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GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Grand Canyon

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GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Grand CanyonGAME PREVIEW: MBB at Grand Canyon
SEATTLE – It's the home stretch of the 2022-23 regular season as Seattle U men's basketball (18-10, 9-6 WAC) heads to Phoenix to face Grand Canyon (18-10, 9-6 WAC) in a Western Athletic Conference match-up. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. local time, 6 p.m. Pacific from GCU Arena. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and can also be heard over the airwaves on KXSU 102.1 FM in Seattle or kxsu.org.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U lost for the first time in the Redhawk Center this season, falling 68-57 to WAC leader Utah Valley on Saturday, Feb. 18.
  • The loss moves the Redhawks to 18-10 overall and 9-6 in WAC play.
  • With two regular season games remaining, that mark puts the Redhawks 3.5 games back from first-place Utah Valley and in a tie with Grand Canyon for fifth in the regular-season conference standings.
  • As of Feb. 19, the Redhawks also sit in fourth place in the WAC Resume Seeding standings, 0.5 points ahead of Grand Canyon. A top-four finish will ensure a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament, which begins Tuesday, March 7 in Las Vegas.
  • Alex Schumacher had 19 points in the loss to Utah Valley, marking the fifth time this season he has led the team in scoring.
  • Riley Grigsby hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, marking the 10th time this season he has led the team in that category.
  • Cameron Tyson scored six points on Feb. 18 versus Utah Valley, bringing his overall career total to 1,479 and his Seattle U career total to 930 points. He stands 70 points from hitting the 1K marker in a Seattle U uniform with three regular-season games remaining.
  • This marks the 25th time in program history (78 years) that Seattle U has reached 18 wins in a season. The Redhawks eye back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1963-64 when a 22-win season followed 21 wins in 1962-63.
  • The program has 15 total 20-win seasons all-time, including a 23-win season last year under first-year Head Coach Chris Victor.
  • 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 GRAND CANYON
This with be the 21st all-time meeting between Seattle U and Grand Canyon, with the Lopes holding a 15-5 advantage in the series. The Redhawks snapped a three-game GCU streak on Feb. 11, 2023 with a 63-58 win at the Redhawk Center for this season's first meeting. Alex Schumacher poured in a season-high 26 points, Riley Grigsby had 16 and Cameron Tyson added 11. Seattle U led early, but later trailed by nine with eight minutes remaining before rallying down the stretch. The teams met just once last year with GCU claiming a 78-66 win in Phoenix, a win that snapped the Redhawks' eight-game win streak to start WAC play. Seattle U's lone win at GCU Arena was also its first overall win in the series. That came on Jan. 30, 2016, in a 59-57 final. SU rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit and outscored the Lopes 31-22 in the second half.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN PART 1
Through 28 games this season, Cameron Tyson has 82 threes, bringing his Seattle U career total to 187. That mark puts Tyson in sole possession of third all-time. Next on the list with the second most career threes is Isiah Umipig (2013-15) with 229. 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 sixth with 163.

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 Friday's game at Grand Canyon with 90 blocks, good for third all-time. Grigsby sits in sixth with 80 career blocks. The all-time record of 109 blocks is held by Aaron Menzies (2015-18). Ranked second is Josh McMillion (1993-96) with 95 blocks.

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 345 points through 28 games played as a Redhawk for 1,209 career points and counting. Schumacher's achievement gives the Redhawks three 1,000-point scorers on the squad as Cameron Tyson sits at 1,479 points for his career and Riley Grigsby has 1,459 career points.

GRIGSBY CAPTURES LONGEVITY RECORD
A rare fifth-year senior thanks to the extra year of eligibility allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riley Grigsby became Seattle U's all-time leader in games played on Feb. 1 versus Abilene Christian by marking his 125th career appearance. Grigsby surpassed the previous all-time record of 124, also held by William Powell (2014-17) and has now played in 130 career games. With his 38 minutes played versus Utah Valley on Feb. 18, Grigsby continues to close the career minutes played gap, though still in second with 3,592. 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 145 minutes.

NATIONAL RANKS
In games played through Feb. 22, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in two team categories:

  • 10th in 3-pt attempts per game (27.8)
  • 44th in 3-pters per game (8.8)

In games played through Feb. 22, 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 Feb. 22, the Redhawks rank 141. 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

  • Emeka Udenyi collected four rebounds on Feb. 15 at CBU, sending him over the 500-rebound marker for his career.
  • 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
All ticket options for the Redhawks' final home game are on sale now and may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.

UP NEXT
Seattle U heads out on the road for the final time this regular season, traveling to St. George, Utah, to face Utah Tech on Wednesday, March 1.

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.