2023-24 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Week 12

SEATTLE U SNAPS GCU’S 14-GAME WINNING STREAK
Seattle U ended Grand Canyon’s 14-game winning streak across all competitions, outscoring the Lopes 44-35 in the second half on the way to an 86-79 Redhawk victory on Jan. 20 at the Redhawk Center. Seattle U shot a blistering 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half against GCU, limiting the Lopes to just a 31 percent (9-of-29) shooting effort over the final 20 minutes to snap one of the nation’s longest active win streaks. Cameron Tyson led the way for Seattle U with 25 points, including 5-of-8 made 3-pointers, to go along with four rebounds.

LOPES REMAIN IN FRONT IN THE WAC RESUME SEEDING SYSTEM
In the latest WAC Résumé Seeding System rankings that were compiled on Jan. 23, Grand Canyon maintained its advantage with 5.34 points by remaining at the top of the conference standings. Tarleton State (1.02 points) and Stephen F. Austin (0.45 points) were the only other teams with a positive point value in the most recent seeding system rankings. Seattle U (-0.28 points) and UT Arlington (-1.21 points) rounded out the metric’s top five teams.

WATCH THE WAC ON LINEAR TV
The WAC announced on Jan. 19 that four additional men’s basketball linear television broadcasts would be carried on regional sports network (RSN) affiliates during the second half of the 2023-24 conference schedule. California Baptist at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. (CT), Tarleton State at Abilene Christian on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (CT), Southern Utah at Utah Tech on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. MT and UT Arlington at UTRGV on Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT will be available regionally on Space City Home Network and on Cox Cable Regional Sports (Arizona, California).

A marquee WAC men’s basketball conference matchup is expected to air on an ESPN linear network, as Grand Canyon will welcome Stephen F. Austin to Phoenix on March 2 on ESPNU. GCU previously competed on the ESPN networks at home against San Diego State on Dec. 5 (ESPNU) and at Liberty on Dec. 9 (ESPNU) in nonconference play.
 
WAC teams also appeared on the CBS Sports Network (Grand Canyon vs. San Francisco and DePaul/South Carolina, Nov. 17 and 19 at the Arizona Tip-Off in Glendale, Ariz.), the Longhorn Network (UT Arlington at Texas, Jan. 1), the Pac-12 Networks (UT Arlington at Arizona, Nov. 19 on Pac-12 Arizona; Utah Tech at Washington State, Nov. 24 on Pac-12 Washington; Southern Utah at Utah, Dec. 5 on Pac-12 Mountain; Utah Valley at Oregon State, Dec. 9 on Pac-12 Oregon; California Baptist at Oregon, Dec. 12 on Pac-12 Oregon; Utah Valley at Utah, Dec. 16 on Pac-12 Mountain; Utah Tech at Colorado, Dec. 21 on Pac-12 Mountain), and the SEC Network (Abilene Christian at Arkansas, Dec. 21) earlier this season.

WATCH OUT FOR CBU
After winning three consecutive games in conference, California Baptist has climbed to fourth in the latest WAC standings with a 4-3 mark in league contests. The Lancers have registered consecutive home victories against Tarleton State (77-63 on Jan. 11), Abilene Christian (68-53 on Jan. 13) and Southern Utah (83-76 on Jan. 20) during the current streak. Dominique Daniels Jr. captured WAC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 22 after scoring a conference season-high 39 points to pace CBU in the Southern Utah win.

UTA’S WILSON THE SOLO LEADER IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
UT Arlington forward Shemar Wilson took over the individual conference lead in double-doubles following a pair of standout performances for the Mavs last week. Wilson tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds against UTRGV on Jan. 18 and chipped in 11 points and 12 boards at Abilene Christian on Jan. 20 to increase his season double-double total to seven over 19 total starts.

WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
Grand Canyon checked in third in the country in winning percentage (.895) and eighth in made free throws per game (18.5) in the latest NCAA Division I national statistics report on Jan. 23. Stephen F. Austin was third in bench points per game (37.61) and dropped one spot to fourth in turnovers forced per game (18.28). UTRGV was sixth in free throws attempted (26.3) per game.

TOP TEAMS IN THE STANDINGS SET TO MEET ON THURSDAY
Stephen F. Austin welcomes first place Grand Canyon on Jan. 25 for a 6:30 p.m. CT scheduled tip in Nacogdoches. The Lopes finish their swing through Texas with a matinee at UT Arlington on Jan. 27, while SFA also plays host to red-hot California Baptist on Saturday.