The last time the Bisons started a conference season 3-0, they made it to the NCAA tournament. I’m not convinced that this year’s team is as good as that one, but it’s hard to argue if they keep winning. Matt Hall had 24 points, and he got enough help from Trent Morgan (13), Chris Dixon (14), and the team’s solid defense (82.4 rating for Ouachita).
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Neither team shot particularly well, but the Bisons deserve some credit for their performance against the league’s best defense. Only the three Bisons I mentioned above had more than two made field goals, and only six made a shot at all, but it was enough to get past OBU.
The Tigers made just 5 of their 18 three-pointers, while the Bisons connected on 8 of their 16, improving to 44% in three conference games. Harding is staying with their opponents in rebounding and ball control while shooting lights-out, which is a decent recipe for sustained success. HU has a 20% edge on its GSC opponents in true shooting percentage, seven percent better than the next best team in the conference.
They’ll be put to the test on Thursday against Arkansas Tech in an early battle for divisional supremacy, as the Wonder Boys are also 3-0. Christian Brothers is alone in the standings at 2-1 after a road win at Henderson State, while four teams are 1-2. Only the 2-13 Reddies remain winless in conference play at 0-3.
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Tigers were outstanding defensively, especially “on the ball”. Even Barnett had a difficult time facing that pressure – could not work to his left at all. Morgan survived at the point, but it didn’t look pretty. Fortunately, the Tigers offense does not match their defense and a variety of Bison defenders took turns handling Memo Rodriquez.