COVERAGE LINKS | GAME NOTES

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - After having played three of its last four games on the road and finishing the season with its final four of five games away from the Duke Wells Center, Henderson State begins a pivotal three-game home stand Thursday when Northwestern Oklahoma State comes to Arkadelphia for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

REDDIES REPORT (6-13, 5-9 GAC)
Last Saturday's road loss at Southern Nazarene was Henderson State's ninth GAC loss of the season, with seven of them being decided by six points or fewer. That is the most such losses in two-possession games in head coach Jimmy Elgas' nine-year run at Henderson State. The second most was in the 2019-20 season, the year the Reddies would go on to win the GAC Tournament.

In order to reach the GAC Tournament this season, HSU will need to make up some games over the final three weeks of the regular season. With a current 5-9 record in league play, the Reddies are one game out of eighth place. There are currently six teams with 6-8 or worse GAC records, three of which are still left to play for Henderson this season.

Nine appears to be the magic number for HSU as it approaches the postseason. Each of the last three seasons (excluding the 2020-21 altered season), a nine-win team in conference play has gotten into the eight-team GAC Tournament. Since the league expanded to 12 teams in 2015, an eight-win team in conference action has never reached the GAC Tournament.

Standing in the way of those nine wins is four home games and four road games. Henderson State was a combined 3-5 against those eight remaining opponents in the first go-around of games. Three of those losses came on the road, where the Reddies are 1-6, compared to 5-3 at home. Those three such losses can be avenged over the eight days, beginning with Northwestern Oklahoma State Thursday.

Henderson St. lost the season's first meeting against Northwest Okahoma out in Alva, 79-67. A four-point NWOSU halftime edge ballooned into a 12-point victory as the Rangers killed the Reddies from beyond the arc, hitting 13-of-26 (50.0%) three-point field-goals, including going 7-of-13 (53.9%) in the second half, compared to HSU's 7-of-23 (30.4%) triples. On the season, Northwestern is third in the GAC with a 36.0 team three-point field-goal percentage while Henderson is fifth in opponent three-point field-goal percentage (32.8).        

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLA. ST. (11-9, 9-5 GAC)
Northwestern Oklahoma State has won three straight to currently sit in third among the GAC rankings at 9-5. Those three victories all came at home, where it is 7-3. When playing away from the Percefull Fieldhouse, the Rangers are just 4-6. Northwestern did win in its last trip out to Arkadelphia, defeating Henderson State, 66-65, as HSU shot just 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the free-throw line.

As the current No. 3 seed in the GAC standings, Northwestern needs just five more wins to see its third best GAC record in its 12-year history with the league . After playing three of its next four games on the road, the Rangers will close the regular season with three of four at home as NWOSU seeks just its fourth 10-win season in conference play since joining the GAC in the 2012-13 season.

The Rangers boast a very balanced squad, averaging 70.6 points per game while holding teams to 69.8 points. Northwestern is strong on both sides of the ball when it comes to the three-point line, shooting 36.0 percent from three while allowing opponents to simply shoot 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, both of which rank third in the league. The red-and-black are, however, the worst rebounding team in the GAC with a rebounding margin of -4.8.