Re: Postseason 2015

by Guest Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:01 pm

The preseason all-WCC was pretty accurate. Eight of the preseason picks were named on the final team. The two players who made it who were not picked preseason were Kerry Carter and Kyle Wilter, both transfers so I guess nobody knew what to expect. The two players named preseason who did not make the final were Kruize Pinkins and Thomas VDM. Pinkins did not even make any level of the final list.

I'm afraid NoPoNeighbor was prescient last October:

Thomas van der Mars has been named to the 10-member pre-season All-Conference team: http://www.wccsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102714aaa.html

I think this is the first Pilot who has received this honor since Nemanja Mitrovic at the start of the '11-'12 season. Let's hope Thomas' performance this year backs up the honor. Unfortunately, Mitrovic had a relatively poor season in '11-'12 and did not even come close to making the actual All-Conference team (his production slipped from 13.5ppg as a junior to 7.9ppg as a senior).

Also, the preseason coaches poll almost exactly nailed the final order of finish. They had USD 5th and Pilots 6th. The only ones they missed were they had Pepp and USF reversed in the preseason poll compared to the final results.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:23 pm

Brandon Clark had a better season than Kerry Carter. No reason for Carter to be 1st team and Clark only honorable mention.

Clark, Carter
PPG 15.5, 12.6
APG 3.8, 1.5
FT% 86.1, 65.9

However... Clark did not shoot the ball very well. 36.8% FG and 27.3% 3PFG. Maybe that's why. In any case, I don't think Carter deserved to be on the 1st team.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:02 pm

Who was the last Pilot to make the WCC first team? Stohl? Sikma?

by Guest Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:11 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Who was the last Pilot to make the WCC first team? Stohl? Sikma?

That would be T.J. Campbell and Robin Smeulders, both in 2010. Luke Sikma and Jared Stohl were both honorable mention that same year. There was no 2nd team, so HM was basically the same as this year's 2nd team. 2010 MBB All-WCC

by Guest Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:41 pm

Our friends at West Coast Convo have a best case / worst case tourney scenario for every WCC team. Read the whole thing, but here's their take on UP.

Best Case: Thomas Van der Mars and Volodymyr Gerun go back to being a potent duo in the frontcourt, and it takes some pressure off Kevin Bailey and the rest of the guards so they don’t have to shoot so much. The return to being a more complete team which allows them to overwhelm Brad Waldow and Saint Mary’s in the quarterfinals as the Gaels cannot recover from their shocking loss to Santa Clara to end the regular season. Against BYU in the semifinals, the two sharpshooting cores of guards battle it out while Van der Mars and Gerun get the better of the weaker Cougars inside. Down late, Alec Wintering is again the hero as his late three pointer pushes the Pilots past the stunned Cougars. The Pilots cannot upset Gonzaga in their surprise appearance in the finals, but their impressive run boosts their status and they make a deep run in the CIT Tournament after vastly improving their seeding.

Worst Case: Van der Mars and Gerun continue to disappear, and Waldow and the superior Gaels bully them inside. The Gaels win the rebounding margin by a large gap, and their guards outplay the Pilots who are pressured into shooting way too much. Portland loses by a wide margin, and accepts a low seed in the CIT Tournament. Hoping for a deep run to save their season, they lose on the road to an inferior mid-major in the first round as they fall to .500 for the year. As a number of key seniors depart, and questions abound as fans wonder if a core of Bryce Pressley and Alec Wintering is enough to carry a team with no obvious replacements in the frontcourt for Van der Mars and Gerun.

LINK

by Dean Murdoch Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:58 pm

by Geezaldinho Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:01 am

We're in the Quarters!

by DoubleDipper Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:15 pm

Well, it can happen, a #6 seed CAN beat a #3 seed!

In WCC women's basketball, #6 USF (8-10) just beat #3 UOP (13-5) by 10 points in Las Vegas.

by Geezaldinho Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:22 pm

The Pacific band is playing Klezmer music.

Oddly, it fits right in with basketball.

by Guest Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:59 am

USF 62 - 58 UOP
SCU 85 - 54 LMU

Sheesh, I guess LMU only shines in Las Vegas when they're playing the Pilots.

by Guest Sat Mar 07, 2015 4:52 pm

Geezaldinho wrote:We're in the Quarters!

We're in the Semis!

DoubleDipper wrote:Well, it can happen, a #6 seed CAN beat a #3 seed!

In WCC women's basketball, #6 USF (8-10) just beat #3 UOP (13-5) by 10 points in Las Vegas.

Yup!

In other afternoon action, USD had a Johnny Dee floater and a tip to take a lead with a couple seconds to go, and missed them both. PU advances.

by DoubleDipper Sat Mar 07, 2015 7:24 pm

Currently surrounded by about 100,000 Gonzaga fans who are going nuts as their team struggles against USF. Kind of fun to watch, actually!

Oh, oh, here comes one now @%#?&%#@.

by Guest Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:38 pm

In the late night event, SCU took BYU all the way to the end before falling short. Haws broke a tie with a mid-range jumper with 2.5 seconds to go to get the win. I was surprised that SCU held up on a back-to-back game. They did miss some shots at the rim, and maybe should have won.

by Geezaldinho Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:25 am

With about 12 minutes late SCU had tired legs..not getting up on jumpers and front rimming...

They rallied a bit, but missed to many easy ones. Good game to watch.

Tha BYU fans had the deer in the headlights look for a while.

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:34 am

And now we get a third crack at the Cougars! Are they allowed to practice on Sundays? Will the Pilots practice?

by DoubleDipper Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:31 am

NoPoNeighbor wrote:And now we get a third crack at the Cougars! Are they allowed to practice on Sundays?

I asked the former BYU player that was sitting next to me that same question: "It's permissable, but highly unlikely. They'll probably just stetch and shoot a few hoops."

I was quietly rooting for SCU while surrounded by what seemed like 50,000 BYU fans, but really like the opportnity for the Pilots to take on BYY in a semi-hostile environment. No expectations guys....just get out there and go after them!

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:16 pm

And a GREAT opportunity for the program to be playing a game on ESPN in March!

by Guest Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:31 pm

For what it's worth, the team has already clinched a winning record for the season, no matter what.

by NoPoNeighbor Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:46 am

Some inspiration for the Pilots, and all other conference tournament underdogs:

In the Southern Conference, Wofford and Furman will play for the championship on Monday night. Wofford is the #1 seed, 16-2 in conference. Furman is the #10 seed (out of 10), 5-13 in conference.

The SoCon uses the same tournament format as the WCC. Furman won it's play-in game against #7 The Citadel on Friday; beat #2 Chattanooga on Saturday; and beat #3 Mercer on Sunday.

by Dean Murdoch Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:38 pm

@jwquick wrote:Portland AD Scott Leykam says Pilots have agreed to play in CIT. "We know we are going to play, it's just a matter if we play home or away."

Well, the season continues.

Eastern Washington, maybe?

by Dean Murdoch Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:39 am

Nine of 32 CIT teams already set -
#115 Eastern Kentucky (19-11)
#121 Portland (17-15)
#156 Oakland (16-16)
#162 Dartmouth (14-14)
#169 NJIT (18-11)
#177 Tennessee Martin (18-12)
#178 Florida Gulf Coast (22-10)
#184 Canisius (16-14)
#220 St. Francis PA (16-15)

Pilots will probably end up playing one of the following teams in the first round. Take your pick -
#102 UC Santa Barbara (18-12)
#108 UC Irvine (18-12)
#126 Hawaii (20-12)
#135 Long Beach State (16-16)
#144 Eastern Washington (23-8)
#200 Northern Arizona (18-13)
#255 Northern Colorado (15-14)
#261 Seattle (14-14)
#267 Grand Canyon (17-14)

by DoubleDipper Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:35 pm

Yeah, we were kind of brain-storming/guessing who the next opponent will be during the second half of the BYU game last night.....

Favorites seemed to be UCSB, UCI, and Long Beach St., but one Pilots fan was thinking/hoping Grand Canyon.

by pilotdad1 Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:24 pm

Selfishly speaking I would love for the Pilots to play at EWU, would make my 25 minute drive so easy!

by Guest Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:32 pm

The intent is clearly to host a game at Chiles.

by Woodless! Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:23 pm

Can someone be sure to title the PN thread for CollegeInsider.com tournament 'Oh CIT!'?