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WCC Basketball: Final Power Rankings and Team Grades for 2017-18

By Tristan Freeman

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: Zach Norvell Jr.
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: Zach Norvell Jr. /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 03: Jack Williams
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 03: Jack Williams /

5. San Diego Toreros 20-14 (9-9)

2017-18 postseason result: College Insider Tournament (CIT) Third Round

Season Grade: B

Next to Gonzaga, the Toreros had the best non-conference results, with difficult road wins over Colorado, New Mexico State, and Grand Canyon. They followed it up with a win against BYU, as well as competitive bouts versus Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

San Diego went the transfer route with a pair of Isaiahs (Wright and Pineiro) which finally gave them the offense the team needed to win games. Assuming both of them comes back, the Toreros will be in excellent shape.

4. Pacific Tigers 14-18 (9-9)

2017-18 postseason result: None

Season Grade: B

It feels weird to give a good grade to a team that finished under .500 for the season, but this was by far the best year for the program in their short time in the WCC. Before this season, the most number of conference wins the Tigers had in this league was six. They added three more this time around, including a win over BYU and nearly knocking off Saint Mary’s.

Several newcomers from both Junior College and regular transfers were the reasons why Pacific played so well this season. That’s a testament to both Damon Stoudamire’s recruiting and coaching ability. For the program’s sake, let’s hope this was the first step of consistently competing in the top half of the WCC.

3. BYU Cougars 24-11 (11-7)

2017-18 postseason result: NIT First Round

Season Grade: C

This was an average grade based on two different expectations concerning this BYU team. On one hand, there were no seniors, meaning that losses were going to happen.

However, this was the most defeats that the Cougars suffered since entering the WCC, including getting swept by both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s in the regular season. The blowouts that were given to them by LMU and San Diego were demoralizing as well. This is a program whose fans expected to compete with the top teams on a regular basis, and this product was nowhere near that.