Setting the Scene
• The final weekend of the regular season is of huge importance to the SWOSU Men's Basketball team as they look to clinch a spot in the 2020 Great American Conference Tournament
• The Bulldogs went 0-2 last weekend in Arkadelphia, Ark., and they've now dropped three straight games, which leaves them behind eighth place and the final spot in the GAC Tournament field
• SWOSU has two prime opportunities to get those wins back this weekend as they welcome two teams with a combined road record of 1-19 to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
• First up for the Dawgs is a matchup with Harding, a team that SWOSU is 3-0 against in two seasons under head coach Terry Evans, on Thursday night
• SWOSU's Senior Day opponent, Arkansas Tech, is currently tied with the Bulldogs for ninth in the GAC at 8-12, but the Wonder Boys have lost four straight games and they have not won a road game this season (0-10)
 
About the Opponent
Harding (8-18, 3-17 GAC)
• The Bisons have been eliminated from postseason contention after going 2-14 since the start of 2020, with both of their wins coming at home in overtime
• Harding is led by the fourth-leading scorer in the conference, Romio Harvey, who averages 21.1 points per game but he's the only player on the team putting up more than 9.0 points per game
• This season, Harding ranks 12th in the conference in turnover margin, committing 16.6 turnover per game while claiming 13.2 from their opponents for a margin of -3.4
 
Arkansas Tech (12-14, 8-12 GAC)
• Over the past two weeks, ATU has dropped four straight games to move into a tie with SWOSU for ninth in the GAC standings at 8-12
• Tech is the fifth-highest scoring team in the conference (79.5 ppg), but they are allowing a league-high 82.7 points on average to their opponents
• Arkansas Tech is led by junior guard R.J. Glasper, who ranks seventh in the GAC in scoring (17.7 ppg) and third in assists (5.9 apg)
 
SWOSU Notes
• Damion Thornton scored over 20 points in both games last weekend, giving him 14 20-point games this season
• Thornton ranks fifth in the Great American Conference with a scoring average of 19.6 points per game while also ranking third in the league in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and fourth in steals (1.9 spg)
• Marquis Johnson leads the conference in steals with 51 (2.2 per game) and SWOSU is second in the league with 8.5 steals per game while leading the conference with a turnover margin of +4.46
• Jaylan Williams knocked down nine three-pointers on SWOSU's final road trip, giving him 74 for the season on 39.4% (74-188) shooting
• Bralyn James had his second-highest scoring game of the season on Saturday, pouring in 16 points on 7-10 shooting at Ouachita
• The Bulldogs are mired in their longest losing streak of the season, having dropped three straight games to fall to ninth place in the GAC standings with two games to play
• SWOSU is searching for their first postseason berth since 2015-16, when they earned the No. 4 seed in the GAC Tournament before falling to Southern Arkansas in the quarterfinals in Bartlesville
• Thornton became the fifth SWOSU player during the NCAA era to score more than 500 points in a single season and he enters the final weekend of the regular season having scored 510 points in his first year with the Bulldogs
 
Looking Ahead
• The 2020 Great American Conference Tournament takes place next weekend in Bartlesville, Okla., beginning on March 5th
• Two quarterfinals will take place on Thursday as the top two seeds will be in action before the third and fourth seeds play on Friday