WAC play starts at top of pack

Thursday, Jan. 3 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| GCU Arena

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (7-6)	VS	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (11-4)

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For the past five seasons, Grand Canyon has finished the regular season among the WAC's top three.

The Lopes' ability to continue that streak will best tested in the first eight days of conference play, when they face their top three WAC contenders. It begins with Utah Valley (11-4) at 6 p.m. Thursday at GCU Arena and continues at home Saturday against Seattle (12-3) before opening WAC road play at defending champion New Mexico State (11-3) next Thursday.

GCU (7-6) does not boast a record like its WAC peers but it has played its most challenging nonconference schedule with several near misses against quality programs like Nevada, San Diego, Seton Hall and South Dakota State. That was to prepare for an improving WAC, whose rating has moved into the nation's top half (16^th of 32 conferences). Seven of the nine WAC teams enter Thursday's opening night of conference play with winning records.

"A lot better," Lopes head coach Dan Majerle said of the WAC. "This league is going to be hard. Every game is going to be a battle. We know that so we've got to protect our home floor.

"The coaching has gotten better. The recruiting has gotten better. They're getting better players. That's good. If teams get better, that pushes other teams to get better and the league gets better. I'm happy. It means we can recruit a little bit more and it pushes us too."

GCU is reinforced with senior power forward Michael Finke expected to return to action after missing the past three games for a foot injury. Finke was averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game on 49.2 percent shooting. Majerle said Finke probably will be eased back into the fold off the bench with senior Matt Jackson remaining the starter.

The Lopes-Wolverines series kicked up in intrigue in the teams' final two meetings last season, when a tense GCU home win included the coaches coming on the court to break up a skirmish between 6-foot-3 Casey Benson and 7-foot Akolda Manyang. The teams met in the WAC Tournament semifinals, where the Lopes played one of their best defensive games to advance.

This version of the Wolverines posted its best nonconference record in program history and has won five games in a row, including a Saturday victory at Fresno State (10-3). On Dec. 6, Utah Valley led Arizona 41-29 at halftime in Tucson before losing 80-69. That was its only loss in the past 11 games.

"We've got to protect our home court," GCU sophomore point guard Damari Milstead said. "In league, every game is important and every game is magnified so we've really got to focus in. We can't let games slip away. We've got to take every game like it's our last.

"It's a good test for us. We'll see where we're at. There's no more talking about it. We've got to perform."

The Lopes' 12-game winning streak in regular-season home contests will be tested by the Toolson cousins, Jake (15.9 points per game) and Conner (14.2 points per game), who are part of Utah Valley's four-guard starting lineup. GCU is well-acquainted with Jake after recruiting him out of nearby Gilbert, Ariz., and being familiar with him as the nephew of Danny Ainge, Majerle's former Suns teammate.

Toolson ranks 45^th in the nation for field goal percentage (58.1), a rarity for a guard, while also shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent at the free throw line.

GCU opens the home conference slate before students return to campus, following Thursday's game with a visit from a Seattle team that beat California and Washington State. The Redhawks are having their best start in 55 years.

"We're never worried about the crowd," Majerle said. "Obviously, we'd love to have the students here because they bring a whole other dynamic but this place will be packed. Our players know that."

He said New Mexico State, on a streak of six consecutive 20-win seasons, remains the team to beat in the conference. To establish itself as a WAC contender with Utah Valley, Seattle and New Mexico State, the Lopes will have to carry over the defense it played in Saturday's 61-58 loss at San Diego with a more balanced offense around sophomore center Alessandro Lever, who scored 27.

"The nonconference schedule opened things up to us and we figured out we weren't really as good as we thought we were," Milstead said. "Now, we're coming into WAC play focused on getting better."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Thursday, Jan. 3 | 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) | GCU Arena

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Players Mentioned

Casey Benson

Michael Finke

Matt Jackson

Alessandro Lever

Damari Milstead

Grand Canyon University Athletics