Rising Trajectory
Men earn second straight postseason berth.
Spring 2013 · Comment ·
The morning after the men’s basketball season ended March 20, Scott Cross awoke excited about his program’s future. UT Arlington had just lost to Oral Roberts in the 2013 College Insider.com Tournament, but the seventh-year head coach preferred to focus on the positives.
The Mavericks finished fourth in the Western Athletic Conference, rated the 13th strongest of 33 NCAA Division I conferences. They had advanced to the WAC Tournament championship game, narrowly losing to New Mexico State. And they had been invited to a second consecutive postseason tournament for the first time in school history.
“I’m more motivated and determined than ever to win a conference championship and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament,” says Cross, whose 122–96 record includes three of the top five seasons in school history.
The Mavericks went 19–14 (11–7 in the WAC) in 2012–13 and were ranked among the top 10 nationally in field-goal percentage defense for much of the season. They lose four seniors—Jordan Reves, Kevin Butler, Karol Gruszecki, Cameron Catlett—but return plenty of talent. Brandon Edwards, Shaquille White-Miller, Greg Gainey, Jamel Outler, and Drew Charles played significant roles this season.
After one year in the WAC, UT Arlington moves to the Sun Belt Conference next season.
“I’m excited about the opportunity of joining the Sun Belt,” Cross says. “I am to the point, and I know our fans are to the point, where anything less than a championship is not good enough. We plan on winning the Sun Belt title next year.”
