United Athletic Conference

Complete Release (PDF)

 

UT Rio Grande Valley's Lesley Varner II has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Feb. 10 through Feb. 17. 

 

Varner, a senior forward from Cedar Hill, Texas, helped the Vaqueros stay perfect in the month of February, picking up home wins against Utah Valley and Seattle U. Against UVU, the senior scored 11 points to go with 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals. He flipped the switch from defensive to offensive on Saturday, scoring 23 points with eight rebounds with a pair of assists in a 79-72 win over Seattle U. On the year, he is eighth in the WAC in scoring at 14.0 points per game and fifth in rebounding at 6.1 rebounds per game.

 

Other nominees included: California Baptist's De'jon Davis put up 19 points to go with 19 rebounds in a non-conference blowout of Westcliff … CSU Bakersfield's Greg Lee averaged 14.5 points per game with 4.0 rebounds per game in a home split against Chicago State and Kansas City … Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. posted his second career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime win against Kansas City and followed that up with 14 points in a win over Chicago State … Kansas City's Brandon McKissic scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead to Roos to an important road win at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday … NM State's Jabari Rice hit the game-winning three-pointer to finish with 29 points, adding eight rebounds in an 84-82 win over Utah Valley on Saturday … Utah Valley's Isaiah White averaged 22.0 points per game in road losses at UT Rio Grande Valley and NM State.

 

With less than a month remaining until #WACvegas, the first seeds could be determined this week. NM State has a chance to lock up the top seed this week when they take on UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday in Las Cruces. UTRGV will have a non-conference matchup first, hosting UT Permian Basin on Tuesday. California Baptist hits the road, traveling to Kansas City on Wednesday and Chicago State on Saturday. CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon also hit the road, heading to Utah Valley and Seattle U.

 

California Baptist leads the WAC in scoring (80.8), scoring margin (+11.5), free throw percentage (.771), field goal defense (.410), three-point field goal percentage (.379), rebounding offense (41.7), assists (15.2), assist/turnover ratio (1.2), defensive rebounds (29.7) and three-pointers made (10.0). League-leader NM State is also on top in scoring defense (60.8), field goal percentage (.460) and rebounding defense (27.4). Kansas City is the leader in three-point field goal defense (.301). CSU Bakersfield holds the top rebounding margin (+7.4) and also leads the league in offensive rebounds (13.2). Utah Valley is the leader in blocked shots (5.3) and UT Rio Grande Valley is the leader in steals (8.4) and turnover margin (+4.92).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Terrell Brown is the scoring leader at 19.7 points per game. CBU's De'jon Davis holds the top spot in rebounding with 9.8 per game and his 2.9 offensive rebounds per game and 6.9 defensive rebounds per game are also WAC bests. NM State's Ivan Aurrecoechea leads the league in field goal percentage (.588). SU's Morgan Means has the top free throw percentage (.897) and CBU's Ferron Flavors, Jr. has the top three-point shooting percentage (.436) and also leads the league in three-pointers per game (3.1). UTRGV's Javon Levi holds the top mark in assists (8.0) and steals (2.2) and his 3.0 assist/turnover ratio is a WAC-best. UVU's Emmanuel Olojakpoke is the blocked shots leader at 2.7 per contest. 

 

In WAC-only play, Seattle U is the scoring leader at 78.5 points per game and the Redhawks also hold the top spot in field goal defense (.409) and turnover margin (+5.09). NM State is the leader in scoring defense (62.2), scoring margin (+12.2), field goal percentage (.486), three-point field goal percentage (.386), rebounding defense (25.6), rebounding margin (+7.7), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and three-pointers made (9.2) and are tied with UT Rio Grande Valley for the lead in assists (15.3). California Baptist holds the free throw percentage (.777) and the Lancers lead as well in rebounding offense (38.6). Utah Valley's 4.6 blocks per game are a league best. Grand Canyon is tops in defensive rebounds (26.8). Kansas City has the top three-point defense (.302) and UTRGV is also the leader in steals (7.7). CSU Bakersfield is the top offensive rebounding team at 12.5 per game.

 

Individually, SU's Brown is the scoring leader with 18.8 ppg. CBU's Davis has the rebounding lead at 10.4 per game. UTRGV's Sean Rhea boasts the top field goal percentage (.661) while CBU's Brandon Boyd has the top free throw percentage (.932) and Seattle U's Jordan Dallas has the top three-point percentage (.526). UTRGV's Levi is the leader in assists (7.9) and assist/turnover ratio (2.7). SU's Brown is the leader in steals at 2.2 per game. KC's Rob Whitfield is the leader in three-pointers per game at 2.8 and UVU's Olojakpoke is the block shots leader at 2.5.

 

NM State used wins at home against Seattle U and Utah Valley to push their record-setting WAC win streak to 27 straight games. The Aggies used a win over Seattle U on Jan. 18 to move past Utah, who won 19 straight from 1998-99. 

 

Two players joined the 1,000-point club recently as UTRGV's Lesley Varner II hit the milestone at Kansas City and CBU's Milan Acquaah followed on Saturday against Grand Canyon. They join SU's Morgan Means and GCU's Alessandro Lever as active members of the 1,000-point club. SU's Terrell Brown looks to be the next player to hit the mark, coming into this week's games with 977 career points.

 

Hercules Tires was named the title sponsor of the upcoming WAC Basketball Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Hercules Tires will also be the exclusive tire partner for the Conference and will have an integrated marketing presence throughout the year, allowing the brand to connect with WAC alumni, fans, students, and employees at all conference championship events.

 

Former NM State Aggie and current Toronto Raptor Pascal Siakam was named a starter for the Eastern Conference at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in Chicago. Playing for Team Giannis, he finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes on the floor as Team LeBron earned the 157-155 win.

 

Seattle U and Kansas City gave fans a little extra excitement on WAC opening night, playing three overtimes before the host Roos were able to break away and earn the 90-86 victory. It was the first triple-overtime game in the WAC since CBU lost at UAPB on Nov. 23, 2018 and the first multiple-overtime game in WAC play since Grand Canyon defeated Chicago State in double overtime on Jan. 28, 2017.

 

UT Rio Grande Valley junior Javon Levi is second in program history in career steals with 188. He is also ranked fifth in UTRGV history in career assists with 486.

 

NM State picked up its first win over an SEC program since Dec. 29, 1994 when it beat Mississippi State on Dec. 22. It was also the first victory for a WAC squad over a Power Six team this season.

 

Seattle U head coach Jim Hayford picked up the 400th win of his career on Nov. 12 against Pacific. He is 404-211 (.657) overall and 44-36 in four years at Seattle U.

 

WAC teams have several key non-conference match-ups this season, including 20 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and eight games against teams that participated in the NIT last season. The complete list is below.

 

Games vs. 2019 NCAA Tournament Teams

Nov. 15 UTRGV vs. North Dakota State

Nov. 16 Seattle U at Syracuse

Nov. 16 Chicago State at Purdue

Nov. 18 Utah Valley at Kentucky

Nov. 19 Seattle U at Ole Miss

Nov. 23 CSU Bakersfield at Gonzaga

Nov. 23 Utah Valley at North Dakota State

Nov. 23 Georgia State at California Baptist

Nov. 25 Chicago State at Florida State

Nov. 26 Utah Valley at Mount Saint Mary's

Dec. 4 Kansas City at Iowa State

Dec. 7 CSU Bakersfield at Ole Miss

Dec. 7 California Baptist at UC Irvine

Dec. 8 Liberty vs. Grand Canyon

Dec. 14 Kansas City at Kansas

Dec. 17 Seattle U at Washington

Dec. 21 UT Rio Grande Valley Texas Tech

Dec. 22 NM State vs. Mississippi State

Dec. 29 CSU Bakersfield at Texas Tech

Dec. 30 Seattle U at Saint Mary's

Dec. 30 UT Rio Grande Valley at Oklahoma

 

In the second year of The Summit League/WAC Challenge, The Summit League won 5-3. The Challenge features head-to-head competition between the teams in both leagues. Utah Valley defeated North Dakota State, Kansas City beat Western Illinois and NM State won at Denver to account for the WAC's three wins.

 

Of the five first team All-WAC players in 2018-19, two return for the 2019-20 season in Milan Acquaah of California Baptist and Terrell Brown of NM State. Three of the second team honorees return in Terrell Brown of Seattle U, AJ Harris of NM State and Carlos Johnson of Grand Canyon.

 

Four of the All-Defensive Team honorees from last year return – Myles Carter of Seattle U, NM State's Harris, UT Rio Grande Valley's Javon Levi and Brandon McKissic of Kansas City. Meanwhile, four of the All-Newcomer Team honorees from a year ago return in Acquaah, Brown, Brown and Johnson. 

 

The 2020 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the 10th year in a row. The tournament will be held March 12-14, and will include all eight eligible teams.

 

ESPN will once again broadcast the WAC men's tournament championship game from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 14. The championship game will be broadcast by ESPNU at 7 p.m. (PT).