2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team represents Tarleton State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Texans, led by first-year head coach Billy Gillispie, play their home games at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas, as first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference.

2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
2020–21 record	4–8 (1–5 WAC)
Head coach	Billy Gillispie (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Steve Shields Jim Shaw
Home arena	Wisdom Gym

2020–21 WAC men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Grand Canyon	6	–	0		1.000			12	–	3		.800
UTRGV	2	–	0		1.000			8	–	4		.667
Utah Valley	4	–	1		.800			6	–	7		.462
California Baptist*	4	–	4		.500			9	–	6		.600
Seattle	1	–	2		.333			8	–	7		.533
Dixie State*	2	–	6		.250			6	–	9		.400
New Mexico State	1	–	3		.250			4	–	4		.500
Tarleton State*	1	–	5		.167			5	–	8		.385
Chicago State	0	–	0		–			0	–	9		.000
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA Tournament due to transition period Chicago State suspended their season on December 23, 2020
† 2021 WAC Tournament winner As of February 6, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

The season marks Tarleton State's first year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Texans are not eligible for NCAA postseason play and cannot participate in the WAC Tournament. They are eligible to play in the CIT or CBI, if invited.[1]

Previous season

The Texans finished the 2019–20 season 18–12, 13–9 in Lone Star Conference play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They received the No. 7 seed in the LSC Tournament, and defeated the No. 10 seed Texas–Permian Basin in the opening round, 84–68.[2] They advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to St. Edward's, 52–60.[3]

The season marked the school's final season as a Division II school.[4]

Roster

2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Joey Madimba 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Mansfield Timberview High School Mansfield, Texas G 1 Montre' Gipson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Ranger College DeSoto, Texas G 2 Freddy Hicks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Searcy High School Searcy, Arkansas F 3 Konstantin Dotsenko 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Freed–Hardeman Vorkuta, Russia G 4 Tahj Small 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Troy Durham, North Carolina G 5 Sam Sparks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Santa Fe Prep Santa Fe, New Mexico G 10 Caleb Golden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Shiloh High School Austin, Texas G 12 Cadarius Baggett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Ranger College Altheimer, Arkansas G 13 Shakur Daniel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Ranger College Toronto, Canada G 14 Javontae Hopkins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Fort Bend Travis High School Houston, Texas G 20 Caleb Starks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr LSU Lafayette, Louisiana G 22 Tanner Ford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Graford High School Palo Pinto, Texas G 24 Isaiah Range 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Trinity Christian School Cedar Hill, Texas G 25 Shamir Bogues 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Killeen Ellison High School Killeen, Texas G 30 Roman Garcia 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Franklin High School El Paso, Texas F 34 Heri Ngalamulume 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Ranger College Kinshasa, DR Congo F 35 Jonathan Jackson Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Prairie View A&M Fort Worth, Texas	Head coach Billy Gillispie (Southwest Texas State) Assistant coach(es) Steve Shields (Baylor) Jim Shaw (Grinnell College) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 2, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 7:00 pm		Dallas Christian	W 103–48	1–0	Wisdom Gym (256) Stephanville, TX
November 28, 2020*		Howard Payne West Texas Classic	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Howard Payne[5]		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
December 2, 2020* 6:00 pm, SECN		at Texas A&M	L 66–73	1–1	Reed Arena (1,316) College Station, TX
December 5, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Abilene Christian West Texas Classic	L 48–69	1–2	Teague Special Events Center (296) Abilene, TX
December 8, 2020* 8:00 pm, Root Sports		at No. 1 Gonzaga	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Gonzaga[6]		McCarthey Athletic Center  Spokane, WA
December 9, 2020* 7:00 pm		Arlington Baptist	W 84–43	2–2	Wisdom Gym (482) Stephenville, TX
December 13, 2020* 1:00 pm		at No. 5 Kansas	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Tarleton State[7]		Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at No. 2 Baylor	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Baylor[8]		Ferrell Center  Waco, TX
December 19, 2020* 4:00 pm		McMurry	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Tarleton State[9]		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
December 31, 2020* 4:00 pm		Paul Quinn	Canceled		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
January 8, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 72–75	2–3 (0–1)	Wisdom Gym (962) Stephenville, TX
January 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 48–59	2–4 (0–2)	Wisdom Gym (833) Stephenville, TX
January 15, 2021 8:00 pm, WAC DN		at California Baptist	L 74–83	2–5 (0–3)	CBU Events Center  Riverside, CA
January 16, 2021 8:00 pm, WAC DN		at California Baptist	L 67–73	2–6 (0–4)	CBU Events Center  Riverside, CA
January 17, 2021* 8:00 pm, Pluto TV		at Weber State	L 79–94	2–7	Dee Events Center  Ogden, UT
January 22, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Seattle	Canceled		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
January 23, 2021 7:00 pm, WAC DN		Seattle	Canceled		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
January 25, 2021* 7:00 pm, WAC DN		Howard Payne	W 113–53	3–7	Wisdom Gym (1,093) Stephenville, TX
January 29, 2021 7:00 pm, WAC DN		at Utah Valley	L 60–72	3–8 (0–5)	UCCU Center (100) Orem, UT
January 30, 2021 7:00 pm, WAC DN		at Utah Valley	W 70–62	4–8 (1–5)	UCCU Center (100) Orem, UT
February 19, 2021 8:00 pm, WAC DN		at Dixie State			Burns Arena  St. George, UT
February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, WAC DN		at Dixie State			Burns Arena  St. George, UT
February 26, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		New Mexico State			Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
February 27, 2021 7:00 pm, WAC DN		New Mexico State			Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
March 5, 2021 6:00 pm, WAC DN		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley			UTRGV Fieldhouse  Edinburg, TX
March 6, 2021 7:00 pm, WAC DN		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley			UTRGV Fieldhouse  Edinburg, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source[10][11]

References

1. "Tarleton accepts WAC invitation, moves to NCAA Division I". Tarleton State University Athletics. November 12, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
2. "Texans advance to Frisco with 16-point rout of UT Permian Basin in opening round". Tarleton State University Athletics. March 3, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
3. "Spears Leads SEU Over Tarleton, 60-52". Lone Star Conference. March 6, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
4. Engel, Mac (October 5, 2019). "Tarleton State wants to be big time in athletics and will use the TCU model". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
5. "Men's Basketball game against Howard Payne postponed". Tarleton State University Athletics. November 27, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
6. "Tarleton's game at No. 1 Gonzaga canceled". Tarleton State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
7. Newell, Jesse (December 11, 2020). "KU basketball's game vs. Tarleton State canceled less than 48 hours before tip". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
8. "Men's Basketball pausing all team activities due to COVID-19". Tarleton State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
9. "Men's Basketball pausing all team activities due to COVID-19". Tarleton State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
10. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Tarleton State University Athletics. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
11. "2020-21 Tarleton Texans Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-12-21.