Bryce Drew's Thoughts on Officiating, More Tickets Punched, and a Log Jam in WAC Standings
GCU head coach Bryce Drew had a lot to say after the Lopes lost at ACU, three more teams punched their tickets, and the race to WAC Vegas is crazy
What a week it was in the Western Athletic Conference. Tarleton and Abilene Christian created chaos in the race for the WAC regular season title, CBU and SFA both lost again, the women’s regular season title race is going to be fun to watch, and another coach sounds off on the officiating.
Shall we go on?
Well, of course we shall. 16 days away from WAC Vegas. 16! Four men’s teams have punched their tickets to WAC Vegas. Four women’s teams have punched their tickets to WAC Vegas.
That means there are still eight spots up for grabs with two weeks to go.
Who is in and who is out? It will be a race worth watching over the next two weeks.
Regular season title races could come down to the final day of the season.
It is all part of the WACky WAC.
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Now, let’s get to some news from the weekend.
Bryce Drew Sounds Off
Perhaps it was the fact that GCU, who has been receiving votes in the latest national pools, and has been in the discussion for an at-large bid if they weren’t to win the WAC tournament, lost a pair of road games this week.
Maybe, it was simply a coach frustrated that the calls didn’t go his way.
Or, perhaps it was simply a coach who had to let off some steam from a season filled with hype and pressure.
Whatever it was, GCU head coach Bryce Drew didn’t hold back or mince words in his post game thoughts on the radio with Michael Potter and Paul Coro.
You can listen to the entire interview below.
Has the officiating in the WAC been a struggle all season? Absolutely. Are there multiple different playing styles night in and night out? Absolutely.
Does this make it more challenging to officiate games? Absolutely.
Are the rules different in Arizona compared to Texas? That is debatable.
SFA fans would challenge that theory. UT Arlington fans would, as well.
Could UT Arlington fans, who watched their team lose twice to GCU despite leading late, say the same thing that Bryce Drew had to say?
“It’s just not fair…it’s just not fair.”
You can be the judge. While I think there will be some discussion on a possible reprimand, I am sure nothing will be done considering SFA’s Kyle Keller was not reprimanded for his post game comments after the loss to CBU a few weeks ago.
It seems there is a lot of frustration boiling over about officiating in the league this season.
Four More Teams are Headed to WAC Vegas
Only eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams make it to WAC Vegas at the Orleans Arena for the 2024 WAC Basketball Tournament brought to you by Hercules Tires.
Click on the image to get information about tickets and the tournament. All session tickets are on sale now.
On Saturday, four more teams punched their tickets to the dance. Yeah, we will call the WAC Tournament, The Dance from here on out. Deal? It is not The Big Dance because, obviously, that comes after The Dance.
Okay, that was cheesy.
Back to the task at hand.
UT Arlington got a high-scoring win over Utah Tech to punch its ticket.
Seattle U ran to a blowout win over UTRGV to punch its ticket.
Led by Breaunna Gillen’s 38-point outburst, the Utah Tech women punched their ticket.
And, courtesy of a 49-point win over Utah Valley, the SFA Ladyjacks punched their ticket to The Dance.
A few teams can punch their ticket on Thursday depending on some games around the WAC.
If Tarleton beats Utah Tech on Thursday at Burns Arena, Utah Valley would semi-clinch its spot at WAC Vegas. It would be a basically formality since Utah Valley would be too far ahead in the resume seeding for Utah Tech to catch the Wolverines. The teams split season series so the tiebreaker is the resume seeding. Right now, Utah Valley has -1.49 points and Utah Tech has -4.83 points.
Julie Goodenough’s ACU Wildcats could punch their ticket with either a win over Southern Utah or a Tarleton loss to Utah Tech. The Wildcats are 7-9 in WAC play while Tarleton is 4-12. And in the resume seeding system, since the teams split the season series, ACU has -5.13 points while Tarleton is at -8.05.
Other than those two teams, everyone else may have to wait until the end of the regular season to see if they are going to WAC Vegas.
Now, to the Log Jam
On the men’s side, four teams are vying for three spots. SFA, CBU, and ACU are all 7-9 in WAC play. Utah Tech is 6-10. One of these four teams are not going to WAC Vegas.
SFA is at CBU and GCU this week. CBU is home to host SFA and UTRGV. ACU is on the road at Southern and Utah Tech.
Utah Tech hosts Tarleton and ACU.
So, if CBU wins a pair of games at home, it could mean the Lancers clinch a spot at WAC Vegas.
If Utah Tech beats ACU, well, that log jam won’t be decided until the final week of the regular season.
It is a complete mess in regard to those final three spots for WAC Vegas.
Utah Valley is 9-8 in the WAC standings but hasn’t officially punched its ticket, yet. The Wolverines are off until Saturday when they welcome UT Arlington to town on Senior Day.
You can rest assured Utah Valley will be scoreboard watching on Thursday. A Tarleton win over Utah Tech at Burns Arena could clinch Utah Valley’s trip to Vegas due to the resume seeding standings.
On the women’s side, it is also a complete mess. Six teams are vying for two spots in the WAC Tournament.
SUU and UTRGV are both 5-11. Utah Valley and Seattle U are both 4-13. Tarleton is 4-12.
The tiebreakers between these teams are messy, too. SUU swept Utah Valley. And the T-Birds lost to Tarleton, beat UTRGV and split with Seattle U. Tracy Mason’s club is at ACU and at Tarleton this week. SUU also finishes with UTRGV at home to end the regular season.
UTRGV split with Seattle U, Utah Valley and Tarleton. Lane Lord’s team hosts CBU and GCU this week before heading to Utah Tech and SUU to round out the regular season.
Utah Valley got swept by SUU, split with UTRGV and Seattle U, lost at Tarleton. So, Utah Valley may need some help to have a chance at WAC Vegas.
As you see, Tarleton hasn’t played everyone twice. The Texans split with UTRGV and have to play the other three other schools in their final four games. Tarleton could very well play itself into WAC Vegas.
Seattle U is coming off a road win at UTRGV to split that series. The Redhawks have split with the Vaqueros and Wolverines, and already have a win over Tarleton in Stephenville. Could Skyler Young’s crew make it to Vegas?
It all remains to be seen but it will make the final two weeks of the season that much more exciting.
Bryce Drew owes an apology to the referees in Texas. His team is one of the roughest teams I have seen play this year and he should be grateful he only had 2 players foul out. He certainly had more who deserved to have.