'Dogs need home court to help in tournament

Hughes Views

By Eddie Hughes

Sixth place has never been so sweet for Fresno State.

The men’s basketball team locked up the sixth seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament with Saturday’s 69-60 victory over Hawaii at the Save Mart Center, home of this season’s tournament.

While playing the tournament at home won’t give the Bulldogs too much of an advantage—Fresno State is 8-8 on its home floor this season—the sixth seed will.

Well—at least an advantage over the four lower-seeded teams in the WAC.

Seventh-seeded Louisiana Tech must participate in a play-in game against bottom-feeder San Jose State on Tuesday. The same requirement is true for No. 9 Tulsa, which plays No. 8 Southern Methodist.

Fresno State, with the sixth seed, doesn’t have to play until Thursday. A Bulldogs’ loss to Hawaii on Saturday coupled with a Louisiana Tech win on Saturday at Tulsa, would have made the Bulldogs the seventh seed and forced them to win four games to win the WAC Tournament, instead of the three they must win now.

Fresno State won the last WAC Tournament it hosted, beating Tulsa in 2000 at Selland Arena. But this time the Bulldogs have a much worse record—14-14 this season compared to 21-9 in 2000.

Plus, the WAC has a bunch of decent-to-good teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the tournament and the WAC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s one way it could all go down.

TUESDAY

No. 9 Tulsa vs.

No. 8 SMU, 6 p.m.

The Golden Hurricane struggled through the season despite being one of the WAC’s premier programs. But Tulsa’s Jason Parker is capable of piling on the points on any given night. SMU has talent, but coach Mike Dement was just let go. Look for the Mustangs to falter without their coach.

Prediction: SMU

No. 10 San Jose State vs.

No. 7 Louisiana Tech, 8:30 p.m.

Louisiana Tech has been playing well lately with the exception of a loss to Tulsa on Saturday. San Jose State went through the entire WAC schedule with just one win—and that’s the way the Spartans will finish.

Prediction: Louisiana Tech

THURSDAY

Game 1 winner vs. Nevada, noon

Under the prediction that Nevada will meet SMU, the Wolf Pack should run away with the win. Actually, Nevada would easily beat Tulsa too. Nevada is a much better team when it plays at home, but the talent is there to go far.

Prediction: Nevada

No. 5 Hawaii vs. No. 4 Rice,

2:30 p.m.

This is the best first-round game of the tournament. Both Hawaii and Rice have good teams and good players. Either could win the WAC Tournament, but one will be eliminated after one game. The forward play of Rice makes the difference.

Prediction: Rice

Game 2 winner vs. UTEP, 6 p.m.

If Louisiana Tech advances to meet UTEP, the fans are in for a good one. Tech is capable of stepping it up against the Miners. But UTEP’s talent and depth will prevail.

Prediction: UTEP

No. 6 Fresno State vs. No. 3 Boise State,

8:30 p.m.

For everyone who’s wondering how in the world Boise State is the third seed—welcome to the club. The Broncos beat Fresno State at the Save Mart Center just weeks ago, but it won’t happen twice. Even with three starters off the team, Fresno State is just as talented as the Broncos, if not more so.

Prediction: Fresno State

FRIDAY

Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.

This game, assuming it pits Nevada vs. Rice, could be a memorable one that comes down to the final seconds. These two teams split during the regular season and will play close on a neutral site. But Nevada is the hotter of the two teams.

Prediction: Nevada

Game 5 winner vs.

Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m.

Fresno State has already lost twice to UTEP this season, including once at home. Assuming these teams meet for a third time, it will be the charm for the Bulldogs. Fresno State forced UTEP to win in the final seconds last time, but will reverse the outcome this time.

Prediction: Fresno State

SATURDAY

Game 7 winner vs.

Game 8 winner, 6 p.m.

Under the prediction that Nevada will meet Fresno State for the WAC Tournament title and a berth to the NCAAs, this game will be close. Closer than Nevada’s nine-point win at the Save Mart Center earlier this season, but Nevada will still win. After winning two games in two days, the Bulldogs will be too tired to keep up with the athletic Wolf Pack on championship day.

WAC Tournament champ: Nevada