Loading

GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs Utah Valley

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (11-8, 4-4 WAC) looks to extend its home win streak and create some separation in the league standings with its Friday, Jan. 26 match-up with Western Athletic Conference rival Utah Valley (9-10, 4-4 WAC). The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. in the Redhawk Center and will broadcast live on ESPN+.

Opens in a new window Game Notes Opens in a new window Watch on ESPN+ Opens in a new window Live Stats Opens in a new window Tickets
GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs Utah ValleyGAME PREVIEW: MBB vs Utah Valley

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (11-8, 4-4 WAC) looks to extend its home win streak and create some separation in the league standings with its Friday, Jan. 26 match-up with Western Athletic Conference rival Utah Valley (9-10, 4-4 WAC). The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. in the Redhawk Center and will broadcast live on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U snapped a three-game skid with a huge 86-79 win over Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 20.
  • The win moved the Redhawks to 11-8 on the season and an even 4-4 in WAC play.
  • Seattle U is now 10-2 at home this season, including a 10-0 record in the Redhawk Center.
  • It was the first loss for GCU in league games and just their second on the season, snapping a 14-game win streak for the Lopes, who have been receiving votes in the Top-25 Coaches Poll.
  • Seattle U has now won three of the last four against the Lopes and four of the last five meetings in Seattle.
  • After missing two games due to an ankle injury (Jan. 13 at UTA and Jan. 18 at SFA) Cameron Tyson returned to the lineup and led the Redhawks with 25 points. John Christofilis and Kobe Williamson had 15 points each. Alex Schumacher added 13 points and six assists.

SEATTLE STORYLINES

  • After missing nine games due to hand injury, John Christofilis has bounced back without missing a step, averaging 13.7 ppg in nine games since his return. The stretch included a career-high, 32 points on Jan. 4 vs Utah Tech and most recently, a four-game stretch of double-digit scoring.
  • The Redhawks are among the top teams in the nation in three-point percentage defense, holding teams to 27.8% from beyond the arc.
  • They also top the WAC in overall field goal percentage defense at 41.2%
  • On the offensive end, Seattle U is shooting 45% from the field on the season, their highest season total since the first year of the program's modern DI history in 2008-09 when they finished the season having shot at a 45.2% clip.
  • Alex Schumacher scored his 1,500th career point at SFA on Jan. 18 as part of a 24-point effort. His 12th point of the night hit the milestone marker. Schumacher joins Cameron Tyson to give Seattle U a pair of players who have over 1,500 career points.
  • Kobe Williamson has turned in career-best numbers all season long. The 6-8 forward is averaging 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 54% FGs, 36% from three and 81% FTs. This are all career-highs for the fourth-year junior (due to COVID) who averaged 4.2 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 37% FGs and 26 from three last season.
  • The Redhawks are 2-7 in games decided by five points or less. The collective total in their eight losses is just 26 points, or an average of 3.25 ppg.
  • The Redhawks are 1-3 in OT games this season and 2-3 all-time under Head Coach Chris Victor.

WINNING AT THE NET
Seattle U has a pair of wins over teams ranked in the top-70 of the NCAA NET at the time of the game. The Redhawks took down No. 66-ranked Louisiana Tech on Dec. 20, 79-73, the toppled No. 41 Grand Canyon on Jan. 20. At the time of each game, the opponent represented the Redhawks' highest NET win of the season. Seattle U is ranked No. 128 in games played through Jan. 23.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS UTAH VALLEY

  • Seattle U and Utah Valley are meeting for the 28th time, with UVU holding a slight 14-13 edge all-time.
  • This marks the second meeting of the season as the two opened WAC play on Nov. 29 with a meeting in Orem, Utah. Utah Valley defended home court with a 78-72 win. Seattle U led 35-34 at halftime, but the Wolverines got hot in the second half, shooting better than 52% from the field. Cameron Tyson led the Redhawks with 23 points while Alex Schumacher added 21.
  • Recent years have seen exciting battles between the two sides, including a road win for both the Redhawks and Wolverines in 2022-23.
  • The teams split the home-and-home series in 2021-22 as well, each winning on their home courts.
  • The teams met just once during the shortened 2020-21 season - a 93-92 overtime win for UVU in Seattle.
  • The current two-game win streak for UVU is the first such streak for either side since 2019-20 season when the Redhawks swept the home-and-home, including a runaway 83-50 victory in the Redhawk Center (1/11/20) and an 87-85 overtime thriller in Orem, capped by a game-winning shot from Morgan Means.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Seattle U has gone 38-6 (.864) on its home court during the past two-plus seasons under Head Coach Chris Victor. That record includes a 27-2 (.931) mark at the Redhawk Center and an 11-4 mark in 15 games played at Climate Pledge Arena.

MILESTONE MARCH - POINTS
A pair of Redhawks are racking up points and closing in on significant milestone markers.

  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 1,848 career points, 152 from 2,000 for his career. With 12 regular season games remaining, Tyson would need to average just over 12 ppg to achieve the feat.
  • Tyson is also 201 points away from 1,500 points scored at Seattle U. The last player to do so was Riley Grigsby (2019-23) who finished with 1,501. 
  • Tyson could crack the Seattle U top-10 list in scoring. He is 231 points away from No. 10 Jawann Oldham (1976-80, 1530).
  • Alex Schumacher scored 24 points at SFA on Jan. 18, hitting the 1,500 career-point mark with his 12th point of the night. He scored 13 points on Jan. 20 against GCU and now sits at 1,525 and counting.

MILESTONE MARCH - REBOUNDS
A trio of Redhawks are closing in on 500 rebounds for their career:

  • Kobe Williamson has 498 career rebounds, needing two more to hit 500.
  • Alex Schumacher check in with 472 career rebounds, needing 28 more to hit 500.
  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 445 career rebounds, needing 55 more to hit 500.

ATOP THE WAC
In games played through Jan. 20, the Redhawks lead the WAC in 2 team statistical category and 7 individual categories.

NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
Tyson's collegiate career total of 394 three pointers in 128 games played ranks third among all active Division I players (and third among players across all three divisions). He trails Texas' Max Abmas (477, 141 games) and Marshall's Kamdyn Curfman (433, 142 games).

RECORD BREAKERS

  • Cameron Tyson drained four threes on Dec. 20 versus Louisiana Tech to bring his Seattle U career total to 241. His third three of the night pushed him past former record-holder Aaron Waite (1988-92).
  • Kobe Williams tallied the 110th block of his career against Northwest on Dec. 9, moving him past previous Seattle U record-holder Aaron Menzies (2015-18) to become the outright record holder.
  • Brandton Chatfield is working his way up the Seattle U career blocks top-10 list as well, checking in at No. 7 with 81.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets and flex packages are available for purchase. All ticket options may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.

UP NEXT
The Redhawks head back out on the road to open the month of February, traveling to face Grand Canyon for the second time in a dozen days on Thursday, Feb. 1. Tip off from Global Credit Union Arena is 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.