WAC Basketball Tournament: New Mexico State once again the favorite in 2019
By Connor Hope
Teams to Watch
Favorite – New Mexico State
We are getting to a point in the WAC’s lifecycle where New Mexico State is the default favorite every year, similar to Gonzaga in the WCC. As we saw last night, however, anything can happen. If all goes as expected, The Aggies will receive their eighth bid in 10 years. Boasting a 17-1 WAC record, New Mexico State’s only loss came against a surprising Cal Baptist team, in the Lancers’ first conference home game as a DI basketball program. It should come as no surprise that the Aggies have picked up some votes in the AP Writers’ Poll.
Led by senior forward Eli Chuha and transfer guards Terrell Brown and AJ Harris, New Mexico State boasts the WAC’s top scoring defense and average scoring margin. The team plays a style of selfless ball that creates multiple weapons and a ton of assists, which makes beating the Aggies more complicated than stopping one go-to scorer. There really isn’t a ton of weaknesses for Chris Jans’ young squad, but an aggressive defense may be able to slow them, with the team’s poor free throw shooting doing little to discourage risking fouls. Short of a free throw battle, however, the Aggies will not have many challenges in the WAC Tournament.
Top Contender – Utah Valley
Playing the part of second best this season, the Utah Valley Wolverines have the most efficient offense in the conference. While their best win came on the road in a non-conference game against Fresno State, the Wolverines are perhaps the second hottest team in the WAC. Riding a seven game winning streak, Utah Valley would be the top pick to upset the Aggies, if their defense can hold serve. The Wolverines have had some games this season with very little success on defense, and that would all be seal their fate against New Mexico State in a potential WAC Championship matchup.
Sleeper – Seattle
Injuries may have caused Seattle’s tremendous fall to seventh in the WAC standings, but the fully healthy Redhawks have won five of their last six, including two consecutive overtime victories to end the regular season. Seattle’s defense has held up well despite the injuries, and with a full bill of health, the offense has begun to improve as well. Can Seattle win the auto-bid? Probably not. However, their current level of play and fully healthy roster makes them a real threat to produce a couple of upsets. It will be extremely interesting to see how well Head Coach Jim Hayford has prepared his squad for the most important games of the season.