ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington men's basketball team will host one of the best mid-major programs in the nation on Saturday, Jan. 27, when the Mavericks tip off with WAC-leading Grand Canyon at 2 p.m. inside the College Park Center.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 20	UT Arlington (9-10, 4-4 WAC) vs. rv Grand Canyon (18-2, 8-1 WAC)
Date | Time	Saturday, Jan. 27 | 2 PM (Doors: 1 PM)
Location	College Park Center
Tickets	UTATickets.com
Video	ESPN+
Radio	620 AM | 102.5 FM
Audio Stream	Varsity Network App | UTAMavs.com
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Grand Canyon
WAC Rankings	Standings | Seeding System
Gameday Program	Digital

For parking, tickets, entry and more info related to the 2023-24 gameday experience, visit the Know Before You Go page.

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS & INFO

• Coaches vs. Cancer
  • In conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer week, UTA coaches and staff will be wearing lapel pins to help bring awareness and promote healthy living through year-round efforts in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches.
     
• DFW Tour
  • For those who have RSVP'd for the last of the three-stop UTA Athletics DFW Tour, doors will open at 12 p.m. For additional information or questions, please contact Maverick Club Assistant Director Icelda Tovar-Beltran at icelda.tovarbeltran@uta.edu.

OPENING TIP(s)

• Grand Canyon is ranked #3 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches Top 25 polls. GCU boasts the 2nd-best winning percentage (18-2, 90%) in the nation behind only Princeton (15-1, 94%).
   
• Since the NET Rankings replaced the RPI in advance of the 2018-19 season, Grand Canyon will be the 3rd-highest NET-ranked opponent to play at the College Park Center: Oklahoma State (28, Quad 1) on Nov. 25, 2020, North Texas (30, Quad 1) on Dec. 6, 2022, and GCU (48, Quad 2).
   
• In the first matchup between UTA and GCU this year on Dec. 2 in Phoenix, the Mavs led by as much as 12 in the 2nd half and held a 67-62 advantage with under four minutes to play, but the Lopes closed the game on a 14-2 run to claim a 76-69 win. That was the smallest winning margin by GCU in conference play this year prior to escaping Nacogdoches on Thursday night with a 53-51 victory over Stephen F. Austin.
   
• The College Park Center has been extremely friendly to the Mavs this year as they boast an 8-1 record at home compared with an 0-9 mark on the road (1-0 neutral site; more home/road stat differentials later in this release). UTA has the highest home winning percentage (89%) of any team in the nation without a road win with the exception of former WAC member New Mexico State, which is 9-1 (90%) at home compared with an 0-8 away mark.

TWEETABLES
1) Aaron Cash (5.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) has missed the last two games due to concussion protocol and he is a game-time decision for Saturday. Cash scored a team-high 17 points in his last game, an 80-75 UTA win over Seattle U on Jan. 13.
2) UTA has had 11 different players score double-figure points in a game this year, which is tied for the 2nd most in the nation (leader: Texas State, 12). Additionally, eight of those 11 have led the Mavs in scoring.
3) The Mavs have used nine different starting lineups this season, which is tied for the 9th most in the nation (leader: Eastern Michigan, 15). Seven of those lineups have won a game, which is tied for the 2nd most in the country (Furman: 8).
4) UTA's 13 double-doubles this season are three more than any other WAC team (California Baptist, 10): Shemar Wilson (7), DaJuan Gordon (5) and Aaron Cash (1). Those 13 double-doubles are the same as four teams combined: Seattle U (2), Southern Utah (3), Utah Valley (4) and Stephen F. Austin (4).
 
AMONG THE WAC'S BEST

• In conference games, UTA leads the WAC in points (78.1), assists (15.4), 3-point percentage (37.5) and 3-pointers made (9.4). The Mavs' 75 triples in league contests are 21 more than any other team, but they do not have a single player in the top 9 in terms of makes (seven players between 6-13 made 3s).
• Wilson leads the WAC in double-doubles with seven, including three in the last four games, while Gordon is tied for the 2nd most with five. Wilson also paces the WAC in double-figure rebounding games with 10, three more than anyone else.
• True freshman Makaih Williams is tied for 2nd in the league in assists in conference play (4.0) and Akili Vining is 4th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8). Wilson is 4th in rebounding (7.9) and 3rd in blocks (1.8); for the entire season, he leads the WAC at 2.1. Gordon is 5th in the league in steals (1.9).
• UTA has made 17 (vs. UT Tyler) and 15 (vs. UT Rio Grande Valley) 3-pointers in a game this year; no other WAC team has even made more than 14.

HOME/ROAD DIFFERENTIALS
At home this season, UTA is averaging 81.3 points while holding opponents to 66.9 for a +14.4 differential. On the road, the Mavs average 66.8 points and surrender 82.3 for a -15.6 margin.

Additionally, in home tilts UTA secures 41.9 rebounds per contest and out-rebounds its foes by an average of 11; on the road they corral just 34.9 and are out-rebounded by an average of 3.9. Eight of UTA's nine wins this year have come when it out-rebounds its opponent; the Mavs are 1-6 when losing or tying the rebound battle.

A large portion of those home/away statistical disparities is a result of the competition level as UTA played the nation's 9th-hardest non-conference schedule. The Mavs have already faced six NET Quad 1 opponents – all of them on the road, including Grand Canyon.
 
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. GRAND CANYON
In a physical, aggressive contest for all 40 minutes, UTA was called for twice as many fouls as GCU (30-15), resulting in the hosts finishing with 28 made free throws compared with 15 for the Mavs.
 
Three of UTA's four-leading scorers on the year at the time didn't finish the game due to fouling out, and the fourth, Brandyn Talbot, did not score for the first time all season as he played just 10 minutes in part because of three fouls.
 
That diminished an otherwise strong defensive effort by UTA, which held GCU to just 29% and only six made fields (6-21) in the 2nd half; conversely, the Lopes went 25-32 from the free throw line in the closing 20 minutes compared with only 9-12 for the Mavs.
 
For the game, UTA shot 46.2% (24-52) while holding the Lopes to 37.5% (21-56) – representing just the second time since 2010 the Mavs lost a road game when shooting at least 46% and holding their opponent under 38% (Mar. 5, 2015, at Georgia Southern: 76-64).
 
UTA did all of that without their current leading scorer on the year in Phillip Russell (15.4 ppg) who wasn't eligible for two more weeks following court and NCAA rulings on multi-time transfers.
 
ABOUT GRAND CANYON

• Grand Canyon had won 14-straight games before suffering an 86-79 loss at Seattle U last Saturday. GCU's only other loss this year was a 75-68 decision versus South Carolina on Nov. 19.
• Three days after facing UTA, GCU defeated then-#25 San Diego State – last year's national runner-up – for its first win over a ranked team in program history.
• GCU is the only WAC team in conference games that has a better field goal percentage (46.9%) than UTA (45.5%). The Lopes also boast the WAC's 3rd-highest scoring offense in league contests at 76 per game.
• GCU shot just 30.6% in its narrow 53-51 win at SFA on Thursday, which was its 2nd lowest percentage in a win in the Division-I era (since 2013-14). GCU and SFA were the two-highest scoring offenses in the WAC – a distinction UTA now has.
• Tyon Grant-Foster leads a three-headed GCU offensive attack at 19.6 points, and he is followed by Gabe McGlothan (14.8) and Ray Harrison (13.4).
• GCU ranks 8th nationally in free throws made (18.5) and 10th in blocks (5.6).

SCORING DEPTH
The Mavs have already had 11 players reach double-figure points in a game this year (highs): Wilson (29), Russell (28), Gordon (24), Williams (24), Kade Douglas (20), Vining (16), Cash (17, 2x), Fabio Basili (15), Talbot (14), Dwayne Koroma (12) and Freds Pauls Bagatskis (11).
 
Of those 11, Wilson (4x), Russell (3x), Gordon (3x), Douglas (3x), Williams (2x), Cash (2x), Basili (1x) and Vining (1x) have led UTA in scoring.
 
CLEANING UP THE WEEKLY AWARDS
UTA has had three-different players win either WAC Player of the Week or Newcomer of the Week this season: Gordon (Player, Nov. 13), Wilson (Player, Nov. 20) and Russell (Newcomer, Dec. 18). UTA and Grand Canyon are the only schools in the WAC with three-different players earning weekly awards this year.
 
Gordon and Wilson became the first set of UTA teammates to be named conference Player of the Week in the same season since 2017-18 when Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal both received the recognition when the Mavs were in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
PROLIFIC OFF THE BENCH
Gordon is one of just five players this year versus a D-I opponent to come off the bench and record at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game when he accomplished that feat against Air Force on Dec. 16.
 
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCES
In its 74-37 win over UNT Dallas on Dec. 6, the Mavs had 26 offensive rebounds to tie for the 6th most in single-game program history and most in any game since 1996. Of those 26 o-boards, 25 were secured by players (one team rebound) to tie for the 8th-most offensive rebounds by any team in the nation this year.
 
Individually, Cash – who had 17 points and 17 rebounds – was responsible for 12 offensive rebounds to tie for the most in program lore with Johnny McDowell (1992) and Sam Norton (1984). Those dozen o-boards are also the most by any player in the nation this year (five players with 11; six with 10). The 17 total rebounds are the most by any player in the WAC this season.
 
Defensively, the 37 points UTA allowed were its 2nd fewest all-time behind only a 36-point performance against SMU in 1989 – a game the Mavs actually lost, 36-31. Those are the only two times in the 64+ years of the program UTA has held a team under 40 points.
 
RECORD-TYING 3-POINT PERFORMANCE
UTA tied a single-game program record with 17 made 3-pointers on Nov. 11 against UT Tyler. That mark had only been reached once previously – on Dec. 8, 2015, against Bradley. Those 17 triples are three more than any other WAC team this year.
 
LONG-RANGE THREAT SIDELINED
In that UT Tyler contest, Bagatskis knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 11-straight points for UTA in the 1st half. However, the Georgia Tech transfer has not played in a game since then after suffering a left ankle injury in practice the week of Nov. 13 and undergoing surgery in mid-December. He is expected to be out the rest of the season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2) Two times this year Wilson and Gordon have both recorded double-doubles in the same game: at New Mexico and most recently this past Saturday at Abilene Christian.
 
9) Nine times already this season UTA has scored 75+ points against D-I competition; the Mavs accomplished that feat just four times all of last year (regular and postseason). Furthermore, UTA has tallied 80+ in regulation six times this year; that occurred three times total in the previous two regular seasons.
 
15) UTA knocked down 15 3-pointers (15-36, 42%) against UTRGV on Jan. 18 to tie for the 5th-most makes all-time and match the 3rd-most triples in program lore versus a D-I foe.
 
36) UTA had a stretch of 36 days in-between home contests from Dec. 6 to Jan. 11. That was the second-longest break in-season by any team in the nation this year, trailing only Delaware's 38-day gap.
 
46) The Mavs shot 46% from the field and finished +9 in the rebounding column (45-36) at New Mexico, representing their only non-conference loss since 2010 when shooting at least 46% and posting at least +9 on the glass. The Lobos – who used a buzzer-beating layup to beat the Mavs, 82-80 – are now ranked in the Associated Press and Coaches polls at #25.
 
57) Opposite ACU on Nov. 29, UTA shot a season-best 57% (27-47) from the floor – the best any Maverick team has shot against a D-I opponent since 2018.
 
85) 85% of Douglas's points (99 of 117) this year have come via the 3-pointer (33 makes); he has five games of 3+ triples.
 
90) UTA went 24-25 (96%) from the free throw line on Jan. 18 against UTRGV. That is the 2nd-best percentage (minimum 20 makes) in single-game program history, bested only by a 96.4% (27-28) showing on Feb. 22, 1968, at then-#1 Houston. It is also the 5th-best percentage in the nation this year among teams that have made at least 24 free throws (best: UNC Asheville going 24-24 versus USC Upstate).
 
600) Gordon eclipsed 500 career rebounds in the season opener, and now boasts 631 for his career.
 
1,000) Shemar Wilson reached 1,000 collegiate points with a free throw in that UTRGV contest with just over a minute remaining. He had 375 points in one junior college season and now 600+ in 2+ years with UTA.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will begin its only three-game road swing of the conference season next week in Utah. The Mavs will first take on Southern Utah on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. CT before facing Utah Tech on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m. CT. The stretch concludes on Thursday, Feb. 8, at California Baptist with a 9 p.m. CT start.
   
PURCHASE TICKETS
Secure your seat(s) all season long to see the re-energized UTA men's basketball program in action at the College Park Center. Purchase single game or season tickets at UTATickets.com, call 817-272-9595 or email boxoffice@uta.edu.

FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, follow the men's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).