MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[stag44]

Lets have a look at tonight's SCIAC matchups:

CalTech @ CMS
Coming off a nail-biting win where, in my opinion, CMS stole a win from Whittier, CMS gets to take on an improving CalTech team. They have actually been competitive vs PP and Oxy the last two game. I think this is a testament to their coach who has made the necessary adjustments vs teams in the 2nd half of league. He and the players must have studied and watched film of their first round matchups with the teams and improved how they attack them.

That being said, I think CMS will be ready for this matchup even if they have a daunting 3 game road-stretch and finale vs PP that would make it easy to overlook CalTech. While it is an important game, I see Scali giving his main guys a little more rest. Blees has played 34+ minutes every game in SCIAC minus opening game vs Caltech. Most of the other starters are also logging 30+ minutes as well. It might be well served to get Mivshek, Grodahl, Sullivan, and Donnelly some quality minutes in real game time. The Stags bench was a HUGE asset during the non-conference schedule where subs often increased the leads and further wore down teams. It seems to me that while Grodahl has really shined in conference and has become a knock down shooter, they need some more from Mivshek and Donnelly. Mivshek needs to remain aggressive on offense and attack the rim. He's asked to come in off the bench and pressure the ball and create offense for the the 2nd unit getting to the rim and drawing defenders to his penetration.

I really want the Stags to impose themselves defensively. They haven't had a signature Scali defensive game in SCIAC yet.

Should be an easy-ish win for the Stags, but I have been impressed with CalTech's resilience so far in the 2nd half of conference. Alex Runkel had an impressive 16 and 16 vs Oxy and Edwards is a very capable scorer.

CMS beats Caltech 73-48


Redlands @ Whittier
This is the game of the night. Both teams are 6-3 coming of tough road defeats to PP and CMS respectively. To a certain extent they are jockeying for SCIAC playoff positioning. The winner here almost lock a spot in the playoffs, while the loser may have to sweat it out over the last 4 games. In their last matchup, they had an NBA type score with Redlands winning at home 103-91. The interesting thing about both these teams is that they both score by committee. In their last matchup, 10 players scored in double figures and no one scored over 21 pts. To beat either team you have to play strong TEAM defense as well as INDIVIDUAL defense. Whittier is exceptionally good at creating isolations on what they believe are mismatches. Against the Stags, they ran the same set at least 8 times that got Easterman the ball on the right elbow with a shooter pitched on his strong side corner and let him operate vs Maciera or Sullivan. It was the same set they ran on the last possession when he missed the game winner. I have yet to see Redlands play, but it seems like on any night they have a different leading scorer and are unselfish with the ball.

I give the edge to Whittier as they have the experience and home court.

Whittier wins a barnburner 98-93

CLU @ PP
This will be an interesting matchup. It pits physicality against finesse and shooting. At the same time, both teams like playing at a slower pace, and I assume this will be no different. CLU will rely heavily on Van Klaveren, Nettles, and Harris to provide scoring. PP will get its scoring from Cohen and Klukas, but also have a more balanced approach.

Aside from their disappointing 3-6 SCIAC record, Aaron Van Klaveran is putting up SCIAC POY type numbers. His production has actually increased in conference where he is averaging 17.4ppg and 12.9rpg, shooting 64% from the field. These are number that I'm not sure have every been had through 9 SCIAC games.

Both teams are scoring and giving up around 60ppg. I expect this game to be played in a similar manner.

PP wins at home and remains in 2nd place alone 61-54

ULV @ Oxy
This is a must win for Oxy to remain relevant in playoff race. If they lose this game and go to 4-6, if gives the top 4 teams some breathing room and makes it even more difficult for them to sneak into 4th. By winning they go 5-5 and will just be 1 game out of 4th. They do arguably have the most difficult stretch in though with games @Whittier, @PP and vs CMS.

ULV gets the chance to play spoiler. At 2-7 they are essentially knocked out of contention, but have the opportunity to affect the SCIAC race.

I really have no clue in this game, but am going with Oxy winning at home 68-61, making the SCIAC race interesting.

[OxyBob]

ULV @ Oxy
This is a must win for Oxy to remain relevant in playoff race.

Oxy has to win and root for Redlands to beat Whittier. UR already swept Oxy, so the Tigers can't get into the conference tournament if they end up tied with the Bulldogs. If Oxy beats ULV and Redlands beats Whittier, then Oxy will have a chance to tie Whittier when they play the Poets on the 11th.

In the first game between Oxy and ULV, the Tigers won 69-67 in OT on Jake Copithorne's layup with 2 secs to go.

OxyBob

[cmsme]

So the rankings are out, and CMS is ranked 5th in one of the 8 regions--which doesn't seem very favorable to me.
Actually, I don't understand these rankings. The top ranked team in the West region is UW River Falls, which is ranked #25 on d3hoops. Then the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the West region are also UW teams that are ranked #12 and #4 on d3hoops. Why is the NCAA rankings so different from d3hoops?
Who are the NCAA people who do these rankings? Why do they have weekly rankings? do they want to throw something out there and then see what people's reactions are?

And, regarding the CMS Whittier game, there is a video (if anyone is interested) of the last Whittier basket where the ball bounced very slowly 3 times on the rim and then rolled off as the buzzer sounded. It was as if God wanted CMS to win.

[Mr. Ypsi]

cmsme, the selection (and regional ranking) criteria are spelled out in FAQ on d3hoops.com.  They are almost totally objective criteria (decided by d3 member institutions, not selection committees), leaving the committees very little subjective decision room (probably only in deciding how to weight the criteria in cases of close calls).  The poll is NOT a selection criterion.

Since the UW schools still have games remaining against each other, you may pass one or more of them.  But the best advice (as always) is "Win the AQ and don't leave any selection committee doubts!"

[cmsme]

Mr. Yipsi--thank you for your response. I still have some questions:

Aren't the rankings still important, even if we win the AQ because that will determine who and where we play? Aren't the rankings somewhat equivalent to seedings? e.g. it is better to be #1 than #8?

and, when i look at the other regions' rankings, 3 out of the 8 regions have unranked teams as their #1 team. With the West region's #1 team being ranked #25 on d3hooops, this means that almost HALF of the ncaa #1 teams are unranked on d3hoops.
I understand that the methods are differenct. ncaa uses a formula and d3hoops uses people's opinion but the statistics are the same.
The two rankings are so different that either I am misunderstanding something or something is off.

For the West Region:
ncaa raning     d3hoops ranking
1                  25
2                  12
3                   4
4                   9
5                  11
6                  unranked
7                  unranked
8                  unranked
9                  unranked


thank you.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Yes, presumably the rankings are relevant for seeding purposes (though the national committee has sometimes rather laughably insisted that there are no seedings!). 

And, yes, the stats are the same, except the criteria use only limited stats (such things as margin of victory, 'bad losses', etc. are totally irrelevant).  Poll voters use those 'irrelevant stats' as well as the 'eye test'.  Although it is obviously subject to abuse, I personally wish the ranking/selection committees had a bit MORE leeway for subjective decisions.

Of course, as OxyBob and others will remind you, being on the 'left coast' d3 island, the 'flight averse' bean counters will have you pitted against Whitworth in the first or second round regardless of seedings.

[OxyBob]

Aren't the rankings still important, even if we win the AQ because that will determine who and where we play?

Look, don't rack your brain or worry your pretty little head about AQs and regional rankings. If CMS wins the SCIAC tournament, then the Stags (Pool A) will play their first round playoff game at Whitworth (Pool A). If they don't win the SCIAC tournament then CMS (Pool C) will play their first round playoff game at whoever wins the SCIAC tournament (Pool A), and if Claremont wins that game then they'll play their second round game at Whitworth, which will have had a first round bye.

There, that was easy.

Last night's scores:

Oxy 65, La Verne 58 -- OC: Hanley 20, McCoy 16 pts and 12 rebs, Montoya 11. ULV: Napolitano 16, Woodland 13, Bastos 11

Whittier 94, Redlands 91 -- WC: Easterman 28, Preer 22, Menez 13. UR: Estrada 21, Calhoun 15, Colston 14, Kirk 11, Brensdal 10, Kuklok 10

Claremont 93, Caltech 62 -- CMS: Maceira 15, Anderson 13, Donnelly 13, Blees 12. CIT: Joel 14, Wang 13, Paluchniak 10

Cal Lutheran 47, Pomona 46 -- CLU: Van Klaveren 12 pts and 15 rebs. PP: Zahniser 13

Saturday's schedule:

Cal Lutheran (8-12, 4-6 SCIAC) @ Caltech (5-16, 0-10)
Oxy (9-11, 5-5) @ Whittier (15-6, 7-3)
Claremont (20-1, 9-1) @ Redlands (11-10, 6-4)
Pomona (12-8, 7-3) @ La Verne (5-16, 2-8)

OxyBob

[(509)Rat]

Do you know what being ranked #1 in the regional rankings (and the country) gets you when you are way out west? A trip to Ohio for the 3rd and 4th rounds...

As long as both teams take care of business don't be shocked when you see CMS being sent to Spokane or both teams sent to a 4 team pod in Wisconsin somewhere.

[stag44]

Do you know what being ranked #1 in the regional rankings (and the country) gets you when you are way out west? A trip to Ohio for the 3rd and 4th rounds...

As long as both teams take care of business don't be shocked when you see CMS being sent to Spokane or both teams sent to a 4 team pod in Wisconsin somewhere.

Would be nice to see CMS squeak ahead of Whitworth in the regional rankings so they can host the game. Both venues provide HUGE home court advantages. The Fieldhouse in Spokane was one of the best college venues I have seen and the entire atmosphere of student section and community was incredible. CMS provides a similar advantage to the Stags as Ducey Gym is a small, extremely warm, and intimate setting for teams to play in.

In any case, it would be nice to see them both shipped to Wisconsin or Minnesota for a 4-team Pod where they have the opportunity to play against someone else. This is all far away though as all teams involved have at least 5 more games with potentially more.

[cmsme]

I am so confused about these rankings that I looked up Wisconsin on the US map--and it is not in the West--despite the fact that the top 3 teams in the Western Region are in Wisconsin.
In fact, Wisconsin doesn't even look like it is in the western half of the US. The whole things is so absurd my head is going to explode. 
And I would really prefer not to go to Spokane.  REmember Stag44 when you were a senior and the team plane got delayed for hours and your parents were trying to drive thru the snow and mountains and almost missed the game?
And Oxy Bob--I always laugh at your comments but I do try to avoid being a target.

And on another note, I watched the end of the Redlands/Whittier and Pomona/Cal Lu games!!! So freaking exciting. All the SCIAC teams are amazing this year.

[stag44]

Last night's scores:

Oxy 65, La Verne 58 -- OC: Hanley 20, McCoy 16 pts and 12 rebs, Montoya 11. ULV: Napolitano 16, Woodland 13, Bastos 11

Whittier 94, Redlands 91 -- WC: Easterman 28, Preer 22, Menez 13. UR: Estrada 21, Calhoun 15, Colston 14, Kirk 11, Brensdal 10, Kuklok 10

Claremont 93, Caltech 62 -- CMS: Maceira 15, Anderson 13, Donnelly 13, Blees 12. CIT: Joel 14, Wang 13, Paluchniak 10

Cal Lutheran 47, Pomona 46 -- CLU: Van Klaveren 12 pts and 15 rebs. PP: Zahniser 13

OxyBob

As expected, CMS took care of business. Nice to see that no one played more than 25 minutes and 6 players had between 9 and 13 points while 11 players scored in total.

In a real shocker, CLU defeated PP last night on the road. thats a BIG loss for the Sagehens in the SCIAC race and give the Stags a little bit of breathing room.

Whittier came storming back from 10 down with 5:30 to go to win. Looks like it was a very exciting finish with Redlands tying the game with 30 seconds left on a 3 and then whittier making FTs to with down the stretch.

Oxy winning last night also propels them into a conversation. They are 5-5, winners of 3 straight, but have a very difficult stretch coming in with CMS, PP and Whittier still on the schedule. If they can some how finish 3-1 it will make things very interesting.

Updated SCIAC Standings

CMS      9-1
PP        7-3
Whitter  7-3
Redlands 6-4
Oxy        5-5
CLU        4-6
ULV       2-8
Caltech  0-10

[stag44]

And I would really prefer not to go to Spokane.  REmember Stag44 when you were a senior and the team plane got delayed for hours and your parents were trying to drive thru the snow and mountains and almost missed the game?

Oh trust me I remember it very vividly. They deserved the home-bid that year though. It was a great game for the 1st half, but they really wore us down and outplayed and outexecuted us on the offensive end. Nakamura tore up the court and really frustrated Toney that game.

It would be a very interesting match up though. Whitworth presents alot of problems on the offensive end. Friedt is a big time post, Idrissi Gebbers and Loofborrow provide a good scoring trio from the perimeter. Would be curious to see how the Stags would try and attack them as well.

[etule]

Great win for Oxy! Go Tigers. Whittier in shoot out. I think both of those teams are dangerous!
Hanley has a great game!

[OxyBob]

Oxy winning last night also propels them into a conversation. They are 5-5, winners of 3 straight, but have a very difficult stretch coming in with CMS, PP and Whittier still on the schedule. If they can some how finish 3-1 it will make things very interesting.

It's going to be a long shot for Oxy to make the conference tournament. In addition to Whittier, Claremont, and Pomona, Oxy also has to play Cal Lutheran, to whom they already lost. Oxy has to keep winning and hope for some help from La Verne, which has Pomona at home this Saturday. Oxy has a challenge deluxe on Saturday in the GAC against Whittier. The Poets easily brushed off the Tigers 65-46 when they played at Oxy on Jan. 14. Oxy would have to pass Redlands in the standings because the Bulldogs have the tiebreaker with the Tigers. Unless Redlands completely collapses, that probably isn't going to happen.

OxyBob

[Hoopsallthetime]

Coach Ken Scalmanini will be on Hoopsville tonight at 6:30pm to discuss this year teams success. If you are interested in hearing his take on the 11 ranked CMS Stags and how he feels about the upcoming schedule please listen tonight!!!!

****Click on http://d3hoops.com/hoopsville/index

Hoopsville is tonight from 8-10 PM EST. You can also follow @d3hoopsville on Twitter to get all the updates!