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Post by lionlife on Mar 5, 2019 10:50:54 GMT -5
My personal predictions for this weekend. Reminder, there are essentially two tracks to the final. First track starts with Pepperdine vs Pacific. Winner will play LMU. Winner of that game plays USF. Winner of that games loses to Gonzaga.
The second track begins with San Diego vs Portland. Winner of that game plays Santa Clara. Winner of that plays BYU. Winner of that plays St Mary's.
In the first track, I believe Pepperdine will make quick work of ponderous Pacific. I think we'll take them in a nail biter. My optimistic side thinks LMU will beat USF. We'll slow it down against Gonzaga, keep it close through 27 minutes, and they'll pull away right before/after the 12 minute media timeout in the second half.
In the second track, Portland will hang tight with USD, but lose. USD will then knock off Santa Clara, before BYU beats USD by 4. BYU will beat St. Mary's handily. And lose by 15 to Gonzaga in the final.
My dark horses are LMU and USD. I don't think we'll have the talent to beat the Zags but we'll control the pace, as we often do with them, and but we'll give them Few things to worry about on offense. On the other side, USD has as much talent as any team south of Spokane. I wouldn't be shocked to see them in the final. I don't think it's likely, especially with their poor recent results, but they have a great team when they're clicking.
There you go. Share some predictions.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Mar 5, 2019 17:34:23 GMT -5
It’s a tough tournament to handicap, because other than Gonzaga and Portland, you simply don’t know which team is going to show up. Then you throw in some of the inexplicable— like how does a talent-starved Santa Clara Team out perform a Torero team that had some of the best talent in the league south of the Columbia River?
I’ll give my predictions but other than Gonzaga being light years ahead and Portland probably remaining winless in the WCC, anybody can win or lose any game.
I expect we’ll see the Waves in our first game. I think the game is pretty much a toss up but I’m figuring their youth will do them in, so the Lions advance to Round 3. I don’t see USF repeating their miserable shooting night so I see them with a solid win and advancing to their thrashing at the hands of the Zags.
In the other bracket I expect to see USD’s cream rise to the top as they knock off Portland and Santa Clara. I see them in a good match against BYU. I’ll pick BYU but I believe this could easily go to the Toreros. The Gaels are another enigma. I’ve seen them play so well and other times look like a poorly organized pickup team (so uncharacteristic of an RB team). Still, cream tends to rise to the top in crunch time so I expect to see a strong performance out of the Gaels whether they play San Diego or BYU.
But it doesn’t really matter because Gonzaga is going to rollover whoever like the Hummer did over the VW Bug in that commercial years ago.
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Post by ironlion on Mar 7, 2019 14:41:36 GMT -5
Wordpress down so I'm not able to update the site. Here is Turk's take.
Turk’s Take - Conference Tournament Preview
Expect Early Madness Already in March
Let’s cut to the chase. Gonzaga is going to win the West Coast Conference Tournament. Hands down they are the best team in the conference by a fairly sizable gap. After that, each of the other teams is capable of beating the other. For that reason, expect a few mild upsets. Here is how I see the tournament playing out:
Thursday – First Round #8 Pepperdine vs. #9 Pacific While Pacific won both meetings against the Waves, not only is it difficult to beat a team three times in a season, but I also think the Tigers are just ready to go home. Waves win.
#7 San Diego vs. #10 Portland These games were not close during USD’s two regular season wins, but you can disregard the comment above about beating a team three times – Portland did not win a regular season game. Talk about a team wanting to go home. The Pilots get rolled by double-digits here.
Friday – Second Round #8 Pepperdine vs. #5 Loyola Marymount This will be a well-rested LMU team who should take the rubber game of this three-game set. The Lions are riding too much momentum not to win, and a first game tournament loss ruins the look of their 20-win season.
#6 Santa Clara vs. #7 San Diego The Toreros have four seniors who will make sure USD pulls off a mild upset even though the Broncos are playing well right now. This might be the best game of the first three rounds.
Saturday – Quarterfinals #4 San Francisco vs. #5 Loyola Marymount No surprise to see this match-up. I find it hard to believe that after three losses to conclude the regular season, the Dons will not win here. Kyle Smith must also have a great audition for the powers at Cal and Penn St. if he is going to leave USF for either of those jobs.
#3 Brigham Young vs. #7 San Diego Neither of these teams play great defense, so there will be a lot of offense. However, it’s likely that USD will be too tired playing in their third straight game to have enough on either end to upset BYU. The Cougars move on to the semis in an 8-point win.
Monday – Semifinals #1 Gonzaga vs. #4 San Francisco The Dons put up a valiant effort in War Memorial in a nationally televised game before they were whipped by the Zags in Spokane. This is serious business for Mark Few’s team now, and USF will fall by at least 20.
#2 St. Mary’s vs. #3 Brigham Young The Gaels won 7 of their last 9 to claim their usual second place finish. While these two teams split in the regular season, I just think St. Mary’s is the better team and is playing too well right now, not to lose this game.
Tuesday – Final #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 St. Mary’s After getting pummeled in Spokane by 48, SMC lessened the damage at home in falling by just 14. The smaller defeat might be better for their psyche, but the Zags can’t leave Vegas without another tournament championship and cement a #1 seed in the NCAA Tourney.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Mar 7, 2019 15:13:19 GMT -5
Same picks I had. One of em has gotta lose now!
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Post by pumpfake on Mar 7, 2019 17:11:00 GMT -5
First Round: Pepperdine vs. Pacific Pacific wins. Roberto Gallinat goes for 30
San Diego vs. Portland USD wins in a blowout.
Second Round Pacific vs. Loyola Marymount LMU comes out tight and trails at the half but wins by 10.
Santa Clara vs. San Diego Santa Clara with nothing to lose while Toreros seniors surprisingly wilt under pressure.
Quarterfinals San Francisco vs. Loyola Marymount Lions win by changing things up. Dons pack it inside to stop drives by Batemon, Scott, and Douglas but prepared Lions kick the ball out to open shooters and hit just enough 3s to squeak out a win.
Brigham Young vs. Santa Clara BYU wins as Broncos have no answer for Childs inside.
Semifinals Gonzaga vs. LMU Zags win. Lions start slow and never recover losing by 20. LMU crowd (such as it is) chants NIT...NIT....NIT
St. Mary’s vs. BYU St. Marys wins. Jordan Ford does his thing and Gaels win a close one.
Final Gonzaga vs. St. Mary’s Zags win. Gaels hold their heads high keeping this one close til final 10 minutes. SMC ultimately loses by 12.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 7, 2019 19:36:57 GMT -5
I agree with Turk except for the LMU-USF game. I thing the Lions will reach the semis and give the Zags a tough game before succumbing to the #1 team in the country. Zags take it all.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 9:19:13 GMT -5
Kameron Edwards has a bad ankle and saw very limited action vs the Tigers. We may not see him tonite vs the Lions.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 12:29:04 GMT -5
Lions are 3 point favorites. We lost by 15 in Malibu and won by 4 in Gersten. Hmmm? Kam Edwards is out though. Go Lions!
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Post by ALioninWinter on Mar 8, 2019 12:43:05 GMT -5
I watched the game last night. Pacific completely bottled up Ross in the first half. He had zero points. He finally broke lose half way thruvthe second half and basically controlled the game from that point forward.
Control Ross and we should be okay. The Waves have some good talent but it’s young. I can see why folks were criticizing Coach Romer’s abilities. I thought the Waves were a mess. Very little cohesion. Everyone just goes for it, like pick up ball. They won because Pacific was simply awful in the last 10 minutes of the game. The only way the Lions should lose is if the Waves really Zero in on their threes
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 13:35:33 GMT -5
You’re correct Winter. The Tigers did not have a basket in the first 9 minutes of the second half! Stinko!
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Post by lionlife on Mar 8, 2019 14:57:38 GMT -5
Romar wins on talent that he expertly recruits. Losing Edwards is a huge blow to that talent. I think we'll win by 12 tonight.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 21:05:04 GMT -5
Surprise McClendon not starting?
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 21:15:24 GMT -5
Are the hoops in Vegas the usual size or the large diameter ones? Both teams hot early in!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 8, 2019 22:51:53 GMT -5
Bummer
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Post by nbdlion22 on Mar 8, 2019 22:52:15 GMT -5
Trash coaching again. Nice work dunlap. sh*t head
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