The William Woods University men's basketball team returns to Anderson Arena for a Thursday night American Midwest Conference tilt against Missouri Baptist. Tipoff for the game, presented by Red Weir Athletic Supplies, is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
The Matchup
The Owls saw their historic 5-0 conference start come to an end last Thursday as they suffered a 78-70 overtime loss at Park University. William Woods slipped to second place in the AMC at 5-1 and stand at 9-10 overall on the year.
The Spartans come into Thursday's affair in a three-way tie for fourth place at 3-3. MBU has lost two of their last three games and are 8-11 overall on the year.
William Woods holds a small advantage over MBU in points per game (70.9-68.7) and shoot slightly better (.430-419) from the floor. The Owls also hold the edge behind the arc (.363-.306) and average 2.6 more three-pointers made per game than the Spartans (7.1- 4.5).
Each team has had its struggles at the line this season, but William Woods holds a slim lead (.667-.637) over Missouri Baptist at the charity stripe.
The Owls grab 1.3 more caroms per game (38.4-37.1) than MBU.
William Woods is holding its opponents to 68.3 points per game on .427 shooting from the field and Missouri Baptist is giving up 75.1 points per game and has allowed teams to shoot .448 from the floor.
Last Time Out
The Owls suffered a 78-70 overtime loss at Park University last Thursday.
D.J. Hoskins scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from behind the arc.
Daniel Armah collected his fifth double-double on the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Jonathon Nutt rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Owls with 10 points.
Milestone Watch
Already the school's all-time leading scorer,
Logan Decker needs just five more points to reach the 1,500-point plateau.
A Black Star Export
Hailing from the African country of Ghana,
Daniel Armah has been a lifelong fan of the Ghana national soccer team, referred to as 'The Black Stars'. Not only is Armah a fan but he is a talented soccer player as well.
The 6-6 forward has been a force for the Owls since returning at the end of the first semester. Since his return he has averaged 15.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and has collected five double-doubles on the year. Armah has tallied a double-double in four of his last five games.
Will It Work In Peoria?
D.J. Hoskins and
Demarius Sumrell have both made an immediate impact for the Owls this year. The Peoria, Ill., natives have each stepped up into a leadership position for WWU this year. Hoskins averages 12.4 points per game on the year, good for third-best, while Sumrell leads the team with 19 steals.
Hitting From Downtown
The Owls hold a small margin in three-point shooting, with a .363 success rate to just a .334 pace for its opponents. The offensive pace is good for 24th in the country.
William Woods hit a season-high 12 three point field goals in their 81-64 win over Haskell Indian Nations University.
Seth Thomas led the way for the Owls with his 5-of-6 performance behind the arc en route to a career-high 21 points, and is connecting at a .329 pace in his 14 games on the year.
D.J. Hoskins is also having a solid year, ranking 23rd in the country with a .436 percentage from downtown. In his last time out, Hoskins hit 6-of-10 from three-point shots.
On The Boards
The Owls rank 43rd in the nation in total rebounds with 731 and 30th in total rebounds per game with 38.5 caroms per contest.
WWU is ranked 37th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (25.947) and 34th in offensive rebounds per game (12.526).
Mix And Match
The Owls have done a bit of juggling in the starting lineup throughout the early part of the season, with 11 different players starting at least one game for WWU.
Logan Decker has been the only constant, starting all 18 games on the year for head coach
Nick Totta.
Since the start of conference play on Jan. 3 at Benedictine University at Springfield, coach Totta has gone with the same starting lineup of
Daniel Armah,
Logan Decker,
D.J. Hoskins,
Roy McElroy and
Jonathon Nutt.
A Look At Missouri Baptist
The Spartans stand at 8-11 overall on the year and are 3-3 in AMC contests with wins over Harris-Stowe (68-62), Benedictine University at Springfield (69-55) and Williams Baptist (59-55). MBU has lost two of their last three games.
Le Andre Johnson leads Missouri Baptist with 14.3 points per game. The 6-0 senior has scored in double-digits in 14 of the 16 games he has played and has been in double-figures in the last five games. Kalvin Lewis is the only other Spartan in double-digits with 11.5 points per game.
Lewis is having an exceptional year from the three-point line as he is shooting .426 on 40-of-94 shooting.
Garrison Plummer is the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 caroms per game.
Missouri Baptist has giving up 6.4 more of points per game to the oppostion as they average at 68.7 ppg and give up 75.1 ppg. MBU shoots .419 from the floor and .306 from three-point land.
