MBB Preview: Simpson takes on No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- As the hunt for a spot in the American Rivers Conference Tournament ramps up, the Simpson men's basketball team hosts No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan for a battle inside Cowles Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

The Storm (11-12, 5-9 A-R-C) grabbed a much-needed 87-73 victory on the road at Wartburg on Saturday. The Prairie Wolves (21-2, 14-0 A-R-C) grabbed a 91-70 win against Central to stretch their winning streak to 11.

The game will be video streamed live on SimpsonAthletics.com as Bryan Geelan has the call. Fans can also access the video stream via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 24
No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan (21-2, 14-0 A-R-C) at Simpson (11-12, 5-9 A-R-C)
Wednesday, Feb. 19 | 7:30 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

NEBRASKA WESLEYAN SERIES NOTES
The Storm look to break a string of four-straight losses to the Prairie Wolves in the 54th meeting between the two teams on Wednesday ... Nebraska Wesleyan is winners of the last 12 of 13 games against Simpson ... the closest meeting between the two teams over the last four matchups came in last year's A-R-C Tournament as the Storm battled back from a 15-point deficit late in the second half to close the gap to two, but ultimately fell, 85-80.

RECENT RESULTS
Jan. 8, 2020 — L, 86-64 (Lincoln)
Feb. 21, 2019 — L, 85-80 (Lincoln)
Feb. 6, 2019 — L, 102-71 (Lincoln)
Jan. 9, 2019 — L, 96-84 (Indianola)
Jan. 27, 2018 — W, 102-97 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE PRAIRIE WOLVES
Nebraska Wesleyan remains near the top of the rankings at No. 6 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll ... the Prairie Wolves are winners of their last 11-straight contests, all coming in league play ... Nebraska Wesleyan is second in the nation in field goal percentage (52.9%) and fifth in scoring margin (17.3) ... the offense is first in the league in scoring at 89.1 ppg and is first on the other end of the court by allowing 71.9 ppg ... Nate Schimonitz is pacing the league in scoring at 26.5 ppg, which is fourth nationally ... Clay Reimers is lighting it up on the glass with 7.9 rebounds per outing for third among conference players.

A-R-C STANDINGS
The Prairie Wolves have already clinched the top seed in the A-R-C Tournament with their fourth-straight conference crown ... Loras, Coe and Buena Vista all have seats in the league tourney, but the final two spots are still up for grabs ... Dubuque is in fifth at 7-7, while Simpson and Wartburg are nearby at 5-9 and are eyeing to get into the tournament ... Luther is eighth and Central rounds out the conference.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

13th — free throw percentage (76.9%)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Conor Riordan — eighth in assist to turnover ratio (3.13) and free throw percentage (90.3%)
Adam Reiter — 18th in field goal percentage (62.3%)

• In the A-R-C, the Storm are third in scoring (83.9) and in shooting percentage (48.3%), but are second to last in points allowed per contest at 81.4.
• Three starters are scoring in double figures as Conor Riordan is leading the way at 19.8 ppg. Reiter is second at 15.2, and Kyle Wagner follows with an average of 14.5.
• Adam Reiter has been a double-double machine this season and currently has 10 games capturing the feat. Reiter paces the league and had a streak of four-straight contests with a double-double during the year.
• Conor Riordan became the 21st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. He needed just 11 points to reach it when the season started and used his 22 points in the season opener against Bethany Lutheran to join the club. Riordan is currently ninth in program history with 1,445 and needs 45 points to move into eighth.

UP NEXT
Simpson takes on Buena Vista on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest inside Cowles Fieldhouse. The Storm will honor their seniors before tipoff.