Preview: Chicago State Men's Basketball at Tarleton State Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

The Chicago State men's basketball team is scheduled to conclude a two-game Texas road trip at the Tarleton State Texans on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas. The meeting will be the first between the two schools and Tarleton State enters the game with a 10-13 overall record and 5-5 in the WAC. The Texans played a competitive non-conference schedule, playing away games at Stanford, No. 3 Kansas, Wichita State, No. 20 Michigan and No. 1 Gonzaga and are 7-3 at home this season.

There are 358 NCAA Division I schools playing basketball this season. Of those schools, 67 have "State" in its name. Of that 67, 31 are direct state schools (i.e., Illinois State, North Dakota State, etc.), while five others have the state in their name, but with a descriptor (Central Connecticut, East Tennessee, Southeast Missouri). The remainder of the schools - 31 total - have no direct state reference in its name but use State in the name, including Chicago State and Tarleton State. The Cougars will also face Sam Houston State and Dixie State.

Chicago State is 2-7 in conference games which is already more wins than the Cougars posted in league play since 2014-15 when CSU finished 4-10. The year prior, 2013-14, the first year the Cougars competed in the Western Athletic Conference, Chicago State went 8-8 in league play and 13-19 overall.

Information on how to follow the Cougars below:

Last time out...at Abilene Christian

Dominique Alexander made his sixth consecutive start and during that time has averaged 13.0 points per game, raising his overall scoring average to 8.4 ppg. He also has been strong on the glass during the past six games, averaging 4.7 rebounds per game, increasing his average to 3.3 rpg. He played a season high 38 minutes against the Wildcats and converted 2-of-3 free throws and leads the Cougars at an 85.7 clip. He entered the game ranked third in the WAC in free throw percentage (87.0) but the lone miss dropped him to fifth.

Brandon Betson led the team in scoring for the seventh time this season with 22 points and it marked the fourth time he eclipsed the 20-point mark this year. He has scored in double figures 17 times this season only failing to do so five times. He converted a season-high six three pointers (8 attempts) and leads the team in three-point percentage (51-134, .381) which currently ranks sixth on CSU's single season leaders list in that category.

Bryce Johnson had his best scoring game since returning to the rotation for the Cougars, having missed nine consecutive games before coming off the bench against Seattle Jan. 6. He scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point line. He ranks fourth on the team in three-pointers made (22-of-58) and second in percentage (.379).

Freshman Jincho Rivera appeared in his sixth game of the season and recorded the most minutes played to date with 20. He took advantage of his time and responded with a season-high six points and a season-high three field goals. During the Cougars comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit, he was on the receiving end of a Coreyoun Rushin assist and converted a layup with 40 seconds remaining in the game to pull CSU to within two.

Coreyoun Rushin scored a season and CSU career high 18 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. He led the team in rebounds with 10 and had his third double-double of the season.

Milestones...
Chicago State's season-opening win over St. Thomas was head coach Gerald Gillion's first as a collegiate head coach ... That win also snapped a 28-game Cougars losing streak, dating back to December 2019, an 89-81 win over SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois ... The game against St. Thomas was the Cougars first action in nearly a year, last playing Dec. 20, 2020, in what turned out to be a nine-game, COVID-shortened 2020-21 season ... The Cougars win over SIUE (67-56) marked the Cougars first two-game win streak over Division I opponents since the 2014-15 season (Feb. 26 vs. GCU, W, 74-70; Feb. 28 vs. Utah Valley, 65-44) ... Chicago State won three straight home games for the first time since 2018-19 after winning the first three home games of the 2021-22 season ... The road win over IUPUI win was the Cougars first on the road this season and first road win since Dec. 4, 2019 at SIUE (89-81), a span of 24 games away from the Jones Convocation Center (includes two neutral site games) ... the Cougars earned their first Western Athletic Conference victory since March 2018 (vs. UMKC, W 96-82) when the Cougars beat California Baptist 58-56 at home on Jan. 8 ... Chicago State's 67-56 win at Lamar was the Cougars first conference road victory since Jan. 12, 2017 when CSU beat Utah Valley in Orem, 70-61.

About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).  The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.

Follow the Cougars
For complete coverage of Chicago State University athletics, follow us on social media @ChiStateCougars (Twitter), @ChiStateCougars (Instagram), /ChiStateCougars (Facebook), or visit the official home of Chicago State athletics at GoCSUCougars.com.