Grand Canyon men's basketball tries to salvage season with WAC tournament run
A snowball fight started Grand Canyon's trip in Utah last week. It ended with two wins, its first week of winning both games during the Western Athletic Conference season. But it wasn't enough to get a bye into this week's WAC Tournament.
But facing an uphill battle is nothing new for the preseason favorite, which will play at 3 p.m. (Arizona time) Tuesday against No. 12 UT Arlington (11-20) at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. GCU ended up the fifth seed, because he wasn't able to the help it needed to get a bye to Thursday's quartefinals.
So, for the Antelopes (20-11) to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, they'll have to win four games, concluding with Saturday's championship in Orleans Arena.
GCU coach Bryce Drew noticed this stat that jumps out.
Of the top four teams, who all received byes, three of them had no starters miss any games during conference play with the other only having one starter miss a game. For GCU, it had 27 missed conference games among starters, including WAC Preseason Player of the Year Jovan Blacksher Jr., whose season ended Jan. 5 with a torn ACL.
"When we won the league two years ago, we only had one starter miss one game and we lost that game," Drew said.
But the Lopes have responded well with their backs against the wall. After losing badly to Seattle U on their home floor, they finished the regular season in Utah, winning at Southern Utah against a team that had not lost a WAC game at home, and at Utah Tech.
They played with urgency and passion, got after it defensively and on the boards, and got big-time efforts from guard Ray Harrison, forward Gabe McGlothan and reserve Walter Ellis to look like a team that realizes it's time to make a move.
"I think we found ourselves, our identity," McGlothan said. "We were searching for that. We were able to play our style of basketball. The Utah trip definitely helped us."
Drew felt the team got a big boost from power forward Yvan Ouedraoga and guard Josh Baker, who both had been out with injuries this year.
Ouedraogo's toughness on the boards and on defense are vital for the Lopes to make a run. Baker makes an impact on defense and he's a dynamic scorer, along with Harrison (17.4 points a game) and Chance McMillian.
McMillian and McGlothan are the only players from that 2021 NCAA Tournament team playing now who played important roles then, when the Lopes won their first and only WAC Tournament.
"I think adversity only grows somebody," McGlothan said. "So with the adversity that we faced, I think out of any team, if anybody's going to do it from the fifth seed or below, I don't see why it can't be us.
"I think we're the most prepared because of the battles we had to fight."
GCU, 7-3 all-time in the WAC Tournament, has advanced to the championship game three times. It hasn't won three games in a row since winning four in a row from Dec. 17 to Jan. 5.
They beat UT Arlington 80-48 at home on Jan. 12. But Drew knows how dangerous these first-round games are. Arlington is small team that switches a lot on defense and has had some good wins against top-seeded Sam Houston and No. 6 Stephen F. Austin.
Drew wants to see a carry over from Utah to Las Vegas with his team.
"For the last week, we talked that March is what matters," Drew said. "You want to play your best basketball in March. The guys are really locked in, no matter what time the game is. I think they're ready to get out there and play."
GCU women get bye to quarters
Grand Canyon's women's team (20-9) got a bye to Wednesday's quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and will play the winner of No. 6 UT Arlington and No. 11 Seattle U at 9 p.m.
Coach Molly Miller had a second straight 20-win season, despite changing over much of the roster.
Junior forward Tiarra Brown was named to the All-WAC first team and All-Defensive team, averaging 11.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Aaliyah Collins also made the All-Defensive team. Brown and Collins combined for 135 steals.
Miller's teams always start with pressure defense, which leads to offense.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GCU hoops tries to salvage season of injuries with WAC tournament run
