MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[pomonaalum]

One of the reasons PP tends to struggle in pre-season/non conference games early on is that there are typically some juniors studying abroad, who don't return until Spring semester.  Not sure if any players are gone now, but that's usually the case.  Hoops is one of the few sports that spans two semesters, so players go in the Fall and come back in time for conference play.  It means that they're a little behind, but that's the way it goes at PP.

[bballfan2]

Here's a thought, 1 or 2 SCIAC teams will make the tourny, that will sort itself out, until then why doesn't everyone stop whinning about past performances or lack of respect and just go enjoy the free basketball. 

As for PP a couple of tough losses to 2 decent teams, Brown's out as is Lloyd they'll be back, but Pomona's still dangerous without them. Once they get back, you guys can all come out and watch something special. 

Sidenote * West coast whiner * may be the perfect name

PP will be in Salem '06, barring further injury.

[WestCoastWhiner]

BBf, I like how you think.  You might be the first Sagecock ever to mention that type of a goal for your program.  Most PP fans look to find excuses for why PP hasn't won a game west of the Mississippi in post-season play or outside of regional play-ins for that matter. 

How about you bring two Ws home to us this weekend and show some fools outside of Cali that we know how to ball.  W-B will be the MVP, tell him to showcase his skills against some of midwest travelers. 

[sciac_is_fun]

does anyone know where minney from clu is?

[fosheezie]

So P-P is O-2, with losses to NAIA Vanguard and D2 UCSD.  No need to worry.  That is how Katmandu always starts the season.  He intelligently schedules some tough games in preseason to expose weaknesses, work on them, and then play better once league opens up.  He cares less about preseason wins, its all about league.  And yes, Lloyd is out, but he'll be back, trust me, the guy is a gamer, he will be back when it counts.....SCIAC play.

[David Collinge]

My, my.  Two references to the "preseason" in one post.  Greg Sager is probably choking on his candied yams!   

[Gregory Sager]

My, my. Two references to the "preseason" in one post. Greg Sager is probably choking on his candied yams!

I lay off the candied yams, DC. It's all about the mashed potatoes and biscuits for me.

But ... yeah, since I don't like to disappoint, and as long as you're going to give me a lead-in like that, I might as well unleash my canned speech. Here goes:

It's not the preseason anymore, pomonaalum and fosheezie. The regular season started last Friday. These games count towards a team's record. The word you're looking for is "non-conference", not "preseason".

[Greek Tragedy]

The truth is out.  I now realize how the great Greg Sager has so many posts!  Everytime someone says preseason, he has to respond and scold them! lol 

And by the way Mr. Sager, you gotta go with the brown sugar yams, and mashed potatoes of course!     Hope you belonged to the clean plate club and got your apple and/or pumpkin pie.  Apple is my choice, with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.

[Gregory Sager]

The truth is out. I now realize how the great Greg Sager has so many posts! Everytime someone says preseason, he has to respond and scold them! lol

It's in my contract. You think this HOF status is free?

And by the way Mr. Sager, you gotta go with the brown sugar yams, and mashed potatoes of course! Hope you belonged to the clean plate club and got your apple and/or pumpkin pie. Apple is my choice, with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.

I don't take to people exotifyin' the humble tuber Ipomoea batatas with unnecessary additives, Tom. Give me a plain dollop of sweet potatoes with a little good ol' fashioned butter on top for moisture, thankyouverymuch. Leave the candy and the brown sugar for the kiddies. The staple itself has enough flavor as it is; there's a reason why they call it the sweet potato, after all.

I am always a proud member of the Clean Plate Club on the last Thursday of November. My dessert was apple pie a la mode (vanilla ice cream), capped with a rousing win in Trivial Pursuit ('60s edition) over my hosts and the other guests. A splendid Thanksgiving. Hope yours was, too.

[digs]

Hmm....

Greg wins at Trivial Pursuit...who would have thunk it!

[fosheezie]

Its all preseason to me.   This isnt D1 here.  The selection committee is so picky with us westerners that the main goal for the majority of SCIAC coaches is to prepare themselves for league play and then win league.  You could play some patsies, go undefeated in "preseason", lose two games to a team that goes undefeated in league and still wind up at home during the tourney.  So yes, these games are not as important as league games.  Thanks again Greg, happy holidays!

[Gregory Sager]

It's not a matter of relative importance that makes these games regular season rather than preseason. Nobody thinks that a non-conference game is as important as a conference game. The SCIAC is certainly not unique in that regard; everybody shares that sentiment. Rather, it's a matter of the calendar (the regular season starts on the third Friday in November) and the recordbook (these games count; just check out Pat's team pages if you don't believe me).

Besides, non-conference games played against West Region opponents are a lot more important than you're letting on, Fosheezie. They're not just garden-variety non-conference games. Pomona-Pitzer's and CMS's wins over Augsburg mean one more win in the in-region W-L pct. category looked at on Selection Monday. And the upcoming games SCIAC teams are playing against the likes of George Fox and Whitworth could have even bigger repercussions.

[castle]

does anyone know where minney from clu is?

He is out with medical problems; probably won't return to action.  Tough break for Minney, he could have had a big season...

[Old Fighting Scot]

Hello all,

First time SCIAC poster, long time D3'er.  My D3 knowledge stems from me playing all four years at a small D3 in illinois and working with the same team for three years after that.  

over the weekend I was very excited to see the show (Redlands)which has been called Grinell West vs. CU.  I have played against "the sytem" and my former coach has even been quoted in USA Today describing it as mice running out of a box (or something like that).  What i saw this weekend was what i expected in the scoring but the actual style of play was a little different.  The first thing i noticed is that the 3 ball was not as implemented for redlands as i thought it would be (or as grinell uses it).  also the level of play (again for redlands) wasnt very high.  i am going to assume that this years redlands team just isnt very good (25 is a player, and they have one other shooter but that is it).  The game was still entertaining, as CU seems to be playing very well right now ( have seen them 3 times now), and the teams combined for like 250, but the level of play from redlands was sub par.  is this year's team just not very good or is this what you expect to see from the bulldogs.  

i have also seen oxy this year and i would put them in the top 5 of the MWC.  the midwest conference is a top heavy conference comprised of teams from illinois(4) Wisconsin(5) and Iowa(1).  the dominant team in the past few years has been LU who has a an all american forward and last week beat #2 in the nation osh kosh.

[WestCoastWhiner]

Scot, welcome.  Thanks for the input.  We generally like to sit quietly over here in our bottom-tier conference and just talk a lot of junk back and forth about our usually very competitive conference.  Sagers & PC are always lurking nearby to put us in our place in the DIII landscape in the event that the occassional pop-off (myself on occassion included) starts to think that we are better than we are. 

Any chance you can share with us some perspective about your alma mater, a very SCIAC-like liberal arts insitution.  Folks in our conference, from coaches down to former players, think that national success is something that is beyond our institutional capabilities.  Is there a top-to-bottom focus on the success of the basketball program at Wooster?  How is it that Wooster has been able to rise up to the top of the top tier? 

And for the rest of the SCIAC fans, based on early season indicators, it looks like another long year for the SCIAC and a very short post-season. Carthage beats Concordia.  Weakest NAIA team in league Vanguard beats PP PP and LV.  CLU loss to Edgewood.  UR gets bombed back east.  Oxy piling up Ws against La Sierra. 

Kats will rule the SCIAC again with 7 teams battling for second.  Unless he gets lucky with a first round against a Colorado College or equivalent, PP will lose by 15-20 points in the first round.