BracketBusters 2013

Two WCC teams are participating in BracketBusters this season. Unfortunately this is the last season of BracketBusters. The event has been so helpful to the good but all too often overlooked mid-major teams across the country. In past seasons teams like George Mason and VCU have utilized resume-improving BracketBusters games to do quite literally what the name of the event implies. In 2006 and 2011 respectively, George Mason and VCU, busted a ton of brackets by running to the Final Four. Both squads received at large berths in those years, thanks in large part to their victory in their BracketBusters game.

For the two WCC teams involved in this years' edition, only one has any shot at busting any brackets. Fortunately, that team, Saint Mary's drew the only other team in the event that can help them earn an at-large bid, Creighton. The WCC's other team? Loyola Marymount. The participating schools are chosen by the conferences before the start of the season, and coming off a strong 21 win campaign last year the Lions weren't a bad choice for the WCC's second participant. They sure will look out of place now however, sitting at 8-18. They will play Cal Poly, a team which has done nothing other than beat UCLA early in the season.

BracketBusters 2013

3:00 PM PST

Creighton Bluejays at Saint Mary's Gaels

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Creighton hails from the Missouri Valley Conference, is 22-6 on the season, 11-5 in conference play and currently on a two game winning streak. The Bluejays are 6-4 on the road this season.

Saint Mary's is 23-5 on the season, 12-2 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak. The Gaels are 14-1 at home this season.

TV: ESPN

Radio: KXSP 590 AM in Omaha, Nebraska.
Online: Live audio from KXSP.

7:00 PM PST

Loyola Marymount Lions at Cal Poly Mustangs

Robert Mott Gymnasium, San Luis Obispo, California.

Cal Poly hails from the Big West, is 12-12 on the season, 8-6 in conference play and currently on a one game losing streak. The Mustangs are 10-1 at home this season.

LMU is 8-18 on the season, 1-13 in WCC play and currently on an 11 game losing streak.The Lions are 2-9 on the road this season.

Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles.

Online: Live audio from KXLU.

I hate to say this, but I really don't care too much about the LMU game so I am not going to spend much time on it. Apparently not many people are expected to care about it either as it isn't even televised. As far as I am concerned the biggest news out of this game is that it is the last shot at increasing the WCC's non-conference win percentage before the postseason. The WCC has the highest non-conference win percentage of any non-BCS league other than the Mountain West. It's even possible for the WCC to end up with a non-conference win percentage higher than the SEC once the postseason tournaments are done.

For the Creighton at Saint Mary's game there is a lot to be said. First, a quick word on Creighton. The Bluejays came into the season with a lot more hype than any WCC team. They had a preseason favorite for Player of the Year in Doug McDermott. It took weeks for Gonzaga to pass Creighton in the polls. McDermott has pretty much lived up to the hype but the Jays haven't. They went from ranked 15th in the preseason to a team that was closing in on the top ten, to a team that is now somehow on the NCAA Tournament bubble. 

For the Gaels it's really unfortunate that Creighton has fallen so far as of late. However, this is still a huge opportunity. The Gaels have faced only one RPI top-50 team so far this year (Gonzaga, 7th, against which they are 0-2). Creighton sits 47th in the RPI. The Bluejays will be the highest ranked, in terms of RPI, team the Gaels face in outside of conference play (also second highest overall) and Randy Bennett didn't have anything to do with landing a game against Creighton! The Bluejays will be only the third non-conference opponent the Gaels face with an RPI in the top 100. If the Gaels win this game and earn an at large berth it will be because they beat Creighton which is a good team, not because they picked up another win. I get so frustrated by the Gaels' schedule sometimes, and this is one of those times. Enough about that.

In terms of the game that will be played, it should be very exciting. These two squads play some of the best offensive ball in the land. Doug McDermott is the nation's fourth leading scorer. Grant Gibbs, the Bluejays point guard, will be making something of a homecoming. Gibbs played for Gonzaga during the 2009-10 season, he even started in one game. Unfortunately he felt that he didn't fit into the Zags' system and decided it would be best to transfer out. Had Gibbs stayed it would be unlikely we'd have seen him get to battle with Dellavedova, as we will in this game, due to the bevy of elite guards the Zags have had on their roster since Gibbs' first arrived in Spokane. So, that's a bonus.

Check back tomorrow for my previews of the other WCC action of the busy Saturday.