This isn't exactly the kind of spring break trip that most postseason schools get. The 21-9 Titans of Cal State Fullerton get a 40 minute bus ride across town to Loyola Marymount. Fullerton has been overlooked in the rising Big West thanks to Zag defector Dan Monson's Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara duking it out for the league's auto bid the past few years. This year though the Titans managed a 2nd place finish, with a league mark of 12-4. Loyola Marymount finished 11-5 in the WCC, good for 4th place. However the Big West comes in at 21st in ESPN's conference rankings, a full ten places behind the WCC. That difference in conference strength is evidenced in the RPI. LMU comes in at 117, Fullerton at 155.
The Titans play a more up tempo game than the Lions, averaging about 7 more points per game at 77.9, they've hit 100 twice (though the first time was against a non D-1 opponent, nonetheless 118 is pretty nice). Their fast paced offense is led by 3 guards who lead the team in points and minutes. Only 5 players have played in all 30 of the Titans games, but 9 have played in 20 or more. So they've got depth, but not much talent in that depth. That bodes very well for the Lions who have depth and ability.
Ashley Hamilton and Drew Viney aren't big forwards, which will be helpful in containing the Titans 3 guard line up. Neither of the Titans forwards are big either, at 225 and 195lbs, they average out to about the same size as Hamilton and Viney. The depth at the forward position for LMU, coupled with the skill of Hamilton and Viney inside and out, should give them the ability to beat up on the Titans down low.
D.J. Seeley and Kwame Vaughn are the main scoring threats for the Titans at 16.8 and 15.4ppg respectively. They're not big into assists though, with less than 5 between them per game. Anthony Ireland averages 4.8 assists per game by himself along with 15.5 points.
I've been wary of Lions home games all season. They've beaten Saint Louis, when the Billikens were ranked, a NCAA at large selection. More recently the solid bracket busters win over Valparaiso gave me reason to believe the Lions home woes were over. Then of course they blew that with a loss to San Diego. However they are still 8-8 at Albert Gersten Pavilion on the year. Not great for a post season team, but decent for a WCC team not named BYU, Saint Mary's or Gonzaga. That shouldn't matter though, as the Titans are 7-6 on the road with the vast majority (21) of their 30 games being played against teams ranked 201 or worse in the RPI.
If Loyola Marymount can successfully exploit their advantage inside and keep the Titans guards from running wild this should be an easy win. A win here would put Loyola Marymount at 20 wins, something that the Lions haven't accomplished since 1989-90 when they won 26 games. Just 3 years ago during the 2008-09 season the Lions racked up a total of 3 wins. The Lions would be the 5th WCC team this season to hit the 20 win mark, that has NEVER happened.
Wednesday, March 13th, 2012 at 7pm PDT
Albert Gersten Pavilion, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
TV: Streaming online at collegeinsider.com/stream/ (you have to sign up and provide your email address, but it's free otherwise)
Radio: L.A. Area KXLU 88.9 FM (Streaming online at kxlu.com)
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