FACING THE BEST: Seattle University is in the middle of a four-game stretch against the top four teams in the Western Athletic Conference. After losing to fourth-place Utah State last Saturday and before hosting WAC leader Louisiana Tech on Valentine's Day, the Redhawks travel to face Denver and New Mexico State, the two teams currently tied for second in the league standings. Seattle U needs to start stringing victories together in order to move up in the conference standings and establish momentum for the postseason tournament.
WHERE TO FIND THE GAMES: 770 AM KTTH The Truth will broadcast both games live, with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. courtside starting with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m. Pacific Time. ROOT SPORTS will broadcast Thursday's game live starting at 6 p.m. Seattle time with Marc Sout (play-by-play), Greg Lackey (analyst), and Jenny Cavnar (sideline) on the call. Saturday's game will be available on ESPN3.com through the Aggievision feed. Links to live stats will be available on GoSeattleU.com.
LAST WEEKEND: Seattle University was able to finish out a game it led in the second half, holding San Jose State to 30.6 percent field goal shooting and forcing 19 turnovers in defeating the Spartans, 56-48, last Thursday night in Western Athletic Conference action at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Prince Obasi scored a career-high 19 points, plus he pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists. Louis Green, playing significant minutes after Deshaun Sunderhaus turned his ankle in the first half, finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots, and Jarell Flora also played well off the bench with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Saturday was a different story, as Utah State controlled the vast majority of the game on its way to a 68-46 victory over the Redhawks at KeyArena. Chad Rasmussen was the only Seattle U player to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 10 points. Seattle U committed only 10 turnovers and shot 80 percent from the free throw line, but hit only 31 percent of its field goal attempts in the game.
SCOUTING DENVER: The Pioneers come into Thursday's game with a 13-8 overall record, including a 9-2 record in the WAC that has Denver in a tie for second place in the league standings. The Pioneers have won 12 of their last 15 games after starting the season 1-5, but that start featured losses to California, Colorado State, Southern Miss, and Stanford. Denver is scoring 63.5 points per game while giving up only 55.2 points per game, seventh in Division I in scoring defense. As a team, the Pioneers are shooting 47.2 percent from the field, including 37.0 percent from behind the three-point line, and 73.0 percent from the free throw line. Chris Udofia is one of the team's leading players, averaging 12.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game. Royce O'Neale is averaging 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, and Brett Olson is contributing 10.3 points per game thanks to hitting 42.4 percent of his three-point field goal opportunities.
FIRST MEETING: Seattle University shot the ball well in the first half, but the University of Denver shot it even better, especially from behind the three-point line, as the Pioneers jumped out to a significant lead on their way to a 64-51 victory Jan. 12 at KeyArena. Denver hit six three-pointers in the first 11 minutes of the game to pull out to a 28-9 lead, three of them by Chase Hallam. The Pioneers would hit three more in the rest of the first half as they shot 55.2 percent from the field before halftime to take a 43-29 advantage into the intermission. An 8-1 scoring run by the Redhawks that spanned the last two minutes of the first half and the first two minutes of the second half closed the gap to 11 at 44-33, but three-pointers from Hallam and Royce O'Neale kept the home team at a distance. Seattle U came within 10 points, but the Redhawks' failure to hit a three-pointer, as well as 11 missed free throws, made the comeback attempt harder, and the Pioneers held on for their fifth straight victory. Clarence Trent led Seattle U with 15 points and six rebounds. Hallam finished the game with five three-pointers as part of a 17-point performance, while Chris Udofia contributed 15 points, six assists, and three blocks.
COACH'S SHOW RETURNS: The next edition of the Cameron Dollar Coach's Show presented by State Farm Insurance will be taped at Jimmy's on Broadway, located at the corner of Broadway and Madison, Monday, Feb. 11, from 7 to 8 p.m. The weekly radio show, featuring Seattle University head men's basketball coach Cameron Dollar, a selected player each week, and special guests, will air on 770 KTTH The Truth from 9-10 p.m.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE: The Aggies enter the weekend with a 15-8 overall record and are tied with Denver for second place in the WAC standings with a 9-2 conference record. After losing its first two WAC games, New Mexico State has won nine straight league contests, plus the Aggies are 10-1 at home with the only loss coming to New Mexico Dec. 19. New Mexico State is scoring 68.4 points per game and giving up 62.5 points per game. As a team, the Aggies are shooting 46.1 percent from the field, including 30.3 percent from behind the three-point line, and 66.2 percent from the free throw line. Daniel Mullings leads the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game as he is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the free throw line. Bandja Sy, the current WAC Player of the Week, is averaging 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while 7-5 Sim Bhullar is contributing 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. Tyrone Watson, averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, was indefinitely suspended last week for violating team rules.
FIRST MEETING: Seattle University and New Mexico State exchanged the lead 14 times and were tied 15 times, but the Aggies were able to establish a lead in the second overtime and hold on for an 83-82 victory over the Redhawks Jan. 10 at KeyArena. Clarence Trent hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds remaining to put Seattle U ahead by one, 65-64. After D'Vonne Pickett Jr. made two free throws to extend the Redhawk lead to three, Bandja Sy hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left to tie the game at 67-67, sending it into overtime. New Mexico State scored the first six points of the first overtime period before Seattle U closed the deficit to three, and Chad Rasmussen hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to cause another tie at 73-73. In the second overtime, New Mexico State took a 79-74 lead with just over one minute remaining. Rasmussen hit a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to bring Seattle U back within two at 82-80, and Allen Tate was able to pull down the rebound on a missed free throw by Sy to give the Redhawks a chance to tie the game, but they were unsuccessful.