California Baptist University
Utah Valley University
MBB Preview: CBU Set to Face Utah Valley on ESPNU on Thursday Night in Riverside
1/21/2025 6:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- Western Athletic Conference play continues this week as the California Baptist University men's basketball team prepares for a national TV match on Thursday against Utah Valley and heads to Cedar City on Saturday.
The Lancers have begun conference play an even 2-2 after besting Seattle U in the opener and going 1-2 on their three-game road trip. On the schedule will be a pair of teams on the opposite end of the standings, with Utah Valley at the top of the conference at 5-0 and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds sitting at 1-3 in seventh place.
First up this week will be a nationally-televised bout against Utah Valley on Thursday evening as the Lancers take on the Wolverines on ESPNU with tip-off set for 8 PM PT in the Fowler Events Center. UVU is the lone unbeaten team in the conference and one of the few teams in the country without a loss on their conference schedule. Utah Valley and CBU battled it out earlier this month in Orem, with the Wolverines besting the Lancers 75-69 behind a late 6-0 run. This will be the 15th matchup in the series between the Wolverines and Lancers, with UVU coming out on top in six of the last seven games. CBU's last win over the Wolverines came in Las Vegas in the WAC Quarterfinals last season when CBU defeated them in an overtime thriller to advance to the Semifinals.
Utah Valley's offseason transfers have been a large part of their early success in conference play, with Polk State transfer Dominick Nelson and UCI transfer Carter Welling leading the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg and 12.4 ppg, respectively. Nelson was the leading scorer for UVU in their win over the Lancers in early January, scoring 16 points and hauling in seven rebounds. UVU's defense is one of the best in the country this season thus far, ranking fifth in the NCAA in blocks at 6.1 per contest, and is a top 60 rebounding team with 38.74 per game.
The second game of the week for CBU will be a trip to Cedar City to take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday night. SUU is just 1-3 in conference play this season but has been lights out at the America First Events Center, posting a 7-2 home record. SUU will host two matchups this week in Cedar City, with the Lopes of Grand Canyon visiting on Thursday ahead of CBU's trip. It will be the sixth matchup in the series history between these two programs, with the Lancers winning each of the two matchups last season. The Lancers throttled the Thunderbirds in their previous trip to Cedar City, winning 91-66 to open conference play in 2023-24.
Jamir Simpsons has been the leader for SUU's offense in the early going, averaging 16.2 points per game. Simpson is the second leading scorer in the conference this season, behind only Dominique Daniels Jr. of the Lancers. The Wisconsin-Parkside transfer has scored at least 20 points in nine contests this year and scored a season-high 28 points against Loyola-Chicago in mid-November.
For the Lancers, the continued story has been the exceptional play of guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who currently leads the conference in scoring at 20.9 points per game. Daniels Jr. is ninth in the NCAA in scoring and is 17th in total points with 376. He has scored at least 20 points on eight different occasions and has scored a least 15 in every single game this season. The Lancers as a unit continue to be one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the nation, ranking 32nd in free-throw percentage at 77.1%.
GAME INFORMATION:
CBU vs Utah Valley
DATE/TIME: Jan. 23 @8 PM PT
LOCATION: Fowler Events Center- Riverside, CA
WATCH: ESPNU/ESPN+
CBU at Southern Utah
DATE/TIME: Jan. 25 @5:30 PM PT
LOCATION: America First Events Center- Cedar City, UT
WATCH: ESPN+
