SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team will open the 2018-19 campaign with a home game against Air Force at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 inside newly-renovated Strahan Arena.
 
The Bobcats are coming off a 2017-18 season that saw the team post a 15-18 overall record. The maroon and gold went 7-11 in Sun Belt Conference play to finish in a tie for ninth with South Alabama.
 
TXST knocked off Coastal Carolina in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the postseason tournament.
 
Texas State will be playing inside its new digs, as the former Strahan Coliseum has received a makeover during the offseason. The renovations are still ongoing but will be completed soon.
 
GAME INFORMATION
7 p.m. CST | Strahan Arena
WATCH: ESPN+ – Brant Freeman (PxP), Cordell Patrick (Color)
LISTEN: 103.1 FM, 89.9 FM – Bill Culhane (PxP)
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast | SIDEARM
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State enters its 98th season of men's basketball and season six under the guidance of head coach Danny Kaspar. The Bobcats are 3-1 in their last four season-opening contests. The lone setback was at Air Force a year ago (65-57). Kaspar owns a record of 74-88 in his five years at Texas State. His career record stands at 539-281 in 27 seasons. He is the 23rd-winningest active coach in all of NCAA Division I.
 
Texas State returns three of its four top scorers from a year ago in senior forward Alex Peacock, junior guard Nijal Pearson and senior guard Tre'Larenz Nottingham. Pearson led the maroon and gold in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg).  The Bobcats bring back 66.3 of their scoring and 56.8 percent of their rebounding. That is a big uptike from 44 percent of the scoring and 48.4 percent of the rebounding for the 2017-18 squad. Two of the top three rebounders are back for the second-consecutive year. Peacock averaged 5.0 rebounds per game to rank third on the team.
 
The Bobcats return 10 players, eight of which saw action, from the 2017-18 team's campaign. Pearson started all 33 games last season to extend his starting streak to 69 consecutive contests. The Beaumont, Texas, native's 502 points were the second most ever for a sophomore in program history. Pearson played 1,077 minutes to become the first Bobcat in recorded program history to play at least 1,000 minutes in back-to-back seasons.
 
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons are 1-0 this season after a convincing 90-65 triumph over Johnson & Wales on Nov. 6. Chris Joyce came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points. Four different Falcons scored in double figures, including Ryan Swan who tallied 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Air Force was selected to finish 10th in the 2018-19 Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The team went 12-19 last season and tallied a 6-12 mark in the Mountain West to finish ninth.
 
The team is led by seventh-year head coach Dave Pilipovich. He has posted a record of 85-113 in his six-plus seasons leading the Falcons.
 
TEXAS STATE vs. AIR FORCE – SERIES HISTORY
Last season's meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., was the first between the two programs.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BOBCATS
Texas State will play host to Hardin-Simmons at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 in the first game of the Portland Classic. The remainder of the tournament will be contested Nov. 21-24 in Portland, Ore.
 
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