GAME DAY INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 2-0 (0-0 GAC)	ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO BOLL WEEVILS 1-0 (0-0 GAC)
Thursday, January 7 | 7:30 p.m. Monticello, Ark. | Steelman Fieldhouse LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES

TIPPING OFF
A pair of non-conference games are in the rear-view for the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team and now the Wonder Boys are set to get their unique 2020-21 season started in earnest as they hit the road for the first time and open up Great American Conference play at Arkansas-Monticello. Following the game at UAM, Tech will play its next three games inside the friendly confines of Tucker Coliseum, beginning first with a Saturday afternoon affair with reigning GAC Tournament champions, Henderson State. 

With regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in an attempt to play as much of a season as possible, the GAC announced back in mid-November that the 12-team league would temporarily split into divisions and feature an Eastern and Western Division. With the divisional play model, teams would be scheduled to face one another from their respective division four times to comprise a 20-game regular season. 

From there, a uniquely-formated GAC Tournament would take place, in which, for the first time ever, all 12 teams would qualify for the tournament. Additionally, all the games within the tournament would be played at the campus site of the highest-seeded team within that division in a given round. If both seeds are equal for the overall championship, a coin toss will determine the site of the game. 

The initial step towards that tournament format starts with the aforementioned GAC-opener with the Boll Weevils. Heading into the match-up, the Wonder Boys will sport a 2-0 record after wins over the University of the Ozarks and Southwestern Christian University last week. 

While the outcome of each game was the same, the Wonder Boys took two very different paths to get there.

Against Ozarks, the Wonder Boys trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half and rallied to take a two-point lead into the locker room. A very game Ozarks team did not roll over in the second half and held a lead as late as the 2:26 mark of the second half, but the Wonder Boys we ultimately able to force overtime. In that extra period, the Wonder Boys seized control of the game and opened the first two and a half minutes on a 5-0 run en route to a five-point victory. 

After grinding out that win to open the season, the Wonder Boys left little doubt in their game against Southwestern Christian, leading from the 18:11 mark of the first half to the end of the game. A total of 12 different players scored in the game with five reaching double figures as the Wonder Boys went on to eclipse the 100-point mark. 

SCOUTING THE BOLL WEEVILS 

The Boll Weevils enter Thursday's game against the Wonder Boys with a 1-0 record thanks to win over a common opponent in Ozarks this past Sunday. Against the Eagles, who played the Wonder Boys two days prior, the Boll Weevils faced little resistance and led from wire-to-wire, eventually cruising to a 30-point victory. 

In that win, the Boll Weevils did not allow a single Ozarks player to score in double figures. On their end of the court, however, UAM had three players score in double figures and were led by transfer newcomer Miles Daniels with 19 points. 

As a team, the Boll Weevils will feature a lot of new faces as they have a total of nine newcomers. The Weevils will need those newcomers to help replace the loss of their top-four scorers from last season. The leading scorer returning for UAM is Denzel McDuffey at 10.7 ppg last season. 

The Boll Weevils are coached by Kyle Tolin, who is entering in his seventh season at UAM. In his previous six seasons, Tolin has won 92 games. 

SCOUTING THE REDDIES 

About 10 months removed from cutting down the nets at the GAC Championship Tournament, Henderson State will be one game deep into their title defense by the time that the Reddies take on Arkansas Tech on Saturday. That game for the Reddies will be a home contest against Southern Arkansas on Thursday night. 

Unfortunately for the Reddies, days after the elation of cutting down the nets and eying a run in the NCAA Tournament, the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown intercollegiate sports, bursting that bubble. 

That championship run a year ago was the culmination of what head coach Jimmy Elgas began building five years prior. This year, that leaves the Reddies without four starters and five of their top-six players from their rotation. The top returner is All-GAC player Raekwon Rogers. Last year, Rogers averaged the second-most points at 12.6 ppg and was the team-leader in rebounding at 7.8 rpg. 

Elgas will be entering his sixth season at Henderson. In his previous five seasons, Elgas has totaled 81 wins and the tournament title was the first championship of any kind for the program since 2007-08.