SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State (6-2) will play the final road game of its nonconference slate vs. Houston (3-2) at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Fertitta Center.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN 3 vs. Houston PXP: David Saltzman, Analyst: Reid Gettys
Listen vs. Houston: AM 1300 The Zone, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
Live Stats vs. Houston: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State is on a four-game winning streak after defeating Hartford 69-55 on Saturday, Nov. 30. The Bobcats ended the Southwestern Showdown with a perfect 4-0 record.
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson was named the tournament's MVP after averaging 17.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He was joined by sophomore guard Mason Harrell and sophomore forward Alonzo Sule on the all-tournament team who averaged 11.3 points and 8.8 points per game, respectively.
• Texas State sits atop the Sun Belt Conference with a 6-2 record. They lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.353), scoring defense (58.6 ppg), and scoring margin (13.8). In these categories, the team ranks No. 9, 22, and 51, respectively, in all of NCAA Division I basketball. The team also has a 47.7 percent field goal percentage (No. 2 in the Sun Belt).
• Pearson is No. 2 in the Sun Belt with 18.1 points per game and rank No. 9 with a 45.5 field goal percentage. He also averages 4.6 rebounds per game and has 13 assists, seven steals and five blocks on the year.
• Harrell follows with 10.1 points per game and leads the team with an efficient 59.2 field goal percentage and 45.5 percentage from behind-the-arc. He also shoots 81.8 percent at the charity stripe.
• After logging his third career double-double and first for the 2019-20 season, Sule averages 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Sule finished with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Hartford.
• Junior forward Isiah Small ranks No. 3 in the Sun Belt with 8.3 rebounds per game and is tied at No. 2 with 6.0 defensive rebounds per game. In addition to scoring five points and a team-high three steals vs. Hartford, Small pulled down 10 rebounds, marking the first time the Bobcats ended a game with two players with 10 or more rebounds since Dec. 16, 2015, when Anthony Roberson (12) and Emani Gant (11) did it vs. Prairie View A&M.
• Senior forward Eric Terry is third in the conference with 1.8 blocks per game and is joined by Small in the top 10 with 1.3 swats per game (No. 5). Terry also averages 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.  
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES
• Pearson is one of 10 active NCAA players across all divisions with 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.
• Pearson has 1,666 career points that rank No. 3 all-time in TXST history and No. 23 among active players in the NCAA across all divisions. He is 176 points shy of passing former Bobcat Travis Cornett (1970-74, 1,841 points) for No. 2 all-time.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 145 career steals, ranking No. 5 in school history (Ryan White No. 4, 154).
• Pearson has 609 career rebounds that rank No. 14 all-time in the program's history (Charles Spurlin No. 13, 618). Pearson is on pace to finish his career in the top 10 in total rebounds for Texas State.
• 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 HOUSTON
• Houston is coming off a 112-73 triumph over Houston Baptist at home on Nov. 26. They are 3-2 overall this season with wins vs. Alabama State (84-56) and at Rice (97-89). The Cougars only home loss to date was a one-point setback vs. BYU on Nov. 15 (72-71) and they fell at Oregon 78-66 on Nov. 22.
• The Cougars have a top 10 offense that averages 86.0 points per game (No. 8 in the NCAA) behind a 48.3 field goal percentage and 36.8 3-point field goal percentage. They lead the AAC with 43.20 rebounds per game (No. 3 in the NCAA) and outrebound their opponents by 12.4 boards which is the fifth-best margin in the nation. They also lead the conference with the fewest total turnovers (56).
• Defensively, Houston gives up 73.6 points per game, allowing its opponents to convert on 43.0 percent of their field goals, including a .390 clip from downtown.
• Houston has six players averaging 10 or more points, beginning with sophomore guard Quentin Grimes' 16 points on average. Grimes shoots 51.9 percent from the floor and leads the team with 19 assists. He also averages 4.0 rebounds per game and has four steals. Junior forward Fabian White Jr. follows with 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game to go along with a 54.0 field goal percentage and six total blocks.
• Freshman guard Caleb Mills adds 11.8 points per game, and junior guard DeJon Jarreau, sophomore guard Nate Hinton, and freshman guard Marcus Sasser chip in 10.8 points, 10.6 points, and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Hinton nearly averages a double-double with 9.0 rebounds per game and leads the Cougars with seven steals, while Sasser leads the Big 12 with a .500 clip from 3-point range (15-of-30).    
• Houston is picked to repeat as the AAC regular-season champions after setting a school record last year with 33 wins and claimed its first regular-season title outright since 1984. The Cougars were an NCAA Tournament team last year and reached the Sweet 16 where they were defeated by Kentucky, 62-58. Jarreau was named to the league's Preseason First Team after averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 assists per game a year ago.  
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Houston has a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series.
• The last meeting was Nov. 8, 2013, when the Cougars defeated the Bobcats 76-70.
• Texas State has never defeated Houston in Houston.
 
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will return home and end their week with a 4 p.m. tip-off Dec. 7 at Strahan Arena vs. UTSA.    
 
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