Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Texas State
Troy Travels to Texas State to Open Final Week of Regular Season
2/24/2025 3:58:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Sitting just one game back of first place in the Sun Belt Conference, the Troy men's basketball team heads to San Marcos, Texas, for a showdown with Texas State on Tuesday night to open the final week of conference play.
Troy (18-10, 11-5 SBC) is coming off a 17-point win in its home finale on Saturday over Coastal Carolina, while Texas State (15-14, 8-8 SBC) defeated South Alabama in overtime. This is the second meeting between the two teams this season, with the Bobcats winning the game in Troy on Jan. 9.
Game Information
The Matchup: Troy at Texas State
When: Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025 | 7 p.m.
Where: San Marcos, Texas | Strahan Arena (10,000)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
The Trojans are looking to spend the final week of the season solidifying its seed in the Sun Belt Tournament that starts next Tuesday in Pensacola. At the moment, Troy is the No. 3 seed and would receive an automatic bye into the quarterfinal round next Saturday. With some help from other teams in the conference, it's still possible for Troy to earn a top two seed and an automatic placement into the semifinals.
In Saturday's win over Coastal Carolina, Troy got another impressive performance from Tayton Conerway. The senior guard, who was honored along with Theo Seng, Randarius Jones and Braydon Whitaker prior to the game, scored 21 points on a career-high nine made field goals. He also dished out eight assists, grabbed six rebounds and snagged three steals. He leads Troy with 13.4 points per game this season and is just eight steals off the program record for the most steals in a season.
Also shining in the victory was Myles Rigsby, who had 20 points and four rebounds. It was his third 20-point performance this season. Thomas Dowd also continued his recent tear, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine boards. The sophomore big man has scored in double-figures in each of the last five conference games. Over that stretch he is averaging 14.8 points on 49.1 percent shooting, including 44.6 percent from 3-point range.
Troy also took care of the basketball well on Saturday, turning it over just nine times. When limiting itself to single-digit turnovers, Troy is 4-1 with the lone loss coming on the road against Houston.
The Trojans also dished out 16 assists in the victory, and improved to 14-2 this season when recording 15 or more assists in a game. Conerway has been Troy's best playmaker all season, leading the team with 143 assists (5.1 per game). That total is second in the Sun Belt and 40th in the country.
Scouting Texas State
The Bobcats are coming off a 93-92 overtime victory over South Alabama on Saturday, that saw Mark Drone make the game-winning layup with 0.5 left on the clock.
Tylan Pope continues to lead the way for Texas State this season with 15.9 points per game. He's shooting an impressive 53.3 percent from the field and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game.
Texas State has had an up and down season, but has been playing well as of late. The Bobcats have won three of its last four games and are 9-3 at Strahan Arena this season.
The last time these two squads met, Pope had 27 points and 10 rebounds to help Texas State beat Troy in Trojan Arena. The Bobcats lead the all-time series 12-8 and have won the last three matchups.
Notables
• Scott Cross is in his sixth season at the helm for Troy men's basketball, and his 18th as a Division I men's basketball head coach. While at Troy he has put together a 98-86 record, which includes three straight seasons of 20 or more wins. The Trojans have also won 10 or more conference games in each of the last four years, including 2024-25.
• After falling to Louisiana at home on Thursday, Troy closed out its home slate with an 83-66 win over Coastal Carolina on Senior Day last Saturday.
• Tayton Conerway was the star of the show in his home finale, recording a team-high 21 points and dishing out eight assists.
• Thomas Dowd had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Myles Rigsby had 20 points.
• In arguably the biggest game in the Sun Belt this season, Troy went into Jonesboro, Ark., and stunned Arkansas State on national television 71-70 on Feb. 15.
• Jackson Fields had a career-high 20 points and five made threes, while the Trojan defense stepped up big and held the Red Wolves to 38.5 percent shooting.
• Conerway has scored in double-digits in 15 of 16 conference games this year and has 12 games of 15-plus points.
• Conerway's career-high 32 points against Arkansas State on Jan. 11 was the first time a Trojan has scored 30-plus points since 2019.
• Against ULM on Jan. 15, Conerway had the first double-double of his career with 10 points and a career-high 12 assists.
• Conerway sits just eight steals away from setting a new program record for steals in a season (89).
• The Trojans entered 2024-25 picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Coaches Preseason Poll, which is the highest it had been selected to finish since the start of the 2017-18 season. Troy received one first-place vote.
• If the season ended today, Troy would be the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and would advance straight to the quarterfinals.
• Troy's last regular season conference title came during the 2008-09 season.
