Grand Canyon University Antelopes welcome reigning WAC tourney champions CSU Bakersfield to the Arizona desert. The two schools are playing in a huge conference matchup, and the result will heavily impact the result of the WAC conference race. The Lopes, who are playing in their final year in the Division 1 transition period, are 15-8 and are sitting in 3rd place in the WAC conference with a 4-2 record. This a must win for GCU if they hope to remain in the race for the WAC regular season title. The Lopes had a shaky road trip in the midwest losing a tough game at UMKC, and then the Lopes survived at Chicago St.
The Roadrunners are having another impressive season coming into the game with a similar 14-7 record and a 5-1 showing in conference play. The Roadrunners lone conference loss was a 65-58 loss at New Mexico State. Bakersfield’s trip to Phoenix will cap off their three-game road trip. After winning games at Chicago St and UMKC, the Roadrunners are hoping seal a perfect road trip with a signature win at GCU.
Throughout the last few years, the Roadrunners and the Lopes have tried to develop a budding rivalry. The fairly new division one school, GCU, does not have an official competitive rival, but the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners may be the closest one to it. There are only 483 miles separating the two campuses, and the Roadrunners and the Lopes have the most contemporary history together; as both schools regularly competed against each other during their days in the CCAA. Cal State Bakersfield is the Lopes most familiar foe in the Division 1 ranks, as this game will be the 34th time the two teams have faced each other. Currently the Roadrunners lead the competitive basketball series 20-15. However, the Lopes have won 5 out of 6 meetings against the Roadrunners since they have been competitors in the WAC. The Roadrunners have yet to beat the Lopes at GCU arena.
One of the greatest storylines surrounding Mid Major basketball is the national rise of GCU’s student section the “Havocs”. The Havocs create one of the rowdiest environments in all of college basketball. That’s not a hyperbole, check out this USA Today article http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2016/12/17/grand-canyons-havocs-raising-the-party-bar/95553304/ where Rick Pitino says GCU is the toughest atmosphere he has ever coached in. SB Nation’s Connor Pence described Grand Canyon’s basketball scene; “Every student has a smile on their face, and each lawn is perfectly manicured. Think Augusta National meets Disneyland, but with 19,000 college students and a Chick-fil-A”. Simply, the GCU Havocs make it a very hard task for teams to win at GCU arena. The Lopes have a 10-2 record with one of those losses coming against top ranked Louisville.
The ‘Lopes are led by DeWayne Russell with an average of 23.1 points a game this season. Joshua Braun has contributed nearly 20 points per game in WAC games and is GCU’s other primary offensive weapon. They will lead the Lopes against a very stout CSUB defense that is allowing opponents to shoot just 39%. The Lopes will need other players to step up on the offensive end of the floor. The Lopes will also need to do a better job of taking care of the ball. The Lopes have a turnover percentage of 21.7 while the Roadrunners force a turnover percentage of 23.7 which ranks 13th nationally. On offense, the Runners are lead by Jaylin Airington who is averaging 15 points per game. Bakersfield is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league so GCU bigs Keonta Vernon and Kerwin Smith will need to secure rebounds. There is currently not a line on the game, but Bakersfield is considered a one point favorite according to Kenpom projections. This is one of the most interesting games in the Southwest. The GCU arena will be sold out once again, and the GCU Havocs will cause chaos helping their team get another home win.