The Tarleton Texans and the Wichita State Shockers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Charles Koch Arena. Tarleton is 0-2 so far this year. The Texans fell to Kentucky in their last outing. As for the Shockers, they’ve won both their games thus far. Wichita State is coming off a six-point win over South Alabama. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Tarleton had a good first half in their opener versus Stanford, going into the break with a 26-24 edge. The Texans faded from there though, and ended up losing 62-50. The team’s leading scorer was Montre Gipson with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.
In game two against Kentucky, Tarleton took another loss. The Texans were down by eight at halftime and didn’t get any closer in an 88-62 blowout. Shamir Bogues led the way with 20 points, two rebounds and four steals in the defeat.
Over on the Wichita State side, they got into some trouble in the first half of their opener, trailing Jacksonville State 27-23. The Shockers scored 37 points from there to power out a 60-57 win. Top scorer was Tyson Etienne with 16 points and four rebounds.
Game two went a little more smoothly for the Shockers, but it was still a battle. Wichita State took a 32-32 tie into halftime, then held the Jaguars to 26 points the rest of the way in a 64-58 win. Ricky Council was tops in that one with 19 points and eight boards.
The Shockers are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five overall. Wichita State is 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven Tuesday games.
Meanwhile, the Texans are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four road games and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five overall. Tarleton is 4-0-1 ATS in their last five as an underdog.
PICK: I’m going to take Wichita State, but staying away. It’s tough to know what to think of the Shockers so far. They’ve had two tight games in the early-going, and have outworked the competition late on the way to their wins. Wichita State shot just 37.3 percent in their last game, but held a 39-34 rebounding advantage that helped get the W.
As for Tarleton, they’ve had some ups and downs in their first pair but a good performance here would really help going forward. Ultimately I think Wichita State will fend off the Texans and bag a cover, though.