Lopes point to 3-game home stretch as key

Wednesday, Feb. 15 \| 7 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY VAQUEROS (12-14, 4-10 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (16-9, 8-5 WAC)

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

Since entering WAC play on Dec. 29, the season has turned into a topsy-turvy tussle for Grand Canyon.

There is good reason with the recent years' reshuffling of the conference resulting in its highest national ranking (12th among 32 conferences) since 2011-12. That puts GCU and its WAC brethren in a more balanced battle, where home teams often rule and the mix of second- through sixth-place teams are separated by one game.

GCU's home play, 5-1 in conference games, has been important and turns paramount starting Wednesday night to keep the Lopes (16-9, 8-5 WAC) contending for a WAC Tournament top-four seed that earns a first-round bye in the 12-team bracket. The Lopes play three consecutive home conference games, starting with a 7 p.m. Wednesday visit from UT Rio Grande Valley before they host Abilene Christian and an ESPNU audience for a 9 p.m. Friday game.

With five remaining conference games, GCU can control its destiny to be the No. 3 tournament seed without help that could the Lopes higher. Eight of GCU's 12 played conference games have been decided by five points or fewer with the Lopes going 4-4 in them.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 4, 2023: GCU beats Stephen F. Austin 86-83 at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ Feb. 4, 2023: GCU beats Stephen F. Austin 86-83 at GCU Arena.

"It just means for us to be even more locked in for this last stretch of games that we have," GCU sophomore guard Chance McMillian said. "We're coming in with a different mindset. Practice has been even more intense, so we're coming in looking to kill everything. Coach has been on us."

The Lopes know they let one get away Saturday night at Seattle U, where a chance at a third consecutive victory escaped when they lost a nine-point lead in the final 6:04. Coming off 50% and 48% shooting games, GCU made one of its last 13 shots against the Redhawks.

"We had actually better shots than we had against Stephen F. Austin, and we just missed them," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "As a coach, we went back and watched film with the coaches watching, and said, 'Man, we would take all these shots again.' They're shots we've taken all year and made.

"We had plenty of opportunities to win that game. Our two leading scorers made eight shots and they missed 26."

UTRGV visits GCU for the first time in two years after a season of extremes. The Vaqueros have earned the most free throw attempts per game in the nation (26.3) and made the second-most free throws made per game (18.3) while ranking 21st for fastbreak points (14.0 per game) and 50th for scoring offense (77.2 points per game).

But UTRGV (12-14, 4-10 WAC) also makes the second-most turnovers per game in the nation (16.8) and ranks in the top 20 nationally for most fouls per game (19.6, 19th) and most points allowed per game (77.5, 15th).

"We've got to come out with the same intensity that we've played our last few games with," Drew said. "We had a couple points where we didn't execute like we wanted,and we worked on those pretty hard. We need to be a determined, focused, hungry team, and that's what we expect them to come out with Wednesday night."

The game adds an extra layer of intrigue with the return of power forward Dima Zdor, who is playing his graduate year for UTRGV after playing the previous two seasons, including the Lopes' WAC championship and NCAA tournament season of 2020-21. Zdor started the first 19 games for the Vaqueros before moving into a reserve role for the past seven games and is averaging career highs for points per game (8.6), rebounds per game (4.9), blocked shots per game (1.5) and minutes per game (23.1).

"It'll be fun to play him, but we're not friends on the court," McMillian said.

Lope tracks

GCU is 11-4 against UT Rio Grande Valley but only has met once in the past two seasons (a Lopes' 84-70 road win last season) and has lost the past two meetings at GCU Arena (2019 and 2020). The Lopes last beat the Vaqueros at home in 2018 with 25 points from Roberts Blumbergs.
Sophomore guard Ray Harrison (38 points vs. Utah Tech), junior power forward Gabe McGlothan (18 rebounds vs. Northern Iowa) and injured junior Jovan Blacksher Jr. (seven steals vs. Grambling) hold the WAC season highs for each category.
Harrison has scored in double figures for 19 consecutive games and is the WAC scoring leader in conference games at 20.2 points per game.
Harrison has made 121 free throws this season, ranking 28th in the nation.
McGlothan's season average of 8.0 rebounds per game ranks second in the WAC.
After going 33 for 69 (50%) on 3-pointers in the past 18 games, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 109th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.4%. He is one of five active players with 240 made 3s and 42% accuracy.
The Lopes are 10-0 when they score 75 points or more and 8-0 when they shoot 48% or better.
GCU ranks No. 40 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (40.6%) and 62nd for opponent points per game (65.6).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 13)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Utah Valley	20-6 (11-2)	5.55
2.	Sam Houston	18-6 (8-4)	4.55
3.	Seattle U	18-8 (9-4)	3.34
4.	Southern Utah	17-9 (9-4)	2.64
5.	GCU	16-9 (8-5)	2.52
6.	Stephen F. Austin	16-9 (8-4)	1.44
7.	Tarleton	14-12 (8-6)	0.47
8.	Abilene Christian	13-12 (7-7)	-1.21
9.	California Baptist	14-12 (6-7)	-1.74
10.	Utah Tech	11-15 (3-10)	-2.94
11.	UT Rio Grande Valley	12-14 (4-10)	-3.20
12.	UT Arlington	9-16 (4-8)	-4.79
13.	New Mexico State	Disqualified

The WAC Resume Seeding System will determine seeding for the 12-team WAC Tournament. The top four seeds receive first-round byes.

Wednesday, Feb. 15 | 7 p.m. | GCU Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 13)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Noah Baumann

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Ray Harrison

Gabe McGlothan

Chance McMillian

Dima Zdor

Grand Canyon University Athletics