Vivá WAC Vegas! First Round of 2023-24 WAC Tournament Tips Off Wednesday
Vivá WAC Vegas! First Round of 2023-24 WAC Tournament Tips Off Wednesday
Four game, two men's and two women's, tip off the 2024 version of WAC Vegas on Wednesday afternoon at Orleans Arena.
Welcome to Sin City!
Perhaps some of you refer to it as something else.
WAC fans refer to it was WAC Vegas.
GCU fans refer to it as Lopes Vegas.
Whatever you want to call it, let’s just call it what it is.
Welcome to the 2024 WAC Tournament brought to you by Hercules Tires.
Orleans Arena is the place to be over the next four days.
Four games per day, two men’s and two women’s games, will grace fans at the arena just west of The Strip.
For some, the women’s games aren’t what you might call ‘primetime games’ while others may not want to stay up until 10:30 p.m. CT to watch their favorite teams.
Yes, I am looking at fans from ACU, SFA, UT Arlington and Tarleton as the Texas portion of the bracket will have their game at 8:30 p.m. PT every night.
Gonna be some late nights in Texas.
Either way, it is going to be another fun week at WAC Vegas.
Let’s preview the four games in Wednesday’s First Round, shall we?
Women’s Bracket
5-seed UT Arlington vs. 6-seed Southern Utah
Tip: Noon PT
Broadcast: ESPN+
The first game of WAC Vegas features two teams that play much different styles of basketball.
Southern Utah wants to get after you physically and slow the ball game down. UT Arlington wants to play fast while getting out in transition.
If this game gets into a track race, advantage UT Arlington. The Lady Mavs are deeper, and more experienced.
However, Tracy Mason led the T-Birds to the tournament title in 2023, so don’t discount SUU all that quickly.
The problem for the T-Birds is the lack of depth. Two projected starters never took the floor for SUU in 2023-24. Another starter, Megan Smith, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in late December.
Tracy Mason’s rotation is down to six players. Maybe a seventh. And most of those six players are underclassmen.
Shereka Wright counters with the likes of All-WAC selections Avery Brittingham, Gia Adams, and Adela Valkova. Taliyah Clark can light it up from the perimeter. Nya Threatt is one of the quickest point guards in the league. Shereka Wright has an 8-person rotation. This means fresh legs on the regular for a team that loves to play fast.
As has been mentioned…pay attention to the pace of this game. If SUU dictates tempo, they could be in for an upset. If UT Arlington pushes the pace, gets out in transition, and speeds the game up, it could be a long afternoon for the defending WAC Tournament champions.
6-seed ACU vs. 7-seed Tarleton
Tip: 2:30 p.m. PT
Broadcast: ESPN+
If you haven’t seen WAC Freshman of the Year Payton Hull play a ball game this year…then turn on ESPN+ this afternoon.
After watching Hull in person Saturday in a win at Utah Valley, there is something special about this guard who can score at all levels.
And Hull is going to have to score in bunches on Wednesday in an opening round game against I-20 rival Tarleton.
Hull, Bella Earle, and Addison Martin have to lead the Wildcats in what would be their first win at the WAC Tournament since joining the league in 2022-23.
Two years ago, it was a heartbreaking 73-70 loss to UTRGV. In 2023, it was another heartbreaking 81-80 loss where the Wildcats gave up a big lead over the final five minutes against Sam Houston.
So, can Julie Goodenough’s team win their first-ever WAC Tournament game?
Well, another team in a first-ever situation is Bill Brock’s Tarleton Texans. After splitting the week at Utah Valley and Seattle U to earn a trip to WAC Vegas, the Texans are playing in their first-ever WAC Tournament.
Yes, in 2023, the first year the Texans were eligible for the tourney, they were the lone team that didn’t get to play in Las Vegas after finishing 2-16 in WAC play. It was the end of the Misty Wilson era as the Tarleton Hall of Fame member was let go after the season ended.
Enter Bill Brock who has led Tarleton to 10 wins in his first season, second-best win total of the Division I era.
Brock has All-WAC Freshman Team selection Faith Acker as well as Theresa Da Silva at his disposal. Jakoriah Long at 11.1 points per game is the team’s leading scorer. In fact, Long is the lone Texan averaging double figures.
The two teams split the season series, each winning on their home floor. Who will win the rubber match on a neutral floor?
It is ‘Survive and Advance’ season, and this ball game between two schools donning the purple and white is bound to be a lot of fun.
Men’s Bracket
5-seed Utah Valley vs. 8-seed California Baptist
Tip: 6 p.m. PT
Broadcast: ESPN+
Beating a team three times in one season is hard. If Utah Valley can do that on Wednesday night at Orleans Arena, it will me advancing to Thursday’s quarterfinal against Seattle U.
The Wolverines have won seven of their last eight games, including a sweep at Tarleton and ACU to end the regular season.
Ethan Potter has been dynamite after being thrust into the starting lineup in early February. In fact, the Wolverines are 8-1 with Potter in the starting lineup this season.
Over his last 10 games, Potter has scored in double figures eight times. In the win at Tarleton a week ago, Potter had a career-high 22 points as well as a career-high 15 rebounds.
The high basketball IQ for the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year has provided a huge boost to a Utah Valley squad playing its best basketball of the season.
On the other side of the spectrum, CBU is not playing its best basketball of the season. Two double-digit losses to end the regular season. Eight losses in 10 games. All eight of those losses have come after Dom Daniels JR. went down with a knee injury in a heartbreaking loss to Seattle U. Technically, CBU has lost nine of its last 11 games.
Things have simply not been pretty down the stretch. To make matters worse, the Lancers average margin of defeat in the two losses to Utah Valley this season is 15.0 points.
Where will the offense come from? Reports are that Scotty Washington will return after suffering an early injury in the loss to GCU in the regular season finale. So, that is good news.
But, keep an eye on the body language of the Lancers. It will tell the whole story on Wednesday night in the first of two men’s games.
6-seed SFA vs. 7-seed ACU
Tip: 8:30 p.m. PT
Broadcast: ESPN+
The final game of the first round of the WAC Tournament might also be the best game of the night.
Rivals who played arguably two of the best games all season in WAC play. Same colors in purple and white. Two Texas schools with ties between each other. Former Southland Conference rivals.
Like this game has all the makings of a wild finish to Wednesday night.
SFA won the first meeting in overtime at Moody Coliseum. SFA guard Matt Hayman 3-pointer with three seconds to play in regulation to send the game into overtime, where the Jacks went onto get a big road win back in December.
On Feb. 17 at The Sawmill in Nacogdoches, it was Airion Simmons hitting the game-winner with five seconds remaining to give ACU a 63-62 epic comeback win over the Jacks. ACU trailed by 15 with 11 minutes to play before completing the comeback win.
So, who wins the rubber match? ACU has won seven of its last eight to play its way into WAC Vegas. SFA just got AJ Cajuste back after missing nearly two months with an injured elbow.
Both ACU and SFA lost in the first round of the 2023 WAC Tournament. ACU got ousted by CBU and SFA got ousted by Utah Tech.
One of these two teams is moving on to the quarterfinals on Thursday.
In a late-night showdown, who will it be? The all-Texas portion of the bracket gets started with a banger to cap off the first night of the 2024 WAC Tournament.