Bears

Central Arkansas Bears

General Information

Conference: ASUN Conference

NCAA Division: Division I

City: Conway, Arkansas

Stadium: Farris Center

Championships

Championships:

National Championships: None
Conference Titles: 17 (1928, 1929, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1986, 1987, 1992, 2005)
NCAA Tournaments: 0

Past Conferences:

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference
Gulf South Conference
Southland Conference

Central Arkansas Standings & Analysis

Check out all the updated Central Arkansas standings, recent college basketball news, and NCAAB betting tips, here at Point Spreads.

All-Time Central Arkansas Stats & Records

Points Scored

Jordan Howard, 2,524
Clifton Bush, 2,157
Wally Love, 1,899

Rebounds

John Hutchcraft, 1,162
Wally Love, 1,059
Clifton Bush, 848

Assists

Russ Pennell, 341
Jordan Howard, 320
Jeff Welch, 309

Overview of the Central Arkansas Standings

Last Season Standings

During the 2021-2022 NCAA basketball season, the Central Arkansas Bears standings had a challenging time in Central Arkansas. The team finished with a record of 8-23 overall and 5-15 in the Southland Conference.

Despite their struggles, Central Arkansas did manage to secure some notable victories, including a 79-73 win over Abilene Christian in January and a 79-65 win over Northwestern State in February. However, their inconsistent form and performances meant that they failed to climb higher in the conference standings.

Individual performances were a bright spot for Central Arkansas. Rylan Bergersen, the senior guard, was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game. Junior forward Khaleem Bennett averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game, making crucial contributions to the team’s efforts.

As they look ahead to the upcoming season, the Central Arkansas Bears standings will be a key focus for the Bears. They will hope to improve their record and compete for a higher position in the Southland Conference, relying on the talents of their individual players to secure victories.

Before Betting on Central Arkansas, Check Out These Tips:

Monitor the NCAAB team’s injury report

Injuries can greatly affect a team’s performance, so it’s important to keep track of who is and isn’t available to play. This information can often be found on the team’s official website or through sports news outlets.

Monitor latest basketball trends and statistics

Keep track of the team’s recent performance and pay attention to any trends or patterns in their statistics, such as their scoring average, defensive efficiency, or their success rate on the road versus at home.

Look at college basketball betting trends and odds

Pay attention to the odds being offered by different sportsbooks, as well as any betting trends. This can give you a sense of how the public is viewing the team and help you make informed betting decisions. However, it’s important to remember that odds and trends are just one factor to consider and should not be the sole basis for your betting decisions.

Consider the NCAA team’s overall talent level

Look at the team’s roster to see if they have any star players, as well as their depth at each position. This can give you a sense of the team’s overall talent level and help you predict how they may perform in future games.

Central Arkansas Basketball History

Overall

Central Arkansas has had a basketball program since the 1920-21 season. The Bears soon became an NAIA power and spent the majority of their time in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, where the team won 16 regular-season conference titles.

Central Arkansas played in the NAIA Tournament 15 times and reached the NCAA championship game in 1991 and 1992 but fell short both times.

The Bears became a Division II school and moved to the Gulf South Conference in 1993-94 and in 2005 won the Gulf South Conference regular season title.

The team made its lone Division II Tournament appearance in 2005. Later the same year, UCA announced it was making the move to Division I and joining the Southland Conference for the 2006-07 season.

Like many schools, Central Arkansas didn’t have an easy time after making the jump up the ladder and has had just one winning season since becoming a Division I school.

The Bears finished the 2017-18 season with a 17-16 record, which did them a bid to the CBI, where they defeated Seattle in their opener.

UCA lost to Jacksonville State in its second game in the only postseason appearance for the Bears at the Division I level.

Central Arkansas NCAAB FAQs

When did Central Arkansas become known as the Bears?

Before it was the University of Central Arkansas, the school was primarily a school for teachers. As a result, many of the early nicknames had to do with teaching. According to UCA, “prior to being known as the Bears, University of Central Arkansas students and teams were known as many things – tutors, teachers and even pedagogues.” In 1920, inspired by a student’s class ring design that featured a bear, what was then the Arkansas State Normal School adopted the bear as the school mascot.

How many players have been drafted out of Central Arkansas?

Despite having a program for more than 100 years, the Bears have had just one player drafted. Scottie Pippen was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics with the fifth pick in the 1987 draft. Pippen was traded to the Bulls for Olden Polynice (yes, really) on draft day and the rest is history.

How many UCA school records do Scottie Pippen have?

Because college basketball seasons were a bit shorter back in the 1980s and Pippen missed part of his freshman year, Central Arkansas’ greatest player holds fewer school records than one may think. For single-game school records, Pippen is one of five Bears to have notched seven steals in a game. For single-season records, Pippen’s 78 steals and 3.1 steals per game average are both UCA records. He holds no school career records.