Cowabunga! Gauchos?
Hang Ten! Titans?
Shred the Waves! Matadors?
Ride the Current! Tigers?
The Buffet hates to distract from any conference tourney preview, but it will say this ... Go Cats! Go Cats! in the first half against Oregon State might have been the freest money in the history of gambling. Any type. Anywhere. Fixed fights, where you know who is going to take fall, still come in second.
Now back to the Big West. A super competitive season out West, that the country seems to have ignored, apparently because there's a West Coast Bias. A phrase the Buffet doesn't completely understand. Shouldn't it be there's a "Bias Against the West Coast"? Have we gotten that lazy that adding two words makes a phrase a deal breaker. And, really, why don't more writers out in the West Coast just start writing about West Coast teams? Are there more east coast readers? If a newspaper comes out 2-3 hours before another, does that make it the only worthwhile news? Does Old Spice really think people are going to buy something that you are supposed to use to wash your body and your hair? It's all a little weird.
The Big West. Yes. A three-way tie for first. The #4 team, the perennal powerhouse back on conference track after a one-year slumber, just one game back, should make for a pretty compelling weekend in Anaheim.
UC-Santa Barbara. 
GAUCHOS!
The start to the season was harbinger of good things to come -- a 10-1 start to the season, including a home win over UNLV, and wins at Loyola Marymound (goodbye Rodney Tention!), and Ball State ... was translated into an impressive 12-4 conference season, co-regular season crown and the #1 seed in this weekend's tournament. More impressive, they started the season 1-2, including a home loss to CS-Northridge, and then bounced back to finish the season 11-2 in conference, including the final 6 conference games (4 on the road); UCSB is playing good ball right now. The Gauchos are led by 6'6 senior guard Alex Harris (20.3 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.1 steals), 6'2 sophomore guard James Powell (12.3 pts, 2.8 rebs, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals), and 6'8 junior forward Chris Devine (12.3 pts, 5.1 rebs, 1.2 steals) ... this team won 13 of 17 when either Devine or Powell put up 15 or more points. Against the top 3 seeds (4-2): vs. CS-Northridge: 1-1 (home loss - 84-88; road win - 77-66); Pacific: 1-1 (home loss - 58-71; road win 60-53); Cal State-Fullerton: 2-0 (home win - 83-80; road win - 87-72). Versus UC Irvine, the only other potential opponent -- interestingly enough, 0-2 (road loss - 63-66; home loss - 59-65)
Toro! Toro! Cal-St Northridge Matadors ... The Matadors started the season similarly nicely, with a 6-1 beginning that included a 10-point win at Horizon League finalist Cleveland State. The Matadors ran off seven straight wins to start the conference season, and despite an pedestrian 5-5 finish to the season, they still finished tied atop the Big West standings, and with the coveted bye to the semifinals, West Coast Conference-style. CS-Northridge is a deep team, featuring 6 guys who play between 23-26 minutes, led by Deon Trevsant (14 pts, 41% 3pt shooters, 1.1 steals) but backed signficantly by Jonathan Heard (11.6 pts, 5.6 rebs, 1.3 steals); Josh Jenkings (10.7 pts, 2.0 rebs, 6.4 assists, 78% FT shooter); Calvin "Jimmy Chitwood" (10.7 pts, 4.5 rebounds, 79% FT shooter, 1.1 blocks); and Tremaine Townsend (9.9 pts, 9.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks). Against the top 4 seeds: Against the top 3 seeds (4-2): vs. UC-Santa Barbara: 1-1 (home loss - 66-77; road win - 84-88); Pacific: 1-1 (home win - 78-61; road loss 73-78 OT); Cal State-Fullerton: 1-1 (home loss - 72-80; road win - 82-74) Versus other potential opponent, UC-Riverside: 2-0 (road win - 66-62; home win - 73-61)
Eric Swann played for the Bay State version (smart!); Denzel wanted us to Remember them. Harry Hamlin starred in a campy, classic, epic Clash of them ... and the odds-on favorite to win the Big West tournament version of the Titans? Cal-State Fullerton. Their conference season was marked by several sets of multi-game winning streaks. A 3-game streak (followed by a pair of losses), a 4-game streak (followed by a loss); a further 4-game streak (followed by a loss) was capped by a 3-game streak to close the season. The Titans can fill it up, with their three top scorers putting up 14 or more - led by the mighty-mites Josh Akognon (junior guard at 5'11 averaging 19.6 points, 3.3 rebounds -you read that right - 1.3 steals and 92% FT shooter) & Marcus Crenshaw (junior guard at 5'10 - 9.4 points, 2.2 assists, 42% 3s (which leads to baffling 57% from the FT line), Frank Robinson, senior guard and team leader -- 16.1 pts, 6.9 rebs, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and junior forward and frontcourt junior Scott Cutley (14.6 points, 7.7 rebs, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals) The potential Friday semi-final against UC-Santa Barbara should be a good one, the classic Irresistible Force (Fullerton's #1 Big West offense) against the Immovable Object (Santa Barbara's Big West leading defense) and the incredible difficulty of a team to defeat a team three times in the same season. Against the Top 3 seeds: UC-Santa Barbara: 0-2 (home loss: 72-87; road loss: 80-83); CS-Northridge: 1-1 (road win: 80-72; home loss: 74-82); Pacific: 1-1 (road loss: 82-89; home win: 92-78). Against Thursday's opponent, UC-Irvine: 2-0 (home win: 93-83; road win: 74-66)
Bayside. Tony the. and Christian Maraker. Legendary Tigers. The 2008 Pacific verision marks the beginning of a return to form for this Big West powerhouse. A decent start, 4 wins (one versus a non-Div 1 opponenet) included around a blowout loss @ Oregon, and a loss at Saint Louis, then another 4 out of 5 (winning at San Francisco & Santa Clara, with a blowout loss at Pepperdine), they were right on track in the Big West, a 9-2, until a late season 3-game losing streak set them behind the 3-headed co-champions. Three juniors lead the Tigers, guard Steffan Johnson (14.8 pts, 2.8 rebs, 4.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 41% from behind the arc); guard Chad Troyer (12.9 pts, 2.8 rebs, 45% 3pt shooter); and forward Anthony Brown (10.7 pts, with 7.1 rebounds). Pacific is one of the more balanced teams in the Big West, 3rd in the league in scoring average, 3rd in the league in points allowed, top FG% team in Big West play, as well as the 3rd best rebounding team in the league). Against the top 3 seeds: UC-Santa Barbara: 1-1 (road win: 71-58; home loss: 53-60); CS-Northridge: 1-1 (road loss: 61-78; home win: 78-73 ot); CS-Fullerton: 1-1 (home win: 89-82; road loss: 78-92). Against Thursday's opponent, UC-Riverside: 2-0 (home win: 82-54; road win: 65-58)
Others to Watch:
Donovan Morris, Long Beach State, 6'3 junior G, 21.2 points, 5.2 rebs, 2.3 asts, 84% FTs
Larry Cunningham, UC-Riverside, 6'2 senior G, 16.1 pts, 2.9 rebs, 1.4 steals, 84% FTs
Patrick Sanders, UC-Irvine, 6'6 senior F, 15.9 pts, 4.6 rebs, 1.0 blocks, 82% FTs
Darren Fells, UC-Irvine, 6'7 senior C, 14.3 pts, 6.8 rebs, 1.7 steals
Tourney Schedule:
Wednesday's Games
5 UC-Irvine 77 - 8 Long Beach State 63
7 UC-Riverside 62 - 6 Cal Poly 54
Thursday, March 13
5 UC-Irvine 3 CS-Fullerton
7 UC Riverside 4 Pacific
Friday, March 14
Irvine/Fullerton winner versus #1 UC Santa Barbara
Pacific/Riverside winner versus #2 CS-Northridge
Saturday, March 15
Championship
Did You Know?
Fullerton senior forward Scott Cutley is a transfer from Kent State (and former Flash starter who averaged 8 pts and 4.6 rebounds per game
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