2023-24 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Week 13

RED-HOT CBU CLIMBS INTO SECOND PLACE
California Baptist soared into second place in the WAC standings on the strength of five straight wins in league play. The Lancers defeated UTRGV 63-54 on Jan. 25 and Stephen F. Austin 81-79 on Jan. 27 during a road swing through Texas. Dominique Daniels Jr. earned WAC Newcomer of the Week for the second straight week after averaging 19.0 points per contest on the road trip, highlighted by a 29-point outing in the two-point win at Stephen F. Austin.

LOPES EXTEND WAC RESUME SEEDING SYSTEM LEAD
In the latest WAC Résumé Seeding System rankings that were compiled on Jan. 28, Grand Canyon maintained its advantage with 6.61 points and remained at the top of the conference standings at 19-2 overall (9-1 in the WAC). Tarleton State (0.43 points) and Seattle U (0.20 points) were the only other teams with a positive point value in the most recent seeding system rankings. Stephen F. Austin (-0.37 points) and California Baptist (-0.45 points) rounded out the metric’s top five teams.

WACVEGAS WILL BE ON YOUR TV
A total of three games at the 2024 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas will air on linear ESPN networks. The final game of the WAC women’s basketball championship will be shown live on ESPNU at 10:30 a.m. PT on March 16. The 2024 women’s championship contest will mark the first WAC women’s title game to be carried live on linear TV since 2016.
 
The second WAC men’s semifinal on March 15 pitting the winner of Game Four against the tournament’s number two seed will air live on either ESPNU or ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. PT. The WAC has not had a men’s semifinal tournament game available on linear TV since 2011. The 2024 WAC men’s basketball championship game is slotted for March 16 at 8:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2. All additional tournament games at the 2024 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament will be available on ESPN+.

FORD LEADS SOUTHERN UTAH TO PAIR OF ROAD VICTORIES AND WAC POTW
Southern Utah guard Dominique Ford earned his first career WAC Player of the Week honor on Jan. 29 after guiding the Thunderbirds to a pair of conference road victories last weekend. Ford paced the conference with 23.0 points per game across two starts, adding in 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. Ford logged 23 points, four boards and three steals in a triumph at Tarleton State on Jan. 25 and posted 23 points, five rebounds and two steals in a win at Abilene Christian on Jan. 27.

WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
Grand Canyon checked in tied for the national lead in winning percentage (.905), fourth in made free throws per game (19.0) and seventh in free throws attempted per game (25.7) in the latest NCAA Division I national statistics report on Jan. 30. Stephen F. Austin was fourth in turnovers forced per game (17.95) and sixth in bench points per game (36.25). Seattle U was seventh in 3-point defense (.280) and UTRGV was eighth in free throws attempted (25.6) per game.

BACK TO ACTION THIS WEEKEND
A total of 10 WAC conference games are scheduled for the upcoming weekend, with Tarleton State at Abilene Christian on Feb. 1 available via RSN linear television on Space City Home Network. California Baptist puts its five-game winning streak on the line at home against Seattle U on Feb. 3.