Let's Get to WAC Play Already
To say it has been a down year in non-conference play among WAC teams is an understatement.
Utah Valley has knocked off Oregon in Eugene.
Sam Houston shocked Oklahoma on a last-second 3-pointer. The Bearkats also knocked off Utah in Salt Lake City.
ACU gets the season-opening dub at Oklahoma State.
GCU knocks off 25th-ranked San Diego State in a thriller in Phoenix.
Utah Valley knocks off BYU for the second straight season.
CBU hangs on to upset Washington at the Alaska Airlines Arena.
And so it goes.
Over the last three-plus seasons, the WAC has had some signature wins over Power Conference foes along with some wins against ranked opponents.
Along with that, the WAC also won the WAC/Conference Scheduling Initiative in 2023.
However, 2024 has been a much different story when it comes to marquee wins, or an upset of any kind.
Simply put….it just hasn’t happened for the WAC in the 2024 non-conference slate.
1-17 as of Dec. 21.
The lone win: GCU beat Stanford at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational. It’s arguably the best win of the season for any WAC team considering the Cardinal was ranked 67 in KenPom at the time.
In terms of true road games, Utah Valley’s win at Murray State prior to the Thanksgiving weekend sticks out.
CBU has a pair of wins over Fresno State of the Mountain West. The only problem with that is the Bulldogs are 277 in KenPom so the two wins aren’t as glamorous this year as in past seasons.
There have been plenty of weird home losses.
GCU losing to UC Davis comes to mind. California Baptist losing to UC Riverside and Northern Colorado make that list. Southern Utah just lost at home on Saturday to Northern Arizona. Seattle U lost on Dec. 19 to UIC at the Redhawk Center.
We could mention both UT Arlington and ACU losing to La Tech and Middle Tennessee at home in the WAC/Conference USA Challenge. However, as many have come to learn, Middle Tennessee and La Tech are pretty good. In the case of La Tech, GCU might have an opinion on that.
So, what in the world is going on?
Is that WAC just having a down year? Or, are the opponents just better?
Let’s use Utah Valley for the sake of these two questions. The Wolverines are 6-6 overall. All six losses have come on the road or on a neutral floor.
Nine of the 12 games have been played away from Orem. In the nine games, Utah Valley has hit more than five 3-pointers just twice…in a win over Idaho State and in a wild loss to Samford at the Samford Thanksgiving Invitational.
Currently, the Wolverines have played just three home games in nearly two months. One of those games was a win over a non-Division I opponent.
The other two wins came against UTEP and North Dakota.
In the games against UTEP and North Dakota, Utah Valley hit 10 and 12 3-pointers, respectively.
So, what does that tell us? First, if you don’t get home games it is tough to win a lot of non-conference games. Second, the Wolverines are just not good from 3-point land away from the UCCU Center.
Does that mean Utah Valley is not good? Does a loss to Arizona State or a loss to Georgia in Atlanta mean GCU isn’t good?
The best answer is: I DON’T KNOW!
Look no further than UT Arlington. The Mavs took USC to the brink back in November, but then went to Liberty Saturday and got blasted because the Mavs couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
Abilene Christian is another head-scratcher. There was a weird loss to East Texas A&M on Wednesday where the Wildcats couldn’t play defense without fouling late in the second half.
On Saturday, the Wildcats had to hold on for dear life against former wildcat Kavion McClain and Texas Southern at Moody Coliseum.
Both East Texas A&M and Texas Southern are sub-300 KenPom teams.
These are just a few examples of the struggle it has been throughout the first two months of the 2024-25 season.
In a 1-bid league, what happens in November and December isn’t of much concern other than getting better as a team.
Yes, every team wants more wins than losses. That is a no-brainer. But, ultimately, with the exception of perhaps GCU, teams want to get better heading into January and the WAC gauntlet ahead.
Speaking of that gauntlet, can we just get there already? Yes, I love Christmas. I love New Year’s. But, I also love the 8-10 weeks following the holidays. That is when the men get separated from the boys, when we get to talk about the WAc on a deeper level rather than all kinds of hypotheticals, and when we get to see whose non-conference schedule really paid off.
So, Merry Christmas, everyone!
Enjoy a few days with your family, maybe a bowl game or two, perhaps losing in your fantasy football playoffs like I did in all three leagues I was in, and soak things in before WAC play begins on Jan. 4.