Exhibition Games, Conference Realignment and More
Exhibition Games, Conference Realignment and More
Three exhibition games go almost as expected, realignment rearing its head again, and season just four days away.
There were three WAC Hoops squads in action on Wednesday night. And while all three won their exhibition games, there were some things that were left to be desired.
Along with that, news of a certain big time basketball school in talks with a Power 6 conference came to life. How could that affect the WAC? We will take a look at that.
And the UTRGV men’s basketball team received some very welcome news over the past week in regard to its roster.
Preseason WAC Favorites Struggle in Exhibition
The UT Arlington Lady Mavs are the preseason favorite to win the WAC in 2022-23. Come off a run to a Sun Belt Conference tournament title and returning a WAC Player of the Year candidate in Starr Jacobs, you can understand why.
Which is why Wednesday night’s result is interesting. Giving too much attention to exhibition games is pointless. They are glorified scrimmages against opponents other than your own team.
In UTA’s 81-77 overtime win over Texas Woman’s University, the Lady Mavs were out-rebounded, struggled at the free throw line, and looked a little discombobulated at times. With new faces, it is to be expected. TWU nearly pulled off the win in the final seconds of regulation with a pair of offensive rebound put-backs that didn’t fall.
But, the Lady Mavs got through a rough outing and will have some things to address in practice ahead of their season opener on Monday against Texas Southern.
Starr Jacobs went for 25 points and 10 rebounds. Kayla White had 17 points, Shyia Smith had 13 points, De’Sha Benjamin had 12 points and Jireh Washington had 10 points in her debut with UTA.
Aggies, Vaqueros Roll
Exhibition games are fun, especially for a pair of teams with brand new rosters heading into the 2022-23 season.
The UTRGV men’s basketball team rolled to a 136-81 win over Concordia on Wednesday night at UTRGV Fieldhouse. New starting point guard Will Johnston had an efficient 26 minutes with 17 points and 10 assists. Preseason All-WAC selection Justin Johnson had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Another newcomer, John Shanu II had 17 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field.
Per UTRGV senior associate athletic director Jonah Goldberg, the Vaqueros had 41 assists on 52 made field goals. Only one other NCAA Division I men’s basketball team has done that in a game. Pretty wild.
UTRGV opens the season at Kansas State on Monday, Nov. 7.
Deshawndre Washington is going to become a household name in the WAC. The length, athleticism, quickness and ability to take defenders off the dribble. It was all on display Wednesday night in Las Cruces as New Mexico State rolled to a 99-75 win over Western New Mexico.
Washington went for 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in his first game as an Aggie. The only downfall is that Washington had eight turnovers in the contest.
One thing Aggie fans will need to get use to is games that are played in the 70’s and 80’s. This Aggie squad is going to play fast and push the tempo. These aren’t going to be the same grind-it-out type of games Aggie fans have become accustomed to over the past 5-6 years.
New Mexico State opens its 2022-23 season hosting non-Division I foe New Mexico Highlands on Monday before heading to rival UTEP on Saturday.
Conference Realignment Talks are Back
The report is that WCC King, Gonzaga, is in early discussions about possibly joining the Big 12 Conference.
If this becomes a reality, how could this impact the WAC? Surely California Baptist, Seattle U and Grand Canyon would be on the radar to join the WCC, right? Or could the WAC get aggressive and raid the WCC? It is something to keep an eye on as we move forward.
UTRGV Gets Good News
This past week has been a good one for the UTRGV men’s basketball team. Alex Horiuk and Noels Slivackis were both granted eligibility after being deemed ineligible a little over a month ago.
Horiuk is a 7-foot freshman out of Ukraine. And Slivackis is a 6-5 guard out of Latvia.
The issue stemmed from both not enrolling at UTRGV 12 months after they graduated from high school. Part of this is because they may have graduated too early or not getting seen early enough. Thus, having two post grad years. Add in a pandemic and you can see what these two were dealing with.
But, both are eligible for the 2022-23 season. And both suited up for the Vaqueros on Wednesday night. Horiuk had eight points and Slivackis had three points in the win.