OCU vs. Panhandle State men’s basketball preview

Stars have won three of their last four entering Saturday’s contest

4:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University hosts its third straight home game, squaring off against Sooner Athletic Conference foe Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena
• Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and OCU students, faculty and staff get into all regular-season OCU home athletics events free with their ID
• When the Stars score 70 points, fans get a 2-for-1 combo coupon for Raising Cane's

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City is fresh off a 79-70 win over No. 11 Wayland Baptist Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (12-5, 5-4 SAC) had four players reach double figures in scoring and dominated WBU in the paint 36-18
• Samuel Williams, a 6-foot-8 senior from Reno, Nev., earned his team-best fourth double-double of year with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and finished 10-for-10 from the free-throw line against the Pioneers. Williams puts up 16.2 points and grabs 8.7 boards per game – 3.5 of which come on the offensive end, the sixth-highest mark in NAIA Division I
• Ivan Saicic, a 6-foot-7 senior from Belgrade, Serbia, added 14 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in Thursday's win. He averages 9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Stars this season
• Lou Dunbar, a 6-foot-3 senior from Seabrook, Texas, was the only Star to knock down a 3 against Wayland Baptist, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Thursday was the sixth time Dunbar has made two or more triples in a game this season
• Despite being held to under 80 points for the third time this season, OCU remains one of the top offenses in the country, putting up an average of 91.4 points per contest – the 11th most in NAIA Division I. The Stars also rank 19th in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down 12.7 a game
• The Stars sit at No. 21 in this week's NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City has made 23 NAIA Division I Tournament appearances and won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008
• The Stars have been picked to finish second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 12 SAC regular-season titles and nine SAC Tournament crowns
• Oklahoma City has a 16-2 all-time record against Panhandle State. OCU last played Panhandle on Dec. 4, 1993 in Goodwell, Okla., winning 98-88 in the Panhandle Classic. Pete McKelvey topped OCU with 34 points
• OCU's first victory over Panhandle State came in the program's sixth season of existence in 1927-28 by a score of 37-33

ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Oklahoma Panhandle State snapped its two-game losing streak with a 81-79 road win at Central Christian (Kan.) on Thursday. The Aggies outscored Central Christian 21-2 in bench points and had four players score double digits
• Jace Kerr, a 6-foot-6 junior from Forgan, Okla., leads OPSU in scoring with 22.5 points per game, ranking him first in the SAC and fifth in NAIA Division I. Kerr did not play in the Aggies' win over Central Christian
• Jaedon Whitfield, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Boise City, Okla., fueled Panhandle State with 25 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in Thursday's win. The double-double was Whitfield's 14th of the season, the most in NAIA Division I
• Panhandle State ranks 17th in NAIA Division I in defensive rebounds per game with 29.5 and 27th in points per game with 85.9
• The Aggies were picked to finish tied for 10th in the Sooner Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll.

MEET THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (48-27, third season with OCU)
• Patel collected his second HoopDirt.com coach of the week honor for Dec. 4-10
• Patel has guided two OCU all-Americans, including the Stars' first first-teamer since 2008; the 2017 Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year, the 2017 SAC co-defensive player of the year, a finalist for the Dark Horse Dunker competition, six all-conference performers and three academic all-SAC choices
• Before coming to OCU, he spent one season as Rogers State's assistant coach and aided the Hillcats to a 20-8 season led by the conference player of the year
• Patel spent nine years as assistant before serving as the head coach at West Texas A&M. During that time, West Texas went to the NCAA Division II Tournament five times, won the Lone Star Conference championship and took two Lone Star South Division titles

Jerry Olsen (11th season with OPSU)
• Olsen is in his 14th season overall and his 11th season as men's head basketball coach for Panhandle State. He was the women's basketball coach at OPSU from 1990-94, making the playoffs in three of his four years
• Olson guided the 2008 men's team to a 97-91 victory over Colorado State, the only Division II school to beat a Division I school during the regular season at that time
• Before coming to Panhandle State, Olson was the top assistant at Division I Montana State. He was a part of four of the Montana State five 20-win seasons. While at MSU, the Bobcats went to 2 NCAA tournaments and 2 NIT tournaments

ON THE AIR
• Oklahoma City University athletics provides live and on-demand audio, stats and video of its contests on OCU's Stretch portal. Cost to watch the game is $7.95 per game, $34.95 for a women's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2017-18
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his seventh season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 10 years starting on color commentary as an OCU student
• Fans can access regular-season broadcasts from NAIA institutions as well as from NAIA Championships postseason contests via Stretch Internet through custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Users can search for "NAIA" on the app interfaces on any compatible device, and then download the free NAIA Network app

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Players Mentioned

#22 Lou Dunbar: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#24 Ivan Saicic: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#23 Samuel Williams: F; 6' 8"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#22 Lou Dunbar
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#24 Ivan Saicic
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#23 Samuel Williams
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#22 Lou Dunbar

#24 Ivan Saicic

#23 Samuel Williams

Players Mentioned

#22 Lou Dunbar

#24 Ivan Saicic

#23 Samuel Williams