TIPPING OFF
The margin of error shrinks with each passing game as the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is battling down the stretch to earn a spot in the upcoming 2022 Great American Conference Basketball Tournament, which will be held at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Okla. from March 3 - March 6.
While the margin of error carries a negative connotation in regards to what a loss does to the chances of making the tournament, the opposite is also true when it comes to what a win will do.
The prime example of that came in the fact that the Wonder Boys entered their Monday night game with Harding in 10th place, two spots back of the eighth and final position in the tournament.
Their pivotal win, combined with the remaining results around the league that night and on Tuesday place the Wonder Boys in that coveted eighth place position heading into the weekend.
Exactly half of the tickets have been punched on the men's side leaving the remaining four up for grabs.
Both of Tech's opponents this weekend are ahead in the standings with Northwestern Oklahoma already clinched at 12-6 in league play. The Rangers still have a lot to play for as they are eying the top seed, of which they are just two games back of. Southwestern Oklahoma is directly ahead of Tech at 8-9 in GAC play. While currently in seventh place SWOSU has yet to clinch a berth to the tournament.
TECH TIDBITS
The Wonder Boys enter play for this weekend 9-14 overall and are 9-11 in the Great American Conference. The Wonder Boys are coming off an pivotal road win this past Monday night at Harding.
So far this year, the Wonder Boys are averaging 69.9 ppg and rank seventh 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 68.2 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are seventh in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .452 (618-of- 1,370) and are limiting their opponents to a .429 mark (559-of- 1,302) to rank fifth.
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys are shoot at a clip of .350 (172-of-492) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .334 (160-of- 479) to rank fifth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .685 as a team (200-of-292) to rank 11th.
Individually, the Wonder Boys have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Tony Hall leads the way at 13.2 ppg while Cameron Kennedy rounds out double-figure scoring with 10.3 ppg. The Wonder Boys are also pretty balanced in their scoring with three other players averaging at least 8.0 ppg.
The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his second season back on the sidelines at Tech after a 10-year hiatus. In his first stint, Downey patrolled the sidelines at Tech for four seasons from 2006-07 - 2009-10. 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 sixth season overall, Downey has amassed a 93-68 record. Overall, Downey is in his 15th season as a head coach and has career record of 259-174.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma enters Thursday's game against Arkansas Tech 17-7 overall and 12-6 in league play. The Rangers are coming off a win their last time out, a 53-48 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma this past Tuesday. The win avenged a 72-69 loss on the road at Henderson State last Saturday that snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Statistically this season, the Rangers average 75.8 ppg on offense to rank second in the GAC and give up an average of 67.2 ppg to rank fourth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, NWOSU shoots at a .476 clip overall (647-of-1,360) to rank second and is allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .412 (554-of-1,321) to rank first.
From three-point range, the Rangers shoot at a .332 clip (168-of-506) to rank ninth in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .331 (169-of-510) from range to rank fourth. At the charity stripe, the Rangers shoot .691 (357-of-517) to rank ninth in the GAC.
Individually, the Rangers have four players scoring in double figures and are led by Larry White at 13.1 ppg. Behind White is Malik Parsons at 12.5 ppg. Brian Free and Bubba Furlong round out double-figure scoring at 12.0 ppg and 11.9 ppg, respectively.
The Rangers are coached by Vinay Patel, who is in his third season at NWOSU. In his time as a head coach at NWOSU, Patel has amassed a 28-37 record. Overall, Patel is in his seventh season as a head coach and has registered a 110-89 career record.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Southwestern Oklahoma enters this weekend's slate of games at 9-13 overall and 8-9 in league play. The Bulldogs will have played a home game against Harding on Thursday prior to playing Tech.
Heading into the weekend, the Bulldogs lost their most-recent game played, a 53-48 loss at home to Northwestern Oklahoma this past Tuesday. Prior to that, SWOSU had won two-straight with wins over Henderson State and Ouachita in Arkadelphia.
Statistically this season, the Bulldogs average 68.8 ppg on offense to rank 10th in the GAC and give up an average of 73.5 ppg to rank eighth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SWOSU shoots at a .391 clip overall (496-of-1,267) to rank 12th and is allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .425 (538-of- 1,267) to rank fourth.
From three-point range, the Bulldogs shoot at a .332 clip (189-of-569) to rank seventh in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .357 (205-of-575) from range to rank 11th. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs shoot .704 (333-of-473) to rank eighth in the GAC.
Individually, the Bulldogs have three players scoring in double figures and are led by Damion Thornton at 17.8 ppg. Behind Thornton is Kamden Gipson at 12.3 ppg. Chris Braggs Jr. rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.4 ppg.
The Bulldogs are coached by Terry Evans, who is in his fourth season at Southwestern Oklahoma. In his time as a head coach at SWOSU, Evans has amassed a 33-62 record. Overall, Evans is in his 17th season as a head coach and has registered a 296-186 career record.
