This Week In WAC Men's Basketball - Dec. 6
This Week In WAC Men's Basketball - Dec. 6
2022-23 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Dec. 6
SAM HOUSTON ATOP THE INITIAL RELEASE OF THE WAC RESUME SEEDING RANKING
In the first release of the WAC Resume Seeding System for the 2022-23 season, conference leader Sam Houston found itself also at the top of the seeding rankings on Dec. 5. Along with its 7-1 record to land on top of the league standings, the Bearkats had compiled a cumulative 2.15 points to lead the seeding ranking. Other top five teams included Seattle U (second, 1.53 points), Grand Canyon (third, 1.26 points), Tarleton (fourth, 0.34 points) and Utah Tech (fifth, 0.02 points).
GCU ROLLING WITH FOUR STRAIGHT VICTORIES
Grand Canyon continued its winning ways by running its active streak of victories to four, besting Alcorn State 80-72 and taking down Wyoming on the road 66-58 last week. The Lopes are an impressive 5-0 thus far in true home games, scoring 70 or more points in four of their starts in Phoenix. GCU has also fashioned the second-ranked scoring defense in the WAC (57.3 points allowed per game) as of Dec. 6.
A 3-POINT SHOOTING DISPLAY FROM UVU’S DARTHARD
Utah Valley guard Le’Tre Darthard earned WAC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 5 following a 25-point performance against Long Beach State on Dec. 3, which saw Darthard hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 7-of-11 tries from beyond the arc. Darthard’s seven made 3-pointers were the second most tallied by a player in the conference thus far this season, trailing only the eight made threes from Seattle U sharpshooter Cameron Tyson against Portland State on Nov. 13.
BANDAOGO LEADS THE WAY IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Utah Valley center Aziz Bandaogo landed at the top of the WAC double-double standings through his first eight starts of the 2022-23 season. Bandaogo has posted four double-doubles to open the campaign, hitting the 10-rebound mark a total of five times for the Wolverines. The next closest WAC player has three 10-rebound games and two double-doubles, respectively.
THE WAC AGAINST THE CONFERENCES
As expected, WAC teams have taken care of business in matchups against non-Division I opponents, posting a 22-0 record as of games played on Dec. 5. Highlighted records against peer DI conferences to start the season include an 11-3 (.786) combined mark against the Big Sky and a 7-3 (.700) record against the Big West. WAC programs have added wins against members from the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 to date in the 2022-23 season.
20 POINTS A GAME AND UP CLUB
Two players from the WAC were averaging more than 20.0 points per game as of Dec. 5. Seattle U’s Cameron Tyson was first in the conference with a 23.6 points per game clip in five starts, with Southern Utah’s Tevian Jones at 20.3 points per contest in eight contests. Jones remains the WAC leader with five separate 20-point outings, one ahead of UTRGV’s Justin Johnson.
THE WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA DI national statistics rankings that were released on Dec. 4, Sam Houston ranked first nationally with 43.1 bench points per game and in scoring margin (29.2), second in rebound margin (14.9), third in rebounds per game (44.1), fourth in turnover margin (7.6) and fifth in scoring defense (53.2). NM State checked in second in effective field goal percentage (.599). SFA was third in turnovers forced (21.38). Utah Valley ranked fourth in blocked shots per game (6.4). Individually, UTRGV’s Justin Johnson led the country with 72 free throw attempts and NM State’s Deshawndre Washington remained in a tie for the top spot with one triple-double on the year.