Slate cleans for WAC Tournament

Thursday, March 12

Las Vegas, Nev.

2:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Kansas City

3/10/2020 5:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

GCU Game Notes KC Game Notes

GCU goes for 3rd win vs. Kansas City this year

By: Paul Coro

Thursday, March 12 \| 2:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Orleans Arena

	(4) GRAND CANYON LOPES (13-17, 8-8 WAC)	VS	(5) KANSAS CITY ROOS (16-14, 8-7 WAC)

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LAS VEGAS – Grand Canyon has spent five months trying to rewrite this season but plot has been wandering with every unexpected or inconsistent chapter.

The Lopes now can make sense of it with a happier ending at the WAC Tournament, where three wins puts the champion in the NCAA tournament.

After reaching the WAC Tournament championship game the past two years, it would be a surprise for this season's Lopes to do it as the No. 4 seed when it opens tournament play at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against No. 5 seed Kansas City at Orleans Arena.

With the GCU women's first-round game being rescheduled to 9:30 a.m. due to a medical situation, WAC university presidents and athletic directors planned a Thursday morning meeting to discuss the tournament.

The Lopes (13-17) pressed ahead as usual Wednesday, practicing at a local high school with the goal of beating Kansas City (16-14) for the third time this season. GCU won at 69-66 at Kansas City on Jan. 19 and needed overtime to beat the Roos 71-66 at home on Feb. 13.

The winner likely will face regular-season champion New Mexico State, which plays Chicago State on Thursday, in a Friday night semifinal. The Lopes lost to the Aggies in the title game in each of its first two WAC Tournament appearances.

"Both games could've gone either way," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said of its wins against Kansas City. "They were grind-out games. They're playing a lot better. They're really good, really physical. The reasons we beat them the last two games was that we did a good job of getting to the free throw line against their physicality, didn't let them get to the free throw line, we
outrebounded them, we made consistent 3s without shooting a lot of 3s and we made them shoot contested 3s."

The Roos enter the tournament on a four-game winning streak, matching its best WAC record ever (8-8) in its final season before moving to the Summit Conference next year.

The WAC Tournament turned into "Los" Vegas last year, when Lopes swingman Carlos Johnson posted career scoring highs of 31 and 35 points successively to carry GCU into the title game. That form returned in the Lopes regular-season finale, when he scored a season-high 33 on Saturday in the Lopes' win against CSU Bakersfield.

"Who knows what might happen?" Johnson said. "We leave up to God. But obviously we're going to come out aggressive and I'm going to play my game. I thought I found another level of my game last year, coming off screens and reading defenses and being dominant."

It will be hard to come by that many points against Kansas City, which slows the game down, plays aggressively for 8.1 steals per game and allows 65.9 points per game, the second-lowest average in the WAC. The Roos rank 24th nationally for 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 29.7% on 3s this season.

"The first thing we have to do is match their physicality and play without fouling," Majerle said. "Get them in the bonus, get to the free throw line and just play hard."

Johnson and Lever are the only current Lopes who have played in the WAC Tournament. But GCU has a point guard who never has lost in the postseason.

Jovan Blacksher Jr., the WAC Freshman of the Year, won four consecutive state championships with Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix and has been looking forward to his first March Madness.

"With all the stuff that went on this season, it happens but we're here," Blacksher said. "This is all that matters. If we go and win all three of them, I bet nobody will have anything to say about it then.
"We've got to win the first game to get to the next. We're just focused on the 'dub' at hand and our game plan. This is what matters so hopefully we execute everything with Coach's game plan and have a great energy out there."

Kansas City will challenge GCU's defensive engagement. The Roos' offensive possessions will go deep into the shot clock, giving GCU the challenge of maintaining defensive intensity and finishing with rebounds.

"They know this is it," Majerle said. "To me, it's just about wanting it more and playing hard. Make shots or miss shots, play hard defense and rebound the basketball and we'll have a chance to be in the game. We just have to find a way to play our best basketball."

Lope tracks

Johnson needs 51 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his GCU career. He passed 1,000 points earlier this season with two seasons at Washington included.
GCU junior center Alessandro Lever is one of 31 players nationally to be averaging at least 15 points per game with at least 53% shooting from the field. He ranks 55th with 53.5% shooting.
The Lopes have shot 40.2% from 3-point range for the second half of the season.
GCU ranks 47th nationally for least turnovers per game (11.5).
Kansas City's leading scorer is 6-foot-7 senior power forward Jordan Giles, who is averaging 10.5 points.
Roos senior guard Brandon McKissic was named to the WAC All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive year.
Kansas City freshman Joshua Allick earned a starting job after the first meeting with the Lopes and has totaled 20 rebounds in the two games.