Setting the Scene
• SWOSU Men's Basketball will complete their four-game home stand this weekend as they host a pair of local conference rivals
• The Bulldogs will take on the rival Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday evening before concluding their season series with Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon
• SWOSU has been swept by Northwestern in the regular season during each of the past two seasons and Southeastern will bring a seven-game winning streak over the Bulldogs into Saturday's matchup
• In their first meeting this season, Southeastern handed the Bulldogs their most lopsided loss of the season as they defeated SWOSU 102-79 in Durant
• The Bulldogs enter the weekend tied for eighth place in the GAC standings at 4-4 after defeating Ouachita last Thursday before falling to Henderson State on Saturday
 
About the Opponent
Northwestern Okla. (5-9, 2-6 GAC)
• The Rangers defeated Ouachita 83-77 on Saturday to snap a two-game slide and pick up their second conference win of the season
• Northwestern is the lowest-scoring team in the conference, averaging 68.6 points per game while being outscoring by an average of 7.6 points per game for the year
• Vinay Patel is in his first season leading the Rangers following a successful four-year stint as the head coach at Oklahoma City
 
Southeastern Okla. (12-3, 6-2 GAC)
• After being picked to win the league in preseason, Southeastern has lived up to the billing and they've won three straight to move into a share of first place in the conference
• Reigning GAC Player of the Year Kevin Buckingham ranks third in the league in scoring (22.3 ppg) while point guard Adam Dworsky leads the nation with 9.4 assists per game
• Veteran head coach Kelly Green is in his eighth season at Southeastern and his team is coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance last season
 
SWOSU Notes
• Last Thursday's 67-61 victory over Ouachita gave the Bulldogs consecutive conference victories for the first time since February 2016
• Kamden Gipson leads the Great American Conference in free throw shooting, hitting 90.9% (30-33) of his attempts from the stripe this season
• SWOSU's Damion Thornton has scored at least 20 points in four straight games and six-of-seven and he's the fifth-leading scorer in the conference with 19.9 points per game for the year
• Thornton has also grabbed at least eight rebounds in five straight games, recording two double-doubles, and he's tied for sixth in the league with 7.5 boards per contest
• The Bulldogs still feature the top turnover margin (+4.6) in the league by forcing 19.7 turnovers per game while giving away just 15.1
• SWOSU is also second in the league in steals with 130, an average of 9.3 per game, behind Damion Thornton and Marquis Johnson, who rank first and second, respectively, in the conference for steals per game
• Jaylan Williams leads the Bulldogs with 33 made three-pointers this season, which is tied for eighth among players in the GAC
• Chris Braggs, Jr., had his streak of double-digit scoring games snapped at four as he finished with five points against Ouachita before bouncing back with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists against Henderson State
• Phill Baker has been inserted into the starting lineup the past three games and he's responded with 2.3 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game
 
Looking Ahead
• Following the home stand, SWOSU returns to Arkansas for the second time this season, this time to face Arkansas Tech (Jan. 23) and Harding (Jan. 25)
• SWOSU closes out the month of January at home against Southern Arkansas on the 30th before hosting Arkansas-Monticello on February 1st