California Baptist University
Utah Valley University
MBB Preview: The Lancers Begin 2024 with a pair of WAC Road Contests
1/2/2024 10:39:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team will open the new year with a pair of Western Athletic Conference road contests at Utah Valley and Seattle U.
The Lancers enter the matchups 8-5, coming off a road loss at New Mexico State and 1-1 in conference play. CBU bested Southern Utah on the road to open WAC play in late November by 25 but came up short at home to Utah Tech 72-69.
GAME #1 at Utah Valley:
The game against the Wolverines will be the 11th matchup between the two programs since 2018, with Utah Valley holding the edge 7-3. CBU has historically struggled in Orem, holding a 1-5 record at the UCCU Center. The lone win came in 2020 when the Lancers defeated them 65-61. Utah Valley currently holds a three-game winning streak over the Lancers and won both of the matchups last season.
The Wolverines enter the game 6-7 on the season and are on a four-game losing streak. Utah Valley put together a challenging non-conference schedule, going up against two Pac-12 opponents in Utah and Oregon State and games against Liberty and Boise State. Like the Lancers, the Wolverines enter WAC play 1-1 with a home win over Seattle U and a road loss at Utah Tech.
SCOUTING Utah Valley:
The Wolverines have three double-figure scorers on the roster, led by Caleb Stone-Carrawell. Stone-Carrawell averages 12 points per game and is second on the team in threes made with 16. Drake Allen, a Preseason All-WAC selection, is next in line in scoring at 11 per contest and is second on the team in assists.
The Wolverines lead the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.14 and are led by Jaden McClanahan, who also leads the WAC in that category.
Utah Valley will be led by first-year head coach Todd Phillips, the associate head coach for the past two seasons and assistant coach for the two seasons before that.
GAME 2 at Seattle U:
Seattle and CBU enter this matchup with an identical 8-5 record, with Seattle U on a two-game win streak. The two wins for the Redhawks came courtesy of the WAC-CUSA Scheduling Initiative as they bested Louisiana Tech at home at UTEP on the road. The Redhawks also hold wins this season over Idaho, Montana State, and UC San Diego. In WAC play, The Redhawks are 1-1 with a home win over Southern Utah and a road loss at Utah Valley.
The Redhawks have played most of their games in the confines of the Redhawk Center, having played nine of their 13 games there. Seattle's only home loss came on a game-winner by Northern Arizona in early November.
The Redhawks hold the slight edge 6-5 in the all-time series between the two programs. In the last meeting, the Lancers defeated the Redhawks in Riverside 84-63 for the largest margin of victory in the series. CBU is 2-2 at the Redhawk Center but has yet to win there since 2020 when they came away with the 72-65 victory.
SCOUTING Seattle U:
The Redhawks are led by sixth-year guard Cameron Tyson, who has been the leader of Seattle U the past three seasons since he transferred from Houston. Tyson currently leads the WAC in threes made and is second in scoring behind Tyon Grant-Foster of GCU at 20 per contest. Tyson is third in the nation in threes made, knocking down 3.75 per game while averaging a blistering 42% from the arc.
Tyson is joined by three other double-figure scorers, all of whom are returners from last year's roster. Alex Schumacher leads the group at 12.3 and leads the team in assists at nearly five per game. As a unit, Seattle U is 19th in the nation in defending the three-point line, only allowing their opposition to shoot 28% from deep.
LANCERS AT A GLANCE:
CBU continues to make its name in the rebounding department, ranking in the top 60 in both rebounding margin and offensive rebounding. The Lancers pull in nearly 13 offensive boards per contest and outrebound their opponents by seven. Defensively, CBU is 60th in the country in scoring defense, holding the opposition to 65 points per game, which is the best mark in the WAC.
SBVC transfer Dominique Daniels Jr. continues to drive the Lancer offense, averaging 18.2 points per game. Daniels is the third-highest scorer in the WAC and is second in the conference in threes made behind Tyson. Daniels has assembled two 30-point contests this season, including a season-high 32 against Western Kentucky.
LSU transfer Kendal Coleman has also come on strong as of late for the Lancers after being deemed eligible via the new NCAA transfer rules. Coleman scored a season-high 14 points and pulled in 12 rebounds off the bench against New Mexico State. Coleman played a season-high 16 minutes in that game and is a crucial piece for CBU moving forward this season.
MATCH INFORMATION:
Opponent #1: Utah Valley
Date and Time: Thursday, January 4 at 5 PM PT
Location: Orem, Utah
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: FOX AM 1350
Opponent #2: Seattle U
Date and Time: Saturday, January 6 at 3 PM PT
Location: Seattle, WA
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: FOX AM 1350
