UT Rio Grande Valley visits Tarleton State after Small's 23-point game

UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (7-20, 2-13 WAC) at Tarleton State Texans (12-15, 7-7 WAC)

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

LINE: Tarleton State -7.5; over/under is 142.5

BOTTOM LINE: Tarleton State takes on the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros after Tahj Small scored 23 points in Tarleton State's 79-60 victory over the Chicago State Cougars.

The Texans have gone 8-5 at home. Tarleton State has a 6-14 record against opponents over .500.

The Vaqueros are 2-13 against WAC opponents. UT Rio Grande Valley is 4-16 against opponents with a winning record.

The teams play for the second time this season in WAC play. The Texans won the last matchup 79-64 on Jan. 30. Freddy Hicks scored 29 points points to help lead the Texans to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Montre' Gipson is averaging 15.2 points and 3.1 assists for the Texans. Hicks is averaging 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 44.1% over the past 10 games for Tarleton State.

Justin Johnson is averaging 18 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Vaqueros. Xavier Johnson is averaging 11.8 points over the last 10 games for UT Rio Grande Valley.

LAST 10 GAMES: Texans: 4-6, averaging 66.4 points, 26.9 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.9 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.8 points per game.

Vaqueros: 1-9, averaging 69.2 points, 33.5 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 5.0 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.5 points.

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