VCU (11-4) (NET: 60)
0-2 (Q1), 1-1 (Q2), 2-1 (Q3), 7-0 (Q4)
This VCU team went to Nevada in mid-December and got a solid win against Colorado State as underdogs, though unfortunately that Quad 2 win is the best they can offer right now. Their win against Miami at the Charleston Classic doesn’t look great while last weekend’s win at Loyola-Chicago only sits at Quad 3 right now.
On the other side, their total performance in Charleston was pretty rough, losing a Quad 3 game to a Seton Hall team that’s spiraled a bit this season before dropping another close one to Nevada. The two most recent losses were road games against stronger teams but VCU doesn’t have much more room for failure on this resume.
The cure ahead is a long streak of winning for the Rams, who like the other teams in the A-10 don’t have a lot of Quad 1 opportunities ahead. The only current one is an early February road game at Dayton that’ll be very important for both teams.
This team has played solid ball for most of the season, but they really can’t afford many more losses in league play to have an attractive resume, especially as they lack any Quad 1 success. VCU is realistically in rough shape lacking a hot streak against the top teams in this league down the stretch.
Washington State (13-3) (NET: 66)
1-1 (Q1), 4-2 (Q2), 2-0 (Q3), 6-0 (Q4)
Technically a mid-major this season as they temporarily join the WCC, Washington State is hoping to make an impression in their league. Their big win came at Nevada to begin December and remains a Quad 1 success while a slew of Quad 2 wins came this season including Bradley, Boise State, and San Francisco.
There’s nothing too abhorrent about the losses for the Cougars, though they would’ve loved to fare better in those games. They’ve lost by double-digits in each of those games, including a tough one at rival Washington just a few weeks ago.
The road ahead is filled with chances for the Cougars to get good wins, including this weekend’s tough matchup at Gonzaga. No one expects them to go on some long winning streak, but winning some of these upcoming Quad 1 games will go a long way to putting them back into at-large conversations.
A much different team than last year’s breakthrough success, these Cougars still have potential here, especially if they can steal a few against this second-tier of WCC teams in the coming months. We’re not sure what’s going to happen with this team in this limbo year, but don’t count them out just yet.