No. 10 Midwestern State meets No. 4 Tarleton State in an historic battle Saturday night at Wisdom Gym.
 
The game marks the first time in the storied history of MSU basketball that the Mustangs will square off of in a Top 10 regular season battle. Midwestern has won in three of its last five trips to Stephenville.
 
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. or 25 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game which begins at 5.
 
WHERE TO FIND THE GAME
 
100.9 BOB-FM – The broadcast features the play-by-play voice of two-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Bill Powers. The Taco Casa Pregame Show begins immediately following the women's broadcast.
ON THE WEB – BOB-FM's audio broadcast simulcasts on BOBRadio.fm.  LINK
VIDEO STREAMING – The game stream live on FoxSportsSouthwest.com and FoxSportsHouston.com.  LINK
LIVE STATS – Live stats are available courtesy of the Tarleton State Athletic Communications Office.  LINK
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
It's hard to fathom, but Saturday's showdown at Wisdom Gym will be the first time series history that Midwestern State and Tarleton State both carry a national ranking into one of the best basketball rivalries in all of NCAA Division II.
 
How good of a rivalry is it? The Mustangs and Texans have squared off eight times over the last two seasons which has included the regular season series and meetings in the Lone Star Conference Championship and NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
 
Midwestern swept all four games in 2009-10 in advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history and Tarleton retaliated to win the first three games last season. But the Mustangs cracked the Texans in the opening round of the South Central Regional in Edmond to begin its second consecutive Elite Eight run.
 
The Mustangs head into the rivalry having recovered from its lone loss of the season on a new three-game winning streak forged out of renewed defensive energy.
 
MSU has held its last two opponents in the 50s after permitting consecutive 80-point performances and allowed two-straight opponents to shoot 50 percent or better for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
 
The Mustangs are led by reigning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week Michael Loyd.
 
The senior from Las Vegas averages 12.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds a game and has scored in double figures in each of the last four games. He is coming off of a near double-double with 12 points and nine assists in Wednesday's 69-50 win over Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Junior guard JaMichael Rivers shook off a shooting slump by drilling four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 18 points Wednesday against Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Junior forward Anthony Harris adds 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 14 games this season.
 
ABOUT THE TEXANS
 
Tarleton State rolls into Saturday's contest on a 15-game winning streak, boasting an 18-1 overall record and a 10-0 run in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Texans suffered their lone loss of the season by a 61-57 count to Washburn (Kan.) on Nov. 19 at the Texan Tipoff Classic.
 
Tarleton enjoyed home cooking and Wisdom Gym for 13 of its opening 15 contests this season.
 
The Texans tout NCAA Division II leadership in scoring defense (52.9 points per game), field goal percentage defense (.352) and are fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.270).
 
Tarleton has limited the opposition to fewer than 60 points in 13 of 19 games this season.
 
Offensively, the Texans are paced by a trio of players averaging in double figures including senior guard Chris Harrell (13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds), senior forward Fabian Wilson (11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds) and senior guard Shedrick Haynes (10.5 points, 3.5 assists).
 
Tarleton, which likes the slow down game, ranks 166th in scoring offense (70.8 points per game), but is 39th in field goal percentage (.482).
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
 
Midwestern State meets Tarleton State for the 61st time on the hardwood Saturday night at Wisdom Gym.
 
The Mustangs own a commanding 40-20 edge in the eighth longest running series in program history which dates back to the 1961-62 seasons.
 
MSU has won 9 of the last 14 games against the Texans as the teams have played eight times in the past two seasons.
 
The Mustangs own a 14-9 all time mark at Wisdom Gym and have beaten the Texans more times than any other opponent since the Lonn Reisman era began in 1988-89 -- 8 victories.
 
Midwestern has won in three of its last five trips to Stephenville.