With the calendar turned to February, the Truman men’s basketball team kicks off the final month of the regular season with a three game homestand, starting Saturday (Feb. 5) afternoon at 3:00 pm against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University.
The Bulldogs (5-13, 3-11 MIAA) are coming off a bizarre stretch of days which saw its midweek game at Washburn postponed twice due to the massive snowstorm that paralyzed much of the Midwest.
After that contest was eventually moved to Monday, Feb. 14, Truman then turned its attention to its purple partner in the conference, looking to avenge an early December loss in Bolivar and kick-start a final push towards the MIAA tournament.
Meanwhile, SBU (10-10, 7-7 MIAA) rallied late in the second half on Thursday (Feb. 3) night to pick up an 82-73 home win against Pitt State to climb into a tie for eighth in the MIAA with Missouri Western.
A mere game and a half separates fourth through ninth in the conference as teams have either seven or eight games remaining in the regular season.
Truman will look to capitalize on its home strength this season, as the ’Dogs are 5-4 inside the friendly confines of Pershing Arena and are scoring 12 points per game more than their season average.
The Bearcats, meanwhile, have struggled outside of Bolivar, posting just a 2-6 record in road games this year, including five straight losses.
Three to Track:
· Bombs Away: SBU and Truman combine for nearly 20 three-pointers per game, with more than 50% of SBU’s total shots coming from long-range.
· Limiting 2nd Chances: SBU ranks 6th in the league in offensive rebounds but is last in rebounding margin. Truman is 2nd in the league in defensive rebounding.
· Handling the Pressure: In the first meeting between the teams, Truman turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 28 points for the Bearcats.
However, the Bulldogs have averaged just 12 turnovers per game in the past six contests.
Courtesy Truman State University
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