under is 138.5

BOTTOM LINE: Tarleton State hosts Abilene Christian after Dior Johnson scored 34 points in Tarleton State's 81-76 overtime victory against the Cal Baptist Lancers.

The Texans have gone 8-1 in home games. Tarleton State is fifth in the WAC in team defense, giving up 71.9 points while holding opponents to 44.6% shooting.

The Wildcats have gone 1-1 against WAC opponents. Abilene Christian is third in the WAC allowing 70.2 points while holding opponents to 47.3% shooting.

Tarleton State is shooting 47.2% from the field this season, 0.1 percentage points lower than the 47.3% Abilene Christian allows to opponents. Abilene Christian averages 72.7 points per game, 0.8 more than the 71.9 Tarleton State allows to opponents.

The Texans and Wildcats meet Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Johnson is scoring 23.1 points per game with 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Texans. Camron McDowell is averaging 15.5 points over the past 10 games.

Yaniel Rivera averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 8.0 points while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc. Bradyn Hubbard is averaging 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Texans: 8-2, averaging 82.8 points, 29.7 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 13.7 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Wildcats: 6-4, averaging 70.7 points, 27.0 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 10.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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