MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[DIIIghetto]

Back from Spokane.   I never thought I would say that a trip that ended in a loss for the SCIAC was worth it but this one was.  That was simply a great DIII tournament game.   So much for the jitters, this game was about two teams playing without fear and making huge play after huge play for 40 minutes.  My hat is off to Conner, Conti and all of the Tigers.  Those kids played outstanding.  They constantly had answers for a Whitworth team that shot better in a pressure packed envioronment than I have ever seen a team shoot.  After they hit the first 2, Whitworth didn't get any easy looks.  It didn't matter.  They worked and worked to get shots and continued to drain them with guys as close to them as they could get without fouling.  What Whitworth did from 19 and beyond throughout that game was nothing short of special.  Neither team scored much in the paint.  Watching Whitworth shoot last night was special.  5 guys hitting from beyond the arc, all with Oxy either in the lead or close to it.  Money performances from their big 5. 

Conner was on a different level.  He kept pulling from deeper and deeper.  His performance in the 1st half was nothing short of spectacular, the stuff all-americans are made of.   He made 2 from 3 feet beyond the NBA line, with a guy on him.  All of them were big shots because Oxy was down.  I think when Oxy went on a tear near the end of the 1st half you could see from the looks on the Whitworth guys faces that they could not do much more to stop Whitman.   I actually think that Conner's performance was so special in the 1st half that his coming back down to earth (coupled with some physical and excellent D by Whitworth) for the first 7 minutes of the second half, is the one thing that did Oxy in.  When a guy is in a special zone like that, you let him go.  Connor kept going and the 3 or 4 shots he missed in the beginning of the second half ultimately were Oxy's undoing.  I hope that Whitman's supporters don't take that the wrong way because even with that stretch, the kid had an all-american game.  But the reality was that CW was so 'on' for the first 20 minutes that it prevented some of Oxy's other weapons from playing as aggressively as they needed.  They were able to jump start it after that brief period in the 2nd half, but by then the mountain was just too big (especially given the way Whitworth was shooting free throws). 

I just want to thank both teams for providing everyone in the gym that much excitement.   Each possession was for 20+ seconds and each team just kept coming up huge.   The starting 5 for Whitworth and the Oxy players all seemed to not just ignore the pressure of the moment, but thrived in it.   What a special night.  And trust me, I bleed for the SCIAC so my saying that is not easy.  I would much rather complain about the officiating, snow, Whitworth's juco pipeline or something else.  Just can't do it.   That game was too amazing. 
   

[D O.C.]

Oh well, a decent season ends with a loss on the road in winter.  I suppose I'll use my Bushbate  on the 4.25 a gallon pumps thereby contributing, once again, to record quarter profits for....

[tigersports]

I'll let the NWC'ers chime in, but Spokane is not rainy like Seattle or Portland.  Spokane is in a steppe area, on the leeward side of the Cascades and is actually pretty dry.

I agree that the SCIAC seems to have a void of standout offensive players that the NWC seems to have in more abundance.  Whereas Oxy will come up with a Whitman, the NWC teams I've seen seem to have 3-4 guys who can consistently knock down shots and that has been the difference in the two losses the Tigers have had up there in the last 3 years.

As for "stepping up," I meant that as Oxy faces greater competition, they face better shooters that are not as easily defended as the 2-3 maximum that a SCIAC team runs out there on a nigthly basis.  I guess what I'm saying is that they're not a top-15 program yet.

That said, they're awfully good and consistently one of the top 2-3 teams out here on the coast and we'll take that.

[OxyFan21]

How do we continue to attract top student athletes to Oxy so that we can get more of the dominant player(s) that you speak of?

[Browneagle64]

Wow. So what your saying Tigersports is that because of such flaw like mentioned above, our Tigers should not be considered a top 15 team.
Wow, and for a second there i would have though that you would have petitioned for the Tigers being considered a top 15 being that Coach Newhall and co. has beaten great teams such as Amherst, Ill. Wesleyan and dare i not say. SUNY Plattburgh?
Sure the the NWC had teams with more options, but this tiger time rose from the ranks of being made up of bench players to men who ranked high for their good play.

[Gray Fox]

How do we continue to attract top student athletes to Oxy so that we can get more of the dominant player(s) that you speak of?

juco transfers.

[nwhoops1903]

Wow. So what your saying Tigersports is that because of such flaw like mentioned above, our Tigers should not be considered a top 15 team.
Wow, and for a second there i would have though that you would have petitioned for the Tigers being considered a top 15 being that Coach Newhall and co. has beaten great teams such as Amherst, Ill. Wesleyan and dare i not say. SUNY Plattburgh?
Sure the the NWC had teams with more options, but this tiger time rose from the ranks of being made up of bench players to men who ranked high for their good play.

Guys, who really knows who is a top 15 team anyway.  Oxy and Cal Lu were very good teams and so is Whitworth.  As soon as a far west team gets into a final 4 or final 8, then our 2 confs. will get some more street cred. with the voters.

[bbaddict]

How do we continue to attract top student athletes to Oxy so that we can get more of the dominant player(s) that you speak of?

juco transfers.

Hey, that's what I was going to say.  Quit letting Hayford rob California of its juco transfers!

And, can I just say that Oxy Bob's statement about the game and Whitworth winning it is one of the classiest posts I've seen.   You're pretty cool OxyBob!  Honestly, though, I listened to the game and thought it could go either way until about the last minute!   

[bbaddict]

The announcer kept referring to the students and their umbrellas when it was "raining threes".

I couldn't quite visualize that.  I know it rains a lot in Spokane, but do they actually open them inside the arena or to they keep them closed?  Opening them up doesn't make sense for sight and safety purposes.  One eyed Pirates might be very common.

Please add a little explanation. 

It sounded like a great game.  I wish I could have been there.

Don't know about the rain references -- we use it in the Willamette Valley, but it makes sense!  Making it rain is scoring big!  But, Spokane is one of the driest places on earth, except for snow.  Doesn't it rain there twice a year whether you need it or not? 

I just hope the student section at Whitworth wasn't rude to Oxy.   When WU played there the students all turned their backs while the WU team was introduced.   But, WU got the last word -- they beat them that night and not by a little!  Of course, that's ancient history now.

[nwhoops1903]

How do we continue to attract top student athletes to Oxy so that we can get more of the dominant player(s) that you speak of?

juco transfers.

Hey, that's what I was going to say.  Quit letting Hayford rob California of its juco transfers! 

Yea, poor California, it only has 50 times more jucos than WA.  The nerve of Hayford.

[bbaddict]

How do we continue to attract top student athletes to Oxy so that we can get more of the dominant player(s) that you speak of?

juco transfers.

Hey, that's what I was going to say.  Quit letting Hayford rob California of its juco transfers!

Yea, poor California, it only has 50 times more jucos than WA.  The nerve of Hayford.

Hey nwhoops, surely you know it isn't California that I'm looking out for here! 

[LogShow]

Word.   UPS would be wise to look at those options and maybe dip into the juco pool

[bbaddict]

Hey, if juco transfers are good enough for Lews & Clark, then everyone should think about it!  Works for Whitworth's teams.

[tigersports]

Wow. So what your saying Tigersports is that because of such flaw like mentioned above, our Tigers should not be considered a top 15 team.
Wow, and for a second there i would have though that you would have petitioned for the Tigers being considered a top 15 being that Coach Newhall and co. has beaten great teams such as Amherst, Ill. Wesleyan and dare i not say. SUNY Plattburgh?
Sure the the NWC had teams with more options, but this tiger time rose from the ranks of being made up of bench players to men who ranked high for their good play.

Browneagle, not sure what you meant here and Newhall has done a great job bringing the Tigers into perennial playoff conention.  I don't think anyone can say, though, that they're in the elite, perennial contender status.  A lot would've had to happen (i.e., injuries, top teams stumbling) for them to get to Salem any of the last three years.  I don't say that as a criticism and I'm very happy to announce games for a team that consistently contends for its conference title.  I'm just observing that it's pretty clear that they're not a North Carolina or Duke yet (by D-III standards); they are still a Gonzaga or Oregon.

As for what could be done to make it better, perhaps Song Cun has a cousin out there (or better yet a clone).

[OxyFan21]

I don't think the admissions office at Oxy would allow too many Juco transfers, but perhaps with better support from the Administration as a whole, the college's athletic programs can become consistent winners...outside of the relatively recent success of football and basketball.

Money, basically.