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WAC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: MBB vs. GCU

LAS VEGAS – For the 11th consecutive year, Seattle University men's basketball is in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament. Michelob ULTRA Arena and the Orleans Arena once again host this year's tournament, which began Tuesday, Mar. 7. The fourth seed Redhawks (20-11) earned a bye into the tournament quarterfinals round on Thursday, March 9. Seattle U faces fifth seed Grand Canyon (21-11), which won a first-round match-up over 12th seed UT Arlington, 82-77, on Tuesday afternoon. Tip-off on Thursday is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT on ESPN+.

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WAC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: MBB vs. GCUWAC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: MBB vs. GCU

LAS VEGAS – For the 11th consecutive year, Seattle University men's basketball is in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament. Michelob ULTRA Arena and the Orleans Arena once again host this year's tournament, which began Tuesday, Mar. 7. The fourth seed Redhawks (20-11) earned a bye into the tournament quarterfinals round on Thursday, March 9. Seattle U faces fifth seed Grand Canyon (21-11), which won a first-round match-up over 12th seed UT Arlington, 82-77, on Tuesday afternoon. Tip-off on Thursday is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U closed out the 2022-23 regular season with an 80-56 win over UT Arlington on Friday, March 3 at the Redhawk Center.
  • The Senior Night win moved the Redhawks to 20-11 on the season and 11-7 in WAC play.
  • This marks the 16th time in program history (78 years) that Seattle U has hit the 20 wins in a season.
  • This also marks the first back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons when Seattle U tallied 21 wins followed by 22 wins.
  • The 11-7 conference record stands good for a tie for fourth in the regular season standings.
  • Seattle U wrapped up a 14-game home slate with a 12-2 overall record, including a 3-1 mark at Climate Pledge Arena and 9-1 record at the Redhawk Center.
  • Cameron Tyson poured in 26 points in the regular-season finale, his 14th game of the season hitting the 20-point marker.
  • Tyson's 26 points brings his overall career scoring total to 1,536 and his Seattle U career total to 987. He stands 13 points from hitting the 1K marker in a Seattle U uniform.
  • Riley Grigsby sits 14 points from becoming Seattle U's first player to score 1,500 points since Andre Lang surpassed the mark in 1995. Lang finished his career with 1,642 points. Grigsby is 11th on Seattle U's all-time leading scorer list behind Jawann Oldham (1976-80, 1,530 points).

REDHAWKS' WAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

  • Seattle U brings a 5-9 record from nine previous WAC Tournament appearances into this year's event.
  • In 2021-22, the Redhawks were the second seed after earning a share of the regular season title, earning a double bye into the semifinals, but ran into a surging Abilene Christian team (sixth seed) who earned a 78-76 upset win.
  • In 2020-21, the fifth-seeded Redhawks opened with an 83-66 win over California Baptist in the opening round, then fell to eventual tournament champions Grand Canyon, 81-47, in the semifinals.
  • The 2019-20 tournament was halted due to the COVID pandemic before the Redhawks could take to the court. Seattle U had earned the third seed.
  • In 2018-19, the sixth-seed Redhawks dropped an 84-75 decision to third-seed Grand Canyon in the opening round of play.
  • In 2017-18, the fourth-seed Redhawks downed fifth-seed UTRGV, 77-60, in the opening round, securing a 20-win season under then first-year Head Coach Jim Hayford. They would go on to take top-seed New Mexico State to the limit before falling, 84-79, to the eventual champs.
  • In 2016-17, the fifth-seed Redhawks went 0-1 with a 65-53 loss to fourth-seed Utah Valley in the opening round.
  • In 2015-16, the third-seed Redhawks topped sixth-seed UTRGV in the quarterfinals, 75-52, advancing to face eventual tournament champ CSU Bakersfield in the semifinals. The 'Runners sent SU to a 72-47 setback.
  • In 2014-15, third-seed Seattle U defeated sixth-seed Chicago State, 49-45, in the first round. The next night, Isiah Umipig tied a WAC Tournament record with eight made three-pointers to lead the Redhawks over UMKC, 69-63. In the championship game, New Mexico State scored the first nine points of the game on its way to an 80-61 victory over the Redhawks.
  • Entering the 2013-14 tournament as the seventh seed, the Redhawks battled second-seeded New Mexico State throughout the contest, holding a six-point lead halfway through the second half. After New Mexico State rallied back, Seattle U had a chance to send the game into overtime, but a last-second putback would not fall, giving the Aggies a 70-68 victory.
  • In 2012-13, the 10th seed Redhawks lost to Texas State, 68-56, in the first round.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS GRAND CANYON

  • This marks the 22nd all-time meeting between Seattle U and Grand Canyon, with the Lopes holding a 15-6 advantage in the series.
  • Seattle U swept the regular season home-and-home series in 2022-23, winning 63-58 at the Redhawk Center on Feb. 11 and 65-54 at GCU Arena on Feb. 24.
  • The win at GCU Arena on Feb. 24 was just the second all-time for Seattle U, which last won in Phoenix on Jan. 30, 2016, in a 59-57 final.
  • The road victory at GCU was Seattle U's seventh of the season, surpassing last year's six road wins, to become the most in the program's modern DI era.
  • Seattle U held GCU to 13 first-half points, the lowest scoring half of the Lopes' 10-year Division I career.
  • The Redhawks snapped a three-game GCU streak with the Feb. 11 win. 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 last met in the WAC Tournament in 2021. Grand Canyon won, 81-47, in the semifinals before going on to earn their first WAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
  • GCU is 2-0 in the two all-time WAC Tournament match-ups. The first meeting was in 2019, resulting in an 84-79 Lopes win.

ALL-WAC HONORS
Cameron Tyson and Riley Grigsby were among those honored on the league's All-WAC teams. Tyson was named to the eight-member All-WAC First Team while Grigsby capped his five-year career with his second All-WAC Second Team honor. This marked the second straight season that Tyson has earned postseason honors. He was named to the All-WAC Second Team and All-Newcomer Team in 2021-22. This season, Tyson ranked second among all WAC players in scoring across the entirety of the season at 18.3 ppg. He is one of 12 players to record a 30-point game, and one of just three to reach the mark multiple times. He led the league in three-point field goals made (94) and threes per game (3.24). Those marks also rank 15th and 11th nationally. Grigsby will wrap up a storied five-year Redhawk career as the program's all-time leader in games played, along with capturing his second career All-WAC honor. He concluded the regular season ranked ninth in the WAC in scoring (13.4 peg), 15th in rebounds (5.4 rpg) and sixth in field goal percentage (41.8%). He tallied five 20-point games this season along with one 30-point game. At the conclusion of the regular season, Grigsby ranked second on the team in three-pointers (43) and rebounds (146) and third in assists (43) and blocks (16).

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN PART 1
Through 31 games this season, Cameron Tyson has 94 threes, bringing his Seattle U career total to 199. 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 164.

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 Thursday's WAC Tournament game with 94 blocks, good for third all-time. Grigsby sits in sixth with 82 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 369 points through 31 games played as a Redhawk for 1,253 career points and counting. Schumacher's achievement gives the Redhawks three 1,000-point scorers on the squad as Cameron Tyson sits at 1,536 points for his career and Riley Grigsby has 1,486 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 132 career games. With his 33 minutes played vs. UT Arlington on March 3, Grigsby continues to close the career minutes played gap, though still in second with 3,648. 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 89 minutes.

NATIONAL RANKS
In games played through March 6, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in one team categories:

  • 13th in 3-pt attempts per game (27.2)

In games played through March 6, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in four individual categories:

REDHAWKS RECEIVE VOTES IN NATIONAL 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 win at GCU Arena on Feb. 24 was just the second all-time for Seattle U, which last won in Phoenix on Jan. 30, 2016, in a 59-57 final.
  • The road victory at GCU was Seattle U's seventh of the season, surpassing last year's six road wins, to become the most in the program's modern DI era.
  • Seattle U held GCU to 13 first-half points, the lowest scoring half of the Lopes' 10-year Division I career.
  • 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.

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