2021-22 Other Games

Following Dean Murdoch's lead from previous years I thought it time we started a thread where we can write about other WCC teams or teams of interest outside the WCC.

There were no losses by WCC schools on Friday, but there were a couple of surprises as Santa Clara blew out Stanford, 88-72, and San Diego beat a very good Nevada team that was favored by 14 points in Reno, 75-68.

The big game tonight is #5 Texas at #1 Gonzaga...Coach Few will be back from his suspension for this one.

If the Zags beat Texas, break out the champagne. Oh, wait, never mind.

I was just looking at the current KenPom rankings... I hadn't fully grasped this yet, but at #326 Portland is the only WCC team in the bottom half of the rankings. The next worst team is Pepperdine at 161. Then...

157 USD
142 UoP
106 SCU
79 LMU
44 SMC
39 BYU
31 USF
1 GU

This is a TOUGH conference. We're now basically at the level of an average SWAC team, but playing in an A-10 level league.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:This is a TOUGH conference. We're now basically at the level of an average SWAC team, but playing in an A-10 level league.

Maybe Alcorn will beat Gonzaga tonight. That’ll move the Pilots up a spot or two

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I was just looking at the current KenPom rankings...  I hadn't fully grasped this yet, but at #326 Portland is the only WCC team in the bottom half of the rankings.

With 358 NCAA D1 teams, the Pilots at #326 are in the bottom half and then some!!

But hey, they are up from their preseason #330...

DoubleDipper wrote:

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I was just looking at the current KenPom rankings...  I hadn't fully grasped this yet, but at #326 Portland is the only WCC team in the bottom half of the rankings.

With 358 NCAA D1 teams, the Pilots at #326 are in the bottom half and then some!!

But hey, they are up from their preseason #330...

For what it's worth, some analytics sites you can manipulate to only include data from the season (so it removes influence from preseason rankings which at this point of the year are still the major factor in where each team is slotted).

BartTorvik is one of them - https://barttorvik.com/trank.php?year=2022&sort=&lastx=0&firstx=&hteam=&t2value=&conlimit=All&state=All&begin=20211109&end=20220501&top=0&quad=5&venue=All&type=All&mingames=0#

Portland is currently 243 in those, though the top five by this method (Seton Hall, Drake, Mississippi State, Illinois, and Virginia Tech) suggests it might not be the best metric

I said in the Alcorn thread that I felt both teams will be significantly higher in the analytics rankings by the end of the season and I'll stick by that, even though the game was a bit of a slog for much of it.

These tools also only look at games vs division 1 competition. So... Pilots stats are based off a single game from this year. Give it until early December at least before considering it to have enough data to be even remotely worth looking at.

BYU took down the #12 Ducks 81-49 in the Moda center tonight. Pretty impressive on both ends of the court.

After knocking off UC-Riverside, a winner over ASU two nights ago, USD scores only 16 points in the second half in their 57-55 loss in the Slim Gym to CS-Fullerton. Titans led for a total of 4.1 seconds in this game.

And my guy, Souley Boum, scored 29 points in Stockton to lead UTEP over UOP, 73-64.

SCU won big over Cal Poly, 87-57, and UP is still favored to also beat the Mustangs but by only 2 points on December 13th.

Joseph Smoyer started tonight for Chaminade against the Ducks on ESPNU. Good for him! Playing on ESPN against top-25 competition, and going to school in Hawaii. Well done.

Is Smoyer the last Reveno recruit who is still an active college player?

Well, after getting blasted by BYU, the Ducks are no longer top 25. At least in AP.

Big night for the WCC:

On national TV SMC beat Notre Dame and will play Oregon tomorrow, SCU torched favored TCU, #1 GU handled Central Michigan before playing #2 UCLA tomorrow, and PU was trailing Fresno St. in a yawner of a game in a high school gym in San Juan Capistrano when I called it quits...as did all but about 50 fans.

Although not televised, UOP mauled Chicago St., LMU topped favored SMU, and in the Bay Area poor Morgan St. went down at the hands of USF, 83-67.

Update: PU led by 3 at the half and lost by 7 to Fresno St.

WCC Top 6 teams (including UP) a combined 32-1 so far

Adam wrote:WCC Top 6 teams (including UP) a combined 32-1 so far

Just finished watching the tape of SMC upending UO and GU trouncing UCLA...it's a fun time to be in the WCC.

The always optimistic Coach Legans predicted the WCC will get as many as 5 Tournament bids, that is probably a little high, but at least three would be nice...but there are still over 3 months to go.

It would be nice if BYU got in the Tournament in each of the next two years so the WCC could reap the reward of BYU's Tournament units ($$$$$$) for the six-year rolling period after the Cougars jump to the Big-12.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Adam wrote:WCC Top 6 teams (including UP) a combined 32-1 so far

Just finished watching the tape of SMC upending UO and GU trouncing UCLA...it's a fun time to be in the WCC.

That’s amazing.

You still own a tape machine?

His warthog had an 8-track player.

Tape? Warthog?

This is "Bad Company," one of the "tapes" I often show when making a classroom presentation...enjoy.

Welcome to Pilot Nation, where every thread eventually references the Air Force

Dean Murdoch wrote:Welcome to Pilot Nation, where every thread eventually references the Air Force

Yes, sadly...I remember when it was beer.

DoubleDipper wrote:The always optimistic Coach Legans predicted the WCC will get as many as 5 Tournament bids, that is probably a little high, but at least three would be nice...but there are still over 3 months to go.

Five might seem a little high, but at this early point of the season that's exactly what some are predicting!

makingthemadness.com/bracketology-tip-off-to-titles/ (updated today)

Gonzaga - 1 seed
BYU - 4 seed
SMC - 8 seed
SCU - 10 seed
USF - 11 seed play-in

St. Mary's had their first stumble yesterday, losing to Wisconsin.

up7587 wrote:St. Mary's had their first stumble yesterday, losing to Wisconsin.

And SCU went down to Fresno St. down in San Juan Capistrano in the Serra High School gym in front of a few interested fans.  

We know Randy Bennett and Herb Sendek are twins, but have either ever smiled??

Dean Murdoch wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:The always optimistic Coach Legans predicted the WCC will get as many as 5 Tournament bids, that is probably a little high, but at least three would be nice...but there are still over 3 months to go.

Five might seem a little high, but at this early point of the season that's exactly what some are predicting!

makingthemadness.com/bracketology-tip-off-to-titles/ (updated today)

Gonzaga - 1 seed
BYU - 4 seed
SMC - 8 seed
SCU - 10 seed
USF - 11 seed play-in

The PAC-12 with 3?

Watched 1. Duke; 2. Purdue; 3 Gonzaga on consecutive nights...Purdue appeared the far better team!

Duke lost at unranked Ohio State...VERY, VERY odd for the Blue Demons to play a non-conference game away from home other than at a neutral site...maybe 9 years ago also at Ohio St.  

Purdue ran all over Florida St.

Gonzaga struggled against a Tarleton St team that slowed the Zags down and was tied late in the game. Say what you will about Coach Billy Gillespie, he can recruit and coach, but his team is playing a very difficult schedule and has not yet beaten a D1 school

...and what is happening at Pepperdine?

Did Lorenzo Romar finally run out of Marty Wilson recruited players?

Now 2-7 while admittedly playing a difficult schedule, they looked disorganized in their 13-point loss at Nevada last night.