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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Abilene Christian

SEATTLE – 

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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Abilene ChristianGAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Abilene Christian
SEATTLE – Seattle U men's basketball (16-6, 7-2 WAC) returns home from a two-game road swing to host Abilene Christian (11-11, 3-8 WAC) in the first of two final games of the season at Climate Pledge Arena. The Redhawks and Wildcats tip off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1. 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

  • Seattle U lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season following a 79-65 defeat at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Jan. 28.
  • The Redhawks moved to 16-6 overall and 7-2 in WAC play.
  • The loss was the first time this season the Redhawks had dropped a weekend decision, moving to 9-1 on the season when playing on Saturday or Sunday.
  • Cameron Tyson had 16 points to lead the Redhawks at SFA. Alex Schumacher had 12 points and Matthew Levis scored a career-high eight points off the bench.
  • The Redhawks enter Wednesday's game riding a 10-game home win streak dating back to last season. They are 9-0 at home so far this year, including two wins at Climate Pledge Arena and seven at the Redhawk Center.
  • Riley Grigsby is set to become Seattle U's all-time leader in career games played. Wednesday's game against Abilene Christian will mark the fifth-year senior's 125th game. 
  • Seattle U has six true road wins this season, matching last year's six road victories, which is the most in the program's  modern DI era.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS ABILENE CHRISTIAN
This marks just the third all-time meeting between Seattle U and Abilene Christian with the series tied 1-1. The Redhawks won the lone regular-season meeting of 2021-22, earning a 72-62 win on Jan. 20 in Abilene, Texas. The Redhawks rode a stellar first half shooting (52%) while holding the Wildcats to 28%). Cameron Tyson led four Redhawks in scoring with 20 points. Riley Grigsby had 15 points, Darrion Trammell had 14 and Kyree Brown came of the bench to add 12. The Wildcats would even the score and put an end to the Redhawks' season, earning a 78-76 win in the WAC Tournament semifinals on March 12. Trammell poured in a career-high 39 points in the loss while Tyson added 14 points.

UNBEATEN WHEN...
...the game is decided by 10 points or less (6-0)
...five players score in double figures (4-0)
...shooting better than 40% from the field (14-0)
...holding opponents under 40% from the field (9-0)

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN PART 1
Through 22 games this season, Cameron Tyson has 68 threes, bringing his Seattle U career total to 173. That mark puts Tyson in sole possession of fourth all-time. Next on the list with the third most career threes is Matej Kavas (2016-19) with 177. The program record of 239 career threes is held by Aaron Waite (1988-92). Riley Grigsby has also entered the career top-10 in three pointers, currently ranking in a tie for seventh with 150.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN PART 2
Kobe Williamson and Riley Grigsby both rank in the top 10 for career blocked shots. Williamson enters Wednesday's game versus Abilene Christian with 84 blocks, good for third all-time. Grigsby sits in seventh with 75 career blocks. The all-time record of 109 blocks is held by Aaron Menzies (2015-18).

TRIO OF 1,000-POINT SCORERS
Alex Schumacher's made free throw at the 16:29 mark of the second half against Iona on Dec. 23 gave the junior guard 1,000 for his career. He scored 886 points during three seasons (including a shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID), and has added 252 points through 22 games played as a Redhawk for 1,134 career points and counting. Shumacher's achievement gives the Redhawks three 1,000-point scorers on the squad as Cameron Tyson sits at 1,388 points for his career and Riley Grigsby has 1,361 career points.

GRIGSBY HEADS TOWARDS LONGEVITY RECORDS
A rare fifth-year senior thanks to the extra year of eligibility allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riley Grigsby will look to become Seattle U's all-time leader in games played in this season. Through 21 game this season, Grigsby has tied the all-time record of 124, also held by William Powell (2014-17). With his 36 minutes played at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 28, Grigsby remains in second place for career minutes played with 3,383. He recently passed now No. 3 Powell (3,178 minutes) still trails all-time leader Morgan Means (2017-20, 3,737 minutes), who has returned to the program as a graduate assistant this year, by 354 minutes.

NATIONAL RANKS
In games played through Jan. 30, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in fifth team categories:

  • 8th in 3-pt attempts per game (28.4)
  • 29th in 3-pters per game (9.0)
  • 36th in 3-pt percentage defense (30.2)
  • 43rd in rebounds per game (38.3)
  • 50th in winning percentage (72.7)

In games played through Jan. 30, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in four individual categories:

NET RANKINGS
The first NET rankings of the season were released on Monday, Dec. 5 with Seattle U earning the highest position in ranking history – 61. In games played through Jan. 30, the Redhawks rank 105. The NET, which stands for NCAA Evaluation Tool, replaced the RPI for men's and women's basketball and helps determine which teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season. Beginning this season, the system will now also be a factor used for seeding for the WAC Tournament.

REDHAWKS RECEIVE VOTES IN COACHES POLL
Following a a 7-0 start to WAC play, the Redhawks were among the teams receiving votes in the Jan. 23 USA TODAY Sports Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. The four votes in the Monday poll marks the Redhawks first-ever appearance in the Coaches Poll (which dates back to 1991-92) and first recognition in a Division I national poll since the 1964-65 season (began the season ranked 15th in the preseason AP poll).

WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

  • Riley Grigsby was named WAC Player of the Week (Jan. 16-22) for a second consecutive week after averaging 23 points and 6.5 rebounds in two Redhawk wins.
  • Riley Grigsby was named WAC Player of the Week (Jan. 9-15) after averaging 23 points and 8.5 rebounds while leading Seattle U to a 2-0 week of WAC play.
  • Cameron Tyson was named WAC Player of the Week for his performances during the opening week of play, which included averaging 33.5 points, 7.5 threes and 5.5 rebounds per game. He shot better than 56% from the field, including 8-for-13 (55.6%) from three.

VICTOR NAMED HOOPDIRT.COM DI COACH OF THE WEEK
Head Coach Chris Victor was named Hoopdirt.com DI Coach of the Week after leading Seattle U to a 2-0 week that included a home win over NM State and a huge road victory at Utah Valley. This marked the second such award for Victor, who also earned the honor once last season.

REDHAWK RUNDOWN

  • The 40 points scored at Sam Houston on Jan. 26 was the least points a Redhawk team had scored since March 12, 2021 when they lost 81-47 to Grand Canyon. The last time SU scored less points was on Jan. 24, 2008 against Alaska Anchorage in a 45-38 final in Seattle.
  • Seattle U held Tarleton to just 47 points on Jan. 19, the least points allowed by an opponent since Nov. 23, 2021 when Pacific Lutheran was held to 40 points.
  • The win over NM State on Jan. 12  was just the fifth ever in the 26 games all-time and snapped a three-game skid against the Aggies.
  • The Redhawks shot 53.8% (28-52) from the field versus UTA on Jan. 7, marking their best shooting performance of the season. Their 50% mark from three (10-20) matched the season best, also achieved versus Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 23.
  • In its first-ever game on Christmas Day, Seattle U earned a convincing 85-67 win over George Washington to close out play at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
  • The Redhawks concluded non-conference play with a 9-4 record, marking the second straight season of nine non-conference victories.
  • Seattle U went 32-of-45 from the free-throw line on Dec. 23 against Iona, which marks the most made free throws since making 33 at Utah Valley on Jan. 15, 2021 and the most attempts since Dec. 3, 2009 when they attempted 48 against Cal Poly.
  • Alex Schumacher had a then season-high 17 points versus Iona on Dec. 23 as his made free throw early in the second half gave the junior guard 1,000 points for his career. The Redhawk squad now features a trio of 1,000-point scorers in Schumacher, Riley Grigsby and Cameron Tyson.
  • The overtime victory at North Dakota on Dec. 10 marked the first extra time game played this season. In Head Coach Chris Victor's one-plus year tenure, the Redhawks now have two overtime games, going 2-0 in the contests. Victor's first OT win was a 92-85 final Jan. 17, 2022 at California Baptist.
  • The Redhawks have rallied from double-digit deficits and gone on to win twice this season. The first was a 14-point spread against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 30 at Climate Pledge Arena. The Redhawks won the match-up, 69-62. The second was a 17-point hole at North Dakota on Dec. 10. In that match-up, Seattle U rallied and, in overtime, Alex Schumacher hit the game-winning shot for an 80-78 victory.
  • The five straight wins to start this season marked the best unbeaten start to a season since 2007-08 (the final year Seattle U competed as a DII member), when they went 6-0 before dropping a game.
  • Seattle U won its sixth straight home opener with a 106-55 final over University of Puget Sound on Nov. 9 at the Redhawk Center.
  • Seattle U won its fourth consecutive season opener, downing the Tritons of UC San Diego, 85-71, on Nov. 7.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets and multi-game flex packages for the Redhawks five remaining home games are on sale now. All ticket options may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.

UP NEXT
Seattle U heads back out on the road for a quick trip to Las Cruces, N.M. to face NM State on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip off from the Pan American Center is set for 7 p.m. Mountain Time, 6 p.m. Pacific.

Stay connected with Seattle U men's basketball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.