This Week In WAC Men's Basketball - Jan. 3
This Week In WAC Men's Basketball - Jan. 3
SAM HOUSTON EXTENDS LEAD IN WAC RESUME SEEDING RANKING AFTER CONFERENCE OPENING WEEK
In the latest WAC Resume Seeding System ranking on Jan. 1, Sam Houston remained as the top live seed in the WAC after a 11-3 start to the season (1-1 WAC). The Bearkats tallied 3.03 points to place ahead of 11-4 (2-0 WAC) Utah Valley (2.52 points). Other teams with positive point totals were Grand Canyon (10-4, 1-0 WAC; 1.46), Seattle U (10-4, 1-0 WAC; 1.46), Southern Utah (10-5, 2-0 WAC; 0.65) and Utah Tech (9-6, 1-1 WAC; 0.08).
FIVE DIFFERENT TEAMS UNBEATEN AFTER FIRST WEEK OF WAC PLAY
Following the opening week of conference games in the 2022-23 WAC season, five teams posted unbeaten records against league competition. Utah Valley, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah each notched 2-0 marks to kick off the conference slate. Grand Canyon and Seattle U each added a victory to begin the WAC portion of the schedule.
IMPRESSIVE SHOOTING DISPLAY LEADS SOUTHERN UTAH’S JONES TO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Southern Utah guard Tevian Jones was named the WAC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points per game in a 2-0 conference start for the Thunderbirds. Jones hit an impressive 10-of-14 attempts from 3-point range during the opening conference week, a clip of 71.4 percent. Jones tallied 20 points that featured 5-of-7 makes from beyond the arc in a win at NM State on Dec. 28 and added 21 points that included a matching 5-of-7 3-point shooting performance to lead Southern Utah to an overtime win against UTRGV on Dec. 31.
UTRGV’S JOHNSTON THE LATEST 30-POINT SCORER IN THE WAC THIS SEASON
UTRGV guard Will Johnston became the sixth different WAC player to surpass the 30-point plateau in a game this season, tallying 31 points for the Vaqueros in an overtime defeat at Southern Utah. Johnston hit 12-of-23 (.522) shots from the floor and all five of his free throws in the Southern Utah matchup, chipping in four rebounds and a steal for UTRGV. Johnston has now scored 20 or more points five separate times this season, including in four of his past seven starts.
UTAH VALLEY’S WINNING STREAK EXTENDED TO EIGHT
Entering games on Jan. 4, Utah Valley remained the hottest team in the WAC with an eighth consecutive overall win in a 71-60 decision against Utah Tech. The Wolverines have remained unbeaten since Nov. 26, outscoring opponents by an average of nearly 17 points per game during the winning streak. Utah Valley, which owned the ninth longest active winning streak in DI basketball as of Jan. 3, has shot a collective 46.7 percent from the field as a team and has seen three different players (Justin Harmon, 15.1; Trey Woodbury, 14.1; Le’Tre Darthard, 13.4) have averaged double figures in scoring during the surge.
THE WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA DI national statistics rankings that were released on Jan. 2, UTRGV ranked first in the country in team free throws attempted per game (27.0). Sam Houston was at the top of the nation in bench points per game (38.71), third in scoring margin (23.6), and fifth in rebound margin (10.0), turnover margin (6.6) and turnovers forced per game (19.57). Southern Utah checked in second in team scoring offense (89.5 points per game) and fifth in free throws made (18.8). Individually, UTRGV’s Justin Johnson was first in free throw attempts (116), Seattle U’s Cameron Tyson was fourth in made 3-pointers per game (3.92) and Utah Valley’s Aziz Bandaogo was fifth in total blocks (41).