by PX » Sun Dec 15, 2002 2:39 pm
Weird things sometimes happen in the weekend after exams, thats not such a big surprise. TCU's chances of making the NIT just took a hit, though, that loss will look ugly at the end of the year.
The WAC is starting to look pretty soft. Tulsa will make the NCAA tournament, and if they get upset in the conference tourney (which Hawaii has done the last couple of years,) then a 2nd team will get in.
Fresno State seems to be playing well, but they lack anything close to a high profile win, something that would catch the selection committees eye. They also just announced some self-imposed sanctions related to their NCAA investigation, giving up scholarships and post season in 2004 and 2005. There might be an emotional letdown from that.
Hawaii is an unknown quantity, they havent played a whole lot of games yet. The San Diego State loss isnt anything that will kill their post-season chances, but they also dont have a quality win.
Whoever does the scheduling for La. Tech should be slapped. Lots of unwinnable road games against top-20 teams where they get beat bad, and the rest of their games are against Div.2 or Div.3 schools that may be big wins, but they dont count in the RPI, and wont make a good impression on the selection committee at the end of the year. Every team needs some in-between games that are winnable, and Tech didnt schedule any. Techs chances of going anywhere postseason will depend totally on how they do in conference play.
Thats about it for the WAC. SJSU is pitiful this year, and UTEP may not win a single game. Boise state was bad last year, and they lost their best player. Nevada has a chance to break even, but thats borderline. Rice is the only WAC team that seems to actually be a little improved from last season, the Owls might have a shot at finishing in the top half of the conference.