Loading

GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Utah Tech

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (15-10, 8-6 WAC) seeks a sweep  of the weekend Western Athletic Conference road trip, continuing south on I-15 to face Utah Tech (10-15, 6-8 WAC) at Burns Arena in St. George on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip off is 7 p.m. Mountain Time/6 p.m. Pacific. The game will air on ESPN+.

Opens in a new window Game Notes Opens in a new window ESPN+ Opens in a new window Live Stats
GAME PREVIEW: MBB at Utah TechGAME PREVIEW: MBB at Utah Tech

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (15-10, 8-6 WAC) seeks a sweep  of the weekend Western Athletic Conference road trip, continuing south on I-15 to face Utah Tech (10-15, 6-8 WAC) at Burns Arena in St. George on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip off is 7 p.m. Mountain Time/6 p.m. Pacific. The game will air on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U completed the home-and-home sweep of Southern Utah with a 78-68 win in Cedar City, Utah, on Thursday.
  • The Redhawks improved to 15-10 overall and 8-6 in WAC play and now sit in sole possession of third place (behind Grand Canyon and Tarleton) in the conference standings.
  • John Christofilis had 25 points on 10-of-16 FGs, including 5-of-10 from three. Cameron Tyson added 18 points and Alex Schumacher had nine.
  • The Redhawks knocked down 11 threes at SUU, the seventh time this season they have recorded double-digit threes.

SEATTLE STORYLINES

  • Cameron Tyson enters Saturday's game with 1,939 career-points, needing just 61 more to hit the 2K mark. While a portion of his points came at other institutions, Tyson would become just the second player ever to don a Seattle University jersey and have over 2,000 career points. Seattle U's all-time leading scorer is Johnny O'Brien (1950-53) with 2,733 career points.
  • After missing nine games due to hand injury, John Christofilis has bounced back without missing a step, averaging 13.5 ppg in 15 games since his return. The stretch has included a career-high, 32 points on Jan. 4 vs Utah Tech and double-digit scoring in nine of the last 12 games.
  • Kobe Williamson has turned in career-best numbers all season long. The 6-8 forward is averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 47% FGs, 28% from three and 79% 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 lead the WAC and are among the top teams in the nation in three-point percentage defense, holding teams to 30.1% from beyond the arc.
  • 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.
  • The overtime finish at Grand Canyon on Feb. 1 was the Redhawks' fifth game to go extra time this season. They are 1-4 in OT games this season and 2-4 all-time under Head Coach Chris Victor.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS UTAH TECH

  • This marks the ninth all-time meeting between Seattle U and Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) with the Redhawks holding a 6-2 series lead.
  • The Redhawks won this season's first meeting, 70-53, in Seattle. John Christofilis had a career-high 32 points in the win.
  • Utah Tech snapped the Redhawks' four-game win streak with a 93-56 win in St. George, Utah, last year.
  • Seattle U won the first meeting of the 2022-23 season, 75-71, in Seattle.
  • The Redhawks swept the season series in 2021-22. 
  • In 2020-21, the teams split a pair of games on back-to-back nights in St. George.
  • A neutral site affair during the 2006-07 season marked the first ever meeting between the two programs. The game, played on Dec. 29, 2006, was part of Seattle Pacific's Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic. Seattle U won the match-up, 87-70.

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. 120 in games played through Feb. 15.

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

  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 1,939 career points, 61 from 2,000 for his career. With six regular season games remaining, Tyson needs to average just over 10 ppg to achieve the feat.
  • Tyson is also 110 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 140 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 now sits at 1,620 and counting.

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

  • Kobe Williamson hauled in 11 rebounds on Jan. 26 versus Utah Valley, surpassing 500 career rebounds.
  • Alex Schumacher check in with 493 career rebounds, needing 7 more to hit 500.
  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 466 career rebounds, needing 34 more to hit 500.

ATOP THE WAC
In games played through Feb. 15, the Redhawks lead the WAC in two team statistical category and five individual categories.

  • 3pt% Defense - 30.1% (also No. 23 in the nation)
  • Defensive Rebounds - 26.92 per game
  • Assists - Alex Schumacher, 119 (also No. 57 in the nation)
  • Assists per game - Alex Schumacher, 4.8 (also No. 63 in the nation)
  • 3pt% - Cameron Tyson, 37.7 (also No. 64 in the nation)
  • 3pt per game - Cameron Tyson, 3.00 (also No. 23 in the nation)
  • 3pt made - Cameron Tyson, 66 (also No. 61 in the nation)

NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS

  • Cameron Tyson is one of three active players across the nation to have over 400 three-pointers for their career. His collegiate career total of 409 three pointers in 134 games played ranks third among all active Division I players (and third among players across all three divisions). He trails Texas' Max Abmas (492, 147 games) and Marshall's Kamdyn Curfman (446, 148 games).
  • Tyson also ranks No. 25 (in games through Feb. 15) among active NCAA DI players in career points with 1,939.

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 Williamson 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. 4 with 88.

UP NEXT
The Redhawks return home for a three-game stretch, beginning Thursday, Feb. 22 against Stephen F. Austin. Tip off from the Redhawk Center is 7 p.m.

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.