For now though it looks pretty darn good. The WCC is 26 and 12 so far this season. Read about the games from Wednesday and Thursday after the jump.
Wednesday, November 21st:
Portland 81 - Portland State 60
Chiles Center, Portland, OR.
Portland improves to 2-2.
This is a game I would have loved seen in person. Three years ago I lived in Portland. Though I attended neither of these schools I had ties to both. All my friends, except my two roommates, attended Portland State and I was in the process of attending it myself. Portland was the WCC school that I, despite still being a Zags fan through and through at the time, rooted for more often than any team not from Spokane. Anyways, the Pilots blew the Vikings out of the water in this battle of the Willamette.
The second half saw both teams score 30 points. In the first though, the Pilots put up 51 and looked unstoppable as they connected on 71% of their attempts from the field. Three Pilots scored in double figures. Tanner Riley led the way off the bench with 23 points in as many minutes. He didn't miss a shot all night going eight of eight from the field, four of four from behind the arc and three of three from the line. Kevin Bailey chipped in 14 points and Ryan Nicholas had nearly a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Pilots win over the Rose City's other D-1 program, coupled with a win in exhibition play over Concordia-Portland make Stumptown the Pilots' town this year (I doubt PCC, my alma mater, could beat the Pilots if they played). They have a game next week against non-D1 Lewis and Clark, another battle of the Willamette, with complete yet meaningless ownership on the line (meaningless because the Blazers [when the Timbers aren't playing] own the city's sports consciousness).
San Diego 39 @ UC Santa Barbara 57
The Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, CA.
San Diego falls to 3-3.
The Toreros traveled north and took a beating from a retooling Guachos squad. The 39 points at the final buzzer should be an embarrassment for a squad that was expecting to challenge for best of the rest in the WCC this year. More embarrassing is the 11 second half points. Last season the Guachos were a strong defensive unit, ranking 34th in the nation in FG% defense and 31st in two point FG% defense. This year they are significantly worse, giving up 100, 77 and 60 points in their three games before this one (the 60 was in their only win and it came against The Master's College of the NAIA).
No Torero scored in double figures. Johnny Dee led the way by somehow managing to score eight points on 20% shooting (3-15). Ken Rancifer had nine rebounds. The bright side was the Toreros managed to stay completely out of foul trouble with only Simi Fajemisin having more than two personal fouls (three).
San Diego is winless through two road contests this year. In the eyes of the NCAA selection committee they are 2-3 as their first win of the year came against a non-D1 opponent.
Santa Clara 75 - Utah Valley 67
Leavey Center, Santa Clara, CA.
Santa Clara improves to 4-0.
The Broncos welcomed the Great West's Utah Valley Wolverines to town and probably wished they had not done so until about four minutes left in the game. The Wolverines and the Broncos played a back and forth first half but it was the Wolverines that took the lead into the break. They maintained and built on that lead for most of the second half. Santa Clara came back late to get the win and remain undefeated on the season.
Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster led the way for the Broncos as they should do all season long. Trasolini poured in 29 points and Foster added 21. Trasolini was 10-12 from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Evan Roquemore, who filled in as admirably for them as a guy who leads a team to a winless conference record can, was the only other Bronco in double figures with 14 points. Raymond Cowels III, Yannick Atanga, and Brandon Clark were the only other Broncos to score. They contributed five, four and two points respectively.
Brigham Young 81 - Texas-San Antonio 62
Marriott Center, Provo, UT.
Brigham Young improves to 3-2.
The Cougars snapped their two game losing streak against the Roadrunners from the WAC in reassuring fashion. Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws were the only Cougars in double figures. Davies had 22 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. He has scored in double figures in each game so far this season. Tyler Haws 20 points continues his streak of scoring in the 20's in each game so far this season. He's the WCC's leading scorer through his first five WCC games.
On the flipside Matt Carlino's struggles continue. He had only two points in ten minutes of play while shooting the ball eight times. He led the team in usage percentage at 42.8%. Dave Rose realized that Carlino is not the answer at the point for the time being and had Craig Cusick run the offense for 29 minutes and was a sound replacement. Mostly he let Haws and Davies do the scoring work but when Cusick took shots he made them going 3-3 from the floor for seven points.
Cusick can fill in for Carlino but he can't replace his proven talent (see: BYU at USF last season). This team can not reach it's full potential without Carlino running the offense at the best of his ability.
Thursday, November 22nd
Saint Mary's 76 - Drexel 64
Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.
DirecTV Classic.
Saint Mary's improves to 4-0.
The Gaels outplayed the hobbled Dragons throughout this one. Drexel, coming off a 29 win season that did not result in the Dragons Dancing (and which Randy Bennett ignored in his non-conference scheduling), was expected to run through the less impressive than usual CAA this season. Unfortunately for the Dragons two of their best players were out for the Thanksgiving match-up. Senior leader Chris Fouch broke his ankle against Penn on Saturday and will miss the whole season. Sophomore Damion Lee is out temporarily with a concussion.
Despite those two devastating injuries the Dragons hung around for the whole game. Saint Mary's has looked underwhelming despite their still undefeated record. This game's final score is another example of that. Against a full strength Dragons squad a 12 point win would be outstanding. Against this squad however, it's disappointing. It is, however, a win.
On the bright side senior leader and Olympian Matthew Dellavedova set a career high with 32 points. He was 10-16 from the floor and 10-12 from the line. Brad Waldow had 15 and James Walker III had 13, no other Gaels hit double digits. Stephen Holt owned the glass in the game with eight rebounds. Up next is future WCC foe Pacific on Friday.
#17 Gonzaga 57 - Clemson 49
HP Field House, Orlando, FL
Old Spice Classic
Gonzaga improves to 4-0
The Zags got the win. Coming into this they led the nation in points per game with 94.3 a contest. The Tigers provided the Zags their first real defensive test of the year and, while very hard to watch, it will pay dividends as the season rolls on. Gonzaga had been scoring nearly at will against their first three opponents, of which only West Virigina has a chance to have a respectable season. Clemson's slow pace and lane clogging defense forced the Zags out of their comfort zone. The Tigers had the lead a few times and when they didn't they were close. Gonzaga took their final lead of the game at the 15:20 mark of the second half on a Sam Dower layup, but the Tigers stayed close until about seven minutes remained. Kelly Olynyk, in his first game in over a season, kept the Zags ahead during that span scoring six of the Zags' eight points.
While it was hard to watch, it was great for Gonzaga. This was the first time they had to adjust to their opponent. It took a while but after halftime, with Clemson ahead, they did. Gonzaga played incredibly slow, just as Clemson wanted them to, but was considerably more efficient than the Tigers. Gonzaga shot 49% from the field while the Tigers only managed 31%.
Up next is Oklahoma on Friday.
Loyola Marymount 66 - Oral Roberts 75
Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK
Great Alaska Shootout
LMU falls to 2-2
Going pretty much as far away as the Lions could get without leaving the West Coast didn't end in a win as the Lions dropped their opening round game of the Great Alaska Shootout. I was high on this team coming into this season but the loss of Drew Viney seems to be more than they can make up for. Anthony Ireland continues to be probably the best completely ignored player in college hoops. His 30 points led the Lions for the third straight game (he has led in all games against D-1 opponents). For the first time this season a player taller than 5' 10'' (so not Anthony Ireland) was tops in the rebound column. Chase Flint, who is only three inches taller than Ireland, took over as the leading rebounder with five.
Ashley Hamilton added 14 points but had to take 15 shots from the field to do so. Ayodeji Egbeyemi added 10 on a more respectable four of nine from the field. No other Lions hit double figures. This team relies too much on Ireland to win games consistently, even when he isn't shut down. The problems with rebounding are massive. Oral Roberts outrebounded LMU 30 to 24. Finally someone other than Anthony Ireland led the team in boards, but when it's a guard picking up the slack there isn't a lot of relief to be had.
Next up is North Texas on Friday.
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