Re: The Preseason WCC & Non-Conference Opponent Thread, Part 1

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:20 pm

At this stage of the season I still give more credence to KenPom.com ratings than the NCAA’s new NET, but at least now the NET rankings are beginning to make more sense than when they first came out a couple of weeks ago.

Dean Murdoch wrote:USF beat Stephen F. Austin in Belfast this morning and will now play Buffalo.

You'd have to think if the Dons beat the Bulls tomorrow, they'd have to start garnering serious at-large consideration

Here’s the latest NET rankings for the WCC, and even though USF did not beat Buffalo, they played well against them, and the NCAA apparently still considers them to have at-large potential.
2. GU
29. USF
57. LMU
74. USD
98. SMC
107. PU
170. BYU
175. UOP
238. Portland
308. SCU

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:51 pm

Scouted UP's 12/21 opponent, Florida A&M, against DePaul last night...and if that game is any indication, the game against the Pilots could be an ugly one.

The Rattlers, dressed in orange from head to foot, really like to slow it down (even though they shot over 50% from 3pt.), and the score was 10-10 after 11 minutes of play and 35-33 in favor of FAMU at the 16 minute mark, but DePaul pulled away with a 65-50 victory.

In WCC action yesterday, CSUN came from 10 points down to beat Pepperdine, 90-83, in Malibu....

by DoubleDipper Thu Dec 06, 2018 4:21 pm

Wednesday was a good night for the WCC as all teams that played, with the exception of the Pilots, won their games.

The most exciting was of course GU's 81-79 win over UW in Spokane as Rui Hachimura hit the winning basket with just 0.6 on the clock. Hachimura and Norvell each had 26 points.

USF traveled to Berkeley to beat another Pac-12 team, 79-60.

USD was playing in front of 11,000 people in the Aztec Bowl and beat the favored (6 points) San Diego St. Aztecs, 73-61, as Pineiro scored 21 points.

BYU was where they like it best, in Provo, where they won another mini-holy war by beating Utah St. 95-80. Of course you know by now that Childs leads most scorers, most nights, and last night he had 31.

UOP beat D2 Texas Permian Basin at home, 74-69. Some might remember TPM as it was where the Pilots' John Bailey played his 4th year as a grad transfer.

Cal State Fullerton was favored by 2 over LMU at home, but of course LMU quickly got over their first loss of the season, at UCLA, to down CSF, 59-49. UP plays at Fullerton in the last game of the preseason on 12/29 before playing at LMU a week later.

KenPom.com still rates the WCC as second only to the American Athletic Conference among the mid-major conferences, and well ahead of the Mountain West in 3rd.

BTW, North Texas, the team that won the Rainbow Classic, is now 9-1, with just a loss to Oklahoma, and Texas State, the winner of the Portland Classic is 8-1, with a loss to Drake as their only blemish.

by Guest Sat Dec 08, 2018 5:33 pm

On Friday, SMC beat New Mexico, 85-60. But Idaho St. won at SCU, 68-66.

So far today, BYU beat Utah 74-59

by Guest Sun Dec 09, 2018 2:17 pm

Last night, Pepperdine came back in the 2nd half to defeat 1-8 Jackson St., 69-66.

Today, the Zags lost to #7 Tennessee 76-73.

by Guest Sun Dec 09, 2018 10:59 pm

USD had a big first half and beat CSU Northridge 82-68.

SCU had a big second half and beat D2 Sonoma St 82-54.

CSUN scheduled five WWC opponents for their preseason. They lost to LMU, UP, and USD. They beat PU. They play UOP next week.

by DoubleDipper Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:46 pm

Scouted UP's 12/17 opponent, Seattle U, against UW tonight, and they were impressive against the team that took GU to the wire earlier in the week.

Seattle lost, 70-62, but they were within in two points twice within the last two minutes after going on a 24-4 run before UW shot free-throws down the stretch to ice the game.

The Redhawks, going for the state-school sweep after beating EWU and WSU earlier, are now 9-3, and play UP in their next game. They showed just a seven man rotation tonight, and as all of their starters average in double-figures on the season, there isn't much need to go too deep in the rotation. Tonight the team's best scorer dropped in 21 points in 40 minutes of play.

by Sound Voltex Tue Dec 11, 2018 7:00 pm

8. Portland Pilots (6-5)
Last week: L 87-78 at Portland State, W 76-67 vs. Sacramento State
This week: Dec. 15 vs. Grambling State
Previous: 10th

JoJo Walker averaged 19.5 points over two games last week. The sophomore guard is now averaging 13.8 points per game this season, which is huge. He scored over his current season average on just three occasions last year. The Pilots have a handful of capable dudes, but the team just hasn’t really put it together yet.

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2018/12/10/18133779/wcc-power-rankings-gonzaga-bulldogs-zags-west-coast-conference-byu-cougars-usf-dons-san-diego

From 2 weeks ago:

Portland Pilots (5-4, KP #264, Offense 198, Defense 306)

Biggest Win: 72-67 vs Cal Poly

Losses: 0-4 vs KenPom Top 300

Portland is young. Like, really young. Like, not even a single senior on the roster young. Which is to say: they are a year away. The good news is that they have four players who can really score the ball. Marcus Shaver, Josh McSwiggan, JoJo Walker and Franklin Porter can all fill it up. The latter three all shoot above 40 percent from deep. As a team, they’re in the top 50 in threes attempted in the country. The bad news is that they play no defense. The Pilots give up nearly 80 points a game and they force no turnovers. But if this roster stays together and develops, they have a good chance of cracking the top five next season.

https://www.slipperstillfits.com/2018/11/29/18118266/around-the-wcc-encouraging-first-month

by Dean Murdoch Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:12 am

Sound Voltex wrote:
The Pilots have a handful of capable dudes, but the team just hasn’t really put it together yet.

Pretty fair assessment at this point of the season.

by Dean Murdoch Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:29 am

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Joe Lunardi's Bracketology yesterday has the WCC as a two-bid conference - Gonzaga as a 2 seed and USF as the last at-large team in a play-in game against UCLA for an 11 seed.

Two thoughts -

1) Great to see the WCC as a two-bid league, and even nicer to see that a team not named SMC or BYU is that projected second team in. Nothing against those two teams but some change at the top is good to see.

2) I disagree with the current projection of USF in the field. I would have put undefeated Furman ahead of the Dons based on the strength of Furman's top two wins (at Villanova and at Loyola Ramblers). Regardless, it's impressive to see the position USF has put itself in this season. Congrats Dons.

And don't look now but SMC has a chance to play itself back into at-large consideration with a couple big games coming up (against LSU in Vegas and away at Western Kentucky).

by DoubleDipper Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:00 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:Joe Lunardi's Bracketology yesterday has the WCC as a two-bid conference - Gonzaga as a 2 seed and USF as the last at-large team in a play-in game against UCLA for an 11 seed.

….I disagree with the current projection of USF in the field. I would have put undefeated Furman ahead of the Dons based on the strength of Furman's top two wins (at Villanova and at Loyola Ramblers)….

And then there's the specter of the selection committee using the NET to fill-in the 36 teams that will join the 32 schools with automatic bids from conference play.

Using the NET, #21 USF is currently projected higher than #33 UCLA, and #34 Furman has dropped a bunch of spots after their wins over Villanova and the Ramblers were given less importance after #36 Villanova's loss to #72 Penn last night (hope you watched that game...it was the Quakers first win over Villanova in the battle for Philadelphia since 2002), and #125 Loyola-Chicago's back-to-back losses to Ball St (at home) and Maryland.

The NET currently ranks GU #7, USF #21, LMU #54, SMC #77, and BYU #95...but those rankings change quite a bit day-to-day.

by DoubleDipper Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:30 pm

USD stayed with Oregon for the first 16 minutes, and actually led by 9 at one point, but with Isaiah Pineiro (14 pts) in foul trouble early and 7-2 Bol Bol (20 pts/9 rebounds) seemingly making everything from distance, Oregon pulled away, 65-55.

USD (8-3) is very good, and it's pretty obvious the leadership shown by PSU transfer, and redshirt senior, Pineiro has a lot to do with that.

by DoubleDipper Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:57 pm

The NET grades for today's games don't come out until tomorrow, but USF's shellacking of Eastern Washington tonight, 85-63, after blowing out Cal by 19 a week ago, has made them a solid #2 in the WCC according to KenPom. In their best start in 19 years, the Dons are now 9-1.

SCU's 82-54 defeat of Mississippi Valley St tonight moved the Broncos ahead of the Pilots into 9th place in the WCC according to KenPom.

by Guest Sun Dec 16, 2018 7:22 am

GU lost at UNC 103-90.
PU lost at So. Utah 78-69.
BYU lost at UNLV in OT, 92-90.
USD beat No. Colorado 85-65.
LMU blew out PSU at the Stott Center, 85-58. That is a bad sign for us.
SMC lost to LSU 78-74.

Overall, a pretty rough night for the WCC.

by Guest Sun Dec 16, 2018 7:47 pm

USF beat CSU Fullerton 68-54, moves to 10-1.
UOP won at CSU Northridge 79-77, on a late steal and layup. They're 9-4.

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 17, 2018 4:47 pm

Another chance to scout the men in orange, UP's Saturday opponent Florida A&M, tonight and tomorrow night.

Quite a schedule for FAMU, they're on the Pac-12 Network tonight a 5pm at Utah, then make a quick turnaround to play at Oregon at 3pm tomorrow....followed by three days of rest before taking on the Pilots.

Also on the Pac-12 Network tonight is Pepperdine at Oregon State at 7pm.

Last time I saw FAMU they really like to slow it down and then drill the 3-point shot...

by Sound Voltex Tue Dec 18, 2018 9:48 pm

Santa Clara almost hands it to USC by giving up a 15 point lead and not making critical endgame free throws, but pulls away after 2 overtimes 102-92 to put us back in the cellar...again...for now.

by Guest Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:04 pm

GU managed to hold off one of the power teams they get to play due to the reduced number of conference games, KenPom #245 UT Arlington. Final was 89-55.

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:18 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Another chance to scout the men in orange, UP's Saturday opponent Florida A&M, tonight and tomorrow night.

Quite a schedule for FAMU, they're on the Pac-12 Network tonight a 5pm at Utah, then make a quick turnaround to play at Oregon at 3pm tomorrow....followed by three days of rest before taking on the Pilots.

FAMU attempted to slow down Utah last night and couldn't, losing by 29, but this afternoon they held their own against UO, outscoring them 41-33 in the second half, and losing by only 7.

FAMU may be 3-10, but they are definitely capable of beating the Pilots if UP does not take care of the ball and grab rebounds.

by **PilotNut** Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:18 pm

Santa Clara held on to beat the USC Trojans in double OT at the Leavey Center, 102-92.

The Broncos lead by 15 with 6 minutes to go, but needed a free throw with 2 seconds left to send it to OT. The second FT that likely would have won it in regulation was missed...

Another nice win for the rest of the conference.

by Guest Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:40 am

More articles about the improved status of the WCC:

SBNation wrote:The West Coast Conference has long been striving to establish itself as something other than “that league Gonzaga plays in.” If the first eight weeks of 2018-19 are any indication, it might be well on its way to accomplishing that goal.
Gonzaga is, of course, one of the best teams in the country, but the Bulldogs aren’t alone in appearing worthy of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
San Francisco, which has 11 wins and a lone loss to unbeaten and 14th-ranked Buffalo on a neutral court, is currently No. 20 in the new NET rankings that the Selection Committee will be utilizing this year. Loyola Marymount, which has an identical 11-1 record, cracks the top 50 in the NET as well. Saint Mary’s (62) and San Diego (64) are presently ranked in the top 70.
The bottom of the conference, which has been littered with single-digit win teams in recent years, is also up. So much so that as a whole, the WCC is the No. 8 overall league in America according to Ken Pomeroy. It’s ahead of the Atlantic 10, ahead of the Mountain West, and within striking distance of the American Athletic.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the WCC’s body of work is that it’s accomplishing all this in a year where Saint Mary’s is significantly down and BYU has been something of a disappointment. If the rest of the league continues its uptick and those two programs get back where they’re supposed to be, there’s no reason the WCC can’t be a perennial top 10 conference.

Lots more about CBB https://www.sbnation.com/2018/12/20/18147309/college-basketball-stock-report-kansas-texas-tech-pac-12-wcc

by Dean Murdoch Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:31 pm

As a Pilots fan, this thread is getting harder and harder to read. Even Santa Clara is taking out Pac-12 teams, ugh.

by Guest Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:09 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:As a Pilots fan, this thread is getting harder and harder to read. Even Santa Clara is taking out Pac-12 teams, ugh.

Yeah, this won't help, either. /wcc-power-rankings

by DoubleDipper Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:26 pm

With their top player, Kameron Edwards, injured it is probably no surprise that Pepperdine lost, 67-66, to Long Beach State tonight, but what is surprising is Long Beach played at home....only their 3rd D1 home game this season....last season they played a total of 3 preseason home games.

I don't know if Coach Don Monson still has the contract clause that pays him up to $348,438 in "buy game" money when his school is paid for playing away games, but if he does, it's gotta be tough on his players and the fans.

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2014/12/10/report-long-beach-state-coach-dan-monson-profits-off-of-teams-buy-games/

by Guest Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:26 pm

up7587 wrote:GU managed to hold off one of the power teams they get to play due to the reduced number of conference games, KenPom #245 UT Arlington. Final was 89-55.

For their next powerhouse they got to play by changing WCC scheduling, the Zags tackled mighty Denver, #274 KenPom (similar range as UP). They were tested early, during the warmups, then ran off the first 18 points of the game. Final was 101-40. Too bad the man bun guy graduated, he would of gotten to play tonight.