2023-24 WAC Men's Baskeball Release - Week 17

TARLETON STATE MAKES A LATE PUSH FOR THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE
A winner of eight straight games in conference play, Tarleton State has closed the gap in the WAC standings behind leader Grand Canyon following another weekend sweep by the Texans. Tarleton erased a double-digit home deficit in the second half to defeat GCU 77-74 on Feb. 22 and followed up the performance with an 82-65 win against California Baptist on Feb. 24.

GCU REMAINS IN WAC RESUME SEEDING SYSTEM LEAD
In the latest WAC Résumé Seeding System rankings that were compiled on Feb. 25, Grand Canyon saw its advantage narrow to 7.52 points but still leads Tarleton State (3.66 points) in the race for the top tournament seed. Seattle U (1.18 points) was the only other team this week with a positive point value in the most recent seeding system rankings. UT Arlington (-0.96 points) and Utah Valley (-1.49) rounded out the metric’s top five teams.

SEATTLE U OFFICIALLY SECURES TOURNAMENT SLOT
Seattle U officially locked up its berth into the 2024 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas by way of an 84-56 win over UTRGV on Feb. 24 in Seattle. The Redhawks have won six of the past seven games to climb into outright third place in the WAC conference and Résumé Seeding System standings. Seattle U standout guard Cameron Tyson surpassed the 2,000-point plateau for his collegiate career during the matchup with UTRGV, collecting a total of 21 points on five made 3-point field goals on the night during the Redhawk victory.

UTA’S DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE GORDON STEAMS ALONG WITH ANOTHER POTW HONOR
UT Arlington guard DaJuan Gordon earned his second straight WAC Player of the Week award and third total honor of the season on Feb. 26, averaging a near double-double of 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in a pair of wins for the Mavs. Gordon registered 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, pulling down nine rebounds (four offensive) while chipping in three steals in a 90-85 win over Southern Utah on Feb. 22. Gordon contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds for his conference-high 11th double-double of the season, which included four steals, in an 89-78 victory against Utah Tech on Feb. 24.

BARNES AN X-FACTOR FOR TARLETON STATE’S RACE TOWARD THE TOP
Tarleton State guard and conference newcomer of the week Devon Barnes was the leading scorer in the WAC last weekend at a 27.5 points per game clip, helping lead the Texans to two of their biggest wins of the season. Barnes scored all 22 of his points in the second half to help spark a 77-74 rally over first place Grand Canyon on Feb. 22 before tallying 33 points, including 24 in the second half of an 82-65 victory at home against California Baptist two days later. The back-to-back performances equaled and then surpassed Barnes’ career highs in scoring at the Division I level.

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+.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT TO JOIN THE WAC TOURNAMENT FIELD?
UT Arlington looks to officially lock up its Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament bid during a difficult road contest at Seattle U to highlight conference action on Feb. 29. The Mavs will then travel to Utah Valley on March 2 for an additional game that could carry imminent tournament clinching implications.