MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[diehardfan]

So, basically diehardfan, you're saying that Oxy isn't that great without Betty?  Here in the NWC, we consider basketball a team sport -- injuries happen, but there's someone eager & ready to pick up where that one left off.  All teams deal with injuries and heaven forbid, academic ineligibility -- but they win & lose as a team.   I hope Betty gets better if they have to play either LC or Whitworth because they are both deep teams -- lots of talent!

No, that's actually not what I said at all. What I said was essentially that any team who loses an All American caliber player, and a senior team leader is not going to be as good as they would have been when he was playing. At the very least, they're going to have to make some major adjustments, and that takes time to do well, and may not be easily done when it only becomes necessary the week of the playoffs.

That's just common sense, and it's not the same as just any old player getting an injury... and you know it. If Oxy is unsuccessful without him, and I'm not even necessarily saying they will be, I don't think it would be fair to instantly judge and dismiss the attention they have gotten to date as inaccurate and unfounded. A different team will have lost than the one that received that attention.

[diehardfan]

We then find out that Cal Lu lost and Oxy was in anyway.  No one really cares.

As I've already explained, this game mattered a lot in terms of regional ranking and playoff seeding. This game may be the difference between a hosting nod, or not. There's no way to tell. That's why there are no games that are meaningless against a fellow DIII regional opponent.

[tigersports]

What I meant, but did not state clearly, was that no one really cared that Cal Lu had lost in the aftermath of what happened.

[tigersports]

OB, I focused on the lack of imagination exhibited by the WC cheering section and that more should be expected from a SCIAC school.  That's something I would expect from Oregon State.

[Gregory Sager]

OB, I focused on the lack of imagination exhibited by the WC cheering section and that more should be expected from a SCIAC school.  That's something I would expect from Oregon State.

When your team's nickname is the Poets, your student section's vulgarity should at least rhyme, if nothing else.

[TeeDub]

Through Thursday:

Rank   QOWI   Rk in-reg   Team   Reg. W-L   Overall
2   11.565   1   UW-Stevens Point   0.958 (23-1)   24-2
6   10.692   2   St. Thomas   0.885 (23-3)   23-3
12   10.412   3   Occidental   0.824 (14-3)   19-5
15   10.391   4   St. John's   0.870 (20-3)   20-6
30   10.000   5   Loras   0.818 (18-4)   20-6
34   9.913   6   UW-La Crosse   0.739 (17-6)   19-7
35   9.909   7   Whitworth   0.864 (19-3)   22-3
38   9.833   8   UW-Oshkosh   0.750 (18-6)   21-6
41   9.778   9   Lewis and Clark   0.778 (14-4)   19-6
67   9.235   10   Redlands   0.765 (13-4)   17-7
72   9.148   11   UW-Whitewater   0.667 (18-9)   18-9
85   9.000   12   Pomona-Pitzer   0.688 (11-5)   16-8
89   8.952   13   Puget Sound   0.714 (15-6)   18-7
90   8.952   14   Buena Vista   0.667 (14-7)   17-8
91   8.952   15   Cal Lutheran   0.619 (13-8)   17-8
96   8.880   16   Coe   0.680 (17-8)   19-8
98   8.783   17   Simpson   0.609 (14-9)   18-9
104   8.720   18   Bethel   0.680 (17-8)   18-8
129   8.353   19   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   0.588 (10-7)   15-10
148   8.118   20   Chapman   0.706 (12-5)   19-5
150   8.095   21   UW-Platteville   0.524 (11-10)   13-12
156   8.000   22   Gustavus Adolphus   0.538 (14-12)   14-13
169   7.889   23   Pacific   0.556 (10-8)   12-13
174   7.864   24   Carleton   0.500 (11-11)   11-15
190   7.654   25   St. Olaf   0.500 (13-13)   13-14

[RFB]

Congrats to Redlands on a fine season. They really pulled out all the stops this year and did their best to send Gary Smith out on a high note. The more I read and hear about this Lowery guy I can't help but hope that Jeff Martinez can snag him away from Pacific. He seems like a bright, up and coming coach. He would be perfect to lead the charge in revitalizing Redlands basketball. I hope it happens.

[RFB]

Also, congrats to Oxy in winning SCIAC and good luck in the playoffs.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

From Oxy's website:

Tigers Head for NCAA Tourney

(February 23, 2007)

The Occidental men's basketball team clinched the conference championship and its third trip to the NCAA tourney in five years Thursday night with a thrilling, last-second double overtime victory at Whittier, 63-61.

With the game tied at 61 and just 7 seconds on the clock, junior guard Connor Whitman stole the ball as Whittier was inbounding and passed it to junior forward Chris Pitcher, who hit an 18-footer with less than 2 seconds to spare. A mid-court desperation shot from the never-say-die Poets, who won just three SCIAC games this season, clanged off the rim but failed to drop.

The Tigers, ranked No. 19 this week by D3hoops.com, finished conference play with a 12-2 record, 19-5 overall. They now advance to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the second consecutive year. Playoff brackets are scheduled to be released at approximately 9 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 26.

[bucs77]

DHF,
         Thats what I was wondering.  How does Oxy have such a high QOWI.  Who have they played? and the league isn't too tough top to bottom.  Is it just that the teams they have played are mostly around or above .500.  I think WW got screwed by having two teams in the league who were above .500 lose 4 of their last 5 and drop everyone's QOWI in the NWC.  If thats the case there is nothing that you can do about that.  I'm talking about preseason scheduling, should WW have done anything different?

[Sabretooth Tiger]

That's what I'm talking about -- the QOWI --  how is it that Oxy has such a high rating when it plays Cal Tech twice & Whittier twice.   What coulda, shoulda, mighta been doesn't count -- only actual wins & players actually playing count.   Whitworth beat Cal Lutheran which is one of SCIAC's big guns, right? 

I'm not arguing that it was a great win for Oxy or that Whittier might have been having a late season burst, but c'mon 62-60 with TWO overtimes?  The game at LC against UPS was 66-60 in regulation and everyone wondered why such low scores. 

Guess we'll find out in the playoffs, but it seems that Oxy might be overrated on paper.

Just like there would have been no impact on Linfield's football program in '05 if Brett Elliott or Casey Allen had gone down and no impact on Tiger football if Andy Collins got hurt . . .

Of course it's a "team" bbaddict.  Isn't the the quality of a team determined by the sum of its parts and how they fit together?  If you have to replace a key team member with one who is not as experienced, talented, etc., then the quality of the team may be impacted don't you think?

As far as who Oxy's played, that can be found here:
http://departments.oxy.edu/athletics/basketball-men/scheduleresults.htm

As Whitworth's schedule and results can be found here:
http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/Schedules/Index.aspx?id=2

The differences in the QWI index are no doubt explained  and supported by a quick look at the results of Whitworth's and Oxy's outings against the Mighty Beavers of Caltech.

Oxy won by point differentials of +63 and +76 whereas the Bearcats managed to "bearly" (so funny) squeek by da Beavers with a +53

ipso, ergo, factor, veni, vidi, vici, res ipsa loquitur

[bucs77]

Who are the Bearcats?  There be Pirates in these Waters

[Browneagle64]

Congratulations to the Tigers in getting the 07 Bball crown.

As i had expected, imagined and posted several days ago, Oxy's game against whitter shouldn't have been looked beyond. However, things happen and all we can do is just move on.

Since the post-season is just right around the corner and likely to arrive at the Rock, I just can't help to stop laughing at the posters from the NWC or from any other league who jump on this board and are ready to discredit a league champ. They did it last year with CMS and when Oxy was allowed into the dance. The only difference this year is that their beloved NWC representing team doesn't get a BYE and its not at their homecourt.
With the experience that several Oxy players have and the emergence of other players who did a fine job this season, It sure is going to be funny when these NWC poster start to eat crow on their ride back north. Let the big dance begin and lets see what the Powers that Be do for Oxy's first dance.

[Gray Fox]

(and a certain announcer goes the Leonard Tose route).

Leonard Tose "lost it".  You just were happy that the frustrating game was over.

Don't make that scoreboard operator your internet guru.

[bucs77]

I don't think anyone is discrediting OXY.  It is tough to win any league championship so congrats to them.  I was simply wondering as to why their QOWI is so much higher lets take a look at the schedules:

                                                                          WW                                          OXY
tough preseason opponents:                     Wheaton (win)                          St. Thomas (loss)
                                                                   Cal Lu  (win)                        Wisconsin Lutheran? (win)
                                                                   Eastern? (win)                       Williams? (win)
                                                                   Bethany Lutheran? (win) 

Again I am not discrediting them at all, but rather using the arguement that some CCIW fans use.  Because we are in a tougher league where anyone can lose on any given night (UPS to Whitman) the league beats itself up and you have many teams who would be top three and at least 4 in the sciac finishing under 500 in the NWC which brings down all of our QOWI once they drop below that point.  All I am saying is that I think if OXY played WW's schedule they would be around 21-4 or 22-3 and if WW had played Oxys schedule they would be right where OXY is.  Its just a matter of playing the schedule you were dealt and hoping that the teams you beat don't lose 4 of their last 5 or something