OREM, Utah – Two of the Western Athletic Conference's hottest men's basketball teams face off on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT when UT Arlington concludes the road portion of its regular season at Utah Valley for the Wolverines' Senior Day.
 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game 30	UT Arlington (16-13, 11-7 WAC) @ Utah Valley (14-14, 9-8 WAC)
Date | Time	Saturday, Mar. 2 | 3 PM CT
Video	ESPN+
Radio	620 AM | 102.5 FM
Audio Stream	Varsity Network App | UTAMavs.com
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	UT Arlington | Utah Valley
WAC Rankings	Standings | Seeding System

OPENING TIP(s)

• UTA is coming off a dominant 82-62 win at Seattle U on Thursday in a game they led by 31 points in the 1st half, spoiling the Redhawks' Senior Night and stopping their four-game winning streak. UTA is now riding a season-best four-game winning streak, while Utah Valley has won five-straight games.
   
• With the win over SU, UTA moved into a tie for 3rd place with the Redhawks in the WAC standings at 11-7; however, the Mavs own the head-to-head tiebreaker as a result of sweeping the season series. But, due to the league's resume-seeding system, UTA (-0.20 points) would currently be the #4 seed in the WAC Tournament and SU (0.63 points) would be the #3 seed. The top-8 teams (out of 11) qualify for the championship, with the top-4 teams securing a 1st-round bye. All WAC teams either have two or three regular-season games remaining.
   
• The Mavs are 7-2 over their last nine 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 chances to win or force overtime in the final seconds.
   
• UTA's 20-point win at SU represented the Redhawks' worst home loss since New Mexico State defeated them by 27, 87-60, on Jan. 17, 2019. SU's previous largest loss this season was only seven points, and that was a 95-88 overtime decision at Grand Canyon. It also marked UTA's highest-ranked win of the year as SU was a Quad 2 opponent.
   
• Three of the last six halves UTA has played have resulted in the Mavs scoring 50+ points: 53 (2nd) versus Southern Utah last Thursday, 55 (2nd) against Utah Tech this past Saturday and 50 (1st) at Seattle U on Thursday.
   
• UTA had a season-low seven turnovers at SU; its previous best was 11 on three occasions. Three of the Mavs' four-fewest turnover games this season occurred in February.
   
• DaJuan Gordon leads the WAC in double-doubles with 11; combined with Shemar Wilson's seven (2nd in the WAC), the 18 double-doubles are nearly as many as four WAC teams total (19): Southern Utah (4), Seattle U (5), Utah Valley (5) and Stephen F. Austin (5). As a team, UTA's 20 double-doubles (Aaron Cash has the other two) are seven more than the next closest (Grand Canyon: 13).
   
• 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 (13) and Gordon (11) rank 1st and 2nd in the WAC in terms of double-figure rebound games this year; the next closest players have eight.

TWEETABLES
1) Cash (now 1,002 points) became the third-different UTA player this season to reach 1,000 career points on Thursday at SU (Gordon, Wilson).
2) UTA won seven games in February (7-2) for the first time since going 7-0 in 2017 en route to a Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship with a 14-4 record.
3) UTA will be looking for its 17th win of the season, which would be its most since going 17-16 in 2018-19; the Mavs reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Final that year. All 16 of UTA's wins this year have come when it scores at least 70 points.
4) With a win Saturday, KT Turner will become the only first-year head coach in program history to win 17 regular-season games (currently tied with Chris Ogden's 16 victories in 2018-19).
5) UTA has won two road games by 20+ points in the same season (87-66 at Utah Tech on Feb. 3) for the first time since 2019-20; since 2012, the Mavs only have eight such victories (including the two this year).
6) This is UTA's first season being multiple games over .500 entering March since 2017-18 (18-12).
 
AMONG THE WAC'S BEST

• In WAC games, UTA is the highest-scoring team in the league at 78.4 per game. Demonstrating their depth, the Mavs do not have a single individual in the top 7 in scoring, and only one (Gordon – 8th, 15.5) is in the top 16.
• The Mavs also rank 2nd in assists (15.3) and free throw percentage (74.9), and are 4th in field goal percentage (45.0), field goal percentage defense (41.5) and blocks (4.1).
• Individually, Gordon leads all WAC players in league contests with 2.1 steals, and is 2nd in rebounding (7.9) and field goal percentage (50.6). Wilson is 3rd in rebounding (7.8) and 4th in blocks (1.7).

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• In the first meeting this year, UTA didn't allow Utah Valley to score a point until the 12:40 mark of the 1st half, limited the Wolverines to just 20 in the 1st half – UTA's season-low allowed to a Division-I opponent – and never trailed en route to an 83-69 win. The Mavs led by 26 midway through the 2nd half, which until the 31-point lead at Seattle U on Thursday was UTA's largest lead versus a D-I foe this season.
   
• In WAC games, UTA leads the conference in 3-point percentage (36.9) and makes (158). UVU, meanwhile, is the best 3-point defending team in league contests by limiting opponents to 31.1%. The Mavs' 158 makes in WAC play are 22 more than the next closest (Seattle U: 136), and are an incredible 72 more than UVU (86), which are the 2nd fewest in the conference.
   
• UVU's Drake Allen ranks 2nd in WAC play in assists at 5 per game, while UTA's Phillip Russell is 3rd with 4 per contest.
   
• Utah Valley leads the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.23 and is 2nd in assists (15.4). Allen leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.22), while Trevin Dorius ranks 6th in rebounding (7.5) and is tied for 3rd in offensive boards (2.8).

RECENT ROAD IMPROVEMENTS
UTA is 11-3 at home, but just 4-10 on the road (1-0 neutral). However, after starting 0-9 on the road this season, the Mavs have won four of their last five road games, with the lone setback being a last-second 64-63 decision at California Baptist.
 
In its first nine road games, UTA was out-scored by an average of 15.6 points, but in its last five it has out-scored opponents by an average of 13.4. Additionally, the Mavs have bettered their field goal percentage in that same time (39.8 to 46.5), lowered their field goal percentage defense (46.2 to 38.0) and increased their rebounding average (34.9 to 39.8).

A large portion of those disparities is a result of the competition level as UTA played the nation's 13th-hardest non-conference schedule as the Mavs faced five NET Quad 1 opponents, all of them away from home. The other 10 WAC teams combined have only faced 24 total Quad 1 foes this season.
 
WELCOME OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS
Sixteen 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). Additionally, 11 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.
 
In KT Turner's first season, UTA is currently averaging 75.7 points per game, which would be the Mavs' highest since 2017-18 (77.7).
 
The Mavs scored 89+ points in three-straight regulation games versus D-I opponents from Feb. 17-24 for only the third time in program history: Dec. 1-6, 1990, and Feb. 18-23, 1981. From 2018-23, UTA scored 89+ points against D-I competition three times total.
 
GORDON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the third time this season, Gordon was named WAC Player of the Week on Monday. Gordon nearly averaged a double-double with team bests of 20 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals, while the 6-5 guard shot 67% (12-18) from the floor, 80% (4-5) from 3-point range and 75% (12-16) from the free throw line.
 
The Chicago native is the first UTA member since Marquez Haynes in 2009-10 to be named conference Player of the Week three times in the same season; Haynes won the award four times that year in the Southland Conference on his way to an All-American Honorable Mention campaign. It is believed that is the single-season program record (weekly award records date to 1994-95).
 
UTA has had three-different players win either WAC Player of the Week or Newcomer of the Week this season: Gordon (Player, Nov. 13, Feb. 19 and Feb. 26), Wilson (Player, Nov. 20) and Russell (Newcomer, Dec. 18 and Feb. 5). The six total selections are the 2nd most in the WAC this year behind Grand Canyon's 11.
 
LUCKY THIRTEEN
All 13 UTA players who dressed – currently the entire healthy roster – scored at least one point on Feb. 17 at UT Rio Grande Valley. 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)
 
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), Makaih Williams (24), Kade Douglas (20), Akili Vining (16), Cash (18), Fabio Basili (15), Brandyn 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, Gordon (6x – 1 tie), Wilson (6x), Williams (5x – 1 tie), Russell (4x), Douglas (3x), Cash (3x), Basili (1x) and Vining (1x) have led UTA in scoring.
 
STARTING LINEUP ROTATIONS
UTA has used 11 different starting lineups this season, which is tied for the 13th most in the nation (leader: Milwaukee, 18). Nine of those lineups have won a game, which is tied for the 4th most in the country (Long Beach State, 11).
 
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.
 
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 UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 18.
 
The 15 3-pointers (15-36, 42%) against UTRGV tied for the 5th-most makes all-time and matched the 3rd-most triples in program lore versus a D-I foe.
 
Ten times already this season UTA has made double-figure 3s in a game; the Mavs made double-figure 3s in a game 10 times the last two seasons combined. UTA posted back-to-back games of 10+ 3-pointers for the first time this year last week: 11 versus Southern Utah on Feb. 22 and 10 opposite Utah Tech on Feb. 24.
 
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.
 
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 (six 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.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1) The Mavs held Stephen F. Austin 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).
 
1) Williams is one of only 10 true freshmen nationally with at least 320 points and 80 assists this season. He also leads all WAC true freshmen in scoring (11.3).
 
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.
 
3) Gordon had 15 points, 17 rebounds and six assists at Utah Tech on Feb. 3 to become one of only three players in the nation this year against a D-I opponent with at least a 15-17-6 stat line.
 
4) 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.
 
5) 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.
 
8) The Mavs are a perfect 8-0 this season when Talbot makes at least two 3-pointers in a game.
 
11) The Mavs are 11-3 at home this year, marking the first time they have won double-figure contests at the College Park Center since going 13-2 in 2017-18.
 
33) On Feb. 24, UTA went 33-40 (82.5%) from the free throw line against Utah Tech, which represented its most makes since hitting 34 against Little Rock on Jan. 19, 2019; prior to that, the Mavs hadn't made 33+ in a game since registering 33 at Houston Christian on Jan. 24, 2012. Additionally, UTA is one of only 10 teams in the nation this year to make at least 33 free throws and connect at better than an 82% rate.
 
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 – 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 7th-best percentage in the nation this year among teams that have made at least 24 free throws (best: Niagara going 27-27 at Quinnipiac on Feb. 18).
 
700) Gordon eclipsed 500 career rebounds in the season opener, and now boasts 724 for his career.
 
1,000) Gordon reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 6 versus UNT Dallas, while Wilson reached 1,000 collegiate points across all levels on Jan. 18 against UTRGV.
 
NEXT UP
UTA closes out its regular season with a home game against California Baptist next Thursday, Mar. 7, at 7 p.m. Prior to the contest, the Mavs will honor a quarter of graduates: Shemar Wilson, DaJuan Gordon, Aaron Cash and Akili Vining.
 
The WAC Tournament runs from Mar. 13-16 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas; if the Mavs get a 1st-round bye they will begin action on Mar. 14 in the quarterfinals.
   
FOLLOW ALONG
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