On Thursday night, Sam Houston guard Savion Flagg wanted to remind everyone that he is still a Player of the Year candidate.
Flagg hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to send Sam Houston into overtime against Abilene Christian.
Flagg drills the THREEEE to tie it and send the game to OT!#EatEmUpKats
? https://t.co/oQb0LKhx5p
? KSAM 101.7 FMhttps://t.co/FRwtBLqcIG
? https://t.co/l9RvRHuL6g
Program ? ?https://t.co/AmyeDd6KZb pic.twitter.com/uXTp9WqaWV— Sam Houston Men's Basketball (@BearkatsMBB) February 18, 2022
Flagg then hit the go-ahead bucket in overtime in the Bearkats 75-71 win over the Wildcats.
Flagg with the go ahead basket then Lampley's steal sets ups a FT by Ray! Kats lead 75-71 with May at the line with 2 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/ofW0MBGq9Y
— Sam Houston Men's Basketball (@BearkatsMBB) February 18, 2022
Flagg finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Sam Houston improves to 16-11 overall and 11-3 in WAC play. The Bearkats are a game back in the loss column behind both New Mexico State and Seattle. Flagg is now averaging 19.5 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Bearkats. Thursday night was just a reminder that Savion Flagg is in consideration for WAC Player of the Year. The Texas A&M transfer has been as consistent as they come for the Bearkats. In fact, Flagg has scored 12-plus points in every game this season. Keep an eye on the Bearkats and their star guard down the stretch.
A Big Game Renewed on Saturday
Did you see what was done there? GCU and New Mexico State are not rivals. There I said it. And on Saturday night in Phoenix, a rivalry game won’t be played. But, a big game will. New Mexico State heads to a place it lost twice last season in hopes of staying on top of the WAC standings. GCU is just looking to stay in the mix for one of the top-4 seeds. There is a ton at stake for both squads. New Mexico State is coming off a 75-64 win over Dixie State. GCU is coming off a 65-60 win over California Baptist.
Both squads feature really good guards. And both squads feature a player that is in the WAC Player of the Year discussion. New Mexico State has Teddy Allen. GCU has Jovan Blacksher Jr. It is Aggies vs. Lopes in front of a packed GCU Arena. So, yes, we can say that it is a big game.
GCU is 9-4 in WAC play and 5-0 at home in WAC play. New Mexico State is 11-2 in WAC play with both losses coming on the road at Sam Houston and at Utah Valley. Something has to give, right?
Keep an eye on Johnny McCants for New Mexico State and Sean Miller-Moore for GCU. Whichever of these two role players has the better game, could decide the outcome. 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+ on Saturday night. Get there.
Old Hammer Rivalry Renewed
Burns Arena in St. George will be rocking on Saturday night. Dixie State hosts Utah Valley in the Old Hammer Rivalry at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN+. Utah Valley won the first meeting this season, 79-71, in Orem. Fardaws Aimaq had 20 points and 17 boards in the win.
But, Dixie State has been playing better of late. The Trailblazers have hung around with New Mexico State in a pair of losses. And Dixie State has a win over Grand Canyon. Freshman big man Tre Edmonds has been giving Jon Judkins some good minutes. And his size will be needed on Saturday night. Hunter Schofield, Frank Staine and Dancell Leter have all been really good for the Trailblazers who are 9-4 at home this season.
Utah Valley counters with Blaze Nield, Connor Harding and Justin Harmon.
In rivalry games, anything can happen and at the Burns Arena on Saturday night, things will heat up really quick.
WAC Vegas Less Than 3 Weeks Away
WAC Vegas is less than three weeks away. And seeding for the WAC Tournament is still up in the air. Most teams have five games remaining. Sam Houston and Abilene Christian each have four games. And there are some really good matchups to boot. I looked at what the top-5 teams all have to face over the next two weeks.
New Mexico State 21-4, 11-2
at GCU, at SU, at CSU, SFA, UVUSeattle U 20-6, 11-2
CBU, NMSU, at UVU, at DSU, CSUSam Houston 16-11, 11-3
at UTRGV, at SFA, at GCU, TarletonSFA 17-8, 9-4
At LU, SHSU, ACU, at NMSU, at UTRGVGCU 18-6, 9-4
NMSU, at CSU, SHSU, UVU, DSU— WACHoopsDigest (@WACHoopsDigest) February 18, 2022
As you can see, it may come down to the final weekend of the regular season. But, that is a good thing. Right now, the WAC has six teams with 17-plus wins. One more Sam Houston win and that will make seven teams. Two teams have already hit the 20-win mark in Seattle and New Mexico State. The WAC jumped from 23rd in the KenPom conference standings to 14 in 2021-22. Two teams are in the top-100 of the NET. Four more are in the top-150 with Sam Houston at 156.
Thinking about these numbers should make fans excited about WAC Vegas. And also excited and anxious over the next two weeks as there is a lot to be decided.
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