OCU at Wayland Baptist men's basketball preview

Stars starts two-game road trip to close regular season

Brandon Combs picked up four points and four rebounds Saturday.

Men's Basketball | 2/26/2020 4:37:00 PM

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27
Hutcherson Center | Plainview, Texas

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University opens the final week of the regular season looking to enhance its postseason hopes starting with a road contest at Wayland Baptist (Texas)
• The Stars currently are in position to be the seventh seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. Oklahoma City, Langston and Southwestern Christian are tied in the conference standings, and OCU has the best record against that group among the three teams

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City took a 76-70 loss to USAO on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (14-14, 6-12 SAC) held a 63-62 lead with 4:08 remaining, but Cameron Hines' 3-pointer gave USAO the lead for good
• Rashaun Coleman, a 6-foot junior from Houston, powered OCU with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Coleman hit 8 of his 13 shots from the field. Coleman notches 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.18 steals a contest, leading the league in assists average
• Eddie Smith, a 6-2 freshman from Birmingham, Ala., turned in 13 points and two rebounds. Smith contributes 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game with a 43 percent 3-point shooting percentage. He has averaged 11.0 points a game over the past five games
• Oklahoma City has hit 48.5 percent from the field as a team to rank 13th in NAIA Division I. Eric Wattree sinks 43 percent from beyond the 3-point line to rank third in the conference and 31st in the NAIA. Compare OCU with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• The Stars have been slotted to take fifth place in the SAC according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season championships and 10 SAC Tournament titles. Oklahoma City reached the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament for the 25th time last season and has won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008
• OCU's all-time record against Wayland Baptist stands at 44-22
• Wayland Baptist won 68-54 over the Stars on Nov. 23 at Abe Lemons Arena. Coleman led OCU with 15 points and four assists

ABOUT THE PIONEERS
• Wayland Baptist fell to John Brown (Ark.) 72-60 on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Pioneers (18-10, 10-8 SAC) saw their four-game winning streak snapped
• J.J. Culver, a 6-5 senior, supplied Wayland Baptist with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and six steals. Culver became the fifth student-athlete to ever score 100 points Dec. 10 against Southwestern Adventist (Texas) to set SAC single-game marks for scoring and field goals (34). Culver collects 23.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.86 steals per game, ranking second in steals (80), third in average steals and points (659) and fifth in scoring among the NAIA this season
• Wayland Baptist has accumulated 115 blocks and 4.11 blocked shots per game to rank seventh nationally in both categories
• The Pioneers were picked to finish first place in the preseason SAC poll

MEET THE COACHES
Hank Aldous (first season with OCU)
• Served as graduate assistant at the University of Denver prior to coming to OCU
• Became Southern Athletic Association player of the year as a senior at Hendrix (Ark.) during his playing career
• Aldous led Hendrix to two conference titles and its first conference tournament crown ever, becoming the SAA Tournament most valuable player. Hendrix made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament

Ty Harrelson (106-53, fifth season with Wayland Baptist)
• Brought Wayland Baptist to the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament quarterfinals for the second time ever in 2018 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
• Wayland Baptist will offer a live video broadcast as well as live stats

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#22 Eric Wattree: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#2 Rashaun Coleman: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#13 Eddie Smith: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#22 Eric Wattree
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#2 Rashaun Coleman
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#13 Eddie Smith
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#22 Eric Wattree

#2 Rashaun Coleman

#13 Eddie Smith

Players Mentioned

#22 Eric Wattree

#2 Rashaun Coleman

#13 Eddie Smith