ST. LOUIS, Mo. – As the 2016 calendar year winds to a close on Saturday, the American Midwest Conference (AMC) men's basketball game of the week will feature a battle of two Missouri teams trying to stay in the thick of the AMC race. For the second straight installment, the 12th-ranked Park University Pirates (7-2, 4-1 AMC) will be the road team in the Game of the Week, and they will be looking to rebound from their first AMC loss when they head to William Woods University to battle the Owls (10-3, 5-1 AMC) on New Year's Eve.
 
Thursday, both teams led wire-to-wire in conference wins, Park getting all over Missouri Baptist early before holding on to beat the Spartans 83-70, while William Woods cruised to a league win over St. Louis College of Pharmacy, 94-45.
 
WHO
Park Pirates: The Pirates got Xavielle Brown back into the lineup for their final two pre-Christmas AMC games, and he found his groove quickly, scoring 44 points in those two games before adding 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over MBU. The Pirates, however, struggled defensively against No. 24 Freed-Hardeman University, allowing the Lions to shoot nearly 52 percent from the floor in the game, and better than 57% from beyond the arc. For the Pirates to find success, both of those numbers will need to be better this time against a William Woods team that boasts the sixth-best (Johnny Woolf, 52.9 percent) and eighth-best (Alec Mulvihill, 51.4 percent) 3-point shooters in NAIA Division I Men's Basketball. Zach Rutland leads the Pirates in the scoring column at 14.6 points per game.
 
William Woods Owls: The Owls feature a very balanced offensive attack, with six players averaging in double-figures so far this season. One way the Owls have augmented their offense this season has been by taking the basketball away. WWU has 128 steals so far on the season, meanwhile their opponents have only taken away the ball 79 times. If the Owls are to protect their home court and pull out a key AMC victory, it will almost certainly start with protecting the basketball against a Park team with one of the top turnover margins in NAIA Division I Men's Basketball and using their quick hands to create extra possessions for themselves.
 
WHAT
Since the Pirates re-joined the AMC for the 2009-10 season, they have had a stranglehold on the series with the Owls. Park holds a 12-3 advantage in the series over that span, including a forfeit win awarded to the Owls in 2015, and they took a season sweep from William Woods a year ago.
 
WHEN
Saturday, December 31, 2016; 3 p.m.
Live Video – portal.stretchinternet.com/wwuowls/
Live Stats – DakStats (http://www.dakstats.com/websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10)
 
WHERE
Fulton, Mo. (Anderson Arena)
 
WHY
Both the Owls and Pirates have gotten off to quick starts in AMC play, with each having only one loss on their conference record. Both also have games in hand on conference-leading Columbia College, so Saturday presents an opportunity to pick up an important win early in the AMC schedule.

NEXT UP
The Owls return to action on January 3rd, when they host Lindenwood-Belleville in American Midwest Conference action. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena.