SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (17-4, 6-2 Sun Belt) returns home to host intrastate rival UT Arlington (9-12, 5-3 Sun Belt) at 4 p.m. Feb. 2 in Strahan Arena on Blackout Night sponsored by Texas Oncology. The game features two of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt Conference as both teams enter the game having won five of their previous six games.
 
Bobcat fans attending the game are invited to join the team wearing their new black, maroon and gold uniforms by wearing black to the game. The first few hundred fans in attendance receive a free black "Takers" t-shirt that is also available for sale on-line here and will also be available for purchase at the game.
 
TXST is coming off a weekend split in Georgia where they avenged an early setback at Georgia State, 81-68 on Jan. 24, but could not transfer the same offensive strike at Georgia Southern on Jan. 26 falling, 74-58.  
 
GAME INFORMATION & PROMOTIONS – UT ARLINGTON
Feb. 2 | 4 p.m. CST | Strahan Arena
WATCH: ESPN+ - Brant Freeman (PxP), Cordell Patrick (Color Analyst)
LISTEN: TuneIn App or AM 1300, KTSW (joins in progress) – Bill Culhane (PxP)
FOLLOW: Live Stats
PROMOTIONS: Meet and take pictures with new head football coach Jake Spavital starting at 3 p.m. One fan will win $500 as the Super Fan of the Game courtesy of Distinguished Alum, Gregg Roberts.
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
For the second consecutive week, Texas State received a vote in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Bobcats are one of the top 16 most improved programs in the nation this season, and enter Saturday's game ranked No. 18 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll marking the seventh consecutive week the team has been ranked in the poll.
 
Texas State's 6-2 Sun Belt record is tied with Georgia State for first place in the Sun Belt standings.
 
Junior guard Nijal Pearson leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game (ninth in the Sun Belt)  and in three-point shooting with a 43.1 percent clip from behind the arc (second in the Sun Belt). Pearson turned in a big day at Georgia State dropping 27 points thanks to a season-high seven made triples. With another made 3-pointer vs. Georgia Southern, the Beaumount, Texas native now has 157 made 3-point field goals in his career just one shy of tying Brent Benson (2007-2009) for fourth place in Texas State's record book.
 
Senior guard Tre'Larenz Nottingham averages 14.1 points per contest to remain No. 17 among the Sun Belt scoring leaders after netting a season-high 25 points at Georgia Southern. Nottingham shoots 34.3 percent from the 3-point line which sits third in the league and he leads the team with 28 steals.
 
Other key contributors are senior forward Alex Peacock who averages 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and junior guard Jaylen Shead who leads the Sun Belt with a 2.8 assists-to-turnover ratio and is second with 4.9 assists per game.
 
The Bobcats lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense (62.8 ppg), scoring margin (12.4) and rebounding margin (6.4). Texas State ranks ninth with 75.2 points per game, shooting 46.5 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from 3-point range.   
 
ABOUT UT ARLINGTON
Despite a 9-12 overall record, UTA is 5-3 in conference play and tied for third place with Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.

The Mavericks rank third among Sun Belt Conference teams in scoring defense after surrendering 70.3 points per game.UTA also ranks second among league leaders in three-point field goal percentage defense after holding opponents to a 29.7 percent (132-444) behind the arc.

Junior guard Edric Dennis leads the Mavericks with 15.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Brian Warren joins Dennis in double-digit scoring at 13.7 points per game and he ranks No. 12 in the league with 3.2 assists per game.
 
UT Arlington averages 66.5 points per game which ranks last in the Sun Belt as they prepare to go head-to-head vs. the top-ranked Bobcat defense. Texas State will have its work cut out for them against a Maverick defense who holds their opponents to 70.3 points per game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. MAVERICKS
UTA leads the all-time series vs. the Bobcats 38-32 in a series that dates back to Dec. 6, 1984. The Mavericks are on a two-game winning streak in the series after sweeping last season's two games by a combined five points. TXST's last win vs. UTA came TXST fell 70-68 in an overtime thriller at UTA Feb. 10, 2018 and then came up short again 85-82 at home March 21, 2018. Texas State's last win in the series was March 11, 2017 in the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, 83-62, for a spot in the championship game.