Griffon Men Take on Northwest Missouri State on Military Appreciation Day

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Tweet #gogriffsST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The end is getting near for the Griffon men's basketball team, which plays an important home game on Saturday against rival Northwest Missouri State University in St. Joseph, Mo. on Military Appreciation Day. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. CST in the fieldhouse.

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 44th season of Griffons men's basketball
• This marks the first season in 25 years that the MWSU basketball team will be playing under a new head coach. Brett Weiberg is in his first season at MWSU and 8th season overall. He is 139-101 as a head coach with the previous seven seasons being at Northern Oklahoma College. He is just the 4th head coach in MWSU history and had a 27-4 record last season at Northern (Okla.).
• The Griffons have been balanced in the scoring category with five players scoring six or more points a game. Two players average double digit numbers with Ryan Devers leading the way at 16.8 points per game. Cortrez Colbert is averaging 14.2 points per game. Devers had his 16 straight game double figure scoring streak snapped against Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. He did score 35 points earlier this season which was the first time a Griffon did that since 12/19/10 when P'Allen Stinnett scored 33 against Washburn. The last player to score over 35 points was Reggie Bunch when he scored 38 on March 1, 2008 against Missouri Southern. He has scored in double digits in 22 of 24 games.
• The Griffons have struggled to rebound the ball getting outrebounded by 6.0 a game. They have just 31.5 rebounds to their opponents 37.5. In thier last three victories they outrebounded their opponents. They outrebounded Lincoln 39-32 in Lincoln and 39-19 with 10 coming on the offensive end of the floor in St. Joseph. Against Southwest Baptist the outrebounded the Bearcats 44-30 with 13 coming off the offensive end of the floor.
• The Griffons have 61 less turnovers than it's opponents and 33 more steals. Six players have at least four steals this season.
• The shooting very well from the free throw line making 71.5-percent (407-569) on the season. In the victory on Wednesday in Jefferson City they made 22-of-24. In their ealier victory against Lioncoln they made 17-of-21 attempts. In their victory over SBU they made 38-of-50 for 76-percent. The 38 makes and 50 attempts. The record for free throws made in a game is 40 which was set against Central Missouri on February 1, 1992 and the record for free throws attempted is 52 against Northwest Missouri State on February 13, 1991.
• The Griffons are 4-2 since 1994-95 on February 19 going 3-1 at home and 1-1 on the road. The Griffons last game on the 19th was in 2011 when they fell 91-79 against Truman in St. Joseph. Their last road game was in 2000 when they fell 100-85 at Washburn in Topeka, Kan. This marked the first game on the 19th against Lincoln.
• The Griffons are 6-1 since 1994-95 on February 22 going 3-1 at home and 3-0 on the road. The Griffons last game on the 22nd was in 2012 when they fell 74-68 against Central Missoui in St. Joseph. The Griffons have played NW Missouri State twice on the 22nd. In 1995 the won 94-83 in Maryville and in 1997 they won 77-75 in S. Joseph.
• The Griffons were picked to finish 11th in the MIAA preseason coaches poll and 12th in the preseason media poll while the Tigers were picked 1st in both preseason polls.

Coaches vs. Each Program - Lincoln:
Weiberg is 2-0 against the Blue Tigers winning at hoem and on the road. He is 1-0 at home and 1-0 on the road. Lincoln head coach John Redmond is 2-6 against the Griffons. Both of his wins came during the 2011-2012 season.

The Series vs. the Blue Tigers:
Wednesday's meeting was the 33rd meeting between the two schools as the Griffons hold a 28-5 advantage. The Griffons are 16-2 in St. Joseph, 11-2 in Jefferson City and 1-1 on a neutral court.

Coaches vs. Each Program - NWMSU:
Head Coach Brett Weiberg is 0-1 against the Bearcats and 0-1 in Maryville. Missouri Western has won just five meetings in the last 26 match-ups. Ben McCollum is 8-2 against the Griffons and 6-0 in Bearcat Arena and 2-2 in St. Joseph. He is 1-0 in the MIAA Tournament.

Series vs. the NWMSU:
Saturday will be the 82nd meeting between the two teams. The Bearcats have won eight of the last nine which has given the Bearcats a nine game advantage all-time over the Griffons (45-36). The Bearcats have won the last three MIAA Tournament games against the Griffons.

Record vs. Ranked Oppoents:
This season the Griffons are 1-2 against ranked opponents. Two of the three games were played in St. Joseph, Mo. The Griffons fell 82-64 against #13 Midwestern State on November 16 before defeating #15 Fort Hays State 82-79 on December 7. The Griffons fell 105-71 against #22 Missouri Southern in Joplin on January 25, 2014. The Griffons are getting outscored 88.7 to 72.3 in those games and outrebounded 41.0 to 25.7. They have turned the ball over 15 less times and have four more steals. They have struggled from the free throw line making just 43-of-72 attempts to their opponents making 74.7-percent (65-87). Ryan Devres has scored 13.3 points per game and snared 5.3 rebounds while Cortrez Colbert has scored 10.7 points per game shooting 50.0-percent (11-22) from the field.

Taking Care of the Ball:
In order for the Griffons to be successful this season they have to keep the turnovers down. So far this season they have done just that turning it over just 223 times for an average of 9.3 per game. When the Griffons have turned the ball over less than their opponents they are 7-9 this season. When they turn the ball over the same amount of more they are 3-5. Their last three MIAA victories came when they turned the ball over more than their opponents. Against Southwest Baptist and Lincoln twice.

Dishing the Rock:
The Griffons have been very good at getting their teammates involved. Guards Ryan Devers and Cortrez Colbert have dished out 94 and 70 assists respectively. The Griffons have 298 assists on the season and when they dish out 15 assists or more the Griffons are 5-2 this season and when they have less than 15 assists they are 5-12.

Got to Rebound:
With being undersized the Griffons have to rebound the ball. They are getting outrebounded by 6.0 a game. The Griffons have been outrebounded in all but five of their games this season. When they either outrebounded or keep the rebounding margin under ten they are 9-6 on the season.

Struggles on the Road:
The Griffons have struggled on the road this season going 1-9 and 1-8 in the MIAA. They picked up their first road victory on Wednesday against Lincoln. They are shooting just 40.6-percent (241-594) and are getting outscored 86.1-73.3. They have 56 less assists on the road and 21 less blocks. They do have 15 less turnovers and trail by four in steals but are getting outrebounded by 8.1. They have 226 personal fouls to their opponents 185 and have been outscored by 74 in the first half and 54 in the second half on the road. Devers is averaging 15.2 points per game while Colbert is averaging 14.1.

Balanced Scoring
When the Griffons have four or more players score in double figures they are 7-6 on the season with five of their losses coming on the road against Illinois-Springfield, Northeastern State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern. Their only home loss was against the Missouri Southern Lions.

Griffon Wins Against Top-25 Ranked Teams:
Since 2001-2002 the Griffons have defeated 15 teams that were ranked in the top-25 which includes their biggest upset yet on Dec. 7 in the fieldhouse when they defeated No. 1 Missouri Southern 75-67.
12/07/13 vs. #15 Fort Hays State - 82-79 OT
02/06/13 @ #17 Washburn - 79-74
01/12/13 vs. #24 Northwest Missouri State - 71-58
12/7/11 vs. #1 Missouri Southern - W, 75-67
12/11/10 vs. #6 Fort Hays State - W, 78-77
02/01/10 vs. #3 Fort Hays State - W, 75-69
02/24/09 vs. #2 Central Missouri - W, 55-49
12/18/09 vs. #12 Drury - W, 91-84 in High Desert Classic in Las Vegas
11/21/09 vs. #17 Central Oklahoma - W, 83-79 in Hillyard Tipoff Classic
2/19/05 @ #6 Central Missouri - W, 70-68
12/29/04 vs. #6 Washburn - W, 73-70
1/29/03 @ #18 Washburn - W, 68-67
1/23/02 vs. #13 Missouri Southern - W, 80-73
1/2/02 @ #4 Washburn - W, 95-92
1/30/02 vs. #11 Washburn - W, 73-71
2/4/02 @ #3 Northwest Missouri State - W, 64-59

Up Next
The Griffons will play their final two regular season games this coming week. They will host the Central Missouri Mules on Wednesday, February 26th in St. Joseph, Mo. at 7:30 pm. They close out the schedule on Saturday, March 1 at Southwest Baptist. Game time set for 3:30 pm in Bolivar, Mo.

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Griffon Men Take on Northwest Missouri State on Military Appreciation Day