MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball team heads back to Oklahoma to close out the regular season with the goal of punching the program's ninth Great American Conference postseason ticket.  The Muleriders head to Bethany on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with No. 23 Southern Nazarene, before closing out the regular season on the road in Shawnee against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday at 3 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

SETTING THE WEEKEND SLATE
*Southern Arkansas' postseason life hangs in the balance this weekend as the Muleriders hit the road for Oklahoma for the final Sooner State swing of the regular season. Two of the conference's best teams await SAU this weekend. The Muleriders are currently tied for sixth in the Great American Conference standings and can finish as high as fifth-place with a pair of wins and some help from around the league.
*On Thursday, Southern Arkansas will tip off against league-leading #22/RV Southern Nazarene (21-7, 15-5 GAC) inside the Sawyer Center. The Crimson Storm, who have clinched a spot in the postseason tournament and are playing for the outright conference title this weekend, are currently 11-1 this season when playing at home and the Muleriders are just 1-6 all-time in Bethany with the team's last road win coming on January 9, 2016. SAU topped SNU 57-54 on January 25; a victory which snapped a six-game losing streak to the Crimson Storm.
*The Muleriders meet Oklahoma Baptist (18-8, 13-7 GAC) in the regular season finale. The Bison could force a four-way tie at the top of the standings with a pair of wins this weekend. SAU holds a 7-2 record all-time against OBU, but has dropped its last two trips to Shawnee. The Bison, like the Crimson Storm, boast an 11-1 home record this season. Southern Arkansas picked up a 17-point win over the Bison on January 23.

DOWN THE STRETCH
*Southern Arkansas has won its last three games and a win over their final two games would go a long way in locking up the program's ninth trip of the GAC's postseason party in Bartlesville. 
*The Muleriders have relied heavily on their defense this season as the Andy Sharpe-led squad holds top 30 statistical rankings nationally in a handful of key defensive categories. SAU currently leads the GAC and ranks 26th nationally in scoring defense at 67.6 ppg. Aiding that is the team's 20th-best perimeter defense of 31.6%. The Muleriders 15.96 turnovers forced per game ranks 41st nationally and is third in the GAC.
*In addition to their defense, SAU's rebounding, specifically on the offensive end of the floor, has been key to the team's postseason push. The Muleriders hold the 11th-best offensive rebounds per game average in the country at 14.0 as well as the 26th-highest rebounding average at 39.58 per game and the 28th-best rebounding margin at 5.9. The team's 1,029 total rebounds this season rank 50th in Division II among 303 ranked teams. 
*Junior guard Aaron Lucas leads the team in scoring with the league's 12th-highest scoring average at 14.5 ppg, while brothers Jalen (13.7 ppg) and Devante (13.4 ppg) round out double-figure scorers for SAU this season.
*D. Brooks is currently second in rebounds per game in the GAC at 8.5, while J. Brooks ranks ninth with 7.5 per game. Brooks' 3.6 offensive rebounds per game leads the GAC and ranks 12th nationally, while J. Brooks' 2.8 offensive rebounds ranks 5th in the league.
*Lucas holds top ten per game marks in assists (3.9) and steals (1.7) which gives him the GAC's tenth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.1

SCOUTING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
*The Crimson Storm enter the weekend nationally-ranked and as the No. 2 team NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. SNU is unbeaten inside the Sawyer Center against GAC foes this season as their lone loss came to Minnesota Duluth 115-109 in double-overtime on November 8. Since 2016-17, only Southeastern Oklahoma and East Central have managed to get the better of SNU in Bethany. 
*Southern Nazarene has been one of the country's top three-point shooting teams this season. The Crimson Storm hold top 20 marks nationally in three-point FG percentage (40.4% | 14th), total three-pointers made (307 | 16th) and three-pointers made per game (11.0 | 20th). Individually, seniors Jhonathan Dunn and Micah Speight have led the way from three-point range. Dunn ranks eighth nationally in three-point FG percentage (46.9%) and three-pointers made (100). Speight, who ranks 16th in minutes per game in Division II at 37:18, ranks 10th in three pointers made per game (3.61); just head of Dunn's 11th-place mark of 3.57. Additionally, Speight's 101 threes made ranks sixth in DII and his 43.5% success rate checks in as the 35th best clip in the country. With such high production from beyond the arc, SNU is scoring at an average of 77.4 ppg. 
*Defensively, the Crimson Storm lead the GAC and rank 21st in Division II in scoring margin at 11.7 which comes behind the 12th-best scoring defense in the country as SNU is allowing just 65.7 ppg. Speight and Dunn both hold top 10 marks in steals in the GAC.
*Jhonathan Dunn leads the Crimson Storm and the Great American Conference in scoring at 26.1 ppg; the fourth-best scoring mark in Division II. Dunn's 731 total points this season ranks third nationally as does his 255 made field goals. His shooting clip of 52.8% ranks 11th in the GAC.
*SNU ranks first in the GAC in rebounding defense (31.9), but its 32.9 clip in rebounding offense ranks last in the GAC. The team's 318 turnovers are the fewest by a league team this season and its +2.64 turnover margin is third in the GAC. 

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
*Oklahoma Baptist's lone loss inside the Noble Complex this season came in a two-point defeat to Ouachita Baptist (64-62) on January 30. The Bison enter the weekend holding onto the No. 8 seed in the Central Region rankings. 
*The Bison enter the weekend with the league's fifth-best scoring margin at +4.9. OBU is scoring at an average of 79.3 ppg, while allowing 74.3 ppg to opponents. Three players rank in the top 30 of the league in scoring average with Jaquan Simms leading the team at 12.5 ppg. Rashad Lewis follows at 12.2 ppg and Harrison Stoddart scores at an average of 11.5 ppg.
*Defensively, OBU is holding opponents to a 43.5% shooting clip from the floor and a 32.6% three-point shooting clip. On the glass, the Bison hold the third-best rebounding margin in the GAC at +4.7. OBU's 14.8 assists per game rank second in the league.
*Stoddart, along with Dishon Lowery, man the inside for the Bison. Both players rank in the league's top 20 in rebounding and in field goal percentage. Lowery leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game and a 57.7% shooting clip, while Stoddart follows with a 5.3 rebounding average and a 53.0% success rate from the floor. The latter's 83.3% clip from the free throw line ranks seventh in the GAC and he also holds the team's best 3-point clip at 38.2%, while Simms leads the team and ranks 7th in the GAC in three pointers made with 2.5 per game.
*Stoddart leads the league in blocks per game at 1.3 and his 34 blocks this season rank second in the GAC.
*Lewis holds the seventh-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.6 and his 4.2 assists per game ranks sixth.

MULERIDERS BY THE NUMBERS
9 - Since the Great American Conference was formed in 2011-12, Southern Arkansas is the lone men's team to appear in the previous eight tournaments in Bartlesville. A win on Thursday night would ensure the program its ninth postseason trip to league tournament.  The Muleriders are 2-8 all-time in league tournament, while three of the losses were by five or fewer points.

166 - With their prowess evident on the offensive glass, the Brooks Brothers have combined for 166 offensive rebounds this season. That current total is more than the offensive team total of five Division II programs and Division I programs Wyoming and Niagara this season. Last season, the brothers combined for 143 offensive rebounds. Their current pace puts them at a combined 178 offensive boards with 2 regular season games remaining. 

368 - This season, the Muleriders have collected 368 offensive rebounds which is the seventh-most in a single season in program history. SAU is currently nine rebounds from moving into the top five of the category and 22 offensive rebounds from moving into third place all-time.