ARLINGTON – Winners of four out of its last six, the UT Arlington men's basketball team begins an important late-season home weekend on Thursday, Feb. 22, when the Mavericks welcome Southern Utah for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 27	UT Arlington (13-13, 8-7 WAC) vs. Southern Utah (9-17, 4-11 WAC)
Date | Time	Thursday, Feb. 22 | 7 PM (Doors: 6 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 | Southern Utah | WAC
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.

OPENING TIP(s)

• After starting WAC play 1-3, UTA has moved into sole possession of 4th place in the league standings with an 8-7 record, and also resides in 4th in the resume-seeding system. If the season ended today, UTA would receive a 1st-round bye in the WAC Tournament as a result of being in the top 4.
   
• The Mavs are 4-2 over their last six games, with their only losses in that stretch coming by a combined three points at California Baptist (64-63) and versus Tarleton State (80-78). In both of those contests UTA had a chance to win or force overtime in the final seconds.
   
• UTA is coming off a wire-to-wire 89-70 win at UT Rio Grande Valley this past Saturday. The Mavs never trailed, led by 16 at the half and finished with their 2nd-highest point total of the year against a Division-I opponent (the highest came at home vs. UTRGV: 91).
   
• All 13 UTA players who dressed – currently the entire healthy roster – scored at least one point; no other team in the nation this season has had that many players or the entirety of the roster score in a game against a D-I opponent. Below are those teams that have had 100% of their players in uniform score against a D-I foe:
  
  13: UT Arlington @ UTRGV (Feb. 17)
  11: Creighton vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 9)
  10: Creighton vs. Florida A&M (Nov. 7)
  9: Oakland vs. IUPUI (Feb. 17)
  7: Charleston Southern vs. USC Upstate (Jan. 13)
   
• In the first matchup between UTA and Southern Utah on Feb. 1 in Cedar City, the Mavs broke a 5-5 tie and never looked back, leading for the final 36 minutes and by as much as 20 on their way to snapping an 0-9 start to the season on the road with a 76-68 win.
   
• DaJuan Gordon leads the WAC in double-doubles with 10; combined with Shemar Wilson's seven (2nd in the WAC), the 17 double-doubles from Gordon and Wilson are three more than three WAC teams total (14): Southern Utah (4), Seattle U (5) and Stephen F. Austin (5). As a team, UTA's 18 double-doubles (Aaron Cash has the other) are four more than the next closest (Grand Canyon: 14).
   
• UTA is the only team in the nation to have three-different players grab 15+ rebounds in a game this season: Gordon (17 at Utah Tech), Cash (17 vs. UNT Dallas) and Wilson (16 at California Baptist). Wilson (12) and Gordon (10) rank 1st and 2nd in the WAC in terms of double-figure rebound games this year; the next closest players have eight.

TWEETABLES
1) Four of UTA's seven WAC losses have come against the current top-2 teams: Grand Canyon (2x) and Tarleton State (2x). Those four losses came by an average of 4.2 points. The Mavs were tied with GCU both times with under 90 seconds remaining, and had final shots to win – or force overtime – against Tarleton.
2) UTA is in search of its 14th win of the season, which would be its most since going 14-18 in 2019-20.
3) All 13 of UTA's wins this season have come when it scores at least 70 points; the Mavs tallied a season-high 50 paint points on Saturday versus UTRGV (50-28).
4) The Mavs are a perfect 8-0 this season when Brandyn Talbot makes at least two 3-pointers in a game.
5) UTA has used 11 different starting lineups this season, which is tied for the 13th most in the nation (leader: Milwaukee, 17). Nine of those lineups have won a game, which is tied for the 3rd most in the country (Long Beach State and Milwaukee: 10).
 
AMONG THE WAC'S BEST

• In WAC games, UTA is 2nd in points (76.7), 3-point percentage (35.5), assists (14.7) and scoring margin (+4); the Mavs are 3rd in free throw percentage (74.3) and field goal percentage defense (40.9).
• UTA's 129 made 3-pointers in league games are 21 more than any other team (Seattle U: 108) and 56 more than Southern Utah (73). Incredibly, the Mavs do not have a single player in the top 13 in terms of makes (seven players between 10-21 made 3s).
• Similarly, despite having the 2nd-highest scoring offense in the conference, the Mavs do not have a player in the top 10 in individual scoring average.
• Gordon and Wilson both rank in the top 5 in the following categories: Gordon: rebounding (2nd, 8.3), steals (4th, 1.9) and field goal percentage (5th, 49.6); Wilson: blocks (4th, 2.0) and rebounding (4th, 7.9).

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Since an impressive road sweep at Tarleton State (73-70) and Abilene Christian (82-67) in late January, Southern Utah is just 1-5 with the lone win being a home triumph over UT Rio Grande Valley, 79-59.
   
• UTA started that six-game stretch for SUU with the aforementioned 76-68 win on Feb. 1. SUU is coming off a pair of home setbacks this past week to Seattle U (78-68) and Utah Valley (78-75).
   
• Dominique Ford leads the Thunderbirds in scoring for the season at 16.4 per game which ranks 4th in the WAC. Parsa Fallah (13 ppg) paces the conference in field goal percentage (56.9), which also is the 40th-best mark in the country.
   
• For the year, SUU is 2nd in the WAC in free throw percentage (73.5) and ranks 33rd nationally in free throws made (16.6); that average is actually the 5th highest in the league as five of the top-35 teams in the nation reside in the WAC.

HOME SWEET HOME
UTA is 9-3 at the College Park Center, but just 3-10 on the road (1-0 neutral). At home this season, UTA is averaging 78.5 points while holding opponents to 67.7 for a +10.8 differential. On the road, the Mavs average 70.5 points and surrender 77.6 for a -7.2 margin.

Additionally, in home tilts UTA secures 40.5 rebounds per contest and out-rebounds its foes by an average of 9.5; on the road they corral 36.8 and are out-rebounded by an average of 0.9. Eleven of UTA's 13 wins this year have come when it out-rebounds its opponent; the Mavs are 2-7 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 as the Mavs faced six NET Quad 1 opponents, all of them away from home. The other 10 WAC teams combined have only faced 23 total Quad 1 foes this season.
 
GORDON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, Gordon was named WAC Player of the Week on Monday. Gordon averaged a double-double over a pair of games last week with 18 points and 10.5 rebounds while also adding 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in leading the Mavs to a 1-1 record. Over the two contests, the 6-5 guard shot a gaudy 82.4% (14-17) from the floor, a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc and seven of the 21 rebounds he corralled came on the offensive end.
 
UTA has had three-different players win either WAC Player of the Week or Newcomer of the Week this season: Gordon (Player, Nov. 13 and Feb. 19), Wilson (Player, Nov. 20) and Russell (Newcomer, Dec. 18 and Feb. 5). UTA, Grand Canyon and Tarleton State 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.
 
ANOTHER NEW FACE
Redshirt freshman Chauncey Gibson made his collegiate debut against SFA on Feb. 10 after the two-time transfer – and mid-season addition – learned the day before, on Feb. 9, that the NCAA had approved a waiver to grant him immediate eligibility (more info: click here). The Clemson and Tulsa product scored 12 points, issued three assists and grabbed two rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
 
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), Akili Vining (16), Cash (17, 3x), Fabio Basili (15), Talbot (14), Dwayne Koroma (12) and Freds Pauls Bagatskis (11).
 
Those 11 different double-figure scorers are tied for the 2nd most in the nation (leader: Texas State, 12).
 
Of those 11, Wilson (5x), Gordon (5x – 1 tie), Russell (4x), Williams (4x – 1 tie), Douglas (3x), Cash (3x), Basili (1x) and Vining (1x) have led UTA in scoring.
 
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 9th-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). The 17 total rebounds are tied for the most by any player in the WAC this season along with teammate Gordon.
 
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 two more than any other WAC team this year; CBU had 15 at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 27, and the Mavs also had 15 versus UTRGV on Jan. 18.
 
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
1) The Mavs held SFA to just 1-15 from 3-point range in a 71-63 overtime triumph on Feb. 10. That was just the second time since 2015 that UTA limited an opponent to one 3-pointer (Coastal Carolina: 1-13 on Mar. 7, 2020).
 
2) Two times this year Wilson and Gordon have both recorded double-doubles in the same game: at New Mexico on Nov. 16 and at Abilene Christian on Jan. 20.
 
4) Gordon had 15 points, 17 rebounds and six assists at Utah Tech on Feb. 3 to become one of only four players in the nation this year with at least a 15-17-6 stat line.
 
8) Eight times this year UTA has registered 80+ points in regulation against D-I competition; that happened just three times total in the previous two regular seasons.
 
13) Thirteen 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).
 
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.
 
37) Cash needs 37 points to reach 1,000 for his entire collegiate career across all levels.
 
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 – have been ranked in the Associated Press and Coaches polls during the season.
 
57) Opposite Abilene Christian 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.
 
78) UTA lost when scoring 78+ points in regulation at home for only the third time in the last 15 years when the Mavs dropped an 80-78 decision to Tarleton State on Feb. 15; the other two occurrences: 85-78 to FGCU on Dec. 9, 2017, and 92-89 to Louisiana on Feb. 6, 2014.
 
85) 85% of Douglas's points (105 of 123) this year have come via the 3-pointer (34 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).
 
700) Gordon eclipsed 500 career rebounds in the season opener, and now boasts 705 for his career.
 
1,000) Shemar Wilson reached 1,000 collegiate points with a free throw in the 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 remains at home and welcomes Utah Tech to the CPC for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 24.
   
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
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