Introduction
One mid-major school flying under the radar is Grand Canyon University in the Western Athletic Conference. They are a bright spot and an otherwise mediocre conference, but they have been piling up wins and showing that they are a team worthy of playing in March.
Strengths
Interior Shooting
Grand Canyon is the best shooting team in WAC and one of the best in all of division one basketball. They currently have around a forty-nine percent field goal percentage, which is the best in the WAC and within the top thirty in all of D-1 basketball. That is close to teams like Iowa State (48.7 percent), Alabama (48.8), TCU (48.5), and Oklahoma (48.5).
Defensive Rebounding
Their defensive rebounding is also best in the WAC at around twenty-seven a game, this also puts them top ninety in all of D-1 basketball. On top of that, they are also top seventy in total rebounds in all of D-1, ranking above teams like Kansas State (38.7), Kentucky (38.4), and Oklahoma (38.2).
Blocking Shots
Grand Canyon is one of the best shot blocking schools in the nation. They average five and a half blocks a game which not only leads the WAC, but also puts them in the top 15 in the nation in that category. This puts them above schools like Memphis (5.3) and New Mexico (5.2) while being just behind the best defensive school in the country in Houston (5.6).
Weaknesses
Weak Competition
Being in the WAC means facing very few worthy opponents and GCU has a weak resume when it comes to that. While they have two wins over top 50 basketball power index (BPI) schools in San Francisco and previously ranked San Diego State, the rest of their schedule is lackluster. Their overall schedule is ranked 293rd and their nonconference schedule is ranked 221st. They are going to face far tougher teams in March Madness and GCU will have to nut up or shut up.
Forcing Turnovers
One area GCU has to improve is forcing turnovers. They are middle of the pack in the WAC with just under fourteen a game while being fourth in steals with under eight and a half. While that might not seem bad on paper, this is the WAC Conference. Not being the best ball hawking team in a mid-major conference will lead to problems against tougher competition like Houston, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Gathering Assists
Grand Canyon does not get a whole lot of assists at all, averaging just under twelve and a half a night (third fewest of WAC). This is fewer than the number of turnovers they give up, which is just under thirteen. This is a major red flag especially considering the level of competition in March Madness. They need to up the assists and minimize the turnovers if they want to make a deep run in March.
Grand Canyon’s Ceiling
Considering GCU’s lack of competition and turnover issues, they will be lucky to make it to the Sweet 16 in March. That is if they get some lucky matchups and mitigate their weaknesses.
Opmerkingen