You don’t have to say anything. I can feel your frustration at me through the computer screen for not doing Week 3 of the power rankings and I’m right with you. I’m mad at myself, too. I apologize and, hopefully, you continue to tune in for my witty remarks and statistical fun facts for each Western Athletic Conference team as I look to rank them. With all that being said, I extend an open hand and wave the white flag in asking for forgiveness and, hopefully, we can start anew here in a version 4.0 of the men’s basketball power rankings.
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.
- Utah Valley University Wolverines (Last Week: No. 2) 5-6, 3-0:
First, I leave you for a week and then I return and put a team that is below .500 at the top of the list; you must really think I have lost it now. Yet, allow me to make a case for the Wolverines, even though I’d admit I’m falling for the Head Coach Mark Madsen hype train.
In rebuttal, I offer that the Wolverines were definitely keeping pace against St. John’s and showed the talent that they could compete with stronger opponents. Evan Cole stepped up with 17 points, Trey Woodbury was on fire the entire game finishing with 23 points on 10-14 shooting and Fardaws Aimaq collected a game-high 13 boards, maintaining his title of NCAA rebound king at 14 per game.
However, the Wolverines did lose 96-78 against St. John’s in a game that was decided midway through the second half, committed 22 turnovers to St. John’s four, the bench unit only contributed eight points and Aimqu suffered a high ankle sprain, according to Madsen. With all that being said, I would still take this team, with a healthy Aimaq, to take the conference at this point in the season but let’s see how they’ll do this weekend against a Tarleton team that is itching for its first conference victory.
- Grand Canyon University Antelopes (Last Week: No. 1) 10-3, 4-0:
The Antelopes were definitely asleep at the wheel in a close first game against new conference opponent Dixie State, but were able to reach into their bag of tricks and pull out a narrow 77-74 victory on the road.
The close loss is a cause for concern. The Antelopes had trouble, once again, in the first of a doubleheader, similar to their opening WAC weekend against Tarleton State. The reason they didn’t fall beyond two is that they bounced back the next night and blew out the Trailblazers 81-46.
According to HoopsPowerAnalytics on Twitter, the ’Lopes are out rebounding teams by 12 boards, which is second-best in the NCAA, so they are able to limit teams to one shot and have multiple attempts after a missed shot of their own. Size is a good thing in basketball. I guess that is why 5-foot-3 me never made it past varsity.
- California Baptist University Lancers (Last Week: No. 4) 7-4, 2-2:
This team is an offensive juggernaut within the WAC. The Lancers rank first in all of these statistical categories according to their play-by-play broadcaster Braiden Bell: scoring offense (87.7 ppg), free-throw percentage (77%), 3-point percentage (39%), assists per game (19.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and 3s per game (10.5). The Lancers are the embodiment of the NBA-Jam-he’s-on-fire mantra in that they just need to see a couple of shots to fall in and they are rolling.
In a modern game that revolves around guards that can stretch the floor, the WAC does seem to have a knack for having dominant big men. As previously mentioned, Utah Valley and Grand Canyon have formidable big men of their own and that is no different with California Baptist. If you didn’t know the name Gorjok Gak before, you should after this past weekend. The WAC Player of the Week had a mindblowing stat line of 26-16-2 against Long Beach State. He is the perfect complement in the paint for a team with shooters to spare.
- UTRGV Vaqueros (Last Week: No. 3) 8-3, 2-0:
The Vaqueros will fall out of the top three due to COVID-19-related reasons and not for their gameplay.
It is unfortunate that the team had three games, two against New Mexico State and one versus Tarleton, canceled due to COVID-19, but that is what this 2020-2021 season has been not only for the WAC but the rest of the NCAA. You hate to see it and I hope everybody is safe and healthy including you. Yes, you. You, reading my power rankings.
The Vaqueros don’t have a game this weekend, which is not the end of the world as it will provide extra time for players that had missed game due to injuries and personal reasons, such as Jamal Gaines, Marek Nelson, Quinton Johnson II and Anthony Bratton, more time to recover as they prepare for a showdown against Grand Canyon on Feb. 5 and 6 at the Bert Ogden Arena, home of the G-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
- New Mexico State University Aggies (Last Week: No. 5) 3-1, 0-0:
After months of struggles, the Aggies appear to have resolved their issues and are back in the state of New Mexico practicing.
Although the Aggies have tormented the rest of the conference, I do have to say that it brought me tremendous joy to see them back out on the court. That is what a rival should be, a team that you hate to lose to but you empathize for during its struggles. When you think about it, Chicago State also fits the criteria; much respect to Chicago State. It has been rough for the Cougars.
This week, they face arguably the strongest team in the conference, Grand Canyon, so I am curious to see how they fare in their second and third games back after a monthlong sabbatical.
I’m just so happy to have you back in my life.
- Seattle University Redhawks (Last Week: No. 6) 7-6, 0-1:
What a fall for Seattle U. To start the season, I ranked them No. 4 with a chance to move up but now the team has slipped all the way to No. 6 with a long way to reach the mountain top.
The Redhawks aren’t a bad team, as we’ve seen when they almost beat Utah Valley in an 93-92 overtime thriller, but not having played for nearly the entire month of January does add a level of concern. This team has gone from having the most regular-ish non-conference season with 11 games and playing at least once a week to a team that has had games against Utah Valley, Tarleton State and Chicago State canceled.
On top of all of that, I personally don’t love this team’s lineup. Yes, Riley Grigsby and Darrion Trammell are averaging 18 points, but when your two leading rebounders, Kobe Williamson and Emeka Udenyi, get outrebounded by Fardaws Aimaq and Evan Cole 25-11, I don’t like your chances in a conference filled with big men.
- Dixie State University Trailblazers (Last Week: No. 8) 4-7, 0-4:
Still without a conference win but things are looking up for Dixie State. The team did run out of gas in the second half in its first matchup against Grand Canyon and then suffered another 30-point-plus blowout the second night, 81-46. But in your first season in DI, that is going to happen.
If the Trailblazers can play a close game and avoid another blowout against the red-hot Lancers this weekend, it’ll be the type of improvement that could vault them to the No. 6 spot.
- Tarleton State University Texans (Last Week: No. 7) 3-7, 0-4:
Are the Texans a potential upset team for everyone in the conference, yes. Are the Texans mad? If their 113-53 victory over Howard Payne has anything to do with, then I’d say yes. Are they going to be mad at me when they see I’ve ranked them eighth? Probably.
This team plays hard, no doubt about that, but sometimes effort isn’t enough to survive 40 minutes of a game or an entire season. They have smashed non-DI talent this season but have yet to record a DI victory and I don’t see them doing much against a Utah Valley team, regardless if it has Aimaq or not.
