Is the WCC better than the Missouri Valley?
Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:15 PM
Filed Under:
Mid-majors
Finals week always creates a dearth of college basketball games. So it’s nice when you get a game like St. Mary’s vs. Southern Illinois. (Added bonus: The Gaels entered the game ranked No. 1 in kenpom.com’s RPI.)
It’s one of those matchups that help burnish a mid-major’s résumé for March and gives the rest of us an idea of just how good some of the elite teams from different conferences compare. The Gaels and Gonzaga are the cream of the West Coast Conference, which has never been seen as the Missouri Valley’s equal because it doesn’t have the same overall depth, or much recent success in the NCAA Tournament.
But does it two teams just as good as the best in the MVC? That’s possible.
St. Mary’s has already beaten Oregon, San Diego State and Drake (6-1), one of the Mo Valley’s surprise teams thus far, while the Zags have wins over UConn, St. Joe’s, Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky, another solid mid-major team.
Those wins gave the league two ranked teams for the first time since 1973-74 and are enough to pose the question about the Missouri Valley’s best teams. (Entering Tuesday’s games, the leagues were ranked eighth and ninth in conference RPI, .5501 to .5401. The WCC’s ranking is driven entirely from the top two, however. All but two MVC teams are ranked higher than Pepperdine, the WCC’s third-highest team.)
And what’s up next for the WCC’s best?
The Gaels’ lone marquee game remaining is a Jan. 5 trip to Texas. After that, the only thing that will impress observers – besides blowout victories – is beating Gonzaga once or twice.
As for the Zags, they have non-conference BCS games remaining against Memphis, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Utah and Georgia. Beating Saint Mary’s would be nice – and go a long way toward winning another league title – but it’s not a necessity.
Now, whether all that makes the WCC better than the MVC is up for debate. Thus far, I’d call it a toss-up, with things likely to turn to the MVC’s favor as the season wears on. The Salukis’ home win on Tuesday already started that ball rolling.
(For what it’s worth, Kyle Whelliston just moved Saint Mary’s into his top mid-major rankings, but that’ll likely change now. He doesn’t consider the Zags, who are 7th overall, a mid-major. Drake is the highest MVC team at No. 25. SIU is 111.)
I suppose the argument won’t be settled without more head-to-head matchups, and even then they’d need to be on a neutral court. (SIU is 80-5 at home since 2001-02.) It feels like the Big 12-SEC argument in football. Does having a few elite teams make a league better than having a deeper, tougher conference?
After all, how would Gonzaga fare by playing in the Valley each season?
