MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Time? It is ticking. Six games over three weeks is all that remains of the Great American Conference regular season slate and the action moves from a feverish boil to an intense swelter as the league standings remain jammed as March looms. For Southern Arkansas, a chance to avenge road losses earlier in the season awaits on home court as the Muleriders welcome in longtime foe Arkansas-Monticello for a 7:30 pm matchup on February 15, before hosting Harding at 5 p.m. on February 17. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

WHERE DO THEY STAND?
Well, that's a good question. To say it has changed would be an understatement. The Muleriders enter the third to last weekend of the regular season in a four-way tie for sixth place in the GAC standings. The Muleriders, along with Thursday night's foe UAM, Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene are all 7-9 and a single game back of 8-8 Harding and Southwestern Oklahoma and just a single game up on 6-10 East Central and Henderson State. Ouachita is 5-11. Third-place is currently just three games up on the Muleriders and company with six to play.

NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS
Southern Arkansas has seven losses in 2024 and of those, five have been decided by six points or less.

Southern Arkansas enters games No. 23 and No. 24 with a -0.5 scoring margin behind an offense that scores 70.5 points per game.

The Muleriders hold the league's top rebound margin at +6.7, a mark that ranks 17^th nationally and is behind only Northwest Missouri for the best mark in the region. SAU ranks second in the GAC in rebounds per game (37.77), the region's fifth-highest average, and offensive rebounds per game (12.86); a mark that is second in the Central Region. SAU's 24.91 defensive rebounds per game ranks fourth. SAU has outrebounded its opponent in 14 of the 22 contests it has played this season including three straight.

Carel Ray Jr. ranks in the top four of the league in all four major rebounding categories. He is second in offensive boards per game at 2.67, second in rebounds per game at 8.0, third in total rebounds with 168 and fourth in defensive rebounds at 5.33. His efforts in rebounding average and offensive rebounding both rank seventh in the Central Region. Gregory Hammond Jr. follows closely on board patrol averaging 7.6 per game.

Southern Arkansas attempts the third-most three-point shots in the league at 23.0 per game, but rank eighth in makes at 8.6 and are last in success rate at 30.0%. SAU has made six or less three pointers, averaging 4.5, in each of its last four games which has followed a stretch of 9.2 makes per game in its previous six matchups.

Despite its struggles from deep, the Muleriders continue to defend well on the perimeter allowing just 34.0% of its opponents' attempts to fall. In its last seven games, only once has an opponent made more than seven three point shots in a game and in four of those the opposition made five or fewer. Five of those seven games saw the foes attempt 16 or more shots from beyond-the-arc.

Nevi Tell ranks ninth in the GAC in assists per game at 3.0. He has dished out four or more assists on nine occasions, including three games with five or more and a career-high six in his last game against Southeastern Oklahoma. Additionally, Tell ranks tenth in steals per game (1.71) and 15^th in total steals (36) in the Central Region.

Anthony Igiede ranks fourth in the GAC in free throw percentage at 86.0%. Ray follows in seventh with a success rate at nearly 82%.

WEEVIL WATCHING
The Weevils come to Magnolia 2-7 on the year when playing away from Steelman Fieldhouse. UAM got the better of their longtime rival 'Riders in late January and has won back-to-back games over SAU, albeit, neither of which were played inside the W.T. Watson Center. Dating back to the 2011-12 season, the first for the GAC, SAU leads the series 17-11. In games played on the Muleriders' home court, the last such game was Valentine's Day 2022, SAU holds a 10-2 advantage over the Weevils.

There's certainly no love lost between the two teams, programs, departments and frankly the towns that the historic Natural State universities reside in. That hasn't affected the scheduling. Since the league's start, the two foes have played on either February 13, 14 or 15 a combined six times with SAU winning four.

Isaac Jackson and Zane Nelson wear the go-to numbers for the Weevils on the offensive end of the floor. The duo accounts for 61.5% of UAM's points per game. Jackson leads the league in scoring at 20.6 and Nelson follows with the third-highest clip at 18.7 and both averages are inside the region's top 12. Each player ranks inside the league's top three in minutes played with Nelson's 36:39 average leading the conference. Jackson leads the league in field goal attempts and field goals made in addition to his scoring output, while Nelson is tops in the GAC in free throw attempts (2^nd CR) and free throws made (3^rd CR) and is second in steals and steals per game.

UAM ranks seventh or worse in the GAC in most every category with the exception of holding the league's second-best and region's eighth-best scoring defense (67.1 ppg) due in large part to the way they operate offensively. The Weevils rank third in rebound margin (+5.0) and fifth in both free throw percentage (71.0%) and offensive rebounds per game (9.9).

In the previous meeting: "In a heated Thursday night Great American Conference rivalry game that featured nine lead changes and eight tied scores, it was one big shot that separated two longtime Natural State foes inside Steelman Fieldhouse. Arkansas-Monticello's Zane Nelson, with the shot clock evaporating, hit a step back dagger trifecta from the right wing with 54 seconds remaining to put the host up 63-59 and the Weevils finished out Southern Arkansas at the stripe to take the first meeting of the season between the two squads, 67-61. The loss snaps SAU's three-game winning streak and drops the Muleriders into a three-way tie for sixth place, while the victory moves the Weevils above .500 in league play and into a three-way tie for third place.

Two of the GAC's top scorers were at work on Thursday night for UAM as Nelson finished with 28 points, while Isaac Jackson scored 25 points. The Weevils did not benefit from, nor need, a single bench point. Southern Arkansas was led by four double-figure scorers as Carel Ray Jr. went for 13 points and seven rebounds while Gregory Hammond Jr., Anthony Igiede and Cedric Garrett each contributed a dozen."

Last Time Out (1/25/24): Arkansas-Monticello 67, Southern Arkansas 61 (Recap | Box Score)

HAVE YOU HERD ABOUT THE BISONS?
The GAC preseason coaches poll did not make the rounds in Searcy. And if it did, the Bisons completely ignored it. Picked to finish dead last in the October polling, Harding is alive and well in February. HU is currently 8-8 in league play which is part of an 11-11 overall mark and is tied for fourth place with Southwestern Oklahoma. The Bisons enter the weekend having won their previous two contests.

Since 2011-12, the series is tight at 15-14 in favor of the Bisons. HU won the first six GAC matchups and twelve of the first 14. The lone two victories by SAU during that time came in back-to-back close contests in Magnolia across the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. SAU won matchups No. 15 and No. 16 of the GAC Era; 30+ point wins in Magnolia across the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, dropped the next two in Searcy and then rattled off ten wins in a row over the Bisons before the latter's early December triumph. SAU is 9-3 against the Bisons in Magnolia since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Keyln McBride and Rylie Marshall power the Bisons' engine in year one under head coach Weston Jameson. Harding averages the fourth-most points per game in the GAC at 75.8 behind McBride's 15.1 ppg; a top 12 mark in the league. McBride averages the second-most minutes per game in the GAC at 36:37 which is the fifth-highest Central Region average, and he leads the region in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.93, ranks fourth in the GAC in total assists (85) and is currently sixth in the league in assists per game at 3.9.

Marshall holds top 10 marks league wide in three-point percentage (42.1%), three-pointers per game (2.55), total three pointers (56) and three-point attempts (133). His field goal percentage of 46.9% ranks inside the top 10 of the GAC. Marshall's three-point percentage is currently the fifth-best in the Central Region.

HU ranks inside the GAC's top three in seven categories which includes its per game averages in assists, blocks, free throw attempts and free throws made, while its percentages from the stripe (74.2) and beyond-the-arc (36.9) are both third in the league. The Bisons' success rate from deep ranks eighth in the Central Region.

In the previous meeting: "Sunday afternoon hoops in Central Arkansas did not go the way of the Muleriders. Southern Arkansas was downed 57-51 by Harding in its first Great American Conference road test of the season from inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House in a contest that featured nine tied scores and eight lead changes. The loss drops SAU to 3-4 overall and evens its league record at 1-1. Harding improves to 5-3 and has won both of its conference contests. The Bisons' victory snapped a ten-game losing streak to the Muleriders.

Harding entered the tilt as the league's top three-point shooting team at 42%, but the Muleriders limited the Bisons from beyond-the-arc holding the host to a 26.7% success rate (8-for-30). However, SAU made just two of its dozen attempts from range and finished -5 in turnovers and -17 in points off of turnovers."

Last Time Out (12/3/23): Harding 57, Southern Arkansas 51 (Recap | Box Score)

WE APPRECIATE YOU!
Mulerider Athletics is teaming up with SAU Student Activities to show its appreciation to the University student body as SAU students in attendance on February 15 will have the opportunity to sign up and win gift cards (100 at $10 each), courtesy of Domino's Pizza, the official pizza provider of Mulerider Athletics. In addition to the gift card opportunity, students will have a chance to enter a three-point contest (halftime of the men's game) and cash pickup (halftime of the women's game) sponsored by SAB, while a spirit award will be presented to the rowdiest student organization. Sign-ups for the gift card drawing and contests begin at 5 p.m. on game day inside the W.T. Watson Center.

"Our students, especially over the past several years as we've experienced significant growth and support at Mulerider Basketball games, have been vital in creating a tremendous energy that has made the W.T. Watson Center a very tough place to play for opposing teams, noted SAU Director of Athletics Steve Browning. "We look forward to being able to show our appreciation to them for all that they bring in support of the Muleriders. I expect a big turnout and another great Watson Center atmosphere!"

BRING 'EM BACK, BRING 'EM BACK
On Saturday, Mulerider Men's and Women's Basketball alumni will gather inside the W.T. Watson Center for the 3 p.m. tip-off of the SAU women's game. Attending alumni will be honored at halftime of each contest. SAU Hoops alumni are asked to RSVP for the day here: www.saualumni.com/bballalumni.

"We are excited to bring several of our basketball alumni back to campus to honor their commitment to SAU and for them to see the successful present that we are in," remarked Browning. "We have a rich history on the hardwood and look forward to reconnecting with many of those that played a big part in this tradition."