WKU Basketball: What WKU Fans Want to See (Whether They Know It or Not)
Every Topper fan is messaging on the boards, texting their friends and checking the TwIntstabookFacettergram to find out what scenario best serves the Tops against Southern Miss and UTSA. Ultimately, where do they need to be in Frisco and how can they get there?
Because of Conference USA’s already controversial pod system, the best of the best (seeds 1–5), the average of the average (6–10), and the worst of the worst (11–14) face off against each other in round robin format to determine who will receive byes, who will get to wear home uniforms for a game or two, and who could even be blessed enough to even make the C-USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas.
Western Kentucky is in the top pod and back in second place, but is one loss from fifth in the standings. Dear Old Western is completely in control of its own destiny, but it could also lose both games and drop into the newly shunted fifth spot, thereby costing themselves an extra day’s rest and left needing one more game to win a championship with zero momentum.
Here is a quick snapshot of the scenarios for WKU Basketball the last few games of the season. As of publication, WKU could land anywhere from second to fifth.
First of All…
Win out. This is very simple, but is it?!?!?
In honor of the game against Southern Miss being on a Sunday at 2:00, (C-USA, you SUCK! Children’s church supplies will look like a BOGO thrift store shelf when I hurry out the door after church!), the Tops are more inconsistent than a southern Kentucky church hopper.
If winning and losing were certain churches, WKU would always be thought to be visitors. Just commit already, Tops!
If WKU wins out, they’re the second seed in the Conference USA Tournament. Period. WKU would singlehandedly knock its competition down to at least seven losses, thereby slipping into the two seed by manually placing its opponents there.
By beating USM, WKU would solidify a bye, regardless of other results. USM would be sitting at seven losses and no tiebreaker on the Tops, having gone 0–2 against WKU.
Say WKU lost to USM, but beats UTSA. This would provide a tiebreaker with UTSA in WKU’s favor, as well. Since WKU already took down the Roadrunners, WKU would also finish ahead of UTSA regardless. Again, a bye is solidified.
WKU would finish at least third by winning one of two and a UAB loss.
Losing two games could absolutely result in a fifth seed, but WKU still has plenty of scenarios resulting in a fourth seed regardless.
Second of all
Cheer for ODU. Any ODU win the last two games helps the Tops get a better seed. ODU is completely locked in to the one seed, so knocking out USM and UAB possibly eliminates UAB for the Tops and puts USM desperate to win its other two.
Cheer for UAB to lose
If UAB loses and WKU wins another game, WKU is at least third and avoids Old Dominion — the conference’s semi-dominant champion — until the championship round.
If UAB loses two, WKU is at least fourth place.
Hope UTSA only beats UAB
If UTSA goes 1–2 with a win against UAB, WKU finishes at least third and possibly second while only winning one of the last two games.
Cheer for USM
Southern Miss would be an ideal two or three seed if the Tops were to get a two or three spot heading into Frisco. UAB, ODU and UTSA — all of which gave WKU trouble this season — would all be on the other side of the bracket.
The Big Picture
The main thing for the Tops is get a bye. Ultimately, being in the quarterfinals to start with means WKU is on equal or better footing to everyone else, and Western is certainly capable of beating anyone in C-USA.
Despite being swept by ODU, WKU lost by a total of seven points and had leads in both games, both of which were in Norfolk. That’s hardly conclusive.
WKU would have confidence against every team in C-USA, having stayed within four points or defeating each opponent with the exception of La Tech, who the Tops lost to on the road by 12.
As far as where WKU could land in the standings, the Tops are sitting in a fairly advantageous position. WKU can guarantee a good road to the championship final with a week’s worth of rest by simply winning.
UAB must win one of two games in which they are solid underdogs to even force WKU to win a game. WKU can virtually guarantee itself third by winning Sunday.
Conference USA has been fascinating all year, but there is a jumbled mess for second through fifth place. One failure could ruin a season, kill momentum, and creat a more difficult task for one’s self.
If WKU takes care of business, the Tops could rest for a full week and a day while everyone else plays games four days before the tournament begins.
Will the Tops rise above the wave, or lather themselves in the bubbles of mediocrity?
