WAC Seeding to be Determined by ACU's Huge Final Week

ABILENE - There is still a lot to figure out when it comes to next week's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. For the ACU men's basketball team, it will all be settled on the court at Moody Coliseum.

The Wildcats host the first and second place teams in the conference for the final two games of the regular season. ACU faces Utah Valley (21-7, 13-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m., and then takes on Grand Canyon (22-6, 12-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

"Credit to both of those teams. They've put themselves in a position where they're playing for a conference title this week, so we know we're going to get their best shot," said head coach Brette Tanner. "But, I really believe this conference is so well spread out, I don't know if there's much of a difference between the teams we've been playing and the teams we're going to play this week."

ACU (15-14 overall, 7-7 in the WAC) enters the pair of matchups in a three-way tie for third place with California Baptist and Tarleton State. Seattle U is right behind with a 6-8 conference record, and UT Arlington is 6-9 in the league. When the regular season ends on Saturday, this group of five schools will fall somewhere between seeds No. 3 through No. 7 for the WAC Tournament.

On Thursday, March 13, the No. 3 team plays No. 6 seed, and No. 4 and No. 5 square off in the quarterfinal round. The team which finishes 7th will have to play the No. 2 seed -- Utah Valley or Grand Canyon -- on Wednesday, March 12.

The Wildcats appear to be assured of avoiding the No. 7 seed because of last Saturday's 70-59 win at UTA. ACU scored the game's final seven points as all five starters scored in double figures. Bradyn Hubbard led the charge with 21 points, including 9-for-9 on free throws, and 8 rebounds.

The win ties the season series with the Mavericks, which could be consequential if tiebreakers are needed to determine WAC Tournament seeding. If head-to-head record does not break a tie in the standings, the WAC Resume Seeding Rankings -- an algorithm that takes into account a team's entire season -- will be used. Heading into the final week, ACU appears too far ahead in the resume seeding for UTA to surpass them in the case of a tiebreaker.





ACU started its WAC schedule against Utah Valley on Jan. 4 in Orem, UT. The Wolverines pulled out a 64-53 win which was in the middle of the Wildcats' six-game losing streak. Since then, ACU has hit its stride with six wins in its last seven games.

"We're good enough to beat anyone in this league. We know we are," said Tanner. "We know we're going to have to play really well, but to finish as high as we can we know that's what we have to do."

Thursday's game with Utah Valley is Blast from the Past Night at Moody Coliseum with several throwback promotions. Andy Penney and Ron Holmes will be on the ESPN+ call, while ACU alumnus Kauy Ostlien handles the radio broadcast on 101.7 FM The Patriot.

Click here to buy tickets and support the Wildcats at Moody Coliseum!