TIPPING OFF
The grind continues for the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team as the Wonder Boys are set to play a "regular" weekend slate of games at home in Tucker Coliseum. The regular part of that comes in the fact that Thursday and Saturday's games were originally scheduled at the beginning of the year. The reason for the quotations lies in the fact that games will conclude an ironman-worthy feat of four games played within a six-day period.
The sheer volume of games played in that amount of time is daunting enough, but the degree of difficulty is ratcheted up a few notches this weekend as the Wonder Boys are set to host two of the top teams in the Great American Conference this season in Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene.
Oklahoma Baptist is currently leading the conference at 12-3 and just earlier this week came-from-behind to beat Tech at home by a score of 80-73. Southern Nazarene is currently tied for third in the standings with a 10-5 league record. SNU also recently took one from the Wonder Boys, beating Tech at home 61-57, back on January 31.
While the competition is stiff this weekend, the Wonder Boys have played both teams closely and have even more motivation as the season winds down in regards to securing a place in the upcoming GAC Tournament. Entering the weekend, the Wonder Boys are tied for ninth with Arkansas-Monticello, but are only a game back of a tie for the eighth and final place that will qualify for the tournament.
TECH TIDBITS
The Wonder Boys enter play this weekend 8-12 overall and are 5-9 in the Great American Conference. The Wonder Boys are coming off a win in their last game as they knocked off Harding at home, 68-63.
So far this year, the Wonder Boys are averaging 69.9 ppg and rank eighth 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 68.0 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are sixth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .453 (546-of-1,206) and are limiting their opponents to a .423 mark (478-of-1,130) to rank fourth.
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys are shoot at a clip of .337 (147-of-436) to rank fifth in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .335 (141-of-421) to rank seventh. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .679 as a team (159-of-234) to rank 11th.
Individually, the Wonder Boys have one player averaging double figures in scoring. Tony Hall leads the way at 12.5 ppg. The Wonder Boys are also pretty balanced in their scoring with four 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 92-66 record. Overall, Downey is in his 15th season as a head coach and has career record of 258-172.
SCOUTING THE BISON
Oklahoma Baptist enters Thursday's game against Arkansas Tech 15-6 overall and 12-3 in league play. The Bison have won four-straight games but are 6-4 on the road.
Statistically this season, the Bison average 74.1 ppg on offense to rank fifth in the GAC and give up an average of 70.8 ppg to rank seventh in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, OKB shoots at a .469 clip overall (581-of-1,238) to rank third and is allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .439 (569-of-1,296) to rank seventh.
From three-point range, the Bison shoot at a .343 clip (149-of- 434) to rank third in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .334 (170-of-509) from range to rank sixth. At the charity stripe, the Bison shoot .744 (244-of-328) to rank third in the GAC.
Individually, the Bison have four players scoring in double figures and are led by Burke Putnam at 20.7 ppg. Behind Putnam is Brantly Thompson and Harrison Stoddart at 11.7 ppg, respectively. Jaquan Simms rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.9 ppg.
The Bison are coached by Jason Eaker, who is in his fourth season at Oklahoma Baptist. In his time at Oklahoma Baptist, Eaker has amassed a 69-35 overall record and has won at least 16 games in each of his first three years.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
Southern Nazarene enters this weekend's slate of games at 15-6 overall and 10-5 in league play. The Crimson Storm will have played a road game at Harding on Thursday prior to playing Tech. Heading into the weekend, the Crimson Storm found their way back into the win column with a 68-55 win at home against Harding this past Monday. The game prior, SNU narrowly had their 10-game winning streak snapped by a single point at home against league-leading Southeastern Oklahoma last Saturday.
Statistically this season, the Crimson Storm average 70.4 ppg on offense to rank seventh in the GAC and give up an average of 65.9 ppg to rank second in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SNU shoots at a .454 clip overall (540-of-1,189) to rank fifth and is allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .454 (513-of-1,130) to rank 11th.
From three-point range, the Crimson Storm shoot at a .331 clip (164-of-495) to rank eighth in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .337 (124-of-368) from range to rank eighth. At the charity stripe, the Crimson Storm shoot .635 (235-of-370) to rank 12th in the GAC.
Individually, the Crimson Storm have three players scoring in double figures and are led by Tyler McGhie at 16.8 ppg. Behind McGhie is Adokiye Iyaye at 14.6 ppg. Jalen Lynn rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.0 ppg.
The Crimson Storm are coached by Adam Bohac, who is in his 14th season at SNU. In his time at SNU, Bohac has amassed a 278-137 overall record. He has led the Crimson Storm to 20 or more wins seven times and has won three GAC Regular Season Championships and two GAC Tournament Championships which have resulted in three trips to the NCAA Regional Tournament
