MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

Yes, but Texas schools always get grouped with the "West" for playoffs.   So much for "West Coast bias."

"Always"? Check the tournament archives. The ASC teams have played West Coast teams in the opening weekend in about half of the tournaments over the past decade, not "always".

[OxyFan21]

The PP vs. Oxy game should be interesting, considering both teams won their respective "away" games this year...We'll see what happens.  As for the NCAA switching their minds...well...just, well...

Good luck to the Tigers.  Wish I could be there.

[bbaddict]

Thanks for the insights on the Oxy/PP game.  From the scores, it sounds like they're both strong defensive teams.

Yeah Sager -- "always" not a good word to use!  I still don't understand how anything east of Montana can be considered "West."   

[Browneagle64]

The only insight that i can add about tonights game (since oxybob et al... all did a great job highlighting already) is that thank goodness this is not a three day weekend.
The last time both clubs played on Feb 16 at the rock, a three day weekend was looming in the air. Most of the screaming student section wasn't there, the Tigers came out ice cold and OxyBob and Mr. Impleman (sp??) both couldn't get the old folks around the gym to start cheering as loud as coach Kats.
In my opinion, with a large crowd in hand cheering loud from the first jump ball all the way till the final second, i honestly believe the men in orange walk away with a victory.    

[nwhoops1903]

Well no wonder the left coast teams usually get screwed -- our "West" representative is from Iowa!!  The only other one for the West is in Texas!   Not much love for the Northwest schools or the Cali schools in that bunch.  They probably aren't even familiar with the teams!!  I'm upset for Cal Lu and I'm not even from your conference.  When I saw some of the win/loss records of some of the Pool C bids -- oh, it just makes me mad!

There are over twice as many schools in the midwestern portion of the West Region (41) as there are on the West Coast (18). And Texas is not in the West Region; the D3 member schools that are located in the Lone Star State are all within the South Region.

It is what it is, and the committee is representative of the members schools.  Geographically the far west is FAR FAR west with only 18 schools so it makes sense to me.  I don't think we out here in the far west should moan about our misfortune or lack of representation.  It only leads to the FAR west having a whiny reputation.  Buck up and show some brass. 

Winning solves everything.  UPS could have sent a good team as well, but guess what, they lost games they needed to win.  Cal Lu needed to win and didn't, simple as that.  They can blame themselves or blame Oxy for not winning the conf. tourney, either way...thats college hoops for ya. 

[LogShow]

You'll forgive me if I don't make a prediction. 5 straight times I predicted that Pomona would win, and instead they lost them all. Finally I predicted that the Sagehens would lose to Claremont, and they won. To keep my streak of wrong picks intact, I predicted that the Sagehens would win at Oxy. Ack! Pomona won. I predicted that Cal Lutheran would beat Pomona in the SCIAC tournament. Wrong again, Bob. For tonight I'll just keep my feelings to myself and hope for the best.

OxyBob

Bob I like your style with the superstitious reverse pychology when considering predictions.  Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. 

These teams seem pretty evenly matched, but I would be suprised if Oxy loses tonight.  I think the home court advantage, and Oxy probably feels like they have something to prove will tip the scales in their favor.

[scandihoovian]

It is what it is, and the committee is representative of the members schools.  Geographically the far west is FAR FAR west with only 18 schools so it makes sense to me.  I don't think we out here in the far west should moan about our misfortune or lack of representation.  It only leads to the FAR west having a whiny reputation.  Buck up and show some brass. 

Winning solves everything.  UPS could have sent a good team as well, but guess what, they lost games they needed to win.  Cal Lu needed to win and didn't, simple as that.  They can blame themselves or blame Oxy for not winning the conf. tourney, either way...thats college hoops for ya. 

Those of us who are Cal Lu supporters knew our situation was bleak after the loss to PP in the first round of the conference tourney.  The tone of your post suggests that Cal Lu was a second tier team that choked away several big games this season.  That is simply not the case.  In addition to winning a share of the regular season conference championship, I would argue that the Kingsmen had the best non conference season of any D3 team on the west coast.  This year's CLU team was one of the best SCIAC teams I've seen in recent years; a fact that only makes it more frustrating to miss out on the Tourney.

Does all of this mean I don't understand why they got left out? No.  All of us understand that on the west coast the only sure thing is the conference autobid, and we lost our shot at that when we lost to PP.  Are we frustrated?  Yes.  Whining?  No.

If you would like to hear some whining about a CLU  team that got most shafted by the NCAA this year, I'll be happy to tell you about the women's volleyball team.  They were the second place team in the SCIAC (always one of the strongest conferences in the country) at 11-3, and were coming off of an Elite Eight run in 2006.  They got left home 

Should be a good game tonight.  I think the Tigers are the better team, but as I've said many times, PP's strength is beating conference opponents.  I am pulling for the Tigers.  I think Coach Newhall has done a great job this year and I like Oxy's chances as a rep for the SCIAC.

[bbaddict]

[/quote]It is what it is, and the committee is representative of the members schools.  Geographically the far west is FAR FAR west with only 18 schools so it makes sense to me.  I don't think we out here in the far west should moan about our misfortune or lack of representation.  It only leads to the FAR west having a whiny reputation.  Buck up and show some brass. 

Winning solves everything.  UPS could have sent a good team as well, but guess what, they lost games they needed to win.  Cal Lu needed to win and didn't, simple as that.  They can blame themselves or blame Oxy for not winning the conf. tourney, either way...thats college hoops for ya. 
[/quote]

Apparently you weren't around in 2003 when Whitworth got screwed and didn't get home court.  I'm feeling Oxy's pain a little . . . and if there are so few schools in the Far west, then we definitely should have at least ONE representative on the committee.  At least west of Iowa somewhere!  And Cal Lu just did get cheated out of a Pool C when you look at who else got in.  No question.

[LogShow]

Logs,

I was just going to ask that, but, you beat me to it. I wish i could make a call to old friends at oxy and find out the score, but, i'm heading back to class. If you do get the scores, please keep this board updated.

Browneagle and Logs, you guys are killing me!!!  Our broadcasts are linked on the Oxy and SCIAC websites as well as my own --- oxybroadcast.com.  Maybe I wasn't giving the score enough.

Tigersports,  no need to to ask for updates on the score tonight...I know just where to look to get the live audio feed

[Gray Fox]

Sorry about the format.  I couldn't get this to copy any other way.

POMONA

Category     Rank     Actual     National Leader     Actual
Scoring Offense (389 ranked)    370    61.4    Grinnell    107.9
Scoring Defense (389 ranked)    9    59.7    Penn St.-Behrend    53.9
Scoring Margin (389 ranked)    171    1.8    Hope    18.8
Field-Goal Percentage (389 ranked)    364    39.8    Emerson    52.5
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (389 ranked)    108    42.5    Mary Hardin-Baylor    37.8
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (389 ranked)    74    7.7    Grinnell    19.3
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (340 ranked)    265    33.0    Wooster    44.3
Free-Throw Percentage (389 ranked)    257    66.9    Elmhurst    81.5
Rebound Margin (389 ranked)    100    3.0    Guilford    11.7
Assists Per Game (389 ranked)    362    10.9    Emory & Henry    20.5
Blocked Shots Per Game (389 ranked)    173    2.7    Middlebury    6.2
Steals Per Game (389 ranked)    287    6.4    Grinnell    16.0
Won-Lost Percentage (389 ranked)    153    56.0    Plattsburgh St.    92.9
Turnovers Per Game (389 ranked)    32    12.5    Westminster (Mo.)    9.4
Personal Fouls Per Game (389 ranked)    3    13.4    Carleton    12.4
Assist Turnover Ratio (389 ranked)    196    0.87    Wis.-Stevens Point    1.54

Category    Player    Rank    Actual    National Leader    Actual
Points Per Game (500 ranked)    Jabarri Reynolds    393    14.1    John Grotberg, Grinnell    28.1
Field-Goal Percentage (500 ranked)    Jabarri Reynolds    316    44.8    Keith Pedersen, Central (Iowa)    69.7
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (500 ranked)    Adam Chaimowitz
Jabarri Reynolds    140
485    2.4
1.6    John Grotberg, Grinnell
     5.8

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (500 ranked)                   Nathan Edick, Marietta    54.8
Free-Throw Percentage (500 ranked)    Jabarri Reynolds    432    69.3    Ryan Junghans, Hood    95.9
Rebounds Per Game (500 ranked)    Justin Sexton    111    8.1    Nick Harrington, Southern Vt.    14.8
Assists Per Game (500 ranked)                   David Arseneault, Grinnell    10.4
Blocked Shots Per Game (500 ranked)    Justin Sexton
Gabriel Porter    108
496    1.3
0.6    Douglas Hammond, Green Mountain
     4.5

Steals Per Game (500 ranked)                   Tyler Gordon, Finlandia    4.0
Assist Turnover Ratio (500 ranked)                   Ross Nakamura, Whitworth    4.0


OXY

Category     Rank     Actual     National Leader     Actual
Scoring Offense (389 ranked)    194    71.9    Grinnell    107.9
Scoring Defense (389 ranked)    7    59.1    Penn St.-Behrend    53.9
Scoring Margin (389 ranked)    12    12.8    Hope    18.8
Field-Goal Percentage (389 ranked)    123    45.7    Emerson    52.5
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (389 ranked)    44    40.9    Mary Hardin-Baylor    37.8
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (389 ranked)    125    7.1    Grinnell    19.3
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (340 ranked)    23    39.5    Wooster    44.3
Free-Throw Percentage (389 ranked)    106    71.4    Elmhurst    81.5
Rebound Margin (389 ranked)    13    7.7    Guilford    11.7
Assists Per Game (389 ranked)    29    16.4    Emory & Henry    20.5
Blocked Shots Per Game (389 ranked)    202    2.5    Middlebury    6.2
Steals Per Game (389 ranked)    171    7.6    Grinnell    16.0
Won-Lost Percentage (389 ranked)    18    84.0    Plattsburgh St.    92.9
Turnovers Per Game (389 ranked)    28    12.4    Westminster (Mo.)    9.4
Personal Fouls Per Game (389 ranked)    40    16.1    Carleton    12.4
Assist Turnover Ratio (389 ranked)    10    1.33    Wis.-Stevens Point    1.54

Category    Player    Rank    Actual    National Leader    Actual
Points Per Game (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    97    18.2    John Grotberg, Grinnell    28.1
Field-Goal Percentage (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    359    42.9    Keith Pedersen, Central (Iowa)    69.7
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    5    3.7    John Grotberg, Grinnell    5.8
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    9    46.3    Nathan Edick, Marietta    54.8
Free-Throw Percentage (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    46    84.9    Ryan Junghans, Hood    95.9
Rebounds Per Game (500 ranked)    Sean Anderson
Chris Hunt
Chris Pitcher    227
422
480    7.0
5.9
5.6    Nick Harrington, Southern Vt.

     14.8


Assists Per Game (500 ranked)    Gemayal McBride
Chris Pitcher    98
253    4.1
3.1    David Arseneault, Grinnell
     10.4

Blocked Shots Per Game (500 ranked)    Sean Anderson    166    1.1    Douglas Hammond, Green Mountain    4.5
Steals Per Game (500 ranked)    Connor Whitman    231    1.7    Tyler Gordon, Finlandia    4.0
Assist Turnover Ratio (500 ranked)    Chris Pitcher
Gemayal McBride    39
47    2.03
1.94    Ross Nakamura, Whitworth
     4.0

[bbaddict]

So, do I hear that there's livestats or webcast or something for the Oxy/PP game tonight?  What time is tipoff?     If it weren't for DI or the NBA I'd be having some serious withdrawals from BB right now!  DIII tourney games help as well!

[Pat Coleman]

I'm disappointed that a deserving Cal Lutheran team was excluded from the NCAA tournament, but I'm also surprised that the only outcry from the apparently resigned-to-their-fate CLU fans was about Deshion Inniss not making first team all-SCIAC.

Here's one Cal Lutheran fan that's pissed off they didn't get into the tournament - especially when I really feel like they had the tools this year to make a run.  I think most of us just don't know what to say and who to say it to.  Apparently the regional rankings don't mean jack...who makes up the tournament committee anyway? 

Nobody who was behind you in last week's West regional rankings got an at-large bid.

bbaddict -- on the front page of D3hoops.com there is a box with links to games with live stats, audio or video every night.

You guys are represented on the regional committee, folks, just not the national committee. But all the years Coach Kats was on the national committee, things weren't any different. A person on the committee can't simply override the selection criteria.

[Pat Coleman]

To specify: Rock Carter of Whittier represents the SCIAC and Mark Sundquist of George Fox represents the NWC to the regional committee.

[Greek Tragedy]

Below is the last "public" regional rankings.  The regional rankings this past Sunday the NCAA used to determine Pool B and Pool C bids were not disclosed to the public.

Midwest Region
1. Augustana  20-5  19-5 .575 .555 (CCIW):  Def. Elmhurst 69-68 OT in CCIW semis; def. Illinois Wesleyan 71-60 in CCIW final
POOL C 2. Washington U.  19-5  16-4 .647 .565 (UAA):  LOST at Chicago 74-66
3. Lawrence  20-2  18-2 .555 .515 (MWC):  Def St. Norbert 59-58 in MWC semis; def. Carroll 98-95 OT in MWC final
POOL C 4. Wheaton (Ill.)  19-6  15-6 .577 .549 (CCIW):  LOST Illinois Wesleyan 81-78 in CCIW semis at Augustana.
5. Chicago  17-7  16-7 .605 .568 (UAA):  def. Washington U. 74-66
6. Elmhurst  18-7  17-7 .505 .537 (CCIW): LOST at Augustana 69-68 OT in CCIW semis.
POOL B 7. Aurora  20-5  18-5 .465 .496 (NathCon):  Def. Benedictine 96-75 in NathCon quarters; def. MSOE 89-64 in NathCon semis; LOST to Lakeland 82-77 OT in NathCon final (POOL B CANDIDATE)
8. Webster  19-5  17-5 .492 .481 (SLIAC): Def. Westminster (Mo.) 62-40; LOST to Maryville (Mo.) 76-73 in SLIAC semis.

West Region
1. UW-Whitewater  21-4  19-4 .492 .540 (WIAC):  Def. Stout 78-67 in WIAC quarters; Def. Superior 77-73 OT in WIAC semis; def. Stevens Point 75-71 in WIAC final
2. St. Thomas  21-4  19-3 .499 .522 (MIAC):  Def. Bethel 69-68  in MIAC semis; def. Gustavus Adolphus 76-73 in MIAC final
POOL C 3. Occidental  20-4  13-3 .531 .527 (SCIAC):  Def. La Verne 67-57; LOST Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 66-62 in SCIAC semis.
POOL C 4. UW-Stevens Point  20-5  18-5 .575 .525 (WIAC):  Def. La Crosse 74-66 OT in WIAC quarters; def. Eau Claire 88-65 in WIAC semis; LOST at Whitewater 75-71 in WIAC final
POOL C 5. Buena Vista  20-5  16-3 .496 .528 (IIAC):  Def. Dubuque 91-86 in IIAC semis; LOST to Loras77-69 in IIAC final.
6. Cal Lutheran  20-4  16-4 .498 .529 (SCIAC):  Def. Ponoma-Pitzer 70-51; LOST to Pomona-Pitzer 54-44 in SCIAC semis.
7. UW-Platteville  19-6  17-5 .526 .535 (WIAC):  LOST to Eau Claire 84-80 in WIAC quarters.
8. Loras  19-6  16-4 .518 .535 Def. Coe in 82-64 IIAC semis; def. Buena Vista 77-69 in IIAC final

It's widely known that most everyone is surprised that WHEATON (IL) got a Pool C bid.  With this said, let's pretend they were the last team to receive that Pool C bid.  And, with Occidental, Stevens Point and Buena Vista getting bids, we'll presume that Cal. Lutheran was "at the table" when Wheaton (IL) was picked. 

Wheaton had two more in-region losses than Cal. Lutheran, but Wheaton's opponent's winning % and opponents' opponent's winning % were far greater than Cal. Lutheran's. 

Records against regionally ranked opponents is in Wheaton's favor as well.  They were 1-1 v Augustana, 2-0 v Elmhurst, 1-0 v Chicago, 1-0 v Loras.

Cal. Lutheran's record:  1-0 v Stevens Point, 0-2 v Occcidental

[OXY Oswald]

Cal Lu was actually 0-2 v. Occidental on the season.

Nice work on the rest of that break down though.  It really helps clear up the normally muddy waters that surround the NCAA selection committee.