LAS VEGAS – UT Arlington begins its 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, Mar. 7, as the #12 Mavericks are set to face off with #5 Grand Canyon at 4 p.m. Central (2 local Pacific) from Michelob ULTRA Arena.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 32	#12 UT Arlington (11-20, 6-12 WAC) vs. #5 Grand Canyon (20-11, 11-7 WAC)
Date | Time	Tuesday, Mar. 7 | 4 p.m. CT (2 PT)
Location	Michelob ULTRA Arena
Watch Party	Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux – Arlington Highlands
Tournament Info	Tickets | Bracket | Tournament Central
Video	ESPN+
Audio	620 AM | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Grand Canyon

OPENING TIP(s)

• Despite finishing in a tie for 10th place alongside UT Rio Grande Valley in the WAC standings with a 6-12 league record – and holding the tiebreaker over the Vaqueros by virtue of sweeping the season series – UTA had -5.06 points in the season-long WAC résumé-seeding system (more info: click here). That number was the worst of the 12 qualifying tournament teams, dropping the Mavs to the #12 seed.
   
• #5 Grand Canyon – the preseason WAC favorites – posted an 11-7 record in WAC play to conclude the regular season in a three-way tie for 4th place, and the Lopes accumulated 2.77 points which put them behind #4 Seattle U (3.10 points) but ahead of #6 Stephen F. Austin (1.13 points). In the only meeting this year between UTA and GCU, the Mavs held a 28-18 lead late in the 1st half, possessed a 30-28 halftime edge after trailing for just 28 seconds in the opening period, but the Lopes exploded in the 2nd half to out-score the Mavs by 34 en route to an 80-48 win in Phoenix on Jan. 12. The 52 2nd-half points GCU scored were the most allowed by UTA in any half this season.
   
• With a win over GCU, UTA would move on to the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Mar. 9, against #4 Seattle (11-7, 3.10 points) also at 2 p.m., but from Orleans Arena. The Mavs and Redhawks just played in Seattle on Friday night, with SU claiming an 80-56 win.
   
• In its only other season in the league, UTA advanced to the 2013 WAC Tournament Final as a #4 seed with victories over #5 Utah State (83-78) and #9 UTSA (69-53) before falling in the championship game to #3 New Mexico State, 64-55.
   
• On Sunday, Chendall Weaver was named the 2023 WAC Freshman of the Year following a dominant first-year performance which left no doubt as to the best freshman in the league after averaging 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a team-high 29.2 minutes per game. For more information about Weaver's award click here.
   
• UTA concluded the regular season on Friday with an 80-56 loss at Seattle U. In that contest, the Redhawks shot just 41.8 percent (23-55) from the floor, marking only the third time since 2010 that UTA has lost a game by 20+ when holding its opponent under 42 percent from the floor. Two of those three occurrences have occurred this season: vs. Drexel (41.5%, -21 (59-38)).
   
• Ten of UTA's 18 conference games this season came against the top-6 teams in the WAC – two each versus Utah Valley, Sam Houston, Seattle U and Stephen F. Austin, and one against Southern Utah and Grand Canyon.
   
• Despite possessing just eight overall Division-I wins this season, three of those are NET Quad 2 triumphs for the Mavs – at San Francisco, versus Sam Houston and at Stephen F. Austin – which is a single-season program record. UTA has the most Quad 2 wins but fewest overall victories in the nation. Additionally, the only team in the country with more Quad 2 wins that has a losing record is Ohio State with five (13-18 overall).
   
• UTA's three Quad 2 victories are tied for the most of any team in the WAC (Utah Valley), and also more than Iowa State, Texas Tech, Syracuse, Florida, LSU, Florida State and several other Power-5 teams.
   
• UTA has scored 70 or more points in three of the six games since interim head coach Royce Johnson took over for Greg Young on Feb. 10. Prior to that, the Mavs had scored at least 70 points against a D-I team just once all season (85 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 19). Additionally, UTA has made double-figure 3-pointers in four of those six games Johnson has overseen; prior to that, the Mavs reached the threshold just once all year versus a D-I foe (11 vs. UTRGV).
   
• Fueling that 3-point emergence is Brandyn Talbot, who over his past six games has made 14 3-pointers (nine total in two games on Feb 23 and 25). In his first 20 games against D-I competition this year he made a total of 15.
   
• The Mavs rank 12th in the nation in offensive rebounding at 12.9 per game. Shemar Wilson is leading the charge as the sophomore is 8th nationally with 3.6 offensive rebounds an outing. He has registered three games of 8+ offensive boards this year – tied for the 4th most in the country against D-I opponents (leaders: five games).
   
• Wilson (10.9 PPG (2nd to Kyron Gibson's 11.0) and 7.8 RPG (1st on the team)) has not played in UTA's last seven games, and he remains questionable for the WAC Tournament with a hip injury. Wilson is responsible for five of UTA's six double-doubles this year, which are tied for the 4th most in the WAC.

TWEETABLES

1) UTA posted an uncharacteristic six conference wins this year – its fewest league victories in a season since going 4-14 during the 1993-94 Southland Conference slate.
 
2) After starting WAC play 0-5, UTA finished 6-7 in its last 13 league games, and four of those losses were by 10 points or less. UTA began February ranked #293 in the NET, but opened March up nearly 50 spots to #244.
 
3) Kyron Gibson leads UTA in scoring this season (11.0), but in five of UTA's eight D-I victories he has finished in single digits.
 
4) After connecting at just 26.4 percent from 3-point range against non-conference D-I opponents, UTA is shooting 35 percent in WAC play, keyed by Weaver (20.0 to 44.9), Aaron Cash (38.7 to 41.9), Talbot (23.5 to 41.2) and Gibson (36.4 to 38).

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• GCU was plagued by injuries this season as the Lopes had 27 missed conference games by starters. WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr. suffered a season-ending injury on Jan. 5. Blacksher Jr. was averaging 10.7 points and 2.4 assists in the 12 games in which he played.
• Ray Harrison was named to the WAC First Team after leading the league in scoring in conference games at 21.1. Gabe McGlothan was a WAC Second Team selection as he averaged 11.9 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds.
   
• GCU holds opponents to just 40.2 percent from the floor to rank 18th in the nation. UTA is 0-12 this season when shooting less than 40 percent.
   
• While UTA is the nation's 27th-least experienced team in terms of D-I playing time with an average of 0.91 years per player, GCU is the 44th-most experienced team (2.66), according to KenPom.

INSIDE THE DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS

The Mavs have had 11 different players reach double-figure points in a game this year (national leaders: 13), and also have had eight different leading scorers – the 3rd most in the nation behind only James Madison and Longwood with nine each.
 
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 (12x – Includes 4 Ties)
Chendall Weaver: 21 (7x – Includes 1 Tie)
Aaron Cash: 20 (5x – Includes 4 Ties)
Taj Anderson: 19 (1x)
Shemar Wilson: 18 (5x – Includes 1 Tie)
Marion Humphrey: 17 (4x – Includes 2 Ties)
Brandon Walker: 17 (2x – Includes 1 Tie)
Brandyn Talbot: 15 (1x)
Pedro Castro: 14
Montez Young Jr.: 14
Dario Domingos: 12

BY THE NUMBERS

1: UTA is just one win shy of 800 all-time program victories. The Mavs are in their 64th season, with UTA's inaugural campaign taking place in 1959-60.
 
1: Interim head coach 'Snoop' Johnson picked up his first-career win at the collegiate level in just his second game when the Mavs claimed a 75-70 Quad 2 victory at SFA on Feb. 18.
 
1: UTA secured 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 notched 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, tied) and assists (26).
 
5: The Mavs posted an overtime buzzer-beating 71-69 victory against Utah Tech on Feb. 25 as Aaron Cash delivered the game-winning tip-in as time expired. The Mavs won the game despite attempting just five free throws (4-5) – becoming just the 10th team in the nation since 2010 to win an overtime game when attempting five or fewer free throws.
 
7: UTA has 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.
 
11: The WAC is currently rated as the 11th-best conference (out of 32) in the country.
 
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.
 
14: UTA has used 14 different starting lineups this season, including seven in the last 11 games.
 
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.
 
86: The 86 points UTA allowed in an 86-76 loss to Southern Utah on Feb. 23 were the most it has surrendered this season, and also represented just the second time since 2015 that the Mavs permitted an opponent to score 86+ in a home regulation affair (91-86 win over Louisiana on Jan. 15, 2021).
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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