2025-26 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Week 11

UTAH VALLEY CLIMBS TO THE TOP OF THE WAC STANDINGS AFTER UNBEATEN WEEKEND
Utah Valley took over sole possession of first place in the WAC standings at 4-1 after winning a pair of games at home last weekend. The Wolverines downed in-state foes Southern Utah and Utah Tech to take over the top spot in the conference. On the strength of three consecutive wins, UT Arlington moved into second place with a 3-1 mark. Tarleton State, Abilene Christian and Utah Tech were all tied in third with matching 2-2 records in league play.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER ON DISPLAY IN ACU-TARLETON STATE CLASH
The Jan. 8 matchup between Abilene Christian and Tarleton State in Stephenville featured 164 points scored, 55 made field goals and 46 free throws converted combined as ACU emerged from the early season clash with an 84-80 victory. WAC Player of the Week Bradyn Hubbard led four ACU scorers in double figures with 22 points, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out two assists. WAC leading scorer Dior Johnson from Tarleton State registered a third straight 30-point effort for the Texans, going for a game-high 33 points against ACU that included a perfect 15-for-15 showing at the free-throw line. Johnson ranked second in NCAA Division I with his 23.8 points per game average thus far this season as of Jan. 12.

UTA’S MCCREARY LEADS MAVS TO THIRD STRAIGHT CONFERENCE WIN
UT Arlington transfer guard Marcell McCreary kept his steady play rolling for the Mavericks in a key 82-72 victory for UTA at home against Abilene Christian on Jan. 10. McCreary finished the third consecutive UTA win with a team-high 20 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots from the field and going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. McCreary added in six rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal to the triumph. McCreary’s performance helped guide UTA past WAC Player of the Week Bradyn Hubbard, who posted a game-high 27 points and three steals in defeat for ACU.

UVU’S LEONHARDT BECOMES THE MAIN SCORER IN VICTORY OVER UTAH TECH
Utah Valley guard Trevan Leonhardt has been the leading assist man in the WAC for the second straight season thus far in 2025-26, averaging 6.4 helpers per game as of Jan. 13. Along with his talent for distributing the basketball, Leonhardt was called upon to provide a scoring punch for the Wolverines in a 92-76 win over Utah Tech on Jan. 10. Leonhardt scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting (6-of-6 at the free-throw line) while dishing out seven assists to one turnover for Utah Valley in the victory. Leonhardt also added three blocked shots and three steals to his line in the performance.

UTAH VALLEY REMAINED THE TOP WAC TEAM IN THE LATEST NCAA NET
As of the latest NCAA NET rankings that were posted on Jan. 12, Utah Valley remained in the top spot in the WAC by checking in ranked 87th in the metric. The Wolverines owned a combined eight wins in the top three quadrants, including a win on the road at Quad 2 Bowling Green on Dec. 6.

THE WAC IN THE NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
As of the latest NCAA Division I statistical rankings that were released on Jan. 12, Tarleton State remained first in turnovers forced per game with a 19.35 clip. The Texans also moved up to second nationally in steals per contest with 11.4 thefts per game as a team. UT Arlington remained second in 3-point percentage defense against at 26.0 percent. Utah Valley checked in sixth in assists per game at 20.2 and 10th in blocks per game at 5.8. Individually, Tarleton State’s Dior Johnson was ranked second in the nation with 23.8 points per game and checked in eighth in made free throws with 103. Utah Valley’s Tyler Hendricks was second in made 3-point percentage at 50.0 and Trevan Leonhardt was fifth in total assists with 115.