SBU BEARCATS (19-9, 10-8 MIAA) vs
NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS (12-13, 7-11 MIAA)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010 • 7:30 PM
BOLIVAR, MO • MEYER SPORTS CENTER
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SBU NOTES | NMWSU NOTES

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- It's a crucial contest for both Bearcat teams Tuesday, when SBU hosts Northwest Missouri State on Senior Night. SBU will look to snap a four-game losing streak and remain in the top half of the MIAA standings. With two games left in the regular season, SBU can finish anywhere from third to sixth in the MIAA standings. Northwest Missouri is chasing Emporia State and Washburn for the final spots in the MIAA Tournament.

SBU's lone senior and All-American center Matt Rogers had been averaging 21.8 points per game before missing the last six games due to injury. Rogers has won three MIAA Player of the Week awards this season, and ranks fourth in the nation in blocks (3.6 per game), as well as 15th in all of Division II in points. Rogers is no longer ranked among the MIAA leaders, due to not appearing in 75% of his team's games. His totals would put him near the top of the MIAA in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, blocks and defensive rebounds.

Junior point guard Tomas Brock has stepped up in Rogers' absence, averaging 17.8 points the last five games, including a career-high 24 points against Emporia State. Brock's 4.9 assists per game is good for third in the MIAA.

Forward Kurt Koenig has scored double figures in four of his last five games, and he ranks 18th in the MIAA with 12.7 points a game. Koenig also averages 5.8 rebounds, 13th-most in MIAA.

Stepping into the starting lineup just prior to Rogers' injury, freshman Ivan Cropotov has made steady improvement throughout the last ten games. Cropotov has raised his scoring average from three points a game when he was coming off the bench, to 5.7 points, and has scored double figures in seven of those matchups, hitting his career high of 14 points three times.

As a team, the SBU Bearcats are ranked in the top 25 nationally in a number of statistics, including points per game (86.4, 12th), three-pointers per game (9.2, 12th), and free throw percentage (75.3%, 8th).

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU head coach Jeff Guiot is in his sixth season in Bolivar, where he has led the Bearcats to a 126-52 (.708) record. Guiot has a 344-145 record overall, and has yet to suffer a losing season during his fifteen-year career. Guiot has won 20 games ten times, as well as eight conference titles, including three of the last five MIAA regular season championships while at SBU.

Ben McCollum is in his first season with Northwest Missouri State. He is the 20th head coach in the 95-year history of Northwest men's basketball. The green Bearcats knocked off Fort Hays earlier this year and nearly did the same Saturday against Central Missouri. Northwest leads all-time over SBU 31-16, though the purple Bearcats have won the last five meetings.

SCOUTING THE NORTHWEST BEARCATS
The green Bearcats are fighting for their playoff lives, as they currently sit ninth in the MIAA standings, just half a game below Washburn for the final spot in the MIAA Tournament. Northwest Missouri has had an up-and-down season, upsetting nationally-ranked Fort Hays last month, followed by another big win on the road against Nebraska-Omaha. Lately, however, losses to both Pittsburg State and Truman (10th and 11th in the MIAA) have put Northwest in a tight spot coming down to the end of the season. Junior forward Elijah Allen leads the green 'Cats with 18 points a game, third-most in the MIAA. Senior guard Girod Adams is not far behind with 15.9 points on average, good for seventh among league leaders. Adams is also one of the best free throw shooters in the country, shooting 93% from the charity stripe, the third-best percentage in Division II. Adams, along with freshman DeShawn Cooper, are two of the top passers in the league, averaging 4.0 and 3.9 assists respectively.
       
NEXT UP FOR THE SBU BEARCATS
SBU will end the regular season Saturday evening in St. Joseph, when they visit the Missouri Western Griffons, in game that will likely be big in determining both teams' seeds in next week's MIAA Tournament. SBU rolled to a 23-point win in Bolivar on January 19, but has struggled since, winning just three of eight games. The Griffons are only slightly better, going 4-4 since losing to SBU. Western has lost three of their last four and hosts #3 Central Missouri on Wednesday night. The Griffons are led in scoring by Marcus Rhodes (15.9 ppg - 8th in MIAA) and Dominique Thuston (13.2 ppg - MIAA 17th). The Griffons allow the MIAA's second-worst shooting (47.4% field goal defense and 38% three-point defense).