Selection Sunday Chatter...

[northernGNAChoopfan]

So..... Is it the same 8 teams into the regional tourney that we've been looking at the last 3 weeks? Did Dixie, Sonoma or Chico do poorly enough to get the boot? Did Point Loma, Chaminade or WOU do enough to squeak in? Is it gonna be at UCSD? Seedings?

After WOU gave WWU all it could handle last night, the announcers kept making a big stink about how WWU should be in contention to host. Really? On paper, beating SMU and WOU doesn't amount to as much as what UCSD did this weekend. Did HPU do enough to be in the conversation to host?

I didn't get to watch the WOU and WWU game as closely as I wanted to, but it looked like Stafford kinda bailed WWU out of that one. WOU did a great job of peaking their game at the right time this year. I'd like to see them playing next week, but I'm not sure it was quite enough this weekend to get them in. I think we GNACers know the GNAC was crazy competitive and tough this year, but the fact that we didn't get more than one team to bust through all the nonsense in the middle of the pack will kill us this evening. In the end, I think the really good teams have to be able to better than most GNAC teams did this year in the tough games that were against anyone from 3rd to 11th in our league. I'm optimistic about next season in the GNAC... Most teams are bringing back key pieces, most teams have something to build on. Don't whine UAA, you guys have someone returning to every position on the floor, you haven't had a season under 0.500 in ages and you always recruit well. In looking at the rosters of the teams after the seniors depart, UAF probably has the biggest hill to climb. Spread the word about those white sand beaches in the sub-arctic Fairbanks area, ya'll! Sun bathing in a down snowsuit, comfortably reclined in a snowbank, staring at the Alaska Range with the sun in your face at a rather soft angle has its perks, you know!

[Rob_AK]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Decision on who hosts is going to be tough - guessing it will be HPU. UCSD got pounded at home by WWU, so not thinking they are seriously in conversation. WWU just might get the nod - HPU's schedule was pretty weak compared to WWU, but you have to kind of root for the guys that don't get to this spot very often. So my vote is HPU.

Also got to put a vote in for UAA women - undefeated in D2 this year. Trying to find that silver lining.

[tsull]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

One GNAC team in -- WWU -- lots of CCAA and PacWest representation.

WOU has to only blame themselves. They knew their margin of error was small and down the stretch they lost to a solid Concordia team and a bad SFU club. I watched the CU game, here we are on the regional bubble and guys are playing rat ball. Kind of the theme all year long.

That said, very proud of their performance in the GNAC tourney and getting a last shot to possibly win the title game. Really cool to see Trammell find his game, he had frustrated me throughout the season. He can shoot it when he lets the game come to him. Garrison also really made the most of the GNAC tourney and his one year in Monmouth. Fine point guard. Solid season, knowing they were just left out of the playoffs I would've loved the CU and SFU games back as well as blowing the big lead vs. NNU at home, and playing sloppy at MSUB -- easy to play the what-if game.

[tsull]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Looks like the tourney is in San Diego, UCSC with the top seed, though it doesn't say the locale on this bracket:

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-brac...ketball-men/d2

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Seemingly good first round games with everyone playing out of conference teams... That's nice... right? I'm totally excited to see WWU and Chico play! Feeling for you Tsull and UAA fans... I was there last year, and probably had a better case to be upset last year than ya'll do this year. Next year is around the corner. When the schedule for regional is posted, put a link up here anybody. I'm loving to try to catch a few games on Friday if I can... I'm def sticking with rooting for the "geographic outliers" in Dixie and HPU.

[SGAstumpJ]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Seemingly good first round games with everyone playing out of conference teams... That's nice... right? I'm totally excited to see WWU and Chico play! Feeling for you Tsull and UAA fans... I was there last year, and probably had a better case to be upset last year than ya'll do this year. Next year is around the corner. When the schedule for regional is posted, put a link up here anybody. I'm loving to try to catch a few games on Friday if I can... I'm def sticking with rooting for the "geographic outliers" in Dixie and HPU.

Ye asked, and ye hath received:

http://www.ucsdtritons.com/ViewArtic...CLID=211514937

Seen the women's brackets, and would have preferred them not giving us a third CBU-Point Loma matchup in less than two weeks, but can't really argue otherwise.

[tsull]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Ye asked, and ye hath received:

http://www.ucsdtritons.com/ViewArtic...CLID=211514937

Seen the women's brackets, and would have preferred them not giving us a third CBU-Point Loma matchup in less than two weeks, but can't really argue otherwise.

Guessing the women's tourney is in Anchorage?

Men's bracket looks great, wish I could've gone to the last two regionals as well as this year's. D2 hoops is great and it's tougher to make the 64-team tourney/regionals than it is in D-1, where they're talking about the 10th-place ACC team getting in.

[CCAA_Fanatic]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

My dream has come true! Everyone playing a cross-conference game in the first round. Now I just need a CCAA sweep like happened a few years back. Seems unlikely, though. WWU and HPU look really good. SFSU will need a good effort to beat CBU, but the Lancers have been struggling lately. SF should get Looney to sit on their bench during the game. He has CBU's number!

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

My dream has come true! Everyone playing a cross-conference game in the first round. Now I just need a CCAA sweep like happened a few years back. Seems unlikely, though. WWU and HPU look really good. SFSU will need a good effort to beat CBU, but the Lancers have been struggling lately. SF should get Looney to sit on their bench during the game. He has CBU's number!

I think you are the only one whose dream has come true =)! I was hoping to be able to watch the WWU & Chico game, but that is the early game... A bit tricky to catch. It looks like UCSD charges for their streams anyways. Bummer. Are their streams usually worth buying (good picture, clock, announcer, basics covered)? Which CCAA team could you get behind the most? I think last year we all sort of agreed that WOU would be hard to beat at home, but this year it feels a lot more wide open as to who could be the last team in the West standing. Anybody think they know who could get through? You all have heard us GNACers rattle on and on about our beloved WWU enough to know that they are talented (even Tsull will consent to that this year), but not always as sharp as they will need to be. They haven't really shown that they can play many difficult games in a row and stay as sharp as they'd need to be to get through this tourney. It'll be interesting to see what Chico can do with them. It's pretty easy to see their weaknesses statistically speaking from the GNAC games they lost and Chico comes from a good defensive conference, so if Chico can get their own offense to roll they've got as good a chance as anybody to get past Western...

[Rob_AK]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

If HPU wanted to host the tourney, it is utter bullsh@t that it was awarded to UCSD. Just how I feel. I was not impressed with the CCAA games I saw this year. If a 5 loss CCAA team is so much better than a 2 loss PacWest team, then Dixie should not even have sniffed the tourney. Not a slight on Dixie because they earned it. WOU would have had to win the GNAC title, and UAA would have had to get to the title game to have displaced Dixie - neither got the job done. But how does an 8 loss Pac West team still get in then.

[tsull]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

If HPU wanted to host the tourney, it is utter bullsh@t that it was awarded to UCSD. Just how I feel. I was not impressed with the CCAA games I saw this year. If a 5 loss CCAA team is so much better than a 2 loss PacWest team, then Dixie should not even have sniffed the tourney. Not a slight on Dixie because they earned it. WOU would have had to win the GNAC title, and UAA would have had to get to the title game to have displaced Dixie - neither got the job done. But how does an 8 loss Pac West team still get in then.

I wish the GNAC received more respect. In the last decade or so we've had a national champion in WWU, and two final four teams in SPU and WOU.

That said, WOU had their chances to get in even with the loss to WWU in the title game. I point back to the Concordia and SFU losses down the stretch, just killers. UAF got robbed last year, so WOU should not have expected a gift from the committee this year.

[Rob_AK]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

WOU did OK in the GNAC but had way too many non-conference losses early. They had to win the tourney.

UAA was also a final four team in the last 10 years - in 2007. Guess we will see how WWU does against the rest of the field.

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

I wish the GNAC received more respect. In the last decade or so we've had a national champion in WWU, and two final four teams in SPU and WOU.

That said, WOU had their chances to get in even with the loss to WWU in the title game. I point back to the Concordia and SFU losses down the stretch, just killers. UAF got robbed last year, so WOU should not have expected a gift from the committee this year.

WOU did OK in the GNAC but had way too many non-conference losses early. They had to win the tourney.

UAA was also a final four team in the last 10 years - in 2007. Guess we will see how WWU does against the rest of the field.

GNACers!!! The way forward is in front of us, not behind us. Nothing that has happened in the past decade or this season says anything about what is to come. Support your school in whatever way makes sense to you. It was not the year for the GNAC this time, but I stand by my thought that this year was a serious transition year in our league. Let CCAA_Fanatic have his dream regional tourney this year and then next year we can hopefully get back into being miserably passionate presences on here because our teams are so damn good... Here's the start of that: Western Oregon is likely to be really good next year because hopefully they'll be playing a lot of these same players rather than building a whole new team. They have a whole second string on their redshirt roster... Things look good for them. UAA is gonna make a fresh start next year. Sometimes when things don't add up, a fresh start is really the way forward. What can I say for UAF... Well. We have a couple of great Alaskan freshman that hopefully are going to stick around. We have Donny Wilder coming back who owns the ugliest jump shot in the West Region, but plays tremendous defense and sings the National Anthem well to boot. And... Oh yeah. We still have Mick Durham who typically does his best damage the season after a crappy one. Glass is definitely half full here. And don't forget the seller of sun bathing in the snowbanks this time of year... -38 this morning. Any kid who's coming to visit campus these days is totally gonna fall for that. Yeah. The way forward is in front of us guys, not behind!

[tsull]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

WOU did OK in the GNAC but had way too many non-conference losses early. They had to win the tourney.

Totally, 100% disagree. They were 10th in the region after laying eggs to SFU and CU. Those two wins would've put them 8th or at least closer to the bubble. What they did in November should have no bearing as to what kind of team they were in late February. Two more wins and I think they were in, or at least 3, pick one NNU at home or MSUB on the road.

If they're going to judge teams in November, f- the season and just end it there, have the league tourney in nearly December.

[Rob_AK]

Re: Selection Sunday Chatter...

Teams play games in November for a reason - they aren't expedition games. Body of work includes what you did early in the season, not just how you finished. Those two games would not have gotten them 8th, they would likely have still been 9th or 10th as they would have tied UAA in the conference standings and would still have had two more D2 losses than UAA or Dixie.