SAN MARCOS, Texas– Texas State (2-1) will have a big opportunity when they take on No. 24/18 Baylor (1-1) at 8 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Ferrell Center. This will be the first matchup between the two programs in 13 years.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Watch ESPN+ vs. Baylor
Listen vs. Baylor: AM 1300 The Zone, 89.9 KTSW Radio, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
Live Stats vs. Baylor: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State is coming off a convincing 75-48 victory vs. Prairie View A&M thanks to an efficient first half of basketball. The Bobcats are shooting 51.8 percent from the floor, and 77.6 percent from the free throw line through the first three games of the season.
• The Bobcats average 37.7 rebounds per game and have a 7.0 rebound margin on their opponents.
• Last game vs. Prairie View A&M, senior guard Nijal Pearson dropped a season-high 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 11-of-14 from the line. Pearson also had five rebounds in the win.
• Junior guard Deshawn Davidson turned in 11 points in the first half and shot 50.0 percent in the game, while junior Isiah Small flirted with a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Small also had two blocks.
• Junior guard Marlin Davis also had nine points and led all players with four steals. Davis also finished with three rebounds and two assists.
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES
• Pearson's 16th point vs. PVAMU pushed him past Brandon Bush (2005-09) to No. 4 on the all-time scoring list with 1,570 points. After finishing with 23 points, Pearson now has 1,577 career points and needs 46 more to past Donte Mathis (1995-99, 1,622 points) to move to No. 3 on the all-time scoring list.
• The Beaumont, Texas native now has 142 career steals, ranking No. 5 in school history. Ryan White (2007-11) is at No. 4 with 154 career steals.
• Pearson was named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Nov. 5. Pearson appeared on the Lou Henson Mid-Season Watch List last year. He was also picked as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in a couple of publications including the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Street & Smith's.
• Pearson was tabbed to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team by the league office after garnering All-Sun Belt First Team honors in the 2018-19 season.
 
SCOUTING BAYLOR
• The Baylor Bears is the No. 24 in the men's basketball AP Poll after dropping a 67-64 decision to now No. 20 Washington (previously unranked) on Nov. 8. The Bears opened the season with a 105-61 victory vs. Central Arkansas.
• BU has a 46.3 field goal percentage, including a 48.1 clip from 3-point range. They have outrebounded their opponents 43-31.5 and have 44 total assists on 63 field goals in the small sample size.  
• Four Bears average 12 or more points, beginning with sophomore guard Jared Butler who has 24.0 points per game. Butler shoots over 65.0 percent from both the field and 3-point range and has a team-high nine assists.
• Junior guard MaCio Teague is next with 13.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while senior forward Freddie Gillespie nearly averages a double-double with 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and paces the team with four blocks and three steals. Senior guard Devonte Bandoo rounds out the Bears top scorers with 12.0 points per game and also has 5.0 rebounds on average.
• Baylor was picked to finish second in the 2020 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll and had one selection in junior forward Tristan Clark to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
• Clark averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury Jan. 8. Prior to that he started all 14 games and led the nation with a 73.7 field goal percentage. Clark has started both games this season and has 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
• BU returns eight letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament team, including Butler, Clark and junior guard Mark Vital who were All-Big 12 players last season. The Bears welcome four newcomers, including a pair of transfer guards in Teague and sophomore guard Davion Mitchell who sat out last season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday will be the first meeting between Baylor and Texas State since Nov. 2, 2006. BU leads the all-time series 12-3.
• The Bobcats have lost the last two meetings and are 1-9 in the last 10 meetings. TXST last win vs. BU was a 70-62 decision at the Ferrell Center on Nov. 24, 1998
 
UP NEXT
• Texas State will open the Southwestern Showdown, a multiple team event presented Engage Telehealth at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Strahan Arena. Of the four-game tournament, three will be hosted in San Marcos and the other game, a 5 p.m. CT tip Nov. 20 at UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center.
 
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are now available for purchase through the Texas State online ticket center website. Prices for season tickets will depend upon seating location. General admission season tickets will be available for as low as $99 and lower reserved seating options will start at $130. Any questions regarding 2019-20 Texas State men's basketball season tickets can be addressed to the Texas State Athletics Ticket Office at 512-245-2272 or via email at gametickets@txstate.edu.
 
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