GAME DAY INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 6-9 (4-9 GAC)	SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS 11-4 (10-3 GAC)
Thursday, February 24 | 7:30 p.m. Magnolia, Ark. | W.T. Watson Center LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES (PDF)

TIPPING OFF
Down to the final two regular season games of the season, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team remains in position to win their way into a home game for the opening round of the upcoming Great American Conference Tournament. In order to do that, the Wonder Boys will need to jump up to the No. 4-seed in the Eastern Division standings. 

Currently, the Wonder Boys are in sixth-place in the standings and trail Harding and Ouachita, who are both tied for fourth-place at 4-8 (.333) in GAC play. 

With the disparity of the amount of games being played around the conference due to COVID-19 protocols and even winter weather, the standings are sorted by winning percentage and with one more game played than both Harding and Ouachita, the Wonder Boys cannot make any headway if their win totals match that of the Bisons or Tigers. 

The best path to the Wonder Boys moving up to the No. 4-seed will need to see them win each of their final two games while also having Harding and Ouachita losing at least once. With Ouachita on the schedule still, the Wonder Boys could also get there with just one win if it comes against the Tigers, but Ouachita would have to have already lost to UAM on Thursday and Harding would have to lose both of their remaining games. 

As complex as those scenarios are heading into the games on Thursday, the outlook will be much clearer after games have completed that night. 

The aforementioned GAC Basketball Tournament is scheduled to start with the opening round on Monday, March 1 at campus sites. The quarterfinal round will remain on the campus site of the higher seed and take place on Wednesday, March 3. The semifinal round will take place two days later on Friday, March 7 and the championship game will occur on Sunday, March 7.

TECH TIDBITS 

The Wonder Boys enter play on Thursday with a 6-9 record and a 4-9 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 sixth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 72.9 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 .442 (373-of-844) and are limiting opponents to a .426 mark (370-of-869) to rank fourth. From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .361 (133-of-368) to rank sixth in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .344 (124-of-360) to rank fifth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .647 as a team (176-of-272) to rank 12th. 

Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring. True freshman Cejay Mann leads the way at 11.5 ppg Senior Tony Hall is next at 11.1 ppg and classmate Ke'Lyn Adams rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.3 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 83-52 record. Overall, Downey is in his 14th season as a head coach and has career record of 249-158. 

SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS 

Southern Arkansas enters their game against the Wonder Boys 11-4 overall and 10-4 in the GAC. The Muleriders have won three of their last four games and picked a huge road win at Arkansas-Monticello their last time out. In winning that game, the Muleriders pulled even with the Boll Weevils in terms of records in the Eastern Division standings with just two games remaining in the regular season. That game was the fourth of the year between the Muleriders and Boll Weevils with each team winning twice. 

In their game with the Wonder Boys, SAU will be looking to keep themselves in position for a first-round bye in the upcoming GAC Basketball Tournament. 

Statistically, the Muleriders are averaging 70.4 ppg on offense to rank eighth in the GAC and are giving up an average of 65.7 ppg to rank second in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Southern Arkansas is shooting at a .433 clip overall (361-of-834) to rank seventh and are allowing opponents to shot at a mark of .413 (340-of-823) to rank second. From three-point range, the Muleriders shoot at a .368 clip (126-of-342) to rank second in the GAC and are allowing opponents to shoot .308 (95- of-308) from range to rank first. At the charity stripe, the Muleriders shoot .669 (208-of-311) to rank 11th in the GAC. 

Individually, the Muleriders have four players scoring in double figures and are led by Aaron Lucas at 16.1 ppg. The Brooks brothers are next in scoring at 13.7 ppg and 11.5 ppg, respectively. Blake Rogers rounds out double figure scoring at 10.0 ppg. 

The Muleriders are coached by Andy Sharpe, who is in his ninth season at SAU. In his time as a head coach at SAU, Sharpe has amassed a 125-118 record. He has also led the Muleriders to the GAC Tournament each year at SAU. Overall, Sharpe in his 16th season as a head coach and has a career record of 293-188.