Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 79
M Basketball
at Baylor
L 74-79
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Praise lavished on Lopes at MW Media Day
10/23/2025 7:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU men enter conference picture with success earning respect
LAS VEGAS – A vast, 38,378-square foot area of Resorts World Las Vegas was dedicated Thursday to Mountain West basketball, expanding stages, daises and a radio row over nearly an acre with MW Media Day coverage for a bumper crop of hoopers.
It was Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew's first in-person conference media day in six years as Lopes coach. It was GCU senior guard Jaden Henley's first participation at MW Media Day, even though he was a UNLV player last season. And it was a sheer whirlwind for Lopes graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane after a shoulder injury sidelined him last season.
But it was also the Mountain West's first member interaction with a GCU men's basketball program that became Division I postseason-eligible eight years ago and has shot up like the Bellagio fountains for four NCAA Tournament visits in Drew's five seasons.
A conference rich in men's basketball history and rated as the nation's sixth-best conference with GCU's inclusion showed reciprocal excitement about the Lopes' first MW season.
"My son was a redshirt freshman (on Boise State's 2018 visit to GCU) and was like, 'I've never seen anything like it,' " Broncos 16th-year head coach Leon Rice said. "We've played all over the country in great environments, and he goes, 'We just played a game in a nightclub.' It was crazy. It was the loudest, craziest environment, which is going to fit right into the Mountain West. (GCU has) a great coach, great players."
That respect for what GCU has achieved with an on-court machine and home-court scene entering the conference was apparent with the Lopes being picked to finish fourth in the MW media preseason poll. Henley and senior Brian Moore Jr. were picked for the 10-man Preseason All-Mountain West Team.
The Lopes felt that in person Thursday as they traversed the Mountain West Basketball Media Day scene for hours, just as their new conference brethren was singing their praises at the car wash of media interviews.
"I've got my butt beat at GCU a couple times, so I know what kind of environment it is and how special it is," said San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, whose team with eight consecutive 20-win seasons is the unanimous MW preseason favorite. "I know what GCU is capable of. They have the kind of home-court advantage that's hard to win at. Everyone talks about home-court advantage on the West Coast. You have to put GCU up there with San Diego State, Gonzaga, Arizona, GCU. "
In the 12-team conference that has qualified at least four NCAA Tournament teams in four consecutive seasons, the Lopes only trailed San Diego State, Utah State and Boise State in voting and ranked ahead of the defending regular-season champion (New Mexico) and MW Championship winner (Colorado State).
San Diego State returns three players who have been starters, but the remainder of the conference is a test to who has restocked lineups.
"It is nice that people recognize some of our players," Drew said. "This is going to be a very intense year all year, especially January and February when you look at the teams, the caliber of coaches, the caliber of players that's in this league. I think our fans are going to love the level of basketball. It's going to be a high level every night in the arena."
"The in-game experience at GCU is absolutely second to none," Nevarez said. "It is top in class, professionally produced and developed. The students are just so energetic and organized. Really organized. I'm impressed."
New Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner, who began his coaching trek at Arizona before a pair of seven-year head coaching stints at Memphis and Georgia Tech, sat down with a GCU livestream media day show and immediately offered a thought without prompting.
"As the league continues to progress and there's a change in the league next year, the rivalry of UNLV-GCU is so important," Pastner said. "We're excited about Grand Canyon coming in."
Byrd: "It's like a true Mountain West team, just the physicality they played with two years ago when we were there and the environment. It felt like going to a Utah State or a New Mexico. I'm glad GCU got brought into the conference this year. I'm excited to go play there."
Dixon-Waters: "Although we lost and I didn't have a great game – I think I had 11 (he did) – it was one of the most fun games I've had. The stuff (the Havocs) were saying was funny. I'm excited to go back."
Howell: "I remember a lot that I don't want to remember. That was rough, for sure. Man, y'all were good that year. It was a tough one. We couldn't find an answer for everything thrown at us."
It was Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew's first in-person conference media day in six years as Lopes coach. It was GCU senior guard Jaden Henley's first participation at MW Media Day, even though he was a UNLV player last season. And it was a sheer whirlwind for Lopes graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane after a shoulder injury sidelined him last season.
But it was also the Mountain West's first member interaction with a GCU men's basketball program that became Division I postseason-eligible eight years ago and has shot up like the Bellagio fountains for four NCAA Tournament visits in Drew's five seasons.A conference rich in men's basketball history and rated as the nation's sixth-best conference with GCU's inclusion showed reciprocal excitement about the Lopes' first MW season.
"My son was a redshirt freshman (on Boise State's 2018 visit to GCU) and was like, 'I've never seen anything like it,' " Broncos 16th-year head coach Leon Rice said. "We've played all over the country in great environments, and he goes, 'We just played a game in a nightclub.' It was crazy. It was the loudest, craziest environment, which is going to fit right into the Mountain West. (GCU has) a great coach, great players."
That respect for what GCU has achieved with an on-court machine and home-court scene entering the conference was apparent with the Lopes being picked to finish fourth in the MW media preseason poll. Henley and senior Brian Moore Jr. were picked for the 10-man Preseason All-Mountain West Team.
The Lopes felt that in person Thursday as they traversed the Mountain West Basketball Media Day scene for hours, just as their new conference brethren was singing their praises at the car wash of media interviews."I've got my butt beat at GCU a couple times, so I know what kind of environment it is and how special it is," said San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, whose team with eight consecutive 20-win seasons is the unanimous MW preseason favorite. "I know what GCU is capable of. They have the kind of home-court advantage that's hard to win at. Everyone talks about home-court advantage on the West Coast. You have to put GCU up there with San Diego State, Gonzaga, Arizona, GCU. "
In the 12-team conference that has qualified at least four NCAA Tournament teams in four consecutive seasons, the Lopes only trailed San Diego State, Utah State and Boise State in voting and ranked ahead of the defending regular-season champion (New Mexico) and MW Championship winner (Colorado State).San Diego State returns three players who have been starters, but the remainder of the conference is a test to who has restocked lineups.
"It is nice that people recognize some of our players," Drew said. "This is going to be a very intense year all year, especially January and February when you look at the teams, the caliber of coaches, the caliber of players that's in this league. I think our fans are going to love the level of basketball. It's going to be a high level every night in the arena."
Commish talk
Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez is not sure that fans want to see a conference administrator's Fathead, but her trips to watch games at GCU were impactful beyond seeing her oversized cardboard cranial amid the Havocs."The in-game experience at GCU is absolutely second to none," Nevarez said. "It is top in class, professionally produced and developed. The students are just so energetic and organized. Really organized. I'm impressed."
Future of the MW
The MW landscape changes next season, but the conference coaches envision GCU being key to the future with UNLV, New Mexico and Nevada.New Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner, who began his coaching trek at Arizona before a pair of seven-year head coaching stints at Memphis and Georgia Tech, sat down with a GCU livestream media day show and immediately offered a thought without prompting.
"As the league continues to progress and there's a change in the league next year, the rivalry of UNLV-GCU is so important," Pastner said. "We're excited about Grand Canyon coming in."
Return visits
Some of the top talent selected for MW Basketball Media Day will not be facing GCU for the first time. San Diego State guards Miles Byrd, the MW Preseason Player of the Year, and Reese Dixon-Waters lost at GCU in 2023 while New Mexico senior guard Chris Howell was on the ranked Saint Mary's team that was knocked out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament by GCU.Byrd: "It's like a true Mountain West team, just the physicality they played with two years ago when we were there and the environment. It felt like going to a Utah State or a New Mexico. I'm glad GCU got brought into the conference this year. I'm excited to go play there."
Dixon-Waters: "Although we lost and I didn't have a great game – I think I had 11 (he did) – it was one of the most fun games I've had. The stuff (the Havocs) were saying was funny. I'm excited to go back."
Howell: "I remember a lot that I don't want to remember. That was rough, for sure. Man, y'all were good that year. It was a tough one. We couldn't find an answer for everything thrown at us."
Around the MW
- Fresno State head coach Vance Walberg's father and two of his brothers live in the Valley, and three of his nephews attended GCU. "With (GCU) joining, it's going to be a son-of-a-gun league," Walberg said.
- Rice on Boise State missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 despite a 26-win season: "You build this expectation. You build this monster, and the monster has to be fed."
- When Drew was a Houston Rockets rookie, he stayed at the home of Pastner's parents when Pastner was away from his room. Drew recalls it being a night because fellow Rockets rookie Michael Dickerson was an Arizona teammate of Pastner's.
- New Mexico first-year coach Chris Olen on having 14 newcomers after previous coach Richard Pitino left for Xavier: "I don't have junior college experience of building a team this way."
- Pastner on Henley departing UNLV for GCU as he was hired in Las Vegas: "I would've loved to have him. He was really good toward the end of the season when he was at the point guard. Earlier on, he was still good but I don't think the ball flowed toward him when he was not at the point."
- Utah State junior guard Mason Falsev on the Aggies being picked second to San Diego State: "Coach (Jerrod Calhoun) said the games aren't won on the paper. I'm excited to see those polls at the end of the season vs now. We were picked seventh my freshman year. We ended up winning the conference."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballMidnight Madness 2025
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