Predictions are always fun to throw out for the fans to debate. There are times when predictions are way off. Other times, those predictions are spot on.
WAC Vegas is now less than a week away. It’s safe to say that six teams could win it all and head to the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the other six teams can throw a wrinkle in that discussion.
Either way, with the league as deep as it is, anything can happen at the conference tournament.
However, before we get to WAC Vegas, there is one week left of WAC play. Seeding implications, regular season title races, and so forth are all still very much in play.
With that being said, here are some predictions for the final week of WAC play.
Utah Valley Wins Regular Season Crown, Sam Houston Gets 1-Seed
This prediction shouldn’t come as a surprise. Utah Valley leads Sam Houston by .17 in the WAC resume seeding system. The problem for the Wolverines is that they play a pair of home games this week. Sam Houston has one road game, at SFA on Wednesday, that should prove to be the difference.
Utah Valley won’t get significant points for wins over UT Arlington or SFA. However, the Wolverines will still win the regular season title outright. That is, if they take care of business at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley holds a 1-game lead over Sam Houston in that race. So, two wins clinch the title outright.
Here is the thing…UT Arlington got .65 points for winning at SFA last week. Sam Houston probably won’t get that much. But, Tarleton only got .21 points for beating UT Arlington at home. That is probably around the number Utah Valley would get for beating the Mavericks at home. Thus, as you can see, Sam Houston will probably be in the 1-seed if all goes to plan on Wednesday night.
Kind of wild to think about. But this is one of those predictions that will probably be accurate.
Utah Tech Plays Spoiler
With nothing to lose and really set in the 11-seed, Utah Tech might play spoiler on Wednesday night. The Trailblazers host Seattle U at Burns Arena. Currently, the Redhawks sit at four in the resume seeding system. A win could push the Redhawks into the 3-seed. However, a loss combined with an SUU win over GCU, could lock in the T-Birds at the 3-seed.
Utah Tech has been known to play the spoiler role. Just ask GCU. The Trailblazers knocked off GCU last season, keeping the Lopes from sharing the regular season title. A team that has nothing to lose, is coming off a heartbreaking loss, and playing at home. It seems like the perfect time to play that spoiler role once again.
Not only that…Utah Tech hosts Grand Canyon on Friday. As it was stated above, the Trailblazers are set in the 11-seed as of Tuesday afternoon. Numbers-wise it may not be possible, but if Utah Tech can play spoiler on back-to-back nights to end the regular season…the 9-seed is very possible.
A lot to play for at Burns Arena this week.
Bold Prediction: CBU Women Knock Off SUU Women
It’s one of those bold predictions that I think will happen on Tuesday night. Just ask Derryl and Chelsea. I said it to them this past weekend. CBU is going to beat SUU on Tuesday night to cause chaos in the regular season title race on the women’s side.
CBU can shoot the lights out. Trinity San Antonio is one of the best guards in the league. Dorcus Wu is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. Grace Schmidt will probably be the Freshman of the Year in the WAC. Jarrod Olson has been in these types of games before. He hasn’t won 250 games at CBU for no reason. As we saw against ACU, 3-point shooting and quickness can create a problem for SUU.
This isn’t to take anything away from Tracy Sanders’ team. I like the SUU women. They have size, really good guard play, and they know how to win. It will be a fun ball game. But, I honestly think CBU spoils SUU’s bid to win the WAC outright on Tuesday night in Cedar City. For what it’s worth…CBU already has a win over SFA in Nacogdoches so the Lancers know how to win on the road.
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