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Setting the Scene
- After a break of nearly three weeks, the SWOSU Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday afternoon at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center against Randall University
- This will mark the final non-conference game of the season for the Bulldogs, who are now 3-6 on the year and they bring a three-game winning streak into Saturday's contest
- SWOSU is hosting Randall (formerly Hillsdale Baptist) for the fourth consecutive season, with three straight wins in the series for the Dawgs
- Last season, the Bulldogs cruised to a 92-75 victory over the Saints, but the meeting between the teams in 2014 was a one-point contest won by SWOSU 82-81
- Randall comes to Weatherford with a record of 4-8 on the heels of a four-game losing skid that includes several games against NCAA Division I and II institutions

The Opponent
Randall (4-8)
- After winning their first two games in December to move to 4-4 on the season, the Saints have dropped four straight contests to fall to 4-8 on the year
- The Saints are averaging 82.8 points per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 37.9% from three-point range for the year
- Six players for Randall average 7.5 points per game or better, led by Trey Sneed at 18.0 points per game and Xavier Hunter with 11.0 ppg
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (53-41, 4th season; 462-337 career, 28th season)
- In his fourth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, having led SWOSU to at least 16 wins in each of his first three years at the helm
- Has coached five players at SWOSU that earned All-GAC distinction, including one GAC
Player of the Year (Rod Camphor) and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year (Michael Bradley)
- Previously spent 25 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State, coaching the men's basketball team for 21 seasons before taking over as the school's athletic director
- In 26 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 462-337 (.582) and he is 3-0 against Randall as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Randall: Mark Berokoff (5th season)
- Now in his fifth season leading the Saints after one year as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Texas State men's basketball team
- Led Randall (then Hillsdale Baptist) to the 2015-16 NCCAA National Championship with a 97-84 overtime win over Grace Bible last March

Checking the Standings
- With Great American Conference play on a hiatus until January, Arkansas-Monticello will take the league lead into the holiday break with a perfect 4-0 mark in GAC games
- A log jam of four teams are just one game back of the Weevils with a 3-1 conference mark to date: Harding, Henderson State, Southern Arkansas, and Southern Nazarene
- Tied for sixth place with even records of 2-2 through the first four games are Arkansas Tech, East Central and Ouachita
- After picking up their first conference victory, the Bulldogs moved into a share of ninth place in the standings with Oklahoma Baptist
 
The Series
Date                 Location                                     Score
12/30/2013      Weatherford .............................W 106-86
12/6/2014        Weatherford ...............................W 82-81
1/2/2016          Weatherford ...............................W 92-75
 
NCAA Division II Era: SWOSU leads 3-0
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 3-0
In Moore: No Meetings
 
SWOSU Notes
- After scoring a career-high 25 points against Panhandle State, SWOSU's Nick Shoemaker was named the Great American Conference Player of the Week on December 12
- Shoemaker was 7-for-11 from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the stripe against OPSU, becoming the first Bulldog since Marin Zelalija (February 7, 2013) to hit seven three-pointers in a single game
- Shoemaker became the fourth different SWOSU player to lead the Bulldogs in scoring this season, joining Devin Pugh (five times), Markeise Champion (twice) and Reshardd Harris (once)
- The 81-69 victory at Panhandle State was the first road win of the year for the Dawgs and their third straight overall after beginning the year 0-6
- SWOSU tied a season-high with six steals at OPSU, led by Devin Pugh and Collin Jennings with two apiece
- Luke Lewallen scored a career-high 11 points against Panhandle State, one game after setting a new career-high with eight rebounds against Cameron
- Collin Jennings returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games at Panhandle State, scoring 10 points with six rebounds in 32 minutes of action

Looking Ahead
- Great American Conference play heats back up with a weekend trip to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita and Henderson State on January 5-7
- The following week, SWOSU starts in-state league games at East Central (Jan. 12) and against Southern Nazarene (Jan. 14) at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center