Small ball comes up big as GCU visits CBU

Saturday, January 14

Riverside, Calif. / CBU Events Center

8 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

California Baptist

Phoenix, AZ Jan 12, 2023: GCU has a strong second half to knock off UT Arlington 80-48 at GCU Arena.

1/13/2023 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

GCU Notes

Lopes use McGlothan-Baumann frontcourt with 3 guards while Ouedraogo recuperates

By: Paul Coro

Saturday, Jan. 14 \| 8 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| CBU Events Center \| Riverside, Calif.

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (12-5, 3-1 WAC)	at	CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS (10-8, 2-3 WAC)

WATCH: ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – When Grand Canyon lost starting power forward Yvan Ouedraogo to a left hand fracture last month, the Lopes found a way to come up big by playing small.

GCU stays big on the frontline with the standout play of junior power forward Gabe McGlothan and a center tandem of freshman Isaiah Carr and junior Aidan Igiehon, but what has carried them to a 4-1 record without Ouedraogo entering Saturday night's game at California Baptist is a small-ball lineup.

The small-ball success is two-fold. One, the Lopes' roster is talented enough in the backcourt to use three-guard lineups even after the season-ending knee injury to junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. Two, graduate forward Noah Baumann is versatile enough to play in the frontcourt even as a natural wing player and former high school point guard.

GCU has been able to go to a McGlothan-Baumann frontcourt with three guards more than head coach Bryce Drew initially expected. That look won last week's game at Sam Houston when Drew went to it for the final 16 minutes and it was dominant Thursday night against UT Arlington, outscoring the Mavericks 46-16 in 17 1/2 minutes of its use.

"The key there is rebounding and defense," Drew said. "Can we sustain enough there on that end? Offensively, when you play small, you need to be able to shoot the ball well. And in the second half (against UT Arlington), we were 10 for 15 from 3. Small ball looks a lot better when you're making 10 3s in the half."

Baumann, the Phoenix Desert Vista High School graduate, has been a boon for that. He is 17 for 35 from 3-point range in the past six games, and that sort of hot shooting is not even unusual. He ranks 17th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.7%.

Meanwhile, Baumann is the Lopes' fourth-leading rebounder with a sturdy 6-foot-6 frame that Georgia used at starting power forward last season when the Bulldogs had injuries.

"We love how he's been rebounding the ball, how he's been defending," Drew said. "He made some really good cerebral plays on defense today, emergency-switch situations, with his experience that kept baskets away because he knew what to do. Just really pleased. He's playing a really high level of basketball now."

With Blacksher out, the Lopes still go heavy on using a three-guard lineup because of how well sophomore guard Chance McMillian is playing alongside sophomore Ray Harrison and junior Josh Baker.

The Vallejo, California, native is being trusted with more time, playing at least 30 minutes in each of the past three games after never doing so in consecutive games previously. It also marks the first time that McMillian has made multiple 3-pointers in three consecutive games in his career.

McMillian has averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in the past three games with 15-for-27 shooting from the field, including making 6 of 13 shots from 3-point range.

His long, 6-foot-3 frame and three seasons of experience under Drew are showing at both ends of the court.

"This was the second straight game that he's done a sensational job," Drew said of McMillian. "I think one thing about Chance is he'll make a mistake or two out there, and it just looks like it's a big mistake. But it's only one mistake. Then he'll come back and make really good plays after that. What I love this year, compared to last year, is if he would make a mistake or a play that he didn't think was the right play, it might bring him down a little bit or his aggressiveness. What I love is he stays aggressive through those. He's such a talented offensive player. We need him to be aggressive."

Lope tracks

GCU leads the all-time series with CBU 61-10. The Lopes hold a 7-2 edge in the programs' Division I eras.
GCU ranks No. 91 by the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
Harrison has scored at least 16 points in 10 consecutive games for the first time in his career. In his previous two seasons at Presbyterian, his longest such streak was six games.
The Lopes are 6-0 when they shoot better than 44% from the field and 10-1 when better than 41%.
GCU is 6-0 in junior power forward Gabe McGlothan's double-digit rebounding games this season. McGlothan ranks 55th nationally with 8.6 rebounds per game.
The Lopes have made more free throws than their opponents in 14 consecutive games.
After going 17 for 35 on 3-pointers in the past six games, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 17th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.4%. He is the only player besides Pacific's Luke Avdalovic and Loyola Chicago's Braden Norris with 200 made 3s and 42% accuracy.
GCU ranks No.13 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (38.2%) and 21st for opponent points per game (60.7).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 13)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Utah Valley	14-4 (5-0)	3.59
2.	Sam Houston	12-5 (2-3)	2.69
3.	Seattle U	13-4 (4-0)	2.53
4.	GCU	12-5 (3-1)	2.16
5.	Southern Utah	12-6 (4-1)	1.51
6.	Stephen F. Austin	13-5 (5-0)	1.41
7.	Tarleton	9-8 (2-2)	-0.27
8t.	California Baptist	10-8 (2-3)	-0.95
8t.	Utah Tech	9-8 (1-3)	-0.95
10.	UT Rio Grande Valley	9-8 (1-4)	-1.89
11.	New Mexico State	7-10 (0-5)	-1.94
12.	Abilene Christian	9-8 (1-3)	-2.34
13.	UT Arlington	5-13 (0-5)	-4.53