SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist's first regular-season home game comes Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. when Arlington Baptist comes to town. This is the second all-time matchup in as many seasons between the Bison and Patriots. A season ago, the green and gold dialed up a 95-62 win inside the Noble Complex.
The Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will have the call of the game starting with pregame coverage at 6:30 p.m. on KGFF.com.
Both teams bring a 1-1 record into Thursday evening's matchup. Last weekend, OBU defeated Minnesota Crookston 82-71 before falling to No. 13 (NABC) Minnesota Duluth 71-52. As for Arlington Baptist, it split its opening games with Texas College (65-60 L) and Centenary College (78-75 W).
In last year's game between the two schools, OBU saw five players score in double figures led by
Terry Coner Jr. who tallied 15. Plus, as a team, the Bison forced 22 ABU turnovers and scored 32 off those and outscored the Patriots 56-26 in the paint. ABU was led by Ahmad Webster's 13 points.
As we head into Thursday, here are notes on the Bison and Patriots.
- One of the best early-season signs OBU portrayed in Minnesota was its free throw shooting. The team made 40-of-50 in the two games, an 80-percent clip.
- Last season, only once did OBU make at least 78 percent in back-to-back games: Feb. 1 and 3 against Henderson State and Ouachita, respectively.
- Currently, the Bison are second in the GAC and 37th nationally in free throw percentage.
- Ethan Scott did a fine job from the three-point line last weekend. He made 5-of-12 for 41.7 percent. His totals there are tops on the team while his five makes are tied for seventh in the GAC.
- As a team, though, OBU shot less than 30 percent against Crookston and Duluth. They went 14-of-47 (29.8%).
- Nathan Wilson totaled five blocks and averaged 7.0 rebounds in Minnesota. He currently leads the GAC and ranks 18th nationally in blocks. Plus, his rebounding average is fifth-best in the conference.
- Speaking of conference-bests, Coner Jr.'s 93.8 free throw percentage is slotted third in the GAC; JC Curry's 85.7-percent clip is good for eighth.
- OBU does have some work to do on the offensive end. Its 67 points per game average is 10th of 11 in the GAC.
- Defensively, the Bison are slotted third in scoring defense (71.0).
Patriot Notes
- The biggest, and most staggering stat, for Arlington Baptist through two games is its three-point shooting. They have made just two of 30 attempts (.067).
- Overall, ABU has made 33.1 percent from the field and have been led by Gary Gray. He's made nine of 18 shots.
- Gray has also been outstanding at the foul line making 16-of-19 for 84.2 percent. The 6-foot-2 sophomore leads the team in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (9.5) as well.
- Webster (15.0) and Davion Allen (10.5) round out Arlington Baptist's top scorers.
- During their last game, a win over Centenary, the Patriots went to the foul line a whopping 39 times and converted 27. That's a percentage of 69.2.
- In both of their previous games, ABU has committed 17 turnovers.
