Stanford is the only one of the Bay Area’s six men’s Division I basketball programs not playing in a postseason tournament.   On the other hand, the Stanford women are the only Bay Area Division I basketball program that is playing in the NCAA Tournament.

So you can decide for yourself the progress of each school’s program.

For the first time in 20 years, none of the Bay Area programs is in the men’s NCAA Tournament.   Back in 1991, which was two years before the arrival of  Jason Kidd at Cal and 11 years before Randy Bennett became head coach at St. Mary’s, none of the six teams had winning conference records, and Stanford was the only team to get any postseason berth.   The Cardinal went to the NIT and won the thing.

But also for the first time in history, five of the teams are playing in some postseason tournament.   It’s a meaningless note, though, because there are 40 more postseason berths now than there were just a few years ago.  In 1991, there were 96 postseason berth available, now there are 140.

St. Mary’s and Cal are the only schools that made it to the National Invitation tournament.  St. Mary’s host Kent State on Tuesday, and Cal hosts Mississippi on Wednesday.

San Jose State is making its first postseason appearance since 1996, and face Creighton on the road Tuesday in the College Basketball Invitational, a 16-team event that features a best-of-three championship round.

USF is in the postseason for the first time since 2005 and will host Idaho on Wednesday in the CollegeInsider.com tournament.   The Dons had to pay about $30,000 for the right to host that game, the same sum Santa Clara had to shell out to host Northern Arizona on Tuesday in that same tournament.   It is the Broncos’ first postseason appearance since 1996, when Steve Nash led the Broncos into the NCAA Tournament.

It’s the second straight year, Stanford is left without a postseason berth, the first time that has happened since 1986 and 1987, when there were 44 fewer slots available.

Among the women, Stanford is playing UC Davis at home in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, and the Cardinal is bidding for its fourth straight trip to the Final Four and first national title since 1992.

Stanford is in the NCAA Tournament for the 24^th consecutive season, so this is no big deal.

There is only one other postseason event for women – the Women’s NIT – and Cal and St. Mary’s are both playing in that.    Cal is playing a road game against Cal Poly on Thursday, and St. Mary’s hosts Nevada on Thursday.

You can read the minds of the selection committee members when it came to evaluate St. Mary’s for the NCAA Tournament:

“How in the world can we let this team into our tournament if it lost to San Diego?”

Most people on the West Coast expected the Gaels to get into the NCAA Tournament with room to spare, and it was a bit of shock when St. Mary’s, despite its 25-8 record and a 11-3 mark in the West Coast Conference that tied the Gaels for first place, was left out, while teams such as Michigan State and Illinois (both 19-14 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten), Virginia Commonwealth (fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association), and USC (19-14 overall, tied for fourth with Cal in the weak Pac-10  and without its coach in a semifinal loss to Arizona because he was involved in a verbal altercation) all received at-large bids.

Quite simply, the Gaels deserved to be in.   They should have been in.  They got screwed.  End of discussion.

Their exclusion proves two things:

1.  Just as the selection committee members have suggested many times, how a team did the previous year in the NCAA Tournament has no bearing on its status for this season.   And the Gaels’ surprising run to the round of 16 last year did it no good this time around.

2. You just can’t lose to a team like San Diego.   The Toreros were 5-24 overall and 1-12 in the conference other than that victory over the Gaels on Feb. 16.   Losing that game will haunt the Gaels for years.   Winning that game would have clinched a share of a conference title with two games left.  Instead it let them on the road to ruin.   And there was no excuse, because the Gaels were at full strength with no significant injuries.   When the selection committee members looked at St. Mary’s losses and ran across that blemish against San Diego, it had to make them gag.   They had to be saying to themselves, is there any way in the world Michigan State or VCU or USC could lose to San Diego?

Well, maybe.  VCU lost to both Georgia State (12-19) and Northeastern (11-20), and Illinois lost to Illinois-Chicago (7-24, 2-16 in the Horizon) and USC lost to TCU (1-15 in the Mountain West Conference).   Any of those losses is comparable to St. Mary’s defeat at San Diego, though none is quite as embarrassing.

So the Gaels will have to live with the fact that it got screwed again by a committee that simply made a mistake.

The Gaels can only be thankful that West Coast Conference commissioner Jamie Zaninovich joins the 10-member selection committee next season.

Although committee members are supposed to show no preferential treatment to teams under their jurisdiction, you have figure the Gaels might have made the field this year if Zaninovich had bee on the committee this year.

Instead, St. Mary’s got screwed for the second time in three years.  The Gaels were left out in 2009 when they should have made it too.  That was the year Patty Mills missed a number of games late in the season with a wrist injury, but was back for the final few games.   In both cases, St. Mary’s played a game between the WCC tournament and the days NCAA Tournament selections were announced.  St. Mary’s was impressive in those games both times, this time hammering a decent Weber State team on Friday, two days before the selections.  But both times, it did no good.

Maybe the committee members have something against Randy Bennett (pictured above), although there is no clue as to what it might be, because Bennett may be the least likely person in the world to offend anyone.  Or maybe they have something against Rob Jones for transferring from San Diego to St. Mary’s, where he was an all-conference player for the Gaels this season.

Oh well, perhaps it will set up a nice little NIT game against Cal.

Here are the teams, listed in alphabetical order, with each team’s record,  and mention of its conference if it won a low-profile conference tournament, and how far the team is likely to go in the NCAA Tournament:

AKRON (23-12, MAC tournament champ)

The Headliner: Forward Nikola Cvetinovic – 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds.

The Story: The Zips (named after the zipper, invented by an Akron rubber company in the 1920s) won 11 of their last 13 games after finishing just 9-7 in the Mid-American Conference.  They are 0-2 alltime in the NCAA Tournament.

Best win: Kent State.  Worst loss: Eastern Michigan.

How far: Nickname tells you how many wins to expect.

———————————

ALABAMA STATE (17-17, SWAC tournament champ)

The headliner: Forward Tramayne Moorer – 12.4 points.

The Story: The Southwestern Athletic Conference champs astarted 2-10, but they are 13-2 with sixth-year senior Tramayne Moorer, who had to sit out the first half the season waiting for clearance for a sixth season, the was bothered by injuries.

Best win: Oakland.  Worst loss: Southern.

How Far: Hornets are 0-3 in NCAA – make it 0-4.

———————————-

ARIZONA (27-7)

Headliner: Forward Derrick Williams – Pac-10 player of the year

Story: Wildcats seem vulnerable every game, but won weak Pac-10  primarily because Williams does so many things well and never wastes a movement.  But the surrounding talent is not great, and if they are not shooting well, they’re doomed.

Best win: Washington.  Worst loss: Oregon State.

How far: Second round, unless Momo Jones gets hot.

——————————-

ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK (19-16, Sun Belt champion)

Headliner: Solomon Bozeman – Sun Belt player of the year

The story: The Trojans are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years, and they got there on three-pointer by the high-scoring Bozeman with 1.5 seconds left in the Sun Belt title game after finishing 7-9 in conference play.

Best win: Oral Roberts. Worst loss: South Alabama.

How far: Trojans are done.

———————————-

BELMONT (30-4, Atlantic Sun tournament champion)

Headliner: — Coach Rick Byrd – No. 11 in wins among active Division I coaches

The Story: These guys from Nashville are good and are capable of upsetting just about anyone.  The Bruins have won 12 straight and have outstanding three-point shooters.   They lost by one at Tennessee this season, and they lost to Duke by one in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Best win: East Tennessee State.  Worst Loss: Lipscomb.

How far: A win or two possible.

———————————

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (21-13, America East tournament champ)

The Headliner: Forward John Holland – America East player of the Yeart

The Story: The Terriers have won 11 in a row, and they have a good player in John Holland, who averaged better than 18 points each of the past three seasons.    They were 5-10 at one point this season, and lost to Maryland-Baltimore County, which finished 5-25.

Best win: George Washington.  Worst loss: Maryland-Baltimore County

————————————

BUCKNELL (25-8, Patriot League champ)

The Headliner: Center Mike Muscala –  Patriot League player of the year.

The Story: The Bison won 19 of their last 20 games, and although they are not as good as their 2005 and 2006 teams, which beat Kansas and Arkansas in first-round NCAA games, they’re pretty good.

Best win: Richmond.  Worst loss: Army.

How far: Bison could surprise in opener, but that’s it.

————————————–

BUTLER (23-9, Horizon League champ)

Headliner: Forward Matt Howard – 2009 Horizon League player of the year.

The Story: Last year’s NCAA runnerup had a bumpy start and was in danger of not making the NCAAs, but the Bulldogs came on strong, having won nine in a row.   Howard and guard Shelvin Mack provide an experienced duo that make the sound Bulldogs a force again.

Best win: Florida State.  Worst loss: Youngstown State.

How far: Round of 16 within reach.

————————————-

BYU (30-4)

Headliner: Jimmer Fredette – Nation’s leading scorer.

Story: Cougars revolve around do-everything Fredette, who has range out to 30 feet, but the loss of top rebounder Brandon Davies obvious hurt.  When ULCA held down Fredette, Cougars were ordinary.

Best win: San Diego State. Worst loss: New Mexico

How far: Final Four possibility died when Davies was dismissed

———————————

CLEMSON (21-11)

Headliner: Guard Demontez Stitt – Third-team all-ACC

The story: A decent team in the ACC, but only because it was a down year in the conference.   This is not a great shooting team, but it’s an excellent defensive team.   Unfortunately, good shooting is more important than good defense in the postseason.

Best win: Virginia Tech.  Worst loss: South Carolina.

How far: Unlikely to survive first weekend.

———————————-

CINCINNATI (25-8)

The headliner – Coach Mick Cronin – by default

The story: The Bearcats are a good defensive team that controls tempo to keep the score down.   Cincinnati started the season 15-0, but does not have many scoring weapons, and that could hurt in the postseason.  No bad losses, though.

Best win: Louisville. Worst loss: Villanova.

How far: Not enough offense to get to second weekend.

———————————–

CONNECTICUT (26-9)

Headliner: Guard Kemba Walker – 23.2 points a game.

The Story: Walker can score 30 any game, and he can carry the Huskies in a given game, but you wonder whether the Huskies have enough offense elsewhere to keep winning.  Plus, they have not improved over the season.

Best win: Texas.  Worst loss: Marquette.

How far: Round of 16.

———————————-

DUKE (30-4)

Star: Guard Nolan Smith – ACC player of the year

Story: Three starters back from last year’s national championship team, and Blue Devils added Steph Curry’s brother, Seth, who may be the postseason key.  Reliance on perimeter game makes Blue Devils vulnerable.

Best Win: North Carolina.  Worst loss: Virginia Tech

How far: Anything less than a national title will be a disappointment.

————————————

FLORIDA (26-7)

Headliner: Chandler Parsons – SEC player of the year

The Story: This is the Gators’ best team since they won consecutive national title in 2006 and 2007, and they are the best team from the Southeastern Conference.  Good talent, not great, and the SEC was not that good this year. Parson does a little of everything.

Best win: Kentucky.  Worst loss: Jacksonville

How far: National quarterfinals, if things fall their way.

———————————

FLORIDA STATE (21-10)

Headliner: Forward Chris Singleton – Broke his foot Feb. 12

The story: Seminoles lead the nation in field-goal percentage defense, but if Singleton cannot return for the tournament, the Seminoles lack their chief defensive weapon and become little more than an average team.

Best win: Duke.  Worst loss: Auburn.

How Far: Second round.

—————————————

GEORGE MASON (26-6)

The headliner: Guard Cam Long – 15.3 ppg, 42.6% 3-point

The story: The Patriots won the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title by two games.  That means they’re good – maybe not as good as their 2006 Final Four team, but close.  Jim Larranaga can coach.

Best win: Old Dominion.  Worst loss: North Carolina State

How far: Third round well within range.

————————————-

GEORGETOWN (21-10)

The Headliner: Guard Austin Freeman – First-team all-Big East

The Story: The Hoyas don’t have any bad losses, and playing in the Big East toughens a team, but coming into the postseason having lost four in row does not bode well, especially when you top scorer – Austin Freeman – shot poorly in the final two games.

Best win: Syracuse.  Worst loss: West Virginia.

How Far: Won’t get to third round.

————————————–

GEORGIA (21-11)

Headliner: Forward Trey Tompkins – Second-team all-SEC

The Story:  Undistinguished team from a mediocre conference with a lousy postseason history.  Bulldogs’ only NCAA win since 1996 was in 2002, and that one was vacated because of NCAA sanctions.  But they have no bad losses, and they have two stars – Trey Tompkins and guard Travis Leslie.

Best win: Kentucky.  Worst loss: Tennessee.

How Far: Bad seed may doom Georgia to one and done.

————————————

GONZAGA (24-9, WCC champion)

Headliner: Guard Steven Gray – two-time all-conference

The Story: Bulldogs struggled most of the season, but have won nine straight since revamping their lineup to incorporate guard Marquise Carter as a starter, and two redshirt freshmen — David Stockton (John’s son) and Sam Dower – as key players off the bench.  They are back to their sleeper role.

Best win: St. Mary’s. Worst loss: Santa Clara.

How far: Second round may be the limit.

—————————————-

HAMPTON (24-8, MEAC Champion)

The Headliner: Guard Darrion Pellum – 17.9 points.

The Story: This Pirate team is not as good as the one that as a No. 15 seed in 2001 stunned No. 2 seed Iowa State, but it’s not bad.   Darrion Pellum and Kwame Morgan II give the Pirates a formidable and experienced guard pair.

Best win: George Washington.  Worst loss: Florida A&M.

How far: No upset win this time.

—————————————

ILLINOIS (19-13)

The headliner – Guard Demetri McCamey – 6.1 assists, 46.3 3-pt %

The story: Other than an early season win over North Carolina, the Ilini have done nothing remarkable.   They had a bunch of close losses so they’re close to being pretty good.  This a good three-point shooting team that needs to be hitting to advance.

Best win: North Carolina.  Worst loss: Northwestern.

How far: Maybe one win.

——————————————

INDIANA STATE (20-13, Missouri Valley tourney champ)

The headliner: Coach Greg Lansing – First year as a college head coach

The story: The school that made Larry Bird famous was picked to finish seventh in the MVC, but Lansing got a team with no stars into the NCAAs for the first time in 10 years.  Last season’s 17-15 mark was the Sycamores’ first winning season since 2001.

Best win: Missouri State. Worst loss: Wyoming (by 30).

How far: Unlikely to win any.

——————————————-

KANSAS (32-2)

Headliner: Forwards Marcus Morris – Big 12 player of the year

Story: The Jayhawks lead the nation in field-goal percentage, they do everything well.  Marcus and Markeif Morris are formidable inside pair, and freshman Josh Selby is capable of carrying the team in a pinch.  But teams that rely on post players are vulnerable in the postseason.

Best win: Kansas State.  Worst loss: Kansas State

How far: Final Four possible; so is early upset

————————————-

KANSAS STATE (22-10)

Headliner: Guard Jacob Pullen – Two-time first-team all-Big 12

Story: Pullen and ultra-intense coach Frank Martin turned a team that was in a shambles at midseason into one of the nation’s best teams at season’s end.   This is team is tough, and now it’s dangerous, too.

Best win: Kansas. Worst loss: Oklahoma State

How far: National quarterfinals very possible.

———————————–

KENTUCKY (25-8)

Headliner: Guard Brandon Knight – 17.7 points

The story: The top three scorers are freshmen on this talented team that can beat anyone on a given night, but that 4-7 record in road games raises red flags. Freshmen Terrence Jones and guard Brandon Knight can make a lot of plays on their own.

Best win: Florida. Worst loss: Mississippi

How far: Unpredictable team, but third round the limit.

—————————————–

LONG ISLAND (27-5, Northeast Conference champion)

The Headliner: Forward Jamal Olasewere – 12.9 points, 6.8 rebounds

The Story: The Blackbirds have won 13 games in a row, the longest active Division I streak as of Friday.   Jamal Olasewere had double doubles in his past three games and scored 31 in the Northeast tournament finals. LIU was a national powerhouse in the 1930s; not now.

Best win: Quinnipiac.  Worst loss: St. Francis-Pa.

How Long: Blackbirds won’t make to Saturday.

—————————————

LOUISVILLE (25-9)

Headliner: Coach Rick Pitino – Final Four with three schools

The Story: As usual Rick Pitino’s Cardinals like to press and make things difficult for their opponents, while hoisting up a lot of three-pointers.  Guard Preston Knowles is the stabilizing factor, but this teams seems vulnerable for some reason.

Best win: Pittsburgh.  Worst Loss: Providence.

How far:  Could lose opener or get to the Final Four.

————————————-

MARQUETTE (20-14)

The headliner – Guard Darius Johnson-Odom – second-team all-Big East

The story: The last of the 11 Big East teams to make it into the NCAAs, Marquette is a scrappy team that does not have much flash.   They don’t have any bad losses and beat West Virginia recently, but their talent level just doesn’t match up.

Best win: Notre Dame.  Worst loss: Seton Hall.

How far: Maybe one win.

——————————-

MEMPHIS (25-9)

The Headliner: Guard Will Barton – 12.4 points.

The Story: Four of the Tigers’ top five scorers are freshmen – Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Tarik Black and Antonio Barton (Will’s brother) –  and the coach – Josh Pastner – is just 33, so this team is built for the future.  But they are dangerous now.

Best win: Gonzaga. Worst loss: Rice.

How far: Hard to tell with freshmen, but no more than two wins.

———————————-

MICHIGAN (20-13)

The headliner: Darius Morris – No. 5 nationally in assists (6.8)

The story – Wolverines weathered a six-game losing streak at midseason and played well down the stretch.  Two freshmen – Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jordan Morgan – are key contributors, but Morris is the star.

Best win: Clemson.  Worst loss: Indiana.

How far: Any win would be an upset.

————————————

MICHIGAN STATE (19-14)

Headliner – Guard Kalin Lucas – 2009 Big Ten player of the year.

The story – Virtually the same team that got to the Final Four last year, but Spartans struggled mightily through most of the this season and barely made it into the tournament.  Tom Izzo’s squad always is great in the postseason, though.

Best win: Illinois.  Worst loss: Iowa.

How far: Capable of a lot, but may not make it to second weekend.

————————————

MISSOURI (23-10)

Headliner: Marcus Denmon – 16.8 points, 45.7% 3-pt shooting

The Story: The Tigers were great at home (18-0, 17-1) but terrible on the road (2-7), and the road record usually is more indicative of postseason potential.  Missouri’s uptempo style not suited to postseason, where games often settle into halfcourt affairs.

Best win: Kansas State. Worst loss: Nebraska.

How far: Second round — maybe.

———————————————

MOREHEAD STATE (24-9, Ohio Valley tournament champ)

Headliner: Center Kenneth Faried – nation’s leading rebounder (14.5)

The story: Faried may be a first-round NBA draft choice and is a two-time player of the year in the Ohio Valley Conference, which includes no schools in Ohio but features high-caliber basketball.   Morehead State is near the Daniel Boone National Forest in northeast Kentucky.

Best win: Murray State.  Worst Loss: Eastern Illinois

How Far: One win is very possible.

—————————————–

NORTH CAROLINA (26-7)

Headliner: Guard Kendall Marshall – 5.6 assists

The story: The Tar Heels won the ACC regular-season title, and have loads of natural talent, but they struggled until freshman Kendall Marshall took over at point guard.  Now they are a handful, with Harrison Barnes and John Henson capable of wondrous athletic exploits.

Best win: Duke. Worst loss: Georgia Tech

How far: Final Four not out reach.

——————————————

NORTHERN COLORADO (21-10, Big Sky champs)

Headliner: Guard Devon Beitzel, 21.4 points.

The story: Beitzel is an outstanding offensive player and has scored 22 points or more in the last nine games in a row.  The Bears have some good outside shooters, and if they’re all hitting, they could cause  problems for someone.  But that’s not likely.

Best win: Montana.  Worst loss: Louisiana-Monroe.

How far: Unless it plays a preliminary-round game, any win is an upset.

———————————————

NOTRE DAME (26-6)

Headliner:  Guard Ben Hansbrough – Big East player of the year

Story: The Irish are better than people realize, and they can really shoot three-pointers.  Finishing second in the Big East is an accomplishment.   It’s about matchups for Notre Dame, which can get overwhelmed by an athletic team.

Best win: Pittsburgh. Worst loss: Marquette

How far: National quarterfinals, if matchups are favorable.

———————————-

OAKLAND (25-9, Summit League champion)

Headliner – Keith Benson – 3.6 blocks, third in the nation.

The Story: The 6-11 Benson will play in the NBA, and the Golden Grizzlies won 18 of their last 19 games. They also won at Tennessee when the Vols were ranked No. 7.   These guys have played a bunch of good teams, but the Summit League is not very good.

Best win: Tennessee.  Worst loss: IUPUI.

How far: Poor seeding will doom Grizzlies in first round.

———————————

OHIO STATE (31-2)

Headliner: Forward Jared Sullinger – Best freshman in the country.

The story: Two freshmen are starters, but the talent level across the board is impressive.  There isn’t much this team can’t do with scoring inside and outside and solid defense. No team is more talented.  The only concern is depth.

Best win: Purdue.  Worst loss: Wisconsin

How far: National title possibility

————————————–

OLD DOMINION (27-6, Colonial tournament champ)

Headliner: Forward Frank Hassell – 15.0 points, 9.6 rebounds

The Story: Finishing second in the Colonial Athletic Association standings is a lot more impressive than you might think.  Monarchs beat Notre Dame in the first round last year with virtually the same team.  This is the best rebounding team in the country

Best win: Xavier.  Worst loss: Delaware.

How far: Third round not impossible.

————————————–

PENN STATE (19-13)

The headliner: Guard Talor Battle – 19.8 points

The Story: Talor Battle plays virtually every minute of every game, and the Nittany Lions have two wins over Wisconsin, including that unsightly 36-33 win in the Big Ten tournament.  It’s hard to score on the Lions.

Best win: Wisconsin.  Worst loss: Maine.

How far: Likely first-round loser.

————————————

PITTSBURGH (27-5)

Headliner: Guard Ashton Gibbs – First-team all-Big East.

Story: Toughness is the strong suit for the Panthers, who do it without high school All-Americans.  Always a great regular-season team, Pitt has  not fared well in the postseason over the years for some reason.

Best win: Texas. Worst loss: St. John’s.

How far: Final Four possible — but unlikely.

————————————–

PRINCETON (25-6, Ivy League champ)

Headliner: Forward Kareem Maddox – First-team all-Ivy.

The Story: The Tigers score more points than they used to, but they are still a defense-oriented team.  Beating Harvard twice is not as easy as it would seem, but losses to Brown and Presbyterian and a 37-point loss to Duke indicates the Tigers’ margin for error is slim.

Best win: Harvard.  World loss: Brown.

How far: One win possible, but that’s it.

—————————————-

PURDUE (25-7)

Headliner – Forward JuJuan Johnson – Big Ten player of the year

The Story: Purdue was dismissed as an also-ran when Robbie Hummel tore up his knee in preseason, but with the dynamtic tandem of JuJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, it may be the most underrated team in the country – or it least it was until people caught on recently.

Best win: Ohio State. Worst loss: Minnesota.

How far:  National championship within reach.

————————————–

RICHMOND (27-7)

Headliner: Forward Justin Harper – 6-10 player his 47.9% on 3-pointers.

The Story: The Spiders are dangerous because they are great three-point shooters.   Their top four scorers – Justin Harper, Kevin Anderson, Darien Brother, Dan Geriot – are all hitting over 40 percent of their threes.   It means this Atlantic-10 team can beat anyone or lose to anyone, depending on whether it’s hot.

Best win: Purdue.  Worst loss: Iona.

—————————————

SAN DIEGO STATE (32-2)

Headliner: Forward Kawhi Leonard – 15.2 points, 10.8 rebounds.

The Story: Good defensive team with good athletes that crash the boards with abandon.  Leonard is the star, but guard D.J. Gay is the leader.   Not a lot of great shooters, though, and that could hurt in the postseason.

Best win: BYU. Worst loss: BYU.

How far: National quarterfinals.

——————————————

ST. JOHN’S (21-11)

Headliner: Guard Dwight Hardy – First-team All-Big East.

The Story: Steve Lavin as the Johnnies in the NCAAs for the first time in nine years, and they have beaten three teams currently in the top five.   Lavin’s UCLA teams always did well in the postseason, and Hardy can score in a lot of ways.

Best win: Pittsburgh. Worst loss: Fordham.

How far: National quarterfinals.

———————————————-

ST. PETER’S (20-13, MAAC tournament champ)

The headliner: Guard Wesley Jenkins – 41.2% 3-pt shooting

The Story: The Peacocks lost their first three games of the season, including a 25-point loss to Robert Morris, and lost their last two games heading into the conference tournament to finish fourth in the MAAC.  But the Jersey City school is in the NCAAs for the first time in 16 years

Best win: Alabama.  Worst loss: Lehigh.

How far: Unless they play a preliminary-round game, Peacocks out in one.

———————————————

SYRACUSE (26-7)

Headliner: Forward Rick Jackson – Big East defensive player of the year.

The Story: Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph are formidable frontcourt players, but the Orange’s trademark zone defense is its strength.   Unless an opponent is hitting for the outside, Syracuse will win.  The Orange started 18-0, hit a slump, but is playing well again.

Best win: Notre Dame.  Worst loss: Seton Hall.

How far: Round of 16.

——————————————-

TEMPLE (25-7)

The headliner: Forward Lavoy Allen – School’s career rebounding leader.

The story: Allen is the chief rebounder and guard Ramone Moore is the top scorer, but defense is the Owls’ chief asset.  They are unlikely to win a high-scoring game.   Temple has lost in the NCAA first round three years in a row, last year to Cornell

Best win: Georgetown.  Worst loss: Cal.

How far: Owels break through with one win this season.

——————————————-

TENNESSEE (19-14)
Headliner: Guard Scotty Hopson – First-team all-SEC

The Story: Vols looked great early in the season when they beat Villanova and Pittsburgh, but they have been erratic recently, and erratic is a dangerous trait at this stage.

Best win: Pittsburgh.  Worst loss: Charlotte.

How far: One game may be it.

—————————————-

TEXAS (27-7)

Headliner: Swingman Jordan Hamilton – 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds.

Story: Longhorns aren’t playing as well as they were earlier in the season.  Their outstanding defense will keep them in all games, but defense usually is not the final word in the postseason.  Hamilton is capable of saving the Longhorn in a given game.

Best win: Kansas. Worst loss: Nebraska

How far: Quarterfinals, maybe less.

————————————–

TEXAS A&M (24-8)

Headliner: Forward Khris Middleton – Second-team all-Big 12.

The Story: The Aggies are not spectacular but they keep the score down and stay in almost every game.    They were 16-1 at one points, but they are not a top-10-caliber team.  Outside shooting is a shortcoming.

Best win: Kansas State. Worst loss: Nebraska.

How far: Second round is about the limit

————————————

TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (19-13, Southland tournament champ)

The Headliner: Guard Devin Gibson – 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.7 steals.

The Story: The Roadrunners, coached by former NBA player Brooks Thompson, were just 9-7 in the Southland Conference but have won seven of their last nine games.  Devin Gibson had two triple-doubles this season. They are 0-3 alltime in the NCAA Tournament.

Best win: McNeese State. Worst loss: Samford.

How far: Unlikely to win any.

—————————————–

UAB (22-8)

The Headliner: Guard Aaron Johnson – Conference USA player of the year

The Story: Under Mike Anderson, the Blazers were high-scoring demons, but under former Indiana coach Mike Davis, they keep the score down with defense.  Playmaking point guard Aaron Johnson and  high-scoring guard Jamarr Sanders lead the way.

Best win: UTEP.  Worst loss: Arizona State.

How Far: Won’t make it out of first weekend.

————————————-

UC SANTA BARBARA (18-13, Big West tournament champ)

The headliner: Guard Orlando Johnson – 2010 Big West player of the year.

The Story: Favored to win the Big West for a second straight year, the Gauchos were a major disappointment, finishing 8-8 in the conference.  But they got it together to win the conference tournament. Orlando Johnson (21.0 points) can do a lot of things.

Best win: UNLV. Worst loss: UC Irvine.

How far: Capable of one upset – maybe.

—————————————–

UCLA (22-10)

Headliner: Forward Reeves Nelson – 13.9 points, 9.0 rebounds.

The Story: The Bruins improved over the season, and seemed to win most of the games it had a chance to win.   This squad is not nearly as good as their Final Four squads of 2006, 2007 and 2008 and losses in two of their last three games suggests problems.

Best win: BYU.  Worst loss: Montana.

How Far: Bruins won’t get past first weekend.

—————————————–

UNC ASHEVILLE (19-13, Big South tournament champion)

Headliner: Guard Matt Dickey – All-conference

The Story: The Bulldogs lost to Ohio State by 50 points and finished third in the Big South standings, but this school with an enrollment of 3,700 located in the Blue Ridge Mountain is in the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever.

Best win: Coastal Carolina.  Worst loss: South Carolina-Upstate.

How far: One and done.

————————————————-

UNLV (24-8)

The headliner: Coach Lon Kruger – Former NBA head coach

The story – Two transfers – TreVon Willis (Memphis) and Chace Stanback (UCLA) – have powered the Rebels, who are pretty good but got lost behind BYU and San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference.

Best win: Wisconsin.  Worst loss: UC Santa Barbara.

How far: Second weekend.

——————————————-

USC (19-14)

The headliner: Forward Nikola Vucevic – 17.3 points, 10.2 rebounds

The Story: The Trojans squeezed into the field despite the suspension of coach Kevin O’Neill.   USC has played well lately and are 6-2 with Donte Smith in the starting lineup.  Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson provide a bruising frontcourt, and USC guards are quick.

Best win: Arizona.  Worst loss: TCU

How Far: Trojans capable of an upset – or two.

————————————————-

UTAH STATE (30-3, WAC champion)

Headliner: Forward Tai Wesley – WAC player of the year.

The Story: The Aggies are outstanding defenders who shoot well from the outside.   And they’re tough.    Their record is inflated by playing in the WAC, but they did play BYU and Georgetown (both losses).  They are 0-5 in the NCAAs since 2001, but they are capable.

Best win: St. Mary’s.  Worst loss: Idaho.

How far: Round of 16 not out of reach.

———————————————-

VANDERBILT (23-10)

Headliner: Guard John Jenkins – SEC player of the year

The Story: Commodores love to shoot three-pointers, but they can make them, which makes them dangerous.  And John Jenkins is capable of carrying Vandy in a given game.  Being 1-6 in games decided by three points or less or in overtime is not a good sign, though.

Best win: North Carolina.  Worst loss: South Carolina.

How far: Second round – unless they’re hot.

———————————————-

VILLANOVA (21-11)

Headliner: Guard Corey Fisher – Second-team all-Big East.

Story: Wildcats rely heavily on their guards, and backcourt play is usually the key in the postseason.  But this team, which started 16-1, played poorly down the stretch, losing its last five games.  It could lose its opener.

Best win: Syracuse. Worst loss: South Florida

How far: Second round, third at best.

——————————————-

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (23-11)

The Headliner: Forward Jamie Skeen – 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds

The story: The Rams only finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association, yet still got an at-large berth, which says something about that conference.  They lost five of their last eight, but one of those wins was against George Mason.  VCU beat Duke in the first round in 2007.

Best win: UCLA. Worst loss: Georgia State.

How far:  Rams could win a couple games.

—————————————

WASHINGTON (23-10)

Headliner: Guard Isaiah Thomas – All-Pac-10

The Story: The Huskies’ quickness, uptempo style and good outside shooting  are a formula for postseason success, but their poor road record and losses to Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State  make you wonder.

Best win: Arizona.  Worst loss: Oregon State.

How far: Capable of the third round.

——————————————–

WEST VIRGINIA (20-11)

Headliner: Forward Kevin Jones – 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 44% 3-point.

The Story: This is not a good shooting team, but the Mountaineers are tough, a trait personified by point guard Joe Mazzulla.  Toughness may not be enough without a true star, but Mountaineers are playing pretty well at the moment.

Best win: Louisville.  Worst loss: Minnesota

How far: Opening weekend the limit.

——————————————

WISCONSIN (23-8)

Headliner – Forward Jon Leuer – 6-10 guy shoots 40% on threes.

The story: Nobody scores much against the Badgers, partly because of their style, partly because of their defense. Leuer and point guard Jordan Taylor are a nice combination, but it Taylor has an off game, the Badgers are sunk.

Best win: Ohio State.  Worst loss: Penn State.

How far: Not enough offense to get past third round.

———————————–

WOFFORD (21-12, Southern Conference tournament champ)

The Headliner: Forward Noah Dahlman – Southern Conference player of the year.

The story: The Terriers (from Spartanburg, S.C.) nearly upset Wisconsin in their first NCAA Tournament appearance last season, and many of those players are back.   Dahlman averages 20 points, and his teammates are outstanding three-point shooters.

Best win: College of Charleston.  Worst loss: Cornell.

How far: Capable of a win if shooters are hot.

————————————————-

XAVIER (24-7)

Headliner: Guard Tu Holloway – Atlantic 10 player of the year

Story: Musketeers have been a good postseason team, winning at least two NCAA games each of the past three years.  They have played well recently too.  Strong in the backcourt with a 7-footer (Kenny Frease) in the middle.

Best win: Temple. Worst loss: Miami-Ohio

How Far: Logic says second round, history says third.

——————————————–

SAINT MARY’S

St. Mary’s is an unusual, and uncomfortable, situation.

By losing to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament finals, the Gaels are not guaranteed a berth on the NCAA Tournament, and although it would appear they have done enough to get an at-large berth, a series of unusual results in other conference tournaments conceivably could knock them out of the field.

What makes St. Mary’s situation so unusual, though, is that the Gaels play another regular-season game before the selections are announced on March 13.   That is a March 11 home game against Weber State, a game arranged less than a month ago, primarily at the request of Weber State.

A good showing in that game could provide the Gaels with the resume boost it needs to remove any doubt that it would get into the NCAA Tournament.

But Weber State is a pretty good team, and the Gaels have not played particularly well the past month.  And if the Wildcats should upset the Gaels, it may give the selection committee reason to deny St. Mary’s an at-large berth.

So the late addition of Weber State could be a godsend that helps St. Mary’s into the NCAA Tournament, or it could spell disaster by preventing the Gaels from getting in.

Coach Randy Bennett no doubt will second guess his decision to schedule the game if the Gaels lose it and wind up not getting into the NCAA Tournament, knowing they probably would have made it without scheduling the game.

Bennett agreed to play the game because the layoff between the WCC championship game and the Gaels’ first postseason game could have been as long as 11 days.   A game on March 11 – four days after the WCC tournament and at least four days before their first NCAA Tournament game — would provide a nice way to keep the team sharp.

And the Gaels need something to regain their midseason form.   The crisp passing, accurate outside shooting and uptempo style that had overwhelmed WCC opponents through January has been noticeably absent over the past month.

Although G Matthew Dellavedova has regained his shooting touch and freshman G Sephen Holt has contributed much more recently, F Rob Jones and F Mitchell Young struggled over the final few games, leaving the Gaels with serious concerns with their inside game.

NOTES

–Foul trouble played a part in St. Mary’s loss to Gonzaga.  F Mitchell Young fouled out with 6:03 to go, and F Rob Jones fouled out with 5:27 left, leaving the Gaels without an inside scoring weapon.

– St. Mary’s has been to the WCC finals five times under Randy Bennett, and all five have been against Gonzaga.   The Gaels are 1-4 in those games, the only win coming last year.

– St. Mary’s has never been to NCAA Tournaments in consecutive seasons, and it hopes this will be the first time, although they would have to make it as an at-large team.

QUOTE: “The only thing we can control is how we play Friday, so that’s the only thing I’m worried about.  I have no idea what the (selection) committee is looking at.  Honestly, I’m not stressed out at all, other than (for) the next game we play.” – St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, to the San Francisco Chronicle, regarding the Gaels’ NCAA Tournament chances and the March 11 game against Weber State.

POSTSEASON OUTLOOK: St. Mary’s probably will get an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.  If it beats Weber State, which is 18-11 as of March 7, it will strengthen the Gaels’ NCAA position.  If St. Mary’s loses to the Wildcats, it could get scary.   The Gaels probably will be seeded between ninth and 11^th in the NCAA Tournament.  They may have to play a preliminary-round game on March 15 or 16, although that seems unlikely as of March 7.

IDLE THOUGHT: St. Mary’s continues to get good guard play, as freshman Stephen Holt gets increased playing time with his increased production.  He started the two WCC tournament games, and probably will remain in the starting lineup, replacing slumping Clint Steindl.  Sophomore G Matthew Dellavedova has his confidence back on offense, and Mickey McConnell shook off a poor performance in the WCC semifinals against Santa Clara to be productive in the finals against Gonzaga.   The Gaels’ frontcourt is another matter, though, and the recent play of Rob Jones and Mitchell Young has to concern Randy Bennett.  The frontcourt was the team’s weakness even before the recent slumps of Young and Jones.   The Gaels are not as sharp as they were earlier in the season, and that does not bode well for their postseason chances, whatever tournament that may be.

PLAYER NOTES

–Senior G Mickey McConnell, the WCC player of the year, had made 26 consecutive free throws before missing the front end of a critical one-and-on late in the game against Gonzaga on March 7.  He has 537 points this season, the sixth-highest single-season total in school history and just three behind Tom Meschery.

–Junior F Rob Jones was named to the WCC’s 10-man all-conference team, but he has struggled in recent games, as of March 7, largely because of foul trouble.  He fouled out of three of those six games, and had four fouls in two others.   Foul trouble was major problem in his two conference tournament games, when he totaled 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting.

– Sophomore G Matthew Dellavedova, who was named to the 10-man all-conference team, scored 21 points in the WCC title game, the third time in the past four games he had scored 21 points or more, ending a shooting slump he had been experiencing.

——————————————-

GONZAGA

A month ago, it appeared Gonzaga would miss out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 and that the balance of power has moved out of Spokane, Wash.

But by the time the Bulldogs had pulled out 75-63 victory over St. Mary’s in the WCC finals on March 7, the Bulldogs had not only assured their 13^th straight NCAA Tournament berth, but had completed a makeover that could earn them a few postseason wins.

To say this is not the same Gonzaga team that was 13-8 overall and 3-3 in the conference back on Jan. 27 is almost literally true.

Newcomers Marquise Carter, Sam Dower and David Stockton, who barely saw the floor the first half of the season, have become major contributors, and they were the players on the floor during the critical moments of the win over the Gaels that gave Gonzaga its ninth win in a row heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Carter was named MVP of the WCC tournament, and the Bulldogs’ turnaround coincided exactly to when Carter, a junior college transfer, was added to the starting lineup, replacing a variety of players who had filled that role to that point.

Since then, the playing time of Stockton and Dower, a pair of redshirt freshmen, has gradually increased to the point where they played starters minutes in the WCC tournament.

Stockton was the pivotal player in the Bulldogs’ victory over San Francisco in the semifinals, and he played 28 minutes in the title game.

Dower played 19 minutes in the finals, virtually splitting time with Elias Harris, the preseason WCC player of the year who has had a disappointing season.   And one reason Dower was not on the floor in the closing minutes of the title game was because he took a blow to the face that knocked him out of the contest with about five minutes left.

A fourth player – sophomore Mike Hart – has also contributed to the late run after being a non-factor most of the season.   He can’t score at all, but he provides a defensive presence on the perimeter Gonzaga needed.  He went from being a player who played only in the late stages of blowouts – if then – to being a significant part of the rotation.

It’s been a rather odd season of transition for Gonzaga, who began the season nationally ranked and a solid favorite to win the WCC title again, before sagging badly through the first two-thirds of the season, then improving dramatically over the final month by making some major personnel moves involving the use of inexperienced players.

The Bulldogs would prefer to have C Robert Sacre playing better than he did in the WCC tournament, and they are still looking for Harris to regain his form of last season, but with the unexpected late-season contributions of Dower, Stockton, Carter and Hart, Gonzaga has remade itself into a team that could surprise somebody in the NCAA Tournament.

NOTES

–Gonzaga played in the WCC tournament championship game for the 14^th consecutive season, and the victory over St. Mary’s avenged a loss to the Gaels in last season’s conference tournament finals.

– After losing to St. Mary’s at home on Jan. 27, the Bulldogs were 3-3, three games behind the Gaels with eight games left.   The Bulldogs caught St. Mary’s to tie for an 11^th straight regular-season conference title, then beat the Gaels in the title game for their 11^th WCC tournament title and 10^th in the past 13 seasons.

–Gonzaga will make its 13^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, which is among the longest active streaks.  Kansas will get its 22nd consecutive NCAA berth, and Duke is in line for its 16^th in a row, while Texas and Wisconsin will keep pace with Gonzaga with their 13^th straight NCAA berths this season.  However, as of March 7, it’s unclear whether Michigan State will make it 14 in row.  No other team had more.

QUOTE: “It’s a great feeling knowing that come Sunday you’re not going to be sitting there sweating.  I can’t imagine what kind of feeling that would be, having that sort of stress on a day that, in my last three years, has been more of a celebration than anything.” – Gonzaga G Steven Gray, to the San Francisco Chronicle, after Gonzaga’s win over St. Mary’s in the March 7 WCC tournament title game guaranteed the Bulldogs an NCAA Tournament berth.

POSTSEASON OUTLOOK: Gonzaga will be in the NCAA Tournament for the 13^th consecutive season, and the Bulldogs probably will be seeded somewhere between No. 8 and No. 10.  That means they will face a team of comparable ability in the first round, making it a virtual tossup contest.  Teams such as Illinois, UCLA, Cincinnati, Missouri and Old Dominion are the caliber of team they could be facing.  The Bulldogs are playing well at the moment and getting better.

IDLE THOUGHT: Gonzaga typically gets a lot of credit for the difficulty of its nonconference schedule, and it appeared this season’s schedule would be just as difficult.   But its strength of schedule was ranked only 114^th in the country in the RPI rankings as of March 6, which is why there was some concern that the Bulldogs, with its No. 60 RPI ranking, might not get an at-large berth.  But the Bulldogs head into the NCAA Tournament with wins against Baylor, Marquette and Xavier, plus two late-season wins over St. Mary’s.

PLAYER NOTES

–Senior G Steven Gray was named to the WCC’s 10-player all-conference team.  He received a cut over his left eye in the first half of the March 7 game against St. Mary’s that bled profusely and required stitches.  However, he returned to the game and played 33 minutes while scoring 15 points.

–Sophomore G Mike Hart had played more than four minutes in only five of the Bulldogs’ first 25 games, and all five of those games in which he played more were blowouts.  But he played at least nine minutes in each of the Bulldogs’ final four games, and that included 13 minutes in the four-point win over San Francisco in the WCC semifinals and 10 minutes in the March 7 victory over St. Mary’s in the finals.

–Junior C Robert Sacre was named to the all-conference team, but he was not particularly sharp in the WCC tournament.  He was just 5-for-16 from the field in the two games, and eight of his 12 points in the final against St. Mary’s came in the final 3:09 when the Gaels were fouling him to stop the clock.

——————————————–

SANTA CLARA

Santa Clara did not win the West Coast Conference tournament, which means its season may be over, but it has played well enough to earn consideration for another postseason tournament.

The Broncos also have a drawing card that might appeal to postseason tournaments, and his name is Kevin Foster, who broke the school record for points in a season during Santa Clara’s 76-68 victory over Loyola Marymount in the March 5 WCC quarterfinals and added to it in the Broncos’ 73-64 loss to St. Mary’s in the semifinals one day later.  He has 639 points this season as of March 7.

Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating figures finishing fourth in the WCC, a 19-14 overall record and a semifinal berth in the conference tournament should be enough to allow the Broncos to keep playing.

“I feel with what we’ve done and who we are and the respect that out team has gotten, I think we’ll be able to get that done,” Keating told the San Francisco Chronicle after the loss to St. Mary’s.  “We’re practicing next week, and we’re going to have fun with it.”

Santa Clara’s regular-season results were about as good as Keating and the Broncos could expect.

They played well in beating the Lions in the quarterfinals and played well against the Gaels in the semifinals, staying with St. Mary’s until the closing minutes.  And they did both with Foster not shooting particularly well.

He had 18 points in each game, but he was just 6-for-18 against Loyola Marymount and 5-for-18 against St. Mary’s.

But F Marc Trasolini made up for Foster’s inefficiency with two good games offensively.  With its top two scorers – Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster — returning next season and freshman (Evan Roquemore) at point guard, the Broncos should be able to stay near the top next season.

Trasolini’s emergence is what Keating has been awaiting all season.   Opponents focused so much attention on Kevin Foster on the perimeter over the second half of the season that it needs other players to be productive.   And Trasolini certainly did that in the final few games of the season.

Trasolini scored 22 points in each of Santa Clara’s two WCC tournament games, and that was the biggest factor in the Broncos’ decent showing.

While the skill players – Trasolini, Roquemore and Foster – will all be back, the role players who did all the physical dirty work so effectively – Ben Dowdell and Troy Payne – will be gone.

Payne’s defense on Mickey McConnell was a primary reason McConnell did so little offensively in their semifinal game, and that’s why the Broncos were able to hang with the Gaels until the closing minutes.

NOTES

– Santa Clara had six steals in the March 5 game against Loyola Marymount but just three the next day against St. Mary’s, ending the Broncos’ streak of at least six steals in a game at  23 consecutive games, which was the longest such streak in the country.

– St. Mary’s is a good defensive rebounding team, but the Broncos picked up 16 offensive rebounds against the Gaels in the WCC semifinals, which is the reason Santa Clara was able to stay in the game despite shooting 40.1 percent while allowing the Gaels to shoot 51.1 percent.   Santa Clara trailed by just three points with six minutes left, but foul trouble hurt the Broncos at the end.   Freshman point guard Evan Roquemore had to sit out portions of the second half with foul trouble and played just 25 minutes before fouling out, and Marc Trasolini had four fouls, limiting him to 28 minutes.

– Santa Clara’s 19 wins are the most under fourth-year coach Kerry Keating, who has assured himself his first winning season as a head coach.   It is Santa Clara’s second winning season since 2001, with the 21-10 season in Dick Davey’s final season as head coach in 2007 being the only other winning season in that span.

QUOTE: “I’ve been playing the game so long that I really don’t lose confidence if I have a bad shooting night.  If I get an open look, I’m going to shoot it.  That’s what everybody tells me to do.” – Santa Clara G Kevin Foster, to the San Francisco Chronicle, after making just 2 of his first 12 shots against Loyola Marymount, before hitting 4 of his last 6, including two key three-pointers.

POSTSEASON OUTLOOK: The Broncos have a decent chance to get a postseason tournament berth.  The National Invitation  Tournament is a bit of a long shot, but the Collegeinsider.com tournament is a possibility.   Loyola Marymount got into that event last season with an 18-15 record and a 7-7 mark in conference play.   Santa Clara’s overall and conference records are better than that.

IDLE THOUGHT: Kevin Foster and Marc Trasolini will be Santa Clara’s cornerstones for whatever postseason games it plays this season and the Broncos’ 2011-2012 season, but their success will revolve around point guard Evan Roquemore.   His confidence and productivity rose significantly over the final few weeks of the season, and he was as a responsible as anyone for getting Santa Clara into contention for a postseason tournament berth.   He is not afraid to take big shots or make aggressive plays, and he exceeded his scoring average (11.6 as of March 7) in each of last seven games. Roquemore commits a few more turnovers than coach Kerry Keating would like, and if he can reduce those, he is capable of becoming a star in the WCC.

PLAYER NOTES

–Sophomore G Kevin Foster’s final three-pointer of the WCC tournament was his 117^th of the season, tying him with Dan Dickau of Gonzaga for the third most three-pointers in a season by a WCC player.  Foster was the only Santa Clara player named to the 10-man all-conference team.

–Junior F Marc Trasolini scored more than 20 points in each of his last four games as of March 7.  He had not scored more than 20 points in two consecutive games this season before this current run.

– Senior F Troy Payne was named WCC defensive player of the year.

——————————————–

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco has earned the reputation as the toughest team in the WCC psychologically, because it is able to come back from sizable deficits time and time again.

That toughness is why the Dons are 17-13 as of March 7 and why the Dons have a pretty good chance of landing a postseason berth, perhaps even a National Invitation Tournament bid, but more likely one of the other two lesser events.

The Dons trailed at halftime in 10 of their 14 regular-season conference games, but still finished 10-4.  And they nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback against Gonzaga in the WCC semifinals.  Only a timeout called when the Dons were out of timeouts prevented the Dons from having a chance to attempt a game-tying shot in the final seconds.

Gonzaga led by 13 points early in the second half and seemed to have control of the game.   But USF cut the margin to three with 14:43 left.    The Bulldogs regained control and again seemed to have the game in hand when it took a 10-point lead with seven minutes left, but again the Dons rallied to get the margin down to two points with 2:53 left.

The Bulldogs once again seemingly had a safe six-point lead with 23 seconds left, but after a three-pointer by Michael Williams, USF’s Rashad Green made a steal of the Bulldogs’ inbounds pass.  However, a timeout was called by a player on the USF bench when it had none remaining.  It resulted in a technical foul and enabled the Bulldogs to go to the foul line for the clinching free throws with six seconds to go.  Gonzaga hung on for a 71-67 victory.

“You can call me a liar because I am going to say I called it,” USF coach Rex Walters told the San Francisco Chronicle of the timeout.  “I’m not going to put it on one of my players.  I’ve got to do a better job of making sure it’s really clear to our guys that we don’t have any.”

Replays showed USF freshman Marko Petrovic jumping up and down in front of the USF bench signaling for a timeout as Green was on the ground gaining possession.

The loss prevented USF from reaching the WCC championship game, but it demonstrated how much the Dons have improved.   At one point this season, they were 4-9, and at that stage they could not have competed with a team such as Gonzaga.

But they ended up splitting the two regular-season games with the Bulldogs and played them virtually even in the third, despite the presence of a crowd in Las Vegas made up almost entirely of Gonzaga fans.

“I’m proud of our team,” Walters told the Chronicle.  “I hope we get another chance to play.  I do think we’re deserving of that.”

NOTES

–After pulling within two points with 37 seconds left in the WCC semifinal game against Gonzaga, San Francisco had three chances to tie or take the lead, but Rashad Green committed turnovers on all three possessions.   Green nearly made amends by stealing an inbounds pass from David Stockton with six seconds left and the Dons trailing by three.   But while Green was on the floor after pulling the ball away, the USF bench was whistled for a timeout it did.  Angelo Caloiaro came running in trying to wave off the timeout, but it had already been signaled by the official.  It resulted in a technical foul.

– San Francisco’s berth in the WCC semifinals was the Dons best showing in the conference tournament since getting to the semifinals in 2003.  It had been 0-6 against Pepperdine in the postseason before beating the Waves in the WCC quarterfinals.

– San Francisco did not have to play from behind against Pepperdine in the WCC quarterfinals.  The Dons led by seven at halftime and controlled the second half to get their 17^th win, matching the 2005 and 2004 seasons for their most wins since 2000, when the Dons went 19-9 but went just 7-7 in the conference.

QUOTE: “They’d play anybody tough, the way they spread it and shoot it and bounce it.  We’ve played everybody this year, so we know a good team when we see it.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few, to the San Francisco Chronicle, on San Francisco, after Gonzaga edged USF 71-67 in the WCC semifinals.

POSTSEASON OUTLOOK: San Francisco has a pretty good chance to get a postseason berth.   A bid to the National Invitation Tournament is outside possibility, but a berth in the Colleinsider.com postseason tournament is more likely.   The Dons might even host a first-round game, which would USF’s first postseason game since 2005.

IDLE THOUGHT: The Dons have no seniors in their starting lineup, and three of their key players are sophomores Michael Williams and Perris Blackwell and freshman point guard Cody Doolin.   The team showed significant improvement over the course of the season, and it should continue to improve next season, when it could challenge for the WCC title, although BYU’s addition to the conference may make that more of a challenge.  Whether the Dons can retain their hunger and their psychological toughness next season when expectations will rise is the question.   It’s easier to gain momentum when you’re on the way up.   Much of its success this season was built on comebacks and grit, rather than superior talent.

PLAYER NOTES

– Junior G Rashad Green was named to the 10-man all-conference team.  Green wore goggles during the WCC tournament after being hit in the face by an elbow in the Feb. 19 game against Gonzaga.

– Sophomore G Michael Williams was one of two second-year college player named to the all-conference team.  The other was St. Mary’s G Matthew Dellavedova. (Santa Clara’s Kevin Foster is also a sophomore, but he redshirted last season after sustaining a broken foot early last season.)

– Freshman G Cody Doolin was named to the WCC five-man all-freshman team.

——————————————————————

PORTLAND

Portland did not perform as well in the conference tournament as it expected, and the Pilots can only hope it did not ruin their chances for a third straight postseason berth.

The Pilots had been more productive than expected throughout the season, considering it lost four of five starters, and with 21 wins, they still have an outside shot at going to the Collegeinsider.com postseason tournament for the third straight season.

Postseason berths in three consecutive seasons would be a major accomplishment for a Portland program that was awful just four years ago with no apparent chance of ever being competitive.

But the Pilots thought they had a shot to do some damage in the WCC tournament, and losing in the first round to Loyola Marymount, a team that finished tied for last and had lost twice to Portland during the regular season, was not what the Pilots had in mind.

Even with starting point guard Tim Douglas sidelined, the Pilots were favored against Loyola Marymount.

Although Jared Stohl performed well in what might have been his final college game, fellow senior Luke Sikma was not as fortunate.

Selected to the 10-man all-conference team just three days earlier, Sikma had one of his worst games in the 72-68 loss to the Lions on March 4.   Sikma officially attempted just one shot from the field and missed it.   He finished with just six points and eight rebounds, the latter being nearly three under his average.   A large part of Sikma’s problems were that Loyola Marymount double teamed him nearly every time he touched the ball, and Sikma made a number of nice passes in that situation while never forcing a shot.

However, Portland does not have much chance to win if Sikma is not more productive than that.  Sikma can only hope that was not his final college game, although losing to the Lions reduced Portland’s chances for a postseason berth considerably.

NOTES

–Although senior G Jared Stohl finished with 23 points, he scored only four points in the final 17 minutes and none in the last five, after his basket tied the score 66-66 with 5:05 to go.

–Portland’s first-round loss on March 4 ended a brief two-year run in which it won at least one game in the conference tournament.  The Pilots were favored to beat Loyola Marymount in the first round this season, but the Pilots were unable to make the important plays down the stretch, going without a field goal for the final 5:05 of the game.

–Portland entered the game against Loyola Marymount ranked No. 3 nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 42 percent, but they were 0-for-5 from beyond the arc in the final 18 minutes of the loss to Loyola Marymount.

QUOTE: “(Loyola Marymount’s) Anthony Ireland was just denying me the ball everywhere.  They were face-guarding me and not even looking at the ball (late in the game), so that was little different.   And we were trying to go inside more.” – Portland G Jared Stohl, to the Oregonian, after scoring only four of his 23 points in the final 17 minutes of the March 4 loss to Loyola Marymount.

POST SEASON OUTLOOK: Portland hopes to get an invitation to a postseason tournament, perhaps the Collegeinsider.com postseason tournament.  It’s a bit of a long shot, and it depends in large part whether the WCC gets two teams into the NCAA Tournament and another into the National Invitation Tournament.  It would be the third straight year for Portland in the Collegeinsider.com tournament if it gets in.

IDLE THOUGHT: Playing in any postseason tournament would be a major achievement for the Pilots, not only because it would represent a third straight postseason berth, but because it could pay dividends for players such as Tim Douglas and Nemanja Mitrovic, who will b returning.   It would be important in a different way for senior Luke Sikma, who would rather not end his career with the game he had against Loyola Marymount as he failed to score from the field.   The odds of getting an invitation are less than 50-50.   Although Portland only finished fifth in a conference that typically does not get a lot of postseason berths, Loyola Marymount got into the Collegeinsider.com tournament last season with a 7-7 conference record, which is what Portland had, and 18 wins overall, three fewer than Portland has.   It depends a lot on how many teams the WCC gets into the NCAA Tournament and whether any other WCC teams are invited to the NIT or CBI events.

PLAYER NOTES

–Freshman G Tim Douglas missed the Feb. 26 game against St. Mary’s and the WCC tournament game against Loyola Marymount because of a foot injury.   The injury has been bothering Douglas for several weeks and flared up against San Diego on Feb. 24.  It was hoped that Douglas would be able to play in the WCC tournament, but the foot just did not respond as hoped.

– Senior F Luke Sikma was named to the 10-man all-conference team after leading the conference in rebounding by a wide margin at 10.6 a game.

– Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic was named to the WCC 10-man all-conference team in his first season as a starter.   He has hit 46.7 percent of his three-pointers, which ranks 13^th nationally as of March 5 among players who have made an average of at least two three-pointers per game.  His 2.9 three-pointers per game are tied for eighth nationally.

——————————————————————

SAN DIEGO SEASON WRAPUP

San Diego’s final game was a microcosm of its disastrous 2010-2011 season.

The Toreros fought and scratched to make a lost cause close in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament on March 4 in Las Vegas.

Trailing Pepperdine by 14 with 4:17 left, the Toreros cut it to five with 1:48 to go.

Down by eight with 50 seconds left, San Diego got it down to four with 22 seconds remaining.   Trailing by five with 12 seconds to go, the Toreros were within two with seven seconds left, and had a full-court heave at the buzzer that would have tied it.

Ultimately, though, the Toreros were eliminated by Pepperdine 84-81, and even though San Diego never quit on the season and showed dramatic improvement over the final month,  the Toreros wound up with one of the worst seasons in school history.

There was one shining bright spot – a stunning upset of then-No. 23-ranked St. Mary’s on Feb. 16 – but there was not much to appreciate about the 6-24 season other than the Toreros’ effort.

More troubling that the record is the trend the program has established under coach Bill Grier, who was hailed as a hero in his first season after inheriting quality players from predecessor Brad Holland, but has sunk to the depths with the players he brought to the program.

In Grier’s first season at San Diego in 2007-2008, the Toreros finished 22-14 overall, 11-3 in the conference, beat both St. Mary’s and Gonzaga to win the WCC tournament and stunned Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.   And with everyone back the next season, the Toreros were expected to be even better in Grier’s second season.

Instead, the decline began.   Injuries hurt the Toreros who slipped to 16-16 overall and 6-8 in the conference, and in 2009-2010, San Diego went 11-21 overall and 3-11 in the WCC.

This season’s 2-12 finish was not unexpected, given the personnel, but it continued the Toreros’ precipitous drop from being one of the conference’s best teams in Grier’s first season its worst in his fourth.

Grier’s job is not in jeopardy yet, but a few more like this one and the coach San Diego thought was the answer to its dreams will be in danger of getting the boot.

There is some hope for next season, based on the team’s marked improvement over the last month and the potential of several players, most notably big men Chris Gabriel and Chris Manresa, both of whom are sophomores.   Gabriel, who had a procedure on his heart during the offseason that prevented him from being a factor for the first half of the season, was much better at the end of the season, showing he knows how to take advantage of his size (6-10, about 310 pounds) with some nice fundamental moves.    He will never be athletic, though, and endurance will always be an issue.

Manresa, on the other hands, is big, strong and athletic, giving him plenty of tools, but he does not have the fundamental elements to be productive on a regular basis yet.

Three players who redshirted this season and will be freshmen next year — Ben Vozzola, Simi Fajemisin and John Sinis – should help immediately.   Vozzola could have been a big help this season, but Grier kept his redshirt intact, and Sinis was signed at midseason after being scheduled to arrive before the season from Greece.  They also add incoming freshman Nick Kerr.

And there is considerable talent returning, most notably G Darian Norris and Ken Rancifer.   However, the Toreros lose two starting guards – Matt Dorr and Devin Ginty – and they played a major role in preventing the team’s collapse and providing stability and a perimeter presence.

The bottom line is the Toreros should be better next season, as suggested by the win over St. Mary’s, the late-season improvement and the addition of Vozzola and Sinis.  They need to be better to reverse the trend of annual decline.    The good news is, they can’t drop any further, so some measure of improvement is almost inevitable.

NOTES

–The 24 losses are the second most losses in a season since San Diego became a Division I program in 1979.   The Toreros went 4-26 in 2004, which is the only time the Toreros had a worse record.  Brad Holland, the coach then, was fired after the 2005 season.    The Toreros lost 21 games last season, so it lost more than 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.

–Two of the Toreros six wins were against Division III teams – Occidental and La Verne – and the Toreros’ only win away from home came against Utah in the consolation game of a holiday tournament in Hawaii, a game that began at 9 a.m. Christmas day and was played in a virtually empty gym.

FINAL RECORD: 6-24, 2-12, tied for seventh in the WCC

2010-11 SEASON RECAP: Expected to finish last in the WCC, San Diego was even worse than anticipated for the first three months of the season.   It did not beat a Division I team until its Dec. 25 win over Utah in Hawaii, and that was its only Division I win as of Jan. 20.  The Toreros lost their first seven conference games, and never won a game on their opponents’ home court this season.    It was the third consecutive season of regression under Bill Grier, and no one on the team averaged more than 10. 4 points.   Seniors Matt Dorr and Devin Ginty were effective at times but were inconsistent, and sophomore Ken Rancifer, who showed so much potential at the end of his freshman season, did not make a major impact.

However, the team improved noticeably over the final four weeks of the season, and its 84-76 victory over St. Mary’s on Feb. 16 may have been the biggest Division I upset in the country this season.

The team had several opportunities to give up on the season, but never did, and that includes the conference tournament.  After getting trampled by Gonzaga 68-31 in the regular-season finale in the Toreros’ worst game of the season, they played fairly well against Pepperdine in the WCC tournament, coming back on several occasions to make the game close.

Junior college transfer Darian Norris showed he is a capable Division I point guard, and Chris Manresa and Chris Gabriel, both sophomore, improved significantly over the final month.  All three will be back, and  the Toreros will have a bit of momentum heading into next season, when they add a few players who should help.

QUOTE: “We have been a pretty resilient team that keeps coming back. After we blew a 20-point lead at Santa Clara with 17 (minutes) to go, you would have thought they were done.  But they found a way to get mentally ready for St. Mary’s and beat them.” – San Diego coach Bill Grier, to the San Diego Union.

THE GOOD NEWS: The Toreros played pretty well over the final month of the season, and that should help the team spiritually heading into 2011-2012.  The monumental win over St. Mary’s proved to the team it is capable of playing with anyone in the conference if everything is in place.   Sophomore big men Chris Gabriel and Chris Manresa improved a lot over the second half of the season, and similar improvement next season should give the Toreros one of the strongest frontcourt in the conference.

The addition of G Ben Vozzola, who redshirted this season, should give the Toreros some much needed backcourt help.  He could make a significant impact in his first season.

In his first season with San Diego, G Darian Norris showed he can make an impact, and should be even better next season as a senior.   He gives the Toreros stability at the point-guard position.

San Diego showed some mental toughness by weathering a series of disappointing losses over the first three months to play pretty well over the final four weeks.   That resiliency may be indicative of a team that is has not lost its confidence or its will and is willing to do the things necessary to get better.

THE BAD NEWS: San Diego’s program is headed in the wrong direction under Bill Grier, as the Toreros have become worse each season under Grier.   He has not recruited particularly well, and the Toreros finished tied for last for the second straight season in a conference that is pretty weak at the bottom.

Several of the players who were expected to take major steps forward this season as sophomores – namely  Ken Rancifer and Miles Cameron – did not improve as much as expected.

Although San Diego improved dramatically over the final part of the season, it’s a lot easier to perform when there is nothing at stake.   None of these players have experienced the pressure of being involved in a conference race, and it remains to see how they would handle it if they got into that position.

The fact is, San Diego was not a good team this season, and it loses two starting guards – Matt Dorr and Devin Ginty – who helped hold the team together this season.

The Toreros had no one average better than 10.4 points a game, and they still will not measure up to most of the WCC teams in terms of talent next season.

KEY RETURNEES: Three returning starters will form the nucleus of next year’s squad.   Point guard Darian Norris was the team’s best player over the entire season and finished as the leading scorer (10.4 ppg).   He should be even better next season.

The Toreros’ chances for significant improvement rest with 6-11 Chris Gabriel and 6-8 Chris Manresa, both of whom will be juniors next season.   They improved significantly over the final four weeks, and have room to improve more.  Manresa (7.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg) has shown an ability to rebound and has the athleticism to get better.  Gabriel (7.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg) cannot be moved out of the low block and has good enough inside moves to average around 15 points next season.

Freshman G Ken Rancifer has the skills to be a double-digit scorer, and Ben Vozzola could have a major impact as a redshirt freshman.

PLAYER NOTES:

– Freshman F Ioannis “John” Sinis enrolled at San Diego in January after signing a scholarship agreement in December.  The 6-8 wing player  from Greece, where is considered one of the best junior players, and he should help next season as a freshman.

– G Nick Kerr was the only player signed by San Diego in the fall, and is likely to be the only incoming freshman next fall.   He is the son of former NBA player and executive Steve Kerr.

– Senior G Matt Dorr finished the season with his left wrist heavily taped to protect a sprain, and it seemed to affect his scoring.  He went 0-for-9 and went scoreless in 39 minutes in the regular-season finale against Gonzaga, then went 1-for-2 for just four points in the WCC tournament loss to Pepperdine on March 4.  He seemed reluctant to shoot when he was open.

—————————————————————————–

PEPPERDINE SEASON WRAPUP

With the loss to San Francisco in West Coast Conference tournament semifinals on March 5, Pepperdine’s season ended about how it was expected to finish – which is to say, not very well.

And now the real uncertainty begins, because it’s unclear whether Tom Asbury, the coach who was supposed to get Pepperdine back on the right track, will return next season.   It’s also uncertain whether Keion Bell, the team’s top scorer who was suspended for the final eight games of the season, will return.

Bell averaged 18.9 points per game, which would have been second in the conference if had played enough to qualify, but he was suspended by Asbury for actions detrimental to the team.   Bell has one season of college eligibility remaining, and it seems unlikely he would spend it at Pepperdine.    If the coaching situation changes, it’s conceivable he might be back with the Waves, but it’s more likely he will be playing for some other college team or attempt to turn pro.

As for Asbury, he has been unable to get the program going in the right direction in his three seasons as head coach this time around.   He did not want to discuss his future during the season, but it’s very possible he may announce his retirement before too long.   If that happens, the plan has always been to have assistant Marty Wilson take over as head coach, and you can only assume that would be the line of succession, although the lack of success under Asbury could alter than plan.

When Asbury was hired after the 2007-2008 season, it was assumed it would just be a matter of time before the Waves became a contender again.   After all, Pepperdine had been the conference’s top team during Asbury’s six seasons as head coach (1989-94).

But after his third season, the Waves find themselves in much the same situation as when Asbury arrived.

They were 11-21 overall and 4-10 the season before Asbury came, and they went 12-21 overall and 5-9 in the conference this season.   The fact that this was the best of Asbury’s three seasons at Pepperdine is not encouraging.  Also not encouraging is that he suspended two players – Bell and Jonathan DuPre – during the season for disciplinary reasons.

The Waves have some key pieces returning, namely G Lorne Jackson, who was the most encouraging aspect of the season as he emerged as an elite scorer as a junior.  In fact, four of the five players who started in the March 5 loss to San Francisco.

Plus, several freshmen who got some playing time early in the season may improve enough to contribute next season.   The Waves signed three players in the fall signing period, with F Ramon Eaton being the one that could help next season.

The one major loss is Mychel Thompson, who was the team’s leading scorer once Bell was dismissed and had been scoring well in Bell’s absence.

He had only 11 points in that final game, however, and most of those came after the Dons had a sizable lead.   That’s a major reason the Waves were beaten rather decisively.

So there will be some talent available for whoever the coach may be.

However, the 2010-2011 season simply secured Pepperdine’s position as one of the worst programs in the WCC at the moment.

Asbury returned virtually the entire roster from his 2009-2010 squad, and despite being picked to finish seventh, the Waves seemed to have the potential to do much better.

But injuries, the problems with Bell and general inconsistency limited the Waves’ progress.    Losing Jonathan DuPre after 24 games when he was suspended for disciplinary reasons didn’t help the personnel situation, but the Waves had already established themselves as a second-division WCC club by then.   Injuries kept Bell sidelined for several games before his season ended with his dismissal for actions detrimental to the team.

The Waves seemed to play better after Bell’s dismissal, and they played pretty well in the victory over an improved San Diego team in the first round of the WCC tournament.   But they seemed overmatched by San Francisco, a team that had improved a lot more than Pepperdine over the course of the season.   The Waves had beaten San Francisco once during the season and had lost in overtime in their other regular-season meeting, so there was every reason to believe Pepperdine could beat the Dons.

But USF dominated the game, ending Pepperdine’s difficult season on a down note.

NOTES

– The Waves’ 12 victories this season represented the most for Pepperdine since 2004-2005, which tells you all you need to know about the state of the program and the lack of success Tom Asbury has had in his second stint as the Waves head coach.   The 5-9 conference record also matched their best since 2005, and they have not had a winning WCC record since 2004.  Asbury had said when he was hired, his tenure as head coach would be short term, just long enough to get the program turned in the right direction with a plan to turn the team over to Marty Wilson.

– Junior G Keion Bell was a preseason all-conference selection, and he scored well enough, averaging 18.9 points, slightly better than last season’s 18.5.  But his field goal percentage, assists and rebounds were all down from last season, and his turnovers were up, and he had problems with Asbury.  The Waves were 6-14 with him and 6-7 without him.

FINAL RECORD: 12-21, 5-9, sixth in the WCC

2010-11 SEASON RECAP:   The early-season home loss to Cal State Bakersfield indicated this might not be the turnaround season the Waves had hoped in Tom Asbury’s third season as head coach.

There were some moments of hope, such as a road win over Pacific and a 20-point victory over San Diego in the conference opener.  By then G Lorne Jackson had begun to emerge as a scorer.   He had been a bit player until then, occasionally providing offensive help, but after going scoreless in the Dec. 30 game against Miami-Fla., Jackson took off.  He got his shot primarily because Keion Bell was injured at the time, but he continued to put up big numbers and made himself one of the team’s best players.

It was not enough to prevent the Waves from sinking to the bottom, however, as Asbury continued to change lineups looking for a combination that would work.   He used 15 different starting lineups during the season, an indication of how unsettled and unsuccessful the season was.

Mychel Thompson’s scoring was inconsistent, and Bell’s appearances in games were inconsistent.

The Waves ended up losing five of their last six games, but they actually played better at the end, with three of those losses by three points or less.    Thompson was particularly productive down the stretch, hitting his shots with consistency, and his 26 points in the WCC tournament win over San Diego represented one of this best performances of the season.

QUOTE: “I thought we matched up well with them.  They just beat us tonight.  They played better, shot it better and they took us out of what we wanted to do offensively.” – Pepperdine coach Tom Asbury, after his team’s 76-59 WCC tournament loss to San Francisco, a team Pepperdine had beaten once during the season and lost in overtime in the other regular-season meeting this season.

THE GOOD NEWS: Four of the five starters from the squad that finished the season will be back, and the Waves were playing their best basketball with that group.   Sophomore Joshua Lowery may have established himself as the point guard of the future after Tom Asbury had been looking for a suitable point guard for the better part of three seasons.

G Lorne Jackson (13.2 ppg) was a consistent scorer over the second half of the season, a surprising emergence that should carry over into next season.   Freshmen Hector Harold and 7-foot Jan Maehlen got playing time early in the season that may pay dividends as well.

The disciplining that removed Jonathan DuPre and Keion Bell from the rotation may have set a tone that could pay dividends next season in terms of organization and purpose.   The Waves still needed to establish an identity with Tom Asbury, and the loss of those two players may help accomplish that.

Taylor Darby and Corbin Moore also will return to form a frontcourt that will have plenty of experience.   In fact, the Waves may field one of the most experienced squads in the conference next season.

The coaching situation will be settled be the start of next season, at least in the short term, and that could provide some stability.   Players may not have known what the coaching situation was through this season, and that is a difficult way to play.

THE BAD NEWS: Pepperdine has shown no indication that it can compete in the WCC.   It finished 5-9 or worse in the conference for the sixth straight season, and with Gonzaga and St. Mary’s entrenched at the top, San Francisco and Santa Clara improving and BYU joining the conference next season, it is getting more difficult to break into the upper division.

The Waves will lose their best scorer, Mychel Thomson, who had been particularly productive late in the season.

The fact that two key players had to be suspended for disciplinary reasons suggests things are not going smoothly, and there is more uncertainty in the program now because it’s unclear whether head coach Tom Asbury will return next season.   If he retires and Marty Wilson takes over, it’s hard to predict how that will affect the team, because Wilson has never been a head coach before.

The Waves lacked scorers this season, and with Thomason leaving, it leaves only Lorne Jackson as a proven scorer.  And after using 15 different starting lineups this season, the rotation is far from stable heading into next season.

KEY RETURNEES: G Lorne Jackson (13.2 ppg) will be a senior next season and could be an all-conference player next season.   He developed into a consistent scorer midway through the season.

Three other players who started both games of the WCC tournament also will be back.  Sophomore G Joshua Lowery took over some of the point guard chores from Jackson late in the season, and he played pretty well.

Taylor Darby and Corbin Moore return as the Waves’ two inside players, and they will be seniors after getting a lot of playing time throughout their career.  Both shot better than 50 percent from the field, and Darby (8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg) was the team’s No. 2 rebounder.

Dane Suttle Jr. (41.1 percent 3-point shooting) could move into the starting lineup next season after being productive late in the season.  As a senior, he may be able to provide the perimeter threat that will be lost with the departure of Mychel Thompson.

PLAYER NOTES:

– Senior F Mychel Thompson had a tough night in his final game, scoring 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting, but he played in 128 games, Pepperdine’s alltime record, and finished with 1,412 points, 14^th on Pepperdine’s career scoring list.

– Sophomore G Joshua Lowery matched a career high with his 15 points in the WCC tournament loss to San Francisco.  He also had 15 points in the final regular-season game, Feb. 26 against Santa Clara.

–Junior G Keion Bell was a member of the WCC’s preseason five-man all-conference team for the second year in a row, but for the second time he failed to earn a spot on the 10-man all-conference team at the end of the season.  This time he missed 13 games, including the final eight after being suspended for action detrimental to the team.

–Junior G Lorne Jackson scored 18 points or more in each of Pepperdine’s final five games.

—————————————————————————————-

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT SEASON WRAPUP

Loyola Marymount’s first-round victory over Portland in the first round of the WCC tournament on March 4 could not hide the fact that this was a disastrous season for Loyola Marymount.

The Lions started the season with tremendously high hopes, picked to finish second in the WCC with many expecting them to challenge for the conference title.   But it ended with the Lions finishing tied for last in the regular-season standings and then losing in the conference tournament quarterfinals to Santa Clara.

And the aspect of the Lions’ last game that characterized the entire season was that Vernon Teel, an all-conference selection last year and the presumed key to the Lions’ high expectations this season, was suspended from the team before the game against the Broncos.

Teel had been in and out of the starting lineup all season, as Max Good searched in vain to find a combination that would work.    Good and Teel never did get things straightened out sufficiently, and that may have been a major part of the problem this season.   Injuries that kept Drew Viney, the team’s best player, out of the lineup for several games didn’t help either, but there is really no good explanation for what happened to the Lions.

After getting to the postseason last season based on its strong finish, Loyola Marymount looked like it might emerge to prominence this season with the return of most of its key players.

But a home loss to Morgan State in the opener provided an indication of what was to come.

By midseason Good had gone to a young lineup with three freshmen starting most of the time, and the lineup did not resemble the one that was expected to challenge for the conference title.

Giving those three freshmen – Anthony Ireland, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi – may help next season, but it was indication of how wrong things had gone this season.

Good shuffled his lineup nearly every game, trying to find something that worked, and injuries to Edgar Garibay and Jarred DuBois, as well the occasional absence of Viney because of migraine headaches and Ashley Hamilton for various ailments further hurt the Lions continuity.

It leaves Loyola Marymount with an uncertain future.   It returns all five players who started the final game – a 76-68 loss to Santa Clara in the WCC quarterfinals – but with losses in 13 of their final 16 games, the Lions are headed in the wrong direction.

After last season, it seemed Good was the coach who was going to turn the program around.   Now that’s debatable.

Quite simply, the Lions could not handle the high expectations, which were something new for the program.

NOTES

–After its 72-68 victory over Portland on March 4 – probably the Lions’ biggest win of the season – Loyola Marymount announced that senior G Vernon Teel had been dismissed from the team, effective immediately, for conduct detrimental to the program.  Teel hit the shot with 3:40 left that gave Loyola Marymount a two-point lead over the Pilots, but missed his next two shots, and he was replaced with 1:25 to go and the Lions still clinging to a two-point lead.  He did not return.

“This was an internal decision that we felt was best for our team and our program,” said Good of the suspension. “This was strictly based on internal issues and was not attributed to behavior in or around the WCC tournament.”

– After finishing 18-16 overall last season with a strong finish that earned the Lions a 7-7 conference record, a berth in the conference tournament semifinals and a berth in the Collegeinsider.com postseason tournament, the Lions dropped to 2-12 in the conference this season, matching the 2009, 2008 and 2002 seasons for their worst conference record since going 0-14 in 2000.

FINAL RECORD: 11-21, 2-12, tied for seventh in the WCC

2010-11 SEASON RECAP: The opening loss to Morgan State at home indicated things might not be as successful as Loyola Marymount had hoped, and it never really improved.

The Lions got to 6-5 by winning four of five games, including an overtime victory over Long Beach State that was probably their best win of the season.   It left optimism that the Lions might be finding their groove.

However, a road loss to South Dakota set the Lions back, and when they began conference play by losing a series of close games, it was clear this was not going to be the Lions’ season.

Coach Max Good used 15 different starting lineups during the season, even taking all-conference players Drew Viney and Vernon Teel out of the starting lineup for several games.   Nothing helped.

Injuries to Viney, Teel, Ashley Hamilton, Edgar Garibay and Larry Davis – all key players — did not help either, and the Lions continued to struggle.

Viney started producing big numbers down the stretch, and Ireland proved to be productive as well, especially late in the season.   But Teel was not the player he had been last season, and his issues with the coaching staff came to a head when he was suspended for the final game.

The Lions were 2-7 in games decided by three points or less or in overtime, and you never got the feeling this team had developed the momentum or confidence that was so evident at the end of last season.

QUOTE: “We’ve been underachieving all year, and we finally finished one off.” – Loyola Marymount F Drew Viney after the four-point win over Portland in the first round of the WCC tournament, one of the Lions’ few wins in a close game this season.

THE GOOD NEWS: Everybody who started Loyola Marymount’s final game is back next season, and that includes the team’s top player, Drew Viney, and three freshmen who started most of the games during conference play – Anthony Ireland, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi.   In fact, eight of their top 10 scorers will be back, including Jarred DuBois, who missed most of the season with a foot injury, and Edgar Garibay, who was plagued with injuries much of the season.

The high expectations of this season will be gone next year, which may remove some pressure and create a hungrier team.  It may also allow coach Max Good to assert a discipline that might have been a problem last season.   The departure of Vernon Teel may improve the chemistry of the team.

The talent should be adequate to make significant improvement, and many of the key players are still quite young.

THE BAD NEWS: This season was a major setback for the program, and it will be difficult to rebound from such a disappointing season.   All the momentum built from the 2009-2010 season is gone, and the addition of BYU to a conference that includes perennial powers Gonzaga and St. Mary’s and rising programs San Francisco and Santa Clara will make it difficult to rise in the standings.

The notion that Max Good was the coach that could turn the program around is not in question after the disastrous 2010-2011 season.   He showed desperation by using 15 different starting lineups despite returning most of the key players from the team that finished the 2009-2010 season so successfully.

The loss of Vernon Teel removes a talented player from the rotation, even if his presence created problems with the coaching staff.

KEY RETURNEES: Drew Viney, who will be a senior next season, increased his scoring average to 17.2, which was an improvement on his 2010 season when he was named all-conference, and he was particularly productive over the final three weeks of the season.

Freshman Anthony Ireland (10.6 ppg) started 26 games, more than anyone else on the squad, and he has established himself as the team point guard.  He was particularly productive late in the season.

Freshmen Godwin Okonji (4.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Ayodeji Egbeyemi (5.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg) also started a lot of games and should be improved.

Sophomore Ashley Hamilton (9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) was limited by injuries, and did not quite show the potential he demonstrated as a freshman, but he could emerge next season.

Junior Jarred DuBois (6 games, 10.2 ppg) and redshirt freshman Edgar Garibay (18 games, 3.8 ppg) should help with their return as well.

Loyola Marymount added 6-1 guard Bruce English in the fall signing period, and based on Max Good’s willingness to play freshmen, he could get a chance to contribute next season.

PLAYER NOTES:

–Redshirt freshman F Edgar Garibay missed the final four games of the season with an ankle injury.

–Junior G Jarred DuBois had foot surgery in Janaury, but is expected to be back at full strength for next season.

– Freshman G Anthony Ireland had a season-high 24 points in the final game against Santa Clara.  He was named to the WCC all-freshman team, giving the Lions a representative on that squad for the third year in a row.   Ashley Hamilton made it last year and Jarred DuBois the year before.

–Junior F Drew Viney finished the season averaging 17.2 points, second in the West Coast conference as of March 5.

–Senior G Larry Davis missed the final four regular-season games with a groin injury, but he played in both WCC tournament games.

SAINT MARY’S

   St. Mary’s finally played a good half of basketball in its final regular-season conference game, but whether that was enough to stem the downward spiral remains to be seen.

   The Gaels trailed Portland by a point at halftime in their Feb. 26 home game, but they outscored the Pilots 24-6 over an 8 ½-minute stretch early in the second half to turn a one-point deficit into a comfortable 17-point lead.

   It still was not the kind of performance the Gaels had shown through the middle part of the season, but it avoided what looked like it could be a complete meltdown.

   With the win, the Gaels earned a share of their first regular-season conference title since 1997, ended an ugly three-game losing streak, and kept alive its hopes of earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament if it does not win the conference tournament.  Furthermore, Gaels G Mickey McConnell is nearly guaranteed to win the WCC player of the year honor.

   Although St. Mary’s earned the top seed for the WCC tournament in Las Vegas, the Gaels will not be the favorites.  That honor has to go to Gonzaga, which prevented St. Mary’s from clinching an outright regular-season title by beating the Gaels in overtime on Feb. 24.   The fact that Gonzaga did it on the Gaels’ homecourt, even though St. Mary’s players and coaches thought they played pretty well, indicates that the Bulldogs have surpassed the Gaels.

   The savior for the Gaels against Portland was not one of its presumed stars – Mickey McConnell, Matthew Dellavedova or Rob Jones – but freshman Stephen Holt, who hit a series a game-changing three-pointers early in the second half and made a few big defensive plays as well.

   Had it not been for Holt’s play, St. Mary’s might be wobbling into the WCC tournament on a four-game losing streak, perhaps needing to win the WCC tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament.

   Instead, the Gaels can claim to be a conference regular-season champ.

   “Obviously, it would have been nice to do it on Thursday (against Gonzaga),” St. Mary’s G Mickey McConnell told the San Francisco Chronicle, “but it’s the first time we can share it in a while, so we’ll just be happy with it.  It’s a great feeling.”

   The Gaels played better against Gonzaga than they had in the previous two games and most of the previous 10.   Whether they have removed themselves from their month-long slump is difficult to say. 

NOTES

   –St. Mary’s started slowly against Portland, falling behind 11-2, and things did not look good when Mickey McConnell had to sit out most of the final eight minutes of the first half with his third personal foul.  But freshman Stephen Holt made three three-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to provide the impetus for the Gaels’ second-half surge.  Portland played the game without starting point guard Tim Douglas, who had an injured foot.

   –A St. Mary’s victory over Gonzaga on Feb. 24 would have given the Gaels their first outright conference title since 1989 when Lynn Nance was the St. Mary’s coach.  Instead, they had to settle for a share of the title, which is what they did in 1997, when a St. Mary’s squad coached by Ernie Kent tied Santa Clara for first place.

   –St. Mary’s had a couple chances to win the Feb. 24 game against Gonzaga, but normally reliable Mickey McConnell missed a couple shots at the end.   He missed a three-pointer with four seconds left in regulation time with the score tied, and he missed a driving layup that would have put the Gaels ahead by a point with 12 seconds left in the overtime.

    QUOTE: “I think it’s harder to do.  There aren’t many upsets in winning a conference (regular-season) championship.  You can get upsets winning a conference tournament, so that’s why I think it’s special.” – St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, to the San Francisco Chronicle, after the Feb. 26 win over Portland, on why a regular-season championship is a more impressive achievement than winning a conference tournament, which the Gaels did last season.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Portland, Loyola Marymount or Santa Clara, March 6 at Las Vegas in WCC tournament semifinals.

   THE MATCHUP: The Gaels earn a bye into the conference tournament semifinals, and could play any one of three teams.  St. Mary’s swept Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount during the season and split with Portland. It doesn’t really matter who the Gaels play.  If they are sharp, they should win.  But if they play like they have through much of February, they easily could lose.

   IDLE THOUGHT: If the NCAA Tournament made its selections on March 1, the Gaels almost certainly would be in the field.   That early-season win over St. John’s is looking better all the time, and the losses to San Diego State and BYU are nothing to be ashamed of.   The road loss to San Diego is the only real black mark on the Gaels’ record, although that was a bad one.  The fact that the Gaels played well despite losing to Gonzaga probably helped, because selection committee members have said they consider how well teams play, even in losses.  If St. Mary’s wins its semifinal game of the WCC tournament, it probably will be in the NCAA Tournament field.  If it loses in the semifinals, the odds are slightly better than 50-50 that they will make it.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Senior G Mickey McConnell came out of a game for the first time in nine games when he fouled out with 11 seconds left in overtime of the Feb. 24 game against Gonzaga.  He had played all 40 minutes in the previous eight games, and was credited with 45 minutes against Gonzaga.   Foul trouble limited McConnell to 30 minutes against Portland.

   — Freshman G Stephen Holt had a career-high 16 points in the Feb. 26 win over Portland.  He played 34 minutes in that game, partly because of McConnell’s foul trouble, but Holt started the second half as the Gaels went to a three-guard lineup.

   –Junior F Clint Steindl went scoreless against Portland, the fourth time in the past 10 games he failed to score.

—————————————————–

 GONZAGA

   Gonzaga has turned the West Coast Conference upside down the past four weeks and suddenly are is suddenly the favorite in the WCC tournament and has outside chance to earn an NCAA Tournament berth even if it doesn’t.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs woke up from their midseason slumber just in time

   The Bulldogs got some help from St. Mary’s to pull off the switch, but most of the heavy lifting was done by Gonzaga.

   Gonzaga was tied for fourth place midway through the conference season, three games behind the Gaels.  But the Bulldogs won their final eight regular-season conference games and played their very best basketball in the final week.

   They beat St. Mary’s on the Gaels home court in overtime 89-85 on Feb. 24 for their biggest win of the year to keep themselves in the title chase, then totally dominated San Diego 68-31 on Feb. 26 to end up tied for their 11^th straight regular-season conference championship.

   That seemed virtually impossible after the Bulldogs had lost to St. Mary’s back on Jan. 27, making the Bulldogs 3-3 with their third straight loss.

   But now, Gonzaga is playing better than any team in the conference, and has to be considered the favorite to win the WCC tournament in Las Vegas.  The Bulldogs receive a bye into the semifinal on March 6.  Whether the Bulldogs have to win the WCC tournament to get their 13^th straight berth in the NCAA Tournament is a matter of debate, but the fact that they might get an at-large berth is almost as surprising as the fact that they shared the regular-season title.

   “This one was the hardest, yet the sweetest,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few told the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “The fact that this group was able to dig all the way back from three games behind is amazing.  They showed character, toughness, resiliency.  I’m really proud of them.”

   The Bulldogs have things going their way now.   F Elias Harris is starting to play like was expected to play all season.   C Robert Sacre rid himself of a brief slump in the wins over St. Mary’s and San Diego.  And Marquise Carter continues to demonstrate that he was the missing piece all along.   Ever since he became a starter, the Bulldogs have been the best team in the conference.

    “Nobody was really believing in us, and they said this year wasn’t going to be our year,” Harris told the Spokesman-Review.  “We’re pretty much playing our best basketball right now.  We have some things to fix, but we just need to keep it up.  And keep believing in us.”

NOTES

   –The 11 straight conference title is the longest active such streak in the country, and the second longest in Division I history.   The record is 13 in row by UCLA from 1967 through 1979.

   –The 31 points scored by San Diego on Feb. 26 was the lowest point total allowed by Gonzaga since the Bulldogs became a Division I program in 1958-59.  The previous low was 35 points by Carroll College in 1981.

   –Gonzaga has 21 wins with one regular-season game left.  It’s the 14^th straight season the Bulldogs have won 20 games or more.

   QUOTE: “We’ve been playing good defense this whole month.  We kind of got in a shootout the other night (against St. Mary’s on Feb. 24), but we still had some really big stops down the stretch that basically won the game.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few, to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, following the Feb. 26 win over San Diego, when the Toreros were limited to 25.5 percent shooting and committed 21 turnovers.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Cal State Bakersfield, Feb. 28

   THE MATCHUP: Bakersfield comes into the game having lost six in a row and 12 of its last 13 and is little more than a warmup game for the Bulldogs so they can stay sharp during what otherwise would be an eight-game layoff until the conference tournament.   This game provides a Senior Night, but the Bulldogs need to be impressive to improve their NCAA Tournament resume.

   Vs. Pepperdine, San Diego or San Francisco, March 6, WCC semifinals in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: San Francisco is the likely foe, and the Bulldogs split with the Dons during the regular season.   USF F Perris Blackwell did not play in the Feb. 19 game won by Gonzaga by 17 points, but he is expected to play in the tournament, and Gonzaga C Robert Sacre needs to control the paint against him.

   IDLE THOUGHT: If the NCAA Tournament field were selected on March 1, Gonzaga probably would be in the field, but that does not consider the inevitable upsets in conference tournaments that will shrink the number of available at-large berths.   Wins against Baylor, Marquette, Xavier and St. Mary’s, the latter on the road, plus a strong finish may get the Bulldogs in without a conference tournament title.   A win in the semifinals and a loss to St. Mary’s in the finals is likely to get Gonzaga in, but it had better win the conference tournament just to be sure.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Redshirt freshman F Sam Dower had 21 points in the overtime win over St. Mary’s on Feb. 24, and that was his second highest point total of the season.   He also had a big game the first time Gonzaga played St. Mary’s, scoring 15 points in that loss.

   –Junior G Marquise Carter made 9 of 15 three-pointers in the Bulldogs final four regular-season conference games after being 3-for-12 from beyond the arc in the previous 13.

   –Sophomore F Elias Harris had 18 points against St. Mary’s and 17 against San Diego in the final two conference games, and that was the first time this season he has scored more than 15 points in consecutive WCC games.

————————————————– 

SAN FRANCISCO

   Rex Walters probably will be named WCC coach of the year after his San Francisco team finished the regular season just one game out first place after being picked to finish sixth.

   The Dons beat every team in the conference except St. Mary’s at least once, and they have wins over all three of the teams they might have to play to get to the WCC tournament championship game.

  USF certainly will not be the favorite to win the conference tournament, but it is capable of doing so.

  However, the Dons are not capable of overwhelming anyone, and that was evident in their final two regular season games.   They had to come back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat sixth-place Pepperdine by one on Feb. 26, and they trailed by five points with less than two minutes to go before pulling out a 77-75 victory on Feb. 26 against Loyola Marymount, which is the eighth seed in the eight-team WCC tournament.

   And both games were at home.

   That’s the way it’s been all season for the Dons, though.  When they had a chance to win they did.   Three of their four losses in conference play were by 14 points or more, and in the fourth – a six-point loss to Pepperdine back on Jan. 29 – the Dons trailed by 10 with 40 seconds left, so they were not in that game at the end either.

    They were 4-0 in games decided by two points or less or in overtime.   It means the Dons are good in close games, and are able to make the plays when they need them.   But it also shows the Dons have little room for error, and their 10-4 conference record easily could have been 6-8.

   The Dons need all the part working at near optimum efficiency, and for the most part, they have done that.

   F Perris Blackwell is back after missing two games with an illness, and he and Moustapha Diarra, who has played well toward the end of the season, give the Dons formidable inside presence.

   More important, F Angelo Caloiaro may have regained his shooting touch, and that is particularly important heading into the conference tournament.   He was an outstanding three-point shooter last season who suffered through a slump for much of this season.   The past four games, he’s hitting threes again, though.

NOTES

  –San Francisco’s final 10-4 WCC record is its best conference record since going 11-3 in 1982, the season before USF shut down its basketball program for three seasons because of repeated NCAA violations.

   — The Dons trailed at halftime in 10 of their 14 conference games, but won six of those games.  Three times the Dons came back from halftime deficits of eight points or more.

  –With 1.2 seconds left and the Dons trailing by a point in overtime, Rashad Green hit two free throws to give the Dons a one-point victory over Pepperdine on Feb. 24.  Two days later, Loyola Marymount had three close-range shots in its final possession of the game, but missed all three to enable the Dons to come away with a 77-75 win.

   QUOTE: “It’s a great stepping stone for our program, for our guys and something we can try to build off of.  We’ll have some good senior leadership next year.  I think right now we’re really trying to focus in on playing one more, and if we play well, we get to keep playing.” – San Francisco coach Rex Walters, after the Dons’ win over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 26 gave the Dons a final 10-4 conference record.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Pepperdine-San Diego winner on March 5 in WCC tournament semifinals in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: San Francisco probably would prefer to play San Diego, a team it beat twice, instead of Pepperdine, which beat the Dons once and blew a 13-point halftime lead to lose to the Dons by one in overtime in the other meeting.   Pepperdine’s Lorne Jackson and Mychel Thompson have had big games both times against the Dons.

   IDLE THOUGHT: The Dons started the season 4-9, but have gone 12-4 since then.  It’s the second straight year the Dons played their best basketball down the stretch.  Last season, the Dons were 7-14 before winning five of their final eight games leading into the conference tournament.   It was also the second straight season the Dons beat Gonzaga at home.  The only loss from this season’s team will be C Moustapha Diarra, so the Dons should be better next season.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Freshman G Cody Doolin attempted just one shot from the field in the Feb. 26 game against Loyola Marymount, but it was a big one – a made three-pointer with 49 seconds left that gave the Dons a one-point lead.

   –Sophomore F Perris Blackwell returned for the Feb. 24 game against Pepperdine after missing the previous two because of illness.  He had a double double against Pepperdine with 13 points and 15 rebounds.  As of March 1, Blackwell is third in the WCC in rebounding at 7.2 a game.

   –Senior C Moustapha Diarra was a starter in his final home game, Feb. 26 against Loyola Marymount, and he responded with 16 points, his second highest output of the season.

————————————————————

SANTA CLARA

   A few important things happened for Santa Clara in the final week of the regular season to give the Broncos hope that they can get to the WCC tournament finals, perhaps even win the thing.

   First of all, Santa Clara won both games against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 24 and Pepperdine on Feb. 26 even though G Kevin Foster was not the team’s leading scorer in either and was held under his scoring average in both.

   It shows promise when the Broncos can win without a big night from Foster, who has carried the Broncos all season.

   Directly related to that is the fact that junior F Marc Trasolini was the leading scorer in both games even though he started neither and is finally producing what was expected of him all season.  The Broncos have needed a consistent offensive supplement to Foster, and Trasolini was expected to be that guy.

   It didn’t happen until this week, when he scored 31 and 21 points in the final two homes games of the season.

   “I feel really good about my play this weekend,” Trasolini said.  “Coach (Kerry) Keating challenged me and I knew I expected more out of myself, and so I worked really hard this week, took care of my body and came out really aggressive.  It’s really special I get to share this with my mom (who was present), and maybe that’s why I played so well this weekend.”

   If Trasolini can continue that level of play in the WCC tournament, the Broncos should beat the winner of the Portland-Loyola Marymount game, which will be the Broncos’ first foe.

   There is a some discouraging news that goes along with this, though.   Santa Clara has to hope Foster’s shot has not deserted him at the worst possible time.   He bounced back pretty well from his 11-point performance against Loyola Marymount by hitting 4 of 9 three-point attempts against Pepperdine.

   The other issue is that Santa Clara nearly lost home games to teams that finished sixth and tied for last in the final standings.  The Broncos will have to play better to beat either Portland or Loyola Marymount in their first WCC tournament game.

NOTES

   — Santa Clara had eight steals in the Feb. 26 game against Pepperdine, extending its streak of six or more steals in a game to 22 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the country.

   — Santa Clara made its first 21 free throws in the Feb. 24 game against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 24, and the Broncos were 20-for-25 from the line in the two overtime periods.  They had just four field goals in the two extra periods.

   –The Feb. 26 game against Pepperdine was the final home game for seniors Ben Dowdell, Troy Payne, Nate Mensah and Michael Santos, all of whom were in the starting lineup for the game.

   QUOTE: “We knew the threes weren’t falling for us, so we went inside and made it to the line a lot too.  We attacked inside and were successful, so now we know we can do it.” – Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating, following the double overtime win over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 24, when the Broncos were just 3-for-18 on three-pointers, but 37-for-42 on free throws while four Loyola Marymount players fouled out.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES

   Vs. Portland-Loyola Marymount winner, March 5 in WCC tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

   THE MATCHUP: Santa Clara swept Loyola Marymount in two close games, and split its two games with Portland. Marc Trasolini is the key in either game, whether it be against Portland power forward Luke Sikma or Loyola Marymount power forward Drew Viney. They are very different kinds of players, but Trasolini is versatile enough to hold his own against either.

  IDLE THOUGHT: At 18-13 overall and 8-6 in the conference, Santa Clara has its first winning season both overall and in the conference under fourth-year coach Kerry Keating.    With many of the key components back next season, the Broncos should be even better in 2011-2012.   It seems unlikely Santa Clara will get a berth in a postseason tournament unless it wins the conference tournament, but if it gets to the WCC title game it will have 20 wins, so a lesser postseason tournament may give the Broncos a shot.   That would be a significant boost for the program.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Sophomore G Kevin Foster will wind up as the conference’s leading scorer (he’s averaging 19.5 ppg as of March 1), but he had one of his worst games in the Feb. 24 double overtime win over Loyola Marymount.   Not only was Foster just 1-for-11 on three-pointers for just 11 points, but he committed 10 turnovers.

   –Junior F Marc Trasolini scored his 1,000^th career point when he scored the sixth point in a 21-point performance in the Feb. 26 game against Pepperdine.

   — Senior F Ben Dowdell had career highs in both points (26) and rebounds (14) in the Feb. 24 double overtime win over Loyola Marymount.

 —————————————————

PORTLAND

  Portland certainly will not be the favorite to win the WCC tournament, but it has to feel pretty good about itself.

   It has beaten all three of the teams it could face to reach the tournament championship game, and all three wins were by double-digit margins.   Of course, it has also lost to two of the three as well, and one of the wins against the third was in overtime, so the Pilots know they could lose to any of them as well.

   A bigger problem is that the Pilots failed to finish among the top four in the final standings, which means the Pilots would have to win four games in four consecutive days to win the conference tournament, and that’s not easy.

   But with the way Portland can shoot three-pointers, it has a chance if it can stay hot from long range.   Unfortunately, the Pilots shoot a lot better at home than on the road, and the WCC tournament is in Las Vegas, a long way from the Pilots’ homecourt, the Chiles Center.

   The Pilots did not shoot particularly well from long range in either of their final two regular-season games, going a combined 9-for-27 in the games against San Diego on Feb. 24 and St. Mary’s on Feb. 26.

   They played two good halves and two poor halves in those games.   The productive second half against the Toreros was enough to pull out a 65-61 victory on the road to get their 20^th victory of the season.

   And a good first half against St. Mary’s gave the Pilots a one-point lead at halftime, despite the absence of starting point guard Tim Douglas, who was out with a foot injury.

   But the Pilots got blown out in the first 10 minutes of the second half against the Gaels and could never fully recover, losing 83-69.

   It left the Pilots with a 7-7 conference record, which is not bad for a team that lost four starters from last season, but not what the Pilots were hoping for after they were 4-3 in the conference following a 15-point win over St. Mary’s.

   “I think we represented ourselves well.  I think the conference is better than it’s been,” Portland coach Eric Reveno told the Oregonian after the loss to St. Mary’s.

NOTES

  –Portland shot a feeble 29.4 percent while scoring just 24 points in the first half of the Feb. 24 game against San Diego.  The Pilots were fortunate to be trailing by just five, and they shot 51.7 percent in the second half to pull out a 65-61 win.

   –Portland has recorded 20 or more wins for the second straight season, the first time it has done that since becoming a Division I program in 1958-59.

  — Even if Portland had beaten St. Mary’s and tied Santa Clara for fourth place, the Pilots would have received the fifth seed, forcing them to play a first-round game in the WCC tournament. 

   QUOTE: “I would liked to have finished in the top half of the conference in a year we were supposed to be down after losing some key people last year.  I think we were capable of it.” – Portland coach Eric Reveno, to the Oregonian, after losing to St. Mary’s on Feb. 26.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Loyola Marymount, March 4, in first round of WCC tournament in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: Portland power forward Luke Sikma needs to win his individual battle with Loyola Marymount F Drew Viney, who did not play when the Pilots beat the Lions 71-48 in their most recent meeting.  Viney did play the first time the teams met earlier in the season in Portland, and Viney had 24 points that time, a game Portland won in double overtime.

   IDLE THOUGHT: If it gets its 21^st win against Loyola Marymount in the first round of the WCC, it will match the school record for wins, which it also achieved in 1995 and last season.   Doing it in consecutive seasons would be a remarkable accomplishment for a program that was absolutely horrible before Eric Reveno arrived as coach.    Losing seniors Jared Stohl and Luke Sikma means it will difficult to maintain that level next season, but the Pilots lost more than that from last season’s team and still managed to win 20 games overall and finish with a .500 record in conference games.

PLAYER NOTES

  –Freshman G Tim Douglas missed the Feb. 26 game against St. Mary’s because of a foot injury.   The problem has been bothering Douglas for several weeks and flared up against San Diego on Feb. 26.   Douglas was cleared to play against St. Mary’s, but the Pilots decided to rest him for the WCC tournament, because they were stuck with the No. 5 seed no matter what they did against the Gaels.  The Pilots hope he can play in the March 4 WCC game against Loyola Marymount.

   — Senior C Kramer Knutson returned to action in the Feb. 24 game against San Diego after missing the previous game with back spasms, but after starting 116 games, a school record, he came off the bench in both the Feb. 24 game against San Diego and the Feb. 26 game against St. Mary’s.

   –Sophomore G Derrick Rodgers scored eight points against St. Mary’s, which was double his previous season high in a conference game.  In fact, he had scored a total of just nine points in conference play before the season finale.

 ——————————————————–

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

  It has to hurt being the eighth seed in an eight-team conference tournament for Loyola Marymount after being picked to finish second.

   But the Lions also know they are playing their best basketball of the season heading into the conference tournament and are very capable of winning two games and perhaps getting to the conference tournament finals.

   Winning the WCC tournament and getting to the NCAA Tournament seems like a long shot, but not impossible, given the talent the Lions have available and the fact that no WCC team seems unbeatable this season.

   Whether the Lions’ final two games helped or hurt the Lions’ confidence is hard to say.   They played the teams that finished third and fourth in the conference on virtual even terms on their opponents’ home court.   That simply could not have happened a few weeks ago when the Lions bore no resemblance to  the Loyola Marymount team that finished the 2009-2010 season so strong.

   But now they are capable of playing with anyone, as their two all-conference players – Vernon Teel and Drew Viney – are again playing like all-conference players.    They both were productive in the final two games, and either is capable of carrying Loyola Marymount to a win or two in the conference tournament.

   The problem is, Loyola Marymount has not shown it can win close games.   It lost both games last week, dropping a double overtime game to Santa Clara and failing to hit three game-tying shots in the final few seconds of a 77-75 loss to San Francisco.

   The Lions are clearly talented enough to beat Portland in the first round or Santa Clara in the quarterfinals.   It even has the personnel to beat St. Mary’s in the semifinals, given the fact that the Gaels have not played well lately.

   If nothing else, the Lions have shown they have not collapsed psychologically despite the many injuries, lineup changes, disappointments and close losses.

NOTES

   — Eight of The Lions’ 20 losses have been by three points or less or in overtime.   Loyola Marymount has won only two such games.

   — Freshman Anthony Ireland missed the second of two free throws with two seconds left in regulation time that would have given Loyola Marymount the victory over Santa Clara on Feb. 24.  He is a 74.6 percent foul shooter, as of Feb. 28.

   — Loyola Marymount led San Francisco by five points with less than two minutes left, fell behind by two with 15 seconds to go and then missed three shots on its final possession that would have tied it.  First, Anthony Ireland missed floater with five seconds left.  He got his own rebound, but missed a lay-up with three seconds to go, and Ayodeji Egbeyemi’s tip-in attempt also missed.

   QUOTE:  “It’s very frustrating.  I have yet to figure out how to guard the free-throw line.” – Loyola Marymount coach Max Good, after Santa Clara scored 20 of its 28 overtime points from the foul line in the Broncos’ 94-88 double overtime win on Feb. 24.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Portland, March 4, in WCC tournament first round in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: Loyola Marymount F Drew Viney needs to win his matchup with Portland’s Luke Sikma.  Viney did not play when the Lions lost to Portland 71-48 in Malibu, but he scored 24 points when the Lions lost at Portland in double overtime. If Viney has a big game, and Vernon Teel is productive, the Lions have a pretty good chance to win.

   IDLE THOUGHT: This season has been a mess for Loyola Marymount, but they can make up for a lot by faring well in the conference tournament.  It’s hard to imagine a No. 8 seed winning an eight-team conference tournament, especially when it would have to win four games in four nights to do it.  But if any team could do it, it’s this one, which has a good deal of talent and is playing its best basketball at the moment. The Lions have used 15 different starting lineups this season, but used the same one in the games against Santa Clara and San Francisco, and performed well in both.  That lineup included all-conference players Drew Viney and Vernon Teel and three freshman – Anthony Ireland, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Senior G Vernon Teel hit a three-pointer against San Francisco on Feb. 26, giving him two three-pointers in the final three regular-season games after going 0-for-23 on three-pointers in the previous 22 games.

   — Senior G Larry Davis missed his third straight game, when he sat out the Feb. 26 game against San Francisco with a groin injury.   Loyola Marymount hopes he can play in the WCC tournament.

   — Redshirt freshman F Edgar Garibay missed the final four games of the regular season and will not play in the WCC tournament as a result of a sprained ankle.

 ————————————————————-

PEPPERDINE

   Pepperdine is playing pretty well heading into the WCC tournament, although the recent results would not indicate it.

   When Pepperdine plays San Diego in its first-round game on March 4, the Waves will be riding a four-game losing streak, which certainly does not sound like Pepperdine should have any reason for optimism.

   However, the last three losses were all by three points or less, all three were on the road and the Waves had a chance to win or tie all three at the end.

   The final two games against Santa Clara and San Francisco were both encouraging in the way the Waves performed and discouraging in the way they ended.

   The Waves held a 13-point lead over third-place San Francisco early in the second half on Feb. 24, but they let that slip away, and they eventually lost in overtime by one point.

  Two days later, Pepperdine was within one point with 12 seconds left, but lost by three points again, this time to Santa Clara.

   But Mychel Thompson is scoring consistently well again, and Lorne Jackson has been scoring well ever since midseason.  Those two things plus the fact that Pepperdine has been a good rebounding team this season will make the Waves a threat in the conference tournament.

   The absence of Keion Bell, who was the conference’s No. 2 scorer when he was suspended for the rest of the season on Feb. 5 for actions detrimental to the team, has not hurt the team at all.  In fact it probably helped.

   The Waves are just 2-3 in those five games since the suspension, but they played well in four of the five and seem to have more cohesiveness.

 NOTES

  –Pepperdine outrebounded each of its final five regular-season opponents.   The Waves had 23 offensive rebounds in the Feb. 24 loss to San Francisco.

  – Mychel Thompson was nearly the hero against San Francisco.  He hit a long three-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation to send the game in overtime, and his eight-footer with 10 seconds left in overtime put the Waves ahead by a point.   But Gus Clardy was called for a foul on San Francisco’s Rashad Green while Green was driving to the basket.    Green made both foul shots with 1.2 seconds left to give the Dons a one-point win.

   — Pepperdine lost both games to Santa Clara this season, the first time since 1984 the Waves were swept by the Broncos.

   BY THE NUMBERS: 9 – Number of Pepperdine games this season that have come down to the final possession.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. San Diego, March 4 in WCC tournament first round in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: Whoever guards San Diego G Devin Ginty – whether it be Lorne Jackson or Joshua Lowery or possibly even Mychel Thompson – he must do a better job than he did the last time the teams met.  Ginty scored 23 in that game, which the Waves won in overtime.   In the Waves’ 20-ppoint win over the Toreros earlier in the season, Ginty went scoreless.

   IDLE THOUGHT: Pepperdine’s 11 wins overall matches the 2008 season for the most wins since the 2005 season, and the Waves’ six conference wins is the most since 2005.  That speaks to the decline of a program that was once one of the powerhouses of the conference.   Tom Asbury is not going to be the head coach much longer, and if he hasn’t been able to bring the program back, it won’t be easy.   Making progress will be more difficult next season when BYU joins the WCC.

PLAYER NOTES

  — Sophomore G Joshua Lowery tied a season high with 15 points against Santa Clara on Feb. 26, but he had no assists for the first time in nine games.

   — Senior F Mychel Thompson played his 125^th game on Feb. 24, setting the Pepperdine record for games played in a career.

   –Junior F Taylor Darby had a season high 11 rebounds in the Feb. 24 loss to San Francisco.

——————————————————-

 SAN DIEGO

  Things had been going so well in February for the Toreros, with noticeable improvement being made almost every game, it seemed they might be able to win a game or two in the WCC tournament.

   Even the 65-61 loss to Portland on Feb. 24 provided more signs of hope, because the Toreros had a chance to beat a team that had handled the Toreros by 15 points earlier this season.

   And with Gonzaga coming to San Diego two days after the Bulldogs’ emotional overtime win over St. Mary’s, giving Gonzaga  every reason to suffer a letdown, San Diego was in position to take another step forward.

   Then came that regular-season finale against Gonzaga on Feb. 26, and all the progress seemed to disintegrate.

   The thrashing San Diego took in 68-31 loss was difficult to swallow, and the beating it put on the Toreros’ psyche will be difficult to erase in six days’ time.

   San Diego finished tied for last place, and although it earned the seventh seed based on a tiebreaker with Loyola Marymount, the Toreros again look like the worst team in the conference as the Lions gave a good account of themselves in their final two games.   So did Pepperdine, the team San Diego must face in the first round of the WCC tournament on March 4 in Las Vegas.

    Maybe the Toreros can put that performance against Gonzaga out of its mind, dismiss it as an aberration to the progress it had made the past four weeks.    But beatings like that one are difficult to forget, especially for a team whose confidence was still fragile.

   “Kind of a step back for us,” San Diego senior G Devin Ginty told the San Diego Union-Tribune after the loss to Gonzaga in an understatement.

   “Awful,” is how San Diego coach Bill Grier described the performance to the Union-Tribune.  “I just can’t fathom scoring 31 points in the modern era, no matter who you’re playing.  We just couldn’t throw a pea in the ocean and it snowballed on us.  We’ve had games where we struggled, but never like this.”

   Two days earlier, San Diego had a chance to beat Portland, which would have given the Toreros a second straight victory after its monumental win over St. Mary’s on Feb. 16.   The complaint after that game was that the Toreros couldn’t quite make the plays at the end.

   But after the loss to Gonzaga, you have to wonder whether the Toreros are back to square one.   San Diego will have six days to clear its head and prepare for Pepperdine.  Its play in the previous few games suggested it might beat Pepperdine in the first round and perhaps even San Francisco in the second.   But the loss to Gonzaga may have put a screeching halt to the building momentum.

NOTES

  –San Diego’s 31 points were the fewest scored by the Toreros since they became a Division I program in 1978.   The previous low was 35 against Carroll College in 1987.  Against Gonzaga, San Diego shot 25.5 percent from the field and 3-for-7 from the foul line and committed 21 turnovers.

 –San Diego rallied from an eight-point deficit against Portland on Feb. 24 to take a two-point lead with 3 ½ minutes left.  It appeared the Toreros might pull off consecutive victories for the first time this season.   But a defensive breakdown, a technical foul called on San Diego C Chris Gabriel and a turnover put the Toreros behind.  Devin Ginty attempted a three-pointer in the closing seconds that would have put the Toreros ahead, but it missed.

   –San Diego scored the first points of the game against Gonzaga on a Chris Manresa dunk 30 seconds into the game and then did not score for the next 9 minutes and 15 seconds.  By then Gonzaga had a 17-2 lead.  The Toreros scored just one point in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second half.

   QUOTE: “It’s almost like quicksand.  The harder you try, the deeper and deeper you get.” – San Diego G Devin Ginty, to the San Diego Union-Tribune, after San Diego’s 68-31 loss to Gonzaga on Feb. 26.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Pepperdine, March 4 in first round of WCC tournament in Las Vegas.

   THE MATCHUP: Pepperdine won both regular-season games, but the second was an overtime game.  San Diego guards Devin Ginty and Matt Dorr need to outscore Pepperdine guards Lorne Jackson and Joshua Lowery as they did in that second game.   Dorr and Ginty combined for 37 points in that game, including 23 for Ginty, who was shut out when Pepperdine won the first meeting by 20 points in the conference opener.

   IDLE THOUGHT: Although the players who made the most progress late in the season – C Chris Gabriel and F Chris Manresa – are sophomores who figure to continue to improve, the Toreros’ top perimeter threats – Matt Dorr and Devin Ginty – are seniors.   Dorr and Ginty also helped provide the leadership that prevented the team from crumbling when things were going so poorly in January.   You would think that the Toreros’ late-season improvement would carry over to next season, but the loss of Dorr and Ginty could limit the gains.

PLAYER NOTES

   — Redshirt junior walk-on G Ryan Harbour, a senior academically who will not return next season, sustained a knee injury in December that was expected to end his season.   But he started the Feb. 26 game against Gonzaga on Senior Day.  He drew a charging foul against Gonzaga on the Bulldogs’ first possession and played 11 minutes while scoring three points.

   — Sophomore F Ken Rancifer scored 13 points in the Feb. 26 loss to Gonzaga, matching his season high in conference play.   He was the only San Diego player to score in double figures in that game.

   — Sophomore C Chris Gabriel had shown remarkable improvement over the second half of the season, but he had no points and no rebounds in 16 minutes in the regular-season finale against Gonzaga.  It was only the second time he had gone scoreless this season, the other being a Jan. 1 game against North Carolina State in which he played just eight minutes.

—————————————————————-

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

  It has to hurt being the eighth seed in an eight-team conference tournament for Loyola Marymount after being picked to finish second.

   But the Lions also know they are playing their best basketball of the season heading into the conference tournament and are very capable of winning two games and perhaps getting to the conference tournament finals.

   Winning the WCC tournament and getting to the NCAA Tournament seems like a long shot, but not impossible, given the talent the Lions have available and the fact that no WCC team seems unbeatable this season.

   Whether the Lions’ final two games helped or hurt the Lions’ confidence is hard to say.   They played the teams that finished third and fourth in the conference on virtual even terms on their opponents’ home court.   That simply could not have happened a few weeks ago when the Lions bore no resemblance to  the Loyola Marymount team that finished the 2009-2010 season so strong.

   But now they are capable of playing with anyone, as their two all-conference players – Vernon Teel and Drew Viney – are again playing like all-conference players.    They both were productive in the final two games, and either is capable of carrying Loyola Marymount to a win or two in the conference tournament.

   The problem is, Loyola Marymount has not shown it can win close games.   It lost both games last week, dropping a double overtime game to Santa Clara and failing to hit three game-tying shots in the final few seconds of a 77-75 loss to San Francisco.

   The Lions are clearly talented enough to beat Portland in the first round or Santa Clara in the quarterfinals.   It even has the personnel to beat St. Mary’s in the semifinals, given the fact that the Gaels have not played well lately.

   If nothing else, the Lions have shown they have not collapsed psychologically despite the many injuries, lineup changes, disappointments and close losses.

NOTES

   — Eight of The Lions’ 20 losses have been by three points or less or in overtime.   Loyola Marymount has won only two such games.

   — Freshman Anthony Ireland missed the second of two free throws with two seconds left in regulation time that would have given Loyola Marymount the victory over Santa Clara on Feb. 24.  He is a 74.6 percent foul shooter, as of Feb. 28.

   — Loyola Marymount led San Francisco by five points with less than two minutes left, fell behind by two with 15 seconds to go and then missed three shots on its final possession that would have tied it.  First, Anthony Ireland missed floater with five seconds left.  He got his own rebound, but missed a lay-up with three seconds to go, and Ayodeji Egbeyemi’s tip-in attempt also missed.

   QUOTE:  “It’s very frustrating.  I have yet to figure out how to guard the free-throw line.” – Loyola Marymount coach Max Good, after Santa Clara scored 20 of its 28 overtime points from the foul line in the Broncos’ 94-88 double overtime win on Feb. 24.

   THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

   Vs. Portland, March 4, in WCC tournament first round in Las Vegas

   THE MATCHUP: Loyola Marymount F Drew Viney needs to win his matchup with Portland’s Luke Sikma.  Viney did not play when the Lions lost to Portland 71-48 in Malibu, but he scored 24 points when the Lions lost at Portland in double overtime. If Viney has a big game, and Vernon Teel is productive, the Lions have a pretty good chance to win.

   IDLE THOUGHT: This season has been a mess for Loyola Marymount, but they can make up for a lot by faring well in the conference tournament.  It’s hard to imagine a No. 8 seed winning an eight-team conference tournament, especially when it would have to win four games in four nights to do it.  But if any team could do it, it’s this one, which has a good deal of talent and is playing its best basketball at the moment. The Lions have used 15 different starting lineups this season, but used the same one in the games against Santa Clara and San Francisco, and performed well in both.  That lineup included all-conference players Drew Viney and Vernon Teel and three freshman – Anthony Ireland, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi.

PLAYER NOTES

   –Senior G Vernon Teel hit a three-pointer against San Francisco on Feb. 26, giving him two three-pointers in the final three regular-season games after going 0-for-23 on three-pointers in the previous 22 games.

   — Senior G Larry Davis missed his third straight game, when he sat out the Feb. 26 game against San Francisco with a groin injury.   Loyola Marymount hopes he can play in the WCC tournament.

   — Redshirt freshman F Edgar Garibay missed the final four games of the regular season and will not play in the WCC tournament as a result of a sprained ankle.

 —————————–

West Coast basketball reaches a crescendo this weekend.  (Cymbals crash sound effect, please.)

The West Coast Conference regular-season championship is up for grabs when Gonzaga plays St. Mary’s in Moraga (that’s in California, folks) on Thursday, and, if Arizona loses at USC on Thursday, first place in the Pac-10 may be at stake when UCLA hosts the Wildcats on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

But the biggest game in California this week is the 11 a.m. Saturday game in San Diego between No. 7 BYU and No. 6 San Diego State, which are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the RPI rankings.

San Diego State's Viejas Arena has been sold out for months for Saturday's game

San Diego State was never ranked before this season, but is the only one-loss team in the country and conceivably could ascend to No. 1 by season’s end if it beats BYU decisively.

BYU has Jimmer Fredette, probably the national player of the year, who scored 43 points in BYU’s 71-58 win over the Aztecs in Provo.   However, he missed practice Monday with a calf injury and is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Colorado State.  Presumably, he will play Saturday, or lot of fans and a television network will be annoyed.

San Diego State students chanted, “We want Jimmer,” in the closing moments of the Aztecs’ Feb. 16 game against New Mexico, even though the Aztecs played Air Force next.

Instead of being televised on a subscription cable channel few people get, as their game at BYU was, Saturday’s game will be televised by CBS, making it the first game in any sport involving two Mountain West Conference teams to be televised nationally by an over-the-air network (CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox).

Questions of the Week:

– Could Fredette be the national player of the year but not the Mountain West player of the year?

If San Diego State finishes in first and Aztecs’ forward Kawhi Leonard outplays Fredette Saturday, Leoanard will get consideration.

– What has happened to St. Mary’s?

The Gaels have played one good game in their last 10 and were outscored 98-63 in the second halves of their past two games.   One week ago, the Gaels had a 2 ½-game lead with three games left.  If they lose to Gonzaga Thursday, they will be tied for first and riding a three-game losing streak with one game remaining against Portland, which beat St. Mary’s by 15 points earlier.

Dates of Note:

1999 – The last time Arizona had an Associated Press first-team All-American (Jason Terry).  Derrick Williams has a chance this season, because the Wildcats are in the top 10 and because of the swat heard ‘round the world (Williams came from 37 miles away to send what would have been a game-winning eight-footer by Washington’s Darnell Gant into the stands with two seconds left in Saturday’s 87-86 win for perhaps the first walk-off block in history).   Projected All-American team: Fredette, Duke’s Nolan Smith, Ohio State’s Jared Sullenger, Connecticut’s Kemba Walker and Williams.

1994 – The last time a Mike Montgomery-coached team failed to win at least 20 games. (Yes, the Warriors won more than 20 his two seasons.).  Cal (14-13) not likely to get there this season.

1982 – The last time USF finished with a conference record as good as 10-4, which would be the Dons’ WCC record if they beat Pepperdine (11-18)  and Loyola Marymount (12-18) at home this week.

2000 – The last time Gonzaga did not win a regular-season conference championship.   That 10-year run is the longest active Division I streak and matches UNLV (1983-1992, Big West) and Connecticut (1951-1960, Yankee Conference) for the second longest string of consecutive conference titles, behind only UCLA’s 13 in a row (1967-1979).  If the Bulldogs lose to St. Mary’s Thursday, the run ends.  If they beat the Gaels, 11 straight would be nearly in the bag.

1988 – The last time the Pac-10 got fewer than four teams into the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.   Last year, the Pac-10 got just two in, and unless someone other than Washington, UCLA or Arizona wins the Pac-10 tournament, it will be just three this season.  Meanwhile, the Big East looks like it will have 11 NCAA teams.

Top Five West Teams

1. San Diego State (27-1) – Ranked No. 6 last week, the Aztecs did not move up in the AP poll despite losses by the top four teams.

.2. BYU (25-2) – The Cougars received two first-place votes in the Associated Press poll for the first time.

3. Arizona (23-4) – Wildcats have won 11 of 12 and are 4-0 in games decided by two points or less in that span.

4. Utah State (25-3) – Beating St. Mary’s in Moraga cancels out loss to Idaho.

5. Washington (18-8) – 13-0 at home with an average margin of 28.0 points and none closer than 11.

Jake’s website is JakesTakeOnSports.com.

The mere numbers tell you it may have been the nation’s biggest upset this season, with San Diego being 5-21 overall and 1-10 in the West Coast Conference and the Gaels coming in at 22-4 overall and 10-1 in the conference and ranked No. 23 in the coaches poll.

St. Mary's plays its final three regular-season games at home, at McKeon Pavilion

But that only hints at the consequences of the 74-66 defeat for the Gaels.

The presumed win over the Toreros would have assured St. Mary’s its first regular-season conference title in 14 years and its first under Randy Bennett.   The Gaels’ first outright conference title in 22 years seemed a near certainty, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament was a foregone conclusion.

But now the Gaels are just a game ahead of Gonzaga and San Francisco, and if Gonzaga wins its two home games this week – which seemed likely – into will come into next Thursday’s game at St. Mary’s knowing that win would tie Gonzaga with the Gaels for first place.    St. Mary’s can only hope that the time dfference that hurts the West Coast in so many ways may have been an advantage in this cas, because the game did not end until 1 a.m. Eastern time.  But the way the Gaels have played lately, a loss to the Bulldogs seems very possible, even in Moraga, where the Gaels are unbeaten this season.

Plus, the Gaels now may need to win Saturday’s game against Utah State to cement a position in the NCAA Tournament field.    When the Aggies lost to Idaho last week, it seemed they were not capable of challenging St. Mary’s at McKeon Pavilion, site of Saturday’s game, but Wednesday’s showing by the Gaels changed the picture.

The Gaels may need an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament because its recent play suggests it might not win the WCC tournament, which will be played in Las Vegas.   And if the selection committee considers how St. Mary’s is playing late in the season – which it is supposed to do when choosing and seeding the field – the selectors won’t be impressed by what they’ve seen lately.  Having Wednesday’s game on national television didn’t do the Gaels any favors either.  What would you think if that was your first look at this team from the West Coast that was supposed to be so good?  St. Mary’s can only hope that the time dfference that hurts the West Coast in so many ways may have been an advantage in this case, because the game did not end until 1 a.m. Eastern time.  Maybe no one back there saw it.

But if the Gaels lose or look mediocre against Utah State and/or Gonzaga, St. Mary’s could be NIT-bound if it doesn’t get the automatic berth that goes to the WCC tournament champion.

St. Mary’s has not been sharp the past three weeks, but the strong second half in the decisive victory at San Francisco on Saturday (Feb. 12) suggested the midseason slump was over.

Hardly.

Mickey McConnell was the only St. Mary’s player who played well against the Toreros.     Even Mitchell Young, who had great numbers with 24 points and nine rebounds, scored most of his points on layups off passes from McConnell.   Young deserves credit for being in the right position, but McConnell made the plays that led to many of his points.

And Matthew Dellavedova (3-for-10, 10 points, 1 assist, 3 turnovers), Clint Steindl (0-for-2, 0 points) and Rob Jones (1-for-9, 2 points) were terrible.

Jones had a particularly tough night in his first game at San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion since transferring from San Diego following the 2008-2009 season.

He did not score until 4:07 remained in the game, and he was virtually useless after sustaining a bruised rib with a minute left in the first half.    Jones could barely move thereafter, and his availability for Saturday’s game may be in jeopardy.

Jones had been playing particularly well of late, but now the only Gaels player who is doing much is McConnell, who had 21 points and six assists on Wednesday and was practically the whole offense.  And he was limited in the second half.

Besides the harm done to the Gaels’ resume and their WCC standing, getting dominated for the final 19 minutes by a team that had just two Division I wins has to shake the Gaels’ confidence.   And their confidence was not at a peak anyway.

Except for the Jan. 27 game against Gonzaga and the Feb. 12 game against USF, the Gaels have not played well since Jan. 15.   That’s seven lousy games against two good ones.

And it caught up to the Gaels on Wednesday.

You have to wonder whether the heavy minutes being logged by McConnell and Dellavedova are taking a toll.    After all, McConnell played all 40 minutes for the eighth straight game on Wednesday, and Dellavedova played his usual 39.

McConnell’s game has not dropped off a bit, so fatigue does not seem to be a factor for him, but Dellavedova is struggling with his shot, going 7-for-27 from the field in his past three games,.

To be fair, it must be noted that the Toreros have improved dramatically in the past few weeks.   They lost to Pepperdine two weeks ago after a desperation 40-foot three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game to overtime, and they led Santa Clara by 20 points in the second half last week on the Broncos’ home floor before letting that one slip away.  They even played St. Mary’s tough in Moraga the first time the teams met.

But St. Mary’s led by 11 points a minute into the second half Wednesday and, despite not playing particularly well, seemed to have things under control.

Then the Gaels were outscored 38-13 over the next 15 minutes by a team whose only previous Division I wins were a three-point win over Loyola Marymount, which is tied for last place in the WCC, and a three-point victory over Utah (11-15) in a morning consolation game of a tournament in Hawaii in a nearly empty gym.

Yet that squad overwhelmed the Gaels, who showed none of the crisp passing and slick shooting that had been their trademark.   In fact, the Gaels were just 2-for-15 on three-pointers, while the Toreros, typically a horrible shooting team, made 8 of 12 from beyond the arc.

For the first time this season, the absence of a low-point scoring threat was painfully obvious.   With Omar Samhan patrolling the paint last season, the Gaels could always get a good scoring opportunity when needed by dumping the ball inside to him.   There’s no such safety net this season.   Now the big men score points off pick-and-roll situations initiated by McConnell or Dellavedova.   Jones, who has done some damage in the lane in the past, lingered on the perimeter the entire game Wednesday and went 0-for-6 on three-pointers.

And with San Diego effectively double teaming McConnell and Dellavedova whenever they came off picks, St. Mary’s high-scoring offense came to a screeching halt.

San Diego slowed the pace, clamped the Gaels guards, minimized its turnovers (10) and shot well from long range.  The Toreros even hit their free throws, making seven straight late in the game when protecting the lead.

The final score was not indicative of how thoroughly San Diego dominated the second half.  The Toreros led by 13 with 1:49 left, before some late Gaels hoops made the final score somewhat respectable – or, at least, a bit less embarrassing.

San Diego is better than its record, and some wag will suggest the Toreros are the best 6-21 team in America, which is probably true because Louisiana-Monroe is the only other 6-21 team, and you have to like San Diego’s chances against the Warhawks should they meet in the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Tournament is no joke for St. Mary’s, but Wednesday’s performance gave the Gaels plenty to worry about  regarding the postseason.

=============

SAN FRANCISCO

=============

Now comes the tough part for San Francisco.   The Dons were at an emotional high heading into the Feb. 12 home game against St. Mary’s, knowing that a win would move them into a tie for first place in the loss column.

It was considered the biggest game at USF since 1982, and a win could move the program ahead several steps.  Plus, a conference title would be within reach, which seemed impossible when the team was 4-9 overall.

But with the way San Francisco had been playing, having won nine of 11 games, and the way St. Mary’s had been struggling lately, a San Francisco win on the Dons home court seemed very possible.

Instead, however, San Francisco got dominated in the second half of that game, losing by 18 points.    Now, as of Feb. 14, the Dons have slipped 2 1/2 games out of first into a tie for second with Gonzaga.   And the Dons must face Portland and Gonzaga on the road Feb. 17 and 19 in two games in which they will be underdogs.   USF could very easily be tied for third, barely avoiding sixth place by the time the week is over.

Whether the one-sided loss to St. Mary’s snowballs into a free fall remains to be seen, but the Dons are a young team that relies on freshmen and sophomores, so this team is vulnerable.

The home loss to St. Mary’s demonstrated that the Dons are not championship material yet.

“They (the Gaels) have an identity,” San Francisco coach Rex Walters told the San Francisco Chronicle after the 86-68 loss.  “They’re going to play their game.  We’re not mature enough to understand that.”

The Dons played like a mature team two days earlier, when they methodically wore down an improved San Diego team 61-47, a game that could have been a problem with so much hype surrounding the next game against St. Mary’s.

But in the biggest moment, with the score tied early in the second half against St. Mary’s, the Dons folded, losing their offensive rhythm and getting blown out by the Gaels.

NOTES

–San Francisco’s win over San Diego on Feb. 10 improved the Dons conference record to 7-2, which was San Francisco’s best nine-game conference record since 1981.

– San Francisco led St. Mary’s 1-0 before the opening tip.   That’s because St. Mary’s was assessed a technical foul when the Gaels’ Kenton Walker dunked during pregame warmup, which is illegal.   One week earlier, San Francisco found itself down 1-0 before the opening tip because USF’s Marko Petrovic had dunked in pregame warm-ups.   Both times the team assessed the technical foul won the game anyhow.

– San Francisco trailed by two points at halftime of the Feb. 12 game against St. Mary’s.  It was the eighth time in 10 WCC games the Dons trailed at the break.   They had won six of the previous seven, but got dominated by the Gaels in the second half on Feb. 12.

QUOTE: “They (St. Mary’s) just wear you down, because they continually make the right play, continue to find the open man, and I thought we got away from that.” – San Francisco coach Rex Walters, to the Contra Costa Times, after the Dons’ 18-point loss to St. Mary’s on Feb. 12.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

At Portland, Feb. 17

KEY MATCHUP: San Francisco F Perris Blackwell at least held his own against Portland F Luke Sikma in the first meeting, won by USF by seven points.   However, Blackwell may need to outplay Sikma for the Dons to win on the road, because the Pilots shoot much better at home than on the road.

At Gonzaga, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: San Francisco freshman point guard Cody Doolin produced a bunch of big plays in the Dons’ overtime win over Gonzaga earlier in the season, but it will be a lot more difficult for him to duplicate that at Gonzaga. Gonzaga’s David Stockton or Demetri Goodson or Marquise Carter will be determined not to let that happen again.

IDLE THOUGHT: Freshman G Marko Petrovic is a bit of wild card in the San Francisco rotation, because he does some things that boost the production and energy of the team, but also does some things that can kill momentum.   Typically, coaches just live with the ups and downs of an aggressive player like Petrovic, who shows no fear of the situation and is willing to attempt plays that really aren’t there.   But he can score in bunches and can create momentum all by himself.   He’s the kind of player teams need to give them a lift off the bench.

PLAYER NOTES

–Junior F Angelo Caloiaro made 49.1 percent of his three-pointers last season, but he was 0-for-5 on threes against St. Mary’s on Feb. 12 and is 9-for-41 (22 percent) from long range the past nine games as of Feb. 14.

–Junior G Rashad Green was named WCC player of the week after had 18 points against Santa Clara on Feb. 5, his fourth straight game of 18 points or more.   He also averaged 8.8 rebounds in that four-game stretch.

– Sophomore F Perris Blackwell was limited to 13 minutes because of foul trouble against St. Mary’s on Feb. 12.  He scored just three points, matching a season low in conference play, and he tied an overall season low with two rebounds.   Blackwell also scored just three points against Pepperdine, and the Dons lost both games.  He has been held under 10 points in four conference games.  The Dons lost three of them and won the other, against last-place Loyola Marymount, by one point.

========

GONZAGA

=======

Two weeks earlier, Gonzaga had been tied for fourth, looking like an also-ran in the WCC.   But as of Feb. 14, the Bulldogs are tied for second, and if they win their next two games at home, where they seldom lose, the Bulldogs will be alone in second with two games left.

Even though Gonzaga is still two games behind St. Mary’s with four games left, making an 11^th straight regular-season conference title unlikely, finishing second is important for Gonzaga with the way the WCC tournament is set up.

The top two finishers get byes into the semifinals of the conference tournament, making it much easier for those two teams to win the WCC tournament.   And the Bulldogs, who are 17-9 as of Feb. 14 with no impressive wins, probably need to win the conference tournament to earn their 13^th straight NCAA Tournament berth.

The Bulldogs are playing well enough at the moment to think they can win the conference tournament.

Despite getting little help from their two best player – Steve Gray and Robert Sacre – the Bulldogs blew past Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine on the road on Feb. 10 and 12, as more and more players are contributing to the Bulldogs success.   Sam Dower and David Stockton continue to increase their contributions, and Marquise Carter began to show in the Feb. 12 game against Pepperdine that he might still become the player Gonzaga had hoped he would be when the season began.

The remaining games are not easy.   The next three games are against the three best teams in the conference, discounting Gonzaga, but the next two at home are critical.

If Gonzaga beats Santa Clara on Feb. 17 and San Francisco on Feb. 19, the Bulldogs will be alone in second place, and it might well hold a two-game lead on the third place team with two games left.

The Bulldogs have to feel confident they can beat both Santa Clara and San Francisco at home, despite losing to both on the road.  Their only two home losses were a three-point defeat against San Diego State, which is ranked No. 6 in the country, and St. Mary’s, which is 22-4 and won on a difficult, off-balance shot by Mickey McConnell.

The Bulldogs will be favored in both games, not only because they are playing at home, but because they should be healthy and because they are regaining their form.   That was evident in the road win over Pepperdine.   The Waves have been playing well recently, but the Bulldogs slapped them down decisively on Pepperdine’s home court, with little help from Sacre of Gray.

Elias Harris continues to offer hints that he is becoming the player is was expected to be this season, but he still has more mediocre games than good ones.   If he ever starts being the dominant player he can be, the Bulldogs can win the conference tournament.

NOTES

–Gonzaga benefited from the fact that neither Loyola Marymount nor Pepperdine had its top scorer available during the games against the Bulldogs.   Loyola Marymount’s Drew Viney sat out the Feb. 10 game with migraine headaches, and Pepperdine’s Keion Bell has been suspended for the rest of the season.

–Gonzaga did not play great offensively against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, failing to reach 68 points in either, but won both games with defense.  Loyola Marymount shot just 34.5 percent and committed 19 turnovers while scoring just 57 points in the Bulldogs’ 67-57 win.  Pepperdine shot just 27.4 percent, and the Waves’ 44 points in the 63-44 game were eight points fewer than the previous season low against Gonzaga this season.

– G Steven Gray and C Robert Sacre spent time on Feb. 11 in the hospital receiving intravenous fluids to help restore their energy, because both were suffering from a stomach flu.   Neither was as effective as usual against Pepperdine the next day. Gray was also ill in the Feb. 10 game against Pepperdine, but still played 31 minutes in that game.  Gray shot 6-for-22 in the games against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, and Sacre, who played just 10 minutes against Pepperdine, was 2-for-10 in the two games.

QUOTE: “If you had told me (Robert) Sacre was going to go 1-for-6 and (Steven) Gray 5-for-16, I would have liked my chances.  But it’s a sign of a good team that they have other guys.  (Sam) Dower goes 4-for-4, and (David) Stockton was the key player in this game.” – Loyola Marymount coach Max Good, to the Spokane Spokesman Review, after Gonzaga beat Loyola Marymount 67-57 on Feb. 10.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

Vs. Santa Clara, Feb. 17

KEY MATCHUP: G Steven Gray is a good defender, but he will have to do a much better job on Santa Clara G Kevin Foster, who scored 36 points in the Broncos’ 85-71 victory over Gonzaga earlier this season at Santa Clara.  Gray had 17 points that game, but his defense is more important. A loss drops Gonzaga into a tie with the Broncos, but a win gives the Bulldogs a two-game lead.

Vs. San Francisco, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: Gonzaga G Demetri Goodson had a huge offensive game with 20 points in the first meeting with San Francisco, but it was San Francisco’s point guard, Cody Doolin, who produced the big plays while scoring 23 points in the Dons overtime victory.   Goodson needs to win that battle this time if he is matched up against Doolin.   However, Marquise Carter, who has been starting lately, may be matched against Doolin, and Carter’s performance could be the determining factor.

IDLE THOUGHT: If Gonzaga wins the rest of its regular-season games, it still might get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament without winning the conference tournament, but it would certainly not be a sure thing.   As of Feb. 16, the Bulldogs have an RPI ranking of 71 and they are just 2-6 against teams ranked in the top 50.   More important, they have no signature wins.   Winning the rest of their conference games would mean beating St. Mary’s on the Gaels’ home court, and that certainly would qualify as a noteworthy victory.   Accomplishing it is another matter, though.   It still seems the Bulldogs need to win the conference tournament to get in, but that does not seem impossible, given the way Gonzaga is playing at the moment, and the fact that St. Mary’s is not as overpowering as it had been earlier.

PLAYER NOTES

–Redshirt freshman F Sam Dower did not start the game against Pepperdine on Feb. 12, but he played 29 minutes because starter Robert Sacre was limited by the flu.   Dower had 13 points and eight rebounds in that game, after going 4-for-4 for nine points in 13 minutes in the Feb. 10 game against Loyola Marymount.

– Sophomore F Elias Harris had 15 points and 11 rebounds against Pepperdine on Feb. 12, and although 15 points is still relatively low for what the Bulldogs were expecting out of Harris this season, it ended a streak of four straight games in which he had failed to score more than 10 points.

–Junior G Marquise Carter made his third consecutive start in the Feb. 12 game against Pepperdine, and it seems he may have nailed down the fifth starting spot on a team that has been rotating players in that position all season.   He had 11 points in the Feb. 10 game against Loyola Marymount and had eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals in the Feb. 12 game against Pepperdine, although he also had four turnovers.

=============

SAINT MARY’S

============

Just when it seemed St. Mary’s was the most vulnerable, it came up with a dominant performance when it needed it most.

In danger of falling into a tie in the loss column with San Francisco, the Gaels took the Dons apart in the second half of their game on the Dons’ home court to win 86-68 and move within one win of assuring themselves at least a share of their first regular-season title in 21 years.

If the Gaels beat San Diego on the road on Feb. 16, they will be guaranteed of no worse than a tie for the title with two conference games still remaining.   In addition, a victory over the Toreros would guarantee the Gaels of finishing in the top two in the final standings, which means St. Mary’s would receive a bye in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Finally, a win over San Diego, which has improved dramatically in recent weeks, would put St. Mary’s one step closer to assuring itself an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament if it fails to win the WCC tournament.

To that end, St. Mary’s could almost assure itself a spot in the NCAA Tournament if it beats Utah State at home in a Feb. 19 game.

The Aggies and St. Mary’s are two of the top teams in the West, and both are trying to pile up enough wins to assure themselves an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win their conference tournaments.

If St. Mary’s wins that game impressively – and the Gaels are unbeaten at home, so there is every reason to believe it will – that may be the deciding factor for the NCAA Tournament selection committee, especially since it comes so close to the end of the season.

A week earlier, the Gaels might not have felt so confident about their chances against Utah State, and the Gaels were not particularly impressive in their Feb. 10 win over Santa Clara either.    G Mickey McConnell, who seems to be a lock to win conference player of the year at this point, and F Rob Jones were the only St. Mary’s players playing at a high level.

But the Gaels looked like their midseason version against the Dons, dominating the second half on the road to put some space between themselves and the rest of the WCC field.

NOTES

–St. Mary’s was hit with a technical foul before its Feb. 12 game against San Francisco started because Kenton Walker was caught dunking in pregame warm-ups, which is illegal.   USF’s Rashad Green made one of the two technical free throws, so the Gaels trailed 1-0 before the opening tip.

–The Gaels were not great in the first half against San Francisco, and the game was tied at 36 a minute into the second half.  But they made 14 of 21 shots in the second half and committed just five turnovers after halftime to win going away.   A 14-0 run early in the second half broke the game open, and the Dons never recovered.

– St. Mary’s struggled in the Feb. 10 game against Santa Clara, although it won 65-59.  The Gaels had been shooting 49.8 percent from the field for the season before that game, when the Gaels shot 37.5 percent and had its second-lowest scoring total of the season.   Only the 55 points St. Mary’s scored in its road loss to No. 6 San Diego State was lower.

QUOTE: “To have a good offensive game against their team, which is good defensively, on their court is a big step for us.” – St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, to the San Francisco Chronicle, after his team shot 54.9 percent from the floor and scored 86 points in an 18-point win at San Francisco on Feb. 12.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

At San Diego, Feb. 16

KEY MATCHUP: G Matthew Dellavedova needs to dominate San Diego G Matt Dorr more decisively than he did the first time.  Dorr had 12 points and kept the Toreros in the game.  Although the Gaels won that game by 11 points, they did not play well, and the task will be tougher on the road.

Vs. Utah State, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: St. Mary’s F Rob Jones may be matched up against Utah State F Tai Wesley, and the winner of that matchup may determine the winner of the game.   If Jones plays Wesley even, the Gaels should be in good shape, especially at home.  This is a Bracket Busters game that has implications for both teams’ NCAA Tournament at-large chances if either fails to win its conference tournament.

IDLE THOUGHT: You have to wonder whether guards Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova are going to get worn down by season’s end.   Both play nearly every minute of every game, and when St. Mary’s was in a bit of a slump in early February, you had to wonder whether fatigue was a factor.  However, both played well in the Feb. 12 game against San Francisco, and Randy Bennett has given no indication he is going to reduce their minutes.   Freshman G Stephen Holt has played well lately, so Bennett could use him more, but the team needs McConnell on the floor, so his playing time is unlikely to decrease.  He has played all 40 minutes in each of the Gaels past four games as of Feb. 17.

PLAYER NOTES

–Senior G Mickey McConnell has been named one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy award, which goes to the nation’s top point guard.

–Junior F Clint Steindl was 3-for-3 on three-pointers against San Francisco, but he missed his only two-point attempt.   It’s the sixth straight game in which he has failed to make a field goal from inside the three-point line, going 0-for-4 on two-pointers in that stretch.

–Sophomore G Matthew Dellavedova played just 35 minutes against San Francisco on Feb. 12, but that was because he fouled out with five minutes to go.   He had played at least 39 minutes in each of the previous six games, including four 40-minute outings.

=========

PORTLAND

========

Just four regular-season games remain before the conference tournament for Portland, and it’s still unclear whether Portland should be grouped with the upper-echelon teams or the also-rans.

That will be determined over the final four games, all of which are critical and all of which could go either way for the Pilots.    Obviously, the Pilots are much better at home than on the road, and if they can win their home games against San Francisco on Feb. 17 and Santa Clara on Feb. 19, the Pilots could still finish in third place, which would be a rather successful showing for a team that lost four starters from last season.

The 15-point home victory over St. Mary’s on Jan. 29 and the lopsided road victory over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 12 suggest Portland is very capable of winning both games this week.

But the Pilots also have had their poor games, such as the loss to Pepperdine on Feb. 10 that left the Pilots with a 4-5 conference record before the win over Loyola Marymount.

A bigger concern is the shooting of senior G Jared Stohl, who suffered a miserable week.   He was just 1-for-13 from the field in the games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, and it’s difficult to imagine Portland having much success if he continues to struggle offensively.

Although Luke Sikma and Nemanja Mitrovic picked up the slack against Loyola Marymount, Stohl is still the Pilots most threatening offensive weapon.    And if he is not scoring, the Pilots lack offensive punch.

If Stohl does regain his touch, though, Portland seems capable of winning at least three of its final four games.   The only one in which Portland will not be favored is the season finale at St. Mary’s on Feb. 26.   And the Pilots have already shown they can beat the Gaels, too.

Aside from Stohl’s struggles, a lot of things have worked out well.   Mitrovic and freshman point guard Tim Douglas have been more productive than expected, and Sikma, in his first season as a starter, has developed into an all-conference caliber player.   And he still seems to be improving.

With so much defensive pressure being applied to the Pilots’ sharp-shooting perimeter players, it is imperative for Sikma to take advantage inside.  He has done just that, totaling 40 points in the two games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

NOTES

–Luke Sikma went 16-for-22 from the floor in the games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, and he has scored in double figures in every WCC game except one.   Oddly enough the one exception was Portland’s best game of the season, a 15-point win over St. Mary’s, in which Sikma scored just two points.

– Portland is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and its 41.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc still ranks fifth in the nation as of Feb. 13.   But the Pilots shot just 4-for-16 on threes in the Feb. 12 game against Loyola Marymount after going 8-for-22 two days earlier against Pepperdine.   That’s 12-for-38 for the week, 31.6 percent.

– The victory over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 12 was Portland’s first road win in conference play.   The Pilots had been 0-4 away from home in the WCC, including the Feb. 10 loss to Pepperdine, in which the Pilots missed two shots in the closing seconds that would have tied it.

QUOTE: “I think the biggest thing was our inability to get stops on them.  We had some open shots we missed, but the big thing was we were unable to make consecutive stops, and that made it hard to get any momentum.” – Portland coach Eric Reveno, to the Oregonian, following a two-point loss to Pepperdine on Feb. 10, in which Pepperdine shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and committed just nine turnovers for the game.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

Vs. San Francisco, Feb. 17

KEY MATCHUP: Portland’s Tim Douglas needs to win the matchup of freshmen point guards with Cody Doolin, and if he does, the Pilots have a good chance to reverse the previous result, when San Francisco beat the Pilots 81-74 earlier this season.   The Pilots always shoot better at home, and they shot just 38.3 percent in that earlier meeting.

Vs. Santa Clara, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: Portland G Jared Stohl and G Nemanja Mitrovic must do a better job of getting open against Kevin Foster and Troy Payne than they did in the first meeting, which Santa Clara won 72-59.  The two Pilots guards combined for just seven points.  Santa Clara allowed Luke Sikma free rein inside, and he scored 29 points, but it was not nearly enough.

IDLE THOUGHT: Every team plays better on the road, but that habit is accentuated in Portland’s case, which got its first conference road win on Feb. 12 against Loyola Marymount, which is tied for last place.  The Pilots rely heavily on their three-point shooting, and such teams typically play much better at home, because their accuracy is so much better at home.   Teams that do well on the road usually have a reliable inside offensive weapon, and Luke Sikma’s work in the paint gave the Pilots a chance to win both road games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, although they lost the former by two.   If the Pilots can continue to get inside production from Sikma, they may be able to conquer some of those road issues, which is critical to the Pilots’ hopes of winning the WCC tournament.

PLAYER NOTES

– Senior F Luke Sikma broke the school record for career rebounds in the Feb. 10 loss to Pepperdine.  He had seven boards in that game, giving him 915 for his career, five more than Rick Raivio, who had set the record from 1976-80.   Raivio is the father of former Pilots player Nik Raivio.

–Senior G Jared Stohl led the nation in three-point shooting last season, but he was 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the games against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine combined, and totaled six points on the road trip.  Despite the shooting slump, Stohl is still hitting 44.3 percent of his threes for the season, as of Feb. 14.

–Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is hitting 48.6 percent of his three-pointers, which is sixth best in the country as of Feb. 13 among players who have made at least two three-pointers per game played.

=================

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

================

There can be little doubt that Loyola Marymount, picked to finish second in the WCC, is the worst team in the WCC as of Feb. 14.

The Lions are tied for last with San Diego, but while the Toreros are showing signs of improvement, the Lions continue to get worse.   And unless Drew Viney returns to the lineup soon, things don’t figure to get any better for Loyola Marymount.

Even if Viney does come back, the Lions may have lost too much confidence to make any impression in their final three conference games.

The Feb. 16 game against Pepperdine will be interesting to see whether the Lions have simply given up on the season.   It’s a home game, and one the Lions would seem to have a chance to win.

However, Loyola Marymount’s performance in the Feb. 12 loss to Portland suggests things are out of hand for coach Max Good’s squad.

Portland came into that game winless on the road in conference games, but the Pilots took the Lions apart on Loyola Marymount’s home floor, as the Lions scored just 48 points in a 23-point loss.

After two pretty good showings against St. Mary’s and Gonzaga in the Lions’ two previous games, there was some hope they could begin to make the season palatable with a late-season surge.   But that came crashing down in the Lions’ worst performance of the season against Portland.

The players who are expected to score – Vernon Teel and Ashley Hamilton – aren’t doing much of it, and with Viney sidelined, a team that seemed to be deep in scoring weapons when the season began is now toothless on offense.

“If you can’t hit shots, you just aren’t going to win,” Good said.  “We did a good job in the second half, took them out of their three-point game, and really turned them over for over six to seven minutes.  But we had very little to show for it.”

Good continues to rely heavily on freshmen, but they have not been able to produce enough points.   The only player who did much offensively in the losses to Gonzaga and Portland was Larry Davis, and his shooting percentage was not very good.

Avoiding a complete collapse is Good’s mission at the moment, if it is not already too late.

NOTES

– The Lions’ 48 points against Portland on Feb. 12 matched their season low for points.   Loyola Marymount shot just 29.8 percent from the floor in that game after shooting 25 percent from the floor in the second half of the 10-point loss to Gonzaga at home two days earlier.

– Loyola Marymount has lost nine straight conference games, and with their 17^th loss on Feb. 12, the Lions exceeded their loss total of last season with at least four games remaining.

– Loyola Marymount started slowly in both the Feb. 10 loss to Gonzaga and the Feb. 12 loss to Portland.    The Lions scored five points in the first seven minutes against Gonzaga and found themselves behind 18-5.  They managed just seven points in the first 9 ½ minutes against Portland and trailed 18-7.

QUOTE: “We are playing everyone tough, but we can’t seem to get over the hump.” – Loyola Marymount coach Max Good, after the 10-point loss to Gonzaga on Feb. 10.   Two days later, the Lions did not play Portland tough, losing by 23 points at home.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

Vs. Pepperdine, Feb. 16

KEY MATCHUP: Pepperdine’s Keion Bell had 22 points in the first meeting won by the Waves by three points, but Bell is no longer playing for Pepperdine.   That should allow Vernon Teel to control things at the off-guard spot, assuming he gets significant playing time.  If Teel is productive, the Lions should win.

At Portland State, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: Phil Nelson is back for Portland State, which could provide an interesting matchup for any of the Waves wingmen.   This is a game Loyola Marymount has a chance to win, even on the road, but it must minimize its turnovers to do so.  Drew Viney could have a big game, if he plays.

IDLE THOUGHT: Three freshmen – Anthony Ireland, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi – continue to start for Loyola Marymount, but they combined to go 7-for-22 against Portland after going 8-for-21 against Gonzaga.  They had just three turnovers against Portland but had 12 against Gonzaga.   Coach Max Good apparently is trying to prepare his team for next season at this point, but that means more rocky moments this season.

PLAYER NOTES

–Senior G Larry Davis was the only player who scored in double figures in both games against Gonzaga and Portland Feb. 10 and 12.  He totaled 29 points in the two games.   Nobody else on the team scored more than 17 in the two games combined.  Even Davis was only 9-for-27 from the field in those two games.

– Junior F Drew Viney, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, missed the Feb. 10 game against Gonzaga and the Feb. 12 game against Portland because of migraine headaches.  That’s three straight games he has missed with that ailment, and his status for the Feb. 16 game against Pepperdine is uncertain.

– Freshman point guard Anthony Ireland committed a season-high seven turnovers in the Feb. 10 game against Gonzaga.  He has not committed more than three turnovers in any other conference game and, as of Feb. 14, had committed zero or one turnover in six of the past seven games other than that Feb. 10 game.

============

SANTA CLARA

===========

Santa Clara may have prevented a major collapse with its second half against San Diego on Feb. 12.

The Broncos still face a tough road trip with games Feb. 17 at Gonzaga and Feb. 19 at Portland, and the Broncos will be underdogs in both.

But had it not been for the Broncos’ big comeback against San Diego, the Broncos would looking at the possibility of a five-game losing streak heading into the final week of the season, and that could have been devastating for a team that two weeks earlier was considering itself a title contender.

The Broncos had already lost two straight heading into the home game against San Diego.    Losing at home to a team tied for last place would have been bad enough, but the Broncos were in the process of getting blown out by the Toreros, trailing by 20 points with less than 18 minutes left in the game.

It’s hard underestimate how damaging that could have been to Santa Clara if the game had ended that way.  It would have left the Broncos with a 5-5 conference record, just a half-game out of sixth with a schedule likely to send the Broncos further down the ladder.

But the Broncos came back to win in a fashion that should provide an emotional boost.

Down 40-20 with 17 minutes left, a Bronco offense that had been horrible for the first 23 minutes suddenly erupted, outscoring the Toreros 40-16 over the rest of the game.

“That says a lot about our character,” Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating said.

Much of the character was demonstrated by G Kevin Foster, whose two three-pointers started the Broncos’ rally.  He had 17 of his 21 points during that 17-minute surge.

So instead of reeling, the Broncos are 6-4 in the WCC as of Feb. 14 and could move into a tie with Gonzaga if they beat the Bulldogs on Thursday.   That will be a major challenge, but the Broncos beat the Bulldogs earlier this season by a rather decisive margin, and they will be feeling a lot better about themselves than if they had lost to San Diego, which has won just five games.

NOTES

–Over the first 23 minutes of the Feb. 12 game against San Diego, Santa Clara shot 23.1 percent from the floor (6-for-26), including 0-for-5 on three-pointers, while scoring just 20 points.   Over the final 17 minutes, Santa Clara shot 60.1 percent from the floor (14-for-23) and went 5-for-9 on three-pointers while scoring 40 points.

– Santa Clara’s chances of winning a regular-season WCC title virtually vanished with its 65-59 loss to St. Mary’s on Feb. 10.   A win would have moved the Broncos within a game of first-place St. Mary’s in the loss column, but the loss dropped them three games behind.

– Santa Clara’s comeback from 20 points down to beat San Diego matched the biggest comeback victory in school history. On Nov. 29, 1996, the Broncos rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Marquette.

QUOTE OF NOTE: “The key to the comeback was definitely toughness and defense.” – Santa Clara G Evan Roquemore after Santa Clara rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat San Diego on Feb. 12.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

At Gonzaga, Feb. 17

KEY MATCHUP: Santa Clara must hope G Kevin Foster dominates his matchup with Steve Gray as thoroughly as he did the last time, when Foster had 36 points in the Broncos’ 14-point win at Santa Clara.   Marc Trasolini outplayed Gonzaga’s Elias Harris, too, and that will have to happen again for Santa Clara to have a chance.

At Portland, Feb. 19

KEY MATCHUP: Santa Clara handled Portland rather easily in their first meeting, winning by 13 points, as F Ben Dowdell had 22 points and was the Broncos’ biggest offensive weapon in the game.  He was outscored 29-22 by Portland power forward Luke Sikma, but if Dowdell, who is not a big offensive threat typically, can do what he did the first time, the Broncos can stay with the Pilots in Portland.

IDLE THOUGHT: You have to wonder how far Santa Clara can go with such heavy reliance on one player for its offensive production. G Kevin Foster leads the WCC in scoring at 19.3 points as of Feb. 14, and he scored 25 and 21 points in the Broncos’ games Feb. 10 and 12.   But when he’s not scoring – as was the case in the loss to San Francisco on Feb. 3 – the Broncos have nowhere to turn.   Marc Trasolini was supposed to be a secondary scorer, and he’s still second on the team at 11.8 a game, but he did not score more than eight points in any of the Broncos’ past three games.  Evan Roquemore seems like the most likely candidate to complement Foster’s scoring, but his shooting percentage has not been good lately.

PLAYER NOTES

–Sophomore G Kevin Foster broke his own single-season school record for three-pointers made when he hit four against St. Mary’s on Feb. 10.   With the three more three-pointers he made on Feb. 12, he has 90 for the season, which leads the nation.   His school record was 85, set two years ago.  Steve Nash is now third with 84.

– Junior F Marc Trasolini is still shooting 55.7 percent from the field as of Feb. 14, but he has made less than half his shots in each of the past three games, hitting 8 of 23 in that span.

– Senior F Troy Payne was 4-for-5 from the floor in the Feb. 12 win over San Diego, and he has made at least half his shots in seven of the past eight games, as of Feb. 14, to increase his field-goal percentage for the season to 50 percent.

===========

PEPPERDINE

==========

Despite coming up with its worst offensive effort of the season in a Feb. 12 home loss to Gonzaga, Pepperdine still finds itself in position to finish as high as third or fourth in the conference, which would be a significant accomplishment for a team that played poorly for the first two-thirds of the season.

Pepperdine has no more home games, which makes things a little more difficult, but with the teams ahead of the Waves playing each other, and the Waves playing the conference’s weakest team, Loyola Marymount, on Feb. 16, the Waves are still in position to make a move.

It seemed the suspension of Keion Bell was paying dividends, as the 66-64 victory over Portland on Feb. 10 made the Waves 2-0 since Bell’s suspension for the rest of the season.    Plus, Pepperdine had pulled out close wins by performing in the clutch both times.

“They feel so much better about themselves,” Pepperdine coach Tom Asbury said after the Feb. 10 win over Portland.  “They are enjoying it.  It’s good to see them have success.”

But the Waves could have used Bell’s offense against Portland, which buried the Waves early.   Pepperdine never got anything going offensively and were never in the game against Gonzaga, which had an easier time than expected.

Nobody scored in double figures in that game for the Waves, who shot a miserable 27.8 percent from the field.  Without Bell, Pepperdine relies heavily on Mychel Thomason and Lorne Jackson to score points.  Both had pretty good games in the win over Portland, but neither was productive against Gonzaga, combining for just 15 points.

The Waves have been playing better defense lately, but other than Jackson and Thompson, they lack enough offense to win many WCC games.  Those two must put up numbers for Pepperdine to have a chance.

It remains to be seen whether the good feeling built by winning four of six games was dismissed with the lopsided home loss to Gonzaga.

NOTES

–Pepperdine’s 44 points in the Feb. 12 loss to Gonzaga was just two points more than the Waves’ season low, and it was 15 points less than their previous low in a home game this season.  The Waves’ 27.4 percent shooting was their worst of the season.

–Four Pepperdine seniors played their final home game in the Feb. 12 game against Gonzaga.   But none had much of a game.   Mychel Thompson, one of those seniors, was just 2-for-14 from the floor.

– Pepperdine’s Feb. 10 victory over Portland was its 11^th win of the season.  The Waves have not had more wins than that since 2005, when they won 17.

QUOTE: “It speaks volumes about our team play.  We are sharing the ball really well.  Each player is content with his role.” – Pepperdine coach Tom Asbury, on his team’s 18 assists in the Feb. 10 win over Portland.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

At Loyola Marymount, Feb. 16

KEY MATCHUP: Keion Bell had 22 points in Pepperdine’s three-point win earlier, but he is suspended from the team now and won’t be available for this one.  Lorne Jackson dominated the point-guard matchup with LMU’s Anthony Ireland, and another big game by Jackson could produce a rare Pepperdine road win.

IDLE THOUGHT: Pepperdine is bunched with four other teams trying to land one of the top four spots in the final standings.   Those four teams earn first-round byes in the conference tournament, avoiding one extra game.   The Waves are assured of finishing no worse than sixth, but they have a chance to move up several spots, into the top four.   That has to be considered a success for a team that seemed destined for seventh or eighth a few weeks ago.

PLAYER NOTES

– Senior F Gus Clardy has played in 82 games as of Feb. 12, one shy of the school record for games played by a walk-on.  Keith Jarbo holds the record (2004-2006).

– Senior F Mychel Thompson played his 123rd game for Pepperdine in its Feb. 12 game against Gonzaga.  That’s one shy of the school record held by Kelvin Gibbs (1998-2001).

–Junior G Lorne Jackson had just six points against Gonzaga on Feb. 12, which was his lowest output in conference games this season.

=========

SAN DIEGO

=========

San Diego has improved enough late in the season to experience some devastating defeats.

Whether the Toreros will build off the strength of their performances or collapse from the emotional letdown of the defeats will label how the Toreros’ finish the season.

San Diego can finish no higher than seventh in the eight-team conference, but the Toreros are tied for seventh as of Feb. 14, and finishing anywhere other than last would be an accomplishment for this team, which not long ago, looked like it might go 0-14.

Heading into its final three games before the WCC tournament, though, San Diego is playing well enough to give any of its final three opponents a tough time, even though they may be the three best teams in the conference.

All three are at home, starting with a Feb. 16 game against first-place St. Mary’s, a team the Toreros stayed with for most of the game on the road back on Jan. 19, a game that seemed to begin the Toreros’ run of improvement.  Then come home games against Gonzaga and Portland.

A month ago, there would seem to be no chance the Toreros could even compete in any of those games.  Now it seems they might compete, perhaps even win one of two.

It all depends on whether they can rebound from the hardships of recent losses.   On Feb. 5, the Toreros lost to Pepperdine in a game it seemed to have won before the Waves’ Mychel Thompson hit a 40-foot three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

But the loss on Feb. 12 may have been even more devastating, because the Toreros seemed to have Santa Clara, which was 5-3 in the conference at the time, beaten on the Broncos’ home floor.   San Diego led by 20 points with 17 minutes left.   And the Toreros lost.   And it wasn’t just that they let the 20-point lead get away.  The Toreros regained the lead in the closing minutes and were ahead with less than a minute to go.  And they still lost 60-56.

“That was a difficult loss,” San Diego coach Bill Grier told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The Toreros showed they are capable of winning on the home floor of a pretty good team, even with starting G Matt Dorr sidelined with an injury.  But they enter the final three games with just one conference win.

“It definitely hurt,” G Kevin Ginty told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We were definitely having fun at first, that’s great to see, because we haven’t been able to get on a run like that and have much fun.  We got kind of stagnant and kind of got on our heels a little bit when they started making their run.”

NOTES

–San Diego was on the verge of their first win of the season on its opponent’s home court when it took a 40-20 lead three minutes into the second half against Santa Clara on Feb. 12.   But the Toreros were outscored 40-16 over the rest of the game to fall to 0-12 in true road games.   Their only win away from home came against Utah in Hawaii.

– After shooting 50 percent in the first half against Santa Clara, the Toreros shot 28.6 percent in the second.  Yet they led 56-55 with less than a minute left, before Santa Clara’s Evan Roquemore hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left and two free throws with 15 seconds to go.  Meanwhile, the Toreros missed their final three shots, all three-pointers.

– San Diego scored a season-low 17 points in the first half of the Feb. 10 game at San Francisco.   But the Toreros rallied in the second half and were within six with 13 minutes left and still trailed by just six with less than five minutes left.  Again the Toreros could not produce the winning plays down the stretch and lost by 14 points.

QUOTE: “We did such a great job in the first half and pushed it up to 20 points in the second.  But this group hasn’t been in that position, and it seemed like we got bored doing what was working and tried to go on our own too much and turned the ball over and took some bad shots.” – San Diego coach Bill Grier, to the San Diego Union-Tribune, after the Toreros blew a 40-20 lead in a 60-56 loss at Santa Clara on Feb. 12.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

Vs. St. Mary’s, Feb. 16

KEY MATCHUP: C Chris Gabriel had nine points the last time the teams met, yet the Toreros stayed right with the Gaels before St. Mary’s eventually won by 11.  Gabriel has been improving, and he needs to increase his production against St. Mary’s centers Kenyon Walker and Tim Williams for the Toreros to have a chance.

IDLE THOUGHT: The Toreros return most of their roster next season, so they are hoping their late-season improvement will translate into some momentum for next season.   However, the player who has shown the most improvement offensively recently is a senior, Devin Ginty, a former walk-on who has turned into the Toreros’ most reliable scorer.   G Matt Dorr plays the same shooting-guard position, and he is also a senior, so the Toreros will have some holes to fill despite their youth.

PLAYER NOTES

–Senior G Devin Ginty equaled his career high again with 23 points in the Feb. 12 game against Santa Clara.  He had scored 23 points against Pepperdine on Feb. 5, one week after scoring a then-career-high 20 points in the Jan. 29 game against Gonzaga.  Ginty is the only San Diego player to reach 20 points at least twice this season, and he’s done it three times.

–Senior G Matt Dorr missed both the Feb. 10 game against San Francisco and the Feb. 12 game against Santa Clara after sustaining a slight concussion in practice the day before the San Francisco game.  He probably will play in the Feb. 16 game against St. Mary’s.

– Junior G Darian Norris continues to lead the team in scoring at 10.3 points as of Feb. 14, but he has not shot well recently.  He was 3-for-18 from the field in the Feb. 12 game against Santa Clara and the Feb. 10 game against San Francisco, which concluded a six-game stretch in which he was 11-for-47 from the field, 23.4 percent.

Downtown West Liberty, West Virginia

That’s West Liberty University, a Division II school of about 2,600 students in a town (West Liberty, W.Va.) of about 1,200 people  with a gym that seats 1,200 people.

In Saturday’s win over archrival Wheeling Jesuit, the Hilltoppers packed the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex with 2,945 people, more than twice the previous season high and a logistical feat given the size of the arena and the number of people on campus and in town.

They came to see the nation’s No. 1-ranked  Division II team, which averages 119 points (more than any NCAA or NAIA team), hits 44.2 percent of its three-pointers (behind only Division III Rochester and NAIA Division I Oklahoma Baptist), has made 328 treys  (only Division III Grinnell has made more), has four players making better than 50 percent of their three-pointers, and is 21-0 under coach Jim Crutchfield, who, in 2004, took over a squad that returned no starters from a 4-23 team.  But by then, Crutchfield had established himself as a successful head coach at West Liberty – of the men’s and women’s tennis teams.

National superlative of the week:

– Most appropriate nickname: Centenary Gentlemen, who are 0-21.

West Coast Superlatives of the Week

– Biggest upcoming game: St. Mary’s (8-1 in the WCC) at USF (6-2) on Saturday – Assuming the Dons get past last-place San Diego on Thursday, Saturday’s contest will be the biggest game for USF since 1982, when Quintin Dailey was playing.   USF, which was 4-9 overall on Dec. 29, could move into a tie with first-place St. Mary’s in the loss column with a win Saturday, and if the Gaels lose at Santa Clara on Thursday, USF would be playing for sole possession of first place.

– Biggest loss that may not be a loss:  Pepperdine’s Keion Bell.  Bell was averaging 18.9 points before coach Tom Asbury announced Saturday that Bell has been suspended for the rest of the season for conduct detrimental to the team.   The Waves are 4-2 in games Bell did not play, and 6-14 in games he played.

– Silliest common coaching ploy – Removing all your players from the lane when your team is attempting a free throw while holding a lead late in the game:  With 4.3 seconds left against Pepperdine on Saturday, San Diego’s Chris Gabriel was at the foul line with his team holding a three-point lead.  San Diego positioned all its players behind Gabriel, so when Gabriel missed, Pepperdine grabbed an uncontested rebound and quickly got the ball to Mychel Thompson, who hit a 40-footer to tie the game, which Pepperdine won in overtime.   If San Diego had put one player in rebounding position on the free throw, it’s unlikely Pepperdine, with no timeouts left, could have put itself in position for that shot.  Even a foul on the rebound would have been better.

Numbers of note:

6 – Games Cal has played against teams currently ranked in the AP poll.  No other team in the six West conferences has played more than four such games.

4-7 – Washington’s record away from Bank of America Arena, where the Huskies are 11-0 heading into this week’s home games against Cal and Stanford.

Top Five West Teams

1. San Diego State (23-1) – Ranked No. 6, but no wins over teams currently ranked by AP.

2. BYU (22-2) – Jimmer Fredette was held under 30 points in both games last week, perhaps because he had a head cold.

3. Arizona (20-4) – A 22-point loss to BYU and the loss to Oregon State are difficult to dismiss.

4. Utah State (22-2) – Aggies have won 17 straight, but their best win was a home victory over Long Beach State (13-10).

5. St. Mary’s (20-4) – Gaels are not playing well at the moment.

Jake’s website is JakesTakeOnSports.com.

St. John’s is in position for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002 after its blowout victory on Sunday over then-No. 3 Duke, the last of the Red Storm’s eight straight games against ranked opponents.

Steve Lavin got UCLA into the NCAA Tournament in six of his seven years as head coach.

St. John’s first-year coach is Steve Lavin, who was born in San Francisco, grew up in Marin County, began college at San Francisco State and was head coach at UCLA for seven years before being fired and replaced Ben Howland in 2003.

Now Lavin returns to UCLA to face Howland in a game that starts at 10 a.m. (check the number of empty seats at tip-off) and could determine the postseason fate for both teams.

Howland is in his eighth season at UCLA, and although few would deny he’s an upgrade over Lavin, several comparisons of their seven complete seasons at UCLA should be noted: Lavin’s Bruins got to the NCAA Tournament six times; Howland’s Bruins five. Lavin won 20 games or more six times; Howland four.  Lavin had one losing Pac-10 season; Howland has had two.

Number of the week – 11 – Big East teams ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi says would be in the NCAA Tournament if the event began today.  All 11 would be in with room to spare.  Never have more than eight teams from a conference been in the NCAA Tournament.

The West

Top Five Teams (plus one)

1. San Diego State (21-1) – Aztecs still ranked among nation’s top six.

2. BYU (20-2) – Cougars’ loss at New Mexico so excited stomping Lobos’ students that a section of the stands collapsed.

3. Utah State (20-2) – Aggies’ 15-game winning streak is third longest in the country.  They play at St. Mary’s on Feb. 19.

4. Washington (15-5) – Huskies’ loss at Washington State makes them 4-5 away from home.

5. Arizona (18-4) – Wildcats have yet to claim a quality win.

6. St. Mary’s (18-4) – Was that a good eight-day stretch or not?  Gaels won at Gonzaga, but lost by 19 to Vanderbilt before and by 15 to Portland after.

Quote of the week: “They’re kind of drinking the Kool-Aid of what he’s selling.” – Cal coach Mike Montgomery after Saturday’s tense win over Oregon, which is 3-6 in the Pac-10 and has performed far better than expected under first-year coach Dana Altman.

Note of the week: Having a freshman point guard typically spells doom.  Not so in the West Coast Conference.  Santa Clara (Evan Roquemore) and USF (Cody Doolin) both have freshman point guards, and the two surprising teams are tied for second place, a game behind first-place St. Mary’s, heading into their Saturday showdown.  Portland beat St. Mary’s by 15 points on Saturday, largely because Pilots freshman point guard Tim Douglas made his second career start and scored 26 points.

Anatomy of a game-winning play:

1. Weber State practices halfcourt shots at the end of game-day shoot-arounds, and Scott Bamforth made three of them prior to Saturday’s game against Northern Colorado.

2. With 2.4 seconds left in a tie game, Northern Colorado’s Devon Beitzel went to the foul line.   Weber State had no timeouts left, but because officials reviewed the play to determine how much time was left, Weber State had time to huddle and plan a final shot.

3. While Beitzel was at the line, Bamforth told two Northern Colorado players he was going to hit a game-winning shot.

4. Beitzel made both free throws, but Northern Colorado coach B.J. Hill admitted he erred. “I should have called timeout, and I should have had Devon miss the free throw,” Hill told ESPN.com. If Beitzel had missed the second free throw, the clock would have started when the ball was rebounded, and the Wildcats would have had to scramble.    After the made free throw, Weber State’s Darin Mahoney could run the baseline, survey the court and execute a planned play.

5. Bamforth received the inbounds pass, took one dribble and nailed a 40-footer to win the game by one and hand Northern Colorado its first Big Sky loss.