SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist, 6-0 this winter and ranked No. 15 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, heads to Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas on Dec. 4 and 6, respectively, to open Great American Conference play.
OBU is off to its best start in the D2 era and has the first 6-0 record for a Bison squad since 2012-13.
The green and gold's series with UAM is a close one, with the Bison holding a 10-9 advantage over the Weevils. As for the contest with SAU, the Muleriders have won 14-of-20 games since January of 2016. Southern Arkansas has won four of the last five games too.
Todd Miller and Dave Myrick will have the call of the games on KGFF.com with pregame coverage starting 25 minutes from tip-off. Below are notes and tidbits on the three teams.
Bison Notes
- OBU is one of 24 undefeated teams in Division II.
- A couple things jump out about Jason Eaker's squad:
- The Bison have outrebounded all but one opponent so far and their 8.0 rebounding margin is No. 39 in D2 and second in the GAC.
- OBU is also 18th in the country in offensive rebounds per game (15.83).
- As a team, the Bison's defense of the three-point line has been valiant. They give up 26.9 percent from deep, ranking 29th.
- Lastly on the team front, OBU is hitting 49.2 percent from the field. That's a top-50 NCAA mark.
- OBU has a pair of top-five scorers in the GAC: Terry Coner Jr. and Joshua Udoumoh. Coner's 19.3 average is third while Udoumoh's 17.8 mark is fifth.
- On the rebounding front, Christian Hodge and Erik Madrid rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the GAC in offensive boards at 2.67 and 2.50.
- Madrid has made 29 of 38 shots, a 76.3 percent mark. If he averaged 5.0 makes per game (NCAA standard), that percentage would be a top-five national mark.
- The Bison are 4-5 all-time in road games at UAM and 1-8 at SAU.
Weevils Notes
- UAM is 4-2 and have won four straight after opening defeats to Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma.
- However, in this four-game winning streak, three of the results came against DIII Hendrix and NCCAA schools Arkansas Baptist and Ecclesia.
- To date, the Weevils have posted top-30 NCAA marks in effective field goal percentage (57.2) and overall field goal percentage (50.6).
- They also give up 67.2 points per game, the 40th-best mark in the country.
- UAM is led by Jakob Zenon and Isaac Jackson who average 18.8 and 17.5 points per game, respectively. Those totals are the fourth- and sixth-best totals in the GAC.
- Zenon is also second in three-point percentage (43.8) and first in attempts per game (5.33).
- Also of note, Josh Smith ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (65.4) and defensive rebounds per game (5.67).
- Ashton Price's 86.4 percent mark at the foul line is No. 2 in the GAC.
Muleriders Notes
- SAU is coming off a 99-85 loss at Dallas Baptist (DBU) on Nov. 29. The Muleriders moved their record to 3-3 with that result.
- The Muleriders are outstanding three-point shooters. The team's 40.5 percent mark from deep is No. 20 nationally and tops in the GAC.
- Southern Arkansas also is slotted 47th in effective field goal percentage (55.8).
- Greg Moore Jr. is the team's top scorer at 17.3 points per game. That's slotted seventh in the GAC.
- He also has 13 steals, fourth-best in the GAC.
- Among other individual bests, Roderick Williams Jr. ranks fifth nationally with a 73.3 field goal percentage and Troy'reon Ramos has top-eight league marks in three-point makes (12) and threes per game (2.0).
- SAU's main issue is defense. They allow opponents to hit 49.2 percent. That total is ranked 262nd out of 289 D2 schools.
- Plus, the Muleriders allow 82.2 points per game. That's slotted 221st.
