California Baptist University
Utah Valley
MBB Preview: One Last Time at Home
2/25/2020 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE --- California Baptist University's men's basketball team will host its final Western Athletic Conference series this week, as the Lancers welcome Utah Valley on Feb. 26 and Seattle U on Feb. 29.
The Lancers come into the week at 19-8 on the season and 8-4 in the WAC standings. CBU is currently one game ahead of Seattle U in second place. Utah Valley is 5-8 in conference play and currently tied with CSU Bakersfield for seventh.
Saturday's game against the Redhawks will serve as senior day for the Lancers, as the team will honor Micah Robinson, Omar Lo, Brandon Boyd, Zach Pirog, and De'jon Davis before the game.
The Lancers' 19 wins on the season are currently tied for the second-most wins of the 14 Southern California programs. UC Irvine and USC are tied with the Lancers with 19 wins, while San Diego State leads the group with 26 wins. Since the Lancers joined the NCAA DI ranks, they hold a .603 winning percentage, which is good for fourth-best among the SoCal schools.
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 26
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: CBU Events Center
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports AM 1350
Lancer Live Tip-Off Show at 6:35 p.m.
Utah Valley enters Wednesday's game on a two-game winning streak after beating CSU Bakersfield, 72-58, and Grand Canyon, 92-80. The series sweep over the Lopes marks the first time since the 2014 season.
Notables:
- Brandon Averette has been on a tear for the Wolverines, leading the team with two 20-plus performances in the last two wins.
- Averette, who is the second-leading scorer on the team, has found his rhythm from the field, going 13-20 from the field and 8-13 from the 3-point line over the last two games.
- Isaiah White continues to lead the team with 14.8 points per game, while TJ Washington can do a little bit of everything for UVU.
- Washington was the key contributor to the win over the Lopes, recording 13 assists against GCU.
- The Wolverines hold a 2-1 series lead over the Lancers but dropped the last match in Orem, 65-61.
- Emmanuel Olojakpoke is currently tied for seventh in the nation for blocks in this season (74).
- UVU is the only WAC team to have three scorers inside the top-15 in points per game.
- Coach Mark Madsen is a two-time NBA champion, a former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford University basketball star.
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Seattle U
Date: Saturday, Feb. 29
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: CBU Events Center
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports AM 1350
Lancer Live Tip-Off Show at 6:35 p.m.
Seattle U is 14-14 on the season and 7-6 in the WAC. The game against the Lancers on Feb. 29 is the Redhawks only game for this week.
Notables:
- The Redhawks also beat the Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield last week, and enter Saturday's game on a two-game winning streak.
- The Redhawks lean on Terrell Brown, who is currently leading the WAC in scoring with 20.3 points per game.
- When SU isn't looking for Brown to score, Morgan Means is the next best bet, averaging 12.1ppg.
- When it comes to conference stats, SU boasts the most points per game against WAC opponents at 79.1ppg.
- The Lancers hold a 2-1 series lead over the Redhawks after winning the first matchup of the season, 72-65.
- Head Coach Jim Hayford was named SU's head men's basketball coach in March of 2017.
