MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OxyBob]

First-round byes are not necessarily rewards for a good season.  Out West, they are often used to solve travel problems.  A typical Far West Regional would be two SCIAC teams meeting in round 1, then traveling to the northwest to face the NWC champion, who received a first-round bye, despite being something like 21-5 and ranked in the 20's (don't start--I know the rankings are not a factor).  (It could just as easily be the reverse; two NWC teams and one SCIAC; the analysis applies with equal force.)  Rarely is the NWC team in this scenario considered to be a top-five national team, and generally has no better credentials than the SCIAC champ.  (In fact, you could argue that they may have had a weaker conference, given that the SCIAC had a Pool C and the NWC did not.)  And yet they get to sit out round one and then play round two at home. 

Using last season as an example, both Oxy (.528, .531) and Pomona (.559, .516) had a higher OWP and OOWP than Whitworth (.464, .501), while Whitworth (.783) had a better regional win-loss percentage than Oxy (.778) or Pomona (.565). Oxy was ranked 3rd in the regional rankings while neither Whitworth nor Pomona were ranked. Since Chapman didn't get a Pool B bid and Cal Lutheran didn't get a Pool C bid, under the bean counter travel rules adopted by the NCAA, it made sense to have Oxy and Pomona play each other in the first round, and give Whitworth a bye. But it would not have been unfair, nor violated the NCAA's precious, sacrosanct rules, to have had Whitworth travel to play the winner of Pomona vs. Oxy.

(Before the squawking seagulls from the NWC get their panties in a bunch, let me do some preemptive unbunching and say that this is for discussion purposes only, that I didn't have a problem with the Pirates getting a bye, and that Whitworth had a good team and beat Oxy fair and square.)

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Tonight's conference schedule, all games at 7:30 p.m.:

Whittier (9-5, 3-0) @ Oxy (5-9, 1-2)
Whittier has won 7 straight and 9 of 10 since starting the season 0-4, the only loss coming to 13-2 Chapman. The Poets have lost 8 straight at Oxy, and, except for the away game at Caltech, WC hasn't beaten another SCIAC foe on the road the past 3 seasons. A Whittier basketball historian can correct me, but I believe this is the first time the Poets have been 3-0 in the conference in Rock Carter's 15 years as head coach. Oxy is coming off an upset win at Claremont and should be brimming with confidence. Whittier is the best offensive team in the SCIAC (77.6 ppg) while Oxy has the best defense (63.2 ppg). The Tigers' problem hasn't been their defense but their inability to score, as they've averaged only 55.5 ppg.

Cal Lutheran (10-4, 2-1) @ Caltech (1-13, 0-3)
This will be no sweat for CLU. Andy Meier leads the SCIAC in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.7 rpg); his teammate Aaron Van Klaveren is second in the conference in rebounds (8.4 rpg). For CIT, Matt Dellatorre is averaging 14.9 ppg and 87.9% FTs, but the Beavers only average 48.4 ppg and give up 80.4.

La Verne (5-9, 1-2) @ Redlands (4-10, 0-3)
La Verne played CLU even for the first 15 minutes this past Saturday, but the Leopards got down before the half and weren't able to come back. Billy Nicolini (14.5 ppg) and Kyle Luhnow (14.2 ppg) lead ULV's offensive effort, while Matt Dietrich has put up 16.9 ppg for the Bulldogs.

Claremont (10-4, 2-1) @ Pomona (6-8, 3-0)
Game of the night between the cross-campus rivals. CMS is no doubt still smarting from its loss at home to Oxy, and doesn't want to go down 2 games to Pomona, which has won 4 straight. Sharp-shooting Adam Chiamowitz leads the Sagehens with 16.7 ppg. Pomona is the best 3-point shooting team in the SCIAC (40.1%). Claremont is second in the SCIAC in scoring (73.4 ppg).

OxyBob

[rook]

OB,
I agree CIT has a tough task ahead of them tonight.  The only sliver of hope I see is CLU doesn't have much depth.  They really only played 7 guys in their win against La Verne Saturday (Kyle Knudson DNP for whatever reason).

Should be a good game between Oxy and Whittier.  Looking forward to your report tonight.

[oldchap]

Should be a good game between Oxy and Whittier.  Looking forward to your report tonight.

A little outsider opinion here: I have seen both Oxy and Whittier play against Chapman, and I agree with rook, it is going to be a great game. Oxy gave Chapman fits in the first half, leading by 12 I believe at one point. But, as the game wore on, some key players on the Tigers started getting in foul trouble and Oxy eventually fell behind to never come back. Whittier on the other hand never led by much but kept the pressure all the way until the end of the game. The lead by one team or the other stayed in single digits pretty much the entire game. Looking at both games, it felt that Whittier could have won, had Chapman not shot incredibly well from 3-pt range (nearly 70% for the game). Oxy must not have been in their best of form when they played Chapman, because I still can't believe they beat Claremont, who I think, out of all the SCIAC teams I've seen this year, appears to be the strongest and the likeliest to win a title (I haven't seen CLU yet). On a side note, Chapman scrimmaged Pomona early in the season and easily beat them. I later found out that Pomona was missing 3 of their best players to abroad studies...

[OxyBob]

I agree CIT has a tough task ahead of them tonight.  The only sliver of hope I see is CLU doesn't have much depth.  They really only played 7 guys in their win against La Verne Saturday (Kyle Knudson DNP for whatever reason).

You're right about CLU's depth. They only have 12 guys on their roster, and Rich Rider usually only plays 7, maybe 8.

Nice article in today's Ventura County Star about CLU's coaching staff:

Stability staple of this staff at CLU


         Bob Massell                    Geoff Dains

By the standards of major-college coaching, where staffs can have the lifespan of a mayfly, the idea is unthinkable. Even in the less volatile Division III environment, it's unusual.

It's called stability — and it's at the core of the Cal Lutheran men's basketball program.

This is the 13th season together for head coach Rich Rider and his lead assistants, Bob Massell and Geoff Dains. Massell has been on the staff for all of Rider's 15 years at CLU. Dains arrived two years later as a graduate assistant, and distinguished himself enough to join the staff thereafter.

"It's a plus for the university and it really is helpful for recruiting, scouting and all aspects of your program," Rider says. "It gives consistency and experience and stability.

"When you hire assistants, you hire two things. You hire energy and loyalty. These guys are off the charts in both those areas."

It has been a winning combination. From the time Dains came on board in the summer of 1996 through last Saturday's win over La Verne, CLU is 213-111, with two conference championships and six second-place finishes.

"It's like a hand and a glove," says Massell, explaining the comfort level between the three men. "You play off of each other. You know the types of players that fit in Coach Rider's system. You know the league, you know what it takes, you know the right match of student for Cal Lutheran."

Says Dains: "It's big in the recruiting aspect. I don't know how many times we'll have a young man and his parents in the office, and they'll ask Coach Rider, 'Do you plan on being here?' And it's easy for him to say, 'Coach Dains has been with me for 12 years, Coach Massell has been here as long as I have, and I don't plan on going anywhere.'"

Massell and Dains have overlapping responsibilities in scouting and recruiting but distinct outlooks.

For Massell, coaching is a full-fledged passion but a part-time job; he has a career at the Port Hueneme naval base.

"I'm a team lead for logistics," Massell says. "It's a fancy title for ensuring that our ships are equipped with systems so that when they're under way, they're able to meet their mission."

He began there after graduating from Weber State in 1987 and entered coaching as an assistant at Camarillo High under John Harbour and Mike Prewitt. Several stops later, he joined Rider's staff.
...

Dains calls Massell "the Energizer bunny. He has endless amounts of energy. He's got such a passion for the game."

Rider agrees, though Massell's Navy compatriots may not appreciate how he makes the point: "He's like the army: He gets more done before 9 o'clock than most guys do all day."

This may well be true, since Massell starts work at 6 a.m. at the base. By 2 p.m., he's on his way to CLU, where he'll spend a few hours at practice or recruiting before heading home.

"I'm still home by 6 with my family," Massell says. "It's a long day, but I can't imagine any other way to spend my day. Fortunately, my wife love sports, and I've worked for two bosses in 24 years, and they know my passion is coaching."

That's also true for Dains, although the younger man — a 1995 graduate of DePauw University — aspires to be a Division III head coach.

"You get to see people grow as a whole within a small community," he says, "and I'm looking for that kind of environment. When that window of opportunity opens I'm going to jump at it."

In the meantime, he's happy where he is: "Every year, I'm learning something new from Coach Rider. It doesn't matter whether it be on the court or off the court."

Dains' responsibilities have grown considerably since his first year as a graduate assistant, when then-assistants Travis Showalter and Matt Purdy explained his position in simple terms: "Keep your eyes open, your mouth shut and do what you're told," Dains recalls, laughing.

That meant doing a lot of grunt work — data input, video preparation, letter writing — but in the second year, Showalter and Purdy moved on, and even as a graduate assistant, Dains assumed a much larger role.

Rider tells players and coaches to make themselves invaluable, and by the end of the second year, Dains had done that. So Rider found a way to keep him, through a gradually expanded group of jobs at CLU including teaching and overseeing the students who work part-time staffing CLU sporting events.
...

"He was kind of like a dry sponge in search of water," says the head coach. "Each year I kept expanding his duties, to keep him growing, and he's grown into where he's definitely head coaching material."

Until that day comes, the Kingsmen will — with Rider, Massell and Dains — continue to enjoy a stability that's hard to match.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

Oxy 68, Whittier 60

Oxy: Jack Hanley 21, Sean Anderson 17 pts and 18 rebs, Justin Goltz 11 pts and 7 rebs, Peter Gierlach 12
Whittier: Mike Archuletta 14 pts and 11 rebs, Marcus Gibson 10

Halftime: Whittier 26-22
Rebounds: Oxy 42-26
Records: Oxy 6-9, 2-2 SCIAC, Whittier 9-6, 3-1

Oxy played another strong defensive game, holding offensive-minded Whittier to only 34% shooting, snapped the Poets' 7-game winning streak, and handed WC its first conference loss. In the first half, the game was tied at 12, but WC ran off 8 straight and led 20-12. The Poets still led it by 8, 24-16, at 3:15, but the Tigers cut it to 2 on Peter Gierlach's jumper, and trailed by 4 at the half. In the second half, the game was tied 43-43 at 11:40; Oxy went on a 12-3 run and led 55-46 at 5:00. Whittier cut it to 55-50, but a layup and a dunk by Sean Anderson gave the Tigers a 60-50 lead with 2:30 to go, and the Poets weren't able to close the gap. Oxy made it tougher on themselves with poor FT shooting in the second half on only 16-for-29 (55%).

For Oxy, Jack Hanley led all scorers with 21, including 2-for-3 on 3-balls and 9-for-10 FTs. Sean Anderson played great on both ends; he scored 17, grabbed 18 rebounds, and had 3 assists, a block and a steal. Peter Gierlach had 12, and Justin Goltz pitched in with 11 points and 7 rebounds. For Whittier, hard-nosed Mike Archuletta had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Gibson had 10, and Jonathan Saucedo had 9 off the bench on 4-for-5 FGs.

This Saturday, Oxy is home to Caltech, while Whittier hosts Pomona.

Speaking of Pomona, the Sagehens are all alone in first place after beating Claremont, 66-51. Jeremy Namkung and Adam Chiamowitz each had 17, Gabe Porter had 10, and Justin Sexton scored 11 and had 9 rebounds for Pomona. Austin Soldner has 24 for the Stags. Pomona has won 5 straight and is looking good.

Matt Dietrich scored 20 to lead Redlands to a 76-59 win over La Verne. Patrick Coffey added 19 and Breck Mahoney scored 15 for the Bulldogs. Billy Nicolini had 17 and Tyler Hoyt scored 11 for ULV. Redlands snapped a 4-game losing streak; La Verne has lost 2 straight and 4-of-5.

Andy Meier and Marquis Johnson each scored 16 for Cal Lutheran in the Kingsmen's 77-52 win over Caltech. Meier was 7-for-7 FGs as CLU shot 74% in the first half and 64% for the game. Travis Haussler scored 16 and Ryan Elmquist and Wei Li each had 10 for the Beavers.

Saturday's schedule, all games at 7:30 p.m.:

Redlands (5-10, 1-3) @ Cal Lutheran (11-4, 3-1)
Caltech (1-14, 0-4) @ Oxy (6-9, 2-2)
Claremont (10-5, 2-2) @ La Verne (5-10, 1-3)
Pomona (7-8, 4-0) @ Whittier (9-6, 3-1)

OxyBob

[scandihoovian]

OB - Thanks for the updates!

Looks like Whittier continues to struggle on the road, and that, as usual, Coach Newhall will make sure Oxy is a factor in conference play, even though their talent level may not be quite what it has been in the past.

I think the most classic SCIAC scenario, though, is the one unfolding at PP.  Kats' teams have long been the masters of following a mediocre pre-conference showing with a strong in-conference performance.  This year, with perhaps their 3 best players returning just in time for conference play from overseas, is the absolute icing on the cake.  I can see it now. PP finishes the year at 12-2 (they do have to play CLU twice    ), or better, in the conference, but 15-10 overall.  Members of the selection committee, unaware of the three musketeers triumphant return, look at PP and say "Whadda ya know, it's another mediocre autobid SCIAC champ - let's send them to play the #1 team in the region at 3 in the afternoon after taking a red eye so we don't have to pay for a hotel."

In other news, I see that Carthage beat Wheaton.

[OxyBob]

In other news, I see that Carthage beat Wheaton.

scandi, your sarcasm is palpable. One, don't read TOO much into ANY one game. Plus, point two, don't draw any conclusions from seeing any team once. Carthage is a different team now than it was on Nov. 24 when CLU whipped them.

OxyBob

[rook]

OxyBob,
You guys are playing well and probably fall into the "team no one wants to play right now" category. 

CIT is going to have a tough time Saturday but I think they'll at least compete.  Looks like their game against CLU wasn't too bad and I'd say Oxy and them play somewhat similar styles.

My prediction is Oxy will be 5-2 going into the second round of league play.

[snoop dawg]

Dont be surprised if Geoff Dains is a head coach soon. 

[OxyBob]

Article from the Pasadena Star News, posted at 10:51 p.m. this past Wednesday:

Whittier College could contend for SCIAC title

The Whittier College men's basketball team is 9-5 overall, 3-0 in conference and harboring aspirations of conference championships.

It is easy to understand why.

"Right now, we're pretty much clicking on all cylinders," coach Rock Carter says. "We're shooting the ball well, we're playing good team basketball, we're giving a good defensive effort.

"If you're doing all those things, it usually will produce some wins."

Carter, asked about which teams might be the biggest obstacles, hesitated to single out any of the other Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) teams.

"Of course, there's always the big three, Claremont, Pomona Pitzer and Cal Lutheran," he said. "You probably have to start with them, but really, I'm concerned about all of them. Our conference champion last year was 10-4, and I see probably the same thing this year."

Carter said he doesn't feel his team can be intimidated by any of them.

"I think we can play with them," he said. "We have to play well to do it, but I'm sure that the other five (SCIAC) coaches would say the same thing. It makes every game a big game."
...

Whittier played at Occidental College Wednesday and hosts Pomona Pitzer at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

First off, a correction: Oxy and Cal Lutheran were 11-3 last season, not 10-4, though as scandihoovian hates to admit, Oxy beat CLU twice.

The "big three"?! Them's there fightin' words, coach. Scoreboard, baybee!

Item from the "Local colleges roundup" in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

CMS-POMONA-PITZER MEN

Adam Chaimowitz and Jeremy Namkung scored 17 points apiece to lead the Sagehens to a 66-51 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday. Pomona-Pitzer (7-8, 4-0) made 11 of 21 3-point attempts in the game, compared to only eight of 22 from 2-point range. The Stags (10-5, 2-2) were led by Austin Soldner, who had 24 points and seven rebounds.

From someone who was there: "The crowd was great. The Pomona student side was completely full. The Stag's lack of firepower and interior size really showed. CMS closed within 5 a couple of times in the second half, but couldn't put enough consecutive scoring trips together. The Hens' guards did most of the damage, but Coach Kat wasn't happy with their shot selection. Overall, Pomona played pretty sloppy and was lucky that CMS didn't find a way to climb back in the game."

Stability staple of this staff at CLU

That's also true for Dains, although the younger man — a 1995 graduate of DePauw University — aspires to be a Division III head coach.

Dont be surprised if Geoff Dains is a head coach soon. 

Talk about going out on a limb with a prediction.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

A rare Caltech sighting in Randy Harvey's "Totally Random" column in the Los Angeles Times:

They were ready to sing after this win

They got a name for the winners of the world.
I want a name when I lose.
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide.
Call me Deacon Blues.

Steely Dan might have to rewrite those lyrics after Wake Forest was voted No. 1 this week in college basketball...

Oh, what? Never mind. The Deamon Deacons lost on Wednesday night at home to Virginia Tech and play No. 2 Duke in their next game.

Deacon Blues indeed.

But Wake Forest's loss wasn't the upset of the night.

That came when the New Jersey Institute of Technology broke its 51-game NCAA losing streak with a 61-51 victory over Bryant (No Relation to Kobe) University.

That was the top news story Wednesday on New Jersey's Institute of Science & Technology website.

The rest of the headlines concerned, well, science and technology.

Perhaps someone there can explain this from the same Steely Dan song:

This is the day of the expanding man.

Trivia time

Who has the longest losing streak in NCAA college basketball history?
...

Trivia answer

NJIT's 51-game streak would be a Division I record.

But the Highlanders are in only their third season in the top division, not long enough to have their records count. Sacramento State holds the official Division I record at 34.

And finally

The NCAA's all-division record is 117, held by Division III Rutgers-Camden. Caltech, also Division III, actually lost 207 consecutive games against NCAA opponents before breaking the streak with an 81-52 victory over Bard College on Jan. 6, 2007.

But only 59 of the losses counted toward the record because of a 2004 win over Life College of San Dimas, a non-NCAA team.

Interestingly, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker aka Steely Dan attended Bard.

Perhaps someone there can explain this from the same Steely Dan song:

This is the day of the expanding man.

According to Fagen: "Well, the idea of the song was about the kind of alienated kid out in the suburbs who was looking for some art of alternative values and turns to jazz and hip culture as something to grab on to. And the basic idea is that there's a kind of culture of losers that he'd rather be part of than the general way of life in America."

OxyBob

[snoop dawg]

OK...good point....I should have said, sooner than you might think"

[OxyBob]

Tonight's schedule, all games at 7:30 p.m.:

Redlands (5-10, 1-3) @ Cal Lutheran (11-4, 3-1)
Kyle Knudsen scored 21 in the Kingsmen's loss to Claremont on Jan. 14, but didn't play in the two wins against La Verne and Caltech. CLU is 7-1 at home this season, the only loss to Buena Vista by 3, and should hold home court against Redlands.

Caltech (1-14, 0-4) @ Oxy (6-9, 2-2)
Oxy has struggled to score, but had its best offensive half so far in the win against Whittier; the Tigers shot 64% on 14-for-22 in the second half. Starting forward Henry Meier sprained his ankle in the first minute of Oxy's win at Claremont; he didn't play against Whittier and is out indefinitely. Caltech is looking for its first conference victory since 1985. Sorry, CIT, not tonight.

Claremont (10-5, 2-2) @ La Verne (5-10, 1-3)
Poor shooting did in the Stags in their loss to Pomona. Austin Soldner scored 24, but Michael Bagby, Jason Toney and Chris Blees were a combined 6-for-32 (19%) and only 1-for-11 on 3-balls. La Verne's only notable win was against 7-9 Tufts, notable only because the Jumbos then beat CLU.

Pomona (7-8, 4-0) @ Whittier (9-6, 3-1)
First place at stake in the SCIAC. Whittier came into the game against Oxy 3-0 in conference, but there were lots of long faces when the Poets left Rush Gym with yet another SCIAC road loss. DaMon Perry, averaging 10.2 ppg off the bench, didn't play in the loss to Oxy. Pomona's record is misleading; four of Pomona's eight losses are to GSAC teams. In the last 7 games, the Sagehens' Justin Sexton has averaged 15.5 ppg.

OxyBob

[rook]

Redlands vs. CLU is a contrast in styles.  I don't think Redlands can hang with CLU's bigs, but then again, if Redlands guards play well the game CLU's depth will be tested and thus the game will be closer than a lot of people think.

CIT vs. Oxy doesn't look as tempting as it did a couple weeks ago.  Last time it appeared CIT could/maybe/hopefully/wishful thinking compete with Oxy, but as the season has progressed, Oxy has definitely come together and I hate to use the word "Sleeper" to win the SCIAC.  Both teams like a slower than average pace, and if Oxy offense is like it's been the past few games, and CIT plays as usual, expect a low scoring game.

Claremont vs La Verne should be a good game.  Claremont needs a get well game, and La Verne is losing momentum quickly.  If La Verne hits some 3's and Clarmont continues it latest woes it'll be close.  I see Claremont pulling it out by 10.

Pomona vs Whittier.  Whittier had the unfortunate schedule of playing La Verne, Redlands and CIT to build up some false confidence.  After a tough loss they're playing arguably the hottest and toughest team in the conference, albeit at home.  Don't be suprised if you see the former 1st place Whittier team finish the first half of league play 3-4 with games at Claremont and against CLU after tonight's game against Pomona.  They might be fighting for a top 4 finish the second half of league play.  Tonight is a HUGE game for them...