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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Men's Basketball will face their first nationally-ranked foe of the season on Wednesday evening when they welcome No. 24/17 Southern Nazarene to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Bulldogs are mired in a five-game slide after dropping a close 84-82 decision to Northwestern on Monday night, the second one-possession loss for SWOSU in the past three games
- Southern Nazarene sits alone atop the GAC standings at 10-0 after defeating Oklahoma Baptist on Monday and the Crimson Storm are currently on a nine-game winning streak
- Since SNU joined the GAC prior to the 2012-13 season, the Crimson Storm have a 6-4 advantage in the series, including wins in five of the last six games -- including a season sweep last year
 
The Opponent
#24/17 Southern Nazarene (13-1, 10-0 GAC)
- SNU ranks sixth in the GAC with a scoring offense of 81.0 points per game, but the Crimson Storm lock down their opponents, holding them to a league-leading 68.8 points per game
- The Crimson Storm have three of the top 10 scorers in the GAC in Micah Speight (3rd, 18.0 ppg), Jhonathan Dunn (6th, 16.8 ppg) and Noah Starkey (9th, 15.7 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kris Johnson (1-5, 1st season) * Interim
- Named the interim head coach at SWOSU for the remainder of the 2017-18 season on December 13 following the retirement of head coach Bob Battisti
- Now in his seventh season as an assistant coach at SWOSU, including the last four-plus years as the lead assistant to Battisti
- A native of Kansas City, Mo., Johnson came to SWOSU following a four-year playing career at Northwestern Oklahoma State
 
Southern Nazarene: Adam Bohac (186-106, 10th season)
- Has guided the Crimson Storm through their transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II and has led his team to three straight GAC Tournament appearances
- Led SNU to four 20-win seasons at the end of their NAIA era and became the fastest coach in school history to reach 100 wins
 
Checking the Standings
- Half of the rivalry games in the GAC were played on Monday night while three more games are scheduled to be played on Tuesday evening
- Southern Nazarene continues to sit atop the GAC standings with an unblemished mark of 10-0 after defeating Oklahoma Baptist on Monday
- Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Oklahoma State are currently tied at 7-2 in the standings heading into Tuesday night's games
- SWOSU remains tied with Harding for 11th place in the standings at 1-8, one game behind Henderson State and two games behind Southern Arkansas, Ouachita and Oklahoma Baptist
 
The Series (GAC Era)
Date                Location                     Score
*12/15/2012     Bethany, Okla.            W 63-54
*1/24/2013       Weatherford, Okla.     L 63-67
*1/23/2014       Bethany, Okla.            W 83-77
*2/25/2014       Weatherford, Okla.     W 73-58
*12/13/2014     Weatherford, Okla.     L 65-74
*1/29/2015       Bethany, Okla.            L 57-71
*1/16/2016       Bethany, Okla.            L 77-82
*2/13/2016       Weatherford, Okla.     W 80-75
*2/9/2017         Bethany, Okla.            L 59-85
*2/20/2017       Weatherford, Okla.     L 55-82
 
GAC Era: SNU Leads 6-4
In Weatherford: SNU Leads 3-2
In Bethany: SNU Leads 3-2
 
SWOSU Notes
- Jefkins Agyeman-Budu had his best performance in a SWOSU uniform on Monday, finishing with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds against Northwestern
- Both marks represent season-highs for Agyeman-Budu, who had scored a combined nine points over the previous eight games
- Charles Beauregard, Jr., continued his high-scoring with 24 points for the second straight game and he's now put up 20 or more points in three of the last four outings
- For the year, Beauregard is averaging 17.1 points per game, which ranks him seventh in the Great American Conference
- SWOSU currently has two of the top 10 free throw shooters in the league in Devin Pugh (6th, 82.5%) and Beauregard (8th, 81.0%)
- Nick Shoemaker extended his streak of games with a made three-pointer to 30 after hitting 2-of-3 attempts from long range against Northwestern
- Shoemaker is ranked eighth in the GAC with 36 made three-pointers (2.6/game) this season and he's moved up to 8th on SWOSU's NCAA era list for made three's in a career with 126
- Daniel Eibel is 8th in the GAC in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 46.2% (24-for-52) of his attempts this season
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU concludes the first half of the Great American Conference schedule on Saturday with a trip to Shawnee to face Oklahoma Baptist
- The Bulldogs will play seven of their final 11 games on the road to close out the regular season, beginning with a road trip to Henderson State and Ouachita next week