The Day That Wasn't, Non-DI Games, and a Christmas Trip to Hawaii
WAC Wednesday did not go well, non-Division I games in December aren't what Santa wants to deliver and a WAC team gets to spend Christmas in Hawaii
As I sat in my office on Wednesday night streaming four different ball games and the new season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime, I got quite discouraged.
WAC Wednesday was supposed to be a continuation of what has been a really good week of Christmas for the Western Athletic Conference.
UT Arlington got its signature win on Monday. Utah Valley held on to beat Oregon on Tuesday.
And on WAC Wednesday, there were some golden opportunities for some big wins.
SUU, the highest scoring team in the country, had a chance for a Quad 1 win. New Mexico State, playing in El Paso, had a chance for a Quad 1 win. UT Arlington had a chance to make the win over San Francisco more legit with a Power 5 win.
Unfortunately, SUU fell just short in Boulder. New Mexico State couldn’t quite get over the hump in an arena they lost in earlier this season. And UT Arlington resorted back to its struggle shooting the basketball.
Basketball is a funny sport. Take, for instance, Southern Utah. Maizen Fausett knocks down a 3-pointer to give SUU a 57-55 lead with 10:58 to play at Colorado.
The SUU bench goes crazy. There is confidence that the T-Birds can get that Quad 1 win. And momentum seems to be all in favor of the T-Birds who are on an 8-2 run.
But, just as quickly as the momentum comes, it can rapidly dissipate. Southern Utah learned that the hard way follow Fausett’s 3-pointer.
The T-Birds scored just two points over the next five minutes while Colorado went on an 18-2 run to take command of what was a competitive ball game.
SUU got within six with 47 seconds to play. But, the Buffs went 7-8 from the free throw line down the stretch in the win on Wednesday night.
In the case of UT Arlington, well, the pats on the back for the win on Monday night may have been a little too much for the Mavericks.
WAC Wednesday might have been a perfect storm of a variety of things going against the Mavericks.
First, there was all the talk of the big win over San Francisco. And, rightly so. A road win over a top-100 NET opponent is always a big thing. Second, the Cal Bears were winless at 0-10 and saw an opportunity against an opponent of perhaps equal talent.
The third thing that happened, is UT Arlington resorted back to its struggle shooting the basketball.
19 first half points. 19!
That is not going to get it done. 6-21 from the field in the first half just doesn’t cut it. It took Aaron Cash nearly 35 minutes to finally knock down a field goal.
Sure, Shemar Wilson and Chendall Weaver played well, once again. But, what happened to the UT Arlington squad we saw lead from wire-to-wire over San Francisco on Monday night?
It simply wasn’t good at Haas Pavilion and the Mavericks will have a long flight back to Arlington to think about it.
As for New Mexico State, they will leave El Paso on Friday evening happy to be done playing at the Don Haskins Center for the season. In two games in El Paso, New Mexico State has scored 64 and 63 points, respectively. Both in a pair of losses.
Now, Wednesday’s loss isn’t terrible. Kent State is a top-40 NET basketball team. So, it’s not a bad loss in the grand scheme of things. A win obviously would have been much better. But, it is what it is.
Here is the problem…at least a few of them for the Aggies. Four starters played 33-plus minutes. 55 of the 63 points came from the starters. And New Mexico State had just nine assists on 24 made baskets.
If Anthony Roy is not allowed to play in games outside the state of New Mexico, the Aggies will struggle on the road. Roy was averaging double figures off the bench for Greg Heiar and the Aggies.
Deshawndre Washington, Issa Muhammad, Xavier Pinson and Quayè Gordon can only do so much. If teams slow down any one of those four, watch out. It could be a long season in Las Cruces.
Huge Dislike for Non-Division I Games
I know, I know. Tarleton and Abilene Christian fans are ecstatic that their teams got wins on WAC Wednesday. And I am sure both Brette Tanner and Billy Gillispie are ecstatic, as well. A win is a win, right?
And, this isn’t to pick on the Texans or the Wildcats. Every team in the WAC has a non-Division I game on its schedule. Some play more non-Division I games than others.
Unfortunately, because Utah Valley beats Oregon or Sam Houston beats Oklahoma, WAC schools have a tough time putting together a quality non-conference schedule. And in terms of home games, let’s not go down that rabbit hole.
So, to fill that need for home games, some schools have to resort to playing non-Division I games.
Do I agree with it? Well, you have seen my thoughts on it plenty of times. I hate non-Division I games. They are glorified scrimmages that don’t prove a thing. They don’t prove whether a team is ready for conference play or not. They don’t prove that a team can score a lot of points. They don’t prove a thing.
They are an opportunity to pad the stats, get a W in the win column and move on to the next game.
And just for reference, non-Division I games DON’T even count in the WAC resume seeding system. They are a 0 value so they neither help or hurt you.
The more non-Division I games a team has, the fewer opportunities to earn points toward the seeding system.
I know it’s the system, the analytics that have created the mess we have in terms of scheduling.
Like I said before perhaps in a podcast episode or in an article, why is it that a UC Davis and Utah Valley, who both played a non-Division I game within a day of each other, could not come together to perhaps schedule a home-and-home or a two-game series where they play in Orem one year and California the following year?
That’s when it is frustrating.
I will get off my soapbox now.
Redhawks Get to Spend Christmas on the Beach
After waiting a few years due to Covid, the Seattle U men’s basketball team FINALLY gets to play in the Diamond Head Classic on the island of Oahu.
Yep, beautiful weather, sandy beaches, and some basketball.
Not a bad way to spend Christmas.
The Redhawks have their work cut out for them this weekend. Seattle U takes on Utah State on Thursday in the first round. And then, the Redhawks will face either SMU or Iona on Friday.
Depending what happens in the first two days, the Redhawks could get either Hawaii, Washington State, George Washington or Pepperdine on Christmas Day.
So, enjoy the trip to Hawaii. And make it a memorable one with a few big wins.
