TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is in the middle of a season-long three-game road stretch as they are set to travel to Harding on Monday night. The Wonder Boys are also entering the final week of the 2020-21 regular season and have three scheduled games on tap - the aforementioned road game at Harding on Monday, a road game at Southern Arkansas on Thursday and a home game on Saturday with Ouachita.
The Wonder Boys will also be looking to return to their winning ways as they have lost their last three games played. In their most-recent game, the Wonder Boys had four players in double figures and shot over 40% overall as a team, but they weren't able to overcome an equally solid overall shooting effort by Henderson State that also included nine made three-pointers and 20-of-25 success from the charity stripe.
Currently in fifth place in the Great American Conference Eastern Division standings, the Wonder Boys remain in a position to climb up to the No. 4-seed and host the first round game in the upcoming GAC Tournament.
This will be the third meeting this regular season between the Wonder Boys and the Bisons with the Wonder Boys having both prior games. In fact, the Bisons very well may be a welcomed sight on the schedule as the Wonder Boys' last two wins have been their wins against the Bisons.
The first meeting between the two was an epic double-overtime game in Searcy that saw both teams eclipse the century mark. The second game came inside Tucker Coliseum and saw the Wonder Boys have their best overall offensive performance as they had six players in double figures while also shooting a season-best 59% overall from the floor.
TECH TIDBITS
The Wonder Boys enter play on Saturday with a 6-8 record and a 4-8 mark in the GAC. As a team, the Wonder Boys are averaging 70.3 ppg and rank ninth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank seventh in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 72.7 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are fifth in the conference as they are shooting at an overall clip of .439 (348-of-792) and are limiting opponents to a .424 mark (345-of-813) to rank fifth. From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .366 (129-of-352) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .346 (117-of-338) to rank seventh. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .649 as a team (159-of-245) to rank 12th.
Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring. True freshman Cejay Mann leads the way at 12.1 ppg Senior Tony Hall is next at 11.6 ppg and classmate Ke'Lyn Adams rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.4 ppg.
The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his first season back on the sidelines at Tech after a 10-year hiatus. Previously, Downey patrolled the sidelines at Tech for four seasons. In his final season, Downey guided the Wonder Boys to a program-record 30 wins and during the course of that season, the Wonder Boys were ranked No. 1 in NCAA DII for the first time ever.
In his time at Tech, which is now in its fifth season, Downey has amassed an 83-51 record. Overall, Downey is in his 14th season as a head coach and has career record of 249-157.
SCOUTING THE BISONS
Harding enters their game against the Wonder Boys 3-8 overall and 3-8 in the GAC. The Bisons have lost the two games since they last played the Wonder Boys and have lost four-straight dating back to February 6. The Bisons will also be entering the game on Monday having not played since February 13 as their three scheduled games last week were canceled due to winter weather.
In their most-recent game played, the Bisons suffered a 71-46 loss at home to Henderson State. In that game, the Bisons turned the ball over 25 times and was limited to just 35% shooting overall.
Statistically, the Bisons are averaging 72.3 ppg on offense to rank seventh in the GAC and are giving up an average of 80.0 ppg to rank 12th in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Harding is shooting at a .423 clip overall (271-of-640) to rank ninth and are allowing opponents to shot at a mark of .460 (319-of-694) to rank 10th. From three-point range, the Bisons shoot at a .338 clip (99-of-293) to rank ninth in the GAC and are allowing opponents to shoot .371 (83-of-224) from range to rank 10th. At the charity stripe, the Bisons shoot .733 (154-of-210) to rank third in the GAC.
Individually, the Bisons have three players scoring in double figures and are led by Ramiro Santiago at 17.3 ppg. Romio Harvey is next in scoring at 16.5 ppg. James Harris rounds out double figure scoring at 11.8 ppg.
The Bisons are coached by Jeff Morgan, who is in his 28th season at Harding. In his time as a head coach at Harding, Morgan has amassed a 433-347 record. He has led the Bisons to a winning record in 21 seasons and has won 20 or more games six times. Overall, Morgan is in his 29th season as a head coach and has a career record of 450-357.
