Pending the outcome of tonight's game in Hawaii, Big West teams are 35-25 in pre-conference play. That seems pretty good considering they'e been playing some tough opponents such as Michigan and USC whom they beat and North Carolina and Oregon. I hope that it might open the door to more than one NCAA tourney invitation? Nah.
Considering that there is only one top 100 team, #71 UC irvine, in the Massey ratings, and Mid-Major teams that are ranked as high as the mid-twenties have been rejected historically, a second NCAA invitation looks like pipe dream.
What happened to Gonzaga that Tarleton State beat the Roadrunners by more ? The fighting Tarletons are transitioning to D-I. Perhaps the bulldogs decided to sit on their hands for a bit ?
I watched the Hawai`i game against Utah and Hawai`i was simply overwhelmed by the Utes size (they have the tallest team in the country with the starters averaging over 6'7"), especially their two 7'1" post men. Hawai`i had a fighting chance but went cold from the 3-point arc. Undefeated up to last night, Hawai`i will be a tough team to beat for any school in the Big West.
Long Beach State 88, Life Pacific (Calif.) 66
Nevada 80, UC Davis 68
New Mexico 84, UC Santa Barbara 61
Washington State 86, UC Riverside 49
Cal State Fullerton 60, Pepperdine 55
Santa Barbara 126 Bethesda 76
Fullerton 62 Sac State 60
South Dakota 78 Bakersfield 73
Pepperdine 68 San Diego 62
Weber State 78 Cal Poly 50
#25 San Diego State 63 Irvine 62
Long Beach 84 USC 79 OT - The Beach gets another signature win for the Big West. They beat Michigan 94-88 earlier this season
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Hawaii 78 Hawaii Pacific 53
Irvine will certainly be competing for the Big West title this season. They are solid throughout their lineup and they are smart and disciplined. Long Beach is very long and athletic and has wins over Michigan and USC but they are chaotic and unfocused too often. Santa Barbara has a lot of talent also but they've played a pretty weak pre-conference schedule and haven't been as consistent as Irvine. Hawaii could figure into the front runners also but they're always a bit of an unknown since they generally play well on the island but not so well on the road.
Right now Sac State couldn't beat the University of Phoenix in basketball but it doesn't mean the Aggies are bad for losing to them or that they will have a tough time with UCSD.
All bets are off and records mean nothing during Causeway match-ups in any sport. In 2001 I believe it was UCD destroyed the hornets in baseball. The next season, facing a Sac State team that was terrible they were shut out by the exact same pitcher they torched the year before.