MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[stag44]

Exciting night in the SCIAC! But around 10:00PST we'll have our 4 SCIAC teams and know whose playing who and where they'll be, but before that we have some games to play:

CMS @ CLU
Big BIG game for both teams. The Stags want to have a head of steam going into the Playoffs and the Kingsmen want a place in tournament.

Interesting fact: CMS has not won at the new CLU gym yet, going 0-3. First two were tough last second losses, while last year they fell after getting blitzed in the second half by Knudsen.

CLU has won 6 straight with their last loss coming to the Stags, pushing them to a 2-5 record midway through conference. Kyle Knudsen has been an absolute monster in second halfs, simply taking over games, getting to the line and scoring at will.

The Stags, minus thier PP duds, have not been beaten in conference. After their last PP loss, they took care of CLU at home thanks to a strong start and strong finish. For the middle 20 minutes though, CLU showed flashes and took the lead at one point in the second half (around 15 minutes to play). Then Blees picked up his game, and Joey Anderson had an absolutely MONSTER game on O and D. He was tasked with stopping Knudsen, and while he still got his points, Joey made it difficult.

This will be a very very difficult game for the Stags. I have a feeling that Gilbert will be full of ever-rowdy students ready to taunt any Stag misstep. They have to keep their composure and maintain a calm. There will be emotional swings and also HUGE point swings. I could see this going +/- 12 points either direction through the course of the game.

CLU will look to establish inside in the 1st half and then leave it to Knudsen in the 2nd. Stags have to understand and realize that Knudsen lives for the 2nd half and will take a huge chunk of shots then and force the issues around the basket to draw fouls.

To me its a pick-em game, but I given my roots I gotta go with the stags 65-63.

OXY @ PP - A very interesting game that could have either team missing the playoff with a loss. Kats v Newhall is always interesting. I like Oxy coming into this game, but also know that PP will be ready to win and continue their season. I'll take PP in a close one at home: 58-55

Redlands @ ULV - Redlands should take care of business and lock up a bid, but if they don't they're in jeopardy of dropping out of the race.

[OxyBob]

This will be a very very difficult game for the Stags. I have a feeling that Gilbert will be full of ever-rowdy students ready to taunt any Stag misstep.

The crowd is never a problem at CLU. Gilbert is sterile and the CLU fans are quiet and dull. Nice gym, no atmosphere. The old converted airplane hanger with the low ceiling and mood lighting was much tougher for visitors.

OXY @ PP - A very interesting game that could have either team missing the playoff with a loss. Kats v Newhall is always interesting. I like Oxy coming into this game, but also know that PP will be ready to win and continue their season. I'll take PP in a close one at home: 58-55

In the prior meeting, Oxy played a great first half and the Sagehens never recovered. The Tigers held Pomona to 14 points on 24% FGs and 0-for-7 on 3s. Sean Anderson had a double-double and Deshun McCoy shut down Justin Sexton. The Tigers better contain Dave Liss and Adam Chiamowitz from outside or Oxy will have trouble.

OxyBob

[DIIIghetto]

Stag44, this is the real post-season test.  If you win Saturday, you will likely go to Chapman.  Possibly a trip to Spokane after that.  If Blees & Co can't win in Thousand Oaks, we are in trouble. 

[stag44]

Stag44, this is the real post-season test.  If you win Saturday, you will likely go to Chapman.  Possibly a trip to Spokane after that.  If Blees & Co can't win in Thousand Oaks, we are in trouble. 

Agreed. It's the longest trip we make in SCIAC, and we've always had trouble at their place. I think the most important part of that statement though is &Co. Blees has been as consistent and potent as anyone I can remember in the SCIAC, but its going to take stellar efforts from Toney, Lacey, Anderson, Faught, Bagby, Davis, all the way down. You know you're going to get around 18-6 from Blees each night, but its been a question this year of whether Toney Bagby and Faught come to play. Toney seems to have put too much on his shoulders this year from a scoring perspective. If he takes a step back and instead focuses on driving to pass, he'd get 7-10 assists a game because he consistently draws 2 and 3 defenders. The same way, Bagby and Faught have pressed the issue a bit this year as well. Their shooting sets up the rest of the game, and as we all know most of shooting at this level is about confidence. They are two of the best and most clutch shooters I've ever played with, and need to remember that they've made BIG shots time and again. I have full faith that if those 3 play well, along with the consistent play from Blees Lace and Anderson, the Stags will win tonight.

This will be a very very difficult game for the Stags. I have a feeling that Gilbert will be full of ever-rowdy students ready to taunt any Stag misstep.

The crowd is never a problem at CLU. Gilbert is sterile and the CLU fans are quiet and dull. Nice gym, no atmosphere. The old converted airplane hanger with the low ceiling and mood lighting was much tougher for visitors.

OxyBob

Last year when we played there, it wasn't so much the volume of the crowd, but rather what they said and how they carried themselves. They taunted us as we were exiting the gym and getting on the bus.. Also, the old gym provided countless dead spots and tricky shots from corners that actually we were told about before we got there and practiced once we arrived.

[OxyBob]

Last year when we played there, it wasn't so much the volume of the crowd, but rather what they said and how they carried themselves.

Well, there is the one guy with the yellow "Cuidado: Piso Mojado" safety cone that he uses as a megaphone. The Claremont guys should be able to ignore him.

OxyBob

[Olsen Road]

After the excellent win by the Kingsmen, the SCIAC has a 3 way tie after CMS.  What are the tie-breaking rules for the seeds?  Regardless of the seeds, this will be a very interesting tourney. 

Wish KadyTV had the capability to broadcast the tourney games for the out of towners/staters.  Any alternatives?

[stag44]

After the excellent win by the Kingsmen, the SCIAC has a 3 way tie after CMS.  What are the tie-breaking rules for the seeds?  Regardless of the seeds, this will be a very interesting tourney. 

Wish KadyTV had the capability to broadcast the tourney games for the out of towners/staters.  Any alternatives?

Great win for the Kingsmen at home. Really made all the plays at the end of the game, Grimm came through huge the last couple possesions. CMS played well, but just could not string together stops. Incredible run for CLU in the second half of conference 7-0 and forcing their way into the SCIAC playoff.

Really unfortunate loss for Redlands as they went from sitting pretty in 2nd place 3 games ago, to being the odd one out and in 5th place. PP snuck out with a win at home getting rights to a home game vs CLU.

The SCIAC tourney as follows:

Oxy @ CMS
CLU @ PP

Friday night, games start at 730.

[OxyBob]

Great win for the Kingsmen at home. Really made all the plays at the end of the game, Grimm came through huge the last couple possesions. CMS played well, but just could not string together stops.

Eyewitness report from Thousand Oaks:

Cal Lutheran 74, Claremont 67

CLU made every key basket and free throw and CMS didn't.

The first half was tight all the way. CLU led by 8 at 19-11, but Claremont came back and tied it at 23. 5-point swing at the end of the first half: With CMS up 33-30 and 40 seconds to go, Jason Toney stole the ball at midcourt and went in for a what looked like an uncontested  layup, but Kyle Knudsen made a great block on the ball. Claremont screamed for goaltending but no dice. That was big because Knudsen hit a 3-ball with 5 seconds left to tie the score.

In the second half, CLU outscored Claremont 10-2 and led 43-35 at 16:30. The Stags didn't get closer than 3 the rest of the way. Every time CMS tried to make a run, Cal Lutheran answered. Knudsen, Fisher, Grimm and Meier were nails, and the Kingsmen were just the better team last night.

Notable stats in the Oxy-Pomona game: 16 total fouls called, 9 on Oxy and 7 on Pomona. Only 7 FTs were taken by 3 players between the teams; Shawn Stephan was 3-for-3 for the Sagehens, and Deshun McCoy and Jake Copithorne were 2-for-2 and 1-for-2 for the Tigers.

Gotta hand it to Pomona for getting the second seed in the tournament. Beating Claremont twice is what clinched it.

OxyBob

[D O.C.]

Loosely following your SCIAC it seems beating CMS was not a big deal.

[Olsen Road]

CLU did come up big with crucial shots, plays and block.  As noted by OxyBob, the end of the half play by Knudsen turned out to be huge.   CLU did come up with timely plays, however, I thought the tide had turned for CMS with the four-point play.  Happy to see CLU hang in there.

Will I be regulated to thesciac.org for updates Friday evening with CLU plays at PP?

[cmsme]

The consensus seems to be that CMS (or the tournament winner) will play the first game at Chapman.  How do people know that?  In the regional rankings, CMS is above Chapman.  What purpose are those regional rankings?

[OxyBob]

The consensus seems to be that CMS (or the tournament winner) will play the first game at Chapman.  

Assuming Chapman gets a Pool B bid, Claremont wins the SCIAC tournament, and the two are paired up in the first round, it's possible that Chapman would host for the same reason SCIAC champ CMS had to travel to at-large Oxy for a first round playoff game in 2006 -- CMS plays in a shoebox that doesn't meet NCAA seating requirements.

Oh, and as to your question about the purpose of the regional rankings, in the case of the SCIAC they mean little, since there is the unwritten "SCIAC exception" to the NCAA selection criteria.

OxyBob

[stag44]

CMS plays in a shoebox that doesn't meet NCAA seating requirements.

OxyBob

Actually, the Seating requirements to host are at least 1000 people. While we do play in a very cozy gym, we have capacity of around 1400, which has risen to around 1600-1700 in a few CMS-PP battles.

I'm actually curious what the max capacity at Chapman is. No knock on their team, but their floor is one of the worst I've played on in college. Always seems dusty and hard to cut on. But, who knows what the committee has in store for the SoCal matchups

[dahlby]

Chapman's Hutton Center holds around 2400. The floor is refinished during the summer each year.

[Pat Coleman]

Chapman is higher in the regional rankings than CMS. If that doesn't change, Chapman would host. Kinda doesn't matter what CMS' seating is.