HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The UT Arlington men's basketball team continues a three-game road trip Wednesday at Sam Houston when the Mavericks and Bearkats tip off at 6:30 p.m. inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 26	UT Arlington (9-16, 4-8 WAC) @ Sam Houston (18-6, 8-4 WAC)
Date | Time	Wednesday, Feb. 15 | 6:30 p.m.
Location	Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Video	ESPN+
Audio	620 AM | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Sam Houston | WAC

OPENING TIP(s)

• This will be the first game of UTA interim head coach Royce Johnson's tenure as he replaced Greg Young this past Friday. Young was nearing the completion of his second season at the helm of the Mavs after having previously served as an assistant (2009-13) and associate (2013-21) coach with the program. He had an overall record of 20-34 (.370) and 11-18 (.379) in conference games.
   
• 'Snoop' Johnson will take over for UTA's final six regular-season games and postseason contests. Now in his fifth season with the Mavs, Johnson had been the program's associate head coach since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign following three years as an assistant coach with UTA. He was also the head boys basketball coach at Kimball High School in Dallas from 1998-2014, compiling a 373-76 record (.831) and leading the Knights to three state championships.
   
• UTA and Sam Houston just played in Arlington on Feb. 4, with the Mavs claiming an impressive 70-58 win. At the time, the Bearkats were #50 in the NET Rankings, giving UTA its second Quad 2 win of the season (San Francisco). Wednesday's matchup is a Quad 1 opportunity for UTA on the road with Sam Houston now ranked a WAC-leading #59 in the NET. It will be the third Quad 1 chance of the year for the Mavs following Oklahoma State and Nevada in the non-conference.
   
• Chendall Weaver has been selected as the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week three times – and those trio of honors have come in the last six weeks (Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Feb. 6). He is one of only two players in the WAC to have collected three weekly honors (either Player or Freshman of the Week) along with UTRGV's Adante' Holiman (Freshman). In total, UTA has a conference-high four Freshman of the Week recognitions this season thanks to Brandon Walker collecting the designation on Dec. 5.
   
• The Mavs rank 8th in the nation in offensive rebounding at 13.5 per game (1st: UAB, 14.0). Shemar Wilson is leading the charge as the sophomore is 12th nationally with 3.6 offensive rebounds an outing. He has registered three games of 8+ offensive boards this year – tied for the 3rd most in the country against D-I opponents (leaders: four games).
   
• Wilson (10.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG) did not play in UTA's 64-58 win at UTRGV this past Thursday, and he remains questionable for Wednesday with a hip injury. Wilson – who is 2nd on the Mavs in scoring and leads them in rebounding – is responsible for all five of UTA's double-doubles this year, which are tied for the 2nd most in the WAC behind Utah Valley's Aziz Bandaogo with 14.

TWEETABLES

1) Over his last six games, Montez Young Jr. is averaging 7.3 points, a team-best 6 rebounds and shooting a team-high 66 percent (19-29) from the floor. Prior, he was averaging 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 15 games on the year (DNP in four contests).
 
2) After connecting at just 26.4 percent from 3-point range against non-conference D-I opponents, UTA is shooting 34.1 percent in WAC play, keyed by Aaron Cash (38.7 to 43.5), Kyron Gibson (36.4 to 41.7) and Weaver (20.0 to 39.3).
 
3) UTA held UTRGV 20 points below its season average in the 64-58 win in Edinburg this past Thursday, and 18 of those points came in the closing six minutes. The 58 points are the 2nd fewest the Vaqueros have scored all season (54 against #4 Texas).
 
4) The Mavs have had 11 different players reach double-figure points in a game this year, and also have had eight different leading scorers – the 3rd most in the nation behind only James Madison and Longwood with nine each.

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• After the two former Southland Conference rivals hadn't played for nearly 11 years since the Mavs departed the league in 2012, this will be the second meeting in 11 days between UTA and Sam Houston. The series has traditionally been very competitive; in 58 all-time meetings, the longest winning streak either team has had is just four – and the Mavs enter Wednesday on a three-game winning streak in the series.
   
• Sam Houston – which is heading to Conference USA beginning this July – has played just one game since that meeting with UTA – a 77-62 win at Abilene Christian on Feb. 11. This will be the Bearkats first home game since holding Seattle U to just 40 points in a 14-point victory on Jan. 26.
   
• Sam Houston – ranked #18 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – won at Oklahoma and at Utah in its non-conference schedule.
   
• Sam Houston ranks among the top-15 nationally in scoring margin (2nd, 16.3), 3-point percentage (5th, 39.4), bench points (6th, 32.6), turnovers forced (6th, 17.8), points allowed (8th, 59.4), turnover margin (11th, +4.3) and field goal percentage defense (14th, 39.6).
   
• Back on Feb. 4, UTA trailed by three, 21-18, at the midway point of the 1st half before orchestrating a 28-7 extended run to close the half and take a 46-28 lead into the locker room. That was UTA's most 1st-half points and biggest intermission lead against a D-I opponent this season. For the game, the Mavs shot a season-high 54 percent (25-46) from the floor.

WAC STANDINGS

Click Here To View The Updated WAC Standings
 
New Mexico State has suspended the remainder of its season (more info below), meaning that the remaining 12 teams have qualified for the WAC Tournament. The résumé-seeding system will now be used to determine how teams are seeded at the WAC Tournament (denoted by WAC Points in this link; higher point total = a better seed).
 
For example, right now even though Sam Houston is tied for 4th place with an 8-4 league record, the Bearkats would be the #2 seed due to accumulating 4.55 points, and Southern Utah (tied for 2nd) would be the #4 seed (2.64 points). UTA (-4.79) would be the #12 seed despite currently sitting alone in 10th place.
 
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 rewarding the best teams throughout the entire season, the résumé-seeding system was introduced.
 
It is an algorithm that rates performances against all D-I teams faced in the regular season, not just conference play. Teams receive more credit for scheduling, and beating, stronger opponents than weaker ones – particularly on the road. This should help WAC members have higher NET rankings, a key-criteria used by the NCAA Selection Committee.

WAC DEEMS NEW MEXICO STATE REMAINING GAMES FORFEITS

On Feb. 13, the WAC issued the following resolution after New Mexico State officially suspended the remainder of its 2022-23 men's basketball season on Feb. 12.
 
Each of the six remaining scheduled New Mexico State games against conference opponents, which included games at California Baptist (Feb. 11), versus and at Abilene Christian (Feb. 15 and March 1), versus UTRGV (Feb. 18), versus Grand Canyon (Feb. 22) and at Tarleton (March 6), have been deemed forfeits in regard to conference standings and seeding. The NCAA does not formally recognize forfeited games in this scenario as it pertains to one's overall record during a season, but grants conferences the right to administer forfeits for in-conference competition only for the purpose of standings and seeding.
 
Each of the listed New Mexico State opponents have immediately received corresponding conference wins in the WAC standings and will be credited with the equivalent value of a home win for each remaining game against New Mexico State in the WAC Resume Seeding System.
 
"While there is no perfect solution to this unfortunate situation, I believe we landed in the right place," WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton said. "I applaud our Athletic Directors for working collaboratively with our staff to reach this decision.
 
"We are in the midst of the best statistical season in the WAC's history, and we wanted to create the most equitable solution that did not unfairly advantage or disadvantage institutions that lost opportunities to improve their standing. Ultimately, every institution will maintain the ability to control their destiny based on the results of their remaining conference contests."
 
All 12 of the conference's remaining men's basketball programs will be seeded according to the WAC Resume Seeding System for the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament on March 6-11 in Las Vegas. The WAC's regular-season champion will be determined by the top finisher based on league winning percentage according to the traditional conference standings.

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 11 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:
 
Kyron Gibson: 22 (10x – Includes 3 Ties)
Chendall Weaver: 21 (5x)
Aaron Cash: 20 (3x – Includes 2 Ties)
Taj Anderson: 19 (1x)
Shemar Wilson: 18 (5x – Includes 1 Tie)
Marion Humphrey: 17 (3x – Includes 1 Tie)
Brandon Walker: 17 (1x – Tied)
Brandyn Talbot: 15 (1x)
Montez Young Jr.: 14
Dario Domingos: 12
Pedro Castro: 12

BY THE NUMBERS

1: UTA picked up a 60-56 win over Horizon League preseason favorite Northern Kentucky on Nov. 22. NKU had defeated Cincinnati – picked to finish 3rd in the American Athletic Conference – two games prior by 13 points.
 
2: UTA secured its second road win of the season over a 2022 NCAA Tournament team when the Mavs took down New Mexico State, 66-55, on Jan. 14. The first came on Dec. 19 at San Francisco, 68-63.
 
3: UTA delivered season highs against a D-I opponent in three categories in an 85-73 win over UTRGV on Jan. 19: points (85), 3-pointers made (11) and assists (26).
 
3: UTA is just three wins shy of 800 all-time program victories. The Mavs are in their 64th season, with UTA's inaugural campaign taking place in 1959-60.
 
7: UTA has already had seven different occasions of a player grabbing 7+ offensive rebounds in a game this year: Wilson versus Hardin-Simmons (7), Nevada (7), Howard Payne (7), North Texas (8), Stephen F. Austin (8) and Utah Valley (8); Dario Domingos against Northern Kentucky (7).
 
8: Against UNT on Dec. 6, Wilson grabbed eight rebounds, and all of them were offensive. Over the last 6+ seasons – since the start of the 2016-17 campaign – he is one of only seven players nationally to secure at least eight offensive rebounds and zero defensive boards in a game.
 
10: Marion Humphrey had six steals against Southwestern on Nov. 12 to tie for the 10th most in single game program history.
 
12: Gibson passed out a season-best 12 assists versus UTRGV on Jan. 19, representing the most helpers by any WAC player in a game this year against a D-I opponent.
 
12: The WAC is currently rated as the 12th-best conference (out of 32) in the country.
 
16: UTA's wire-to-wire win at San Francisco ended the Dons' 16-game home non-conference winning streak and was the Mavs' first NET Quad 2 or better non-conference win since an 89-75 victory at BYU (Quad 1) in November of 2017. Two days later, USF defeated then-#25 Arizona State, 97-60.
 
26: The 26 assists UTA issued against UTRGV were the most at home against a D-I foe in nearly six years – since the Mavs passed out 27 on Jan. 23, 2017, versus Louisiana.
 
27: UTA is the least experienced team in the WAC and 27th nationally (337th of 363) this year based off prior D-I playing experience with an average of just 0.91 years per player.
 
50: UTA allowed three-straight opponents from Jan. 19-25 to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor for the first time since 2008.
 
55: The 55 points UTA limited New Mexico State to represented just the second time in the last six seasons that the Mavs have held an opponent to 55 or fewer points on the road (52 at Arkansas State on Jan. 2, 2020). Prior to that, the last time the Mavs did it was on Dec. 16, 2016, when they permitted Bradley to score just 51.
 
260: At #260 in the NET, UTA is the lowest-ranked team in the nation with multiple Quad 2 wins.

NEXT UP

UTA will head back to Arlington before traveling to Nacogdoches to battle Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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