WAC basketball: 2017-18 power rankings

This will be the first season where all the teams are able to compete for the NCAA bid. Which team has the advantage this time?

The Western Athletic Conference is one of the more geographically confusing conferences in all of Division I basketball. There are eight teams coming from eight different states, ranging from Illinois and Missouri to California and Washington.

This newly reformed conference has a member with a different story of how they got to this point. From coming from Division II to not having a league to call home, this collection of teams is what makes the WAC different.

But, in terms of basketball, this conference is no slouch, having a collection of big victories and accomplishments outside of the league. Slowly but surely people are starting to take notice of the WAC, with arguably it’s highest-profile member about to take center stage.

This will be Grand Canyon’s fifth season in Division I basketball. Now that the four year transition period that makes schools ineligible for postseason play is over, the Antelopes will have the chance to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever.

If Grand Canyon does take the top spot in the WAC, it’ll come at the New Mexico State Aggies expense. With the exception of two years ago, it’s been the Aggies who have represented the conference in the Big Dance.

But what about Cal State Bakersfield? Two years ago the Roadrunners went to the tournament themselves for the first time in school history, then won the regular season title last season. They’ve gotten a taste of the bright lights and don’t want to back down from it.

Then you have the other schools, who’ve been biding their time before making a statement of their own. Will this be the year one of them makes the big leap to the upper echelon of the WAC?

Let’s look at how the WAC will play out for this season.