Dec. 14 - SWOSU at Oklahoma Christian

7:00 pm tipoff || Edmond, Okla. (Payne Athletic Center)

Dec. 16 - SWOSU vs Southern Nazarene

3:00 pm tipoff || Weatherford, Okla. (PCEC)

Click for Full Game Notes (pdf)

SWOSU Men's Basketball enters the final week prior to Christmas Break and will face Oklahoma Christian in a non-conference road affair on Thursday before welcoming Southern Nazarene to Weatherford on Saturday for the fourth conference game of the year.

The Bulldogs will be facing OC for just the fourth time since making the transition to Division II, though two of the prior matchups have come recently, in 2018 and 2019. SWOSU is 1-2 against the Eagles since 1997. 

Oklahoma Christian, who sits 2-7, is on a five-game losing streak after starting the season 2-1 which included a ranked win over Black Hills State. The five-game losing streak aligns with the start of Lone Star Conference play, where OC is 0-4. 

Meanwhile, Southern Nazarene will travel to SWOSU on Saturday following a non-con matchup with No. 11 Dallas Baptist on Thursday.
 
The Crimson Storm are in year one of new head coach BJ Foster. It is not the same Storm team that advanced to the Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. None of the five starters from that team made the transition between coaches, while only one player from the overall roster remains. SNU is now led by Cam Slaymaker who made himself immediately known after earning the season's inaugural GAC Player of the Week in week one. His 16.3 points per game ranks sixth in the GAC. 

The Crimson Storm are 19-7 against the Dawgs since 1997. SWOSU last defeated the Crimson Storm in the championship game of the GAC Tournament in 2022. 

SWOSU is coming off a 65-54 loss to East Central in the only game of the week last Saturday. The Bulldogs' 38% field goal percentage was the lowest shooting mark of the young season and SWOSU's first time shooting sub-40% through seven games. Against the Tigers, SWOSU also set season lows in three-point percentage (21%) and free throw attempts (4-of-8)

On the flip side, SWOSU's 13 offensive rebounds set a new season high as the Dawgs went on to outrebound their opponent for a second straight conference contest. 

Jalen Johnson got the starting nod for the Bulldogs against ECU and poured in 20 points, tying a career high, in 23 minutes on the floor. The senior finished 8-for-18 overall and 4-of-11 from deep. He's the second Bulldog to score 20-plus points this season. Ben Smith has done it twice. 

Smith, who entered last Saturday averaging 18.5 points per game, was limited to a season low six points on 3-of-14 shooting. He still ranks in the top-5 in the GAC in scoring, 16.7 ppg, and rebounding, 7.3 rpg.

MJ Warrior ranks sixth in the GAC in steals, averaging 1.7 per game. He added two more against ECU last weekend. In three league games, he has a team leading 14 assists to only five turnovers. 

The Bulldogs will look to improve upon a season scoring average of 63.3 points per game, three-point shooting percentage of 29%, and 65% free throw percentage -- which all rank 12th throughout the GAC.