Be prepared for some late night #WacAction this year in Las Vegas. Normally, the WAC tournament is one of the easier conference tournaments to predict. New Mexico State typically comes in a heavy favorite, and they typically step up the challenge dominating the tournament- annually reclaiming their throne. NMSU has dominated this tournament, winning the WAC auto bid seven out of the last eight seasons. But this year WAC tournament may feature some surprises. This year’s WAC tournament is a literal crap shoot. New Mexico State is not a -200 favorite. Realistically, I can make a case for any of the six teams participating. One of the participating teams, Cal Baptist, is not even eligible to play in the NCAA tourney. The WAC’s auto bid would go to the team Cal Baptist would theoretically beat; how awkward would that be. Simply, if anyone is going to dethrone New Mexico State, this is the year to do it.
Bracket
Favorite:
Grand Canyon:
The Antelopes are coming off a historic season where they earned their first WAC regular season championship in school history. Bryce Drew has excelled during his first season has head coach. The Lopes bring a veteran laden team lead by four year starters Alessandro Lever, Oscar Frayer, and Wichita State graduate transfer Asbjorn Mitgard. Mitgard has been the addition that has turned around GCU’s season. Mitgard is towering center that anchors who anchors the Lopes on both ends of the floor.
Mitgard leads the country in field goal percentage at 71 percent while averaging 14.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Mitgard gives GCU a tremendous size advantage and he allows GCU to be competitive on the boards, something GCU struggled with throughout Dan Majerle’s tenure. Along with their bigs, the Lopes have young play making point guard in Jovon Blacksher and talented depth guys off the bench. GCU has all the talent to punch their first NCAA tournament ticket, but can they come up clutch to win two games in Vegas?
Utah Valley:
The Wolverines under Mark Madsen have been one of the best Mid-Major stories of the entire season. After being picked to finish 6th in the conference and having to go through an entire roster overhaul during the pandemic, the Wolverines won a share of the WAC conference on Friday; after upsetting Grand Canyon as an nine-point underdog. The Wolverines have a legitimately dangerous big three with Fardaws Amiaq (14.5ppg ) (15.1 rpg), Trey Woodbury (14.7 ppg), and Jamison Overton (15.9 ppg). Amiaq is a talented grad transfer that leads the nation in rebounding. With Amiaq, the Wolverines are almost guaranteed to win the battle on the boards in every matchup, and they can make things hard on opponents. The Wolverines match up extremely well with both Grand Canyon and New Mexico State. While Utah Valley may not have the same talent level, their grit, toughness, and cohesiveness can lead them to a WAC tournament title.
New Mexico State:
I’m afraid of what New Mexico State twitter would do if I left the Aggies off the “favorites” list. Based on pedigree alone, the Aggies deserve to be here. There was not a team in college basketball that was affected by the Covid pandemic more than the Aggies. Due to multiple Covid pauses and state regulations, New Mexico State played one Division one game in the 2020 portion of the season and could not even practice in their own state. New Mexico State won their first D-1 game on February 6th.
The adversity and circumstances surrounding the program hindered the team’s ability to gel together. Fast forward to the last couple weeks of the season, New Mexico State seems to be finding their groove at the right time, winning five out of their last six games. Don’t you dare sleep on NMSU in the WAC tournament; they own Orleans arena, and that will remain true until proven otherwise.
Teams to Watch:
Cal Baptist:
The Lancers can play the ultimate spoiler by winning the WAC tourney. The Lancers are unable to claim the league’s autobid since the program has not completed the NCAA’s lengthy Division 1 transition requirements. The Lancers are fun team to watch with their barrage of threes. Ty Rowell leads the offense with 15.7 points per game.
UTGRV
The passing of UTGRV coach Lew Hill last month was one of the saddest stories in college basketball. The late Hill was named the WAC Coach of the Year, it was classy gesture by the entire conference. Talent wise, the Vaqueors have the talent to make a run. They are the best defensive team in the conference, and if they can find a way to knock shots down they can surprise some people. A story about UTGRV cutting down would be the best story going into the NCAA tournament.
Prediction:
As a Grand Canyon alumni, this is going to sound extremely bias, but I think the Lopes will get the job done at Orleans arena. Bryce Drew has done a significant job coaching this year. The Lopes have a huge advantage with a bye in the semifinals. GCU is extremely deep and can beat you in multiple ways. I realize the Lopes have struggled recently down the stretch. With a starting lineup that features four seniors and a star upcoming point guard, the Lopes finally live up to the hype and punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.