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WAC COACHES SELECT GRAND CANYON, BRAUN AS PRESEASON FAVORITES
Grand Canyon is the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball title in 2017-18, while Lope redshirt senior
Joshua Braun was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's eight head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.
The Lopes received 46 points and six first-place votes to earn the top spot. NM State captured second place with 40 points and one first-place vote, followed by CSU Bakersfield in third with 38 points and Utah Valley in fourth place with 36 points and the final first-place vote. Seattle U was picked to finish fifth with 25 points, while UT Rio Grande Valley was selected sixth with 16 points, just ahead of Kansas City in seventh place with 14 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll with nine points.
Braun leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining him on the first team are NM State's
Eli Chuha, UT Rio Grande Valley's
Nick Dixon, CSU Bakersfield's
Damiyne Durham and Chicago State's
Fred Sims Jr.
Second team selections include CSU Bakersfield's
Shon Briggs and
Brent Wrapp, Seattle U's
Matej Kavas,
Sidy N'Dir of NM State and Utah Valley's
Isaac Neilson.
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Teams (1st-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Grand Canyon (6) |
46 |
| 2 |
NM State (1) |
40 |
| 3 |
CSU Bakersfield |
38 |
| 4 |
Utah Valley (1) |
36 |
| 5 |
Seattle U |
25 |
| 6 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
16 |
| 7 |
Kansas City |
14 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
9 |
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches' All-WAC Teams
First Team
First Team
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Eli Chuha, NM State
Nick Dixon, UT Rio Grande Valley
Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield
Fred Sims Jr., Chicago State
Second Team
Shon Briggs, CSU Bakersfield
Matej Kavas, Seattle U
Sidy N'Dir, NM State
Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley
Brent Wrapp, CSU Bakersfield
Preseason Player of the Year: Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
MEDIA SELECT GRAND CANYON, BRAUN AS PRESEASON FAVORITES
The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball media have selected Grand Canyon as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown during the 2017-18 season and Grand Canyon redshirt senior guard
Joshua Braun as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
The Lopes received 14 first-place votes, earning 189 points to edge out NM State for the top spot. The Aggies were picked to finish second with 181 points and seven first-place votes, followed by Utah Valley in third with 153 points and three first-place votes, just ahead of CSU Bakersfield in fourth place with 148 points and the last two first-place votes. Seattle U was picked to finish fifth with 91 points, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in sixth with 72 points, edging out Kansas City in seventh place with 71 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll in eighth place with 31 points.
Braun was voted Preseason Player of the Year and is the on the Preseason All-WAC first team. Joining him on the first team are NM State's
Eli Chuha,
Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley,
Isaac Neilson of Utah Valley and
Fred Sims Jr. of Chicago State.
The Preseason All-WAC second team is comprised of Grand Canyon's
Casey Benson, CSU Bakersfield's
Damiyne Durham and
Brent Wrapp,
Jemerrio Jones of NM State and Seattle U's
Matej Kavas.
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Media Poll
| Rank |
Teams (1st-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Grand Canyon (14) |
189 |
| 2 |
NM State (7) |
181 |
| 3 |
Utah Valley (3) |
153 |
| 4 |
CSU Bakersfield (2) |
148 |
| 5 |
Seattle U |
91 |
| 6 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
72 |
| 7 |
Kansas City |
71 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
31 |
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Media All-WAC Teams
First Team
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Eli Chuha, NM State
Nick Dixon, UT Rio Grande Valley
Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley
Fred Sims Jr., Chicago State
Second Team
Casey Benson, Grand Canyon
Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Matej Kavas, Seattle U
Brent Wrapp, CSU Bakersfield
Preseason Player of the Year: Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS
The 2018 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the eighth year in a row. The tournament will be held March 8-10, and will include all eight men's and women's teams.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
ESPN will once again broadcast the WAC men's tournament championship game from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 10. The men's championship game will be broadcast by ESPNU at 7 p.m. (PT).
STAT LEADERS BACK
The following are the returning statistical leaders in the WAC from the 2016-17 season.
Three of the top 10 scorers from last year are back, led by UT Rio Grande Valley's
Nick Dixon who ranked second in the WAC last year (18.8). Also returning are Chicago State's
Fred Sims Jr. (third, 18.8) and UTRGV's
Antonio Green (sixth, 16.7).
Five of the top rebounders from last year return, led by Utah Valley's
Isaac Neilson, who ranked second in the WAC with a 9.1 average. The other top rebounders returning are NM State's
Eli Chuha (second, 8.9) and
Jemerrio Jones (fourth, 8.4), Grand Canyon's
Keonta Vernon (fifth, 7.0) and Utah Valley's
Brandon Randolph (10th, 5.1).
Seven of the top 10 shooters in the WAC return this season, including the top four - Chuha (61.0), Neilson (57.1), Vernon
(56.4) and Dixon (52.1). Also returning is Jones (eighth, 50.2), Utah Valley's
Zach Nelson (ninth, 48.4) and UTRGV's
Mike Hoffman (10th, 46.4).
Five of the top 10 assist leaders return, led by Randolph, who last year ranked third (3.9). Also returning are UTRGV's
Lew Stallworth (sixth, 3.6), CSU Bakersfield's
Brent Wrapp (seventh, 3.6), Dixon (eighth, 3.6) and Jones (10th, 3.0).
Five of the top steals leaders return, including last year's leader Dixon (1.9). Also returning are Grand Canyon's
Gerard Martin (sixth, 1.4), CSU Bakersfield's
Damiyne Durham (eighth, 1.3), Vernon (ninth, 1.1) and Jones (10th, 1.1).
Six of the top 10 shot blockers in the conference return, including the top three - CSU Bakersfield's
Moataz Aly (1.8), Neilson (1.6) and NM State's
Johnathon Wilkins (0.9). Also returning are Hoffman (fifth, 0.8), Grand Canyon's
Oscar Frayer (sixth, 0.8) and Jones (seventh, 0.7).
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Of the five first team All-WAC players in 2016-17, just one returns for the 2017-18 season in
Joshua Braun of Grand Canyon. Three one of the five second team honorees return in
Eli Chuha of NM State,
Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley and
Fred Sims Jr. of Chicago State.
Three of the five All-Defensive Team honorees from last year return -
Moataz Aly of CSU Bakersfield,
Gerard Martin of Grand Canyon and
Isaac Neilson of Utah Valley. Meanwhile, all five of the All-Newcomer Team honorees from a year ago return in Aly, Dixon,
Shon Briggs of CSU Bakersfield,
Jemerrio Jones of NM State and
Matej Kavas of Seattle U.
LETTERWINNER/STARTER CAPSULE
Utah Valley returns all five starters this season, while Grand Canyon and UT Rio Grande Valley return four apiece. Grand Canyon and UTRGV have a WAC-high nine letterwinners back, while NM State has just five. The complete list of letterwinners returning and lost and starters returning and lost for each team is listed below.
| Team |
LR |
LL |
SR |
SL |
| CSU Bakersfield |
8 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
| Chicago State |
7 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
| Grand Canyon |
9 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
| Kansas City |
6 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
| NM State |
5 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
| Seattle U |
6 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
| UT Rio Grande Valley |
9 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
| Utah Valley |
7 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams have several key non-conference matchups this season, including 33 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or NIT last season. The complete list is below.
Games vs. 2017 NCAA Tournament Teams
Nov. 10 Utah Valley at Kentucky
Nov. 10 Kansas City at Wichita State
Nov. 11 Utah Valley at Duke
Nov. 12 Chicago State at Purdue
Nov. 13 NM State at Saint Mary's
Nov. 14 Kansas City at Kansas State
Nov. 16 Chicago State at Notre Dame
Nov. 16 CSU Bakersfield at Arizona
Nov. 18 UC Davis at Utah Valley
Nov. 25 Utah Valley at North Dakota
Nov. 28 UT Rio Grande Valley at SMU
Nov. 29 Chicago State at Marquette
Nov. 29 CSU Bakersfield at UCLA
Dec. 9 Seattle U at Saint Mary's
Dec. 11 Chicago State at Northwestern
Dec. 22 UT Rio Grande Valley at Oklahoma State
Dec. 22 South Dakota State at Kansas City
Dec. 23 Grand Canyon at Louisville
Dec. 23 NM State vs. Miami
Dec. 27 Chicago State at Wisconsin
Dec. 27 CSU Bakersfield at Arkansas
Games vs. 2017 NIT Teams
Nov. 10 Chicago State at Iowa
Nov. 22 UT Rio Grande Valley at Georgia Tech
Nov. 22 Colorado State at NM State
Nov. 29 Brigham Young at Utah Valley
Nov. 30 South Dakota at Kansas City
Dec. 5 CSU Bakersfield at Fresno State
Dec. 9 Chicago State at Oakland
Dec. 16 NM State vs. Illinois
Dec. 16 UT Arlington at UT Rio Grande Valley
Dec. 19 California at Seattle U
Dec. 28 NM State at UC Irvine
Dec. 30 Grand Canyon at Illinois