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Men's Basketball Jon Chidester, Assistant AD/Media Relations

One Final Trip to Arkansas on Horizon for Men's Hoops

Feb. 8 - at Ouachita (6-13, 4-10 GAC)
7:30 pm tipoff || Arkadelphia, Ark. (Bill Vining Arena)
Feb. 10 - at Henderson State (6-13, 5-9 GAC)
3:00 pm tipoff || Arkadelphia, Ark. (Duke Wells Center)

With four weeks remaining in the regular season, SWOSU Hoops prepares to cross state lines one final time with a pair of games in Arkadelphia, Arkansas against Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State on Thursday and Saturday.

The Bulldogs are in need of wins with eight games left to play. They sit tied for third in the GAC with an even 7-7 mark, but parody in the league is dense. The Dawgs are tied with two other teams with that record, and another three hold a 6-8 mark just behind them. Two more are another game behind with 5-9 records. It's a log jam.

This week's action comes against a pair of teams that the Bulldogs previously defeated in Weatherford back in January. SWOSU needed overtime to beat the Reddies 84-82 and then cruised to a 78-60 win over Ouachita two days later. That win still represents the largest margin of victory this season. 

SWOSU is 3-8 against Ouachita in Arkadelphia since the two have competed in the Great American Conference. Across the street, the Dawgs hold a 5-6 road record against the Reddies in the GAC. 

Both opponents come into the week hungry for wins. The Tigers are last in the conference with a 4-10 mark, but consecutive wins strung together could easily propel them into postseason contention given the current tightness in the standings. Same for the Reddies who sit a game above Ouachita at 5-9 in the GAC and on the outside looking in for postseason play. HSU is losers of five in a row and seven of their last eight.

Ouachita scores 71.7 points per game (7th GAC) and shoots just under 46% from the field (5th GAC). Henderson State averages 77.4 points per game (2nd GAC) and sits just above Ouachita in field goal percentage at 46.4%. The Reddies shoot the second fewest three point shots in the league.         

SWOSU GAC Ranks as of 2/7
  • 67.7 points per game (11th GAC)
  • 70.5 points allowed per game (6th)
  • 44% field goal percentage (10th)
  • 42.7% opponent field goal percentage (1st)
  • 32% three-point percentage (10th)
  • 30.5% opponent three-point percentage (1st)
  • 67.8% free throw percentage (9th)
  • 32.7 rebounds per game (7th)
  • 36.2 opponent rebounds per game (11th)
  • 7.9 offensive rebounds per game (11th)
  • -0.68 turnover margin (7th)
  • 0.76 assist/turnover ratio (11th)
  • 1.79 blocks per game (9th)
  • 6.84 steals per game (5th)
  • 9.63 assists per game (11th)

GAC Standings as of 2/7
Team GAC OVERALL STREAK
Arkansas Tech 11-3 15-5 W1
Southeastern Oklahoma State 11-3 15-7 W5
Northwestern Oklahoma State 9-5 11-9 W3
Oklahoma Baptist 7-7 10-10 W3
Arkansas-Monticello 7-7 9-10 L1
Southwestern Oklahoma State 7-7 7-12 W1
Southern Nazarene 6-8 9-10 W2
Harding 6-8 9-11 L1
Southern Arkansas 6-8 8-12 L2
East Central 5-9 9-11 L4
Henderson State 5-9 6-13 L5
Ouachita Baptist 4-10 6-13 L3
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