ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington men's basketball team will face a stern test to conclude a three-game homestand when the Mavericks welcome Nevada to the College Park Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday.
The game is presented by American Campus Communities and will be a WHITEOUT with the first 500 UTA students receiving a free WHITEOUT shirt. Additionally, one student will have a chance to win $10,000, with other prizes including a $500 UTA Bookstore shopping spree and a 50-inch TV.
BuzzBallz – the original to-go cocktail – will also have complimentary sampling for those of age, and Takis will be handing out free bags to fans at the conclusion of the game.
OPENING TIP(s)
- This will be the long-awaited return of Nevada to complete a home-and-home series that began in Reno during the 2019-20 season (80-73 Wolf Pack win). After the 2020-21 meeting was delayed by COVID, the new date last December also was canceled due to COVID protocols within the Wolf Pack program.
- Incredibly – but understandably with the transfer portal – there is only one current player combined on UTA's and Nevada's rosters who was on either team for the meeting back in 2019, and that's the Wolf Pack's K.J. Hymes who scored two points and grabbed five rebounds in 17 minutes.
- UTA will be looking to start a season 3-1 for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. The Mavericks reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Final that year, finishing 2nd in the league after being picked in the preseason 11th – the same exact prediction by Western Athletic Conference coaches this season for UTA.
- UTA ranks in the top-20 nationally in each of the following per-game stat categories: bench points (2nd, 49); offensive rebounds (4th, 18.7); free throw attempts (7th, 30); free throws made (11th, 20.3), rebounds (11th, 47), turnover margin (19th, 7.7) and steals (20th, 12).
TWEETABLES
1) The Mavs have scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the 10th time in program history. Five of those occurrences came between 1990-92, and the last time UTA did it was in 2020 on Dec. 17 and 22 against Dallas Christian (109) and Howard Payne (117).
2) The only time in program history UTA has scored 100+ in three-straight games came between Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 1990, when the Mavs tallied a school-record 154 against Huston-Tillotson, 113 versus Southeastern Louisiana and 117 opposite Nicholls.
3) UTA has utilized three different starting lineups in as many games to start the year, and has already had eight different double-figure scorers with two other players (
Pedro Castro,
Kyron Gibson) having tallied nine in a game.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
- UTA will be the third different WAC school already this year that Nevada will play. The Wolf Pack has already defeated Utah Tech (84-71) and Grand Canyon (59-46) at home. The Trailblazers were picked behind the Mavs in the WAC Preseason Poll at 12th, but GCU was installed the WAC preseason favorites. Nevada will play one more WAC team this year when Sam Houston (picked 8th) visits Reno on Nov. 28.
- The Wolf Pack were picked to finish 9th in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll. However, Nevada has a long history of success with nine all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, 22 conference championships, 16 NBA Draft picks and six All-Americans.
- Oregon State transfer Jarod Lucas leads a quartet of Nevada double-figure scorers through three games at 15 per outing, while FAU transfer Kenan Blackshear averages 13.7, Texas transfer Will Baker is at 11 and Nick Davidson 10.3.
- Blackshear ranks 11th nationally in assists per game at 7.3, and is coming off a 12-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against NAIA member William Jessup on Tuesday night. It represented the first triple-double by a Nevada player in 43 years.
- Darrion Williams was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week on Monday. He's averaging 9.3 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds this year while also shooting 63 percent from the floor.
- Nevada ranks 12th nationally by only committing nine turnovers per game, is 14th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93) and checks in at 18th in free throws made per contest (19.3).
AMONG THE NATION'S LEADERS
In addition to its overall ranking in the national standings in several key categories, UTA has several single-game performances which register among the best of any team in the country so far this year:
- 2nd – Free Throws Attempted: 48 vs. Southwestern
- Leader – Denver: 49 vs. Colorado College
- T-5th – Steals: 19 vs. Southwestern
- T-7th – Field Goals Attempted: 83 vs. Hardin-Simmons
- Leader – UT Martin: 89 vs. Champion Christian
- T-9th – Free Throws Made: 30 vs. Southwestern
- Leader – Appalachian State: 39 vs. Warren Wilson
- T-13th – Rebounds: 59 vs. Hardin-Simmons
- Leader – Sam Houston: 70 vs. LeTourneau
UTA's 59 rebounds on Tuesday represented the most in any game for the Mavs since at least the 2009-10 season. The Mavs finished with a +28 margin on the glass – the 10th-greatest rebound margin in a game in program history.
In that same timeframe (since 2009-10), the 83 field goal attempts are the 2nd most in any UTA game, bested only by 87 versus Howard Payne in 2020.
INSIDE THE DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS
Two years ago, UTA tied for the national lead by having 13 different players score double-figure points in a game. Last season, the Mavs had 12 different double-figure scorers – tied for the 3rd-most in the nation. So far this year, UTA already has eight different double-figure scorers in just three games, with two more (
Pedro Castro and
Kyron Gibson) each having nine-point performances.
Below is a list of those double-figure players, their respective season highs and how many times they have led UTA in scoring:
Chendall Weaver: 20 (1x)
Taj Anderson: 19 (1x)
Aaron Cash: 18
Marion Humphrey: 17 (1x – Includes A Tie)
Brandon Walker: 17 (1x – Includes A Tie)
Shemar Wilson: 12
Dario Domingos: 12
Brandyn Talbot: 11
WHAT'S LOST/BACK
UTA returns just four players from last year's roster (games started):
Pedro Castro (9),
Montez Young Jr. (5),
Shemar Wilson (4) and
Brandyn Talbot (3). Castro started the first nine games of the year before suffering a season-ending back injury which required surgery.
The Mavs welcome 10 newcomers to this year's roster, with all four academic classifications represented: freshman (4), sophomore (2), junior (3), senior (1).
With such a large roster turnover, UTA brings back 25 percent or less of its points, rebounds, assists and blocks from last season:
- Points: 19% (367 of 1,948)
- Rebounds: 25% (263 of 1,067)
- Assists: 15% (60 of 405)
- Blocks: 16% (21 of 123)
CHALLENGING THEMSELVES
UTA is one of only three schools in the nation which have finished with a top-40 NET non-conference strength of schedule in each of the past three seasons, joining Central Arkansas and Texas Southern.
UTA
2019-20: 3rd
2020-21: 37th
2021-22: 13th
Central Arkansas
2019-20: 6th
2020-21: 9th
2021-22: 27th
Texas Southern
2019-20: 2nd
2020-21: 25th
2021-22: 16th
Yet again this year, the Mavs are poised to finish with likely one of the country's most-challenging non-league schedules. Based off last year's final NET rankings, UTA has the 4th-hardest non-conference slate in the nation (average NET opponent ranking):
1) Nicholls (47)
2) Saint Mary's (72)
3) Seton Hall (83)
4) UT Arlington (88)
5) Alabama (92)
PRESEASON INFO
After spending the previous nine seasons (2013-22) as a Sun Belt Conference member, UT Arlington officially joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2022. UTA was a member of the WAC for one year previously in 2012-13 following 48 years in the Southland Conference (1963-2012) – of which it was a founding member.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, UTA boasts the 3rd-best average annual NET/RPI ranking of all current WAC members at #146. New Mexico State (#83) leads the pack, followed by Grand Canyon (#138). With a final ranking of #40 in 2016-17, UTA is responsible for the best single-year NET/RPI by any current WAC school over the past seven seasons. Additionally – in that same timeframe – UTA, NMSU and Sam Houston are the only WAC institutions without a single season NET/RPI above #250.
UTA was picked by the WAC coaches to finish in 11th place in the league this year. The last time the Mavs were tabbed for an 11th-place finish in the preseason polls came in advance of the 2018-19 season when UTA faced similar roster turnover.
Instead of finishing 2nd-to-last that year, UTA tied for 2nd in the Sun Belt with a 12-6 league record, earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and advanced to the Sun Belt Tournament Final.
The nine-spot improvement from preseason to final regular-season finish in 2018-19 was tied for the best in the nation along with Siena, which was picked 11th in the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and finished in a four-way tie for 2nd.
NEUTRAL-SITE ACTION
UTA is scheduled to play four regular-season neutral-site games this year, three of which will take place as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., just a few miles south of where Hurricane Ian made landfall outside Fort Myers. The other will be another edition of the UTA-Texas State rivalry as the former Sun Belt foes will square off for the 79th time at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
The four neutral-site contests will be tied for the most UTA has ever played in a regular season:
2005-06
BCA Classic – Seattle, Wash. (3 Games)
Lobo Invitational – Albuquerque, N.M. (1 Game)
1993-94
River City Classic – Cape Giradeau, Mo. (1 Game)
Big Island Invite – Hilo, Hawaii (3 Games)
1986-87
Running Joe Classic – Jonesboro, Ark. (1 Game)
Holiday Classic – Edinburg, Texas (2 Games)
Heritage Classic – Des Moines, Iowa (1 Game)
BY THE NUMBERS
6: UTA set a single-season program record by having six games go to overtime in 2021-22 – just two shy of tying the all-time NCAA record.
9: All 10 of UTA's Sun Belt Conference losses last year came by 10 points or less, and only by an average margin of 5.6 points. Nine of those setbacks in league play were by single digits, representing the most in a single season in program history.
10: UTA is just 10 wins shy of 800 all-time victories in program history (790-984). The Mavs are in their 64th season, with UTA's inaugural campaign taking place in 1959-60.
19: The Mavs recorded 19 steals against Southwestern on Nov. 12, which tied for the 3rd most in single-game program lore (22 versus University of Dallas in 1990 and 21 against Huston-Tillotson in 1991).
Marion Humphrey was responsible for six of those thefts, equaling the 10th-highest total by a UTA player in a single game.
30: UTA went 30-48 from the free-throw line versus Southwestern on Nov. 12, with the 48 attempts tying for the 5th most in program history.
94: During its nine years in the Sun Belt, UTA accumulated 94 conference wins. Only Georgia State (107) and Louisiana (98) had more league victories in that timeframe than the Mavs.
BACK TO THE WAC
In its lone previous campaign in the WAC in 2012-13, UTA went 11-7 in the league to tie for 4th in the regular-season standings before reaching the WAC Tournament Final and falling to New Mexico State, 64-55, in the championship game.
New Mexico State, UTA and Seattle U are the only three current WAC schools that were also members of the league in 2012-13.
2012-13 WAC Membership (Current Affiliation)
Denver (Summit)
Idaho (Big Sky)
Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)
New Mexico State
San Jose State (Mountain West)
Seattle U
Texas State (Sun Belt)
Utah State (Mountain West)
UT Arlington
UTSA (Conference USA)
2022-23 WAC Membership
Abilene Christian
California Baptist
Grand Canyon
New Mexico State
Sam Houston
Seattle U
Southern Utah
Stephen F. Austin
Tarleton
UT Arlington
UT Rio Grande Valley
Utah Tech
Utah Valley
Last year, the WAC ranked as the 15th-best men's basketball conference in the country (out of 32) – two spots ahead of the Sun Belt (17th).
In men's basketball, the WAC has sent at least two teams to the NCAA Tournament in 28 of the past 46 seasons. In an effort to continue enhancing its at-large prospects and protecting top seeds in March, a résumé-seeding system will be used to determine how teams are placed at this year's WAC Tournament (men and women).
An algorithm will rate performance against all D-I teams faced in the regular season, not just conference play. That will rank teams for the conference postseason tournament. Using this résumé-seeding system, teams will receive more credit for scheduling and playing stronger opponents than weaker ones. This should help the WAC have higher NET rankings, a key-criteria used by the NCAA basketball selection committees.
WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball Drew Speraw worked with Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com to put together the formula. To read more about the system – and to see how teams would have been seeded last year as opposed to straight conference record –
click here.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary during the current 2022-23 academic year, the WAC has officially opened its conference headquarters in the city of Arlington, less than five miles from UTA's campus. It was the first such move for the league in a generation after the WAC had been anchored in Denver for all but a brief stretch of its initial 60 years of existence.
NEXT UP
UTA will head to Florida next week for three games in three games as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, just south of Fort Myers. The Mavs open play on Monday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. Central against Drexel.
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).
