MAGNOLIA, Ark. – March looms, but postseason basketball has already arrived for Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders head to Oklahoma for the final time this regular season for a pair of tournament-deciding contests with Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene. SAU matches up with the Bison in Shawnee at 7:30 pm on February 22, before heading to Bethany for a 3 p.m. start on February 24. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE OPEN
Southern Arkansas enters the second-to-last weekend of the regular season down, but not out. The Muleriders have suffered three-straight losses and are currently in a three-way tie for eighth place with four games remaining. Even with the Muleriders in the league standings are East Central and Thursday night's opponent Oklahoma Baptist. Saturday afternoon's foe Southern Nazarene is a game up on SAU and OBU and tied with Southwestern Oklahoma State for sixth place. Southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma, the current top three teams in the GAC standings respectively, have clinched tournament spots. Nine teams are still active and battling for the final six berths.

NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS
The Muleriders hold the top marks in the GAC in offensive rebounds per game at 13.08 and in rebounding margin at +7.0. SAU ranks second in rebounds per game at 37.79 and currently has the third-highest three-point attempt rate at 22.7 per game.

Southern Arkansas enters with a -1.0 scoring margin which points toward the tight contests that the Muleriders have been a part of since the calendar turned to 2024. Six of SAU's nine losses in the new year have been by six or fewer points, while three of the five wins have been by six or fewer points.

As a team, SAU is shooting 43.2% from the floor, the league's lowest rate, and 30.5% from three-point range which ranks 12^th. The Muleriders' defensive efforts in each shooting category both rank in the top seven in the GAC. Southern Arkansas boasts one of the top scoring defenses in the league allowing 71.1 ppg which rates as the fourth-lowest leaguewide.

The Muleriders beat both Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist during the Jan. 18-20 swing of the GAC calendar. It's the only time this season that SAU has swept weekend action.

Carel Ray Jr. is the league leader in total rebounds (188), rebounds per game (8.2) and offensive rebounds per game (2.78) and ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (5.39). Additionally, he ranks second in field goals made (161) and field goal attempts (368). He is shooting 43.8% from the floor and Ray's 17.9 ppg leads the team, ranks fifth in the GAC and is currently on track to be the highest scoring average in a single season in SAU's GAC history.

Anthony Igiede's 79 makes from the stripe are the eighth-most in the GAC and are a result of the fifth-best free throw clip at 84.9%.

Nevi Tell has enjoyed an impactful true freshman campaign ranking in the top ten in the GAC in assists per game (3.0), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), steals per game (1.74) and steals (40).

Gregory Hammond Jr. leads the GAC in defensive rebounds at 5.56. His 7.1 per game ranks him fourth in the league. Hammond and Ray are the lone teammates in the league's top seven of the statistic. Hammond's 1.11 blocks per game is the second-highest swat rate in the league and his 20 total blocks are the seventh-most.

OBU OUTLOOK
The Bisons lead the GAC in rebounding at 39.17 per game behind the league's top defensive rebounding average at 26.22. OBU commits the fewest fouls per game in the GAC at 15.5, while also committing the fewest turnovers per game at 11.7.

From the floor, the Bisons are shooting the ninth-best clip in the league at 45.3% with the ninth-best three-point average at 33.0%. OBU enters the matchup with a +5.6 scoring margin and the league's top bench-scoring effort at 24.9 ppg.

Terry Coner Jr.'s 16.7 ppg are eighth in the GAC and he ranks in the league's top seven in field goal attempts (317; 5^th) and field goals made (141; 7^th). Trevin Wade has produced a season worthy of being mentioned as one of the league's top guards. Wade ranks third in steals per game at 1.95 and fifth in total steals with 41. On the offensive end, Wade ranks sixth in total assists with 87, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.85 and fourth in assists per game at 4.1.

Nathan Wilson provides the presence down low with top four marks in the GAC in total blocks (22) and blocks per game (0.96). He ranks third in the league in total rebounds (181), third in rebounding average (7.9), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (5.39) and fourth in offensive rebounds (2.48).

In the previous meeting: "A career-high 24 points from redshirt freshman Anthony Igiede and six second-half three pointers were enough for Southern Arkansas to pick up a third-straight win in Great American Conference action on Saturday afternoon from inside the W.T. Watson Center. The Muleriders outlasted Oklahoma Baptist, which took a 63-62 lead with 1:19 to play, courtesy of a final 90 seconds of action that was highlighted by a go-ahead slam from senior Carel Ray Jr and four free throws by Igiede in the final half minute to put the game away.

Both teams were hindered by cold shooting beyond-the-arc in the first half, combining to sink just four of a collective 27 attempts with each squad making just two. SAU's second trifecta came from the stroke of Anthony Igiede as the first half clock was in its final seconds to give SAU a 26-21 lead at the intermission."

Last Time Out (1/20/24): Southern Arkansas 68, Oklahoma Baptist 65 (Recap | Box Score)

SCOUTING SNU
Southern Nazarene leads the GAC in free throw attempts per game at 21.2, boasts the second-best three-point defense at 32.5% and ranks third in fewest fouls per game with 15.7.

The Crimson Storm are -3.0 in scoring margin and +2.5 in rebounding margin. SNU is shooting 46.8% from the floor, the fourth-highest mark in the GAC, and 35% from three-point range.

Cam Slaymaker's 17.1 ppg leads the team and ranks seventh in the GAC. Slaymaker's 100 free throws made are the third-most in the league, his 121 attempts from the stripe are the fourth-most and his 82.6% effort at the line ranks seventh. Slaymaker averages 2.05 three-pointers per game; tenth in the GAC.

Benno Secic's 128 assists are the second-most in the GAC, while his 5.8 assists per game also ranks second. Secic's 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth. Defensively, Zecic leads the conference with a steals per game average of 2.05 and ranks second with 45 steals.

Ben Baker-McCann is the top rebounder and ranks in the league's top eight in total rebounds (148), rebounds per game (6.7) and defensive rebounds per game (5.0).

In the previous meeting: "Big blocks and even bigger baskets blanketed Southern Arkansas' stretch run in the second half of Thursday night's Great American Conference matchup with Southern Nazarene. The Muleriders led by a bucket after the opening twenty minutes of action and wound up on the right end of a second half of play that saw 16 of the game's 22 lead changes and six of its 13 ties take place. Five players finished in double figures and SAU shot 50% from the floor for the third-consecutive game in a 78-72 final over the Crimson Storm from inside the W.T. Watson Center. The win aids the Muleriders in keeping pace in the league standings with a 4-5 record overall, while SNU falls to 3-6 against league foes.

SAU's 28-of-56 shooting effort from the field matched its output in its win over East Central (25-of-50) and coupled with a 51.7% shooting clip in a loss to Southeastern Oklahoma gave the Muleriders the program's first run of three-straight games at 50% or better from the floor since late February 2016."

Last Time Out (1/18/24): Southern Arkansas 78, Southern Nazarene 72 (Recap | Box Score)