MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas closes out the 2023 portion of its schedule on the road with games against Great American Conference-leading Arkansas Tech on Sunday, December 17 and at Drury on Tuesday, December 19. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

NEXT MAN UP
>>> Unfortunately for the Muleriders, injuries have been a part of the early season story lines.
>>> SAU lost key transfer Cedric Garrett for the start of the season, but are hopeful to see him in the lineup following the holiday break. 
>>> Southern Arkansas has been without 2022-23 GAC Newcomer of the Year Gregory Hammond Jr. for the past five games.
>>> In the Muleriders' last trip to the floor against Ouachita, two more players suffered injuries and are day-to-Day. 
>>> For second-year head coach Logan Quinn, the silver lining lies in the "Next Man Up" mentality which has the Muleriders at an even .500 overall and 2-1 in a league that is wide open in the early going. 

ROAD 'RIDERS
>>> SAU looks for its first win away from home on Sunday and will have an opportunity to add a second on Tuesday in the "Show Me" State.
>>> The Muleriders posted a 9-5 record in true road games last season. SAU was 3-3 in neutral site games in Quinn's first year.
>>> This season, Southern Arkansas dropped its first two games in Kansas city and came up short on the road in Searcy.
>>> Since 2011-12, the first year of GAC hoops, the Muleriders are 54-88 in true road contests. Among League opponents on the road during that time, the Muleriders hold a current record of 48-78 which includes its GAC Road-opening loss against HU.
>>> SAU's best GAC Road record came in last year's historic run winning eight games in 11 league road tilts. SAU's previous best road performance against GAC Competition was seven wins in 11 games in both 2015-16 and 2020-21. 
>>> SAU will look for its fourth-straight win in Russellville against the GAC-leading Wonder Boys and two days later will eye its first win in the state of Missouri since an 83-76 win over Missouri S&T in Springfield on November 30, 2019. SAU has lost its last five matchups in the "Show Me" State.

TECH-NICIANS
>>> The Muleriders head to Russellville for the 14th time in GAC Action and will encounter the host on a hot streak. ATU has won its last seven games after an 0-2 start against stiff competition in #20 Emporia State and (RV) Fort Hays State.
>>> The Wonder Boys boast the second-best three-point clip in the GAC and the third=best in the Central Region at 41.1%. The mark ranks 16th nationally and comes behind an average of 8.4 makes per game on 20.6 attempts.
>>> As a whole, ATU shoots 47.9% from the floor (top 70 in DII) and defends at the league's Fourth-best clip of 43.8%. 
>>> ATU enters SUNDAY ranked second in the GAC and 33rd in  DII in Rebound Margin at +6.1. Additionally, the Wonder Boys rank third in the GAC in FTA at nearly 20 per and in offensive rebounds at nearly 13 per.
>>> The Wonder Boys roster the top shot blocker in the GAC in Josh Mitchell (14) who also leads the league in rebounding (62), while Taelon Peter's 20 steals are the most in the GAC.
>>> Peter leads ATU with 19.0 ppg, a 52% shot rate and a 91.3% effort from the stripe. His 46.9% success rate from deep is second in the GAC and 26th in DII. He is fourth in the league in 3ptm with 23. 
>>> Kade Shaffer paces the offensive end with 28 assists and a 1.87 Assist-to-turnover ratio. Both marks are in the league's top seven.

PANTHER POINTS
>>> Drury plays host to the Muleriders for the second time ever in the third all-time meeting between the two programs. The home team has won the previous meetings. DU is 6-4 this season and winless in GLVC play, but is 4-1 at home in 2023-24. 
>>> The Panthers and Muleriders will share a common opponent by Tuesday as DU fell by three points at Arkansas Tech on November 16.
>>> DU distributes the basketball at a rate that ranks among the top marks nationally. The Panthers' 16.7 assists per game leads the GLVC, ranks third in the Midwest region and 32nd in DII.
>>> DU's 49.2% FG Clip is a top 40 mark nationally as are the Panthers' 9.7 makes from range. 
>>> The Panthers are making nearly 38% of their attempts from three-point range and boast six players with ten or makes from deep.
>>> Logan Applegate is the Panthers' top threat from three with a 36.2% success rate behind a top 35 mark nationally in attempts. His 25 makes rank inside DII's top 60. 
>>> Juok Riak paces DU with a top ten shooting percentage nationally at 68.5% behind 50 made field goals. 
>>> The Panthers have proven to rely heavily on their bench through the team's first ten games as its 34.5 ppg from the pine leads the GLVC and is the 23rd-highest bench output in Division II.
>>> Applegate is the top rebounder at 4.8 per game for a team that averages over 35 per game. 

GETTING DEFENSIVE
>>> The Muleriders have relied heavily on the defensive end of the floor through eight games this season and that attention to defending opponents has paid dividends in the early going. 
>>> Southern Arkansas' defensive rebounding ranks third in the GAC at 25.38 per game which aids an overall rebounding margin of +5.2; the seventh-highest in the Central Region.
>>> SAU's 42.2% defense rate from the floor ranks third in the GAC and is a top 75 mark in Division II and the 12th best in the Central Region. 
>>> That effort stands as a result of holding opponents to just a 31.0% success rate from beyond-the-arc; second-best in the league and a top 60 statistic in division ii. 
>>> SAU is averaging 7.5 steals per game which ranks second in the GAC and seventh in the Central Region.
>>> The team's scoring defense of 67.2 ppg ranks inside top 45 nationally and 11th in a region that features three of the top ten scoring defenses nationally. 

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
BY THE NUMBERS

260- The number of total rebounds by senior Carel Ray Jr. in 40 games played for the Muleriders over two seasons. Ray finished with 199 last season and currently leads the team with 61 through eight games. He is averaging 6.5 over that time. Of his 260, 75 have come on the offensive end including 21 this season; nearly half of his offensive rebound production in 32 games last year.
89.5- The free throw percentage of redshirt freshman guard Anthony Igiede. The Baton Rouge native has made 34 of his 38 tries from the stripe. His near 90% success rate from the line is the fourth-best effort in the GAC this season and it currently ranks 38th nationally. Among Central Region players, the mark is the ninth-best.
42- The combined number of points and rebounds from senior forward Jessie Davis Jr. who returned to the program for a fifth year on November 27. The Shreveport native has impacted immediately and his fifth year has been a welcomed addition inside. Davis is averaging nine points, five rebounds and 24 minutes per game.
34- The number of minutes averaged by both carel ray Jr. and Mohamed Traore this season. Both marks are in the top 10 of the GAC and each rank inside the Nation's top 75. Ray Jr. has played and started all eight games, while Traore has seen action in the previous six contests with five starts. SAU has never had two teammates average 34+ minutes in a season in its GAC Era.