Friday, August 31, 2012

WCC Calendar

It's August and there's very little to write about concerning college hoops. So I've spent my time looking at schedules and putting them into spreadsheet form. I've done that for every team that has released their schedule so far (I'm looking at you Saint Mary's, hurry up already!). Since I've done the spreadsheets I decided to take my schedule work one step farther. Much like I had hanging on my wall last season, I went to the calendar. Unlike last year when I wrote down the big games that I needed to remember I've put every game on this one.

Thanks to Google Calendar you can easily keep track of WCC action. If you use Google for anything beyond just googling, you can use this calendar. For now it's incomplete, as not every WCC team has released a non-conference schedule (see parenthetical above). Some teams haven't released times yet, and most games don't yet have full information on TV coverage. When that is released, it will be added to the calendar. As for scores, those will go on the spreadsheet schedules for each team, like last year.

Now is the time folks. Read the calendar, find the big games and request a day off so you can watch them.


https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=willswccblog%40gmail.com&ctz=America%2FLos_Angeles

Monday, August 13, 2012

Early Analysis: Gonzaga's Non-Conference Opponents

The non-conference schedule for the Zags was released last week. Once again, as is becoming the trend, big time programs are coming to Spokane and the Zags are playing only two true road games before WCC play. The farthest the Zags will travel is Orlando, for the Old Spice Classic. In mid January the Zags will travel to Butler for the second of a home and home series with the Bulldogs that started last season in Spokane. I'm excited for this year's schedule because it has a lot of big games and a decent (though in my opinion too many) games that should be entertaining blow out home wins for the Zags. The Zags will face three teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and five that made the postseason, potentially six depending on how the Old Spice Classic works out.

Zags' non-conference schedule, click for larger size.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Going Forward and Looking Back: Gaels and the Olympics

Saint Mary's product Patty Mills was the star for Australia in men's basketball competition at the 2012 London Olympics. He ran up a tournament high in points with 39 against Great Britain, slayed then undefeated Russia with a buzzer beating three, and was tied (with two time NBA champion and four time NBA all-star Pau Gasol) for first in scoring during group play at 20.6 points per game. This was Mills' second Olympic games. His first, Beijing 2008, came during the offseason before his last season at Saint Mary's. His Boomers were eliminated by the United States, a team that is for all intents and purposes an NBA all star team, in both 2008 and 2012. The situation in Moraga this offseason is eerily similar to 2008.

Matthew Dellavedova, fresh off his first Olympic Games, will play his last season at Saint Mary's this season... sound familiar? As a Zags fan, I've always been afraid of the awkward but effective Aussie when the Gaels play Gonzaga. Things have changed and now I'll be terrified. Dellavedova, like Mills before him, had his first Olympics end at the hands of the King James, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of Team USA.