MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A crowded Great American Conference men's basketball standings will be shuffled even more after this weekend's contests. For Southern Arkansas, under the tutelage of second-year head coach Logan Quinn, the Muleriders could position themselves nicely as the final month of the regular season is here. SAU takes on Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) in Alva. The Rangers are currently in third place in the league standings at 7-5 and claimed the season's first meeting 84-71 in Magnolia. The Muleriders take on Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday (1 p.m.) in Weatherford. The Bulldogs are even with SAU at 6-6 in the conference and took down SAU 84-72 in Magnolia to start off 2024. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

SETTING THE STAGE
*Following a 1-1 effort last week, coupled with other results from around the league, the GAC standings shuffled but remained as tight as the league has ever witnessed entering February.
*Third place to tenth place is separated by just two games. The Muleriders could move into a tie for third place on Thursday night with a win and two victories would ensure SAU crosses back over into Arkansas among the top three placements in the GAC.
*Southern Arkansas carries a 2-5 road record into this weekend's action and is 2-7 away from the W.T. Watson Center.
*SAU will look to avenge home losses to both of its opponents this weekend.
 
FEELIN' GOOD
*The Muleriders have won four of their past five games following a five-game losing streak. Following its trip to Oklahoma, SAU returns home for four-straight home games.
*The Muleriders head west with the third-best rebound margin in the Central Region at +6.6, while grabbing the second-most offensive boards per night in the region at 12.83. Overall, SAU's rebounding average of 38.11 ranks as the fifth-highest board-cleaning average in the Central Region.
*That overall average is highlighted by senior Carel Ray Jr.'s 8.2 boards per game which ranks sixth regionally.
*Redshirt freshman Anthony Igiede's free throw percentage of 89.3% ranks as the third highest charity stripe clip in the Central Region.
*True freshman Nevi Tell sits inside the region's top 20 in steals (29) and steals per game (1.71).
*During SAU's 4-1 run, Ray leads three other players in double-figure scoring at 15.5 ppg. Gregory Hammond Jr. follows with 14.6 ppg with Cedric Garrett adding 13.4 and Igiede scoring 12.8 ppg.
*Ray is the top rebounder at 8.8 per game during the stretch and SAU is +31 overall in the category.
*Garrett's shooting from deep has been key as he has made 16 of his 40 attempts at 40% shooting. Hammond has made half of his dozen attempts from range and Igiede is shooting 33% from beyond-the-arc.
*In five games, SAU is shooting 44.9% from the floor and nearly 33% from deep with a 68.9% success rate from the stripe.
 
WHO'S GONNA RIDE
*Northwestern Oklahoma sits in third place in the GAC standings, two games back of second and three off of the top spot. However, seven teams are two or fewer games back of the Rangers. NWOSU is 7-5 in league play with an even .500 mark overall at 9-9.
*NWOSU boast a deep roster averaging 22.94 points per game from the bench with a league-high 13.4 points coming off of fast break opportunities which is a top 50 mark nationally and second-best in the Central Region.
*The Rangers average 69.6 points per game with opponents scoring 70.0 ppg. Cam McDowell is the top scorer averaging 14.9 ppg.
*Brian Free leads the GAC in three-pointers per game (2.83) and in total three-pointers made (51). His 42.1% success rate from deep ranks third as do his 121 attempts.
*Larry White ranks second in the league in blocks (22) and blocks per game (1.22). He ranks third in steals (35) and steals per game (1.94). As a team, the Rangers rank third in the Central Region in turnovers forced per game at 14.33.
 
DON'T LET THEM OUT
*The Bulldogs enter the weekend at 6-6 in GAC play and 6-11 overall. SWOSU used two dozen points from Ben Smith as well as double-figure efforts from MJ Warrior and Denali Alexander to beat SAU by a dozen points on January 4. SWOSU shot 52% from both the floor and from three-point range. SAU was led by Carel Ray Jr.'s 20 points, but SAU shot just 36% from the floor.
*The Bulldogs are 5-2 at home this season and boast the league's top defensive effort in opponent field goal percentage (42.3%), ninth-best in the Central Region, and opponent three-point percentage (30.8%); fourth-lowest in the Central Region.
*SWOSU gets to the line at the second-highest rate in the GAC attempting 21.5 free throw shots per game; fifth-highest average in the Central Region.
*The Bulldogs are currently -2.7 in scoring margin behind 67.7 ppg. SWOSU holds a top four defensive rebounding mark in the league at 25.24 per game averaging just over 33 total.
*Smith averages 17.9 ppg; a top-five mark in the GAC.