BERKELEY, Calif. – Coming off its biggest win of the season, the UT Arlington men's basketball team will look to keep the momentum going when the Mavericks conclude their regular-season non-conference schedule at California on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 6 p.m. Central (4 local) on the Pac-12 Network.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 13	UT Arlington (5-7) @ California (0-12)
Date | Time	Monday, Dec. 21 | 6 p.m. CST (4 PST)
Location	Berkeley, Calif. | Haas Pavilion (11,858)
Video	Pac-12 Network | Channel Finder
Audio	620 AM | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Cal | WAC

OPENING TIP(s)

• UTA is coming off a massive 68-63 win at San Francisco on Monday night in a game the Mavs never trailed and led by as much as 17. With the victory, UTA accomplished the following:
  • Jumped 45 spots in the NCAA official NET Rankings.
  • Ended USF's 16-game home non-conference winning streak.
  • Picked up its first Quad 2 or better non-conference win since an 89-75 victory at BYU (Quad 1) in November of 2017.
  • Marked the second-straight year with top-100 road conference win in California following last season's 70-62 triumph at UC Santa Barbara.
     
• The win over USF represented the final contest of a four-game stretch for the Mavs against teams that played in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year, and they lost the first three by a combined 13 points: LSU (63-59), North Texas (60-57) and Texas State (71-65). The Dons received an at-large NCAA berth last year, were off to a 9-3 start this season and took down previously undefeated UNLV on the road Saturday.
   
• UTA ranks 4th in the country with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game (Marshall is 1st at 15.5). Individually, Shemar Wilson is 19th nationally with 3.6 offensive rebounds per outing.

TWEETABLES

1) Since the start of the 2012-13 season, UTA is a dominant 7-1 in games played in the state of California; the lone loss was a narrow 68-62 decision at San Diego State last November.
 
2) The Mavs made just four 3-pointers at USF, representing their fewest in a road non-conference win since knocking down three at Grand Canyon during a 66-64 victory in November of 2014.
 
3) UTA committed 18 turnovers against USF – its most in a road non-conference regulation victory since giving the ball away 19 times in a 77-61 win at North Texas in December of 2016.
 
4) UTA does not have a single player averaging double-figure points this year; however, the Mavs have six players averaging between 7.4-9.7 points per game. Additionally, UTA has 10 players who have already reached double-digit points in a game this season.

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This will be the first-ever meeting between UTA and Cal. The Mavericks are 0-7 all-time against current Pac-12 Conference members (three of those losses are to Colorado).
   
• The last Pac-12 foe UTA played was Oregon on Nov. 12, 2019, when the then-#14 Ducks defeated the Mavs, 67-47. Prior to that, UTA hadn't gone up against a Pac-12 school since facing Washington in the 2012 NIT – an 82-72 Huskies' win. The Mavs went 24-9 that year and won the Southland Conference Regular Season Championship with a 15-1 mark in their final season in the league.
   
• The last time UTA defeated a Power 5 member was Nov. 29, 2016, when the Mavs cruised to a 72-61 win at Texas. Nine days later, UTA went to Saint Mary's and easily dispatched of the #12 Gaels, 66-51, for its first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent.
   
• Cal and UTA both have a common opponent this year in Texas State. The Bobcats went to Berkeley and defeated the Bears, 59-55, on Nov. 21, while the Mavs also fell to TXST on Dec. 10 in Fort Worth, 71-65.
   
• The Golden Bears have been plagued by injuries – and most recently illnesses – this season, resulting in a shortened roster. Seven of Cal's 13 scholarship players have missed a combined 41 games, and much of the workload has fallen on former Kentucky and Texas product Devin Askew.
   
• Askew leads the Bears with 16.9 points per game, but left late in the 1st half of Cal's 71-62 loss at Santa Clara on Sunday with an injury and did not return. Lars Thiemann is the only other double-figure scorer for Cal at 12.2 per outing.

OTHER UTA NATIONAL RANKINGS

UTA also ranks in the top 50 nationally in each of the following per-game stat categories: rebounds (20th, 40.6), field goal defense (43rd, 39.3%) and points allowed (48th, 62.6).

BY THE NUMBERS

4: The Mavs posted four top-10 single-game program ranks in their 99-41 win over Howard Payne on Nov. 28: rebound margin (T-1, +36), points allowed (T-5, 41), blocks (T-5, 9), margin of victory (T-7, +58).
 
5: The Mavs have already had five different occasions of a player grabbing 7+ offensive rebounds in a game this year: Shemar Wilson versus Hardin-Simmons (7), Nevada (7), Howard Payne (7) and North Texas (8); Dario Domingos against Northern Kentucky (7).
 
7: UTA is just seven wins shy of 800 all-time victories in program history (793-990). The Mavs are in their 64th season, with UTA's inaugural campaign taking place in 1959-60.
 
8: Against UNT on Dec. 6, Shemar Wilson grabbed eight rebounds, and all of them were offensive. Over the last 6+ seasons – since the start of the 2016-17 campaign – Wilson is now only the seventh Division-I player to secure at least eight offensive rebounds and zero defensive boards in a game.
 
17: In its 60-56 win over Northern Kentucky on Nov. 22, UTA committed 17 turnovers – at the time its most in a victory over a Division-I opponent since the Mavs had 18 in a 75-70 overtime triumph at Cal Poly on Dec. 21, 2018. NKU was installed as the Horizon League preseason favorite, and the Norse had defeated Cincinnati – picked to finish 3rd in the American Athletic Conference – two games prior by 13 points.
 
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.
 
48: 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.
 
49: The Mavs shot 49 percent (25-51) from the floor in a 71-65 loss to Texas State on Dec. 10 – only the fourth time in the last 8+ seasons (since 2014-15) that UTA has shot at least that percentage and lost:

• Nov. 21, 2017: 51.7% @ Alabama (77-76)
• Jan. 4, 2020: 50% @ Little Rock (92-89)
• Feb. 10, 2022: 50% @ ULM (74-71)

100: The Mavs scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the 10th time in program history with 103 on Nov. 12 against Southwestern and 100 versus Hardin-Simmons on Nov. 15. Five of the all-time 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).

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST PERFORMANCES

In addition to its overall national rankings, UTA has numerous single-game performances which register among the best of any team in the country so far this year:

• 4th – Free Throws Attempted: 48 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – Two Teams: 51
     
• T-7th – Rebounds: 63 vs. Howard Payne
  • Leader – Sam Houston: 70 vs. LeTourneau
     
• T-12th – Steals: 19 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – Four Teams: 24
     
• T-16th – Field Goals Attempted: 83 vs. Hardin-Simmons
  • Leader – Eastern Kentucky: 93 vs. Boyce
     
• T-17th – Free Throws Made: 30 vs. Southwestern
  • Leader – Southern Utah: 42 vs. Northern Arizona

UTA's 63 rebounds on Nov. 28 against Howard Payne represented the most in any game for the Mavs since at least the 2009-10 season. In that same timeframe, the 83 field goal attempts against Hardin-Simmons were 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 10 different double-figure scorers.
 
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 (2x)
Kyron Gibson: 19 (4x – Includes 1 Tie)
Taj Anderson: 19 (1x)
Aaron Cash: 18 (1x – Tied)
Marion Humphrey: 17 (3x – Includes 1 Tie)
Brandon Walker: 17 (1x – Tied)
Shemar Wilson: 16 (1x)
Brandyn Talbot: 15 (1x)
Dario Domingos: 12
Pedro Castro: 11

CHALLENGING THEMSELVES

UTA is one of only three schools in the nation to 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)

NEUTRAL-SITE ACTION

UTA has played four regular-season neutral-site games this year. The first three took place Thanksgiving week as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., at Hertz Arena – just a few miles south of where Hurricane Ian made landfall outside Fort Myers at the end of September. The other was part of the Simmons Bank Showdown at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth against Texas State on Dec. 10. The four neutral-site contests are 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)

BACK TO THE WAC

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.

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). 

NEXT UP

UTA will have a week between games for the holidays as the Mavs will next return to the court when they open WAC play at Tarleton on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m.
 
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).