Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Stetson on December 2, 2025 , Win , 67, to, 45
M Basketball
vs Stetson
W 67-45
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, January 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
Colorado State
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Prep time readies Lopes for MW home debut
1/2/2026 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
After 12-day break, GCU enters throes of conference play vs. Colorado State
Grand Canyon's will to succeed is only as good as its will to prepare.
The Lopes will take a week of preparation to the Global Credit Union Arena floor at 6 p.m. Saturday to play Colorado State in its first-ever Mountain West home game.
They feel ready to meet the moment after the schedule allowed for ample practice time and then some. GCU has not played since its Dec. 22 home win vs. IU Indy, marking its longest in-season break since December 2021.
This is when GCU coaches and players have been at their best, going 5-0 this season with all double-digit wins when allotted six or more days between games. Given 12 or more days of preparation like with this game hiatus, head coach Bryce Drew's Lopes teams have gone 3-0.
GCU (8-4 1-0 MW) is preparing to succeed against 2026's unrelenting conference schedule, where Colorado State (9-4, 0-2 MW) marks the first of 10 conference visitors.
"They've been really good getting back from the break," said Drew, whose team resumed practices last Saturday. "The energy and the focus have been really good.
"They're bright, young men. They understand the game. When we've had time to prepare, they do lock in and focus. They can do it for continuous days. Hopefully, that execution in practice carries over to the game."
GCU has won 38 of its last 40 home games and gone 5-0 under Drew in conference home openers. The Mountain West is a steeper climb, starting with the defensive challenges that Colorado State presents. As of mid-December, the Rams led the nation in every shooting percentage category – field goal, 3-point and free throw.
But a knee bone bruise sidelined Colorado State leading scorer Kyle Jorgensen in the first five minutes of a 100-58 loss at Utah State, and the Rams lost without him to Nevada 75-62 at home Tuesday in their second conference game. Colorado State already has been missing its other center, 6-foot-7, 250-pound Rashaan Mbemba, since Nov. 26 and might also continue to be without him Saturday.
Without Jorgensen's screening, spacing and scoring, Colorado State plummeted from 54% shooting from the field in its first 11 games to 37% over the past two games. Its 3-point shooting dipped from 45% to 28%.
Rams sharpshooter Josh Pascarelli is highly capable, going 16 for 18 on 3-pointers over a two-game stretch against South Florida and Colorado earlier this season.
GCU's defense has been on an uptick, holding opponents to 41.7% shooting over the past seven games. In the last two games that the Lopes had a week to prepare, they held Coastal Carolina and Wyoming to 37.3% shooting each.
"That just goes to our coaching staff," Lopes graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane said. "They get all the credit. They prepare us. We're able to sit back and dissect what we have to do. Acknowledge what we have to do. They come up with a great game plan, and we're able to go out and do our best to execute it.
"It's starting to jell now, and we wouldn't want it any other way. It's conference play, and that's when you want to be playing your best basketball."
GCU is seeking its fourth consecutive win as the new year begins a nine-week sprint of regular-season conference games leading up to the Lopes' first Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas.
With a 20-game schedule in a 12-team conference, the slightly unbalanced schedule makes this the only GCU-Colorado State game of the season. The Lopes also will face Nevada once on the road.
"You get concerned with the rust and getting back into game shape and game form," Drew said of the layoff. "The nice thing is we did a week off and a game and a week off and a game in December, so hopefully it won't faze us at all.
"It helps with the excitement of being in league play and brings more focus into practice time. I know they'll be excited to get out and play after not playing for a while. They'll also be excited to get in front of our crowd and play."
With a week back on campus, GCU was able to simulate five-on-five, full-court action and take an off-day amid preparation for Colorado State. The Rams had an impressive string of wins earlier this season against Wichita State, South Florida and Colorado, but their success has been heavily reliant on 3-pointers. About 41% of Colorado State's scoring comes on 3s.
Part of GCU's preparation success for unique offenses comes from the assistant coaches' working on an opponent scouting report and a scout team that simulates the opponent's sets and systems. The scout team players have to be fast learners, spending 30-60 minutes before practices on learn an opponent's Xs and Os so that they can simulate what the Lopes will face.
"We take a lot of pride in it," said GCU 6-foot-8 sophomore Jack Sawyer, a scout team player who is redshirting this season. "Our job is to give them the best look we can so they're ready for what they see in the game. We've seen on the days and weeks when we do the best we can and executing on every point on offense and defense, that they end up playing the best they've played. It's nice to see that pay off."
The Lopes will take a week of preparation to the Global Credit Union Arena floor at 6 p.m. Saturday to play Colorado State in its first-ever Mountain West home game.
They feel ready to meet the moment after the schedule allowed for ample practice time and then some. GCU has not played since its Dec. 22 home win vs. IU Indy, marking its longest in-season break since December 2021.This is when GCU coaches and players have been at their best, going 5-0 this season with all double-digit wins when allotted six or more days between games. Given 12 or more days of preparation like with this game hiatus, head coach Bryce Drew's Lopes teams have gone 3-0.
GCU (8-4 1-0 MW) is preparing to succeed against 2026's unrelenting conference schedule, where Colorado State (9-4, 0-2 MW) marks the first of 10 conference visitors.
"They've been really good getting back from the break," said Drew, whose team resumed practices last Saturday. "The energy and the focus have been really good.
"They're bright, young men. They understand the game. When we've had time to prepare, they do lock in and focus. They can do it for continuous days. Hopefully, that execution in practice carries over to the game."
GCU has won 38 of its last 40 home games and gone 5-0 under Drew in conference home openers. The Mountain West is a steeper climb, starting with the defensive challenges that Colorado State presents. As of mid-December, the Rams led the nation in every shooting percentage category – field goal, 3-point and free throw.
But a knee bone bruise sidelined Colorado State leading scorer Kyle Jorgensen in the first five minutes of a 100-58 loss at Utah State, and the Rams lost without him to Nevada 75-62 at home Tuesday in their second conference game. Colorado State already has been missing its other center, 6-foot-7, 250-pound Rashaan Mbemba, since Nov. 26 and might also continue to be without him Saturday.
Without Jorgensen's screening, spacing and scoring, Colorado State plummeted from 54% shooting from the field in its first 11 games to 37% over the past two games. Its 3-point shooting dipped from 45% to 28%.
Rams sharpshooter Josh Pascarelli is highly capable, going 16 for 18 on 3-pointers over a two-game stretch against South Florida and Colorado earlier this season.
GCU's defense has been on an uptick, holding opponents to 41.7% shooting over the past seven games. In the last two games that the Lopes had a week to prepare, they held Coastal Carolina and Wyoming to 37.3% shooting each."That just goes to our coaching staff," Lopes graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane said. "They get all the credit. They prepare us. We're able to sit back and dissect what we have to do. Acknowledge what we have to do. They come up with a great game plan, and we're able to go out and do our best to execute it.
"It's starting to jell now, and we wouldn't want it any other way. It's conference play, and that's when you want to be playing your best basketball."
GCU is seeking its fourth consecutive win as the new year begins a nine-week sprint of regular-season conference games leading up to the Lopes' first Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas.
With a 20-game schedule in a 12-team conference, the slightly unbalanced schedule makes this the only GCU-Colorado State game of the season. The Lopes also will face Nevada once on the road.
"You get concerned with the rust and getting back into game shape and game form," Drew said of the layoff. "The nice thing is we did a week off and a game and a week off and a game in December, so hopefully it won't faze us at all.
"It helps with the excitement of being in league play and brings more focus into practice time. I know they'll be excited to get out and play after not playing for a while. They'll also be excited to get in front of our crowd and play."
With a week back on campus, GCU was able to simulate five-on-five, full-court action and take an off-day amid preparation for Colorado State. The Rams had an impressive string of wins earlier this season against Wichita State, South Florida and Colorado, but their success has been heavily reliant on 3-pointers. About 41% of Colorado State's scoring comes on 3s.Part of GCU's preparation success for unique offenses comes from the assistant coaches' working on an opponent scouting report and a scout team that simulates the opponent's sets and systems. The scout team players have to be fast learners, spending 30-60 minutes before practices on learn an opponent's Xs and Os so that they can simulate what the Lopes will face.
"We take a lot of pride in it," said GCU 6-foot-8 sophomore Jack Sawyer, a scout team player who is redshirting this season. "Our job is to give them the best look we can so they're ready for what they see in the game. We've seen on the days and weeks when we do the best we can and executing on every point on offense and defense, that they end up playing the best they've played. It's nice to see that pay off."
Lope tracks
- In his fourth year as a starter, GCU senior guard Jaden Henley is averaging career highs for points (17.8), rebounds (4.8), assists (2.2) and steals (1.8) while shooting a career-best 47.6%. The Lopes are 6-1 when he scores 17 points or more.
- Henley is one of four GCU upperclassmen with career-best scoring averages, joining juniors Makaih Williams (11.5), Caleb Shaw (9.2) and Dusty Stromer (6.3).
- The Lopes are 6-1 when Shaw makes a 3-pointer. He is shooting 45% from 3-point range and 43% over two GCU seasons after shooting 27% at Northern Colroado as a freshman.
- GCU allows the 12th-fewest offensive rebounds per game in the nation (8.2). Colorado State averages 8.8 offensive rebounds, the 24th-lowest average in the nation.
- Since returning to the Lopes starting lineup Dec. 6, freshman center Efe Demirel is averaging 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game with 72% shooting from the field.
- GCU has outrebounded opponents in five consecutive games (plus 8.6 per game).
- The Lopes are 6-1 when their 3-point shooting percentage is 30% or better.
- Saturday marks the first-ever men's basketball game between GCU and Colorado State.
- The Rams are led by first-year head coach Ali Farokhmanesh, who assisted Niko Medved on Colorado State's preceding run of five 20-win teams in six years. Last March, Medved became Minnesota's head coach.
- Farokhmanesh appeared on a Sports Illustrated cover in 2010 when he made NCAA Tournament clutch shots for Northern Iowa to beat UNLV and top overall seed Kansas.
- Colorado State plays the fifth-slowest adjusted tempo in the nation, according to KenPom.com. Its possessions average 19.3 seconds.
- The Rams blocks the 13th-fewest shots per game (1.9) in the nation.
- Colorado State led Nevada 57-56 with 7:18 to go at home Tuesday before going scoreless for six minutes.
Players Mentioned
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