United Athletic Conference

Hoping for a full week of action, the schedule gets underway on Monday evening with a rescheduled game between UT Rio Grande Vallley and Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. Five games are scheduled for Thursday with NM State visiting Lamar, Stephen F. Austin battling Abilene Christian, Sam Houston traveling to Tarleton, Seattle U playing at Chicago State and Grand Canyon visiting UT Rio Grande Valley. On Saturday, Chicago State hosts California Baptist, Grand Canyon goes to Lamar, Dixie State heads up to Utah Valley, Sam Houston takes on Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin makes the trip to Tarleton and NM State takes on UT Rio Grande Valley.

 

Abilene Christian's Cameron Steele has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week and Chicago State's Ali Abdou Dibba has been named TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week for December 27 through January 2.

 

Steele, a sophomore forward from Excelsior, Minn., helped the Wildcats open WAC play with a pair of wins in Utah. On Thursday, he put up 17 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals as ACU earned an 80-76 win against Utah Valley. Two days later, he followed that up with 23 points and 10 rebounds, also adding an assist, steal and block, as the Wildcats defeated Dixie State, 64-50.

 

Abdou Dibba, a guard from Stockholm, Sweden, had quite the collegiate debut for the Cougars on Thursday at Grand Canyon. He finished with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, also going 8-for-11 on free throws in the Cougars' 80-63 loss. In addition to his scoring, he added seven rebounds and a pair of steals for CSU.

 

Other nominees included: California Baptist's Tre Armstrong scored a season-high 20 points, including six three-pointers, in a 96-41win over La Verne … Chicago State's Jahsean Corbett averaged 16.5 ppg on the road, adding 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in losses at WAC-favorites Grand Canyon and NM State … Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr. set a career-high with five three-pointers, finishing with 24 points, as the Lopes opened up WAC play with an 80-63 win over Chicago State … Lamar's Lincoln Smith finished with 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the short-handed Cardinals' 75-64 loss at Sam Houston … NM State's Sir'jabari Rice finished one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 15 points and bringing down nine rebounds in a 78-61 win over Chicago State … Sam Houston's Savion Flagg scored 22 points, adding five rebounds and three assists, in a 75-64 win over visiting Lamar … Tarleton's Freddy Hicks averaged 20.5 ppg on the road as the Texans earned an 83-69 win at Dixie State before falling, 77-55, at Utah Valley … Utah Valley's Blaze Nield scored a career-high 27 points, adding 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Wolverines dropped a tight one to Abilene Christian, 80-76.

 

Other freshman nominees included: California Baptist's Te'Jon Sawyer logged his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-41 win over La Verne … Lamar's Brock McClure scored 10 points and brought down seven rebounds as the short-handed Cardinals fell at Sam Houston, 75-64 … NM State's Marchelus Avery had another solid game for the Aggies, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and bringing down three rebounds to go with a pair of steals and a pair of assists in a 78-61 win over Chicago State … Tarleton's Noah McDavid scored 17 points in the Texans' WAC-opening win at Dixie State, shooting 5-for-12 from the field with four three-pointers made.

 

Abilene Christian leads the WAC in scoring offense (82.4), scoring margin (21.4), steals (12.5) and turnover margin (10.69). Grand Canyon is tops in scoring defense (58.2), field goal defense (.375), three-point defense (.256), rebounding offense (43.5) and rebounding margin (+10.4). Tarleton leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.747) while Stephen F. Austin is the leader in field goal percentage (.488) and three-point FG percentage (.377). Utah Valley holds the lead in blocked shots (4.9) and California Baptist is the leader in both assists (19.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.5). NM State is the leader in rebounding defense (31.9) and Seattle U is averaging a WAC-best 10.5 three-pointers per game.

 

Individually, UVU's Fardaws Aimaq is the leader in scoring (19.6), rebounding (13.6), blocked shots (1.8), offensive rebounds (3.2) and defensive rebounds (10.4). CBU's Daniel Akin holds the top field goal percentage (.732), NMSU's Teddy Allen has the best free throw percentage (.906) and SU's Rip Economou is the leader in 3FG shooting percentage (.543). CBU's Taran Armstrong holds the lead in assists (7.5) while ACU's Damien Daniels is the leader in assist/turnover ratio (2.8) and SU's Darrion Trammell is the leader in steals (2.9). SU's Cameron Tyson leads the league in 3FG made (3.7) while UTRGV's Nelson is the leader in minutes played (38.0).

 

Following a vote of athletic directors, the Western Athletic Conference has adjusted its game cancelation policy to balance the health and safety of coaches, student-athletes, staff and officials as well as protect the integrity of the conference schedule.

 

The minimum number of participants for conference play has been set at seven Covid-eligible student-athletes and one Covid-eligible coach. If a team meets the requirement, they will be expected to compete in the contest.

 

In addition, the WAC has determined that if a game is canceled for Covid-related reasons, administrators from the impacted institutions will work collaboratively to find a mutually agreeable date to reschedule. If they are unable to find a date, the game will be considered a no-contest.

 

Following the national trend, the WAC has seen a number of postponements due to Covid-19 policies. Below is a list of games that have been rescheduled for later this season:

 

Dec. 30 -NM State at Seattle U - Feb. 21

Dec. 30 - UTRGV at Stephen F. Austin - Jan. 11

Jan. 1 - Seattle U at California Baptist - Jan. 17

Jan. 1 - UTRGV at Sam Houston - Jan. 3

Jan. 1 - Lamar at Stephen F. Austin - Jan. 17

 

While the focus now is on league play, the WAC has its top non-conference winning percentage since the 2011-12 season. This year, the WAC is 94-69 (.577) against other conferences. In 2011-12, the WAC was 94-65 (.591) against other foes.

 

ESPN has announced the WAC men's basketball game between Tarleton and Grand Canyon on Jan. 15 at GCU Arena in Phoenix has been selected to air on ESPNU and tip has been moved to 7 p.m. MT to accommodate the broadcast. 

 

The nationally-televised game is part of the WAC's broadcast partnership with ESPNU. All other home men's and women's basketball games throughout the WAC are available on ESPN+.

 

California Baptist's Taran Armstrong recorded the WAC's first triple-double of the season on Nov. 18 against San José State, scoring 16 points to go with 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 67-66 win.

 

Utah Valley redshirt sophomore center Fardaws Aimaq was named the Lute Olson National Player of the Week on Nov. 22 against averaging 29.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game in overtime wins at Pepperdine and Long Beach State.

 

Following the resignation of Jim Hayford, Seattle U has named Chris Victor as the interim head coach for the 2021-22 season.

 

NM State is the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball title in 2021-22, while Seattle U's Darrion Trammell was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's 13 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.

 

The Aggies received eight of 13 possible first-place votes and totaled 138 points to earn the top spot. Grand Canyon was second with three first-place votes and 131 total points. WAC newcomer Stephen F. Austin earned another first place vote and 106 points to take third in the preseason poll. Utah Valley was selected fourth while Abilene Christian picked up the final first place vote and 92 total points for fifth. Seattle U was selected sixth, Sam Houston was seventh, California Baptist was eight and Tarleton tied with UT Rio Grande Valley for the ninth spot. Lamar, Dixie State and Chicago State rounded out the poll.

 

Trammell leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining him on the first team is teammate Riley Grigsby, Utah Valley's Fardaws Aimaq, NM State pair Teddy Allen and Jabari Rice, Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr., Stephen F. Austin's Gavin Kensmil and California Baptist's Ty Rowell.

 

Second team selections include Abilene Christian's Damian Daniels, Sam Houston teammates Savion Flagg and Demarkus Lampley, NM State's Johnny McCants and Donnie Tillman, Tarleton's Montre' Gipson, Stephen F. Austin's Roti Ware and Utah Valley's Trey Woodbury.

 

The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball media have selected NM State as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown during the 2020-21 season and Utah Valley post Fardaws Aimaq as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

 

The Aggies edged out WAC-newcomer Stephen F. Austin for the top spot. Defending WAC champion Grand Canyon was selected third, followed by reigning Southland tournament champion Abilene Christian in fourth. Utah Valley is fifth, followed by California Baptist, Sam Houston, Seattle U, Tarleton, Lamar, UT Rio Grande Valley, Dixie State and Chicago State.

 

Aimaq was voted Preseason Player of the Year and is joined on the Preseason All-WAC first team by Grand Canyon's Jovan Blacksher Jr., Tarleton's Montre' Gipson, Stephen F. Austin's Gavin Kensmil, Sam Houston's Demarkus Lampley, NM State's Jabari Rice, California Baptist's Ty Rowell and Seattle U's Darrion Trammell. 

 

The Preseason All-WAC second team is comprised of NM State pair Teddy Allen and Johnny McCants, Abilene Christian duo Coryon Mason and Reggie Miller, California Baptist's Reed Nottage, Stephen F. Austin's Roti Ware, Utah Valley's Trey Woodbury and Grand Canyon's Holland Woods II.

 

Four of the top five scorers in the WAC return this season with Seattle U's Darrion Trammell leading the way after leading the league with 20.5 points per game. SU's Riley Grigsby (17.8), UVU's Trey Woodbury (15.6) and CBU's Ty Rowell (15.3) also return. SFA's Gavin Kensmil also returns after ranking fifth in the Southland last season at 15.9 ppg.

 

Two of the top five rebounders also return, led by UVU's Fardaws Aimaq, who led the league last season with 15.0 rpg. SU's Emeka Udenyi ranked fourth at 8.0 while SFA's Kensmil ranked fifth in the SLC at 7.1.

 

Udenyi also ranked second in the WAC in shooting percentage at .620 and will join Tarleton's Montre' Gipson (.549) and CBU's Elijah Thomas (.544) as returning. Of the new schools, SFA's Kensmil led the Southland last year at .632

 

CBU's Rowell led the WAC last season in assists (5.8) and returns for another year at CBU. GCU's Jovan Blacksher Jr. was second (5.4), SU's Trammell was third (5.3) and UVU's Woodbury was fourth (3.8). The WAC will also feature three of the Southland top guards as SFA's David Kachelries was third (4.4), ACU's Reggie Miller was fourth (4.4) and LU's Kasen Harrison was fifth (4.0). 

 

All five of the leaders in steals return this year. SU's Trammel led the WAC at 2.0 and will be joined by TAR's Shamir Bogues (1.9), DSU's Cameron Gooden (1.7), TAR's Shakur Daniel (1.6) and GCU's Blacksher Jr. (1.5). Four of the top five leaders in steals from the Southland will also be in the WAC, led by ACU's Damien Daniels (2.0), ACU's Miller (1.9), SFA's Roti Ware (1.9) and SHSU's Donte Powers (1.5)

 

Two of the top five shot blockers return, led by UVU's Aimaq (1.7) and SU's Kobe Williamson (1.2). SHSU's Tristan Ikpe also returns after averageing 1.1 blocks per game in the Southland.

 

Of the five first team All-WAC players in 2020-21, three return as UVU's Fardaws Aimaq, CBU's Ty Rowell and SU's Darrion Trammell are back. Of the second-team selections, GCU's Jovan Blacksher Jr., SU's Riley Grigsby and NMSU's Jabari Rice are all back.

 

Aimaq is the only member of the All-Defesnsive team to return while he is one of three members of the All-Newcomer team that are back, joining TAR's Montre' Gipson and SU's Trammell.

 

From the Southland, SFA's Gavin Kensmil and SHSU's Demarkus Lampley were first team selections last season. SFA's Roti Ware and ACU's Coryon Mason also returns for their teams after earning SLC Third-Team honors last season. From the Southland All-Demensive Team, ACU trio Damien Daniels, Reggie Miller and Mason all return.

 

The UTRGV men's basketball team is dedicating the 2021-22 season to the memory of former head coach Lew Hill, who passed away tragically on Feb. 7 at the age of 55. As part of the dedication, UTRGV men's basketball head coach Matt Figger plans to leave the first seat on the bench open for Hill. The entire team will wear shooting shirts during warmups with the number three, which Coach Hill wore in college, on the front and "Lew Hill" on the back. Additionally, UTRGV Athletics is planning a Lew Hill Tribute night on Feb. 2 when UTRGV hosts Lamar at 7 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

 

Both Seattle U and Tarleton return all five starters from last season. California Baptist, Dixie State, NM State, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin all return four starters. Seattle U also leads the WAC with 13 letterwinners returning while Abilene Christian, California Baptist and Dixie State each return 10 players. 

 

The WAC returns to #WACVegas next March for an expanded WAC tournament. The 10-team tournament will begin on Tuesday, March 8 with a pair of games at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay. The remainder of the tournament then moves back to Orleans Arena beginning on Wednesday with the championship game set for 7 p.m. MT on the ESPN family of networks.

 

The WAC has 20 non-conference games with 2021 NCAA Tournament participants and could add up to two more depending on MTE results in November. The WAC will also have five games, with a possibility of a sixth, against 2021 NIT participants. This is all on top of in-conference games with both Abilene Christian and Grand Canyon.

 

Nov. 9 Dixie State at Gonzaga 6 p.m. PT

Nov. 12 Tarleton at Kansas 7 p.m. CT

Nov. 15 Lamar at Georgia Tech 7:30 p.m. ET

Nov. 16 Chicago State at Loyola Chicago 7 p.m. CT

Nov. 19 NM State vs. Utah State TBA ET

Nov. 20 Chicago State at UC Santa Barbara 1 p.m. PT

Nov. 22 Dixie State at Southern California 8 p.m. PT

Nov. 24 Tarleton at Michigan 7 p.m. ET

Nov. 24 California Baptist at Texas 7:30 p.m. CT

Nov. 26 UT Rio Grande Valley at Illinois TBA CT

Nov. 27 Lamar at Texas Tech TBA CT

Nov. 29 Tarleton at Gonzaga 7 p.m. PT

Nov. 29 Sam Houston at Texas 7:30 p.m. CT

Dec. 1 Brigham Young at Utah Valley 7 p.m. MT

Dec. 3 UT Rio Grande Valley at Texas 7:30 p.m. CT

Dec. 11 Drexel at Abilene Christian 6 p.m. CT

Dec. 11 Stephen F. Austin vs. Liberty 7 p.m. CT

Dec. 14 Texas Southern at UT Rio Grande Valley 7:30 p.m. CT

Dec. 14 Sam Houston at North Texas TBA CT

Dec. 18 Stephen F. Austin at Kansas 7 p.m. CT

Dec. 19 Chicago State at Drake 2 p.m. CT

 

Nov. 9 Utah Valley at Boise State TBA MT

Nov. 18 NM State vs. Davidson noon ET

Nov. 23 Stephen F. Austin vs. Buffalo 6 p.m. ET

Nov. 24 Sam Houston at SMU 7 p.m. CT

Nov. 24 Stephen F. Austin vs. Saint Louis TBD ET

Dec. 2 Lamar at Mississippi State 7 p.m. CT

 

As part of an expanded multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement announced on Aug. 24, all home men's and women's basketball games in the WAC for the next four years will reside on ESPN platforms. In addition, all home football games, as well as other select events, will be housed on ESPN digital platforms.

 

The WAC will expand yet again on July 1, 2022 as both University of the Incarnate Word and Southern Utah University join the party. The Cardinals are currently members of the Southland Conference and the Thunderbirds are currently members of the Big Sky Conference.