Big emphasis placed on feeding Midtgaard

Jan. 15-16 \| 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. MT \| GCU Arena

	BETHESDA FLAMES (0-9)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-3)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45 / Cable 9), GCULopes.com \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

Few Grand Canyon opponents will have the size to counter the height and brawn of 7-foot, 260-pound center Asbjørn Midtgaard.

But two 6-foot-6 players makes for 13 feet of defense and two 200-pounders make for 400 pounds of resistance. The great Dane is facing double- and triple-teaming defenses regularly now that Midtgaard leads the nation in field goal percentage (73%) and the Lopes in scoring (15 points per game) and rebounding (15 boards per game),

GCU gets a chance to refine the offensive system it is still learning under first-year head coach Bryce Drew this weekend, when the Lopes host a nonconference back-to-back set against Bethesda at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Lopes got off to a 2-0 WAC start at Tarleton with Midtgaard thriving, but some of their 15 turnovers were made as GCU tried to thread the needle to take advantage of the senior big men in the post – Midtgaard and 6-foot-10 Alessandro Lever.

"As they run our offense more, they'll feel more comfortable with where that pass is going to be and where the help side is coming," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "The second part is reading that help side because, if they help too much off one man or a certain player, there's another pass that can be made that is more effective. As they read those plays and read the defenders more, hopefully we won't have to thread the needle to get it in there."

The key for GCU will be crisp perimeter passing to shift the ball faster than the defense can. Tarleton was well-coached in denying reversal to limit the side-to-side movement but the Lopes guards are going to take any crack in the window.

"If Ash (Midtgaard) is open and we see a chance, we're going to give it to him," GCU sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. said. "With everybody helping, we throw it up there and we trust our bigs to go get it because they're strong. If they get a hand on it, I feel like the ball's in our possession."

The coaching staff had optimism for Midtgaard, who Drew saw frequently as an ESPN commentator on his Wichita State games. The coaches knew they had untapped potential and have already played him more minutes (257) than he played all of last season (191).

Midtgaard figured to be a strong rebounder, screen setter and rim protector but his offensive progress has netted more points (135) than he had in any previous season. He is showing more than dunks and post-up hooks. At Tarleton, Midtgaard caught a pass on the break, swerved to avoid a defender and finished with a scoop layup.

Midtgaard has scored 14 or more points in five consecutive games, shooting 77.8% from the field and 71.4% from the from throw line in that stretch.

"When we execute our offense, I think we can get a lot of open shots and great shots," Midtgaard said. "Instead of trying to create our own, we can rely on each other and trust each other."

Jan. 15-16 | 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. MT | GCU Arena

Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Alessandro Lever

Grand Canyon University Athletics