OCU vs. Wayland Baptist men's basketball preview

12th-rated Stars entertain 24th-ranked Wayland Baptist

The Stars lead the conference with 4.08 blocked shots per game this season.

Men's Basketball | 1/9/2019 4:25:00 PM

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University collides with Wayland Baptist for a showdown of top 25-ranked teams in NAIA men's basketball
• OCU took an 89-75 win over John Brown (Ark.), ranked 23rd at the time, on Dec. 6 in Siloam Springs, Ark., in its other matchup with a ranked foe this season
• 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
• OCU fell to Southwestern Christian 105-70 on Tuesday in Bethany, Okla. The Stars (8-4, 3-3 Sooner Athletic Conference) had won their past nine against Southwestern Christian. The Eagles won against OCU for the first time since a 79-78 victory Jan. 15, 2015 in Bethany, Okla.
• Joe Clarke, a 6-foot-3 senior from New Rochelle, N.Y., delivered 12 points, three blocked shots and three steals. Clarke provides Oklahoma City with 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.11 rejections a contest
• Anthony Davis, a 6-7 junior from Lewisville, Texas, produced 12 points, five rebounds and two steals Tuesday. Davis posts 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.25 steals per game
• Chris Williams, a 6-2 senior from Denver, picked up 12 points and two rebounds for the Stars. Williams collects 19.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.75 thefts per contest
• The Stars sink 77.7 percent of their free throws to stand fifth among NAIA Division I in free-throw percentage. See where OCU ranks within the NAIA statistically this season here
• OCU went to 12th in the newest NAIA top 25. Oklahoma City has made 24 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 first place in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season titles and nine SAC Tournament crowns
• Oklahoma City dropped a 78-75 decision to Wayland Baptist on March 2, 2018 in the SAC Tournament semifinals in Siloam Springs, Ark., in the last encounter between the two teams. Wayland Baptist overcame a 10-point second-half deficit

ABOUT THE PIONEERS
• Wayland Baptist seized a 68-52 win over Texas Wesleyan on Saturday in Plainview, Texas. Wayland Baptist (10-4, 5-1 SAC) built a 26-4 early advantage
• J.J. Culver, a 6-4 sophomore, had 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists while sinking all seven of his free-throw attempts. Culver, who became SAC player of the week, has supplied Wayland Baptist with 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists a game. Culver ranks fourth in the SAC in scoring
• Wayland Baptist has the 24th spot in the national rankings
• The Pioneers haul in 31.8 defensive rebounds per game as a team to rank 11th among the NAIA
• Wayland Baptist was ticketed to finish fourth in the SAC before the season

ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (68-35, fourth season with OCU)
• Patel has guided three OCU all-Americans, including the Stars' first first-teamer since 2008, 2017 Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year, the 2017 and 2018 SAC co-defensive player of the year, a finalist for the Dark Horse Dunker competition, 11 all-conference performers and four academic all-SAC choices. He is the 2018 John Hudson SAC coach of the year
• 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

Ty Harrelson (74-39, fourth season with Wayland Baptist)
• Brought Wayland Baptist to the NAIA Division I Tournament quarterfinals for the second time ever last season and first time since 1985
• Became an all-American during his playing career at Wayland from 2001-03 and holds multiple school records
• Played and coached professional basketball the past 12 years, most recently in Australia, prior to returning to Texas

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 2018-19
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his eighth season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 11 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

#23 Anthony Davis: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#2 Chris Williams: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#11 Joe Clarke: G; 6' 3"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Anthony Davis
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#2 Chris Williams
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#11 Joe Clarke
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#23 Anthony Davis

#2 Chris Williams

#11 Joe Clarke

Players Mentioned

#23 Anthony Davis

#2 Chris Williams

#11 Joe Clarke