WAC play is back! Sort of … well not entirely but you get the idea. Although there was only one double-header this past weekend, Utah Valley University vs. California Baptist University, it was good to finally see the action put into WACtion. Was that cheesy? Yes. Was that completely necessary? Also, yes. It is just exciting to start a new WAC season with old rivalries, anybody vs. New Mexico State, and new ones, such as the Battle of Texas, Tarleton State vs. UTRGV, and the Battle of Utah, Dixie State vs. Utah Valley University.
Please Keep In Mind:
- Without saying but for the people in the back, although this list is subjective, I will rank teams based on stats, schedules, gameplay and storylines. Ultimately, this is done in good spirit because who doesn’t like ranking things from best to worst.
- Team records are not a determining factor for ranking a team higher or lower.
- Nearly every aspect of a team will be looked at in the rankings, such as injuries, COVID-19 (although I hope these remain at a minimum throughout conference play), opponents and how a game played out.
- For example, Team B beat Team A and Team C beat Team B, so Team C is better than Team A is not a valid argument for ranking.
1. California Baptist University Lancers (Last Week: No. 1) 10-0, 2-0:
Simply put–in my best Tony the Tiger impression–they’re great! Offensively this team seems to have found “The Secret” to basketball, as explained by Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons in Bill Simmons’ 2010 book titled, “The Book of Basketball.” “The secret to basketball is that it is not about basketball. [Thomas’ Pistons] won because they liked each other, knew their roles, ignored statistics and valued winning over everything else. They won because their best players sacrificed to make everyone else happy,” and in the first two games this season, the Lancers are playing with this mentality that has left them as the only undefeated team in the WAC.
It helps that point guard Ane Oleata is an unselfish player by nature, averaging 7.9 assists per contest (third in the nation) and has 79 assists in the season (second in the nation), but the rest of the team has also bought into this philosophy. Against the Wolverines, the ball never stuck and moved around the court effortlessly, which lead to easy baskets at the rim for Britney Thomas, coming back from medically redshirting in the 2019-20 season averaging a team-high 15.1 points per game, or from beyond the arc with Nicole Avila-Ambros, Taylor Wu and Sydney Palma.
I still do have questions about their defense, but for the time being, I don’t see the Lancers any lower than the No. 1 spot on a power ranking for the rest of the season as they have the foundation and the right mix of players to leave their mark on the WAC.
2. Grand Canyon University Antelopes (Last Week: No. 2) 8-1:
Grand Canyon University was originally scheduled to play Chicago State this week but due to WAC and NCAA COVID-19 protocols, the game had to be postponed. The Antelopes quickly shifted to New Mexico State to start WAC play as both teams had idle weekends. What a better way to start conference season than against a program that is itching for a victory.
Since joining the WAC, the Antelopes have a 4-10 record against the Aggies and I’m willing to bet that first year Head Coach Molly Miller wants to start off the renewed rivalry on the right foot.
3. Seattle U Redhawks (Last Week: No. 5) 4-5:
The Redhawks could have landed in this week’s power rankings at third (where they currently stand), fourth, fifth or sixth. There is a constant back and forth between liking and disliking this team, but each season is defined by a theme and this year’s theme is continuity.
Yes, it has talented players in two preseason all-WAC second team selections in McKenzi Williams, averaging 17.9 points per game, and Courtney Murphy, shooting over 40% from the field and three, but ultimately, this pick comes down to this team having on court continuity playing at least one game per week, except over the 18-day winter break. As we’ve seen from the top two teams, California Baptist and Grand Canyon, the Redhawks have consistently played games, been battle tested and have a natural advantage over teams that have had to endure long pauses, such as Utah Valley.
A player to watch on this Redhawks team is junior post player Leilani Peat. She has yet to play in a game this season and has career averages of 1.75 points and 1.5 boards per game but when you look at her TikTok stats it is quite impressive. Her account @notlei has over 226.8 thousand followers and 19.6 million likes. Her content is true to her and her bio says it all, “I’m your big sister now.” I’ve been a subscriber for nearly a year and her Tiktoks always bring a smile to my face. Leilani if you are reading this, I’m a big fan and thank you for being my big sister, especially during this pandemic.
4. UTRGV Vaqueros (Last Week: No. 4) 4-2:
I’m always a fan of fun fourth-quarter comebacks, which this team has provided plenty of, but it is not a recipe for success once you start playing doubleheaders against conference opponents that tend to know your offensive sets and where players like to get the ball.
The reinforcements are going to be key for the Vaqueros but why haven’t they moved up? If week one taught us anything is that a team without extended breaks, such asCalifornia Baptist, has a natural advantage over a team that has had pauses and not been able to play games, such as Utah Valley University.
UTRGV isn’t facing a WAC school this weekend as it was originally slated to play Dixie State, but was able to schedule two games against Southern Utah, a future WAC School according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports. If this team is able to put on a dominant 40-minute performance against the Thunderbirds, it can easily move up to third next week.
5. Utah Valley University Wolverines (Last Week: No. 3) 2-3, 0-2:
Well, the Wolverines did not have the start to conference season that they would have wanted as they lost 98-69 to California Baptist in a game that was determined at halftime. If there was a silver lining over the 0-2 weekend is that the second game was close and only lost by nine, 62-53.
I do have to drop them to fifth because of the shelling they took last Friday but this goes back to the theme of the season, continuity. The Wolverines had only played three games before their match up against the Lancers. This weekend’s games against Seattle U will be the first time all season this team has played within seven days, so I do expect improvement from the coaches WAC preseason first place selection as it begins to play games on a consistent basis.
6. New Mexico State University Aggies (Last Week: No. 6) 2-5:
Give credit to New Mexico State for being able to schedule Grand Canyon for this weekend. This definitely helps them in the continuity power rankings because if it had not scheduled this game, the Aggies would have gone nearly a month without action, which as explained above is not a good thing.
When Brooke Atkinson took the head coaching job in May 2017, she began her tenure with two amazing seasons at the helm that included a spectacular 2018-19 campaign going 15-1 that saw a 14-game winning streak and being named WAC champions.
However, last season the Aggies went 8-8 in WAC play and finished sixth in the conference, its lowest since the 2013-14 season when they finished seventh with a 7-9 conference record. Despite the tremendous amount of adversity this team has faced off the court, I can only imagine Atkinson is looking to get her team back on track and return to the top of the WAC, but that long road begins against Grand Canyon, who is currently 8-1.
7. Tarleton State University Texans (Last Week: No. 7) 3-6:
Welcome to the WAC Tarleton State! First matchup you’ll have is California Baptist, who is currently 10-0, has two coaches’ all-WAC preseason first team selections, has the potential WAC player of the year and dismantled Utah Valley (the coaches’ pick to be the best team in the WAC) by 29 points. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that you’ll be on ESPN+!
It’s definitely a trial by fire for the Texans but they can prevent the Lancers from adding an 11th fire emoji on their official Twitter account and for some reason, when multiple storybook storylines align, the first year DI team, the undefeated conference powerhouse and the first DI opponent at home, the underdog always has a knack for coming out on top.
8. Chicago State University Cougars (Last Week: No. 8) 0-3:
Chicago State will not play this weekend as it was not able to meet WAC and NCAA COVID-19 protocols.
This will put the Cougars at a disadvantage to start conference play as their next scheduled game is against red-hot California Baptist on Jan. 22 and 23 after a month of not playing. Yikes!
