Setting the Scene
- Bulldog Men's Basketball will cap off a four-game home stand when they host Southern Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- SWOSU enters the game searching for their first conference victory after falling just short against Arkansas-Monticello by a score of 67-65 on Thursday evening while SAU has won three straight to sit tied atop the GAC standings at 4-1
- Since the formation of the Great American Conference, SWOSU leads the overall series 9-5 which includes a mark of 5-2 in Weatherford
- SAU swept the season series from the Bulldogs last season and they've won four of the last five meetings between the two programs
- Saturday's matchup will see two of the top five teams in the GAC in three point baskets made, with Southern Arkansas ranked third (10.0 per game) and SWOSU close behind in fifth (9.1 per game)
 
About the Opponent
Southern Arkansas (9-2, 4-1 GAC)
- The Muleriders have won five of their last six games overall following a 75-63 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday night in Alva
- Southern Arkansas has four players averaging double figures points this season, led by freshman guard Jalen Brooks (11.5 ppg)
- SAU has been a force defensively this season and rank third in Division II in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 37.2% per game so far this year
- Head Coach Andy Sharpe is in his seventh season leading Southern Arkansas, where he has guided the Muleriders to at least 11 conference victories in four straight seasons
 
The Series

Date	Location	Score
1/21/12	*Magnolia	W, 62-56
2/8/12	*Weatherford	W, 74-65
12/1/12	*Weatherford	W, 61-58
1/31/13	*Magnolia	L, 66-69 (OT)
11/23/13	*Magnolia	W, 76-68
1/30/14	*Weatherford	W, 72-63
3/6/14	Bartlesville	L, 59-63
1/10/15	*Weatherford	L, 73-81
2/14/15	*Magnolia	W, 76-70
12/5/15	*Magnolia	W, 77-74
2/6/16	*Weatherford	W, 71-69
3/3/16	Bartlesville	L, 82-83
12/3/16	*Weatherford	W, 80-76
2/2/17	*Magnolia	L, 65-76
1/6/18	*Weatherford	L, 73-84
2/8/18	*Magnolia	L, 80-85
NCAA Division II Era: SWOSU leads 9-7
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 5-2
In Magnolia: SWOSU leads 4-3
Neutral: SAU leads 2-0
at Pioneer Cellular Event Center: SWOSU leads 3-2

 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU dropped from the top spot in scoring offense after being held to a season-low 65 points by Monticello, who sports the top scoring defense in the conference
- The Bulldogs are now second in the league in scoring with 83.5 points per game while allowing 91.2 points per game to opponents this year
- Daniel Eibel scored a season-high 12 points against UAM, knocking down 4-of-5 three-point attempts in 23 minutes against the Weevils
- Chris Braggs, Jr., matched Eibel and Tre Evans for team-high scoring honors on Thursday and he's now scored exactly 12 points in two straight games
- Evans was limited to a season-low 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting against UAM, but he remains the leading scorer in the Great American Conference with 24.9 points per game for the year
- Cheikh Fall connected on 4-of-5 field goal attempts against UAM, good for 11 points and he's 7-for-10 from the field over the past two games to up his average to 6.8 points per this season
- Evans is an 80.0% (96-for-120) free throw shooter on the year and he's ranked second in NCAA Division II for free throws attempted, trailing only Amir Hinton of Shaw, who's 120-of-138 from the stripe this season
- Kamden Gipson matched a season-high with five rebounds on Thursday night after struggling from the field to finish with six points on 2-for-10 shooting
- Luke Lewallen was 1-for-4 from three-point range against UAM and he's 9-for-15 (60.0%) from long range this season
- Nick Shoemaker hit his 167th career three on Thursday, which ranks him third in program history behind Clarke Hale (182; 2006-09) and Markeise Champion (170; 2015-17)
 
Looking Ahead
- Next weekend, the Bulldogs head on the road to Arkadelphia, Ark., to open a four-game road trip with matchups with Ouachita (Jan. 10) and Henderson State (Jan. 12)
- SWOSU heads to Northwestern Oklahoma State (Jan. 17) in Alva and Southeastern Oklahoma State (Jan. 19) in Durant the following week