2013 Great West Conference Men's Basketball Semifinals
Friday, March 15, 2013 - 7:30 p.m.
No. 2 Texas-Pan American (16-15)
at
No. 3 Chicago State (9-21)
Jones Convocation Center
Complete Game Notes I
Watch Online I
Listen On WVON 1690 AM I
Live Stats
2013 GWC AWARD WINNERS -
Newcomer of the Year -
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton)
Co-Defensive Player of the Year -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg)
All-GWC Second Team
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton),
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg)
All-GWC Honorable Mention
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon),
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East)
All-Newcomer Team
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton),
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg),
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon)
SERIES HISTORY -
Chicago State leads the all-time series with UTPA 7-5. The Broncs have won both contests with Chicago State this season. However both games have been close. At UTPA,
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) had a potential game tying 3-pointer miss at the buzzer resulting in a 68-65 loss. In Chicago on Feb. 23 the Cougars led by five points with nine minutes left before going cold from the floor. UTPA ended up winning 55-51.
A WIN AND... -
If Chicago State wins on Friday they will play in the GWC Championship game on Saturday (March 16) at 7:30 p.m. If Chicago State is in the game, it will air live on Lakeshore Public Television and be heard on WVON 1690 AM.
IT'S BEEN AWHILE -
A win on Friday would be Chicago State's first postseason victory since going to the championship game of the 2006 Mid-Continent Conference Championship Tournament. As the No. 6 seed the Cougars defeated UMKC and IUPUI before falling to Oral Roberts in the 2006 finals. The tournament was played at the John Q. Hammons Arena in Tulsa, Okla.
LOCAL TIES -
In addition to Chicago State's 12 Illinois natives, UTPA features four student-athletes from the Chicagoland area. In addition, UTPA head coach Ryan Marks spent six seasons as an assistant at Northern Illinois University, helping the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament in 1996.
BEST OF THE YEAR -
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East) had the Cougars' best offensive game of the season on March 2 at Utah Valley. He scored a team season-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Combined with his six assists he had a hand in 16 of the Cougars' 27 baskets.
WHAT ARE PROBABLE STARTERS? -
Chicago State has used 15 different starting lineups this season.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN -
Six of the Cougars' last eight losses have been by five points or less.
DESTINATION: WAC 2013-14 -
Chicago State has accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference. The Cougars will join the WAC for the 2013-14 season. Thanks to UMKC joining the WAC on Thursday (Feb. 7), the membership for the WAC in 2013-14 includes: California State University, Bakersfield; Chicago State University; Grand Canyon University; University of Idaho; University of Missouri Kansas City; New Mexico State University; Seattle University, The University of Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley University.
TAKING IT AWAY -
The Cougars rank 8th in the nation in steals per game by averaging 9.4 swipes a contest. The Cougars haven't finished a season ranking in the top 10 in the nation in a category since the 2008-09 squad ranked third in both scoring (84.2) and steals per game (10.0). VCU leads the country with 11.9 steals per game.
BALANCED ATTACK -
The Cougars are the only team in the Great West Conference with five players averaging 8.0 points per game or more. A sixth,
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township), is averaging 7.7 points.
FREE FOR A REASON -
Chicago State leads the Great West Conference in free throw percentage by making 307-of-420 (.731). The total ranks 53rd in the nation.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC -
Chicago State leads the Great West Conference in 3-pointers per game with 7.1 per game The 15 treys Chicago State made against Houston Baptist on Jan. 19 are the most by a GWC team this year.
“DISH” MUKES -
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East) finished GWC play with a conference best 5.3 assists per game.
YOU HAVE A POINT(S) THERE -
The Cougars averaged a GWC best 66.9 points per game in conference contests.
GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY NOW -
The Cougars have forced 15 or more turnovers in 13 of their last 14 games.
RELATIVE GREATNESS -
Junior
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) is the nephew of former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen. Not surprising, Quinton wears No. 33.
RELATIVE GREATNESS X2-
Junior
Mashawn Chamberlain (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle)'s cousin is New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis. The No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Davis was in the stands to see Chamberlain when the Cougars played at Tulane on Nov. 18.
BRAINS AND BRAWN -
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East),
Jeremy Robinson (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower),
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township),
Willie Rosenthal (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows),
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon), Marks Starks and
Quincy Ukaigwe (Matteson, Ill./Rich Central) were all named 2013 CSU Scholar-Athletes in February for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better.
