CSUN just can t close the gap. Got two stops….and gave up the offensive rebound! 74-67 with 2:20. Decent crowd. Loud. That’s one nice thing about this arena. It’s 5500 capacity and small - sounds loud.
I can’t stand UCSB. If they and Poly win, I’ll be depressed.
CSUN just got screwed on a ‘moving screen’ foul on potential tying 3. Ref that called it is not a favorite of mine. Seems to take things a bit too personal.
I recall some comments made during one of the later games in which Bob Williams (I think) said that there was some disadvantage to the bye teams in that they had to sit around while the teams playing in earlier games stayed relatively sharp. But then he noted that playing three games in three days brought i a fatigue factor that counter-balanced that effect. Today's games might show which of these is the more important factor, especially given the big difference in talent between the top ntow seeds and the 5th and 7th seeds.
It would seem that UC San Diego will get into the NCAAs win or lose tomorrow, so just because I want to see two Big West teams in the tournament, I'll be rooting for UCI. In toady's game on ESPN2 I noted that the commentators mentioned that the Big West is one of the best mid major conferences (it's average net ranking places it as tenth.) in the country, so two bids would seem appropriate.
Yes, I thought the same thing, but the Tritons just have too much talent, plus their defense is under-rated, I think. The final score of 75-61 is not indicative of how close the game really was. I very much doubt that UC Irvine will be in the NCAAs.
So UCI did not get a bid to the big dance, which was no real surprise. I'll be hoping that UC San Diego can show the nation how good the Big West is. Starts with a tough opponent in Michigan on Thursday. Early on the Wolverines are a 2.5 point favorite. At least the game is out west, in Denver.
CSUN, UCI and UCR got NIT invitations, so at least the Big West has four teams in major post-season tournaments. When was the last time that happened? I suppose without the Aggies, this discussion isn't all that interesting, but I'll keep it going in case one of the teams makes a deep run.
I wonder when the NCAAs will expand to 96 teams? There will soon be 360 division 1 teams, so that would be well under a third. In place of the current mini play in, the first round would be the lower 32 against the middle 32.
UC San Diego faces Michigan today, the Wolverines still being a 2.5 point favorite. I suspect the line is set by oddsmakers who think that Michigan fans will underestimate the Tritons, but those of us who know how good UCSD is should not be surprised by an upset. The game is at 7:00 pm PDT on TBS.
Michigan 41 UCSD 27 at the half. The Michigan twin towers, 7' and 7'1, are just too much size for the Tritons. SD needs to get hot from 3 in the second half if they are going to claw their way back into this one. They were only 2-17 from 3 and that won't get it done.
UCSD is only 2 of 15 from the 3 point line, which is very low considering their usual accuracy from out there. They were also very sloppy with the ball early on as the Tritons clearly had the jitters. Michigan blew out to a 10-0 lead. Still UC Sand Diego mostly hung with them until the final minutes of the half. If they can settle down and start hitting their 3s, they can turn this around.
Valiant effort by UCSD but they lose 68-65. Michigan's two 7 footers on the floor at the same time were just too much size. I'll tell you what though, SD's coach, Eric Olen, is a helluva coach when you consider the halftime adjustments he made to attack the basket against those twin towers. He put together one heck of a team this year. UCSD is a program that is rising up fast.
I had to watch the game after my wife and I went out to dinner. Tough loss, but UC San Diego sure put up a great fight. This will be my last post of the season. See you all in the fall.
You may want to check into the forum fairly regularly before next fall. There seems to be quite a few changes coming to Aggie Athletics with the move to the MWC in 2026 and I'm sure we'll be seeing some recruiting news for MBB.