MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[DIIIghetto]

Right now the Stags need to keep their fingers crossed that Kats doesn't pull a rabbit out of the hat and beat the SCIAC's hottest team.  I like CMS's chances against Oxy and even Cal Lu at Ducey, but the pressure on those Stag players against the Hens would be just too great.  The thought of getting punked twice by PP has to haunt them already, can you imagine a 3rd loss?  In a season where they played so well? 

As a SCIAC fan I am pulling for that game to be played.  Fans would need to bring plastic butter knives to that game to cut the tension in the air...

[DIIIghetto]

Predictions for Friday:

CMS 84 - Oxy 54
CLU 65 - PP 64 OT

CMS will straighten out the ship and walk away with this one.   Beating a team for a 3rd time in a year is not that difficult.  Oxy will roll over. 
As much as I wish Kats could pull it out, I think CLU is on too great of a roll to be denied.   

[stag44]

Right now the Stags need to keep their fingers crossed that Kats doesn't pull a rabbit out of the hat and beat the SCIAC's hottest team.  I like CMS's chances against Oxy and even Cal Lu at Ducey, but the pressure on those Stag players against the Hens would be just too great.  The thought of getting punked twice by PP has to haunt them already, can you imagine a 3rd loss?  In a season where they played so well? 

As a SCIAC fan I am pulling for that game to be played.  Fans would need to bring plastic butter knives to that game to cut the tension in the air...

I think that CMS would love to play PP again on Saturday for an NCAA bid. No question. Thats part of the rivalry and it would follow suit of the last 2 tournament finals as well. To be quite honest, either CLU or PP would be a redemption game for CMS, and I would love another CMS PP battle, this time with ALL the marbles on the line.

Predictions for Friday:

CMS 84 - Oxy 54
CLU 65 - PP 64 OT

CMS will straighten out the ship and walk away with this one.   Beating a team for a 3rd time in a year is not that difficult.  Oxy will roll over. 
As much as I wish Kats could pull it out, I think CLU is on too great of a roll to be denied.   

I do agree with your predictions though. I'm not sure if CMS will run them that far out of Claremont, but I do agree that CMS will come with renewed focus and passion to defend. Oxy will come ready, but its tough to see them pulling off the upset.

As for CLU-PP - I think you're dead on as well. The last two games have been decided by a combined 4 points with 3 pointers being made in the last 10 seconds of each game. They matchup with each other so well that its difficult to see this game getting lopsided at all. CLU is riding high after thier 7-0 second half, and the key will be to keep Knudsen in check during the 2nd half and limiting the Kingsmen's FT attempts. They have had an astonishing number of fts during the win streak and it comes from their agression to get to the rim and force the issue. But, if there is any team that plays D without fouling its PP. Its not to say that they arent agressive, but they are long and able to defend without creating too much contact. As usual, I expect PP to mix in a decent amount of zone with their man, and outside of Knudsen and Grimm they'll play packed in the key forcing contested jumpers and collapsing on penetration.

As for CLU on Defense they'll probably play a majority of man, though we may see them play some of their quasi-matchup zone/switching man defense that has been effective vs PP. Not sure what the injury report is on Van Klaveran, but he's played 8 total minutes the last 3 games including a DNP vs CMS. So, with that, CLU loses some muscle and depth in the middle, but as seen vs CMS, their main horses all play most of the game. Meier, Knudsen, Fisher all played almost the entire game. I assume Rider will play his guys 35+ minutes without question.

[stag44]

All SCIAC Teams:

POY: Chris Blees, CMS (back-to-back)

1st Team:
Kyle Knudsen, CLU
Dave Liss, PP
Justin Sexton, PP
Jack Hanley, Oxy
Greg Grimm, CLU

2nd Team:
Drew Menez or Damon Perry, Whittier
Mike Edwards, Caltech
Pat Lacey, CMS
Pat Coffey, Redlands
Deshun McCoy, Oxy

[OxyBob]

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.

Naturally I hope that Oxy wins the SCIAC tournament and gets the AQ, but if Claremont wins it then the Stags better end up ranked ahead of Chapman (No. 391 of 407 OWP) in the regional rankings because it'd otherwise be a joke.

PC, I can't remember: Was Oxy regionally ranked ahead of Claremont in 2006 when the Stags won the conference but Oxy hosted the first round playoff game?

POY: Chris Blees, CMS (back-to-back)

No way. Kyle Knudsen wins it.

OxyBob

[stag44]

POY: Chris Blees, CMS (back-to-back)

No way. Kyle Knudsen wins it.

OxyBob

Trust me, I think its a close call between the two, but given that CMS won the SCIAC by 2 games, and CLU struggled through a 2-5 start, it will be tough to give it to Kyle. I do agree that if you take Blees away from the Stags and replace him with an average SCIAC starter, the Stags probably drop 2-3 games, but if you take Knudsen away from CLU, they probably drom 4-6 games more.

But, the SCIAC usually gives the POY to the conference title winner. I thought last year as well, Knudsen deserved merit for the POY, more so than this year, but came up as a 1st teamer. I would not be opposed to a Co-POY, but for as long as I can go back, I dont remember a POY going to a non SCIAC championship player.

in 04-05, Alexander Lloyd won the SCIAC POY for PP, but his numbers were good but not POY good. PP won the title that year though, so he got it. The consensus was that Brian Jolley should have gotten it, but because CMS didn't win he didn't get it.

[Gregory Sager]

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.

The seating requirements are only relevant in terms of hosting sectionals. In order to host sectionals a school has to have a 1000-seat gym. For first- and second-round games, the NCAA's only requirement is that the gym have a regulation-size floor. There are no seating-capacity stipulations whatsoever. The rules are spelled out under the Site Selection heading on page 7 of the 2010 D3 men's basketball championship handbook.

[tigersports]

We will be broadcasting the Oxy-CMS game at www.oxybroadcast.com.  Good luck, Tigers.

[OxyBob]

For first- and second-round games, the NCAA's only requirement is that the gym have a regulation-size floor.

There is a basketball court inside Ducey Gym, but not much else. Maybe I'll bring a tape measure with me and see if the floor is regulation size.

In preparation for Friday's contest, knowing the potential for having a very large crowd in Ducey Gym, we want to alert fans to the pre-event planning and measures we are taking to provide the best possible environment for these games.

...
2.  Seating is first come, first served; if we reach capacity we will have to stop admitting spectators.
3.  CMS fans will sit on the west side bleachers and the half of the east side behind the CMS team bench; OXY fans will sit in the half of the west side bleachers behind the OXY team bench and in the balcony seating area.
4.  At some point we will have to stop admitting fans as all seats and available standing area will be filled. Those turned away are welcome to return at halftime, and will be admitted if space is available.
...
9.  Because Ducey Gym does not have air conditioning, there is concern with the heat and humidity created by the crowd. We have rented air circulation units in an effort to keep air moving in the gym and balcony area to keep the facility cooler.
...

OxyBob

[Pat Coleman]

PC, I can't remember: Was Oxy regionally ranked ahead of Claremont in 2006 when the Stags won the conference but Oxy hosted the first round playoff game?

We can reasonably assume so. Here's the last regional ranking we saw that year:

West
1 UW-Stout 16-4 19-5
2 Puget Sound 15-2 20-4
3 Carleton 17-4 20-5
4 Occidental 11-3 18-4
5 UW-Whitewater 15-5 19-5
6 UW-La Crosse 17-6 19-6
7 Wartburg 17-4 19-5
8 St. Thomas 18-5 20-5

Oxy, of course, subsequently lost in order to get into the situation in the first place.

Remember, too, in this instance CMS is already behind Chapman and in your hypothetical neither of them will lose.

[OxyBob]

PC, I can't remember: Was Oxy regionally ranked ahead of Claremont in 2006 when the Stags won the conference but Oxy hosted the first round playoff game?

We can reasonably assume so.
...

Oxy, of course, subsequently lost in order to get into the situation in the first place.

Remember, too, in this instance CMS is already behind Chapman and in your hypothetical neither of them will lose.

My hypothetical assumes that Claremont wins two games in the SCIAC tournament while Chapman sits idle growing rust and gathering dust. Are the regional rankings released this week the final ones? Has the NCAA disposed of the secret ranking on Selection Sunday that the public does not get to see?

OxyBob

[stag44]

My hypothetical assumes that Claremont wins two games in the SCIAC tournament while Chapman sits idle growing rust and gathering dust. Are the regional rankings released this week the final ones? Has the NCAA disposed of the secret ranking on Selection Sunday that the public does not get to see?

OxyBob

I think we can be sure that the Chapman staff and players will be around the Claremont Colleges tonight. I bet they are hoping for someone else besides CMS in the NCAAs. I'm actually very curious what they are doing to stay competitive and in game mode.

But, enough about those panthers, we got some GREAT games tonight.
6th street will be full of hoops tonight, and you have options to view both games.

Should be fun, but a downer is that PP-CLU has no stats,audio, or video. CMS-Oxy will have live stats and should have audio as well.

[tigersports]

CMS-Oxy will have live stats and should have audio as well.

We certainly will.  www.oxybroadcast.com.  Should be a fun night. 

[tigersports]

By the way, if there is anyone going to the PP-CLU game tonight and has mobile IM, I and my listeners would appreciate it if we could exchange frequent updates.  Text might be a bit dicey at Ducey as I may have to use my cel phone as a modem, so Mobile IM is preferred.  Let me know at contact@oxybroadcast.com and I'll make it happen.  Thanks in advance.

[oldchap]

I think we can be sure that the Chapman staff and players will be around the Claremont Colleges tonight. I bet they are hoping for someone else besides CMS in the NCAAs.

Chapman staff and players don't care about anything except to be in the tournament. They will be happy to take on any opponent: Oxy, which they haven't played this year and hope to beat to add yet another win to their stellar 2-year record against the SCIAC; CLU, which they beat twice already this season; PP, which they beat once and CMS, which they hope to show that their one point win was just a fluke.

We'll know for sure on Sunday, but let's assume the Panthers make it to the tournament. I don't know what the final outcome will be but rest assured that I know a bunch of guys in this team who have a chip on their shoulder. They have been bashed and trashed for the last 2 years on these forums and have something to prove. So, whoever shows up at their gym on March 5th better be ready. And if it's one and out for Chapman, so be it. But for those who think that whoever goes to Spokane is going to come back to So Cal with their tail between their legs, I got news for you. If Chapman gets that chance, they won't be intimidated and could very well stun the pundits.