GAME INFORMATION
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(5) ARKANSAS TECH
WONDER BOYS
15-14 (12-10 GAC) |
(8) OUACHITA
TIGERS
12-15 (9-13 GAC) |
Saturday, March 4 | 5:45 p.m.
FireLake Arena | Shawnee, Okla.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO
GAME NOTES |
TIPPING OFF
With a win in hand in the opening round of the 2023 Great American Conference Tournament, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is now one win from playing for a GAC Tournament Championship. Their semifinal opponent with the same goal in mind will be No. 8-seed Ouachita.
Saturday night's semifinal round game between Tech and Ouachita will be the third meeting this season. The Wonder Boys won both matchups during the regular season with a 74-65 overtime win in Arkadelphia and a 64-58 win at home.
In terms of all-time series history, this will be the 181st meeting between Tech and Ouachita in a series that dates back to 1926-27 with the two being conference rivals from the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) days to the present GAC days.
Talking Tech
The Wonder Boys enters their GAC Tournament Semifinal game against Ouachita with an overall record of 15-14, assuring that regardless of the outcome, the Wonder Boys will finish with at least a .500 winning percentage for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
This will be the Wonder Boys' sixth appearance all-time in the semifinal round of the GAC Tournament and their first since 2017. In their five previous trips to the semis, the Wonder Boys have advanced to the championship game three times.
Statistically, the Wonder Boys average 67.2 ppg to rank 11th in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank fourth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 67.4 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are 11th in the conference in field goal percentage as they shoot at an overall clip of .439 (706-of-1,607) and limit their opponents to a .430 mark (675-of-1,569) to rank third.
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .290 (177-of-610) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .354 (222-of-628) to rank eighth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .646 as a team (360-of-557) to rank 11th.
Individually, the Wonder Boys have one player that is averaging double figures in scoring.
Taelon Peter, recently named a Second Team All-GAC performer, is that player and leads the way at 15.0 ppg. Five other Wonder Boys are scoring at least 7.0 ppg as well.
The Wonder Boys are coached by
Mark Downey, who is in his third 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 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 seventh season overall, Downey has amassed a 109-86 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 275-192.
Scouting the Tigers
Ouachita pulled off the biggest upset of the first round of the GAC Tournament as they knocked off top-seeded and nationally-ranked Southern Nazarene, 70-67. It marked the first time since 2015 that a top seed was beaten in the opening round of the GAC Tournament on the men's side.
The win for the Tigers puts them into the semifinal round of the GAC Tournament for the fifth time and is their first appearance since 2017. Of those four previous trips to this round, the Tigers have advanced to the finals twice.
Statistically, the Tigers average 69.6 ppg on offense to rank 10th in the GAC and give up an average of 72.9 ppg to rank seventh in the GAC. Their -3.4 scoring margin ranks 11th in the league. In terms of field goal percentages, Ouachita shoots at a .448 clip overall (722-of-1,611) to rank 10th in the league and allowed opponents to shoot at a mark of .471 (718-of-1,525) to rank 11th.
From three-point range, the Tigers shoot at a .321 clip (161-of-502) to rank 10th in the GAC and allowed opponents to shoot .381 (217-of-570) from range to rank 11th. At the charity stripe, the Tigers shoot .722 (273-of-378) to rank eighth in the GAC.
Individually, the Tigers have three players scoring in double figures and are led by
LaQuan Butler Jr. at 15.7 ppg.
Ma'Darius Hobson is next in scoring at 14.7 ppg.
Tylar Haynes rounds out double figure scoring at 13.0 ppg. Two other Tigers are also averaging at least 8.0 ppg.
The Tigers are coached by
Dennis Nutt, who is in his 12th season as head coach at Ouachita. In his time at Ouachita, Nutt has won 15 or more games four times and has totaled 157 wins.
Prior to coming to Ouachita, Nutt had six seasons as head coach at Texas State from 2000-01 – to – 2005-06. At Texas State, Nutt won 72 games. Overall, Nutt has 229 career wins as a head coach.
