RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech men's basketball will be on the road this weekend for the Wonder Boys' first two away games of the regular season. The Wonder Boys will travel to Shawnee, Okla. for a 7:30 p.m. contest against Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday, before heading west for Bethany to take on Southern Nazarene at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live audio, video, and statistics for both Great American Conference games are available at www.arkansastechsports.com. The games will be carried live on 102.3-FM (KCJC) in Russellville, with Sam Strasner calling the play-by-play.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Oklahoma Baptist leads the all-time series against Tech, 4-2. The Wonder Boys defeated the Bison in both games last season, however. Arkansas Tech has won four of sixth games all-time against Southern Nazarene after splitting two games last season.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
Oklahoma Baptist (1-3, 0-2 GAC) opened GAC play with consecutive losses to Ouachita and Henderson State. The Bison are coming off their first win of the season, though, defeating Manhattan Christian College, 113-80, on Nov. 21.
 
Kevin Franceschi leads Oklahoma Baptist and ranks second in the conference with 19 points per contest. Chandler Rickey leads the GAC in field-goal percentage (67.7) and blocks per game (2.8). As a team, the Bison average just under 80 points per game and are shooting 48.7 percent from the field. Oklahoma Baptist is allowing its opponents to net 44.7 percent of field goals, including 36.1 percent from three-point range.
 
Oklahoma Baptist was picked to finish 11^th in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
Southern Nazarene (2-4, 1-1 GAC) dropped its first conference match of the season to Henderson State, but the Crimson Storm responded with a win over Ouachita in Arkadelphia. SNU is coming off consecutive, non-conference losses to Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M. The Crimson Storm host Harding on Thursday before taking on Tech on Saturday.
 
Noah Starkey averages a team-high 14 points per game and is shooting 67.3 percent from the field, second best in the conference. Starkey also ranks fourth in the GAC with 7.7 rebounds per contest. Southern Nazarene is eighth in the GAC in rebounding margin, but the Crimson Storm are second in offensive rebounds per game.
 
Southern Nazarene was picked to finish fourth in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech (3-0, 2-0 GAC) is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2010. The Wonder Boys are coming off a 103-100 win in overtime against Graceland last Saturday, in which Justin Graham knocked down a three at the buzzer to give Tech its best start to a season since 2011, when the Wonder Boys won four straight to open the regular season.
 
Arkansas Tech, Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene are the only three teams in the GAC with five players averaging double-digits in scoring. Tech currently leads the GAC in scoring, averaging just over 90 points per game. The Wonder Boys are just sixth in the conference in field-goal percentage but have limited mistakes, ranking third in Division II in turnover margin. Arkansas Tech is first in the GAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and three-point field goals per game (11.3), as well.
 
Montrell Williams leads Tech with 14.7 points per contest, while Branden Williams averages 13.3 points and is the only player in the conference averaging at least 10 rebounds. Graham quarterbacks the offense, ranking second in the conference in assists per game (5.7) and first in minutes per game (37.7).