2014 Post Season

[ALioninWinter]

The WCC got 6 teams into the post season.

Gonzaga (8 seed) and BYU (10 seed) represent the conference in the NCAA Field of 64
USF and St Mary's are first round hosts in the NIT
Pacific and San Diego are playing in the CIT

Here's wishing the best to our conference mates!!

[LIONS90045]

Congrats to the Zags and Cougars for their NCAA roles and to the Dons and Gaels for their slots in the NIT.
Pacific and San Diego may make some noise in the CIT.

6 out of 10 is batting over 0.500!

[slblions08]

A few thoughts...

If you look at it on paper, Gonzaga doesn't have any impressive wins. Had they lost in the WCC title game, they still would have gotten in, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a good argument to be in, especially over a team like SMU or even Green Bay (who beat Virginia!).

Same goes with BYU. Their best win came on the opening marathon night of the season against Stanford. Goes to show that the season should be taken seriously from the very beginning. They also beat Texas which I guess is solid considering the Longhorns finished high in the Big 12, but after that they basically lost to all the other ranked teams close: Iowa State, Wichita State, Oregon, UMass. And they have some bad losses such as losing to LMU and Portland.

With Gonzaga getting an 8 seed and BYU getting a 10 seed, it just shows that they NCAA gives bids and seeds based on your reputation, past efforts, your scheduling and the size of your traveling fan base. Lets be honest. The NCAA knows that Gonzaga will travel to San Diego when they play Oklahoma State. And of course, BYU had a nice following the midwest and will do fine in Wisconsin.


To get noticed by the NCAA, this is the checklist that needs to be followed. Prioritize scheduling. Schedule challenging opponents. Also, build our fan base. This got started by firing Max Good and maybe showing the students and alums that they are being serious. Also, there has to be some home games during the month of November. The fact that LMU hardly played at home until conference season was a joke. By the time the student body got a chance to really see game, we were done. Whoever made that scheduling decision should also be fired. If we can do those things, then its left up to Mike Dunlap to give us team with a following. [It seems as though that if we ever made a possible run to get into the tournament there would be a lot of buzz around nostalgic media and fans. The 25th anniversary of the that team, the first real NCAA tournament Cinderella that has triggered this whole frenzy/hype machine would be a nice reason to let us in.]

I will be rooting hard for the 'Zags to beat OK State and take a shot at Arizona. I also hope BYU wins the rematch over Oregon. I think that if BYU can get hot with their shooting they'd have a shot over Wisconsin although that will practically be a home game for the Badgers.

San Fran has a game against LSU, and Saint Mary's hosts Utah. I think San Diego should be able to knock off Portland State although I won't get my hopes up for Pacific.

[TexasCat]

Awesome to watch St. Mary's rally around Holt and fight off Utah tonight. Pure heart - couldn't help but get caught up in it. I think that is something that runs in this league and why it's such a special conference.

[LIONS90045]

I hadn't realized that BYU lost Collingsworth to a knee injury in the Gonzaga game.
Without him they'll have a tough time vs Oregon.
There are also memories of the Cougars collapse in the second half of their first game vs Oregon - offset by a desire for payback.
Cal Poly advanced after an easy win over their "play-in" opponent. Now they get undefeated Wichita State!
The Zags got a tough draw and will have their hands full getting past the first two rounds.

[LIONS90045]

As expected, without Collingsworth, BYU is "one and done" in the tourney. Too bad about the injury.
Today, Gonzaga outlasted Oklahoma State in a physical contest with 61 fouls. Pangos led the Zags with 28 points including 10 for 10 FTs in the final 90 seconds of the game.
Cal Poly's bubble burst big time along with their dream of being the first #16 seed to beat the #1 seed Wichita State in a loss by the score of 64-37. State led 32-13 at halftime while holding Poly to 4 for 28 from the field. I guess these Wichita guys are for real!

[TexasCat]

Post season ended for the Lions last Friday when Anthony Ireland played in Dallas for the NABC game. I don't have details but a fresh interview link attached.

[thx4leavinjimlynam]

Good eye, texascat. Here is the box score. AI had a game-high 3 steals. Played 18 minutes, 7 points, 1 assist, 0 turnovers.

static.psbin.com/q/e/vztl9qnfw53kor/Reese-s_Final_Box-1.pdf

[LIONS90045]

I recorded and watched the game.
I doubt the teams had much time together to practice so it was a "do your thing" type of game but reasonable well-played in spite of the circumstances.
Both sides seemed to have two teams of 5 players each who played 5 minutes as a group then was replaced en mass for the next 5 minutes, etc.
AI was featured by the announcers in the pre-game intro but did not start. He had a rough game on offense for most of the minutes but finally scored a 3 with 3 minutes left in the game with the West (AI's) team down by some 20 points at the time. He went on to get two more baskets at the game's end - resulting in his 7 points.
I'm not sure his play during the first 17 minutes raised his NBA stock value but it was an honor just to be on the court with this group of all-star Seniors. It was nice to see the recognition he got in the game.
Best of luck to AI!

[ADG'99]

Apr 7, 2014 12:34:04 GMT -5 LIONS90045 said:

it was a "do your thing" type of game but reasonable well-played in spite of the circumstances.

AI must've found it comforting; that sentence is a good summary of the entire Max Good era.