Game 18:
Newman (6-11, 2-9 MIAA) @ #4 Central Oklahoma (17-1, 11-1 MIAA)
Saturday, January 21, 2023 | 3:30 p.m. | Edmond, Okla. (Hamilton Field House)
Audio: Newman Jets Audio Network (Play-by-Play:  Blake Cripps) | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  UCO Athletics
 
A FRESH START
The Jets play their second-straight game against the fourth-ranked team in the country on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
#4 Northwest Missouri ripped the nets at a 60.9% clip in the first half on the way to a 74-57 victory over the Jets Saturday Jan. 14 at Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita.  The Jets hug with the Bearcats early and trailed by just two with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half, but Northwest outscored NU 20-13 the rest of the way to lead by nine at the break.  NU trimmed the deficit to seven with under 10 minutes to play, but a 7-0 run by Northwest stopped the Jets push and the Jets never got the deficit under 10 the rest of the way.  Stevie Strong paced the Jets with 16 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Earlier last week, the Jets snapped a season-long four game losing streak with a 71-55 victory over Missouri Western.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
The #4 Bronchos enter the week in sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings with an impressive three and a half game lead on Northwest Missouri.  Last season, UCO logged its first 20-win season since 2017-18 by finishing 24-7 with an 18-4 MIAA record to clinch a share of the regular season MIAA title with the Bearcats.  The back-to-back winning seasons for Central are their first since notching 14 in a row from 2004-18.  The Bronze & Blue made their first return to March Madness last year since hosting the 2011 South Central Regional.  Last year's season ended in the first round of the Big Dance with a 91-74 defeat to Upper Iowa.  The Bronchos are seeking their 19^th appearance in a national postseason tournament in 2023 and their 14^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Central Oklahoma is in the middle of the pack at sixth offensively in MIAA games scoring 70.1 ppg but ranks first in defense surrendering just 59.8 ppg inside conference play.  Jaden Wells paces 'The Association' at 18.8 ppg to lead the conference in scoring while Curtis Haywood II is 10^th in the league in rebounding at 6.4 rpg.  Haywood is tied for second in the conference in steals at 1.9 spg.
 
THE SERIES
The Bronchos lead the series 7-2 with a 5-1 lead in both NU's NCAA Division II era and in MIAA competition.  Central has won the last three matchups in the series.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
The #12 Bronchos torched the Jets by shooting 59.6% from the field while hitting 9 of 18 3-pointers on the way to an 83-61 victory over the Jets February 12, 2022, at Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita.  The Bronchos started the game on a 19-5 run and never looked back leading by as many as 33 in the second half.  Israel Barnes was the lone bright spot for Newman and was the only Jet to finish in double-figures with 26 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
STEVIE POWER
The Jets' two players named Stevie have been carrying the load for NU.  Stevie Strong has led the Jets in scoring in two-straight games and averaged 14.5 ppg last week with Stevie Smith finishing with NU's second best average at 12.5 ppg last week.  In the week before, it was Smith's turn to pace the Jets averaging nearly 22 ppg in NU's games two weeks ago.  Strong was second in scoring behind Smith in both of those games averaging nearly 15 ppg in the contests.  In NU's first game of the second semester against ESU, Strong led NU in scoring with 23 points while Smith tied for the second most points for Newman with 11.
 
A DEFINITE STEP UP
To get a sense of the strength of the MIAA, Newman's new league, all one has to do is check the number of games Newman is playing against ranked teams.  The Jets will play the team ranked #4 in both the Coaches' Poll and Media Poll in back-to-back games when they face the Bronchos on Saturday.  NU's first twelve seasons as an NCAA program were spent in the Heartland Conference and during that time NU played 11 games against the Top 25:  seven against Heartland Conference foes and four against MIAA competition.  NU is now in its fourth season of membership in the MIAA and this weekend will already be playing its 11^th game against a ranked opponent.  With a game left on the schedule against Central, it is likely the Jets will surpass the program's number of games against ranked opponents prior to joining 'The Association' in just four grueling MIAA seasons.
 
COMING ON 'STRONG'
Stevie Strong is starting to work his way up the Newman men's basketball record books.  Last week, Stevie jumped into the top ten in career 3-point field goals attempted with 251 in his 38 game career, passing Kyle Smith and Allen Wilson on the list.  Currently in eighth position is Ben Ayre with 269 attempts.  With five more makes, Strong will tie for 10^th in career 3-point field goals made with Wilson who sits at 85 treys with the Navy & Red.
 
CAPTAIN OF THE FLEET
R. J. Allen begins his sixth season as the head coach of the Jets in 2021.  It will be his 12th season with the program.  Allen has compiled a record of 53-81 over his first five years in Wichita with a 10-55 record in MIAA play.  Allen has coached a player to the All-MIAA team each of his first three years in the league.  Israel Barnes received All-MIAA Honorable Mention recognition last season, Joel Boyce was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention in 2021, while Marshawn Blackmon earned Third Team recognition in 2020.  During the Jets' last year in the Heartland Conference, Allen led NU to a 20-9 overall record while finishing third in the Heartland Conference at 11-5.  The 20 wins tied the NU record for victories in their NCAA Division II era.  NU also finished the season in the Top 10 of the South Central Regional Rankings.  Allen was named the 2018 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm at Newman after guiding the Jets on a dramatic turnaround in the second half of the season that saw NU finish 14-14 overall and third in the conference with a 10-6 record.
 
Allen arrived in Wichita in 2011 and spent six seasons as an assistant and eventually associate head coach under Mark Potter, NU's all-time winningest coach.  The Jets won 88 games over those 6 years and made four trips to the Heartland Conference Tournament and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after going 20-8 in 2012-13.  He was also on the bench when the Jets knocked off No. 2 seed Lubbock Christian in the first round of the 2016 Heartland Conference Tournament to earn its first ever postseason victory as an NCAA program.
 
Allen is no stranger to the Air Capital after growing up in Wichita and playing his prep years for his dad, Ron, at Wichita East High School.  Allen was a two time All-City and All-State selection and helped lead the Blue Aces to the 2002 6A state championship.  Following high school, Allen stayed local playing two years at Hutchinson Community College.  The Blue Dragons dominated during Allen's career going 57-9 over the two-year span with a 41-1 record in Jayhawk Conference play and winning the conference title in 2004.
 
Allen is 1-5 against the Bronchos.
 
BUCKING WITH THE BRONCHOS
Bob Hoffman is in his fourth year leading the Bronze & Blue and entered the season with a 48-36 record in Edmond while tallying a 38-25 mark against 'The Association.'  In his 29^th year of coaching, Hoffman began the season with a 655-371 record.  He was named the 2022 MIAA Coach of the Year after leading the Bronchos into a share of the regular season conference title, his first with UCO.  Hoffman previously coached at NCAA Division I member Mercer of the Southern Conference from 2008-19 and led the Bears to a 208-165 record, two Atlantic Sun Conference championships, the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament title and a victory over No. 3 seed Duke in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.  During his time in Macon, Ga., Hoffman also led the Bears to one National Invitation Tournament berth (2013), two College Basketball Invitational appearances, and two trips to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, including the 2012 CIT title.  Hoffman previously spent five seasons at Texas-Pan American where he led the Broncs to a 68-77 record. 
 
Hoffman is no stranger to the Sooner State after spending nine seasons at Oklahoma Baptist where he led the Bison to a sparkling 243-78 record from 1990-99 with six NAIA Tournament appearances, seven 20-win seasons and four 30-win seasons.  Hoffman started as a collegiate head coach by going 88-16 in three seasons leading the Crimson Storm women's basketball program at Southern Nazarene from 1987-90.  He began his coaching career as a high school coach at Piedmont High School from 1981-85.  Hoffman has also spent time as a head coach in the American Basketball Association, the NBA Development League, and as an assistant for two seasons at Oklahoma. 
 
Hoffman is 5-1 against the Jets.
 
SCOUTING THE SQUADRON
The Jets went 6-21 in 2021-22 with a 3-19 record inside the MIAA.  Newman returns four players from last year's squad including second-leading scorer Stevie Strong, who averaged 13.7 ppg.  Strong was also second on the team in steals with 22 and led the Jets in 3-pointers shooting 44-for-138 from outside (31.9%).  Strong also paced the Jets from the foul line with 68 free throws on the way to shooting an impressive 89.5%.  Junior Ian Lee started 23 of 27 games for the Jets last season and dazzled offensively with 83 assists against just 43 turnovers.  Lee was also Newman's third-leading scorer at 9.6 ppg.
 
The Jets will be junior and graduate led this season with no seniors on the roster.  The Jets start the season with seven freshmen on the roster.  The Navy & Red will feature eight transfers this season: five from the junior college level and four from NCAA Division I.  Newman's roster features two graduate students, six juniors, and four sophomores.
 
LEADING 'THE ASSOCIATION'

• Entering the weekend, former Campus Colt Stevie Strong is tied for fifth in the MIAA in scoring at 16.6 ppg.
• Strong's 3.9 apg ranks him third in the league in assists.
• Strong's 1.5 assist to turnover ratio is tied for eighth in the MIAA.
• Strong ranks tied for ninth in steals with 1.5 pilfers per game.

 
NU STATS 'N STREAKS

• Stevie Strong has scored in double figures in 18-consecutive games dating back to last season. 
• Stevie Smith has tallied at least 10 points in his last five contests.
• Freshman Sam Somerhalder has scored in double digits in back-to-back contests.
• Strong matched his career high of two blocks against Northwest Missouri last weekend.
• Somerhalder set a new career high of three steals against the Bearcats.
• In conference games, the Navy & Red rank 10^th offensively scoring 63.7 ppg.
• The Jets are ranked 14^th defensively allowing 74.3 ppg against league foes.
• The Jets are looking for their first winning season since 2018-19 when Newman finished 20-9 while tying for third in the Heartland Conference.  NU also seeks its first 10-win season since that same campaign.  2018-19 was also the last season NU participated in the postseason, losing in the first round of the final Heartland Conference Tournament to Rogers State.
• Newman has lost 12 straight against the Top 25.  The Newman men picked up their last win over a ranked foe when they beat #24 Dallas Baptist 74-62 February 24, 2018, to earn the program's first back-to-back wins against ranked foes.
• The Jets shot 54.5% from the field in their win last week against Missouri Western.  The last time the Jets finished over 50% from the field was when they knocked off Sterling College hitting 53.7% of their shots November 16, 2022.

 
AND THEN…
The Jet men wrap up a short three-game road trip with Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern next week.
 
2022-23 MIAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1:  Bennett Stirtz – Northwest Missouri
Week 2:  Alijah Comithier – Emporia State
Week 3:  Will Eames – Missouri Western
Week 4:  Kaleb Hammeke – Fort Hays State
Week 5:  Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri (2)
Week 6:  Owen Long – Emporia State (2)
Week 7:  Jaden Wells – Central Oklahoma
Week 8:  Jaden Wells (2) – Central Oklahoma (2)
Week 9:  Owen Long (2) – Emporia State (3)
 
2022 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
Coaches
1.  Northwest Missouri (11) – 167 Points
2.  Central Oklahoma (3) – 158 Points
3.  Fort Hays State – 137 Points
4.  Washburn – 131 Points
5.  Emporia State – 125 Points
6.  Northeastern State – 100 Points
7.  Missouri Western – 93 Points
8.  Missouri Southern – 85 Points
9.  Central Missouri – 73 Points
T-10.  Pittsburg State – 63 Points
T-10.  Rogers State – 63 Points
12.  Nebraska-Kearney – 36 Points
13.  Lincoln – 26 Points
14.  Newman – 17 Points
 
Media
1.  Northwest Missouri (14) – 261 Points
2.  Central Oklahoma (4) – 243 Points
3.  Fort Hays State – 216 Points
4.  Washburn – 209 Points
5.  Emporia State – 181 Points
6.  Missouri Western – 163 Points
7.  Missouri Southern – 146 Points
8.  Northeastern State – 135 Points
9.  Central Missouri – 112 Points
10.  Pittsburg State – 106 Points
11.  Rogers State – 92 Points
12.  Nebraska-Kearney – 67 Points
13.  Newman – 33 Points
14.  Lincoln – 31 Points