WAC Tournament: New Mexico State v. Grand Canyon

Who will WIN the championship?

New Mexico State Aggies (12-7)

Grand Canyon Antelopes (16-6)

Current odds:

New Mexico State Aggies: (-130)

Grand Canyon Antelopes: (+110)

• The line for this game is New Mexico State by 2 points.

• The Aggies are rounding into form. They shot 52.0% in a first-round win against UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night and won Friday’s semifinal by holding Utah Valley to 29.8% shooting, a season low for an Aggie opponent.

• New Mexico State 6-foot-6 forward Donnie Tillman, formerly of UNLV and Utah, is averaging 17.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his first string of four consecutive double-digit scoring games.

• GCU also is finding its stride. The Lopes have shot 50% in consecutive games for the first time since early December. Its rock-steady defense is coming off a season-best performance, holding Seattle U to 28.3% shooting in an 81-47 semifinal rout of Seattle U. The Lopes rank second nationally for opponent field goal percentage at 37.7%.

• Sophomores Jovan Blacksher Jr., with two-way play, and McGlothan, with bench energy, are clicking as much as ever with a GCU senior group that boasts national field goal percentage leader Asbjørn Midtgaard, Alessandro Lever’s shooting, Oscar Frayer’s and Sean Miller-Moore’s defense and Mikey Dixon’s versatile scoring.

• Ready for the main event, the WAC’s regular season co-champions are rollin’ at the right time, too, led by the daunting Danish post man Asbjørn Mitgaard.

• The league’s Newcomer of the Year, Mitgaard is averaging a double-double at 14.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Rarely missing from the field, God’s Bear (no, really – that’s what his first name means in his native tougue) has drained 71.4-percent (120-of-168) of his field goal tries.

• Mitgaard has been just what the doctor ordered not just for the Lopes as a team, but for senior Alessandro Lever. The stretch-four is pumping in points at a rate of 13.6 per game on shooting splits of .521/.419/.632. He tops the team’s charts in both three-point field goal percentage and total three-pointers made (31, 1.4 per game).

• Manning the point for the Lopes is Jovan Blacksher Jr. One of four players who has started all 22 games for Grand Canyon, Blacksher comes in averaging 11.6 points and a team-best 5.5 assists per game.

• Outside of their big three, the Lopes got a big night from redshirt sophomore Gabe McGlothan in their WAC Tournament semifinal win over Seattle U. The forward came on strong with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double in his team’s victory.

• Defense has been a strong point for the Lopes, too, as they rank second nationally in opponent field goal percentage (37.7-percent). Grand Canyon also ranks among the top ten in the land in rebounding margin (fifth, +9.6) and scoring defense (ninth, 61.3 opponent points per game).