SWOSU Men's Basketball returns home this week for two pivotal in-state matchups, hosting Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday before welcoming (rv) Southern Nazarene on Saturday inside the Pioneer Event Center.
 
With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs find themselves in the middle of a razor-thin race for a Great American Conference Tournament berth. At 6-9 in league play, SWOSU is tied for fifth in the standings alongside East Central and Northwestern. Three additional teams sit at 6-10, though each has played one more game and will await SWOSU's makeup contest scheduled for Monday, February 16 to even the standings.
 
In total, six teams — seven if including Arkansas-Monticello, who sits one game behind the cluster — are battling for four postseason spots with just three weeks left in the regular season.
 
Thursday: Northwestern Oklahoma State
Northwestern arrives Thursday with significant postseason implications on the line. The Bulldogs dropped the first meeting 80-73 in Alva on January 22 and will look to even the season series while strengthening potential tiebreaker scenarios.
 
SWOSU has won the last three home meetings against the Rangers. Head coach Brett Weiberg is 2-0 against Northwestern at home since taking over the program, and the Bulldogs hold a 9-4 record against the Rangers in Weatherford during the Division II era.
 
The Rangers carry the league's lowest rebounding margin, getting outrebounded by more than six boards per game. They offset that weakness by forcing turnovers, ranking third in turnover margin at +3 per contest and second in the GAC with 8.57 steals per game. Northwestern is 2-7 on the road this season.
 
Saturday: Southern Nazarene
Southern Nazarene, currently receiving votes in the NABC Division II Poll, enters the week 10-5 in conference play and 16-5 overall. The Crimson Storm face No. 9-ranked Oklahoma Baptist before traveling west to Weatherford on Saturday.
 
SNU is 10-1 at home but more vulnerable on the road at 6-4.
 
The Bulldogs fell 83-55 to Southern Nazarene before Christmas break in a game that was tight at halftime. SWOSU trailed just 35-32 at the break before the Storm shot 61 percent in the second half to pull away.
 
Weiberg is 1-1 against SNU at home, though SWOSU is 4-10 against the Storm in Weatherford during the Division II era.
 
Southern Nazarene boasts one of the conference's top defenses, allowing just 67.2 points per game — the fourth-lowest mark in the GAC. Notably, SWOSU has won only once this season when scoring 67 points or fewer, a January 29 victory over Arkansas Tech.
 
Notes:
The Bulldogs' shooting trends continue to tell the story. In their nine wins this season, SWOSU has shot 42 percent or better from the field eight times and 40 percent or better from three-point range in seven games. Conversely, in 12 losses, the Bulldogs have shot below 30 percent from deep nine times and under 40 percent from the field in nine contests.