SAN MARCOS, Texas – With much to be decided in regards to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament seeding, Texas State (19-10, 12-6 Sun Belt) has a big opportunity to clear things up with as they travel to play UT Arlington (13-16, 9-9 Sun Belt) for an 8 p.m. tip on Friday, Feb. 28 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The game will be aired on ESPN 2. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN 2 vs. UT Arlington: PXP: Mike Couzens, Analyst: David Padgett
Live Stats vs. UT Arlington: Statbroadcast
Listen: AM 1300 The Zone, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State is receiving 48 votes in the latest Collegeinsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. It is the Bobcats fifth appearance in the poll this season. The Bobcats are one of three teams in the Poll representing the Sun Belt Conference along with No. 18 Little Rock and Georgia State (receiving 27 votes).
• The Bobcats lead the league with a No. 117 NET Ranking and are ranked No. 93 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. TXST has been ranked as high as No. 92 by KenPom which is the highest in program history. 
• The Bobcats enter the weekend as the No. 2 team in the Sun Belt standings. They are on a four-game winning streak after defeating Georgia State 86-76, and have won eight of their last 10 games. 
• Defense continues to be the staple for Texas State as it leads the Sun Belt Conference with a 63.7 scoring defense and ranks No. 2 in the league in field goal percentage defense (.404). The Bobcats are 10-0 this season when holding their opponents below 60 points and 18-4 when held under 70 points this season. The Bobcats have a league-best marks in turnover margin (3.8, No. 14 in the NCAA) and rank No. 3 in turnovers forced (15.0).
• Offensively, Texas State rank in the top five of the Sun Belt Conference in scoring margin (9.2, No. 1), free-throw percentage (76.2%, No. 1), field goal percentage (45.7%, No. 3), scoring offense (72.9 ppg., No. 4), 3-point field goal percentage (33.3%, No. 5), and assists per game (13.8, T-No. 5). They also have 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio that is No. 2 in the league.
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson is the league-leader in the Sun Belt with 19.5 points per game behind a 42.8 field goal percentage (No. 5 in the Sun Belt), a 37.2 3-point field goal percentage (No. 4 in the Sun Belt), and a 78.8 free-throw percentage (No. 10 in the Sun Belt). He averages 34.1 minutes per game and his 547 total points this season ranks No. 35 in Division I as of Feb. 26. 
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell follows with 9.3 points per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 41.5 percent from 3-point range, and 87.0 percentage from the charity stripe. Harrell rank No. 2 in the Sun Belt with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 25 in the NCAA) and has 3.0 assists per game. 
• Junior guard Marlin Davis leads the Sun Belt Conference with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks No. 21 in the nation. Davis leads the team with 3.7 assists per game (No. 4 in the Sun Belt). Davis also averages 5.8 points and 1.1 steals per game. Davis logged a career-high 16 points vs. Georgia Southern (Feb. 20) and a career-best 11 assists at Appalachian State (Feb. 8). 
• Junior forward Isiah Small ranks No. 8 in the Sun Belt with 6.5 rebounds per game, including 2.4 offensive boards per game (No. 7 in the Sun Belt). Small also ranks No. 8 in the conference with 0.9 blocks per game, matching senior forward Eric Terry. Small averages 7.7 points overall this season, and 8.3 points per game in conference play.
• Terry is coming off a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the win against Georgia State. Terry's numbers consist of 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES 
• Pearson is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,068 career points. His point total currently ranks No. 35 among active players across all NCAA divisions and rank No. 12 in Division I. He also ranks No. 7 in the Sun Belt Conference all-time in scoring.
• Pearson is one of four active NCAA Division I players with 2,000 career points and 700 career rebounds (nine total players across all divisions). He currently ranks fourth on that list with 2,068 points and 717 rebounds.
• Pearson is the first Bobcat in program history to record three consecutive 500-point seasons (542, 2018-19; 502, 2017-18). He currently has 547 points this season to lead the Sun Belt and ranks No. 13 in the program's single-season record book.
• Pearson is the only Bobcat to be in the top 10 of the school's record book in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 173 career steals that rank No. 3 in the school's record book. He now trails Wes Davis (2011-15) who is No. 2 with 189 steals, and David Sykes (1999-03) who is the program's leader with 192 career steals.
• Pearson is No. 9 on the all-time rebounding list with 717 career rebounds. Former Bobcat Steve Frontz (1974-78) ranks No. 8 with 751 career rebounds.
• Pearson rank No. 8 in the program's record book with 282 career assists. Former Bobcat Ojai Black (2014-17) ranks No. 7 with 287 career assists.
• Pearson was listed on the 2020 Dos Equis 3x3U National Championship Midseason Watch List and is the front-runner to win the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award according to espn.com.
• 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 UT ARLINGTON
• UT Arlington was beginning to heat up with its three-game winning streak highlighted by victories over Little Rock (76-65) and Georgia State (70-62) before falling by 20 to Georgia Southern, 81-61 at home.  
• The Mavericks enter Friday's game with a 9-9 Sun Belt record and 8-6 overall record at home. 
• UTA scores 70.1 points per game (No. 9 in the Sun Belt) but has a solid defense themselves, giving up just 68.1 points (T-No. 4 in the Sun Belt). The Mavericks are behind the Bobcats with a 41.3 field goal percentage defense and rank No. 2 in the league with a 30.2 3-point field goal defense.
• Sophomore guard David Azore leads the Mavs with 14.0 points (No. 12 in the Sun Belt) and 3.7 assists per game (No. 5 in the Sun Belt). Azore shoots 43.4 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and 78.9 percent from the stripe (No. 9 in the Sun Belt). He also averages 4.8 rebounds per game and ranks No. 5 with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Senior guard Brian Warren chips in 12.7 points (No. 20 in the Sun Belt) and is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game. Warren also has a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranks No. 6 in the conference with an 81.0 free-throw percentage.
• Senior forward Jabari Narcis leads the Mavs with 6.7 rebounds (No. 7 in the Sun Belt) and 1.3 blocks per game (No. 5 in the Sun Belt). Narcis averages 7.7 points per game behind junior forward Radshad Davis' 8.4 points who ranks No. 9 with 6.2 rebounds per game.  
 
SERIES HISTORY
• UT Arlington leads Texas State 40-33 in the all-time series, including its 64-62 win at Strahan Arena on Jan. 25. It was the last home loss for the Bobcats this season as they ended the year on a six-game winning streak at home.
•  In that game, Pearson dropped 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including three triples and was a perfect 7-of-7 at the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Small followed with his second double-double this season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• The Bobcats have loss the last nine games played at UTA with their last win dating back to Jan. 9, 2010 (64-60).
 
UP NEXT
Texas State ends the regular season at South Alabama at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
 
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