MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OXY Oswald]

The Oxy-La Verne game was a surprise to a lot of us, La Verne shot the ball extremely well.  Knocking down big shot after big shot. 

The Tigers will have to regroup and run through the teams they play for the remainder of their schedule.  I still don't think we've seen this Oxy team playing at it's full potential.

Go Tigers!

[Stags4Life]

With Pomona losing at Whittier, it looks like they are pretty much out of the race.  The Oxy-CMS game should determine the champion but it looks like Pomona could still affect the outcome with home games against both teams.  Also, many spoilers remain that could throw the whole SCIAC for a loop as Whittier and La Verne did last night. 

Does anyone have any more info about the two upsets and how they happened, perhaps some box scores.  Here is the CMS-Redlands Box Score if anyone was interested: http://cms.claremont.edu/team/men%27sbasketball/05-06/UR-CMS.HTM

Also, did anyone else see the dunk that Mani Maceira had last night, I think it was by far the play of the year in the SCIAC.

-- Stags4Life

[tigersports]

Betty posterized a Redlands guy, but it's hard to rate dunks based on descriptions. 

PP now has three losses.  They need a stumble by Oxy or CMS plus a home sweep of those two AND a win at Cal Lu.  Not impossible but I'd rather be Oxy or CMS.

Oxy did not play badly.  Brought their B game.  Laverne has unbelievable talent; I would say their talent level is mid-level GSAC.  However, they just can't seem to put anything together, losing against smart, tough opponents.  They're a lot like the Cal teams in the Bozeman era.  Interesting to see what role they play down the stretch, especially given that they may get some real home games.

Agree that CMS is in the driver's seat and Taylor is my MVP (sorry, WCW, call it man crush, if you will).   CMS will have a toughie at PP, but so does Oxy.  The game at Ducey, before about 41 CMS diehards, will likely decide the whole thing.  Hate to hate, but my dough is on CMS.

[diehardfan]

So, I know this is premature, but, I've been sitting here trying to figure out how many playoff games Oxy might be able to host. (with a QOWI like theirs, and their in region record, they have a great chance at a Pool C, even if they totally fall apart for the rest of the season)

One major factor is gym size... and I can't find this information at all for Oxy. How many people does Oxy's gym hold?

[Stags4Life]

The game at Ducey, before about 41 CMS diehards, will likely decide the whole thing. 

Are you trying to talk sh*t or something.  I guarantee that CMS will have just as many fans, if not more, then Oxy had when CMS visited them.

-- Stags4Life

[dj_hyphen]

  Laverne has unbelievable talent; I would say their talent level is mid-level GSAC.  However, they just can't seem to put anything together, losing against smart, tough opponents.  They're a lot like the Cal teams in the Bozeman era. 

having played with some of those dudes over the years in open gyms, I've always thought the same thing.  La Verne's had some good athletes and quality players, but they generally get torn apart by better coached teams.  The flip side of that equation is that every now and then, their talent comes out to shine and they can knock off one of the top tier schools.  They've even done fairly well nationally, even though they lose most of those games (not unlike most SCIAC teams though).  I remember a PP game a few years ago where La Verne absolutely shot the lights out and pretty easily beat one of the better teams of the past 5 years.  Of course, in the end, they seem to finish around .500 every year

[David Collinge]

So, I know this is premature, but, I've been sitting here trying to figure out how many playoff games Oxy might be able to host. (with a QOWI like theirs, and their in region record, they have a great chance at a Pool C, even if they totally fall apart for the rest of the season)

One major factor is gym size... and I can't find this information at all for Oxy. How many people does Oxy's gym hold?

Oxy hosted a playoff game against Aurora a few years back, so their gym clearly meets whatever standard the NCAA requires.  (Presuming, of course, that the scoreboard clocks work.)  I don't know what the capacity is, but they have a full set of bleacher stands along both sides of the court, maybe 25 or 30 rows high?  No seating behind either end line.  It's not huge, but it's big enough, and it's quite an atmosphere when it's full.

It would help Oxy's case if Chapman were to get a Pool B.  (I haven't been paying attention to the Bumblin' B's, so I don't know if this is possible.)  The NCAA's aversion to travel might lead to a Southland Sectional if there's two local teams available.  Throw in  the one NWC representative, probably UPS, and maybe a Texas team, and you have one of those Friday/Saturday opening quartets.  That'd be big fun!

[WestCoastWhiner]

Dang, my boy Kats was tagged.  I'll give it up to the Poets and the Leopards.  I expected both of them to get at least 1 W against the Big 3, and Whittier is becoming something of a thorn in PP's side.  Either PP's kids don't bring it against them or the Poet kids refuse to give the Hens deference on the court.  Either way, the Poets continue to have some success against the King of the Hill.  Wow.  Look for the Hens to treat their CMS game as their defining moment, their NCAA Tournament game.  More is at stake in that game than the 5 college campus bragging rights.  Too many winners on that team for them to want to go down on the books as such a huge disappointment.

La Verne may have brought it but Oxy's recent cheek tightening undoubtedly contributed.  Oxy has been suffering from having a target on their back (the Big 3 coming after the new kid on the block getting more national attention than they ever did; the bottom 3 coming after them to show that national attention or not, it is still just Oxy, not PP, CMS or CLU & most importantly, the Oxy players starting to fall in love with themselves and forgetting the type of work and focus it took to get them there in the first place).

CMS moves into the driver's seat.  Even with an L at PP, it looks like they will run the table.  And until Oxy shows me something, I'm going to say what folks are thinking, even Oxy fans, that the Tigers might not have the mental fortitude of champions.  Call it peaking too early, call it failing to improve, call it players stopping to believe in what the coaches are saying, call it cheek tightening, whatever you want.   I recognize that it is early to say it but the Tigers could very well be done.  CMS is the only team improving week in and week out - and that is the stuff of champions.    

But from a SCIAC perspective I'm a little frightened by that because CMS, like PP, suffers from Big 3-itis, mysterious illness that causes excessive cheek tightening out of the friendly confines of So Cal.

[tigersports]

Stag 4 Life, I was talking sh*t.  I was at the last two Oxy/CMS games at Ducey and though 41 is light and meant for exaggeration (e.g., Keith Richards is 138) it wasn't that much more by any significant degree of magnitude.  The stands were maybe 1/3 full for those games, and that's just the lower ring.   I think just about every poster on this board would agree that the only time anyone piles into Ducey or Voelkel is when they're playing a cross-campus rival.  Now, CMS may have some people pour in for the Oxy game because the team has a chance to dance.   That said, if there was a reliable way to measure things, I'd bet you on your guarantee and call it my "lock of the week" (complete with lock sound effects).   

I've been announcing these games for 7 years now and the best non-playoff SCIAC crowds I've seen were Redlands/Oxy (at Courier) in '04 and Oxy/Pomona last week.  All other roadies (except for maybe one Cal Lu) were very sparsely attended.  We've done a total of six at the CC's and there was never even one that was close to half capacity. 

Bottom line is that the LAST thing a CMS booster should be arguing is that they get great crowd support for a non-PP game.

[castle]

New Top 25:

OXY down to #18...UPS #11, Wartburg #23.

[OXY Oswald]

See you there Bob

Go Tigers!

[Stags4Life]

Bottom line is that the LAST thing a CMS booster should be arguing is that they get great crowd support for a non-PP game.

I will argue. I do not know how accurate these statistics are, but I found numbers for attendance at the earlier Oxy-CMS game and it was listed at 525 then I looked at the most recent CMS home game for which there were statistics which was La Verne and there were 512 people.  I am not saying we get as much or the most fan support but you should keep your mouth shut and stop talking sh*t.  If your assumptions were correct(theyre not btw), then the Oxy-CMS undefeated battle should have had way more than it actually had and a "non-playoff" "non-crossstreet" game at CMS should have had much less. 

-- Stags4Life

[dj_hyphen]

  @ believing the numbers that are put in the box score for attendence...those are NEVER accurate in SCIAC play...hopefully CMS has more people at games these days than I remember, but the fan support there (in terms of numbers) has traditionally been pretty average.  No diss Stagfan, just a fact.  This year, you guys are in the driver's seat though, so get the word out on campus and make sure everyone's behind the squad.


I'll be attending the PP/Cal Tech game on Wednesday and the big rivalry game on Saturday vs. CMS.  I expect my PP boys to come out amped up and it to be a great game...can't wait.  Who else will be in the building?

[K.C.]

DJ-
I'll be there Saturday night, but first I'll be at Whittier Wednesday to see if the Poets can pull off the back-to-back upsets.  Being a Sagehen fan, you got to be pulling hard for CMS to lose (even more so than usual).  This could be Pomona's best chance at getting back in the SCIAC race.  If Whittier wins and CMS beats OXY next time, PP still controls their own destiny.

I would expect a much more lopsided score when Pomona plays Cal Tech this time.  I think Cal Tech has shown they've improved enough for teams to actually prepare for them in the second round.

[tigersports]

Stag, you first apparently need to take a course in respectful discourse.  I would think that someone with your educational credentials would not stoop to fourth-grade recess commands.   I never once directed anything like that your way.

That said, you will note that my data came from last year and the year before.  If people are packing Ducey this year, then it's about time because they sure weren't there the last two years.   (And that team sure deserves good fan support).   If that's the case,  it's therefore my mistake for extrapolating last year's data to this year's team.