Countdown 10/23/13

16 days remain...

but only one remains before the WCC Tip-Off Event!

Tomorrow's event is more interactive than ever, featuring Google+ Hangouts with the players and commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, question submission for on Twitter and interviews streaming on both TheW.tv and WCC Live.

If you can, you should be planning to catch the whole event on TheW.tv. However, if work gets in the way - good luck taking a break from 10:30 AM until 1:00 in the afternoon - you might want to tune in to see just your team's coach and player take the stage. Here's the schedule for the live video stream on TheW.tv.

Thursday, October 24th, 2013

10:30 - Randy Bennett and Beau Levesque, Saint Mary's

10:45 - Bill Grier and Johnny Dee, San Diego

11:00 - Rex Walters and Chris Adams, San Francisco

11:15 - Kerry Keating and Yannick Atanga, Santa Clara

11:30 - Dave Rose and Matt Carlino, BYU

11:45 - Mark Few and Sam Dower, Gonzaga

12:00 - Max Good and Anthony Ireland, LMU
12:15 - Ron Verlin and Tony Gill, Pacific

12:30 - Marty Wilson and Brendan Lane, Pepperdine

12:45 - Erik Reveno and Ryan Nicholas, Portland

Take a look at the complete release from the WCC for more information. The same format is set up for the women's so check up on them too.

Countdown 10/1/13

39 days remain...

It's the month of practice, walk-ons dominating NAIA teams in exhibitions and the WCC Tip-Off Event. Jeff Tourial announced this morning that the tip-off event will be taking place on October 24th in Los Angeles. That is all we know at this point as he tweeted that details are still to come.

Last year's event took place at the Time Warner Cable SportsNet studios in El Segundo. Players and coaches from all 9 mens teams were in attendance, along with the commissioners, athletic directors and media (somehow, myself included). This year it appears the women will be involved as well.
While there is no indication this year's will be open to the public, fans need not be discouraged because last year was highly interactive. Over the course of the day a live stream on youtube featured interviews with the players and coaches. Fans were able to submit questions through social media outlets.

Keep your eyes peeled for press releases and tweets from accounts such as @WCChoops and @WCCsports.

Take a look at the live coverage from last year's event. This video appears to be the unedited live stream so you should scroll around rather than wait through the breaks.

The WCC Gets a New Digital Network

Earlier today the West Coast Conference, as well as all ten of the member institutions, their teams, journalists and other people around the twittersphere helped introduce TheW.tv.

This is the new and improved version of last year's WCC Digital Network "powered by Campus Insiders". TheW.tv is still a part of Campus Insiders, but now the WCC has its own stand alone website.

During basketball season, TheW.tv will be the exclusive home of at least 20 WCC contests. On top of those games, at least 40 games from regional TV networks, like Time Warner Cable SportsNet, will be carried online by TheW.tv. This is great news. Last season, while I lived in Chicago, I managed to watch all but one conference game. However, some games I had to watch on a stream from a less than reputable (and probably not exactly legal) website. Those games were more often than not games carried on ROOT Sports or TWCSN, which do not broadcast in Chicago. This season, based on their slogan of, "All the action. Anytime. Anywhere." I won't have to settle for low quality video streams from hard to find websites.

The WCC is now home to one of the most state-of-the-art internet presences in college athletics. How cool is that? Read the official press release here.

WCC and ESPN Announce Television Schedule

Earlier today the West Coast Conference and ESPN released their television schedule for the upcoming season. This is the official release though it may not yet be complete as additional non-conference road games can be picked up by the ESPN family of networks. We will find out about those games "at a later date" (appropriate considering how long it has taken for schedules to be released this year).

Here are a few observations on this schedule.

WCC Releases 2013-14 Schedule

Today the West Coast Conference announced its 2013-14 men's basketball schedule. Most schools have yet to formally announce their schedule for the non-conference portion of the season, but that doesn't mean we can't look forward to the games they'll play later in the season.

The season will begin on Saturday, December 28th with four games. Monday, December 30th features ten teams -- for the first time ever -- on the same day with Pacific, in its first conference game as a WCC member since 1971, hosting the other team not scheduled to play on opening day, Saint Mary's. As it has been in recent seasons, games will be mostly confined to Thursday and Saturday, though because of that slate of games on Monday it will seem like the season begins at a full sprint. From Saturday the 28th through Saturday the 4th there will be 18 WCC games. The only other deviation from the Thursday and Saturday schedule comes on Wednesday, February 5th, when Gonzaga hosts Portland.

Saturday, March 1st, will be the final day of the regular season. All ten teams will be in action on that final day, so seeding at the WCC Tournament should come down to the wire. Also, because having a  tournament seed on the line isn't enough pressure, bragging rights will be on the line with Gonzaga playing at Saint Mary's.

The conference tournament begins on Thursday, March 6th. There will no longer be an extended break for the top two seeds between their final conference game and first tournament game, thanks to the elimination of the double-bye. Every team will have played at least one tournament game by the end of Saturday, March 8th. The Semifinals are set for March 10th and the finals for March 11th, with 7th and 9th both being off days for all teams.

Here's the full conference schedule for your viewing pleasure.

Attendance

 
Today the NCAA released the attendance records for men's basketball from last season. In terms of total attendance the WCC is not well represented in the top-100 list. Only BYU (13th) and Gonzaga (94th) make the list. The small gyms in the WCC make it impossible to draw large crowds. Gonzaga sold out every home game last season and still barely made the top-100. Even Duke, one of the sport's best known brands, managed only to reach 47th due to Cameron Indoor Stadium's old-school number of seats.

The conference as a whole ranked 11th when counting home games played by WCC teams as well as the conference tournament. Based on those criteria the WCC totaled 647,789 spectators last season for an average of 4,277 per game. Every conference that drew more spectators than the WCC drew least one million spectators. The conference closest to the WCC is the Mid-American Conference, which trails by more than 94,000.

Welcome Home, Pacific!

Today the University of the Pacific returns to the conference it helped found after a 40+ year absence. Take a look at the WCC Standings section on the left hand side of the site and you'll see ten teams listed. I wrote in detail about the move for Mid-Major Madness; the table shown above is taken from that article, which you can read in full 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.

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.

Post of the Year

Today the West Coast Conference released the four individual "_____ of the year" awards, the all-conference team and the all-freshman team. The conference's nine head coaches vote on these awards. Have a look.

WCC Player of the Year
Kelly Olynyk -  Junior Forward, Gonzaga

WCC Coach of the Year
Mark Few - Gonzaga

WCC Defensive Player of the Year
Mike Hart -  Senior Guard, Gonzaga

WCC Newcomer of the Year
Stacy Davis - Freshman Forward, Pepperdine

Game Recap: Lunch Break Edition

I haven't been writing many game recaps this season because of my work schedule, which involves getting up at 6:20 in the morning after watching games that don't get started until 10:00 at night. By the time I get home it's pretty much time, especially on Fridays, to start focusing on the next set of games. Last night featured a game that generated much to be said, so I'm squeezing a quick hitting recap into my lunch break at work.

Gonzaga Bulldogs 77 - Saint Mary's Gaels 60

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Thursday, February 14, 2013.

Gonzaga has now won two straight games against Saint Mary's. For the past few years these two teams had been alternating between victory and defeat to the tune of a 4-4 record over the past eight games. Now, Gonzaga has ended that see-saw affair with a decisive season sweep of the Gaels. That really won't change anything as far as the rivalry goes. It may actually make it more intense from the perspective of Gaels fans, assuming these two squads meet in the WCC Tournament Championship Game in just under a months time. 

Mid-Week Non-Conference

7:00 PM PST:
Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at Santa Clara Broncos
Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California.
The Roadrunners are an independent (joining the WAC next season). They are 7-13 on the season, 1-9 on the road and are currently on a one game winning streak.
The Broncos are 14-6 on the season, 3-3 in WCC play, 9-4 at home and currently on a two game winning streak.
Radio: KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area, KERN 1180 AM in the Bakersfield/Kern County area.
Online: Live audio from KDOW and from KERN.

The start of conference play does not mark the end of the non-conference schedule. Tonight Santa Clara hosts one of Division 1's newest members, the independent Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners. The Roadrunners, once a power in Division 2, should pose no threat to the Broncos tonight. They've already suffered two setbacks to Loyola Marymount this season, and the Lions sit at the bottom of the WCC standings right now.

Because of Matthew Dellavedova

So, this happened tonight...

That caused the following:

• The San Diego Toreros now hold a half-game lead atop the conference.
• San Diego, 11-8 (4-0); Gonzaga, 16-1 (3-0); Brigham Young, 14-5 (4-1) and Saint Mary's, 14-4 (3-1) are the top four teams in the conference standings.
• All four of the teams currently in the top four of the WCC standings have made the NCAA Tournament in the past 10 years.
• All four have won games in the NCAA Tournament during that span. 
• These four teams are the only four teams to have made the NCAA tournament from the WCC in that span.

Crazy ending changes nothing. The WCC's top teams are the WCC's top teams. This is fun to watch.

Rankings Roundup

With Monday comes the release of the weekly AP and Coaches Polls. Here are how the top WCC teams fare in those highly publicized polls along with selected other rankings.

• Gonzaga (6-0): 20th RPI, 12th AP, 12th Coaches, 10th ESPN, 9th CBS, 5th Sagarin, 2nd Pomeroy.
  The Zags made a big jump in the human polls this week and slighter jumps in the computer ones. Finally the voters seem to be seeing what the computers have been aware of, this team is one of the best in the nation. The Zags fell from first in the nation in scoring to 21st. They're 29th in points allowed, 7th in field goal percentage (52.3), 18th in rebounds per game (39), 14th in points per possession (1.14) and 14th in effective field goal percentage (57.6). They are one of 33 remaining unbeaten teams.
•  Saint Mary's (4-2): 41st Coaches, 65th Pomeroy, 71st Sagarin.
  The Gaels dropped out of the "others receiving votes" section of the AP Poll this week due to their two weekend losses but they managed to stay in that section of the Coaches poll, albeit barely. If Ken Pomeroy was the NCAA selection committee the Gaels would be playing a first four game.
•  Brigham Young (4-2): 66th Pomeroy, 57th Sagarin, 56th RPI.
  The Cougars didn't fall out of the polls, because they weren't in them to begin with. Their two losses came to strong teams so the computer rankings are treating them pretty well. One big positive is Tyler Haws who is currently 9th in points per game with 23.3.
• Santa Clara (5-0): 117th RPI, 107th Pomeroy, 100th Sagarin,
  With five wins already the unbeaten Broncos are three short of their season total from last year. They should easily pass that mark before they lose a game but don't expect them to be undefeated by the time WCC play rolls around. They play at #2 (AP/Coaches) Duke in their last non-conference game of the year.

Turkey on the Table, Tournaments on the Tube

It's once again that wonderful time of year when fans of college hoops fill themselves with turkey before sitting down on the couch to have an extended battle with tryptophan over the ability to stay awake for multiple, sure to be great, college basketball games. For those who make it to the final buzzer without falling asleep the reward is two-fold. Firstly they have just been given hours of entertaining early season hoops. Secondly they can feel good about themselves for not succumbing to the effects of that seasonally popular essential amino acid.

That was a fun to write and long to read way to say "it's time for the thanksgiving weekend and the great college basketball tournaments that come with the holiday".

This year four of the WCC's nine teams are participating in Thanksgiving week tournaments. Santa Clara in the sub-CBE (I'll get to that later), Loyola Marymount in the Great Alaska Shootout, Saint Mary's in the Directv Classic (Anaheim Classic) and Gonzaga in the Old Spice Classic. Here is the first part of my previews for these tournaments. The following are the games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Friday and Sunday games will be determined by the outcomes of the games on Thursday and Friday so I will preview those on Thursday night after the action. The only exception is Santa Clara, which will play Eastern Washington on Friday. That preview will also be included with Thursday's round of previews.

Countdown 11/2

SEVEN DAYS REMAIN!

Here's a behind-the-scenes video of the WCC Tip Off event. You get a look at just how cool it was and how incredible the Time Warner Cable Sports Net studios are. Both of my parents' careers are in television news so I spent my weekends as a young child at the KHQ TV studios' in Spokane (it was way better than daycare or a sitter fiscally and fun-ally) so I am pretty familiar with the broadcast television facility. I was not prepared for just how amazing the facilities are at TWC SN. The TV deal between the WCC and TWC SN is great news.

Countdown 10/29

11 days remain...

There are days left? I've watched a few exhibition games already and just today was at the WCC Men's Basketball Tip-Off event so it really feels like hoops season. Alas, there are still 11 days until the first WCC action that the NCAA selection committee cares about. 11 days until San Francisco faces off against Stanford.

Unfortunately my video camera, which by the way is now well over a decade old, went down with a case of something Sony helpfully calls "C:32:30". Hopefully I can get that fixed upon return to Chicago tomorrow. Also, hopefully I can return to Chicago tomorrow... stay safe East Coast people, Sandy is raw. 

Good news: I will have internet at my apartment after over one year without a personal internet connection. So, expect more updates and expect them to be more in depth. No more feeling weird for watching a few games at a cafe then writing about them for a couple hours and only spending a dollar or two.

Anyways, I'll be posting a real fancy all done up article tomorrow when I can get all the multimedia content up and worked. Get ready for more than text and Youtube videos people! Until then, here are three main stories from today's event.

• The WCC partners with Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
  At least 15 WCC men's basketball games will be produced by Time Warner Cable SportsNet in 2013. There will now be a "West Coast Conference Game of the Week" aired by Time Warner Cable SportsNet every Saturday during conference play. This is on top of the existing partnerships with ESPN and BYUtv. Over 85% of the conference games will be televised either nationally and regionally thanks to this new partnership.
  
• Preseason All-WCC selections:Gary Bell Jr., So. G, Gonzaga.
  Brandon Davies, Sr. F, BYU.
  Johnny Dee, So. G, San Diego.
  Matthew Dellavedova, Sr. G. Saint Mary's.
  Sam Dower, Jr. C, Gonzaga.
  Kevin Foster, Sr. G, Santa Clara.
  Elias Harris, Sr. F, Gonzaga.
  Stephen Holt, Jr. G, Saint Mary's.
  Anthony Ireland, Jr. G, Loyola Marymount.
  Kevin Pangos, So. G, Gonzaga.
  
• WCC Coaches Poll:
  
  #1 Gonzaga: 63 points, 7 first place votes.
  #2 BYU: 55 points, 1 first place vote.
  #3 Saint Mary's: 52 points, 1 first place vote.
  #4 Loyola Marymount: 37 points.
  #5 San Diego 36 points.
  #6 Santa Clara: 35 points.
  #7 San Francisco: 19 points.
  #8 Portland: 15 points.
  #9 Pepperdine: 12 points.

Countdown 10/25

15 days remain...

Today the WCC publicly announced the 2012 Men's Basketball Tip Off event that will take place on Monday, October 29th. The event is being held in El Segundo, CA but a live stream on youtube will allow fans from all over the country to interact with the coaches and players.

More info here.

More info here as well.

Countdown 10/23

17 days remain...

With each passing day not only does the season get closer but the hype gets bigger. Today ESPN published a whole mountain of articles on the WCC. Previews, predictions, team overviews, rankings, lists etc. Many of these require a subscription to ESPN.com Insider to view like the team overviews, but the Gaels' is free for all to see. Fill your brain with this and be satisfied for a day.

Here's the main page on ESPN.com for the WCC content.

Countdown 10/13

26 days remain...

Just a day after the unofficial start of the college basketball season you can already look forward to the end of the season. The West Coast Conference is hosting first and second (technically called the second and third) round games in the NCAA Tournament this year in San Jose. Tickets went on sale this morning. If you're in the Bay Area you should look into getting tickets. Regardless of who is playing it's bound to be a great experience.

Here's the link to the press release from the WCC with all the information.