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.

Non-Conference Schedule Analysis - Pepperdine

Click to view full size image.
(All times Pacific and subject to change)

The Waves' non-conference doesn't provide many chances to pick up a quality win. San Jose State provides a chance for a WCC team to beat a Mountain West team, but San Jose State isn't up to MWC standards yet. Utah Valley can challenge in the depleted WAC but likely won't win due to New Mexico State's dominance. The Waves' second game in the Great Alaska Shootout will likely be their best shot a quality win, especially if they can win their first game. Both Harvard and Denver will contend for NCAA Tournament berths this season. UC Irvine could make the big dance as well, though Pacific's exit from the Big West certainly helps the Anteaters in that regard. Finally, Washington State is the Waves' only game against a BCS team that is sure to happen (they could face TCU in Alaska depending on how the bracket shakes out). Unfortunately, Washington State is about as bad as a BCS team can get (TCU too, for that matter). 

While there aren't many, if any, strong teams on the schedule, there are ample opportunities for confidence boosting wins. This Waves program has been improving steadily under Marty Wilson. Making it through this slate without a bad loss could be just what they need to make the jump from young and inexperienced to upwardly mobile in the West Coast Conference.

1. November 9th at 5:00 PM in Malibu
San Diego Christian Hawks, Golden State Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Last Season: 7-17 (0-9 vs. D-I, not included in official 7-17 record)

Countdown 10/7/13

33 days remain...

Stay tuned for a full article about Pepperdine later this afternoon.

Countdown 10/2/13

38 days remain...

Get caught up with the Waves as they go through their first week of practice.

Countdown 9/29/13

41 days remain...

Here's a good look at the Waves' workout from before last season.

Countdown 9/1/13

 69 days remain...

Today we'll get into some rebounding numbers for the first five teams, alphabetically, in the WCC.

BYU: Last season the Cougars were 1st in the WCC with 35.5 RPG but were just 3rd in rebound rate, due in part to their fast pace (72.5 possessions/40 minutes, 1st WCC). The Cougars are losing the players responsible for 52.04% of last season's rebounds.

Countdown 8/26/13

75 days remain...

Pepperdine's Jett Raines was fifth among freshmen last season with 6.6 points per game.

Countdown 8/22/13

79 days remain...

We're in the seventies now so, of course, I'm going to be alliterative and spend ten days of the countdown on sophomores. The Sophomore Seventies! Since this is a countdown to the upcoming season I will only discuss players who will be sophomores this season.

Let's get started with the sophomore who currently reigns over the rest of his class. Stacy Davis from Pepperdine, the 2013 WCC Newcomer of the Year.

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!

Summer League 2013 Final Statistics

Part two of the 2013 NBA Summer League wrapped up in Las Vegas tonight with the Golden State Warriors winning the offseason league's inaugural championship game. In Summer League games the West Coast Conference was represented by eleven former players. Ten played in Las Vegas and one, Kelly Olynyk, played in the smaller Orlando Summer League. 

The 13th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Kelly Olynyk, had the best showing of not just the WCC products but of possibly every player at this year's Summer League. Elias Harris, Brandon Davies and Matthew Dellavedova also played well enough for a shot at a spot on a roster in the NBA in their first year out of college. Robert Sacre, who was taken by the Lakers with the last pick of the 2012 draft, performed well his second Summer League. Last week the Lakers signed Sacre to a guaranteed, multi-year contract. 

A number of other former WCC players took part in the Summer League. The following is a list, sorted by school, of all WCC players to log minutes in this year's NBA Summer League. Click on the player's statistics for a larger view.

BYU

Gonzaga

Loyola Marymount

Pepperdine

Portland

Saint Mary's

WCC Representation in Las Vegas' Summer League

Starting today, and continuing through the 22nd, Las Vegas will be a basketball oasis in the otherwise barren offseason landscape. UNLV's COX Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center are set to play host to the NBA's second summer league of the year. The smaller of the two, in Orlando, wraps up today. Las Vegas' version features the 20 NBA teams that did not play in Orlando plus one team that did, the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat, and a select group of players from the NBA D-League known as the NBA D-League Select team.

Once again, many former WCC student-athletes have been invited to play for teams in Las Vegas. This year six of the WCC's ten schools are represented by 11 players. Click "read more" to see a full list of the former WCC student-athletes playing for NBA teams in the 2013 Summer League.

Offseason Personnel Movement Around the WCC

The landscape of college basketball is ever-changing. Some of that change, conference realignment or selfish reasons for transferring, can be negative. Some though, like natural roster turnover due to graduation, is a necessary part of the college game. Regardless of whether the change is good or bad, we have to deal with it. Unfortunately, that can be really difficult. How are you supposed to keep track of players when so many are graduating, transferring in/out, coming off redshirts/redshirting or arriving for their first year at college?

Well, this is how. I've amassed all the information on the personnel movement happening at WCC basketball programs this offseason. It's all here, listed school-by-school. Take a look at who won't be back on your least favorite team next season (because you should already know who won't be back on your favorite team). You'll also find all the new recruits, the players who will be returning from a redshirt season or two year mission, the transfers, the dismissals as well as any coaching/staff changes. Plus, there are some charts to help you understand just how much each team is losing in terms of production.

Players listed under the "going" section are shown with the year they were listed as during the 2012-'13 season. Players listed under the "coming" section are shown with the year they will be for the 2013-'14 season.

Senior Series: Lorne Jackson

Without Head Coach Marty Wilson and senior guard Lorne Jackson, the steady foundation with connection to Pepperdine's past, the 2012-13 Waves may have fallen apart. Wilson has been involved with the organization for decades now. Prior to this past season, Jackson had already spent four seasons in Malibu. Due to a torn ACL, during the offseason after his junior year, he missed the 2011-12 season.

Injury kept Jackson off the court for a season, but it's also what got him more time in the court in the first place. To start his freshman season Jackson averaged just 8.3 minutes per game. In the fourth game of the year, when Senior guard Ryan Holmes sustained an injury, Jackson was thrust into the starting role. In 13 games without Holmes, Jackson was the starter and averaged 22.6 minutes.

San Diego 62 - Pepperdine 59

WCC teams are used to playing a game on a Saturday then a game the next Thursday, just not against the same team. That's what happened tonight in the second round of the WCC Tournament when San Diego faced off with Pepperdine. These two teams should be familiar with each other because they've had a week to scout plus a game to look back on for even more advanced scouting. 

That was the case in the early going. For the first nine minutes the two teams traded baskets and leads. Then the Waves figured out what they weren't able to figure out in either of their two previous meetings with the Toreros this season. Pepperdine put an end to the back and forth, pushed the lead to ten and kept a comfortable lead during the middle minutes of the first half. 

During this stretch of the game San Diego was sloppy. Cameron Miles chased a loose ball all the way down the floor to the baseline and saved it inbounds to John Sinis. Sinis promptly traveled for no reason, he wasn't being pressured or driving with the ball, just moved his pivot foot. After a great hustle play the ball was given back to the Waves who were up ten.

It was during this stretch that San Diego sharpshooter Johnny Dee was missing three after three after three. Something happened in the waining minutes of the half. Christopher Anderson stole the ball and Dee layed it in at the other end. Then Anderson made a pass to Dee who promptly drained a three. That sequence of events was repeated three times in rapid succession and the Toreros retook the lead before the break. A ten point Pepperdine lead was erased by a 21-3 San Diego run that spanned halftime. 

Much like the Waves of the first half the Toreros of the second half pushed the lead to a comfortable margin. Unlike the Waves, they never gave up the lead. Pepperdine would move to within one on a couple of occasions but could never tie things up. Stacy Davis, the WCC's Newcomer of the Year had a stellar night doing everything he could to bring the Waves back into the game. His stat line was fairly ridiculous for a freshman in his first WCC Tournament game. 19 points, 11 rebounds, 9-11 from the line, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and only one foul (the Waves committed 18 fouls overall).

The Waves made it a one possession in the last minute. Lorne Jackson was fouled shooting a three, which rolled in and out of the basket. The Toreros were up four at the time of the foul with only seconds remaining which begs the question, why were they even playing defense on the shooter? They were though, which sent Jackson to the line to shoot three. He made the first and the second before coach Marty Wilson called timeout to discuss an intentional miss of the final free throw. Jackson missed the third, off the right side of the rim just as planned. Unfortunately, the Waves jumped too soon and were called for a lane violation. The Toreros got the ball on the violation, were fouled immediately and made the second of two free throws. A desperation three at the buzzer fell way short and the Toreros hung on for the win.

In the end it was the amazing relationship of Christopher Anderson and Johnny Dee, two sophomores, that pushed the Toreros past the Waves. 

San Diego moves on to face #3 BYU on Friday at 8:30 PM PST. This will be the second straight year the Toreros and Cougars meet in the nightcap game of the WCC Quarterfinals. 

#7 Pepperdine vs. #6 San Diego

These two teams are young. San Diego has more seniors than Pepperdine. Pepperdine has a senior at the position where experience matters. The Toreros stellar sophomore back court of Johnny Dee and Christopher Anderson have been playing like veterans. Pepperdine's Lorne Jackson is a veteran, the fifth year senior has been here before and won't be back unless he gets a victory tonight.

Both teams feature members of the WCC's All-Freshman Team. Center Jito Kok is a block machine for the Toreros. Stacy Davis' 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game earned him WCC Newcomer of the Year honors. 

The first time these two met the Toreros won easily, by 12, in Malibu back in January. The second time was less than a week ago and the Waves proved to be much more pesky than the first time with the Toreros winning by only seven. Familiarity is the name of this game as neither team has played since Saturday. Having the last game fresh in their minds both teams know what the need to do differently this time. KenPom.com projects this to be a two point game when the final buzzer sounds. He uses stats to figure that out. Based upon familiarity I would have to agree that this will be a close one.

WCC Tournament Day Two Info

WCC Tournament Second Round

6:00 PM PST
#5 San Francisco Dons vs. #9 Loyola Marymount Lions
Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Loyola Marymount is 9-21 on the season, 1-15 in the WCC regular season and currently on a one game winning streak.
San Francisco is 14-15 on the season, 7-9 in WCC play and currently on a three game winning streak.
San Francisco swept the Lions 2-0 in the regular season.
TV: BYUtv.
Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles.
Satellite Radio: Sirius 110 and XM 193.
Online: Live video from WCC Digital and live audio from KXLU.

Approx. 8:30 PM PST (30 minutes after USF vs. LMU)
#6 San Diego Toreros vs. #7 Pepperdine Waves
Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pepperdine is 12-17 on the season, 4-12 in WCC play and currently on a four game losing streak.
San Diego is 14-17 on the season, 7-9 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.
San Diego swept the season series 2-0.
TV: BYUtv.
Radio: XX 1090 AM in San Diego.
Satellite Radio: Sirius 110 and XM 193.
Online: Live video from WCC Digital, live audio from 1090 AM and Pepperdine Athletics.

The WCC's March Madness is Orderly

Click image for full size view.

This morning only three seeds were set in stone. Since then the tournament has come into form, and the BYU at LMU game isn't even over yet! At this point, 11:50 PM Central Standard Time, the five and six seeds are not official. San Francisco and San Diego have the same conference record, necessitating a tie-breaker. The tie-breaker in this case is the teams' RPI rating. The RPI used in the tie-breaker will be taken Sunday morning. There's no way for San Diego to pass San Francisco in the RPI between now and then though, so it's the Dons that will come up with the five seed.

Game Day Info 2/2

It's the last day of the regular season so the bracket for the WCC Tournament has to be determined today. Still up for grabs are seeds three through eight. Here are the possible seedings.
1: Gonzaga. Bye to the semifinals.
2: Saint Mary's. Bye to the semifinals.
3: BYU if Santa Clara loses at Saint Mary's. Santa Clara if the Broncos win at Saint Mary's and BYU loses at LMU. Bye to the quarterfinals.
4: Santa Clara if the Broncos lose at Saint Mary's. BYU if the Cougars lose at LMU and Santa Clara wins at Saint Mary's. Bye to the quarterfinals.
5: San Francisco if San Diego loses to Pepperdine. San Diego if the Toreros beat Pepperdine and have a better RPI than San Francisco on Sunday morning (very unlikely, San Diego is 29 spots behind San Francisco at the time of this post).
6: San Diego if the Toreros lose to Pepperdine. San Francisco if San Diego beats Pepperdine and has a better RPI than the Dons on Sunday morning.
7: Pepperdine if the Waves win at San Diego. Portland if the Pilots win at Gonzaga and Pepperdine loses at San Diego.
8: Portland if the Pilots lose at Gonzaga. Pepperdine if the Waves lose at San Diego and Portland wins at Gonzaga.
9: Loyola Marymount.

Click "read more" for the times and TV/Radio/Online coverage of today's four WCC games.

WCC Wednesday 2/27

8:00 PM PST

#23 Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves

Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California.

Saint Mary's is 24-5 on the season, 12-2 in WCC play and currently on a three game winning streak.

Pepperdine is 12-15 on the season, 4-10 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

TV: ESPNU and ESPN Pacific Rim.

Online: Live video from ESPN3, live audio from Pepperdine Athletics.

Game Info 2/23

WCC Game of the Week

2:00 PM PST

Santa Clara Broncos at Portland Pilots

Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon.

Santa Clara is 19-9 on the season, 7-6 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

Portland is 11-18 on the season, 4-10 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet California and ROOT Sports Northwest/Rocky Mountain.

Radio: KPDQ 800 AM in Portland and KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area.

Online: Live audio from KPDQ and KDOW.

ESPN BracketBusters

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.