Preview: Chicago State Men's Basketball vs. Utah Valley March 8 at 10:30 p.m. CT

No. 10 Cougars Face No. 7 Utah Valley in First Round of WAC Tournament
The Chicago State men's basketball team will face No. 7 Utah Valley in the First Round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday, March 8 at 10:30 p.m. CT at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars are the No. 10 seed with their 3-15 conference record but clinched the tournament bid with a 61-59 victory of the WAC's No. 1 seed, New Mexico State, on Feb. 26.

Utah Valley holds a 21-5 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, including a 101-87 victory in Chicago on Jan. 27. In that contest, Chicago State scored a season-high 87 points, 26 points over their season average and had their then-best night shooting from the field this season, knocking down .541 (33- of-61) of their shots (.543 vs. ACU 2/2/22). Utah Valley big man Fardaws Aimaq entered the game leading the nation in double-doubles with 17, defensive rebounds per game (10.95) and second in total rebounds with 266. Against the Cougars, he tied a season low with five rebounds. Utah Valley has won seven consecutive games against Chicago State with the last Cougars win dating back to Jan. 12, 2017, a 70-61 Cougars victory at Utah Valley.

Chicago State at the WAC Tournament
Chicago State is 0-6 all time at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

0-3 vs. New Mexico State
2019-No. 1 New Mexico State 86, No. 8 Chicago State 49
2018-No. 1 New Mexico State 97, No. 8 Chicago State 70
2017-No. 2 New Mexico State 67, No. 7 Chicago State 53

0-1 vs. Seattle U
2015-No. 3 Seattle U 49, No. 6 Chicago State 45

0-2 vs. Cal State Bakersfield
2016-No. 2 Cal State Bakersfield 79, No. 7 Chicago State 57
2014-No. 6 Cal State Bakersfield 68, No. 3 Chicago State 62

Here's how to watch, listen, follow and attend:

Chicago State Cougars vs. Utah Valley Wolverines Date | Time Tuesday, March 8 | 10:30 p.m. CT Location Michelob ULTRA Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada Watch ESPN+ Listen  Tickets Live Stats Live Stats Game Notes Chicago State Game Notes

 
Last time out...at Seattle U
Brandon Betson has posted back-to-back season highs, pouring in a game- and season-high 24 points at California Baptist then topping that effort Saturday with 31 points at Seattle establishing season-bests in field goals made (11) and attempted (19). The 31 points were the most by a Cougars player this season. Betson has led the team in scoring 12 times this season, has eclipsed the 20-point mark six times and has scored in double figures 26 times this season. He has converted at least one three-point field goal in 28 of 31 games and has converted more than one in a game on 23 occasions. He leads the team in three-point field goals made (77) and attempted (204) and three-point field goal percentage (.377). His 77 three-point field goals made rank sixth on Chicago State's single-season list and the 204 attempts also rank sixth while his three-point field shooting percentage (.377) ranks sixth as well.

Jahsean Corbett was one of three players in double figures with 21 points and he led all players with a game-high 14 rebounds. The double-double was his team-leading fourth of the season. Corbett has posted 20 double digit scoring efforts and he has led the team in scoring on seven occasions. Prior to Brandon Betson putting up 31 points at Seattle, Corbett had registered the highest single-game point output this season with 26 points at New Mexico State. He has also led the team in rebounding on 13 occasions this season and has notched double digits boards five times. He has collected 74 offensive rebounds which ranks ninth on the Cougars single-season offensive rebounds list.

Bryce Johnson was one of three players in double figures with 11 points. Of Chicago State's 66 points against Seattle U, Brandon Betson (31), Jahsean Corbett (21) and Johnson (11) combined to score 63 of those points with the other contributions coming from Teddy Bayi Ba Mendeng (2) and Noah Bigirumwami (1). The double-digit scoring effort was Johnson's eighth of the season and he has been the team's leading scorer on four occasions. 

Last time vs. Utah Valley
Chicago State scored a season-high 87 points against Utah Valley, 26 points over their season average. CSU entered the contest averaging 61.37 points per game ... The Cougars also had their best night shooting from the field this season, knocking down .541 (33- of-61) of their shots ... Utah Valley big man Fardaws Aimaq entered the game leading the nation in double-doubles with 17, defensive rebounds per game (10.95) and second in total rebounds with 266. Against the Cougars, he tied a season low with five rebounds ... Brandon Betson was one of four players in double figures with 15 points ... Jahsean Corbett returned to the starting lineup after missing the two previous games and was one of four Cougars in double figures with 14 points ... Ali Dibba returned to the starting lineup after missing the two previous games and scored nine points in 12 minutes played.

Previously...
Ali Dibba scored a team-high 24, leading the team in scoring against Seattle U. He established career highs in field goals made (8) and attempted (12), three-point field goals made (2) and attempted (5), assists (1) and blocks (2).

Jahsean Corbett missed the game at UTRGV and to that point had started every game as a freshman. He had his third double-double against the Cyclones, with 14 points and 11 rebounds, leading CSU in both categories (tying Coreyoun Rushin with 11 rebounds). He established new season highs in free throws made (8) and attempted (13) and tied season highs  in assists (2) and steals (3).

Brandon Betson scored 15 of the Cougars 27 first-half points in the win at IUPUI, helping CSU through a cold-shooting start. Betson made 5-of-10 first half shots (50 percent) as the rest of the team connected on just 4-of-21 (19 percent). Betson attempted (and missed) just one second-half shot, a three pointer, and his 15 points ranked second on the team. He also pulled down a season-high six rebounds.

Favour Chukwukelu came off the bench and established several season highs at Loyola Maryland. He played a season-high 29 minutes (previous high was 14) and, after converting only one three-point field goal in the previous six games, was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc for a season-high 12 points. Chukwukelu also had a season high two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Freshman Bryce Johnson who returned to action against Seattle U, had not played since Nov. 28 due to injury and had put together a pair of impressive scoring efforts earlier this season. After not scoring in the first game against St. Thomas extending into the first half against SIUE, Johnson scored 17 second-half points to key the win. In a span of one minute, he nailed a three-point field goal (13:58), converted a traditional three-point play with a put back, foul and free throw and nailed another three pointer (12:57) to turn a one-point deficit into a seven-point Cougars lead. A little over a minute later, after SIUE cut the lead to five, he hit another three to account for 12 of CSU's 13 points in a two-minute span. Then, after being held scoreless in the first half at Pacific, he scored a game-high 24 second-half points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-9 three-point field goals. 

Senior Coreyoun Rushin is the only Chicago native on the Cougars roster. Rushin, a 2017 Chicago Sun-Times All-State, Chicago Public League All-City and Red-West All-Conference performer, transferred to Chicago State from Idaho State. He played in just two games last season as a transfer for the Cougars, gaining immediate eligibility based on an NCAA Division I Council vote which granted a blanket waiver to allow all Division I transfers to play immediately in 2020-21. After just two games, CSU suspended the season.

Players of the Week...
Chicago State freshman Ali Dibba was named TicketSmarter WAC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week for December 27 through January 2, following games at Grand Canyon University and New Mexico State University. Dibba, who made his collegiate basketball debut at GCU, scored a team-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting (1-of-2 three-point field goals), 8-of-11 free throws, with seven rebounds and two steals. The 21 points in his Cougars debut were the most since Brandon Betson scored 22 in CSU's season-opening win vs. St. Thomas.

Brandon Betson was named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for November 8-14. He earned the honor leading the Cougars in scoring in their two season-opening wins. He opened the season with 22 points and four assists in a 77-72 win over St. Thomas, then added 18 points and three assists in a 67-56 win over visiting SIUE. On the week, he averaged 20.0 points per game on 14-of-27 shooting (.519). 
   Betson was an all-conference performer at his two previous stops, earning first-team All-Central Conference at Daytona State as a sophomore where he had seven 20+-point scoring performances and was named first-team IEAC at San Bernardino College as a freshman where he averaged 19.5 points per game with 12 20+-point scoring performances with a season-high 45 points. He also averaged 45.2 percent from the field, including 41.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Milestones...
Chicago State's season-opening win over St. Thomas was head coach Gerald Gillion's first as a collegiate head coach ... That win also snapped a 28-game Cougars losing streak, dating back to December 2019, an 89-81 win over SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois ... The game against St. Thomas was the Cougars first action in nearly a year, last playing Dec. 20, 2020, in what turned out to be a nine-game, COVID-shortened 2020-21 season ... The Cougars win over SIUE (67-56) marked the Cougars first two-game win streak over Division I opponents since the 2014-15 season (Feb. 26 vs. GCU, W, 74-70; Feb. 28 vs. Utah Valley, 65-44) ... Chicago State won three straight home games for the first time since 2018-19 after winning the first three home games of the 2021-22 season ... The road win over IUPUI win was the Cougars first on the road this season and first road win since Dec. 4, 2019 at SIUE (89-81), a span of 24 games away from the Jones Convocation Center (includes two neutral site games) ... the Cougars earned their first Western Athletic Conference victory since March 2018 (vs. UMKC, W 96-82) when the Cougars beat California Baptist 58-56 at home on Jan. 8 ... Chicago State's 67-56 win at Lamar was the Cougars first conference road victory since Jan. 12, 2017 when CSU beat Utah Valley in Orem, 70-61  ... CSU's win over New Mexico State snapped a nine-game losing streak and was the first over the Aggies since 2015, a span of 17 games.