United Athletic Conference

The sports world came to a screeching halt on March 12 as leagues and conferences around the country stopped play as a result of the COVID-19 virus. The WAC decision was made as part of a previously scheduled meeting of the league's Board of Directors, who also made the decision to suspend all WAC play until further notice. The board later cancelled the remainder of the spring schedule on March 18. 

 

On March 12, the NCAA canceled the Division I men's and women's 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. Per the NCAA, "This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities."

 

The 2020 All-WAC teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC's nine head coaches. California Baptist's Milan Acquaah headlines the awards, earning WAC Player of the Year honors, while UT Rio Grande Valley's Javon Levi repeated as WAC Defensive Player of the Year. California Baptist's Brandon Boyd was named WAC Newcomer of the Year, Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. earned WAC Freshman of the Year and NM State's Chris Jans was once again named Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year.

 

Acquaah was named WAC Player of the Year after averaging 18.6 points per game in WAC play, also adding 4.9 assists per game against league foes. In conference play, he ranked fourth in free throw percentage (.870), fourth in three-point field goalks made (1.8), fifth in minute played (33.9) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.3). He earned TicketSmarter WAC Player of the Week honors twice this season.

 

Levi earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season after posting 1.9 steals per game in WAC play. He also led the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and assists (7.9) and was ranked fourth in minutes played (34.4).

 

Boyd is the WAC Newcomer of the Year after avveraging 12.9 points per game against WAC foes He also led the league in free throw percentage in league games, making 55-of-59 attempts for a .932 clip.

 

Blacksher earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after leading all freshman in scoring at 10.5 points per game and in rebounding at 5.9 per game. He also ranked sixth in the WAC in assists (3.7) and seventh in steals (1.4). His assist/turnover ratio was 1.9, which was third best in the league among all players.

 

Jans earns WAC Coach of the Year for the third straight season after leading the Aggies to just the third undefeated season in WAC men's basketball history and the Aggies fifth regular-season title in the last six years. NM State is currently 25-6 overall after going 16-0 in WAC play. The Aggies have a 19-game winning streak and are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25.

 

Four different schools are represented on the first team. Joining Acquaah is NM State duo Ivan Aurrecoechea and Jabari Rice, Seattle U's Terrell Brown and UT Rio Grande Valley's Lesley Varner II.

 

The All-WAC second teamers are UTRGV's Levi, California Baptist's De'jon Davis, Grand Canyon's Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever and NM State's Trevelin Queen.

 

The All-Defensive Team is made up of Levi, Davis, NM State's Terrell Brown, Kansas City's Brandon McKissic and CSU Bakersfield's Taze Moore. 

 

The All-Newcomer Team consists of Boyd, CSU Bakersfield's Cam Allen, Utah Valley's Brandon Averette, Grand Canyon's Mikey Dixon and NM State's Evan Gilyard.

 

 

California Baptist leads the WAC in scoring (79.5), free throw percentage (.786), field goal defense (.418), three-point field goal percentage (.380), rebounding offense (41.0), defensive rebounds (29.4) and three-pointers made (9.9). Regular season champion NM State is also on top in scoring defense (59.7), scoring margin (+11.7), rebounding defense (27.2) and rebounding margin (+8.0). Kansas City is the leader in field goal percentage (.458) and three-point defense (.297) while UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in assists (15.0), steals (8.4), turnover margin (+4.93), assist/turnover ratio (1.2). Utah Valley is the blocked shots leader (5.2) while CSU Bakersfield is the top offensive rebounding team (12.8).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Terrell Brown is the scoring leader at 20.7 points per game. CBU's De'jon Davis holds the top spot in rebounding at 9.7 and his 2.8 offensive rebounds per game and 6.9 defensive rebounds per game are also WAC bests. NM State's Ivan Aurrecoechea is the leader in field goal percentage (.579), SU's Morgan Means has the top free throw percentage (.882) and CBU's Ferron Flavors Jr. holds the top three-point shooting percentage (.439) and leads the league in three-pointers per game (3.0). UTRGV's Javon Levi leads the league in assists (7.9), steals (2.4) and assist/turnover ratio (2.9).UVU's Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the league in blocked shots a 2.7 per game.

 

In WAC-only play, Seattle U led the league in scoring at 79.6 points per game, The Redhawks also held the top spot in turnover mrgin (+5.43). NM State is the leader in scoring defense (59.8), scoring margin (+14.1), field goal percentage (.470), three-point field goal percentage (.379), rebounding defense (25.7), rebounding margin (+8.9), assists (15.3), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and three-pointers made (9.5). California Baptist had the top free throw percentage (.804) with the Lancers also holding the lead in rebounding offense (38.4) and defensive rebounds (27.3). CSU Bakersfield had the top field goal defense (.412) and held the lead in offensive rebounds (12.0) while Kansas City was the leader in three-point defense (.295). Utah Valley was the blocked shots leader (4.7) while UT Rio Grande Valley was the steals leader (7.7).

 

Individually, SU's Brown was the scoring leader at 21.0 ppg. CBU's Davis had a league-best 9.9 rebounds per game to go with WAC-bests in offensive rebounds (2.8) and defensive rebounds (7.1). NM State's Johnny McCants had the top field goal percentage (.588), CBU's Brnadon Boyd had the top free throw percentage (.932) and teammate Bul Kuol had the top three-point field goal percentage while fellow Lancer Flavors was the leader in three-pointers per game (2.6). UTRGV's Levi was the leader in assists (7.9) and assist/turnover ratio (2.7) while SU's Brown had the lead in steals (2.0). UVU's Olojakpoke was the blocked shots leader (2.6).

 

A quartet of WAC players were named All-Distict 6 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and NM State's Chris Jans was named District 6 Coach of the Year. Seattle U's Terrell Brown and California Baptist's Milan Acquaah were first team selections while NM State duo Trevelin Queen and Ivan Aurrecoechea earned second team honors.

 

NM State's Trevelin Queen was the WAC's lone representative on the USBWA All-District VIII First Team. The Aggies' leading scorer averaged 13.2 points per game, including three 20+ point performances.

 

Three-time NCAA tournament head coach and March Madness legend Bryce Drew has been selected by Grand Canyon University to serve as its new men's basketball head coach. He becomes GCU's 14th head coach in a role he has served successfully at his alma mater, Valparaiso, and at Vanderbilt, where he qualified for his third NCAA tournament visit as a head coach in 2017. Drew enters GCU with a career coaching record of 164-108 (.603), including a program-record season of 30 wins in his final year at Valparaiso.

 

 

With a win over California Baptist, the NM State Aggies completed just the third perfect season in WAC men's basketball history, joining TCU in 1997-98 (14-0) and Utah in 1998-99 (14-0).

 

NM State used a home win over California Baptist to push their record-setting WAC win streak to 31 straight games. The Aggies used a win over Seattle U on Jan. 18 to move past Utah, who won 19 straight from 1998-99. NM State also is second to Dayton for the longest win streak in the nation at 19 games.