Grand Canyon basketball will face bigger challenges in 1st Arizona Tip-Off Classic
Grand Canyon has passed its first two tests of the college basketball season with ease with blowout wins at home against Southeastern Missouri State and Northern Arizona.
Now comes a tougher test, on a neutral court, still close enough for 2,500 or so Havocs to come watch, against a team picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference behind Saint Mary's and Gonzaga.
The Antelopes face San Francisco (2-1) on Friday at 7 p.m., at Desert Diamond Arena in the first Arizona Tip-Off Classic in Glendale. This is the third time these teams have played each other in four years. They're 1-1 against each other.
San Francisco's lone loss was by five points at Boise State. GCU will play again on Sunday against either DePaul or South Carolina, which play the latter game Friday night at Desert Diamond. They're all part of the Cactus Division. The third-place game is Sunday at 2:30 p.m., followed by the championship game at 5 p.m.
VMI plays South Dakota at noon Friday, followed by Northern Arizona against Purdue Fort Wayne at 2:30 in the Desert Division. The third-place game is Saturday at noon with the championship game following at 2:30.
"San Francisco is a really good team," coach Bryce Drew said. "It's a great tournament."
This San Francisco matchup changes every year with rosters overhauled annually by the portal. GCU brought in seven newcomers through the portal and it quickly is paying off. Tyon Grant-Foster, who last played two years ago for only a half game for DePaul, started the season with 30-point performance in GCU's opener. Big man Sydney Curry, who transferred from Louisville, led GCU with 17 points in the 34-point win over NAU.
Former Arizona State forward Duke Brennan has been a difference maker around the basket for the Lopes, and guard Collin Moore, a transfer from Georgia State, has been huge on both end of the court. He had 12 points, four assists and four steals against NAU.
Having an infusion of this kind of talent is allowing for GCU to ease point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., back on the court. He's yet to do full practices since undergoing ACL surgery from the Jan. 5 injury at Sam Houston. But he's getting close. Drew wants him ready for the Western Athletic Conference season.
Meanwhile, newcomers blending in with returning starters Ray Harrison and Gabe McGlothan and sharpshooting guard Isaiah Shaw back from an injury that derailed GCU season last year have the Lopes with some success that hasn't been season.
Although it's only been two games, GCU has its highest-scoring two-game start since becoming an NCAA Division I school 11 years ago, averaging 81.5 points. And that's with Preseason WAC Player of the Year Harrison, last year's leading scorer, averaging 7.5 points.
The Lopes' No. 68 KenPom ranking is the highest in program history, surpassing the No. 74 ranking they had entering their Feb. 7, 2019 game against Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
ESPN lists the Lopes as five mid-major teams to watch this year.
Now this is the first of their five nationally televised games they'll play on Friday. CBS Sports Network is televising the game.
San Francisco is big. It has 7-foot-2 players on the roster. They've got a 6-8 point guard, Mike Sharavjamts, pushing the ball up.
"Really good competition," Drew said. "We'll learn more about our team over this weekend. These games will really help us moving forward, as we prepare for conference games in a couple of weeks."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GCU basketball finds bigger challenges in 1st Arizona Tip-Off
