Mavs Win, Quad 4 Losses, and WAC Play Right Around the Corner
Mavs Win, Quad 4 Losses, and WAC Play Right Around the Corner
UT Arlington finally got a signature win, Quad 4 home losses hurt, and the start of conference play is upon us.
Do you all remember that old Folgers commercial? Perhaps you are just young enough to have missed it.
At 40 years old, I got to see it on the regular, especially around the holidays.
This is how the jingle went - “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”
Remember it now?
Well, for UT Arlington head coach Greg Young, the best part of waking up on Tuesday morning might not be having a cup of Folgers coffee.
The best part might be the fact that the Mavericks got the best win in the Greg Young era on Monday night on the West Coast.
And it all started with a dunk a minute and a half into Monday night’s game at the The Sobrato Center.
Marion Humphrey got things started with a dunk off a Kyron Gibson steal and the Mavericks never trailed in a 68-63 win over San Francisco on Monday night.
It is just the second win over a Division I opponent and a Quad 2 road win for the Mavericks.
Aaron Cash and Kyron Gibson each had a team-high 12 points. Humphrey finished with 11 points. Shemar Wilson had nine points and nine rebounds. And freshman guard Chendall Weaver had eight points and 10 rebounds in the win.
UT Arlington jumped 45 spots in the NET from 296 to 251.
“Great win for our program tonight,” UT Arlington head coach Greg Young said. “So proud of our players. We were just the tougher team tonight. And they’re really good.”
The Mavericks never trailed in the wire-to-wire road win. And the Mavericks are now 7-1 in the Golden State since the 2012-13 season, as the Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours tells us in the tweet below.
Considering that UT Arlington has been close in most of its Division I non-conference games in 2022-23, it was great to see the Mavericks finally get over the hump.
The Mavericks will finish up non-conference play on Wednesday against the winless Cal Bears. And the Mavericks need to make it 8-1 in the Golden State so to make Monday night’s win look even more legit.
In Resume Seeding System, Home Losses are HUGE
This new WAC resume seeding system is going to create quite the stir, especially as league play gets underway next week.
Here is the basis of the new resume seeding system: win games you are supposed to, take care of business at home, and pick up one of those upset-type wins on the road.
Plain and simple, right?
This system, in theory, is starting to grow on me. As I learn more about it, and watch it in action, it makes sense. The better the opponent, the more value there is in a win. And in a loss, it doesn’t hurt as much if the opponent has a higher NET ranking.
It means teams can’t load up with cupcakes because there is no value in scheduling that way.
I still have questions about how it will play out when league play begins. I am not sure I am on board with it taking away from what happens in league play. But, I also think the system will even itself out as conference play gets into February.
Here is what teams need to know…DO NOT LOSE AT HOME!
The GCU women’s basketball team found that out the hard way on Sunday. Idaho came to Phoenix with a 253 NET ranking. So, it was a Quad 4 game for the Lopes. A game that GCU should have won and had to win especially on its home floor.
The Vandals used a big second half to send things into overtime. And then, the Vandals outscored the Lopes, 9-6, in the extra period for the 81-78 win at GCU Arena.
Well, on Monday, when the WAC resume seeding system was updated, GCU found out just how bad that home loss was.
The Lopes dropped from three to five in the resume seeding system.
So, despite being 8-2 and tied with SFA for the best record in the league, the Lopes are sitting in fifth as of Monday. And it is all thanks to that Quad 4 home loss.
GCU lost .75 points, which is nearly equal to two wins the Lopes had earlier in the season.
The worst part is that GCU does not have a shot at an impactful win left in its non-conference slate. The Lopes are set to take on UC Irvine in California on Wednesday. The Anteaters are 178 in the NET.
WIN AT HOME, especially against lesser opponents. Or, you could be in for a world of hurt.
WAC Play is Upon Us
Sure, there are still some big non-conference games to play this week. But, it’s not too soon to look ahead to next week when league play begins.
Southern Utah at New Mexico State on Wednesday night tips things off. And considering SUU is getting votes in this week’s CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll, this is a great game to tip off league play.
Thursday, league play gets fully underway.
There are two really big games, in Orem and in Phoenix.
Sam Houston takes on Utah Valley at the UCCU Center. And California Baptist heads to GCU Arena to open at GCU.
Good news for CBU is that the Havocs won’t be back from the holiday break so GCU Arena might not be hopping quite as much as normal.
And that is just the opening two days.
Saturday provides some more big games. Sam Houston goes to New Mexico State. Utah Tech heads North for the Old Hammer Rivalry at Utah Valley. California Baptist goes to Seattle U. And in East Texas, Abilene Christian and Tarleton are set to battle things out at Moody Coliseum.
We are going to know if Sam Houston is the best team in the WAC right out of the gate. We will also learn if California Baptist is legit.
And we get a rivalry game on the first weekend of league play.
Big Games Left in Non-Conference Play
Yes, conference play begins next week. But, there are still some big pre-Christmas games left on the non-conference slate.
On Tuesday, Utah Valley has a Quad 1 opportunity in Eugene when the Wolverines face the Ducks. The Wolverines have won five straight including a 75-60 win over BYU at the Marriott Center.
On Wednesday, there are a pair of Quad 1 opportunities for WAC schools.
The first is when New Mexico State takes on Kent State at the Sun Bowl Invitational. Kent State sits at 33 in the NET. And New Mexico State sits at 84. The last time the Aggies played at the Don Haskins Center, things didn’t go well in a 67-64 loss to rival UTEP.
The second is when Southern Utah takes on the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder. SUU leads the country in scoring at 91.0 points per game.
And the T-Birds are looking for their third straight win over a Division I opponent. SUU sits at 161 in the NET while Colorado is at 49.
So, a big time Quad 1 road win would be a great way to end non-conference play for the T-Birds.
On Thursday, Seattle U gets arguably its toughest test at the Diamond Head Classic. The Redhawks face Utah State on Oahu. Seattle U hasn’t fared too well in some of its big games thus far.
Outside of a win at Portland, Seattle U has struggled against Washington and Oregon State. In both games, the Redhawks couldn’t find a rhythm in the second half, which led to double digit losses.
Utah State is coming off a bad home loss to Weber State. However, the Aggies still sit in the top-50 of the NET so it is a Quad 1 opportunity for Cam Tyson and the Redhawks.
Another big game on Thursday is Sam Houston at Missouri State. It will be interesting to see how the travel goes for the Bearkats considering the cold front that is supposed to hit the Midwest this week.
Missouri State put a beatdown on the Bearkats in Huntsville last season. So, the Bearkats would like to return the favor and head into a brutal opening weekend of league play at 11-2.
On Friday, Seattle U will get either SMU or Iona depending on what happens Thursday. And then on Christmas Day, Seattle U could get either Hawaii, Washington State, George Washington or Pepperdine depending on what happens on Thursday and Friday.
Lots of good games to keep an eye on this week before Santa Claus comes.