SB Nation - St. Mary's, Calif. Gaels

Gonzaga vaults to 15th in AP and Coaches Poll

Zach B — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

3 days ago: Joe Few, left, the son of Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, joins Gonzaga players, including center Robert Sacre (00) as they run off the court following an NCAA college basketball game against Davidson, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009n in Seattle. Gonzaga won 103-91. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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After a 2-0 week, the home loss to Wake Forest has pretty much been erased from memory as Gonzaga has entered the top 15 for the first time this season. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll was also just released and Gonzaga is tied with Georgia Tech for the 15th spot in the nation. Thanks to a plethora of subpar performances from a handful of top 25 teams, Gonzaga has risen six spots from their 21st ranking a week ago. All five schools directly ahead of the Zags in last weeks AP Poll (Wisconsin, Cincy, Washington, Texas A&M, and UNLV) all lost this week and Ohio State also fell to Butler. So just in case you were curious how that happened, there you go!

Heading into the week I think it is pretty safe to say that we didn't expect wins over division three Augustana and a two-win Davidson team to net Gonzaga six spots but with all the mediocrity in college basketball this season, anything is possible.

Keeping an eye on Gonzaga's future schedule, there is still only one ranked team remaining this point and that is the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has improved to #7 in the nation in both polls after Villanova was upset by Temple. Expect Gonzaga's schedule strength to improve a bit as Memphis is 26th in the nation according to the AP and Illinois is also receiving votes. I expected St. Mary's to get some votes this week from the AP but that did not happen. The loss of Wayne Hunter makes them much more vulnerable. The Gaels' versatile guard suffered a season ending knee injury this past week.

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In the Coaches Poll, St. Mary's is receiving 17 votes but Memphis is still struggling to get recognition. They are only receiving 21 votes from the Coaches this week with their only loss being by two points to Kansas. Josh Pastner did a nice job at softening the Tigers' schedule with all the turmoil and that probably explains why they have yet to be ranked. The Gaels of St. Mary's have played a tougher schedule than Memphis but are getting less recognition.

The Pac-10 continues its free fall this week with Washington barely hanging on in the AP. They are somehow 21st in the Coaches Poll but 24th in the AP. Cal is receiving a couple votes in the Coaches Poll but other than that, the Pac-10 is downright woeful. I do expect Mike Montgomery to get the Golden Bears together in time to dominate the Pac-10 season schedule but Washington has a couple of big tests before they hit easy street with the conference slate. On Saturday they have Portland and then that following Tuesday they have Texas A&M. Both games will be played at home but, much like Gonzaga, the next couple weeks are of great importance for UW.

Assuming Duke takes care of Gardner-Webb, the game in Madison Square Garden has become very important for the Zags' tournament resume. Wins over Wisconsin, Cincinnati, and Washington State look pretty good but a win over a top ten Duke team would take this team to another level. The West Coast Conference has really come back to Earth and will probably only be a two-bid league at best. Memphis should be ranked when the two teams meet but aside from that, Saturday is the day when the Zags must show they are for real.

The moral of this story: Gonzaga is the best in the West!

Quack Fix: Men's basketball drops another, football gears up for Rose Bowl, recruiting nears the stretch run

jtlight — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:09:56 -0000

Quite a bit of quack from over the weekend, so let's get right to it.

The men's basketball team dropped their third straight to the St. Mary's Gaels on Saturday, 81-76. In the end, the Gael's made plays when it mattered, and the Ducks just didn't. Oregon held a five point lead in the second half, but couldn't pull out the victory. St. Mary's is a good team, but should a Pac-10 really lose to them three years in a row?
Unfortunately, it's not just the Ducks that are terrible, it's the entire Pac-10. SBNation's college basketball blog, Searching for Billy Edelin, asks if the Pac-10 is a one-bid league after UCLA and Washington fell on their faces over the weekend.
However, there is some good basketball being played in Eugene. The Oregon women have been excellent this year and sit at 8-1, and set out on their first big test of the season on Wednesday at Georgia Tech.
Moving to football, the Ducks had a competition day yesterday, which the defense won due to an offensive penalty. The players seemed to really get into it after some time off. Some young guys also got some looks during the practice, as Coach Kelly wanted to see them compete. Just one more benefit of the extra 15 practices bowls provide.
The Register Guard will be profiling a Duck every day until the Rose Bowl. Over the weekend Carson York and Blake Ferras were profiled. Today's Duck is Casey Matthews, who was also discussed in qsouther's weekend fanpost.
While Rose Bowl practice is big, the coaching staff is throwing recruiting into high gear, and most of the coaches flew all over the country last week visiting the Ducks top targets this year. Oregon has made significant strides in national recruiting, and that is seen most is simple name recognition, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.
TheState.com, has a profile on Marcus Lattimore, one of the most sought after recruits of 2010, and who will be visiting Oregon on January 22nd. Lattimore has the physical tools to succeed, but he's also been an inspiration to his community off the field, and has not let the publicity or hype go to his head. In that way, he reminds me of Jonathan Stewart. Good luck to Marcus in his final decision.
Lastly, KVAL is counting down the top 10 Ducks of the 2000s, and one of my favorite Ducks, Keenan Howry, comes in at #8.

As always, leave your links and comments below. After the jump, a video of competition day.

Things we missed during the second week of December

SFBE.NF — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:13:51 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

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Iowa head coach Frank Lickliter has been sidelined from the sidelines, after undergoing a procedure to repair a tear in his carotid artery. He missed all three of the Hawkeyes games this week (losses to Northern Iowa and Iowa State, and a win over Prairie View) but is expected to return to coaching December 19th against Drake.
Bingamton head coach, Marc Macon, has been given a raise by the school. Macon, who starred for Temple in the late 80s, is technically the school's interm basketball coach as it seeks to rectify its image after all that drama that went down over the summer. The increase to Macon's $57,651 salary was not disclosed.
St. Mary's lost its best defender this week, as Wayne Hunter is gone for the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee. Hunter, a redshirt senior, was also the team's third leading scorer and had started in the Gaels first seven games of the season.

MBB Game 8 Preview: St. Mary's vs. Oregon

dvieira — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:30:14 -0000

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

10 days ago: Oregon's E.J. Singler, left, LeKendric Longmire (24) and Michael Dunigan (33) battle Missouri's Zaire Taylor, right, and Keith Ramsey, center, for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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Game Time: 1pm, Live Stats and Radio

As St. Mary's comes to Mac Court, they are recovering from the news that senior guard Wayne Hunter will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in the last few minutes of their win over Utah State last Saturday. The Gaels will miss his 12 points per game but more importantly, they will miss his defensive intensity and energy. You don't like to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others, but having Hunter in there would have caused major problems for our guards in ball control and scoring.

A Look at the Gaels

St. Mary's has a great inside/outside game with 6-11 Omar Samhan at center and 6-0 Mickey McConnell at guard. Samhan is a beast near the basket, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds a game on nearly 60% shooting. A crafty senior, Samhan will look to exploit Oregon underneath early and often. He will pass the ball when needed and that's where McConnell will kill you, shooting 60% from beyond the arc.

Outside of their starters, St. Mary's doesn't have a lot of experience or depth but they do have a good 6th man in Tim Williams. Who steps up for Wayne Hunter will be interesting as the most likely candidates are all freshman in Trey Anderson, Matt Dellavedova, and Jorden Page. Out of those, Anderson and Page are the most likely but have limited experience.

Keys to the Game

1. Michael Dunigan, are you listening to me? Good. Don't get in foul trouble. We need you in there playing your best defense against Omar Samhan. He is prone to turning the ball over but he will get his points. Don't get silly handcheck fouls. Without you in there, he will dominate even more on the glass and kill us. If Dunigan can take him straight up, we can work to take away the Gael's 3 point game.

2. With the Gael defense being so good, Oregon will need to have a good day from the field to stay in it. If the team shoots like they did against Missouri, this one will get ugly fast

3. Rebounding and limiting offensive opportunities will be key for Oregon to get out on the break. With Samhan looking to crash the boards, good box outs and fundamental defense will turn into offensive opportunities if the Ducks can take advantage of them.

Final Thoughts

This would be a great game to have in the win column but my expectations are low coming off the blow out by Missouri and given how good the Gaels have been in recent years. I certainly like our chances more with Wayne Hunter out of the game. We need to come out and be competitive in this game for a lot of reasons, but mainly for the overall mental aspect of the team. Getting blown out for the second game in a row could prove as damaging as last year and we don't want a "here we go again" feeling.

I'm not expecting a win but this game would go far in getting us some momentum in finishing up the non-conference slate. A win here and I feel we have a great shot of ending non-conference at 8-4 or better.

"They are who we thought they were": 11/29-12/6 edition

everydayezag — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:48:29 -0000

More photos » by Rajah Bose - AP

Mark Few is probably wondering why the WCC decided to essentially take this week off and lose every meaningful game played.

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It was just one week ago when I was praising the improvements the WCC had made and how close this conference was to emerging on the national scene. After great performances by Gonzaga, Portland, and USD on the national stage, the national media quickly began discussing how the WCC might even be equal to the Pac 10. However, after a demoralizing week by nearly every team in this conference, we can probably stop the clamoring for this to be a two or even three bid league. Instead, Gonzaga will need to spend January and February making sure they don't lose, because the assumption that this league is Gonzaga and the 7 Dwarfs will sadly continue. Unfortunately, this is what happens when teams in mid-major leagues throw away great opportunities like Portland and USD did.

1) Gonzaga (6-2): 74-69 win vs. Washington State; 77-75 loss vs. Wake Forest

It pains me to say that this team was literally some made free throws and a couple smarter plays away from playing a top 10 match up against Duke at Madison Square Garden. As much as I don't like to assume any games will be automatic wins, I don't see anyway that this team will possibly lose games to Augustana and Davidson. However, one thing that I continue to like about this team is the toughness they play with and the physicality that they demonstrate every night. Also, as opposed to previous teams that have peaked in November and December, it's clear that the coaching staff is still trying to figure out exactly what each guy can bring to the table. This will make for a couple more head scratching performances, but should also make for one of the better teams in the country in March.

2) St. Mary's (6-1): 78-71 win @ San Jose St.; 68-63 win @ Utah St.

While Portland and San Diego struggled this week, the Gaels pulled off two very impressive wins. This group really showed some moxie in the win over San Jose St., as they came back from a 15 point deficit to earn the victory over a very underrated team. The one weakness I see with this group is depth, as they have only five guys who really make significant contributions on a nightly basis. However, these two wins over San Jose St. and Utah St. are very impressive, and lets hope the Gaels can send a big message when they travel to Oregon on Saturday.

3) Portland (5-3): 86-82 loss vs. Portland St; 68-48 loss @ Idaho

If you want to see a blueprint for how to become irrelevant in one week, just look at what the Portland Pilots have done. After finally securing a top 25 ranking for the first time in 50 years, the Pilots choked away a comfortable lead against Portland St, and then followed that up by laying an egg in Moscow. While the Idaho loss is galling because of the final score, the Portland St. loss at home is the most stunning. You just can't simply lose games like that if you want to be in the hunt for an at-large bid come March.

4) Santa Clara (4-4): 79-68 win @ UCSB; 66-63 loss vs. UNLV

Santa Clara was a couple baskets away from being the #3 team on this list. However, after jumping out to an eight point halftime lead against UNLV, the Broncos just couldn't quite hold on for the win. Unfortunately, the news became even worse when it was announced that Kevin Foster, who leads the team with 19.8 points per game, will likely be out for the season with a foot injury. With that said, the Broncos clearly played hard without him in the loss to UNLV, and hopefully some guys will take advantage of the added playing time and step up.

5) San Diego (4-5): 69-62 loss vs. San Diego St.; 58-55 loss @ UC Riverside; 69-37 loss @ Fresno St.

I'm beginning to get to the point where I worry about the mental makeup of the Toreros. After back-to-back tough losses against good competition, USD completely imploded in the loss to Fresno St. Brandon Johnson has been suspended for disciplinary issues, which has become a theme under Billy Grier. Lets hope that the hangover from those close losses doesn't extend much more, because the Toreros have a huge game against New Mexico on Wednesday night.

6) LMU (3-6): 91-72 win vs. Academy of Art; 76-70 loss @ Wyoming

After securing a fairly simple win against the Academy of Art ( I was unaware this was a school prior to this recap), the Lions threw away a huge opportunity when they blew a lead in the last three minutes against Wyoming. I know I say it every week about this team, but the talent is there for them to significantly improve and be a threat by January. However, as is the case with many young teams, there is still a long ways to go before they know how to win close games.

7) Pepperdine (3-5): 83-77 loss @ Cal Poly

Here is another case of a WCC team conceding a comfortable win. The Waves led by 10 points at the half against Cal Poly, but then allowed 52 second half points to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The one positive aspect of the loss is the fact that Pepperdine found a couple guys to compliment Keion Bell. In fact, Jonathan Dupre' led the team in scoring with 19 points, while Bell scored 18 and dished out five assists.

8) USF (2-6): 78-54 loss @ Colorado; 69-43 loss @ BYU

There really isn't much to say about USF at this point in the season. They were embarrassed in back-to-back losses on the road and continue to waste the great production of Dior Lowhorn. In fact, if you want to get a sense for why USF lost both these games, just go back and read every addition of the WCC Power Rankings I have written in the past year. Until the Dons can learn to surround a great player with decent talent, they will continue to languish at the bottom of these rankings.

WCC Power Rankings: 11/22-11/29 edition

everydayezag — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:39:47 -0000

More photos » by Eugene Tanner - AP

While everyone knows that Gonzaga will be in the top spot in the Power Rankings, the WCC actually had some other teams competing for hardware this week.

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Sometimes doing these Power Rankings can be a little bit of a grind, mostly due to the fact that it seems the same teams are always in the same spots. However, with the performance of Gonzaga, USD, and Portland, the WCC was officially fun this past week. In three separate tournaments, the WCC had one winner (Gonzaga) and two teams lose in championship games (USD and Portland). Slowly but surely, this conference is building depth and competition, and is doing a great job of building a solid national reputation with these performances. It was great hearing the national media gush over Portland the rest of the WCC. With that said, the most important thing for this conference is that there is improvement and consistency throughout the month of December. There will be some great match ups against power conference teams, and the more wins that everyone can pick up before WCC play, the better chance there will be for multiple bids in March.

1) Gonzaga (5-1): 76-72 win vs. Colorado; 74-61 win vs. Wisconsin; 61-59 win vs. Cincinnati

I really can't stress enough how impressed I was about the performance in Maui. I'm not as worried about the lack of bench production for the fact that I think that will develop throughout December and early January. However, this team better not be relaxing, because going up against Washington St. and Wake Forest this week will be incredibly difficult. If Gonzaga can get through this week unscathed, it's not unreasonable to expect to be 9-1 and facing a top 10 match up against Duke in the middle of the month.

2) Portland (5-1): 74-47 win vs. UCLA; 61-56 win vs. Minnesota; 84-66 loss vs. West Virginia

Portland put together an absolutely terrific performance in the 76 Classic. Not only did they demolish UCLA, (I'm still waiting for a formal apology from Jeff Goodman for ranking that back court ahead of the Zags back court) but the Pilots won an impressive game over Minnesota. That amounts to knocking off a highly ranked team and one of the greatest programs in NCAA history in back-to-back nights. I definitely would have liked to have seen a better performance against West Virginia, but Bob Huggins might just have a top 5 team on his hands. For all of this to matter in March, Portland must take care of business against Idaho and Nevada later this month, and also must give Washington a great game.

3) St. Mary's (4-1): 100-59 win vs. California Maritime

Not a huge week from the Gaels, but I like where this team is positioned heading into a huge group of games against San Jose St, Utah St, and Oregon. St. Mary's needs to keep developing the young bench, as it will be very important for some of these big non-conference games and of course for WCC play. However, Omar Samhan is having a terrific season, averaging 20.6 points and 11.2 rebounds, and he will be tough to handle in January and February. However, we will really know a lot more about this team in the middle of December after they complete that tough stretch of games.

4) USD (4-2): 76-64 win vs. Oklahoma; 72-65 win vs. Houston; 93-56 loss vs. Washington St.

I was totally prepared to move USD up to the third spot in the power rankings. Even though Oklahoma is a shell of the team they were last season, it was still an impressive victory. Following that up with a win against a solid Houston team had me thinking that the Toreros finally turned the corner on their inconsistent play. However, there is no way a team is moving up this list when they lose a game by 37 points. I understand Klay Thompson put on an epic scoring display, but there is no excuse to lose a game by that much. For this team to compete during WCC play, they will need a couple of guys to compliment the terrific back court of Brandon Johnson and De'Jon Jackson.

5) Pepperdine (3-4): 75-66 win vs. Hampton; 82-73 win vs. Monmouth; 86-82 loss vs. Wyoming

It probably wasn't publicized much, but Pepperdine did come away the winner of the World Vision Basketball Challenge. This was a round robin tournament hosted by the University of Wyoming, and although it didn't feature elite competition, I truly think that this is just a team that needs to learn how to win. Not surprisingly, Keion Bell came away with the MVP award in this tournament, and I will be stunned if he doesn't compete for the WCC POY. Bell is currently averaging 22.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.

6) Santa Clara (3-3): 88-72 loss vs. NAU; 74-67 win vs. Fresno St.

The one thing I like about this team is the fact that Kerry Keating is starting to give some of his younger guys more playing time. Chris Cunningham, Niyi Harrison, and Ray Cowels are all starting to see some action, and that is a nice young core of guys for Santa Clara to build around. Kevin Foster seems to be back on track academically, since he scored 25 points in the win over Fresno St. However, I still think this group is another year or two away from being competitive in this conference.

7) LMU (2-5): 79-65 loss @ Tulsa; 89-84 loss vs. UCSB

Although LMU lost games against two solid teams, I think I jumped the gun last week by moving them up the list so far. Much like Pepperdine, the Lions have the talent and depth to start competing at a high level, but they still have a long way to go before they learn how to win close games. However, with Drew Viney and a solid three guard lineup, this team has a very nice core to build around, and will certainly be a team that will scare Gonzaga, Portland, and St. Mary's by the end of January.

8) USF (2-4): 76-65 loss @ UCSB; 70-66 loss vs. Montana St; 91-75 loss @ Colorado St.

While USF was competitive in all three of these losses, it doesn't seem like this group is quite on the level of the rest of the conference. Dior Lowhorn continues to be an elite guy, but the supporting cast still hasn't caught up with him and Kwame Vaughn. However, keep an eye on Rashad Green. The sophomore guard scored a season-high 21 points against Colorado St, and is doing a nice job with the extra minutes he has been seeing recently. He is exactly the type of guy that the Dons need to emerge throughout the season.

WCC Power Rankings: 11/15-11/22 edition

everydayezag — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:39:50 -0000

More photos » by Rajah Bose - AP

Consistent play from Matt Bouldin and the rest of the Zags will keep Gonzaga at the top of the WCC Power Rankings.

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Although it has been in a rather quiet manner, the WCC is off to a very solid start this season. Currently, six of the eight teams in the conference are above 500., with the other two teams showing some very nice signs of life. Saturday night would certainly have to be considered a banner night for the conference, as the WCC recorded two wins against Pac 10 competition. While many Gonzaga fans probably expected Portland to take care of business against Oregon, the fact that LMU was able to travel to USC and earn a big road victory came as a pleasant surprise. Even with the fine performance by Portland, I will continue to keep Gonzaga at the top of the rankings until one of these other teams proves they are a true contender for this conference.

1) Gonzaga (2-1): 75-71 loss @ Michigan St.; 90-55 win vs. IPFW

As anyone who has read this blog for the past year would know, I am not the kind of guy that believes in "moral victories". However, the toughness and grit that this team displayed against a hostile environment in East Lansing has made me believe that we could have a pretty darn special team on our hands this season. After appearing to sleepwalk through the first half against IPFW, the Zags turned up their game and completely dominated an inferior opponent. The biggest challenge for Mark Few this season will be his ability to keep this young team focused and hungry for every game on the schedule. If these guys can stay on task and take care of business when they should, it will be a very bright season.

2) Portland (3-0): 98-81 win vs. Portland; 88-81 vs. Oregon

I will admit that I was a little worried about the expectations that I had for the Pilots after their opener against EWU. Although they won the game, Portland just didn't seem to play with as much execution as I had expected. This past week, Portland showed that they are certainly deserving of all the preseason hype, with two very nice wins. Nik Raivio continues to play like a potential WCC POY candidate, as he is averaging 19 points and 9 boards. The Pilots have a very nice trio in Raivio, T.J. Campbell, and Robin Smeulders. In the impressive win over Oregon, the trio accounted for 57 of the teams 88 points. With so much experience and talent on this team, the WCC has a great chance at two NCAA bids.

3) St. Mary's (2-1): 80-58 win vs. San Diego St.; 72-70 loss vs. Vandy

It's pretty darn clear that this St. Mary's program will not fade back to irrelevance with the loss of Patty Mills. In fact, St.Mary's came very close to making this an absolute banner week for the conference. After turning the most impressive performance of the 24 hour marathon on ESPN, with their 80-58 domination of San Diego St., the Gaels had an excellent opportunity to stun Vanderbilt. Even with 25 points and 18 boards for Omar Samhan, St. Mary's could not overcome the early double digit deficit and ended up losing by two points. However, with Samhan and Matthew Dellavedova, this team has a very formidable duo that will keep them in a lot of games.

4) San Diego (2-1): 56-55 loss @ Pacific; 84-65 win vs. Point Loma

The reason I rank San Diego in the top half of the conference is because they would be undefeated if not for an injury to Brandon Johnson against Pacific. In the one point loss to Pacific, Johnson played only 20 minutes because of a hurt hamstring, and he was out for most of the second half. Once Johnson is fully healthy, USD will have a terrific back court, with De'Jon Jackson playing at a very high level. Jackson is averaging 17.7 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Toreros. Even more important for this team is the continued solid play of Roberto Mafra. When Mafra plays well, he gives USD a legitimate post threat, which is huge because of how talented of a back court they have.

5) LMU (2-3): 84-78 loss vs. UC Irvine; 67-59 win @ USC

Ignore the win-loss record and the fact that this is the same program that took nearly two months to win a game last season. With the talent that this program has from transfers and recruiting, I can assure that LMU will be one team that nobody in this conference wants to face in January and February. This is a very balanced and talented team, with Oregon transfer Drew Viney leading the way for the Lions. Viney is averaging 17.2 points and 5.2 boards, and he is one of the more talented scorers in this conference. Once Viney and Larry Davis fully mesh with Vernon Teel and Jarred DuBois, this will be a very formidable team.

6) Santa Clara (2-1): 79-55 win vs. Menlo College; 86-53 loss @ San Diego St.

Consistency has just absolutely haunted the Santa Clara program over the past couple of years. After opening the season with a nice 2-1 start, the Broncos traveled to San Diego St. and got absolutely destroyed. Normally I wouldn't make too much out of a loss to a quality opponent, but this is the same San Diego St. team that didn't even belong on the same court as St. Mary's. The only reason I am willing to forgive this performance is because Santa Clara was missing Kevin Foster. Hopefully Foster can get his academic obligations in check, as his 20 points per game is a huge boost to this team.

7) San Francisco (2-1): 92-66 win vs. Dominican; 104-65 loss @ Arizona St.

I'm sorry USF, but getting destroyed against a mediocre Arizona St. opponent is no way to work your way up these power rankings. Don't be fooled by the fact that Arizona St. made the NCAA tournament last season, because this is a very average team, that just happens to be extraordinarily well coached by Herb Sendek. Both Dior Lowhorn and Kwame Harris have started the season very strong, with each averaging 18.7 points per game. However, there is no support for these two from the rest of the team. In order for the Dons to be competitive in conference, at least one more guy needs to step up and be productive.

8) Pepperdine (1-2): 67-58 loss vs. Long Beach St.; 72-70 win vs. Cal State-San Bernandino

In Keion Bell, Pepperdine has arguably the most explosive player in the conference. Bell is averaging 21 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Waves, and he literally keeps this team in most games. The huge problem that Pepperdine is facing is the fact that they have no one to compliment Bell. In fact, Bell is the only guy on the team averaging double-digit points per game. If no one is able to step up on a regular basis to help Bell, this team will remain in the cellar throughout the season.

College Hoops Go-Round: November 17

Chris Dobbertean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:55:30 -0000

by Ed Reinke - AP

29 days ago: Kentucky's John Wall goes between Miami of Ohio's Julian Mavunga (4) and Nick Winbush (20) for a basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. Wall had 19 points in Kentucky's 72-70 win. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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Since I already previewed today's action here, this post will only recap Monday night's games, with the first few contests from the early morning hours on this enjoyable gimmick of a day thrown in for good measure.

The big story of the day was John Wall's debut at Kentucky, and he bailed the Wildcats out against Miami (Ohio), which ended up 72-70 UK. You can see his game winning shot here.

The other big attraction of the night was regional play in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

In the North region, Stanley Robinson and Kemba Walker led UConn to a win over Colgate. The Huskies will next face Hofstra, 68-63 winners over Yale.
The South region final will feature Western Kentucky and LSU in Baton Rouge. The Hilltoppers got 30 from A.J. Slaughter to beat Milwaukee, 69-65, while the Bayou Bengals had little problem with Indiana State, winning 56 to 45.
Duke will meet Charlotte in the East final in Durham. Kyle Singler had a double double (23 points, 11 boards) to lead the Blue Devils to a 25-point win over Coastal Carolina. The 49ers beat Elon in game two, 75 to 61.
Out West, TCU, 83-65 winners over Cal State-Northridge, will face homestanding Arizona State, who beat Texas State 84 to 62.

After the jump, I'll have some of the other action from today, including the scores of the first few games of the round the clock marathon.

The 24-hour marathon got started with a double OT thriller, as Cal State Fullerton defeated UCLA for the first time, 68-65. The Titan win snapped the Bruins' string of 37 straight wins over unranked non-conference foes.
St. Mary's had a suprisingly easy time with San Diego State in the 2 a.m. Eastern game, winning 60-58.
At 4 a.m., Northern Colorado used a 19-0 run to get ahead of host Hawai'i, whose comeback attempt fell short in the end.
St. Peter's blew out Monmouth in the first ever Division I basketball game to start at 6 a.m. local time.
Auburn fell to Missouri State, 73 to 62, becoming the second SEC school to fall to the Bears at the JQH Center in as many years, as Arkansas lost there last season.
Florida State knocked off Atlantic Sun favorite Jacksonville by 26.
Washington State struggled with Eastern Washington, finally prevailing 67 to 61.
Indiana also had a closer game than expected, as they beat South Carolina Upstate by 8.
Cincinnati also had a rough go of it last night, beating Prairie View 69-62. Lance Stephenson only had 7 on the night.
Rider didn't slip up after their upset of Mississippi State. They defeated Lehigh 86-71.
In a battle of two teams picked to finish near the bottom of their respective leagues, South Florida ran all over Tony Bennett's Virginia, 66-49. Dominique Jones had 22 to pace the Bulls.

If I didn't list your team's score, check the rundown on the right of any of the recap pages I've linked to find the result.

Monday Merges Into Tuesday, Thanks To A Marathon

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:14 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Drew Gordon and UCLA start the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon at midnight Eastern Tuesday..(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Starting at midnight Eastern with Cal State Fullerton at UCLA, ESPN will run more than 24 straight hours of college hoops. Since I'm nuts for this stuff, I'm going to try to follow the bulk of the marathon over at SBNation.com. However, since I'll be sleeping from the time I get home from work until some point in the Titans-Bruins tilt, I won't be able to catch any of Monday's action. Expect to see a Monday night recap at some point on Tuesday morning.

After the jump, I'll provide a comprehensive look at the marathon, culled from my earlier piece about it (with some updated information). I'll also have a brief rundown of the other games on the Tuesday slate.

ESPN has the bulk of the action overnight and during the day. Right after the clock strikes midnight on the East Coast (a perfectly reasonable 9 p.m. Pacific time tip), UCLA hosts Cal-State Fullerton. It will be the first chance for most of America to see how the Bruins cope after losing Jrue Holiday, Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison, and Josh Shipp. The Titans meanwhile lost Big West POY Josh Akognon and his 24 points per game and have six new faces (including 3 D1 transfers) on the roster.

In the 2 a.m. Eastern slot, St. Mary's, without Paddy Mills but with fellow Aussie Andrew Dellavedova attempting to fill the void, faces San Diego State, a team that will again challenge in the Mountain West, even though they only return one starter, F Billy White. The Aztecs knocked the Gaels out of the NIT at the end of last year.

Hawai'i again gets a 4 a.m. Eastern game. Last year, the Warriors defeated Idaho State in a game that was in overtime when I woke up at 6 Eastern. This year, it's another Big Sky opponent for UH, Northern Colorado.

According to Andy Katz's Daily Word, this will be the first time ESPN has ever carried games at 6 and 8 a.m. Eastern. The 6 a.m. offering, features a rising St. Peter's squad hosting a Monmouth side that's been down of late. My quibble with this matchup is the location, as the Hawks are opening up a new arena this year, yet they're on the road for this one. Go figure.

The 8 a.m. game could be a real donnybrook, however, and it takes place just a couple of miles from where I spent my first few years. Niagara, who finished behind Siena in the MAAC last year and is ready to challenge them again hosts Drexel, the team I foolishly picked to take the CAA's auto bid late last year. The Dragons problem then was scoring (61.7 ppg), an issue that won't get better as they lost their only double-digit scorer, Scott Rodgers, to graduation.

At 10, Clemson visits Liberty, a game that would've been more attractive had Seth Curry not transferred to Duke. The Tigers lost Terrence Oglesby to Europe, but gained Trevor Booker's younger brother Devin. He and 6-9 frosh Milton Jennings (a McDonald's All-American) give Clemson a significant post presence.

There is a nice little matchup in the East Coast lunch hour, as CAA contender Northeastern visits MAAC power Siena. Even though the Saints lost Kenny Hasbrouck to graduation, they return their other four starters (watch Edwin Ubiles closely). Bill Coen's Huskies also return four starters, including G/F Matt Janning.

At 2 p.m., Arkansas-Little Rock visits Tulsa, the team many think will usurp Memphis as the standard bearer for Conference USA.

Temple-Georgetown game, follows at 4 p.m. The Owls will be challenged this season without Deonte Christmas, while the Hoyas look to improve on last season's disappointment.

ESPN2 gives viewers a second option at 5:30 Eastern. Pitt hosts Binghamton in a preliminary game in the CBE Classic, where the Panthers are already guaranteed a trip to the finals in Kansas City. This game won't be quite as competitive as originally thought, thanks to the scandal that decimated the Bearcats' roster.

The 6 p.m. offering is the East regional final of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Barring a huge upset, Duke will take on Charlotte or Elon.

At 7:30 on ESPN2, it will be the first of two from the Hall of Fame Classic in St. Louis. (Save yourself $200 and watch this doubleheader at home.) Arkansas, a program that's been in a bit of turmoil during the offseason, takes on Louisville, another team that's been the focus of a lot of offseason news.

At 8 on ESPN, Gonzaga visits Michigan State. The Spartans are among the favorites to make it to Indy, while the Bulldogs will be good, even with the loss of four starters and a boatload of new recruits. This may not be the time to watch them, however.

If the TV action isn't enough, you can also see Northern Illinois-Illinois online at 8.

ESPNU picks up another CBE Classic preliminary that's not really a preliminary at 9. Duquesne, who--don't laugh--will build on last year and be a serious challenger in the A-10 this year--even without the services of leading scorer (and only loss) Aaron Jackson, visits Iowa. The Hawkeyes, just like they every year under Todd Lickliter, have personnel issues. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State and PG Jeff Peterson, the no. 3 scorer on the roster, transferred to Arkansas.

ESPN has the second Hall of Fame Showcase game at 10 p.m. It's a rematch of that 2008 National Championship game that the NCAA wants to wipe from our collective memories. Preseason No. 1 Kansas takes on Memphis in one we can only hope is as memorable as the game that didn't happen (but really did).

If you're still conscious at 11:30 Eastern, you can watch the final of the West regional of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Arizona State--presuming they knock off Texas State--will take on Cal State-Northridge or TCU in the final game of the day.

Here's a quick look at the non-marathon games slated for TV.

UConn should feature in the NIT North Region final which will air at 7 on the Big East Network and Full Court.
UNC Asheville at Tennessee (select FSN outlets/Full Court, 7)
Bowling Green at Xavier (FS Ohio [outside of Cavaliers' territory, 7:30)
Fairfield at Maryland (CSN Washington, 8)
UT-Martin at Missouri (FS Midwest/Full Court, 8)
Louisiana-Monroe at Oklahoma (Full Court, 8)
Fresno State at Northern Arizona in the West Coast Classic (UniversityHouse/FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 8:30)
Columbia at DePaul (Lakeshore/SNY/Full Court, 9)
New Mexico at New Mexico State (Full Court, 9)

Visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site for games telecast only locally or online.

Previewing the 2009-10 West Coast Conference

Zach B — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:23 -0000

Brandon Johnson may have been the most exciting player in the WCC two years ago. Can he return to form after a terrible Achilles injury?

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As the lone West Coast Conference blog on SB Nation, we've taken it upon ourselves to do our best to publicize the WCC as much as we can. If you read the site last year, you know that we love to cover the conference as much as we can without alienating the Gonzaga faithful. Schools like St. Mary's and San Diego have had national success in recent years and the University of Portland appears to be destined for a breakout season. All these teams make the conference fun to watch especially when you combine that with the fact that all the schools in the bottom half of the conference at least appear to be headed in the right direction. San Francisco and Santa Clara are both proud programs that seem to be on the rise. Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount have really struggled the past few years but are still getting decent talent and should be able to compete in the conference.

The West Coast Conference has often been ridiculed by the national media for being a weak conference and that definitely holds some water. Gonzaga feels compelled to play, and travel to, a bunch of big time schools just to boost their RPI because once conference play hits, the odds are that Gonzaga's RPI will fall off a bit. This season, however, Gonzaga will probably get its greatest challenge for the regular season conference crown in recent memory. The Pilots of Portland under head coach Eric Reveno return 12 players from last season's team and are everyone's choice to give Gonzaga the most trouble. St. Mary's is always a challenging foe for the Zags and a great rivalry has kicked up between the two schools in the past few years. San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Diego are also all fully capable of putting together nice seasons as they each have some very exciting, veteran players leading their teams into 2009-10.

After the jump we'll take a more detailed look at each of the teams in the conference (except Gonzaga) and outline where we think they are headed this season.

Portland Pilots

Last Season: The Pilots had an outstanding season a year ago under Eric Reveno. They went 19-13 and made their first post season tournament since 1996 when they were selected to play in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Portland was bolstered by a group of veterans led by Nik Raivio but the biggest key may have been transfer T.J. Campbell. Campbell arrived at Portland and made an immediate impact at point guard, averaging 11 points and 5 assists a game.

Player to Watch: Everyone knows the talent that Portland brings back this season. The big question is whether all of that talent has enough upside to show great improvement from last season to this season. For this reason, the key player for the Pilots is T.J. Campbell. Campbell brought so much to the team in his first season that expectations are very high for this final year in Portland. He's a very heady guard with great penetration abilities who will be the key if UP hopes to knock off Gonzaga in 2009-10.

Season Outlook: The Pilots kick off their season with Eastern Washington on the 14th of this month and face a pretty tough nonconference schedule. Games against Oregon, at UCLA, and at Washington will test Eric Reveno's team and will give them great preparation for WCC play. Fittingly, Gonzaga and Portland open up the West Coast Conference schedule against one another in Portland on January 9th. Overall, Coach Reveno did an outstanding creating a schedule not full of insane traveling that should give his team good rest while playing a respectable batch of games. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pilots took 2/3 from their Pac-10 foes.

St. Mary's Gaels

Last Season: It was a banner year in Moraga a season ago as the Gaels brought home a school record 28 wins in 2008-09. Led by the now departed Patty Mills and Diamon Simpson, St. Mary's was selected to participate in the NIT Tournament and they were a game away from heading off to New York for the semifinals before San Diego State upended them. A weak nonconference schedule and being routed by Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament championship gave away any hope for the Gaels being an NCAA Tournament team.

Player to Watch: St. Mary's is sort of going through a Gonzaga-lite experience this season. The Gaels have seven freshmen this season, five true and two redshirt. With all this youth for St. Mary's, a veteran has to be looked upon to pick up the slack and that guy is Mickey McConnell. Mickey was very inconsistent a season ago but returns for his junior year with some great experience after filling in for Patty Mills when he was hurt. The show is McConnell's now and he'll have to step up his output if St. Mary's is going to stay in the West Coast Conference race.

Season Outlook: St. Mary's will get two outstanding early season tests at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. San Diego State and Vanderbilt will make the trip to take on the Gaels on their homecourt and it will give St. Mary's a great idea of where they are at. Vanderbilt is a popular pick to be a top tier SEC team and San Diego State will challenge in the Mountain West. St. Mary's will also take on Oregon in Eugene and Utah State in Ogden to give them two nice road tests. Their hardest stretch of WCC games will be in mid-February as they take on Gonzaga, Portland, and San Diego all on the road in a seven day stretch.

San Francisco Dons

Last Season: It was a difficult year a season ago for the Dons. After not really playing anyone of note in their nonconference slate, San Francisco was greeted with some harsh reality and lost their first six games in conference play. The finally got off the hook with a win over Loyola Marymount but the season didn't really look up from their. The Dons would go on to win two more games in WCC play and were eliminated from the conference tournament by Pepperdine in their first game. The final tally for the Dons was an 11-19 record with three of them coming in conference.

Player to Watch: When I think about San Francisco, I actually feel happy that I won't have to watch Gonzaga take them on in person anymore. Not because it was such an awful game, but because I always feel terrible for Dior Lowhorn. Lowhorn is a combination of size and ability that even Gonzaga has trouble defending. He's been the leading scorer in the conference twice and averaged a little over 20 points a game last season. He has outstanding NBA potential and it is really hard to say where San Francisco would be without him on their roster...I'd wager somewhere near LMU.

Season Outlook: USF will be challenging itself this season with three very difficult road test in nonconfernece play. The Dons will face off with Arizona State, BYU, and Washington this season all away from their home court. They'll also make a trip to the Mountain time zone to take on Colorado and Colorado State. It's clear that Rex Walters is hoping to test his new, young nucleus of players with some road game that are winnable but will take a nice effort.

Santa Clara Broncos

Last Season: Santa Clara went 8-9 in their nonconference schedule a year ago with games against Georgia, FAU, UAB, Arizona, UNLV, Pacific, Stanford, Harvard, and New Hampshire all resulting in losses. They were able to defeat UTEP in a thrilling effort but aside from that, there wasn't a whole lot of quality wins on the schedule. A 7-7 record in the conference is what head coach Kerry Keating led his team to. Their only real surprising victory last season was their last game of the year when they took down Portland. They were led by John Bryant who is now graduated from the university and his shoes will be tough to fill.

Player to Watch: This is probably the easiest player to watch in the conference, save maybe for Pepperdine. Kevin Foster returns to Santa Clara for his sophomore season and will be expected to make a big jump from a season ago. The WCC's co-newcomer of the year with T.J. Campbell, Foster was also a Freshman All-American having averaged 15 points per game. The guard from Katy, Texas is an outstanding outside shooting threat as he broke Steve Nash's single season SCU record for three-pointers made. If SCU is going to be able to cope with the loss of John Bryant, it'll have to be Foster that puts in most of the work.

Season Outlook: Not a whole lot of beef in the nonconference schedule for the Broncos. San Diego State and UNLV will be two tough Mountain West opponents and Santa Clara will also be looking to avenge losses against New Hampshire and Harvard from last year.

San Diego Toreros

Last Season: San Diego's magical run a few years ago when the defeated Gonzaga in the conference championship and beat Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament feels like an eternity ago after a disappointing year last season. It got off to an awful start as senior Brandon Johnson tore his Achilles tendon after eight games. The Toreros wound up finishing with a 16-16 record and losing in the second round of the WCC Tournament to Santa Clara.

Player to Watch: Brandon Johnson was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA after his horrific injury. His return to the Toreros is enormous because without him, they might have challenge LMU for the spot in the cellar. Having also lost Gyno Pomare (graduation) and Rob Jones (transfer), Johnson will have to return to his old form and guide this team. There is a little experience with Johnson in the backcourt but the frontcourt will have sever growing pains for Bill Grier's squad.

Season Outlook: Games against Stanford, Oklahoma, San Diego State, and Mississippi State will give Bill Grier and the Toreros all they can handle in the nonconference slate. It appears that San Diego State has decided to schedule nearly ever WCC game, Oklahoma is a power in the Big 12, and Mississippi State could be a dangerous squad in the SEC. Stanford's basketball program is probably still a few years away but they still are Stanford and it will be a nice Pac-10 test right off the bat.

Pepperdine Waves

Last Season: Tom Asbury's return to coaching came with some mixed results in Malibu. They dropped 13 of their first 16 games including losses to Arizona State, USC, and Georgia Tech. Their only wins out of conference came against Western Oregon, Cal State-Monterey Bay, and Coppin State. They added five regular season conference wins and actually played inspired basketball. Wins over Santa Clara and San Diego were nice for Pepperdine but they were never able to challenge the heavy hitters and finished with a 9-23 record.

Player to Watch: Easily my favorite player not in a Gonzaga uniform is Keion Bell. The high-flying sophomore guard was one of the lone bright spots on the Pepperdine roster. Bell average about 13 points a game last year and brought some flare to the program. Keion is a very reckless player on the court however. He averaged about four turnovers a game last year and only dished out two assists. That will have to change in a big way for the Waves to show any signs of improvement.

Season Outlook: UCLA, Utah, Georgia, and Miami will all test Pepperdine in their nonconference schedule. The good thing is that they get Utah and Miami on their home court in Malibu. The rest of the schedule is anyone's best guess. Pepperdine will suffer some head-scratching losses but the key is for their veteran core to show some improvement and get some quality wins.

Loyola Marymount Lions

Last Season: You kind of have to give LMU a pass for their play a season ago. All summer and fall leading up to the season, we talked about LMU being the next program to challenge the top dogs. Bill Bayno was in charge and recruiting well but that all changed when Bayno took a leave of absence and eventually left the program. Max Good stepped in at the embattled program and led them to a historic 3-28 record. Wins over Bakersfield, San Diego, and San Francisco were all this team could muster.

Player to Watch: Believe it or not, the Lions do have some talent. They have two outstanding transfers who will be making an impact this season and one of them is former Oregon Duck Drew Viney. A 6'5'' sophomore forward, Viney left the Ducks after a short stint there due to injuries. He was a Scout top 100 recruit when he came out and will be called on to not only start immediately but be a leader on the team.

Season Outlook: In all honesty, every game for LMU will test them this season. With such a rough past few seasons, the program is still searching for an identity to build upon. Hopefully the new young players and transfers can build this program back into a proud on. Games against USC and Notre Dame stand out on the schedule for the Lions this season

ZB's Preseason Power Rankings
1. Gonzaga
2. Portland
3. St. Mary's
4. Santa Clara
5. Pepperdine
6. San Francisco
7. San Diego
8. LMU

Top 10 Players Not in Gonzaga uniforms:
Dior Lowhorn, USF
Kevin Foster, SCU
Keion Bell, Pepp
Mark Trasolini, SCU
Omar Samhan, SMC
TJ Campbell, Port
Nik Raivio, Port
Jared DuBois, LMU
Drew Viney, LMU
Brandon Johnson, USD

Poll

Outside of Gonzaga, St. Mary's, and Portland, which WCC team has the best shot for a breakout year in 2009-10?

San Diego

152 votes

San Francisco

30 votes

Pepperdine

18 votes

Santa Clara

51 votes

251 votes | Poll has closed