Scoreboard Watching, WAC Vegas Seeding, and a Regular Season Title on the Line Thursday
Scoreboard Watching, WAC Vegas Seeding, and a Regular Season Title on the Line Thursday
In the second to last day of the 2023-24 regular season, there is a lot happening on a busy Thursday night in the WAC.
Two days. That’s it. That is all that is left in the 2023-24 regular season.
Thursday and Saturday. Two opportunities for eight teams to clinch four spots at WAC Vegas. Two spots still remain on the men’s side. And two spots still remain on the women’s side.
Along with the opportunity to clinch a spot at WAC Vegas, there is also a chance for a women’s basketball team to clinch no worse than a share of the WAC regular season title on Thursday night.
If we want to get technical, there is also that opportunity on the men’s side without one team not even playing a game. They will simply be scoreboard watching, and perhaps celebrating at the end of the night.
It is all part of a big Thursday night around the Western Athletic Conference.
Lopes Have Night Off, Will Have All Eyes on Riverside/Stephenville
Like I said on a recent Straight Outta WAC After Hours, both the GCU men’s basketball team and the GCU women’s basketball team should be at GCU Arena with a pair of games up on their jumbo screen.
The first game should be the Utah Valley/Tarleton men’s game, and the second game should be the UT Arlington/CBU women’s game.
The GCU men are huge Utah Valley fans on Thursday night while the GCU women are huge UT Arlington fans.
Here is why.
If Utah Valley goes into Wisdom Gym and stuns Tarleton, GCU can celebrate a WAC regular season title. With a Tarleton loss, the Lopes clinch no worse than a share of the regular season title, and would be able to clinch it outright with a win at CBU on Saturday to end the regular season.
So, Gabe McGlothan, Tyon Grant-Foster, and the Lopes better have on their St. Patrick’s Day gear early to cheer on the Wolverines in hopes of an upset.
On the women’s side, the GCU women need some help from a team they have throttled twice this season. Yes, the average margin of victory over UT Arlington is 32.0 points.
And now, the Lopes are asking that same UT Arlington squad for a HUGE favor.
The favor? To knock off CBU at home on Senior Day.
In order for a chance to win the WAC regular season title outright, the Lopes need the Lancers to lose at home. If UT Arlington beats CBU, it sets up a winner-take-all game in Phoenix on the final day of the regular season. It also means the Lopes still have a shot at the top seed for next week’s WAC Tournament.
If the Lancers win on Thursday, they can cut down the nets at Fowler Events Center, and celebrate a clinching of the top seed for the WAC Tournament next week in Las Vegas.
Here is the good news and the bad news for the Lopes.
The good news is that the first game between the Lancers and Lady Mavs came down to a Chloe Webb driving layup with a second left to give the Lancers a 94-92 win at College Park Center back in January.
The bad news is that CBU hasn’t lost a home game, sitting at 13-0 at Fowler Events Center. The other thing is that outside of a six-point win over GCU and an 8-point win over Utah Tech, the Lancers have been dominant at home.
So, there you have it. There will be a lot of scoreboard watching in Phoenix tonight. It could either be a huge celebration on the campus off Camelback Road. Or, some added stress of must-win situations to end the regular season.
WAC Vegas Seeding Implications
Men’s Seeding Implications
So, we already know that the GCU men and Tarleton men are locked into the 1-2 seeds at next week’s WAC Tournament.
The big question now is where will everyone else land?
Well, that won’t be decided Thursday night. But, it will create some interesting scenarios heading into Saturday.
First, Seattle U and UT Arlington are separated by .30 points for the 3-seed. Currently, both Seattle U and UT Arlington are locked in as top-4 seeds meaning they will have a first-round bye.
But, ending up as a 3-seed could be huge because it means avoiding GCU in the semifinals. It also means, if either team wins in its quarterfinal game, as the 3-seed, they would play on ESPNU in the second semifinal next Friday. That might be food for thought.
UT Arlington hosts CBU to end its regular season on Thursday night. Seattle U is at ACU on Thursday before finishing at Tarleton on Saturday.
If UT Arlington beats CBU and Seattle U loses twice, the Mavs are the 3-seed. If Seattle U wins either game, it is highly likely the Redhawks lock in the 3-seed.
Utah Valley and SFA are battling for the 5-seed. The Jacks lead by .20 points over the Wolverines. So, if UVU can win a pair of games, and get some help from fellow rivals SUU and Utah Tech, the Wolverines could be the 5-seed.
UVU is at Tarleton and at ACU. SFA hosts SUU and Utah Tech.
ACU is also waiting in the wings for a potential chance to pounce on that 5 or 6-seed. The Wildcats host Seattle U and Utah Valley. ACU sits .61 points back of SFA and .41 points back of the Wolverines.
CBU is just hoping to get in. The Lancers are at UT Arlington before finishing at home with GCU. Currently, the Lancers hold down the 8th spot as well as the 8-seed. But, if CBU loses twice and Utah Tech wins twice this week, the Lancers are out.
Keep an eye on this race.
Women’s Seeding Implications
Pretty simple. A CBU win over UT Arlington clinches the 1-seed for the Lancers. It would also mean GCU is the 2-seed.
SFA is pretty much locked into the 3-seed.
UT Arlington sits in the 3-spot. But, Utah Tech is just .64 points behind for that final first round bye. If the Lady Mavs lose at CBU, and Utah Tech sweeps the week at home vs. UTRGV and SFA, the Trailblazers would be the 4-seed. If Utah Tech loses one, even with a UT Arlington loss, the Lady Mavs get the first round bye.
Julie Goodenough’s ACU squad is locked into the 6-seed with no chance of catching Utah Tech or UT Arlington and no chance any teams behind the Wildcats can catch them.
Here is where it gets tricky. There is a logjam for the final two spots at WAC Vegas. One of those spots could be decided tonight in Orem. Bill Brock’s Tarleton squad needs one win to punch its ticket to WAC Vegas. at 6-12, the Texans have a 1-game lead over SUU, UTRGV, and Seattle U plus a two-game lead over Utah Valley.
SUU hosts SFA and UTRGV this week with a chance to clinch with one win.
Seattle U needs some help. Skylar Young’s team hosts ACU on Thursday before hosting Tarleton on Saturday. Two wins could vault the Redhawks to WAC Vegas.
Same goes for UTRGV. A pair of wins at Utah Tech and at SUU could send the Vaqueros to WAC Vegas.
Utah Valley needs some help but because of getting swept by SUU, is really on the outside looking in.
Thus, we can’t determine seeds, because we simply don’t know which one of these teams will make it to WAC Vegas.
Lancers Can Cut Down Nets with a Win
One win. One home win. A perfect season at Fowler Events Center. That is what the CBU women’s basketball team is trying to accomplish on Thursday night when the Lancers host UT Arlington.
Not only would a win cap off a perfect record at Fowler Events Center, it would also mean the Lancers can celebrate their second WAC regular season title in four years.
Chloe Webb, Kinsley Barrington and the Lancers can clinch at least a share of the WAC regular season title with a win. Currently, the Lancers are 16-2 in WAC play while GCU is 16-3. The Lopes have the night off.
So, win and celebrate. Along with this, a win also clinches the top-seed at next week’s WAC Tournament for the Lancers.
The last time these two teams met on Feb. 8 at College Park Center, it took a Chloe Webb driving layup to seal a 94-92 win for the Lancers.
Will it be another high-scoring, thriller on Thursday? Be sure to check in on this ball game.