Magnolia, Ark. - The SAU Men's Basketball team will face Arkansas opposition for the last time in the regular season this weekend as they host Arkansas-Monticello at the W. T. Watson Center before traveling up to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita. 

On Thursday, the Muleriders will host the Weevils in a rivalry game. The Weevils are 14-8 on the season and 10-6 in the GAC. The Weevils are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, with wins over Northwestern Oklahoma, Southwestern Oklahoma, Harding and Henderson State. In that stretch, the Weevils have only held opponents to 64.8 points per game. The last time these two teams met, the Muleriders were victorious over the Weevils 74-70 in Monticello, a game where Keelin Jackson was the top scorer for the Weevils with 16 points. As a team, the Weevils only shot 40 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from three. On the season, the Weevils are led in scoring by KJ Lesure. Lesure is averaging 12.5 points per game, ranking him 19th in the GAC. Lesure is also fifth in the conference in steals with 1.6 steals per game, and fifth in three-pointers made with 53 (2.4 per game). Marcus Gilbert is in the top five in three-point percentage, shooting 44.3 percent from the deep this season, and Jackson ranks in the top five in minutes played (34.7 per game). As a team, the Weevils have the number-one ranked scoring defense in the conference, and are fourth in field goal percent defense. Additionally, they are third in blocked shots and fourth in offensive rebounds. Following this game, they will travel up to Russellville to take on Arkansas Tech. 

The Tigers of Ouachita are 10-10 on the season and 7-9 in conference play. They currently sit in the eighth and final conference playoff spot and are on a two-game winning streak after beating Arkansas Tech and Harding last weekend. The last time these two teams met, the Muleriders were victorious over the Tigers 68-60 in Magnolia. The Tigers were led in scoring by Morris Talbert, who scored 11 points. As a team, the Tigers shot 38 percent from the field but were out-rebounded by the Muleriders 37-28. Mahlon Martin leads the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game, sixth-best in the conference. Martin leads the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 90.9 percent from the charity stripe. Martin is also second in the conference in three-point shooting percentage with 48.4 percent on 6.3 attempts per game. As a team, the Tigers are the best at the charity stripe, shooting 76.3 percent, as well as the best from deep at 41.1 percent. 

The Muleriders enter this weekend on the back of a split - a loss to Henderson State was followed by a three-point win over Arkansas Tech. Jalen Brooks was the top scorer against Ouachita with 18 points, and DeVante Brooks led the scoring against the Weevils with 17 points, as well as grabbing 11 rebounds. The Muleriders have three scorers over 10 points per game - both Brooks brothers and CJ Elkins. DeVante is also in the top in the GAC in rebounding. Snyder Cenecharles leads the GAC in three-point shooting. As a team, the Muleriders lead the conference in field-goal defense, and the second-best three-point percentage defense. 

After this weekend, the Muleriders travel to Oklahoma for the final time of the regular season  as they take on Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central.