Will the Slow Starts Catch Up to GCU? Recent Results Say Otherwise
GCU has trailed by double digits in nearly ever WAC game thus far, yet the Lopes are undefeated in WAC play.
Imagine this…a team that is 16-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play.
Then imagine this…that same team who is red hot and rolling along to a conference title yet has trailed by double figures in four of the six conference wins as well as trailed at some point by double figures in a few other of the 16 wins.
You would think something will have to give, right?
Well, for the Grand Canyon men’s basketball team, trailing by double digits or trailing by six or more in the first half of games seems to be the norm.
And getting behind in ball games seems to rejuvenate a squad that is looking to be a single digit seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Do you remember the movie ‘Seabiscuit’?
Remember how Red learns that Seabiscuit has to look into the eyes of another horse in order to get energized into taking off for the win?
Well, that might be the case for the Lopes in 2023-24.
On Thursday night, the Lopes trailed by as many as nine before pulling away for the 10-point win over Abilene Christian.
On Saturday night, Tarleton led 24-10 over GCU with just over 11 minutes left in the first half.
But, then the Lopes and arguably the WAC Player of the Year looked into the eyes of the opponent and the game changed in an instant.
With Tarleton leading 21-7 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half, Tyon Grant-Foster knocked down a 3-pointer, got fouled, and turned to the bench with a flex, and the old, ‘LET’S GO’, yell.
“Tyon really turned that last game with his energy,” GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. “With his leadership with the team, when we were down by 14, starting with his baskets, and his vocal leadership with our bench.”
Grant-Foster’s energy in that moment was arguably the beginning of the end for Tarleton.
Sure, Devon Barnes knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 14.
However, the sleeping giant was awake and a 16-0 run to end the first was the catalyst behind a 26-point blowout over what was the second best team in the WAC up until that point.
“Other teams have gotten off to fast starts against us,” said. “They’ve played well, they’ve made shots. They’ve come ready to play and executed well.”
Back in December, GCU trailed by as many as 17 at Liberty. However, GCU walked away from Lynchburg with a 69-64 win.
Against UT Arlington at home on Dec. 2, it was a 10-0 run to end the game that led to the 76-69 come from behind win over the Mavs.
At Utah Tech on Jan. 6, GCU trailed by as many as 16 midway through the first half. Then the switch got turned on and GCU rolled to a 10-point win over the Trailblazers at Burns Arena.
Gutsy performances? Or perhaps a confidence that no matter what happens early on, it won’t stop GCU from winning games?
“I think our guys have settled into the game,” Drew said. “Kind of found their spots from there. We would like to be more aggressive, especially offensively, starting games.”
Maybe it is just the notion that the target on the backs of the Lopes is huge and opponents are coming out with a bit of an edge early on.
What opponents need to learn is that it isn’t how you start the game…it is how you finish the game.
That is where GCU excels. With Tyon Grant-Foster, Gabe McGlothan, and Ray Harrison, Bryce Drew has a stable of closers who have a ‘can’t lose, won’t lose’ mentality.
“Our guys have taken some punches in those games,” Drew said. “They’ve kind of come together and dug deep. You know in some huddles, I really didn’t have to say much. They knew what they had to do and took it upon themselves to get back in the game.”
At 6-0 in WAC play, winners of 12 straight games, and the top-seed at the WAC Tournament in March all but wrapped up, GCU is in the discussion for a top-25 ranking, as well as a single-digit seed at the NCAA Tournament.
The resume is impressive. Wins over San Francisco, at Liberty, then-25th-ranked San Diego State, Louisiana Tech. And the lone blemish to SEC foe South Carolina.
Five of GCU’s six conference wins have come by 10 or more points. The Lopes are the only team that hasn’t lost a road game in WAC play.
According to KenPom, the Lopes are predicted to win out…which would give GCU a 30-win season and set the stage for an interesting Selection Sunday.
“It’s one game at a time,” Bryce Drew said about handling the pressure.
“Every night we know it’s gonna be a battle. We’re gonna have to play well every night. Our team knows we have to continue to get better. We can’t stay the same.”
GCU has won 12 straight games against WAC schools dating back to March 1, 2023 when the Lopes beat Southern Utah in Cedar City.
At 6-0, two games ahead of Tarleton, Utah Tech and SFA, the Lopes are well on their way to their second regular season title in four years.
“We still have a lot of season left,” Drew said. “Our main goal, especially the last two days, is trying to move the needle forward. Individually, as a player, to get better. And as a team, collectively.”
And, like Seabiscuit, the Lopes are doing it by looking into the eyes of their opponents.
As George says in the final race, “Have a nice ride, Johnny”, so says the GCU men’s basketball team to its own GCU faithful…
”Have a nice ride, Lopes.”