WCC Power Rankings: January 28th, 2014

Jan 18, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Loyola Marymount Lions head coach Max Good reacts to a call in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Gersten Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

9. Loyola Marymount

Last Week: 10

Record: 11-11 (3-7)

RPI: 142

KenPom: 150

Place in Conf. Standings: 9

By Cam Newton

To say that the LMU Lions have been in a slump as of late would be a gross understatement. After stunning BYU in their conference opener and proceeding to start 2-0 in conference play, leading to a 10-4 record overall, LMU has been on a downward spiral, losing 7 out of their last 8 games, with the lone win coming against the only team with a worse conference record than them, Pacific.

In this time, the Lions have fallen back to their old ways of Anthony Ireland being one of the only players contributing, but injuries have not helped the Lions either.

As it stands, LMU is 11-11, which is a better record than this point in last season (22 games in), where LMU was 8-14. As LMU continues onward, they’ll play 4 very winnable home games and they could certainly finish 17-13, but that’s only if they played like the team that beat BYU or the team that played Vandy close. If not, it could be a painful final stretch to what looked like a promising season only a few weeks ago.