Tarleton State seeks revenge on Grand Canyon

Published Jan. 9, 2021 6:30 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Grand Canyon (5-3, 1-0) vs. Tarleton State (2-3, 0-1)

Wisdom Gymnasium, Stephenville, Texas; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Tarleton State seeks revenge on Grand Canyon after dropping the first matchup in Stephenville. The teams last played each other on Jan. 8, when the Antelopes shot 45.3 percent from the field on their way to the 75-72 victory.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: The Antelopes are led by Asbjorn Midtgaard and Jovan Blacksher Jr.. Midtgaard is averaging 14.6 points and 9.4 rebounds while Blacksher is putting up 13.4 points and 5.4 assists per contest. The Texans have been led by juniors Montre' Gipson and Tahj Small, who have combined to score 30 points per outing.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Blacksher has either made or assisted on 42 percent of all Grand Canyon field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has 28 field goals and 27 assists in those games.

BEHIND THE ARC: Grand Canyon's Oscar Frayer has attempted 21 3-pointers and connected on 33.3 percent of them, and is 5 for 14 over the last five games.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Antelopes have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Texans. Tarleton State has an assist on 39 of 76 field goals (51.3 percent) across its past three contests while Grand Canyon has assists on 48 of 79 field goals (60.8 percent) during its past three games.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The disruptive Tarleton State defense has forced opponents to turn the ball over on 28.9 percent of all possessions, the third-best rate among Division I teams. Grand Canyon has a forced-turnover percentage of only 16.3 percent through eight games (ranking the Antelopes 317th).

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