The New México State Aggies proved themselves throughout WAC conference play, but a two-game lull in the midst of it makes it unlikely they make it to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. New México State must do it the hard way by capturing the conference tournament, but will assuredly be the favorites to do so.
Teams like the Utah Valley Wolverines and Grand Canyon Antelopes will look to give New México State all it can handle and come away with the berth. Grand Canyon is eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first time and would be overjoyed to come away with a March Madness invitation. The Antelopes will head in on a three-game winning streak and figures to be one of the toughest outs if New México State matches up against them in the finals.
WAC Tournament Schedule
Don't miss the hardwood action from the Orleans Arena from Thursday, March 8, 2018 through Sunday, March 10 on ESPN3 and ESPNU. We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game of the WAC Tournament.
Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 8th
No. 3 Grand Canyon vs No. 6 UMKC, 12 p.m.
No. 2 Utah Valley vs No. 7 CSU Bakersfield, 2:30 p.m.
No. 1 New Mexico State vs No. 8 Chicago State, 6 p.m.
No. 4 Seattle vs No. 5 UT-Rio Grande Valley, 8:30 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, March 9th
TBD at 6 p.m.
TBD at 8:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, March 10th
TBD at 7 p.m.
Odds Analysis
New México State has the strongest resume by far of any team in the WAC. It beat top-10 team Miami in the non-conference season and also came close to knocking off the USC Trojans. The Aggies have won three consecutive games heading into this one.
Utah Valley handed New México State a loss in the regular season, which should give it belief in the ability to come away with a WAC title. Grand Canyon kept it competitive against New México State and is the other legitimate tournament contender.
Longshots include Seattle, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UMKC and Cal State-Bakersfield. For all intents and purposes, this one looks like a three team race.
Bubble Watch
The WAC is not a very strong conference, so getting two seeds in is never very likely. However, with the way New México State played in the non-conference and started in the WAC, it was getting some buzz as a possible at-large if the Aggies happened to lose this conference tournament.
However, back-to-back losses to Utah Valley and Seattle basically ended those hopes. The Aggies are a solid 25-5 on the season but do not have enough substantial victory to make a case for an at-large berth. Instead, New México State needs to finish as the tournament champion to earn a spot.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
New México State has a nice draw as it will only have to play one of either Utah Valley or Grand Canyon in the finals. The Antelopes are playing at a high level, and they are the choice to make a nice run and advance to the championship game as the No. 3 seed.
However, the Aggies have been the clear-cut best team in the WAC all season long and they will be the team that comes away victorious in the finals to clinch the conference’s berth into March Madness. New México State is the most deserving of the spot and will get it in pretty easy fashion.
NCAA Odds: New México State 81, Grand Canyon 71 in WAC Tournament Championship Game
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