Western State Conference Men’s Basketball Conference Preview

The 2017 Western State Conference games kick-off on Saturday. All three divisions look to be up for grabs, as the WSC boasts some of the stiffest competition in Southern California. 

WSC North

The Western State Conference North Division may be the most wide open race of the three conferences headed into conference play. Their are four team's with a legitimate shot at the conference crown, and the other two will be tough outs. Allan Hancock College (10-10) is the only team of the six to head into conference with a .500 record or better, but it's Ventura College (9-10) which has the highest Massey rating of the WSC North Schools (27th in the CCCAA). 

Allan Hancock heads into conference play having won five of it's last six games, including the Championship of their own annual Holiday Classic, and the Consolation Title at the Cuesta Tournament. Ventura meanwhile closed out their non-conference schedule with a brutal slate, and will be looking to turn things around after losing four straight heading into Saturday night's tilt with Allan Hancock in their respective conference openers. 

Another team you can never count out is Head Coach Rusty Blair and his Cuesta College squad. The Cougars had a tough stretch in December, going just 1-6, but finished out their non-conference schedule with wins in two of their last three, with the lone loss coming by four points to perennial power East Los Angeles College. Moorpark College will be another team who could possibly make some noise in conference play. Despite a 6-9 record, the Raiders are the second highest ranked WSC North team in the Massey Ratings (49th), and own quality wins over Glendale College and Irvine Valley College. 

WSC South

At the end of the year, the WSC South race could be the tightest, with Bakersfield College (13-8), West Los Angeles College (11-6), and College of the Canyons (10-10) looking like the early front runners, with Santa Monica College (8-9), and Los Angeles Pierce College (8-11) lurking close behind. The WSC South is rated the third toughest conference in the State, according to the Massey Ratings. 

The Renegades head into conference play having won five of their last seven, with a victory over San Diego City College in that stretch and one of their two losses coming at the hands of Antelope Valley College, a two-point set back. West LA meanwhile has been playing some of the best basketball in the State as of late, going 8-2 in their last 10. 

The Cougars of Canyons also enter conference play on quite a roll, as winners of five straight. Canyons will open up conference play against Pierce after a bye on Wednsday. Pierce is Massey rated 38th in the State, and has won three of it's last five. Santa Monica meanwhile had a rough stretch between the end of December and the start of January, but turned things around recently with a 91-90 win at home against Ventura. 

WSC East

The newly minted WSC East is home to three of the top six rated Massey teams in the entire WSC, led by State #7 Citrus College (15-4). The Owls had an impressive resume in their non-conference slate, with all four of their losses coming to teams rated inside the Massey Top 17 in the State. Antelope Valley College (13-6) has rebounded from a rough 1-4 start to go 12-1 and have won five straight headed into conference play. The Marauders are the second highest Massey rated team in the WSC and are ranked #12 in the State. 

Glendale College (10-7) is the other of the three teams in the Top 6 in the WSC, and will enter conference play with wins in four of it's last six games. The Vaqueros are fresh off a 3rd Place finish in the 2017 Chaffey Challenge Tournament where they defeated Palomar College 73-66. While those three schools look to be the favorites in the WSC East, it'll be tough to discount a solid Barstow College (7-9) squad which has won three of it's last four, and an always sound Los Angeles Valley College (6-10) team, which has wins in two of it's last three.