2018–19 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season
| 2018–19 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Regular season | |
| Champion | New Mexico State |
| Season MVP | Jake Toolson, UVU |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | New Mexico State |
| Runners-up | Grand Canyon |
| Finals MVP | Trevelin Queen, NMSU |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State † | 15 | – | 1 | .938 | 30 | – | 5 | .857 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Canyon | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas–Rio Grande Valley | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 20 | – | 17 | .541 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist* | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 18 | – | 16 | .529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seattle | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMKC | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 11 | – | 21 | .344 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago State | 0 | – | 16 | .000 | 3 | – | 29 | .094 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Ineligible for WAC tournament (reclassification from Division II) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2019 WAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018–19 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2018 and ended with the 2019 WAC men's basketball tournament March 2019 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The season marks 56th season of Western Athletic Conference.
Pre-season
The WAC conducted a media teleconference on October 10, 2018 and released the media and coaches poll, as well as the preseason All-WAC teams and player of the year.[1]
WAC Media Poll
| Rank | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State (22) | 214 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon (2) | 180 |
| 3 | Utah Valley | 162 |
| 4 | Seattle | 150 |
| 5 | Cal State Bakersfield | 117 |
| 6 | Texas Rio Grande Valley | 89 |
| 7 | Missouri-Kansas City | 73 |
| 8 | California Baptist | 63 |
| 9 | Chicago State | 66 |
Media All-WAC Team
First Team
- Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield
- AJ Harris, NM State
- Matej Kavas, Seattle U
- Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
- Conner Toolson, Utah Valley
Second Team
- Xavier Bishop, Kansas City
- Eli Chuha, NM State
- Oscar Frayer, Grand Canyon
- Jake Toolson, Utah Valley
- Terry Winn III, UT Rio Grande Valley
Player of the Year
- Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
WAC coaches poll
| Rank | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State (7) | 63 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon (2) | 58 |
| 3 | Seattle | 45 |
| 4 | Utah Valley | 43 |
| 5 | Cal State Bakersfield | 35 |
| 6 | Texas Rio Grande Valley | 28 |
| 7 | Missouri-Kansas City | 24 |
| 8 | California Baptist | 20 |
| 9 | Chicago State | 8 |
Coaches All-WAC Team
First Team
- Oscar Frayer, Grand Canyon
- AJ Harris, NM State
- Matej Kavas, Seattle U
- Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
- Conner Toolson, Utah Valley
Second Team
- Xavier Bishop, Kansas City
- Eli Chuha, NM State
- Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield
- Jake Toolson, Utah Valley
- Terry Winn III, UT Rio Grande Valley
Player of the Year
- Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Rankings
Regular season
Conference games
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. (x) indicates games remaining this season.
| California Baptist | CS Bakersfield | Chicago St. | Grand Canyon | NM St. | Seattle | UTRGV | UMKC | Utah Valley | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. California Baptist | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Cal State Bakersfield | 1–1 | - | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Chicago State | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Grand Canyon | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | - | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. New Mexico State | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | - | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Seattle | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | - | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Texas - Rio Grande Valley | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | - | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. UMKC | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | - | 2–0 |
| vs. Utah Valley | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | - |
| Total | 7–9 | 7–9 | 0–16 | 10–6 | 15–1 | 6–10 | 9–7 | 6–10 | 12–4 |
Point scored
Head coaches
Post season
Conference tournament
NCAA tournament
NIT
2019 NBA draft
Pre-draft trades
Draft-day trades
Highlights and notes
Awards and honors
Players of the Week
All-Americans
All WAC teams
All-Academic
USBWA All-District team
References
- ^ "WAC Basketball Preview Central". October 10, 2018.
- ^ "WAC Men's Basketball Media Select NM State, Grand Canyon's Lever as Favorites". October 10, 2018.
- ^ "2018-19 preseason men's and women's basketball All-WAC teams announced". October 10, 2018.
- ^ "WAC Coaches Select NM State, Grand Canyon's Lever as Preseason Favorites". October 10, 2018.
- ^ "2018-19 preseason men's and women's basketball All-WAC teams announced". October 10, 2018.