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Post by titanczar on Nov 27, 2009 2:37:13 GMT -5
Portland destroyed UCLA tonight. Going to be a long season in Westwood. The 2010 field for the Classic has been announced: CSN, Penn St, Stanford, Va Tech, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Tulsa, & DePaul sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4692321&name=katz_andyBut no WCC schools in the field, as in the first three years; 07-USD, 08-St. Mary's, 09- Portland. Was LMU or Pepperdine invited and decline? Did any WCC school get an invitation? If not, why not? The BW is "hosting" this tourney but I'm sure the Mouse is making the invitations to teams.
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Post by fanblade on Nov 27, 2009 3:40:26 GMT -5
Portland beating UCLA is not too shocking considering how bad the Bruins are this season but the margin of the win is. UCLA is really bad but Portland also has collected quite the team.
I seriously doubt that LMU or Pep would decline an invitation to appear at a local and primetime tournament. ESPN likely didn't send an invite to any WCC school.
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Nov 27, 2009 3:50:27 GMT -5
That was complete domination by the Pilots. Reveno began playing the end of the bench with about seven minutes remaining.
This is Portland's make-or-break season. Four senior starters. They could easily win the tournament (they play Minnesota next, and then either Texas A&M or Clemson). If the Pilots can win the 76 Classic the same week that Gonzaga won the Maui Tournament, that would be quite a week for the WCC. In addition, San Diego beat Oklahoma last night and they could win the Great Alaska Shootout!
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Post by zagsfanforlife on Nov 27, 2009 5:36:14 GMT -5
If portland beats minnesota #18 and WVU #8 they will be ranked no doubt. having already beat ucla and oregon
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 12:03:15 GMT -5
titanczar - regarding your general point of WCC teams getting top exposure in pre-conference games, the announcers at last night's Portland-UCLA game indicated neither Washington nor Oregon (who played home and away games in the past two years) wants to schedule Portland next year. Aside from Gonzaga, the difficulty scheduling top opponents will hamper the WCC's general standing as we may not be given the opportunities to display our talent. Let's hope LMU continues to put together a challenging schedule in the coming years as we will be the next Portland as the WCC "upstart."
By the way, there should lots of "ROOM AT THE TOP" of the NCAA rankings. #25 Oklahoma (now 2-3) lost twice, as did #21 Maryland. As noted, #19 Clemson and #10 Butler fell yesterday.
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Post by longtimelionfan on Nov 27, 2009 12:54:49 GMT -5
Words I never thought I would read from the establishment press. The following is an excerpt from Katz' piece on ESPN.com about Portland's thrashing of the Bruins last night.
"Still, the win over UCLA helps Portland's credibility as it tries to get out from under Gonzaga's long shadow in the WCC.
"What this shows is that we can play, too," Stohl said.
That's true. But it also puts the Bruins in a light that makes you wonder not where Portland would finish in the Pac-10, but rather, where this UCLA team would finish in the WCC.
Let's remember, this is a league that features Maui Invitational champ Gonzaga, a Saint Mary's team that has barely missed a beat without Patty Mills, a San Diego team that already has beaten Stanford and Oklahoma and a Portland team that has easily dispatched two Pac-10 opponents.
Would those same Bruins we saw Thursday night finish any higher than fifth in the WCC?
That's something few, if any, would have pondered during the preseason."
Go Lions, Go WCC, lets get multiple post season births.
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Post by titanczar on Nov 27, 2009 14:53:32 GMT -5
My general point is that the WCC has been invited to the 76 Classic the first three years. Next year's field has been announced and there are no WCC schools. Why? Other than Gonzaga, no WCC school is the a position to say no to a tourney like that. Either are any BW schools.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 21:43:03 GMT -5
titanczar - I agree - it is a mystery to me that a WCC team is not invited, especially since a local school might bring in more attendees at the arena even though the games are all on TV. ESPN must not think the WCC is a draw on TV (yet). They must like CSN better than any WCC team.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 21:49:03 GMT -5
By the way, did anyone else notice that Dan Guerrero, Athletic Director at UCLA and member (maybe Chairman) of NCAA Division I selection committee was courtside for Portland's pounding of UCLA last night? He was interviewed on ESPN at halftime of the UCLA game and explained UCLA's performance as caused by turnover, which is not inaccurate although they have top recruits on the floor. He will also take in the other games at the event. I am guessing Portland caught his attention even though UCLA played so badly.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 22:10:29 GMT -5
Gametime - Minnesota 9 point favorite over Portland Portland 20 Minnesota 14 with 6 minutes left in first half. Wow!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 22:27:56 GMT -5
33-27 at half!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 22:58:32 GMT -5
Message to Coach Good - do not leave Stohl open for the 3!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 23:15:55 GMT -5
Portland looks for real! 50-41 with 8 minutes to play against Minnesota. No wonder Washington and Oregon don't want to play them again next year. Campbell has 20 to now! Two WCC teams in top 25 - believe it!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 23:32:43 GMT -5
Portland up by 4 with 1:11 to play - go WCC!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 27, 2009 23:41:07 GMT -5
Big win over top 25 team! Congrats Pilots!
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