GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2015 | 12 p.m. (CST)

Where: Evansville, Indiana | Ford Center

Series: First Meeting | Streak: None

Last Meeting: None

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on KTRL 90.5 FM | Listen Live

Pregame Coverage: Pregame Show begins 30 minutes before tip off

Web Stream: NCAA.com

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

THE GAME
Tarleton State will head back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2006 and square off with Mount Olive in a quarterfinal battle that pits a pair of top-10 teams in the nation - the No. 7 Texans and No. 9 Trojans - at 12 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana's Ford Center.
 
THE BROADCAST
The game will have a live radio broadcast presented by the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The Voice of the Texans, Casey Hogan, will be back calling the play-by-play for Tarleton basketball this season. The broadcast can be heard on KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
 
WATCH IN WISDOM
The game will be on the video board in Wisdom Gym and pizza will be available while it lasts for fans interested in watching the game on campus.
 
THE OPPONENT
After dropping just their second game of the season in the CCA league opener on January 3, the Trojans wasted no time getting back in the win column and running roughshod through the rest of the regular season and first two rounds of the conference tournament. Mount Olive entered the CCA Tournament Championship game on a 17-game winning streak before falling to North Greenville on a foul call and a pair of free throws with two seconds left. From there, the Trojans won three straight to win the southeast regional championship as the No. 4 seed to earn their second trip to the Elite Eight.
 
THE SERIES
Tarleton State and Mount Olive have never played each other.
 
TIES TO THE ELITE EIGHT
This is the third trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the Tarleton State Texans and the second trip for Mount Olive. The 2005 Elite Eight in Grand Forks, ND was the first-ever trip to the Elite Eight for both schools but this is the first meeting between them.
 
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT OLIVE
Located in Mount Olive, North Carolina, the university was founded in 1951 and received accreditation in 1958. Home to over 4,200 undergraduate students, UMO is in just the second year of the mantra of "University of Mount Olive" after changing from Mount Olive College in January 2014. The school was a junior college from 1951-70 before transitioning to a senior college prior to the 1970-71 academic year - which is nine years less than Tarleton's time as a senior college.
 
TARLETON IN NATIONAL POLLS
After starting the season ranked No. 12 in the nation, Tarleton State has spent the entire season moving between the No. 3 and No. 15 spots in the national poll and have been back in the top 10 over the last three rankings at No. 7. This now marks the 34th consecutive week in which Tarleton has appeared in the national rankings since joining the polls on Nov. 19, 2013.
 
NABC HISTORY
Of the 102 weeks in the NABC rankings, Tarleton has spent 62 of those weeks in the top 10, 39 in the top 5 and eight weeks at No. 1.
 
RANKINGS BY THE MEDIA
The D2 Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA in its first year. Each region has two representatives. The Texans are No. 5 in the latest media-voted ranking.
 
OUT OF A POWERFUL REGION
The eight teams that played in the South Central Regional Tournament entered last weekend with a combined record of 193-47 for a winning percentage of .804. The South Central region entered the NCAA postseason with five teams ranked nationally in the NABC poll with another team receiving national votes.
 
TARLETON'S RECORD IN THE DANCE
In Tarleton's 12 trips to the NCAA postseason, including this year, Tarleton State boasts an all-time record of 18-11 in the tournament. That record includes a 17-9 mark in the NCAA regional tournament and a 1-2 record in the Texans' two trips to the Elite Eight. Tarleton's first Elite Eight victory came in 2005 when the Texans defeated Cal Poly-Pomona 58-56 to advance to the semis.
 
A LOOK AT THE LAST ELITE EIGHT GAME
The last time Tarleton State played an Elite Eight game was March 22, 2006 against Stonehill that the Texans dropped 69-59. The starting five for Tarleton included: LaShon Sheffield, Derek Atwood, Norbey Aragon, John Davis and Nic Gamble. Sheffield (Europe), Davis (NBA D-League) and Gamble (ABA) each continued their respective careers in the professional ranks.
 
REISMAN MOVES UP ALL-TIME WINS LIST
After starting the season No. 26 on the all-time wins list for Division II Head Coaches, Lonn Reisman is in sole possession of 18th on the Division II all-time wins list with 588. With one more win, he will move into a three-way tie for 16th place all-time with former Findlay coach Ron Niekamp and former Youngstown State coach Dom Rosselli.
 
REISMAN AT THE ELITE EIGHT
Lonn Reisman ranks No. 5 among the all-time winningest coaches still active in Division II - behind Herb Magee (Philadelphia University), Bob Chipman (Washburn), Richard Schmidt (Tampa) and Tom Klusman (Rollins). Among those top five, Reisman has now tied Chipman for the second-most appearances at the Elite Eight with three. Only Herb Magee (5) has more berths.
 
30-WIN PLATEAU
Even after 26 years at the helm of Texan Basketball, Lonn Reisman is still making firsts. This season marks the first time in the school's senior-college era that the Texans have won 30 games in a season. The previous best was 29 wins, which Tarleton did in the 2002-03 season.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
This will be the final week of action for the Texans, regardless of the outcome. The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will advance to the semifinal round, or Final Four, of the tournament against the winner of the Azusa Pacific and Indiana (Pa.) matchup. The semifinal round will be Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.