MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Redlands Rick]

KGB? J-R:

Question all you want...

I'm loving our victories. 

[TeeDub]

KGB? J-R:

Question all you want...

I'm loving our victories. 

I guess that is the difference between us....I love our team.

[scandihoovian]

Rick-

I am sure you are right - I think Newhall, Kats, Rider, et al are just now figuring out who this Mazerei character is 

And how precisely would you condition a team to play against the system when the players who run the system can't do it for much more than 15-16 minutes a game?

As a Redlands booster it seems that you should just be pleased that so far this year the system seems to be accomplishing two of its main goals: 1) your good shooters are hard to keep track of amidst the chaos and, 2) by the end of the night the other team is run down and less effective.

[sciacguru]

I am sure you are right - I think Newhall, Kats, Rider, et al are just now figuring out who this Mazerei character is 

Well....I think Rider has....

[DIIIghetto]

SCIAC teams do as good of a job at scouting as anyone.  At least the Big 3 historically have, particularly Kats.  They definitely know how to scout Redlands.  Redlands is winning moreso because Gary has put subtle tweaks in on the defensive end.  They have always put up points.  We'll see if they can sweep the 2nd half.  I have my doubts.  I can't see PP losing to them at home.  CLU at Redlands will be another W that is tough for them.  CMS at home, well, unless Scali can find a way to stop his team from this downward spiral that makes no sense to anyone, then Redlands should get them.  I know Redlands will be looking forward to playing Oxy in their last game at Redlands.  Probably will have a huge contingent of former players.  Gym will be packed.  Judging how the Redlands players reacted in beating Oxy the other night, it is clear that they understand the significance of beating the highly regarded Tigers. 

And speaking of the Tigers, does that program teach defense to its perimeter players?  The luck of the banked 3 by Maz notwithstanding, they couldn't stop him again.  Some of the looks on the faces of Oxy's guards told the story...damn dogg, I can't stop this fool.   Hats off to that guy.  Rarely do you get the luxury of seeing good guards have that broken look on their face.  Kind of like the dude from Aurora who had his ankles broke by Song a couple of years ago. 

Kats is like a hunter with a loaded gun approaching a wounded deer. 

[scandihoovian]

Ghetto-

Solid post as usual - but I just wanted to point out that Redlands is at CLU on Feb. 7th.  I used to think that the old short court actually helped the Bulldogs maintain their pressure.  It will be fun to watch their first trip to the new gym.

[DIIIghetto]

Scandi, thanks for the correction.  I'll revise my prediction accordingly.  Very little likelihood that Redlands wins in that great new facility.

[TeeDub]

Ghetto-

Solid post as usual - but I just wanted to point out that Redlands is at CLU on Feb. 7th.  I used to think that the old short court actually helped the Bulldogs maintain their pressure.  It will be fun to watch their first trip to the new gym.

Scandi, thanks for the correction.  I'll revise my prediction accordingly.  Very little likelihood that Redlands wins in that great new facility.

I think playing this particular Cal Lu team is difficult no matter where you play them.

[Browneagle64]

Sounds like the tigers did a great job in handling the leo's on saturday. Not to sure what's going on at the Super tents these days and why the mighty leo's are having a rough time. Hoprfully they can answer some of these questions or eventually fall even further down than Cal tech. Haha, just kidding

Bob, any eye witness reports from the tents? At what point did you see the Tiger bench clear out for the 1st string to get rest and the "B" unit to get experince? When was this game put away? Did Betty and whitman each drop 20 pts each? Did Sentor. Obmam finally get a chance to score a fade away shot before the half?
I understand that this is 1 small step in stay afloat at the top of the SCIAC, but this sure is the fire that the boys in Orange and black need to finish of a good month in Janurary.

[DIIIghetto]

Congrats to PP.   Kats bagged the buck and straightened things out in Claremont.  Another sweep was simply out of the question.  PP will run the table for 3 games and bring themselves back into the conversation.   

[sciacguru]

The new Top 25 poll is out. Oxy dropped 3 spots to No. 18. Even more notably, Redlands appears in the "Others Receiving Votes" category, which goes to show what a big deal it is to beat the Tigers. Congratulations to the Bulldogs.

I am curious as to why Redlands is receiving votes.  Granted they beat Oxy (who should be in the top 20) at Eagle Rock.  But the Bulldogs did lose by 44 pts at home in a conference that is not well respected....while the Kingsmen have beaten two teams that are leading their conferences in Messiah (8-0) and Alvernia (9-1).   I truly believe that neither are deserving of votes....but for the sake of arguing...........

[diehardfan]

Well, it may be partially my fault, since a bunch of people noticed and listened in on the Oxy-Redlands game cause I posted the broadcast link on the Top 25 page. Like everything, recognition often takes effective publicity on top of actual merit. That's probably giving myself too much credit though.

I am a bit different from many of the HOFer posters in that I openly lobby for people and teams I am a fan of (based purely on whether or not they deserve it, I can be pretty hard on my own team, for example). I was a HUGE lobbyist for Oxy all season long and they, at least for a while, demonstrated that they deserve to be payed attention to. I honestly think Oxy is better than last year, but have no clue if that will transfer into any sort of postseason success. Their ranking was getting a little uncomfortably high for me before they lost to Redlands. 20 give or take a few seems more appropriate ( I have a feeling Oxy's close loss to St Thomas is helping them more than it should cause St Thomas is too high) The NWC tops seem a little down (i haven't had a chance to see any live though) so I don't know, I round one win doesn't seem out of the question. But they could end up making me look stupid, with a random slump last year. I hope not though.

Redlands absolutely had me fascinated last week. I really thought they could give some good teams fits if they play like that on a consistant basis. I haven't had a chance to look at QOWI numbers, but if they if they keep it up they could get a pool C, or A for that matter. I don't think its unreasonable for the voters to take notice of that - esp in light of how many of the teams which, like my alma mater, took deserving precipitous drops. If my team is really that close to deserving a ranking, and I am more impressed with how Redlands is playing than my team (Wheaton is playing nowhere near potential), then why not?

CLU vs Redlands coming up is going to be important (duh) in terms of CLU's recognition. Obviously Redlands will fall off the radar if they

[diehardfan]

(sorry, my phone has a text size limit) if they lose. CLU may not get on though unless they post a couple signature wins. If the perception is that a conference is weak, a team pretty much has to win out (like Amherst is doing) to gain national attention. Until SCIAC makes pretty consistant playoff runs, that's just the reality, and for arguably pretty darn good reason!

[sciacguru]

CLU may not get on though unless they post a couple signature wins.

Thanks for the insight diehardfan.

With all the publicity Redlands is getting, good or bad, I figured that had to be the main reason why they are receiving votes.  Any win over a top 25 team will be considered a "signature win."  Would the Kingsmen wins over Messiah and Alvernia be considered "signature wins?"  Granted the losses to Chapman and Pacific are "signature losses" because they are in region, but both sig. wins are against current conference leaders with great winning %'s.  I am not completely familiar with the QOWI, could anyone tell me what the QOWI's are for all the teams in SCIAC?

As I mentioned before, I dont think neither Cal Lu nor Redlands are deserving of votes, but it makes for interesting discussion.

And for a long shot...if Lewis and Clark wins the NWC...how does that improve CLU's chances?  I know, I know....a lot of what if's...but what the heck.

[Pat Coleman]

CLU may not get on though unless they post a couple signature wins.

Thanks for the insight diehardfan.

With all the publicity Redlands is getting, good or bad, I figured that had to be the main reason why they are receiving votes.  Any win over a top 25 team will be considered a "signature win."  Would the Kingsmen wins over Messiah and Alvernia be considered "signature wins?"  Granted the losses to Chapman and Pacific are "signature losses" because they are in region, but both sig. wins are against current conference leaders with great winning %'s.  I am not completely familiar with the QOWI, could anyone tell me what the QOWI's are for all the teams in SCIAC?

As I mentioned before, I dont think neither Cal Lu nor Redlands are deserving of votes, but it makes for interesting discussion.

And for a long shot...if Lewis and Clark wins the NWC...how does that improve CLU's chances?  I know, I know....a lot of what if's...but what the heck.

There are about 40 conferences in Division III. Merely beating some conference's leader doesn't  stand for a whole lot. It's something I hear a lot of coaches try to use as spin to get into some ranking or another but the PnAC and the MACC are not world-beaters.