WAC basketball power poll: Final Edition
Going into the final week of regular season play, only one thing is clear in the Western Athletic Conference standings, and it’s the same thing that has been clear all along. Utah State is No. 1 in the conference by a wide margin, and that’s about all anybody can say for certain.
The race for the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament is still wide open, despite Boise State’s position as the current leader of that pack. As it stands, four teams could end up with 9-7 records at the end of the regular season, leaving the tournament seeding to be decided by tiebreakers, and leaving whichever team lands at the bottom of those tiebreakers without any kind of bye in the WAC Tournament.
1) Utah State (26-3, 13-1)
The Aggies are No. 1 and it isn’t even close. Since the last power poll, USU has racked up a revenge win against the one WAC team to pull out a win against them and soundly beaten a top 25 team on the road at Saint Mary’s. The final week of the season has one major test on the road at New Mexicao State, but looking at it, the Aggies can put all their eggs into the basket of winning that game, seeing as how last place Louisiana Tech is the follow-up game to Wednesday’s showdown of Aggies on ESPN2.
2) Boise State (17-11, 9-6)
The Broncos are just one win at home away from being the second WAC team to win 10 games, and are just one of two teams who even have a chance to do so. Boise State has currently won four straight games in conference play, and will essentially put a lock on its position as the No. 2 seed for the WAC Tournament if they can seal the deal on senior night against San Jose State.
3) Idaho (16-12, 8-7)
Despite the fact that the Vandals have already been swept by both New Mexico State and Boise State, the two teams next to them in the standings, the Vandals arguably have the best chance at landing at No. 3 in the final standings with a final home game against Fresno State. They also get major kudos for power poll favoritism given that they are the lone team to claim a victory over Utah State.
4) Hawaii (17-10, 7-7)
While Idaho managed to pull off the shocker against USU, Hawaii came awfully close, and with two more games on the schedule against teams outside of the top six in the conference, the Warriors are looking to be in good shape to also finish 9-7. It might not be all sunshine and rainbows for Hawaii though, as they look to be in bad shape for any massive second or third place tie in the standings.
5) Nevada (11-17, 7-7)
Losing three straight games has dropped the Wolf Pack from the drivers’ seat for the No. 2 seed, to potentially finishing sixth in the standings. Nevada has the same final two games as Utah State though, and should be able to propel itself upward in the standings into 9-7. The Wolf Pack open this weekend’s games at last place Louisiana Tech and finish at New Mexico State, a team that the Pack has generally had the number of, even on the road.
6) New Mexico State (14-15, 8-6)
While the southern Aggies currently possess a better record than the three teams directly above them in the poll, NMSU has to finish off the year hosting Utah State and Nevada. While USU has always struggled for wins in Las Cruces, nobody can logically bet against Utah State in WAC play right now, especially with NMSU’s Troy Gillenwater seeing a drop in production as of late. Nevada seems to always play spoilers to New Mexico State too.
7) San Jose State (15-12, 5-9)
At this point, the Spartans are essentially battling for the chance to potentially avoid Utah State until the WAC Tournament finals if they can pull out first and second round victories in Vegas. They host Hawaii in their first chance to play spoiler to a team aiming for the No. 2 seed, and then have to go on the road to play Boise State in what would be another opportunity to put a dent in a team’s dream of finishing in second place.
8) Fresno State (13-15, 5-9)
The Bulldogs’ chance to play spoilers takes them first to Moscow, Idaho where they can shatter the Vandals’ hopes of finishing better than third place. Then they get the chance to put Hawaii to the test to knock them out of contention for a top-two finish. The role of spoiler is about all that Fresno State can do at this point as they, along with San Jose State, appear hopelessly buried down in seventh and eighth place.
9) Louisiana Tech (12-18, 2-12)
There’s not much else to say other than “Thanks for playing”. The Bulldogs have to go out facing Nevada on Thursday, and then get to end their season against Utah State for what will probably be one final kick in the rear to end a season that once appeared to be a promising one. They are already mathematically eliminated from WAC Tournament play.
– matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu