Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV will host a first round matchup in the Western Athletic Conference Tuesday night between the Chicago State Cougars and the Utah Valley Wolverines. Chicago State finished the year with only seven wins in 34 games played after losing four of the last five games of the regular season. Chicago State lost the last game of the year 74-66 to Seattle University after the Red Hawks shot 44.6% from the floor and 44.4% from beyond the arc to score 74 points including 44 in the second half to break a 30-30 halftime tie.
Brandon Betson carried the Chicago State offense posting a team high 31 points on 11 of 19 shooting in 38 minutes on the floor. Jahsean Corbett added 21 points and a team high 14 rebounds, while Bryce Johnson added a team leading 11 points in 29 minutes off the bench.
The Utah Valley Wolverines finished the regular season eight games above .500 in 7th place in the conference despite losing three of the last five games played. Utah Valley struggled against New Mexico State in the final game of the year shooting only 34.7% from the floor and 26.7% from beyond the arc, while turning the ball over 14 times in route to the loss.
Offensively this season Utah Valley has been an average team scoring 71.2 points per game on 45.1% shooting from the floor. Big man Fardaws Aimaq leads the Utah Valley offense averaging 18.8 points per game to go along with a team leading 13.9 rebounds. Justin Harmon is second on the team averaging 11.7 points per game on 42.5% shooting.
