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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Men's Basketball is back in action on Saturday, heading to a venue where they have been unable to earn a victory at since becoming a member of the Great American Conference
- That location is Rhodes-Reaves Field House in Searcy, Ark., where the Bulldogs will tip off against Harding at 3:00 pm on Saturday
- Both teams are still looking for their first conference win of the season while Harding is still in search of their first victory of the season overall
- SWOSU enters the game at 1-6, having dropped six straight after Arkansas Tech downed the Bulldogs 88-81 on Thursday in Russellville
- Harding remains winless on the season at 0-4 after dropping their home opener against Northwestern Oklahoma State by a 79-57 count on Thursday
 
The Opponent
Harding (0-4, 0-3 GAC)
- The Bisons are the lone winless team in the Great American Conference after starting the season 0-4 with defeats against Southeastern Oklahoma State, East Central, Christian Brothers and Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Harding is the lowest-scoring team in the league, averaging 60.5 points per game while struggling from the field, hitting just 38.7% of their attempts this season
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (57-63, 5th season; 466-359 career, 29th season)
- In his fifth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, having led SWOSU to at least 16 wins in three of his first four years at the helm
- Has coached five players at SWOSU that earned All-GAC distinction, including one GAC Player of the Year and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year
- In 28 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 466-359 (.582) and he is 1-7 against Harding as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Harding: Jeff Morgan (412-279, 25th season)
- Has served as the head coach at Harding since the 1993-94 season and it was recently announced that he will take over as the Athletic Director at Harding next August
- Morgan has guided the Bisons to three conference championships and six NCAA Division II tournament appearances and he also serves on the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships Committee
 
Checking the Standings
- Great American Conference play resumed on Thursday night and three teams remain unbeaten atop the league standings: East Central, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene
- Arkansas Tech, Ouachita and Southeastern Oklahoma State all improved to 2-1 with victories on Thursday
- Three teams that dropped games on Thursday, moving to 1-2 were Arkansas-Monticello, Henderson State and Oklahoma Baptist
- SWOSU and Harding are among the three teams - along with Southern Arkansas - still looking for their first conference victory of the season
 
The Series (GAC Era)
Date                Location                     Score
*1/14/2012       Weatherford, Okla.     W 85-67
*2/11/2012       Searcy, Ark.                L 76-79
*1/3/2013         Searcy, Ark.                L 54-76
*2/9/2013         Weatherford, Okla.     W 71-60
*1/2/2014         Weatherford, Okla.     L 65-89
*2/8/2014         Searcy, Ark.                L 71-89
*11/22/2014     Searcy, Ark.                L 52-64
*2/7/2015         Weatherford, Okla.     L 52-79
*11/21/2015     Weatherford, Okla.     W 81-76
*1/30/2016       Searcy, Ark.                L 59-84
*11/19/2016     Searcy, Ark.                L 50-77
*1/26/2017       Weatherford, Okla.     L 76-83
 
GAC Era: Harding leads 9-3
In Weatherford: Series tied 3-3
In Searcy: Harding leads 6-0
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU scored a season-high 81 points on Thursday against Arkansas Tech, reaching the 80-point plateau for the first time since an 80-78 victory over Lincoln in the season opener
- Devin Pugh led the Bulldogs with a season-best 21 points after connecting on 10-of-16 field goal attempts and 1-of-5 three-pointers
- Charles Beauregard scored 20 points against ATU, his second 20-point performance of the year and he upped his team-leading scoring average to 16.7 points per game
- SWOSU is averaging 71.0 points per game on 40.8% (153-375) field goal shooting for the year, marks that rank in the bottom third of the GAC statistics
- Nick Shoemaker hit 3-of-7 three-point attempts against Arkansas Tech and reached double figures in scoring for the third time this season with a season-high 12 points
- Jerry Hurt, SWOSU's second-leading scorer, was held scoreless by ATU on Thursday on 0-for-6 shooting, dropping his scoring average to 12.0 points per game
- SWOSU has hit a league-leading 133 free throws this season, connecting at a 72.7% clip for the fifth-best free throw percentage in the conference
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will close out the month of December with two non-conference games against Panhandle State (Dec. 8) and Randall (Dec. 30)
- The Bulldogs will open the new calendar year with three straight home contests, beginning on January 4th against Arkansas-Monticello