2025-26 WAC Men's Basketball Release - Week 12

UTAH VALLEY WINS SHOWDOWN WITH UTA TO REMAIN ATOP THE WAC AT 5-1
Utah Valley remained in first place through the initial wave of the WAC schedule with a 5-1 (.833) record following an 86-74 home victory over UT Arlington last weekend. UTA remained in solo second place with a 4-2 (.667) mark in conference play, with California Baptist and Utah Tech both at .500 with matching 3-3 records.

WOLVERINES EMERGE FROM 1 VS. 2 MATCHUP IN OREM
The top two teams in the WAC standings squared off on Jan. 17 with first place on the line, and Utah Valley emerged with a convincing 86-74 victory over UT Arlington. The Wolverines raced out to a 46-28 lead at halftime after shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the first 20 minutes. Jackson Holcombe led five Utah Valley players who scored 10 or more points with 16 points, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Trevan Leonhardt contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Wolverines.

CBU ON A HOT STREAK THANKS TO A THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
California Baptist continued its climb back up the WAC standings thanks to a third straight win, traveling to Abilene Christian and coming away with a 74-58 victory on Jan. 15. The Lancers have been led during the winning streak by Martel Williams, who averaged 20.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in triumphs over Southern Utah and ACU. Dominique Daniels Jr. logged 16.7 points and 2.3 assists per game during the past three starts for the Lancers.

UTAH TECH ENDS COMPETITIVE WEEK BY DEFEATING TARLETON STATE
Utah Tech remained at .500 in conference play with a challenging homestand last weekend, hosting UT Arlington and Tarleton State at home in St. George. The Trailblazers dropped a 56-52 decision to UTA on Jan. 15 before bouncing back with a 75-71 win over Tarleton State on Jan. 17. Ethan Potter earned WAC Player of the Week honors after averaging 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game during the week, turning in a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double against UTA and scoring 23 points with seven rebounds in the triumph over Tarleton State.

SOUTHERN UTAH FINDS FIRST CONFERENCE WINS DURING SUCCESSFUL STAND IN CEDAR CITY
Southern Utah picked up its first two WAC wins of the conference season at home last weekend, outlasting Tarleton State in a wild 106-105 win in overtime on Jan. 15 before taking down Abilene Christian 74-52 on Jan. 17. Dylan Jones paced Southern Utah with 22 points against Tarleton State, as Tanner Hayhurst added 20 points and Jaiden Feroah 17 points and nine rebounds for the Thunderbirds in stopping the Texans despite 40 points from the nation’s leading scorer Dior Johnson. Feroah led the way for Southern Utah against ACU with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Isaiah Cottrell added 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.

UTAH VALLEY REMAINED THE TOP WAC TEAM IN THE LATEST NCAA NET
As of the latest NCAA NET rankings that were posted on Jan. 19, Utah Valley remained in the top spot in the WAC by checking in ranked 82nd in the metric. The Wolverines owned a combined seven 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. 19, Tarleton State remained first in turnovers forced per game with a 19.11 clip. The Texans also remained second nationally in steals per contest with 11.4 thefts per game as a team. UT Arlington moved back to first place in 3-point percentage defense against at 25.3 percent. Utah Valley checked in fifth in assists per game at 20.1. Individually, Tarleton State’s Dior Johnson was the NCAA Division I leader with 24.1 points per game. Utah Valley’s Tyler Hendricks was second in made 3-point percentage at 50.5.