FORT WORTH – For the 79th time in their storied histories, UT Arlington and Texas State will square off on Saturday night when the Mavericks and Bobcats renew their rivalry with a 6:30 tipoff at Dickies Arena.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 11	UT Arlington (4-6) vs. Texas State (5-4)
Date | Time	Saturday, Dec. 10 | 6:30 p.m.
Location	Fort Worth | Dickies Arena
Pregame Reception	Goodnight Room (5-6:30 PM) | RSVP
Tickets	Ticketmaster (UTA Sections: 124 & 125)
Video	UTAMavs.com/Watch (Free)
Audio	620 AM | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington

OPENING TIP(s)

• This will be the third of a four-game stretch for UTA against opponents that played in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year: LSU (NCAA), North Texas (NIT), Texas State (NIT) and San Francisco (NCAA). The Mavs have started the run with a pair of narrow losses at LSU (63-59) last Friday and versus UNT (60-57) Tuesday.
   
• Texas State currently sits at 5-4 on the year, but is coming off a Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship last year, and was picked to finish 2nd this season. The other trio of teams as part of that quartet are a combined 22-5 already this season. Additionally, following the San Francisco game, UTA will face Pac-12 member California for its non-conference finale in Berkely on Dec. 21.
   
• UTA ranks 3rd in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 15.6 (Alabama is 1st at 16.7). While some of that is due to competition, even against Division-I foes this year the Mavs are averaging 13.1 offensive boards. Individually, Shemar Wilson is 8th nationally with 3.8 offensive rebounds per outing.
   
• On Tuesday against UNT, Wilson grabbed eight rebounds, and all of them were offensive. Over the last 6+ seasons – since the start of the 2016-17 campaign – Wilson is now only the seventh Division-I player to secure at least eight offensive rebounds and zero defensive boards in a game.

TWEETABLES

1) UTA has already played four NET Quad 1 or 2 games, including each of its last two opponents: #40 Nevada, #52 Oklahoma State, #69 North Texas and #85 LSU.
 
2) UTA does not have a single player averaging double-figure points this year; however, the Mavs have six players averaging between 7-9 points per game. Additionally, UTA has 10 players who have already reached double-digit points in a game this season.
 
3) Ironically, leading scorer Wilson (9.4) has only paced UTA in scoring in one game – Tuesday against UNT when he delivered 16.
 
4) In that game against UNT, UTA lost for the first time this year when having a better field goal percentage (4-1) and better 3-point percentage (4-1) than its opponent, and also when holding a halftime lead (3-1).

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Saturday's contest will be the 79th all-time meeting between the two teams (UTA leads, 41-37), tying Texas State with McNeese for the most-played opponent in UTA history.
   
• This will also mark the 34th-straight season that UTA and Texas State have played, dating back to their inaugural meeting during the 1984-85 campaign. However, this will be the first time – with the exception of conference tournaments – that the two sides will play in a location other than Arlington or San Marcos.
   
• The two foes were both Southland Conference members in the 1980s before moving to the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012-13 season and the Sun Belt Conference from 2013-22. The Bobcats remain in the Sun Belt; the Mavs joined the WAC on July 1 of this year.
   
• While UTA is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, on paper Texas State ranks 232nd in offensive rebounds per game (9.7) and 337th in rebounds per contest (31.1). The Mavs are 4-0 this year when grabbing more rebounds than their opponent, but 0-6 when getting out-rebounded.
   
• Texas State has already played one other WAC member this year, defeating Southern Utah in Hawaii, 78-65. The Bobcats also went to Berkely and took down Cal, 59-55; the Mavs face the Golden Bears on Dec. 21.
   
• Mason Harrell leads the Bobcats by scoring 19.9 points per game, while Tyrel Morgan is the other double-figure scorer at 10.4. Morgan also paces Texas State on the glass at six per outing.

OTHER UTA NATIONAL RANKINGS

UTA also ranks in the top 50 nationally in each of the following per-game stat categories: rebounds (15th, 41.7), bench points (37th, 30.7), points allowed (42nd, 61.7), field goal defense (43rd, 38.9%) and free-throw attempts (49th, 21.4). Individually, Wilson registers in 44th in total rebounds (82; 8.2/game).

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST PERFORMANCES

In addition to its overall national rankings, UTA has numerous single-game performances which register among the best of any team in the country so far this year:

• 3rd – Free Throws Attempted: 48 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – UC Davis: 51 vs. Boston
     
• T-7th – Rebounds: 63 vs. Howard Payne
  • Leader – Sam Houston: 70 vs. LeTourneau
     
• T-10th – Steals: 19 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – Four Teams: 24
     
• T-13th – Field Goals Attempted: 83 vs. Hardin-Simmons
  • Leader – Two Teams: 91
     
• T-13th – Free Throws Made: 30 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – Appalachian State: 39 vs. Warren Wilson

UTA's 63 rebounds on Nov. 28 against Howard Payne represented the most in any game for the Mavs since at least the 2009-10 season. In that same timeframe, the 83 field goal attempts against Hardin-Simmons were the 2nd most in any UTA game, bested only by 87 versus Howard Payne in 2020.

INSIDE THE DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS

Two years ago, UTA tied for the national lead by having 13 different players score double-figure points in a game. Last season, the Mavs had 12 different double-figure scorers – tied for the 3rd most in the nation. So far this year, UTA already has 10 different double-figure scorers.
 
Below is a list of those double-figure players, their respective season highs and how many times they have led UTA in scoring:
 
Chendall Weaver: 20 (2x)
Taj Anderson: 19 (1x)
Aaron Cash: 18
Marion Humphrey: 17 (3x – Includes 1 Tie)
Brandon Walker: 17 (1x – Tied)
Shemar Wilson: 16 (1x)
Brandyn Talbot: 15 (1x)
Kyron Gibson: 13 (2x)
Dario Domingos: 12
Pedro Castro: 11

CHALLENGING THEMSELVES

UTA is one of only three schools in the nation to have finished with a top-40 NET non-conference strength of schedule in each of the past three seasons, joining Central Arkansas and Texas Southern.
 
UTA
2019-20: 3rd
2020-21: 37th
2021-22: 13th
 
Central Arkansas
2019-20: 6th
2020-21: 9th
2021-22: 27th
 
Texas Southern
2019-20: 2nd
2020-21: 25th
2021-22: 16th
 
Yet again this year, the Mavs are poised to finish with likely one of the country's most-challenging non-league schedules. Based off last year's final NET rankings, UTA has the 4th-hardest non-conference slate in the nation (average NET opponent ranking):
 
1) Nicholls (47)
2) Saint Mary's (72)
3) Seton Hall (83)
4) UT Arlington (88)
5) Alabama (92)

NEUTRAL-SITE ACTION

This will be UTA's fourth regular-season neutral-site game this year. The first three took place Thanksgiving week as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The four neutral-site contests will be tied for the most UTA has ever played in a regular season:
 
2005-06
BCA Classic – Seattle, Wash. (3 Games)
Lobo Invitational – Albuquerque, N.M. (1 Game)
 
1993-94
River City Classic – Cape Giradeau, Mo. (1 Game)
Big Island Invite – Hilo, Hawaii (3 Games)
 
1986-87
Running Joe Classic – Jonesboro, Ark. (1 Game)
Holiday Classic – Edinburg, Texas (2 Games)
Heritage Classic – Des Moines, Iowa (1 Game)

BY THE NUMBERS

4: The Mavs posted the following top-10 single-game program ranks in their 99-41 win over Howard Payne on Nov. 28: rebound margin (T-1, +36), points allowed (T-5, 41), blocks (T-5, 9), margin of victory (T-7, +58).
 
5: The Mavs have already had five different occasions of a player grabbing 7+ offensive rebounds in a game this year: Shemar Wilson versus Hardin-Simmons (7), Nevada (7), Howard Payne (7) and North Texas (8); Dario Domingos against Northern Kentucky (7).
 
8: UTA is just eight wins shy of 800 all-time victories in program history (792-989). The Mavs are in their 64th season, with UTA's inaugural campaign taking place in 1959-60.
 
17: In its 60-56 win over Northern Kentucky on Nov. 22, UTA committed 17 turnovers – its most in a victory over a D-I opponent since the Mavs had 18 in a 75-70 overtime triumph at Cal Poly on Dec. 21, 2018. NKU was installed as the Horizon League preseason favorite, and the Norse had defeated Cincinnati – picked to finish 3rd in the American Athletic Conference – two games prior by 13 points.
 
19: The Mavs recorded 19 steals against Southwestern on Nov. 12, which tied for the 3rd most in single-game program lore (22 versus University of Dallas in 1990 and 21 against Huston-Tillotson in 1991). Marion Humphrey was responsible for six of those thefts, equaling the 10th-highest total by a UTA player in a single game.
 
48: UTA went 30-48 from the free-throw line versus Southwestern on Nov. 12, with the 48 attempts tying for the 5th most in program history.
 
100: The Mavs scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the 10th time in program history with 103 on Nov. 12 against Southwestern and 100 versus Hardin-Simmons on Nov. 15. Five of the all-time occurrences came between 1990-92, and the last time UTA did it was in 2020 on Dec. 17 and 22 against Dallas Christian (109) and Howard Payne (117).

BACK TO THE WAC

After spending the previous nine seasons (2013-22) as a Sun Belt Conference member, UT Arlington officially joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2022. UTA was a member of the WAC for one year previously in 2012-13 following 48 years in the Southland Conference (1963-2012) – of which it was a founding member.
 
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, UTA boasts the 3rd-best average annual NET/RPI ranking of all current WAC members at #146. New Mexico State (#83) leads the pack, followed by Grand Canyon (#138). With a final ranking of #40 in 2016-17, UTA is responsible for the best single-year NET/RPI by any current WAC school over the past seven seasons. Additionally – in that same timeframe – UTA, NMSU and Sam Houston are the only WAC institutions without a single season NET/RPI above #250.

Last year, the WAC ranked as the 15th-best men's basketball conference in the country (out of 32) – two spots ahead of the Sun Belt (17th). 

NEXT UP

UTA – which is already in the midst of final exams – will break for a week as those are completed before returning to the hardwood on the West Coast to conclude its non-conference slate at San Francisco (Dec. 19) and Cal (Dec. 21).
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).