Tim Douglas – Rush The Court

Checking In On… the WCC

rtmsf — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:15:34 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

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Looking Back

Suddenly there is a fourth guest at the party. Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and BYU had dominated WCC play in the pre-season and until the halfway point of the conference race, but last Thursday Loyola Marymount rudely interrupted their revels. An 82-68 thumping of BYU in a half-full Marriott Center in Provo sent notice that Max Good’s squad is healthy and hungry to compete for a top spot with the Big Three. Good is enjoying the benefit of having star forwards Drew Viney (15.9 PPG) and Ashley Hamilton [...]

Checking In On… the WCC

rtmsf — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the West Coast Conference correspondent for RTC.

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The Week That Was

Welcome to the wacky world of nine-team scheduling. WCC members knew some changes were coming with the addition of BYU to the league, but it has taken two weeks of conference play to absorb all that was required to make the odd-numbered format work. Here’s what the 2011-12 season has introduced:

Monday night games in addition to the regular Thursday-Saturday format Asymmetrical scheduling, meaning teams play some opponents twice before playing others at all Front-loaded key games for some, delayed timing of key games for others

For whatever reason, [...]

Set Your Tivo: 02.03.11

Brian Otskey — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:01:15 +0000

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live **** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home *** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later ** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013 * – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Another Thursday night of mediocre power conference games means the mid-majors [...]

Checking in on… the WCC

Brian Goodman — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:32:48 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

A Look Back

With the pre-conference season all wrapped up, let’s look all the way back to October and the WCC coaches poll for a reset on conference expectations. The coaches overwhelmingly picked Gonzaga to finish first, giving the Zags 48 total votes and six for first place. By a total of 42 to 39 they also picked Loyola Marymount to finish second over Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara (28 votes) to finish fourth and Portland (25 votes) fifth. How would the coaches vote if the [...]

Checking in on… the WCC

rtmsf — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:00:37 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

A Look Back

It was an “almost” week for Santa Clara and San Francisco, Gonzaga got its mojo back, Saint Mary’s picked up its first true road win of the year and Portland kept on cruising. Loyola-Marymount, Pepperdine and San Diego continued their losing ways. As Santa Clara battled Washington State evenly on Dec. 19 before succumbing 85-79 in overtime, and San Francisco took undefeated San Diego State to the wire two nights later in a 61-56 loss, visions of a stronger, more successful West Coast Conference flickered before fans’ eyes. It [...]

Checking in on… the WCC

Brian Goodman — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:42:17 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

A Look Back

It began as a whisper earlier in the season, but recent events have given it full throat – the WCC is down this year. Gonzaga, which has waved the conference’s banner brilliantly for over a decade, has stumbled to a 4-4 record, most recently Wednesday’s 81-59 beat-down at Washington State. Saint Mary’s, coming off a Sweet Sixteen year with high expectations, has whiffed in its only two statement games, losses to BYU (close, 74-73) and to San Diego State (not so close, [...]

Checking in on… the WCC

Brian Goodman — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 04:12:19 +0000

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

Looking Back

With an overall record of 24-16 through games of Nov. 23, the WCC might appear to be cruising along in the non-conference portion of the 2010-11 season. But looks can be deceiving, as only Gonzaga and Portland have faced challenging schedules so far while the rest have been staging versions of Patsy of the Week. Saint Mary’s is the poster child for weak competition, as Randy Bennett’s Gaels have romped over College of Idaho, Point Loma Nazarene, Mississippi Valley State and, [...]