Grand Canyon University lost on the basketball court to #19 Arizona on Wednesday night, 64-54. It was just another victory for the Wildcats, but for GCU, it was a nationally respected basketball program that gave them the opportunity to play on a big stage. ESPNU broadcast the matchup and the ‘Lopes gave Sean Millers team a good test.
“Dan Majerle does a great job coaching,” Miller said. “He got three or four great shots off of timeouts, and he gets the most out of his team. Like I said they’re the hardest playing team we’ve played this season. You talk about Michigan State, who they are, and Butler, who they are. Grand Canyon is, I mean they play hard and they’re very physical. I’m sure that comes from Dan.
“The other thing is in my eight years I’ve never seen a student section at McKale filled with the visitors. I mean, they had a whole section. You can just tell they have a great spirit about what they’re doing and that’s to Grand Canyon’s credit.
“I made the comment that we didn’t play Grand Canyon to help build their program and do them a favor. If playing us helps build their program, great. We played their team because we respect them. They had 27 wins last year. They have a couple of guys injured and on a given night they can beat anybody. They’re gonna be really good in their conference.
With the victory, Arizona moves to 9-2. The Wildcats will travel to Houston this Saturday to play Texas A&M. With the loss, GCU drops to 5-5 and will host Mississippi Valley State Saturday night in Phoenix.
