Men's Basketball 2/25/2026 1:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

UCO Visits Fort Smith, Northeastern On Final Week Of Regular Season

Central Oklahoma Plays At Arkansas Fort Smith Thursday Night

FORT SMITH, Ark. – Central Oklahoma wraps up the regular season this week at Arkansas Fort Smith and Northeastern State this week, beginning with the UAFS matchup Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

UCO is 15-14 on the season with an 8-9 record in the MIAA. Fort Smith is 20-6 overall this season and 11-6 in the MIAA. The Bronchos also play at Northeastern State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Tahlequah.

Central Oklahoma hosted UAFS on Jan. 10 when the Lions were ranked No. 5 in the country and the Bronchos won that meeting 93-86 in overtime. The very limited all-time series is tied, 2-2. UCO won the first meeting in 2011-12 while UAFS swept the season series in 2024-25.

The Bronchos have qualified for the MIAA Basketball Championship March 4-8 in Kansas City, Missouri. UCO could finish as high as fifth in the final standings or as low as 10th for the 10-team postseason tournament. Only regular season champion Washburn is locked into a spot entering the final week of the season.

UCO heads to Arkansas Thursday night averaging 72.6 points per game. The Bronchos shoot 44.4 percent from the floor, 31.1 percent from behind the arc, and 71.8 percent from the free-throw line. UCO averages 5.7 made 3-pointers per game and 14.1 made free-throws per game this season.

Matthew Willenborg leads the Bronchos in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. He averages 20.5 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game, and 3.2 blocks per game. Willenborg leads the league in all three categories as well. Willenborg is also third in the MIAA in minutes per game at 33.8, a team-high for the Bronchos.

Josh Nwankwo is second in scoring, rebounding, and minutes played. He leads the team in assists and steals. Nwankwo averages 18.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He plays 33.3 minutes per game. And the senior guard averages 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

The Bronchos get help from Parker Hannah, who averages 8.7 points per game, and Marcus Zeigler Jr., who averages 8.4 points per game. Hannah is second on the team with 43 made 3-pointers. Zeigler's 3.3 assists per game are also the second most on the squad.

Fort Smith averages 81.3 points per game as a team and has a scoring margin of plus-10.1 points per game. The Lions shoot 45.2 percent overall and 36.5 percent from 3-point range with an average of 9.5 made 3-pointers per game. UAFS also shoots 73.5 percent from the free-throw line and averages 13.7 made shots from the stripe per game.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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