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GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Chicago State

SEATTLE – Seattle U men's basketball (9-4, 0-0 WAC) opens Western Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 6 at Chicago State (2-8, 0-2 WAC). The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and can also be hear over the airwaves on KXSU 102.1 FM in Seattle or kxsu.org.

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GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Chicago StateGAME PREVIEW: MBB at Chicago State

SEATTLE – Seattle U men's basketball (9-4, 0-0 WAC) opens Western Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 6 at Chicago State (2-8, 0-2 WAC). The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and can also be hear over the airwaves on KXSU 102.1 FM in Seattle or kxsu.org.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • The Redhawks wrapped up non-conference play on Dec. 22 with a 100-68 win over Northwest University.
  • Jaren Nafarrete drained a three with 23 seconds remaining to push the Redhawks to triple digits for the first time since Nov. 12, 2019 when they beat Pacific (Ore.), 115-81.
  • The win over Northwest gave the Redhawks nine non-conference wins for the first time since 2018-19 when they finished non-conference play at 12-5.
  • Emeka Udenyi tallied his first career triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to earn WAC Player of the Week.
  • Udenyi's triple-double is one of nine recorded thus far this season in Division I men's basketball.
  • Brandton Chatfield powered his way to a career-high 18 points against Northwest, going 8-of-9 from the field.
  • Kyree Brown earned his first start of the season and tied his career-high of nine points.
  • Seattle U was able to clear the bench late and got a career-high seven points from Jaren Nafarrete as well as a first career basket from Matt Vail.

SCHEDULE CHANGES
Due to COVID-19 issues within the program, Seattle U was forced to postpone its first two WAC games, originally scheduled for Dec. 30 (vs. NM State) and Jan. 2 (at California Baptist). Both games have been rescheduled to take place Jan. 17 at California Baptist and Feb. 21 versus NM State.

EYING 1,000
Riley Grigsby's four points versus Northwest on Dec. 22 gives him 908 for his career. He now needs just 92 more points to join the Seattle U 1,000-point club. The last players to achieve the feat were Terrell Brown and Morgan Means, who both reached the milestone during the 2019-20 season.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS CHICAGO STATE
Thursday's meeting will be the 15th time that Seattle U has faced Chicago State, with the Redhawks holding the 12-2 series edge. This is the first meeting in just over two years as the Cougars did not travel to Seattle the final week or regular season play in 2019-20, then opted out of conference play during 2020-21. Seattle U stretched its win streak over Chicago State to 12 with an 86-54 victory in the Jones Convocation Center on Jan. 4, 2020. Mattia Da Campo led the Redhawks with a career-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Terrell Brown and Delante Jones added 14 points each while Rip Economou chipped in nine points on three three-pointers.

NATIONAL RANKS
In games played through Jan. 3, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in five team categories:

  • 15th in 3-pt FG per game (10.5)
  • 19th in 3-pt FGs made (137)
  • 32nd in 3-pt FG attempts (371)
  • 42nd in turnover margin (3.5)
  • 45th in assist to turnover ratio (1.33)

In games played through Jan. 3, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in eight individual categories:

UDENYI NAMED WAS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emeka Udenyi has been named the TicketSmarter WAC Player of the Week for Dec 20-26. This marks the first such honor for the junior forward from Oakland, Calif. Udenyi collected his first triple-double as part of a 100-68 win over Northwest (Wash.). The junior finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 28 minutes on the floor. He was efficient shooting the ball, making five of eight shots from the field, along with one of two free throws, to get into double-digit scoring. Defensively, he collected 10 of his 12 rebounds on Northwest misses and he turned the ball over just one time while dishing out the 10 assists. As of Jan. 4, Udenyi's triple double is one of just nine that have been recorded thus far by a DI player during the 2021-22 season.

REDHAWK RUNDOWN

  • The 7-1 start to the season is one of the best in recent history. The last time a Seattle U team started the year 7-1 was 2006-07.
  • Kobe Williamson had a breakout game against UNLV on Dec. 8, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
  • Cameron Tyson scored 23 points on Dec. 1 versus McNeese thanks to seven three pointers - the most 3s in a single game for a Redhawk since Matej Kavas drained 7-of-9 from deep against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 18, 2017. Tyson's personal single-game record is 10, set last season while playing for University of Houston. Seattle U's single-game record is nine, achieved twice, and last in 2005.
  • The Redhawks swiped 19 steals and forced 27 total turnovers against McNeese on Dec. 1. The 19 steals is the most for the team since collecting 20 steals against Linfield College on Jan. 13, 2009.
  • As a team, the Redhawks collected 51 rebounds against St. Thomas on Nov. 27. The 51 boards marks the first time Seattle U has surpassed 50 rebounds since hauling in 61 on Nov. 12, 2017 against Puget Sound.
  • Rip Economou poured in a career-high 20 points in the win over PLU on Nov. 23. The junior guard connected on six threes, marking the second time this season a Redhawks has hit six triples in a game.
  • The 40 points allowed by Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 23 is the least scored by an opponent since an identical 89-40 win over Northwest on Dec. 13, 2020.
  • The Redhawks christened the basketball court at Climate Pledge Arena with a big 77-51 win over Idaho State on Nov. 14.
  • Riley Grigsby poured in a career-high 30 points on 11-of-21 FGs and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Cameron Tyson added 18 points and the Redhawks shot better than 65% from the field in the second half, snapping a 25-25 tie in the runaway victory over the Vandals.
  • Viktor Rajkovic came up two rebounds shy of a double-double in a breakout performance at Washington State on Nov. 14. After missing all of last season with a knee injury, he finished with 10 points and eight boards, including six on the offensive end.
  • Seattle U won its third straight season opener on Nov. 10 as Cameron Tyson drained a three with 0.8 seconds remaining, lifting the Redhawks to a 69-66 final over visiting Alcorn State.
  • Interim Head Coach Chris Victor earned his first NCAA Division I victory in the win over Alcorn State. Victor now has 112 career wins as a head coach, previously leading Citrus College from 2011-15.
  • Seattle U returns to the heart of Seattle with eight of its 19 home games to be contested in the brand new Climate Pledge Arena. The Redhawks played nine seasons under the roof of Climate Pledge Arena's former moniker - KeyArena - before the building went under construction following the 2017-18 season.
  • Assistant Coach D'Marques Tyson has earned the distinction of being the youngest assistant coach in all of Division I men's basketball this season. The Bothell, Wash., native who played four seasons at the University of Portland, was born Dec. 18, 1995. He is one of two assistant coaches to be just 25 years of age to begin this season. Tyson is younger than Tyler Wilson of Manhattan College by just 15 days.

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