MAGNOLIA, Ark. - While the shift from the Thanksgiving holiday to the Christmas season is in full swing, the most wonderful time of the year for hoops programs around the Great American Conference is here as league play commences with all twelve teams hitting the hardwood on Thursday night with action also taking place on Saturday and Sunday. Southern Arkansas plays host to Henderson State on Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off and will travel to Searcy on Sunday for a 5 p.m. start against Harding. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

GROWING PAINS
>>> The Thanksgiving holiday, a slight break in the action that it brought, may have been just what was needed for the Muleriders following a tough 63-62 loss at the horn to (RV) Angelo State on November 21. SAU led by 17 points at the intermission, but fell victim to the Rams chipping away at the lead throughout the second half before the opponents' final possession gave them the only lead that matters. 
>>> That loss coupled with consecutive defeats against tough NSIC opponents to open the season in Kansas City has SAU below .500 entering conference play; however, the competition those matchups provided is exactly what was in order for a team that weighs heavy with experience, but is currently light on cohesion.
>>> In five games, the Muleriders have pushed out two different lineups. Injuries have played a part in the changes in the starting five which when healthy signifies a consistency for Quinn in year two.
>>> The offensive production has come in large part to the first five on the floor for the muleriders as SAU is averaging just 20.2 bench points per game. 

SEASON WITHIN THE SEASON
>>> League play opens around the GAC on Thursday and for SAU a win would give them a jump start into the remainder of the '23 slate which includes four of five games coming against conference opponents.
>>> Since 2011-12, the Muleriders are 6-6 in GAC openers and are 7-5 in GAC home openers. SAU is 4-1 in its last five GAC home openers.
>>> The Reigning GAC Tournament Champions, Southern Arkansas will play out of conference just once over its final 23 games. SAU travels to Springfield, Missouri on December 19 to take on Drury. 
>>> Southern Arkansas holds a record of 49-13 against in-state GAC foes at home since the conference's inaugural season of 2011-12. All but one of those contests have been conference games with an 83-62 win over Ouachita on January 28, 2021 the lone non-league affair. 
>>> The Muleriders have enjoyed unbeaten home slates over in-state conference competition in 2014-15 (5-0), 2017-18 (5-0), 2018-19 (5-0) and last season (4-0). Within that winning percentage of .790 is a 16-game winning streak over Natural State GAC opposition that went from 2016-17 through 2019-20 and ended against HSU.

REDDIES OR NOT
>>> The Reddies suffered a similar fate as Southern Arkansas in the opening weekend of action from inside Kansas city's Municipal Auditorium. HSU dropped both of its in-Region tilts to Northern Sun schools falling by 13 points to Bemidji State in the opener and losing by ten to St. Cloud State the next night. 
>>> HSU's lone trip to the win column entering Thursday's league opener came in a big way as the Reddies won by 54 points over former Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference foe Lyon College. 
>>> Thursday's matchup will be the 63rd between the programs since the 1995-96 season when both met as NCAA members for the first time.
>>> In Three games, HSU has been led by Zyon Patterson who paces the offensive attack at 14.0 ppg to lead three others in double-figure scoring.
>>> Patterson ranks fourth in the GAC in FG% at 57.6% and has been the catalyst on the defensive boards with the League's third-highest rebounding average at 5.33. Tomislav Miholjcic leads in total rebounding at 6.3 per game. 
>>> Ken Lewis follows in scoring at 12.3 ppg and has made 5-of-7 from deep. HSU ranks second in the GAC in 3pt% at 41.5%; 27th Best in DII.
>>> HSU is the top shooting team in the conference at 53.4% which rates as the seventh-highest clip nationally. 
>>> HSU has been effective in transition through 120 minutes of play ranking second in the GAC in fastbreak points (15.3) in addition to having help off the bench behind 35.7 ppg from non-starters. Both marks are in the DII top 40.
>>> The Reddies are currently -4.0 in rebound margin, but rank 15th nationally in turnover margin (6.3).

IMPROVED HERD
>>> The Bisons are led by first-year head coach Weston Jameson and are nearly halfway to the team's win total from a year ago. Jameson, a former Harding hooper and women's assistant Coach, is the grandson of the late Great Harold Jameson who served SAU as Sports Information director. He was inducted into the SAU Sports hall of Fame in 2004. Weston's Dad, Jay, also served as SID for the Muleriders.
>>> Harding has earned wins Over Division II Foes Arkansas-Fort Smith and Oklahoma Christian and earned Jameson his first career victory with a 16-point triumph over Baptist Bible in HU's home opener.
>>> Of the three defeats, the Bisons took unbeaten Central Missouri to the wire narrowly falling 62-59 on opening weekend. 
>>> The Bisons open league play on Thursday against Ouachita before hosting the Muleriders on Sunday.
>>> SAU and HU meet for the 57th time this weekend with the Bisons up ten games in the series dating back to the start of SAU's NCAA membership. The Muleriders have won ten straight as of late.
>>> HU is familiar with tight contests carrying a scoring margin of -0.2.
>>> Harding's 3.8 blocks/gm lead the gAC and on the other end of the floor, HU is shooting at a league-best 42% from three-point range which is currently inside the nation's top 20. That clip is part of an overall FG% of 48.9%; the third-best mark in the GAC.
>>> Four players average at least 12.5 ppg paced by Keyln McBride's 15.5. Sam Smith leads in rebounding (7.7) and has recorded three double doubles.

NEW KID ON THE {LOW} BLOCK
>>> Among the newcomers for Quinn this campaign, bossier parish cc transfer christian Caldwell has been one of several impactful  newcomers. 
>>> Potentially the next Pelican State player to star for the Muleriders, Caldwell is averaging 12.0 ppg and 4.0 rebounds per game in just 21.4 minutes on the floor; the sixth-highest mpg on the team.
>>> His 56.1% clip from the floor leads the team as do his four blocks. His 23 made field goals are the second-most for SAU.

SECOND-CHAPTER TRAORE
>>> Of the newcomers to this year's squad, arguably none are as experienced as fourth-year junior Mohamed Traore.
>>> The Hyde Park, Massachusetts native has started the previous three games for the Muleriders to run his career games played to 63 which includes 60 over three seasons at Division II Franklin Pierce of the Northeast 10 Conference.
>>> This season, Traore has is averaging 7.3 ppg with a team-leading 3.7 apg in 33.3 minutes of work over three starts. His 4.7 rebounds are the fourth-most on the team.
>>> His 2.27 career three-point FG/GM average is 50th among active career leaders in NCAA Division II.  He is currently averaging 1.3 makes per game; third-best clip on team.
>>> Traore's career scoring average of 13.0 ppg is inside the top 75 of DII's active career leaders. He is currently 182 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

TOP THREE 'TONY
>>>The play of redshirt freshman Anthony Igiede has been vital for the Muleriders this season.
>>> In his first season of on-court action, the Baton Rouge native has started all five games for SAU averaging 28.2 minutes.
>>> Among Muleriders that have played all five games, his 9.8 ppg ranks third. His 37.5% success rate from three-point range is second on the team and he also holds top three marks in rebounds, blocks and steals.
>>> He has missed just one of his 22 free throw attempts as his percentage from the line and total makes are top three in the GAC.

EARLY SEASON THIEVERY
>>> Albeit, early in the campaign, the Muleriders are averaging 8.0 steals per game. That mark is the fourth best in the GAC and if Southern Arkansas can hold that average throughout the course of the season it would stand as the highest such average by a Mulerider team since 2013-14. That year's squad averaged 8.5 per game in 28 trips to the floor.
>>> SAU's 40 steals are the most through the first five games of the season since 2014-15 when that year's squad swiped 44.
>>> This season, SAU is +4 in the category through five games and the group's 17 steals against Arlington Baptist are the most since swiping 18 at home versus Crowley's Ridge on December 9, 2017.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
BY THE NUMBERS

.500- Southern Arkansas' winning percentage in great American conference play since first tipping off as a charter member in 2011-12. The Muleriders are 117-117. Additionally, SAU is .500 against both Henderson State and Harding as GAC foes with each series at 14-14 over the past dozen years. Since nearly the start of the past decade, the Muleriders are 76-61 against in-state conference opponents.
95.5- The free throw percentage of redshirt freshman Anthony Igiede who in 22 attempts from the charity stripe has made 21 with an average of 4.2 makes per game. The mark is currently the second-best effort from the line among GAC players and it rates as the fifth-best effort in the Central Region entering the weekend.
29- The national rank of SAU's offensive rebounds per game. The mark of 13.80 ranks third in the Great American Conference. Through five games this season, the Muleriders have out rebounded their opposition on the offensive glass four times and are currently +20 in offensive rebounding margin. 
17- The number of consecutive non-conference home games won by the Muleriders prior to the buzzer-beating loss to (RV) Angelo State. The run began with a 29-point result over Ecclesia college on November 20, 2017 and saw southern Arkansas average 90.0 ppg and win by an average of 30.4 ppg.
7.2- The average rebounds/GM through five games for senior Carel Ray Jr. It is the fourth-best per game mark in the GAC and is T20th in the central region. Ray has grabbed six or more rebounds in four games this season with a season-high 13 coming against Ecclesia. He leads the team with 36 total rebounds behind a team-best dozen offensive boards. He has 235 rebounds as a Mulerider.
6- The Number of Muleriders that have sank at least four three-point attempts this season. Jaren Harris leads with seven makes from deep in 17 attempts. Carel Ray Jr. and Anthony Igiede each follow with six makes. Harris (41.2%) and Igiede (37.5%) are one and two for the Muleriders in 3pt% among players with 10+ attempts.
2.8- The average blocks per game by the Muleriders through five games which would stand as the highest full-season rate since 2018-19. Six players have registered at least one block with Christian Caldwell leading with four and Gregory Hammond Jr. and Anthony Igiede following with three each.