SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (2-3, 0-0 GAC) will hit the road on Thursday to open Great American Conference play against Southwestern Oklahoma State (4-2, 0-0 GAC) before hosting Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday inside the Noble Complex.
Each contest is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow's game will be played at the Pioneer Cellular Event on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Thursday will mark the 143rd all-time meeting between the two squads, as the all-time series is tied at 71-71. OBU will take on Northwestern for the 120th meeting, entering the weekend with a 70-49 all-time lead.
Both games will be heard on the
Bison Sports Radio Network featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary.
OBU traveled to Canyon, Texas, for the third consecutive season to take on then-ranked #25 West Texas A&M a few days after Thanksgiving. The Bison suffered a 67-56 defeat after letting a hot shooting start fizzle against the Buffs.
The pair of
D.J. Freeman and
Paul King were the Bison's high scorers, finishing with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Freeman added two steals and five boards, while King registered a game-high in assists.
HE'S BACK
After missing the first five games of the season, senior Nigel Wilcox will return to the hardwood. Wilcox brings 51 games of experience, including 47 starts, in two seasons on Bison Hill. He reached the millennium mark in points a season ago, as a six-point showing versus Southern Arkansas on Jan. 24 gave the Alpharetta, GA., native 1,000 career points. Wilcox came to Shawnee with 675 career points after spending two seasons at Division III Webster University in Missouri. He currently has 1,099 points. As a Bison, he totals 424 points, 76 off joining the esteemed "500 Point Club" in OBU history. Furthermore, Wilcox needs 179 rebounds to reach 1,000 career boards and 30 buckets to reach 500 field goals.
A season ago, Wilcox finished fourth on the team in scoring (8.6) while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor. He led the Bison in rebounds (170) for a second consecutive year and ranked eighth in the GAC in blocks (23). Wilcox became the fifth Bison to bring down 100-plus rebounds in back-to-back seasons in the Division II era, joining OBU greats Harrison Stoddart, Brantly Thompson, Dishon Lowery, and Chandler Rickey.
D-FENCE
Oklahoma Baptist boasts the second-best field goal percentage defense in the GAC, holding its opponents to a 39.1 percent shooting clip per game. OBU has confined three of five teams to under 40 percent shooting, highlighted by #23 West Texas A&M's 35.5 percent finish last Saturday. It was the lowest field goal percentage for the Buffs this season. The efforts also reach out to the perimeter, with the Bison limiting opponents to 29.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In the league, the rate ranks third, with the season-best figure occurring in week one when they held Minnesota-State Moorhead to 7-28 from deep.
OBU's tenacity doesn't stop there. A season ago, the Bison finished near the bottom of the league in forced turnovers per game (11.1, 9th). With 83 this year at an average of 16.6 per game, the Bison rank third among the GAC. In fact, it is the most forced through the first five games in the Division II era, as the next closest total came in the 2017-18 season (70). Last year, Oklahoma Baptist forced just 47 during its opening five-game stand. Safe to say, head coach Jason Eaker and staff have emphasized the importance of defensive effort.
VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
Led by sophomore point guard Paul King, the OBU offense has complete confidence going into conference play. King's 17.6 scoring average ranks sixth in the GAC, while his assists total (22) is second. Furthermore, his 12 three-point makes lead the squad and rank third in the league. Not far behind is senior Trey Doomes' 13.4 ppg output. Doomes adds 12 steals, ranking second in the GAC and 34th in the country. Teammate D.J. Freeman rounds out the Bison in double figures at 13.2 ppg.
Freeman aided OBU to a better field goal percentage than its last three opponents, turning in three consecutive shooting outings at 50 percent or better. The sophomore has not shot under the mark from the field all season, ranking second in the GAC and 18th nationally at 65.8 percent.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Southwestern Oklahoma State enters GAC play with a 4-2 overall record following a 122-81 win over Randall on Monday, Nov. 28. 12 different Bulldogs scored on the night, including a trio of 20-point performances.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth in the preseason GAC Coaches poll after a season that ended with the program's first Great American Conference tournament title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs hadn't made the national tournament since 2005.
Prior to its win over RU, SWOSU faced a tough five-game non-conference slate that featured Emporia State, who appeared at #23 in this week's Division II NABC Coaches Poll. Southwestern went 3-2 over the span, collecting wins over Fort Hays State (59-56), Drury (85-65), and William Jewell (63-62).
Southwestern is outscoring its opponents by a 5.0 margin (77.5-72.5), but is shooting just 38.8 percent from the field. This hasn't slowed the SWOSU offense down, as its 63 three-point makes (34.4%) lead the conference. At 10.5 triples per game, the Bulldogs rank 22nd in Division II. Furthermore, the Bulldogs have made the most trips to the free throw line in the league, averaging 21.2 attempts per game. They lead the GAC in charity stripe makes per contest at 14.0. Defensively, Southwestern tallies the eighth-best amount of steals in the nation at 11.7 per game. Additionally, SWOSU denies the second most shots in the GAC, averaging 4.0 blocks per contest. It is no question why their 6.5 turnover margin ranks 15th in DII.
The Bulldogs have two players in the top five for steals in the GAC, Nate Goodlow (15) and DeAngelo Adkins (11). Adkins couples the stat with a conference lead in blocks (13) and a team-best in rebounds (46). The pair average 7.3 points per game apiece. The scoring of Kamden Gipson (16.2 ppg) and Ben Smith (11.7 ppg) has paced SWOSU, highlighted by Gipson's 24 three-point makes that ranks seventh in the nation. Gibson adds a team-high in assists (16), while guard Chris Braggs Jr. averages 9.0 points per game.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma State begins league play tomorrow at home against East Central at 7:30 p.m. The Rangers are off to a 3-0 start after tallying wins against Midwestern State (67-64), Manhattan Christian College (103-54), and Cameron University (89-86).
Leading NWOSU in scoring is senior guard Malik Parsons. The San Diego, Calif., native averages 25.0 points per game and is shooting an astounding 52.0 percent from the floor. Parsons also leads the team in steals (9) and assists (14). Trailing the lead man is Brian Free, a graduate guard out of Greensboro, N.C. His average of 3.7 three-pointers per game ranks second in the GAC, totaling 11 thus far. Junior Chance Love rounds out NWOSU's scorers in double figures with a 10.0 ppg average. Down low, Shavaul Butters paces the squad with 27 rebounds, which is second in the conference, to go along with 7.0 ppg.
Head coach Robbie Harman is in his first season with the Rangers after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Davenport University. He has a career record of 3-0.
