Countdown 10/12/13

27 days remain...

It's the weekend so you've got some time to waste. Do just that by watching this NCAA Tournament game from 1983. It doesn't end well for the WCC team involved, but it is entertaining and it features the eventual champs.

Countdown 9/21/13: Weekend Waster

49 days remain...

If you're not trying to watch college football, why don't you watch this college basketball game from the 2003 NCAA Tournament? This is one of my all-time favorite games and without a doubt my favorite game that features a WCC team on the losing end.

Countdown 9/15/13

55 days remain...

Countdown 9/13/13

57 days remain...

I normally post full games on Saturdays, but why not do a full game Friday once? Here's a really old game between San Francisco and Oregon State. The game used to be so different.

Countdown 8/24/13

77 days remain...

Waste some time this weekend with a throwback game from the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

This game comes from the NCAA Vault, so I can't embed it on the page but you can view it here.

Countdown 8/17/13

84 days remain...

It's Saturday so it's time for the weekly weekend waster. Pass some of your free time by watching this full game!

This game is from the NCAA Vault, which does not allow videos to be embedded, so I can only link to it. Don't let that discourage you because this game is nuts! LMU and Michigan combine for 264 points in the 1990 NCAA Tournament. Follow this link to see the game.

Countdown 8/5/13

96 days remain...

Work on the new floor at Firestone Fieldhouse has concluded. Today Pepperdine Athletics released a time lapse video of the construction process.

Continue reading to see more photos new floor, the old floor and an even older floor!

Countdown: Weekend Waster

98 days remain...

It's a Saturday, you've got time to kill and I'm here to help. Every Saturday during the countdown I will post a link to a full game. BYUtv Sports' Film Room and the NCAA Vault are two incredible, free and fully legal resources for this. Today's game comes from the NCAA Vault, which does not allow videos to be embedded on other sites like BYUtv does.

The game that opens up the era of the Weekend Waster is the game that opened up what I consider to be the modern era of the West Coast Conference (though the two games played by this team immediately prior to this game could also lay claim to that title). It was a one point victory in typical March Madness style. The other team featured a couple players that have won a couple NBA Championships over the past couple of years. Any ideas what this game is?

Stop wasting your time trying to figure out what game this is and start wasting your time watching the game, click here!

What Jamie Zaninovich Has Done To Get A Contract Extension

On Friday, May 17th, the West Coast Conference Presidents' Council approved a contract extension for Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich. His new contract goes through May 31, 2017. This is great news for the West Coast Conference. It shouldn't be much of a surprise considering his excellent track record and history in the Bay Area. Plus, the WCC has been pretty good at keeping guys (Mark Few/Randy Bennett) who are courted by the big money beasts of college athletics.

Since taking the top job on March 9th, 2008, Zaninovich has led the WCC to new heights. The following is a season-by-season retrospective of the major events and advancements in and around WCC basketball since Jamie Zaninovich was first hired.

Senior Series: Mike Hart

Recruiting is a very important part in building a team and a program. You need the right guys to play for you if you want to win games. For Butler that means getting guys willing to play in Brad Stevens' style, in the so called "Butler Way". Memphis coach Josh Pastner only gets guys who can play above the rim. Kentucky recruits only the best players regardless of the fact that they will play for just one season. Those teams, and many others, have found success through a certain style of player that fit into the style of the program.

Mike Hart has been called many things. He's a defensive specialist, a hustle player, a glue guy and a liability on offense. Those are all fairly accurate descriptions. What he is more than anything though, is a personification of Gonzaga Basketball.

 

To understand what I'm saying you need to go back to when Gonzaga and Mike Hart were unknowns.

Wins

Gonzaga 32-3

Saint Mary's 28-7
Santa Clara 25-12

For the second time in as many years, and the second time ever, the WCC is home to three teams with 25 or more wins.

Over the recent history of the conference, let's say the past six years, it was Gonzaga and Saint Mary's job to break the 25 win mark. Those two schools managed to do that in each of the past six seasons (only Kansas and Duke can say the same).

Last season, when this record was first set, realignment deserved the credit. BYU joined Gonzaga and Saint Mary's with 25+ wins. This was to be expected, as you see BYU had managed to hit 25 wins in the previous four seasons (along with Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Kansas and Duke). It was a record, that is true. But, it felt almost like a first year coach who succeeds with the players recruited by the previous coach.

This season it is different. It is not BYU that joins Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in the 25+ club. It's Santa Clara. A team that, two years ago, fell one win short of setting this record. Interestingly, this season, it is BYU that falls one win short of setting a new record.

See You Next Year

Not 24 hours have passed since the final buzzer sounded and confetti streamed down from the rafters in the Orleans Arena. I'm already looking forward to next year.

The Orleans Arena between the 2013 Women's and Men's Championship Games.

This year's WCC Tournament was the last in a few categories. It was the last nine team tournament. The last to feature the top seed protecting double-bye into the semifinals. It won't, however, be the last to take place at the Orleans Arena.

“I am very pleased that the West Coast Conference and The Orleans Arena have agreed to extend our partnership for the next three years,” WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said of the contract extension. The Orleans Arena will play host to the WCC Tournament through the 2016 season.

Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and The West Coast Conference Championship

The same thing over and over normally gets old. That doesn't apply to Gonzaga playing Saint Mary's.

6:00 PM PST

WCC Tournament Championship Game

#2 Saint Mary's Gaels vs. #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Saint Mary's is 27-5 on the season, 14-2 in WCC regular season play and currently on a six game winning streak.

Gonzaga is 30-2 on the season, 16-0 in WCC regular season play and currently on a 13 game winning streak.

Gonzaga won the season series 2-0.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: KGA 1510 AM and KEYF 101.1 FM in Spokane, KTEL 1490 AM in Walla Walla, KALE 960 AM in the Tri-Cities, KKRT 900 AM in Wenatchee, KWIQ 1020 AM in Moses Lake and KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound region. 

Satellite Radio: Sirius 93, Sirius 110 and XM 193.

Online: Live video from ESPN3 and live audio from KGA.

The Zags and Gaels have met in the past four WCC Tournament Finals and seven of the past ten. Gonzaga has reached the past 15 Finals and 17 of the past 18. You have to go all the way back to the 1993-94 season to find a WCC Tournament that did not end with either Saint Mary's or Gonzaga playing in the Final.

Over the past four WCC Tournament Finals Saint Mary's has won two (2012 and 2010) and Gonzaga has won two (2011 and 2009). Over the past ten games between the two Gonzaga has totaled 746 points to Saint Mary's 741. This is a rivalry

#1

Gonzaga joins the 14 other teams currently in mid-major conferences that have earned the top spot in the AP Poll. Click image for full size view.

Gonzaga is the best team in the nation according to this weeks college basketball polls. The Zags become the fifth team this season to sit atop the poll. They're the second WCC team in history to earn this honor and the 15th team (currently) from a mid-major conference to do so. 

Weekend Thoughts

1: Congratulations to the 2013 West Coast Conference Regular Season Champions, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Zags went 16-0 in WCC play this season. This is the fourth time the Zags have gone undefeated in conference play (14-0 in 2004, 2006 and 2009). The Zags' 29 overall wins this season ties their all time high for wins in a season (29 in 2001-02 and 2005-06).

2: Shame on the Saint Mary's Gaels for breaking the NCAA's rules. Even in a day and age where the NCAA's rules aren't just extreme and convoluted but not followed in principle by the NCAA itself this is unacceptable. The Gaels' desire to get ahead has not just tarnished their reputation but that of the WCC. Now on four years probation and having to suffer through numerous other sanctions the Gaels will have to fight to stay one of the top mid-majors in the country. Not only does that hurt their program but the rest of the programs in the WCC as well.

3. If the Zags move up to number one in the AP Poll released on Monday morning it will be a first for the program. The last WCC school to be ranked atop the poll was the 1976-77 San Francisco Dons. Those Dons held the top spot for nine weeks. San Francisco had been ranked number one for for four weeks in February 1955 and for the entire 1955-56 season.

Gonzaga's Historic Ranking

For the first time in program history the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the #2 team in the AP Top 25. The Zags are the third WCC team to reach this height. They join the exceptional Dons' teams of the mid-century and a blip on the historic radar (funny to say that about a team that hit #2) Broncos squad from 1968-69. This is historic not just for the program or the conference, but the college hoops landscape on the whole.

In the history of the AP Poll only 24 other mid-major teams have earned a ranking of two or higher. For this article I considered any team that is not currently in a power-six conference to be a mid-major. Some teams got shafted with this definition (DePaul, you shouldn't have sold out), some teams got rewarded (Temple, good thing the move to the Big East isn't until next season).

The Top-25 of Mid-Majors in the Top-25's top-2. Click image for full size view.

Win Total Forecast

As of today the average number of conference games played by WCC teams is 7.111. Is that number important? Not as far as I can tell. It's just a good time to take a look at how things were at this nearly mid-point last season and compare them with the season we're going through right now.

20 win teams:

Last season, for the first time ever, five WCC teams had 20+ win seasons. At this point in the season that didn't look too probable. How does this season compare?

(Through seven conference games)

Perfect Saturday

I love college basketball.

This year I've listened to college basketball podcasts on my way to work. I've studied statistics, both classic and new, in advance of and after games. I've paid money for subscriptions to ESPN, Kenpom, Basketball State and The Mid Majority. I woke up at 5 AM to watch the Australian Boomers play in the Olympics. I watched Summer League games, even though I don't watch the NBA, to keep up with former players. I've posted over 1,300 tweets and over 150 blog posts. This week I've watched the thrilling games from the Big 10 and battles between tough, urban teams from the Big East. 

That's not why I love college basketball. All of that which I've done this year is a result of the reason why I love college basketball.

As exciting as a top ten match up of powerhouse programs from the big conferences can be, and pretty much always ends up being. As high of a level of basketball is played by these hyper-talented teams. That's not why I love college basketball. I love college basketball as much for the stories, the culture that it can create, the history and the impact on the current that it has as I love it for the basketball itself. 

#8 Gonzaga at #13 Butler, but more specifically the two teams involved, is why I love college basketball.

Countdown 11/7

TWO DAYS REMAIN!!!

It still fits, even 13 years later.

Countdown 10/15

24 days remain...

I've tried not to do two posts about the same program in a row in the countdown, but today has been a long day. Up at six, commute at seven, work at nine, off at five, class at seven, finally getting to the post at 10:40 (central time). So, here's some coverage from KSL on the Utah Jazz selecting John Stockton in the 1984 NBA Draft. "The Utah Jazz select John Stockton of Gonzahguh University..." Back then that pronunciation was more acceptable.