Men's Basketball 12/3/2025 1:30:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Opens Conference Play Thursday Night

Bronchos Visit Pittsburg State In MIAA Opener

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Central Oklahoma opens MIAA play Thursday night at Pittsburg State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

UCO is 6-3 this season after just over one month of play. Central officially began on Halloween in Canada and went 1-2 in its trip north of the border. The Bronchos have won 5 of 7 since, with its only loss at West Texas, a team that is now up to No. 13 in the country.

"MIAA play is hard all season long and it's especially difficult on the road," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "We've learned a lot about who we are and we've done well the last two weeks, but we need to continue to improve as we get into December games. Every conference game can be the difference in where you end up in March."

Central Oklahoma begins conference play averaging 73.3 points per game and is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor as a team. The Bronchos shoot 29.3 percent from behind the 3-point line, averaging 4.0 made threes per game, and 67.5 percent from the free-throw line, averaging 11.6 made free-throws per contest.

UCO is outrebounding its opponents, 36.0 – 31.7 per game. The Bronchos also average 14.7 assists and 8.2 steals per game, while only turning the ball over 10.9 times per game on average. Central also averages 3.9 blocked shots per game.

A trio of Bronchos are averaging double figures scoring this season. Josh Nwankwo leads the way at 17.8 points per game, Matthew Willenborg averages 15.9 points per game, and Jacobi Sebock averages 15.7 points per game. Marcus Zeigler Jr. puts up 9.3 points per game.

Nwankwo leads UCO in several categories, including playing 34.4 minutes per game. He adds 6.6 rebounds per game, 3.9 assists per game, and 2.4 steals per game.

Willenborg, who was named MIAA Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday, leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game and 2.0 blocks per game. Nwankwo and Willenborg have both made 60 field goals this season and are tied for second in the country for most makes through one month of the season.

Sebock averages 5.3 rebounds per game to go with his 15 points. He missed his first two games of his two-year career at Central last week.

Zeigler Jr. adds 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game with the junior guard playing 30.3 minutes per contest this season.

Parker Hannah (4.9) and Ben Averitt (4.2) add to the scoring load for the Bronchos.

Central Oklahoma has a 21-18 lead in the all-time series with Pittsburg State, with wins in the last two meetings. Last season, the road team won both regular season meetings and UCO ended Pitt State's season in the MIAA Basketball Championship semifinals in Kansas City.

Pittsburg State is 5-3 this season and coming off a 43-point win over NAIA Bethany Sunday in Pittsburg. The Gorillas average 83.8 points per game and shoot 48.6 percent overall as a team. Pitt averages 8.0 made 3-pointers per game and shoots 32.0 percent from deep. The Gorillas average 13.3 made free-throws per game and shoot 80.3 percent from the line.

Central Oklahoma will continue on from Pittsburg, Kansas to Joplin, Missouri, where the Bronchos will take on Missouri Southern Saturday afternoon in another MIAA showdown. MSSU is 5-2 overall this season and will play Rogers State Thursday night in Joplin in their respective MIAA openers. UCO will travel to Claremore, Oklahoma next week to take on Rogers, Thursday, Dec. 11.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Ben Averitt: G; 6' 6"; Senior

#22 Parker Hannah: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#4 Jacobi Sebock: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#21 Matthew Willenborg: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#2 Josh Nwankwo: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#5 Marcus Zeigler Jr.: G; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Ben Averitt
: 6' 6"; Senior
: G

#22 Parker Hannah
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#4 Jacobi Sebock
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#21 Matthew Willenborg
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#2 Josh Nwankwo
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#5 Marcus Zeigler Jr.
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G