The top eight teams from the WAC regular season standings have moved on to the WAC Tournament. The tournament will tip off with No. 8 Southern Utah vs. No. 5 UT Arlington at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13th, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s take a look at the WAC Tournament preview, along with my picks and best bets.
2024 WAC Tournament Preview, Picks and Best Bets
Grand Canyon earned the top seed with a conference record of 17-3, going 27-4 overall on the season. As the No. 5 seed last season, Grand Canyon convincingly defeated the No. 3 seed Southern Utah to take home the tournament title and the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The No. 1 seed comes with a two-round bye straight to the semifinals game for the Lopes.
Tarleton State snagged the No. 2 seed and also that coveted double-bye, placing them straight into the semifinal round on Friday as well. The Texans finished their season with a WAC record of 16-4, going 23-8 overall on the season. UT Arlington and Seattle U both grabbed first-round byes, earning the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.
2024 WAC Tournament Preview, Picks, and Best Bets – Odds to Win (ordered by seed)
Grand Canyon Lopes -150
Tarleton State Texans +380
UT Arlington Mavericks +550
Seattle Redhawks +700
Utah Valley Wolverines +3500
Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks +2500
Abilene Christian Wildcats +6000
California Baptist Lancers +5000
Grand Canyon is the heavy favorite to win the conference, and for a good reason: They were the regular season winner and had only three conference losses.
However, it’s not easy to lay -150 on them when the second-best team that only lost one more conference game is at +380. Grand Canyon has dropped a few games recently, losing back-to-back games against No.7 seed Abilene Christian and this No.2 seeded Tarleton State Texans team.
This Tarleton State team is coming in on a heater, having won 10 of their last 11 games, including wins over No. 1 Grand Canyon, No. 3 UT Arlington, No. 4 Seattle, No. 5 Utah Valley, No. 6 Stephen F Austin, No. 7 Abilene Christian, and No. 8 seed California Baptist.
So, in summary, the Texans have won against every other team in this tournament in their last 11 games. Their one loss in that time frame was a three-point loss to Utah Valley, whom they beat the month before by 11. All Tarleton State has to do is win two games against opponents they’ve already beaten in the last 11 games to cash an almost 4/1 bet. Sign me up.
Mid-Tier Bet to Win Bet to Win – Seattle Redhawks (+700)
The Seattle U RedHawks finished the season on a sour note, losing their last three games, including a close loss at Tarleton State on Saturday. Before their three-game skid, Seattle had won four straight and eight of their last 10 games.
Seattle still picked up that first-round bye. A win against the winner of California Baptist vs Utah Valley would send the Redhawks to face No. 1 seed Grand Canyon, a team they beat at home by eight and took to overtime on the road. If they can get that far, holding a 7/1 ticket in the championship game wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Dark Horse Winner – Abilene Christian Wildcats (+6000)
Speaking of teams that have been winning a lot of games lately, let’s get to the dark horse long-shot pick of Abilene Christian. The Wildcats dropped their final regular season game against Utah Valley, but before that, Abilene won seven straight games. Those wins included victories over No.1 Grand Canyon, No. 4 Seattle, and the No. 6 seed Stephen F Austin, their first-round opponent.
If they can get past Stephen F Austin again, they’ll play UT Arlington, who they beat by 11 in their last matchup, and then it’s on to Tarleton State, who they took to overtime last time the two teams matched up. Last season Grand Canyon was the No. 5 seed pulling the upset, this No. 7 seed offers enormous value at 60/1 as a team who could make a run in a smaller tournament.
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