SBU BEARCATS (20-9, 11-8 MIAA) at
MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS (16-10, 11-8 MIAA)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 • 7:30 PM
ST. JOSEPH, MO • MWSU FIELDHOUSE
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SBU NOTES | MWSU NOTES
   
BOLIVAR, Mo. – For the third straight year, the final game of the season for SBU will merely be a preview for the opening round of the MIAA Tournament, as the Bearcats will face the same team prior to meeting them in Kansas City, the Missouri Western Griffons. It's also the second straight year for a back-to-back with the Griffons. SBU is looking to gain a little momentum before the start of the postseason, as they snapped a four-game losing streak earlier this week with a win against Northwest Missouri. The final regular season game could have a huge say on both team's NCAA Tournament chances, with SBU currently seventh and MWSU ninth in the regional rankings

SBU's lone senior and All-American center Matt Rogers had been averaging 21.8 points per game before missing the last seven games due to injury. Rogers has won three MIAA Player of the Week awards this season. He ranked fourth in the nation in blocks (3.6 per game), as well as 15th in all of Division II in points. 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 16.1 points the last eight 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 five of his last six games, and he ranks 18th in the MIAA with 13.1 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 5.6 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, 10th), three-pointers per game (9.2, 11th), and free throw percentage (75.3%, 16th).
 
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 127-52 record. Guiot has a 345-145 record overall, and has yet to suffer a losing season during his fifteen-year career. Guiot has now won 20 games eleven times with the win earlier against Northwest Missouri, as well as eight conference titles, including three of the last five MIAA regular season championships while at SBU.

Finishing his 22nd season on the bench at Missouri Western, Tom Smith has been head coach of the Griffons since 1989 and has coached over 900 games over the course of his career. The Griffons led the all-time series with SBU 43-26. The teams met three times last year, with SBU winning 79-78 in St. Joseph and 89-67 in Bolivar to win the MIAA title outright before the Griffons defeated an injury-depleted Bearcat squad 93-92 in the MIAA tourney. SBU has won ten of the last eleven matchups.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western has gone an almost-even 5-4 since the Bearcats have last seen them, and are coming off an upset of second-ranked and MIAA-leading Central Missouri. Senior Marcus Rhodes leads the Griffons with 15.9 points a game (8th in MIAA). Dominique Thurston (13.2 ppg) isn't far behind, ranking 17th in the conference. Senior James Bush is the team's leading rebounder, bringing down 6.2 boards each contest, tying him for 7th in the league. Bush could give SBU trouble on the defensive end if the 'Cats aren't prepared for him, as he leads the MIAA with 2.9 offensive boards a game.      
 
NEXT UP FOR THE SBU BEARCATS
Any tiebreaker situation in the MIAA standings that could occur after the final round of games will end with the Bearcats in a rematch with the Griffons at the MIAA Tournament. The matchup will be the game between the fourth and fifth seeds at 2:15 p.m. Friday afternoon from Kansas City's Municipal Auditiorium, meaning the winner would take on either first-place Central Missouri, or whoever ends up with the eighth seed (either Washburn or Northwest Missouri) in the MIAA semifinals. SBU is seventh in the NCAA regional rankings, hoping to avoid dropping any further, with the eighth spot going to the Heartland Conference Tournament winner or automatic qualifier.