With a slight hiccup at home, the 3-1 start for the UT Arlington men's basketball team was about as perfect a start to Western Athletic Conference play as there could be. Even with the loss, the start is as good as could be expected by Maverick fans. Excitement is building and the players are clearly showing confidence.
It has helped that UTA has played three of the four games to open WAC play at home. As I've watched the season unfold, both non-conference and the first two weeks of Western Athletic Conference play there are legitimately five teams that could win the regular season and six have a realistic shot. The lone road game to this point was versus the one team that I don't think can make a case they will finish near the top and are currently in last place.
With road games this week against two competitive teams, we'll have a better idea of where UTA could be to start the conference tournament in Las Vegas. But before I get into that, let's look into the first two weeks of conference play.
UTA opened WAC play in College Park Center. The Texans jumped to a large 28-10 lead in the first half. UTA never quit, and even though this game was a loss, it was encouraging to see the fight. By half time, the deficit was reduced to five. Credit to the Texans as they weathered the UTA onslaught. The Mavericks gained a lead of 51-50 a few seconds under nine minutes remaining in the game, but TSU immediately answered, got a stop and had another successful offensive possession to never relinquish the lead. UTA got the lead chiseled to one possession twice after that, but each time, the Texans answered the Mavs. With a minute and a half left, sophomore center Miles Goodman, a Penn State transfer, made a layup to get the Mavericks to within one, but TSU missed the next shot and junior guard Kade Douglas, a former Maverick the past two years, grabbed the long offensive rebound. TSU did not need another chance and made a bucket for a three-point lead. UTA missed on their next possession and fouls led to a 69-63 loss for UTA.
I don't know what it is about Tarleton, but UTA has struggled against the once Junior College fierce rivals since they have moved up to Division I. UTA is 1-4 in the regular season, though the Mavs earned a monumental win in the WAC tournament over them. There were three Mavericks in double digits: Senior guard Marcell McCreary had 12, senior forward Raysean Seamster and freshman guard Jordan Lowery both had 11.
At 0-1 with a game against the California Baptist, the preseason favorites, on the horizon, I was sweating this game in the days leading up to it. At 10-3 in the non-conference slate, the Lancers looked good against a schedule that wasn't a cupcake, albeit not a world-beater either. CBU was also coming off a loss to Utah Valley at their place. The Wolverines are the defending champions and lead the WAC in the NCAA's NET rankings. This was a prime game for UTA to get bulldozed.
Instead, the defensive effort that has defined this year stymied the team holding the preseason player of the year in graduate student guard Dom Daniels Jr. He is currently averaging near 21 points a game. He got a 25, but UTA's strategy seemed to play defense as normal, let Daniels get his share, but limit anyone else. In a 63-51 win and Daniels knocking in 25, he accounted for just about half the team's total. Only six total Lancers scored and only one other was in double digits, which was 12.
UTA almost lead wire to wire. CBU tied the game with thirty seconds left in the first half before McCreary added a bucket as time expired for a two-point halftime lead. CBU got a brief two-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but UTA answered quickly. The teams traded buckets after halftime, leading to another tie on a Seamster bucket with just under 13 minutes remaining. He got the lead on free throw from a CBU foul on that basket and UTA never looked back.
Impressively, CBU scored their 51st and final point with 2:24 remaining in the game which put the score at 54-51 in favor of UTA. The Maverick defense forced CBU into an 0-3 shooting performance, gathered three rebounds and forced two turnovers. It was one of the better defensive stretches I have seen in recent memory with the game on the line.
Once again, three Mavericks were in double digits: McCreary with 14, Seamster with 13 and sophomore guard Bahsil Laster, a transfer from Harcum College, had 11.
The first road WAC game was in Cedar City, Utah versus last-place SUU. The Mavs came out flat in the first, trailing in parts of the first by 15-6, 24-12 and 28-18. UTA started flowing better on the offensive side, primarily using McCreary's hot touch as he was 5-6 from three-point land and had 17 points in the first half. The Mavericks must have heard it from head coach K.T. Turner in the locker room as they came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first three baskets to grab the lead permanently. UTA won the frame 49-36 for a final score of 86-77.
McCreary kept the heat up after the half, scoring an additional 22 points, going 4-6 from three in the second. All total he was 8-11 and 12-16 overall shooting, plus was perfect from the free throw line in seven trips. the 39 points was five shy of the all-time record for single-game scoring and is the fourth-best single item for anyone wearing the UTA (or Arlington State College) jersey. It's not often I mention ASC in the basketball posts, usually it just pertains to the football history entries.
One of the guys he tied with is UTA's all-time points scored leader in Willie Brand. In early December in 1989 he scored 39. Jerry Janek also scored that mark against Texas Wesleyan when the then-ASC Rebels were in the equivalent of Division II in late December of 1962.
That set up a huge date against Abilene Christian. Coming in both teams were 2-1 in conference play. The bonus was UTA hosted the Wildcats and even though class has not started for the spring semester, the crowd was decent for what it was.
Additionally, ACU is a lot like TSU in that UTA has struggled against the Wildcats since their move to Division I. This century, UTA is 2-4 against ACU. There was a non-conference, overtime loss in 2021/22, a split of the series in UTA's first year back in the WAC, an 0-1 outing in year two and a split last year. The Wildcats have been competitive, which makes them a valuable conference mate for UTA. Though I'd be happy if they were a little more competitive against everyone else and UTA was a little more competitive versus ACU.
As far as the game, UTA played about a complete outing as I have seen. The Mavs have been a strong second half team all year. In some games, there have been slow starts to begin. If that is going to be the scenario, it is better to finish strong than start strong. However, if they can do what they did at CPC, play strong for a full forty minutes, I'll take that in a heartbeat.
An ACU three-pointer tied the game at the 14:16 mark in the first. After ACU forced a turnover on a steal on the next UTA possession, they score on a layup for a brief 9-7 lead. UTA took the lead permanently with a 6-0 run that keyed by a three-point shot and an and-1 layup. ACU had the lead down to three a handful of times in the second, but that consistent, steady output that I have seen all year was present in this game as UTA would answer, then expand the lead to double digits often.
McCreary led the way again with 20 points, Laster added 18, sophomore guard Cash Chavis put in 15 and Seamster chipped in with ten. That is a pretty balanced scoring output. 63 points among four players. Another four scoring along the way helped as well.
With that win, UTA was 3-1 in conference. Utah Valley has not had a game off while UTA played only one game last week. As such, the Mavericks are half a game behind the Wolverines in the WAC standings. UVU is 4-1. That will set up a big game later this week.
As for the team itself, McCreary has been a huge addition for UTA. Last year, it was Seamster and now graduated forward Lance Ware who led the offensive charge. Teams were good at managing that and the offensive output was suppressed somewhat. I like what guard Brody Robinson brought to the table and now-graduated Jaden Wells could score, but UTA's backcourt was lacking an explosive factor. There were some good players, but not once did I feel they took over the game consistently. There was a game here and there with a good or great performance, but then there would be an equal amount of games no one could find an answer to the opponent.
Seamster was a viable player of the year candidate to start the year. That hasn't changed but he's now joined by McCreary in that conversation. Last year, no one was in that conversation.
Laster, Lowery and Chavis all have contributed quality back court minutes and have scored for UTA. Senior Marcus Rigsby Jr. is a guard who gives quality minutes, especially on the defensive end.
As alluded to, this will be a big week for UTA. The first road trip, rather than a single road game, but UTA will still return to the state of Utah. Utah Tech will host UTA on Thursday with an eight pm tip off. The Trailblazers are 2-2 in the conference.
After that, and depending on the results Thursday, a big game with a potential fight for first place happens on Saturday. UTA visits the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah as the first-place Utah Valley Wolverines await UTA for a 3 pm tip. UTA is 1-2 in the building, having lost in UTA's first year back in the WAC, won there in Coach Turner's first year and lost last year. All-time, UTA has split the eight games the teams have played against each other.
While I understand the sentiment that the transfer-portal-raved rosters that are unfamiliar to fans at the start of the year has suppressed fan support throughout the country, these kinds of runs are what college sports should be about. UTA fans should be excited to watch what the Mavericks do this week.
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