2010 CIT SCHEDULE/RESULTS

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday March 16

Fairfield (22-10) @ George Mason (17-14)

South Dakota (22-9) @ Creighton (16-15)

Wednesday March 17

Harvard (21-7) @ Appalachian State (22-10)

Western Carolina (22-11) @ Marshall (23-9)

Middle Tennessee State (19-13) @ Missouri State (20-12)

Portland (21-10) @ Northern Colorado (24-7)

Pacific (20-11) @ Loyola Marymount (18-14)

Thursday March 18

Southern Mississippi (20-13) @ Louisiana Tech (23-10)

Big news obviously. I will post what I can, but I picked up the flu over the weekend and I am suffering at home.

VS

Seattle University (16-14) at Utah Valley University (12-16, 5-7 Great West)

McKay Center (Orem, UT)

Saturday March 6, 2010 1:00 pm

RADIO: 710 ESPN Seattle   INTERNET AUDIO: seattleufan.com

Series- SU- 1-0

Last Meeting- Seattle pulled out a narrow 66-63 win at Key Arena on January 16^th. Gavin Gilmore contributed a career high 12 points while Chris Gweth hit a couple of clutch jumpers down the stretch to help Seattle claim the win. Gweth pushed his career point total over 1,000, leading 4 SU players in double-figures. Charles Garcia had a season low 2 points while sitting the last 15 minutes of the contest. Jourdain Scoubes paced Utah Valley with 16 points and 8 boards.

Scouting Utah Valley:

The former Junior College is entering its seventh season in participation of Division I basketball. Remarkably, Utah Valley has never suffered a losing season despite the dramatic step in competition. The Wolverines have thrived under the leadership of former Utah coach Dick Hunsaker. He has won 20 games twice with Utah Valley and is fresh off of a 17-11 mark a year ago. The streak is in jeopardy as Wolverines are 4 games below .500. They beat NJIT on Thursday night to snap a 4 game losing streak. Utah Valley does have an outside shot to get back to the .500 mark by beating Seattle then winning the inaugural Great West Conference Tournament. The Wolverines are stuck in the middle of the pack, but boast the added advantage of hosting the tournament. Utah Valley is 11-2 on their home floor this season. They are 0-12 on the road. The winner of the Great West tourney clinches a birth to the Collegeinsiders.com Tournament later this month. There is a chance Utah Valley could meet Seattle for a third time this year.

The Ones to Watch:

Jordan Swarbrick- 6’6 SR G- 13 ppg  5 rbd

The leading scorer for the Wolverines is knocking down 40% of his threes. He is nearly 82% from the free-throw line. The scrappy leader wants the ball. He can knock down the jumper and take it to the rack. His sister plays volleyball at the University of Washington. He had been slowed by a sprained knee when they last met Seattle, but he is back to full health at this point.  He scored 14 points off the bench the last time these teams met.

Jourdain Scoubes- 6’7 SR F- 8 ppg 5.5 rbds

He really hurt Seattle at the Key earlier this year with 16 big points. He hit 4 of 10 from downtown and chipped in 8 rebounds. His percentages over the course of the year are not great- 33% FG and 31% 3.

Keys to the Game:

1-      Pace- Seattle has been outstanding pushing the pace during their recent stretch and they will need to continue that.

2-     Charles Garcia- Revenge on the mind. He only scored 2 points in his worst game of the season the last time these teams hooked up.

3-      Stop Utah Valley from 3- They knocked down 11-23 from downtown last time and need the 3 to beat SU.

The Seattle Times was on hand as well- story

The Oregonian check in as well- story

Here is a story on Chuck from ESPN

15:31- 11-11- Great start as expected. Both teams playing well on offense early. Olson on senior night has knocked down two three.

11:34- SU20-13- SU on a 7-0 run. Playing really well

7:11- Slurpee time- SU 30-25- Waters is struggling with his ankle. I think he is done for the game. Portland State has postseason on Saturday.

4:19- SU 45-30-  Seattle on a 13-0 run. They can drop the hammer now with 4:19 to go in the half.

2:56- SU 48-30- SU on a 16-0 run.

HALF- SU 56-39- Seattle dominated in the first half. They shot a robust 60% from the field including 6-10 from three. They are outrebounding PSU 27-9.

15:49- SU 60-48- Pace has really slowed to the Vikings advantage. They have worked their way back in. A similar feel to the Bakersfield game when Seattle let the Roadrunners back into the game.

11:59- SU 69-57- Pace has really slowed. Really slowed, but SU maintains the lead. The Vikings are not the same club without Waters. He had averaged 28 points a game in his last 5 and Portland State misses him in a big way.

6:32- SU 82-65- Seattle 8-2 run to build the lead back. SU is fully in control.

3:06- SU 87-77- Three minutes away from clinching a winning season.

1:42- SU 89-77- Now 2 minutes away- It is a countdown

GAME- SU 93-80. A winning season

Key Arena (Seattle, WA)

Tuesday March 2, 2010 8:05 pm

RADIO: 710 ESPN Seattle   INTERNET AUDIO: seattleufan.com

Series- SU- 6-5

Last Meeting- December 6, 2008- @ Portland State 73-68

Aaron Broussard punctuated a career high 21 points with desperation 3 from the top o f the arc to propel Seattle to an 80-77 victory over Portland State on Super Bowl Sunday. It was a back anf forth thriller which featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes. SU snapped a three game losing streak to the Vikings. They had not won in the series since Jan. 16 1979. Seattle and Portland State met twice last season. Portland State defeated SU 81-67 to capture 3^rd place at the Great Alaska Shootout. They followed that triumph with a narrow win in Portland one week later.

Seattle Connections:

Mike Boxley’s older brother Seamus was one of the best players in Portland State history. Seamus earned Outstanding Freshman of the Big Sky, twice 1^st team All-Conference, twice Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and Big Sky Player of the Year in his decorated career.

First year Head Coach Tyler Gevin spent three seasons as an assistant coach for Joe Callero at Seattle University from 2001-04.

Scouting Portland State:

The Vikings are two time defending Big Sky Tournament champions. Last year the Vikings were bounced from the NCAA tournament by a strong Xavier team 77-59 and two years ago they were handed an 85-61 thumping at the hands of national power Kansas.  The successful stint led to the departure of Ken Bone to Washington State University and the elevation of assistant Tyler Gevin to the top job. The Vikings have completed Big Sky competition this season and were able to fend off Eastern Washington for a sixth place finish. Only the top 6 teams advance to the Bid Sky conference tournament so the Vikings will travel to Montana State this weekend for a quarterfinal tournament game. The expectations were high for Portland State heading into the season, but their campaign has been uneven. Offense has not been the problem- the Vikings lead the Big Sky in scoring (79.0 points per game), field goal percentage (.480), three-point percentage (.375) and three-pointers made (8.7). Their starting five oozes with offensive talent and their fast pace plays to their talent. Defense has been an issue. Portland State yields an incredible 79.6 points per game. To make matter worse University of Washington transfer Phil Nelson broke his foot shortly before the first meeting with Seattle. He has been lost for the year. However, Portland State surged to the finish line by capturing big victories over Idaho State and conference leading Weber State.

The Ones to Watch:

Dominic Waters- 6’1 180 SR G- 19.4 ppg 2 rbd 5 assts

Waters is a tremendously gifted offensive player. The transfer from Hawaii leads the team in scoring and assists. He shoots nearly 50% from the field and nearly the same from 3. He is a true triple threat on offense. He can shoot the ball, use his athleticism to get to the rim or feed his teammates for open looks. He torched Seattle last year in two games for 38 combined points in two games while hitting 6 of 8 from 3. Garrett Lever did an outstanding job on Waters in the first meeting as he was held to 15 points. Foul trouble was a factor as well the first time around. Waters is averaging 28 points per game in his last 5.

Jamie Jones- 6’7 220 SR F- 14.4 ppg  7.9 rbds

Jones plays much bigger than his 6’7 would indicate. He long arms and athletic frame gives him a 6’10 feel when watching him play. He is outstanding finishing around the basket (59% field goal percentage) and has a knack for rebounding. He also leads the Big Sky in block shots (67). The Portland transfer has 8 double-doubles this season and nearly had two last year against Seattle (15 & 12 followed by 8 & 9). He had 18 & 9 vs SU earlier this year. He is a brutal matchup on both ends of the floor.

Keys to the Game:

1-      Slow the Waters to a trickle- Waters is the engine to the Portland State offense. They can run wild when he is rolling.

2-     Rebounding- SU has not won a game this year when they have not out-rebounded their opponents. Jamie Jones and Julius Thomas provide a monster challenge on the glass.

3-     Defend the 3- Do not let Portland State get rolling from 3.

Seattle looks to clinch a winning season tonight. Tune in 15 minutes before tip on 710 ESPN Seattle and the live blog will be cooking at seattleufan.com.



Notes-

-Seattle has now won 6 of their past 7 games

-SU is now 9-3 at home this season

-Seattle is 9^th in the nation in steals with 9.6 per game

-SU is tied with Old Dominion, North Carolina and Kansas State for 5^th in the nation with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game- Providence, West Virginia, Morgan State and Duke are the top 4

-Seattle has 439 offensive rebounds compared to 295 for their opponents

-SU is 0-9 when outrebounded

-Alex Jones is averaging 19 points per game in his last 5

-Charles Garcia only stepped to the line 4 times vs Bakersfield, but he still leads the nation in free-throws attempted with 291.

-Seattle has gone to the line 813 times as a team this year which is 5^th in the country

-The SU bench has outscore their opponents bench 94-15 in the last two games

-Charles Garcia was held to single-digit scoring against Bakersfield for the first time since he scored 2 against Utah Valley on January 16^th. He has been in doubles in 26 of 29 games this year.

-Seattle is 9-4 in games decided by 4 points or less

-Garrett Lever has 11 steals in his last 6 games

15:17- CSUB- 8-6- Great pace to this game. Only two fouls early. The officials are letting them play which is great.

11:43- 12-12- Good game early on. Bakersfield continues to attack the basket. They are 5-10 from the field.  SU just 5-16

6:00- SU 26-19- Charles Garcia back on the bench after going to the lockeroom after a hard foul.

3:48- SU 31-22- Seattle is on a 13-4 run as they have taken control of this game. It has been all about defense.

HALF- Seattle 22-9 run to end the half. Alex Jones was outstanding again- 13 points 9-10 from the line. Bench points 25-7

15:59- SU 45-37- Bakersfield started the half on an 8-0 run, but Seattle has fought back to maintain the lead. Jones has 18. Bakersfield 4-7 shooting in the second half.

12:48- SU- 50-44- Bakersfield is back in this one. SU not sharp on offense at the moment. Great crowd and they having a good time.

7:03- SU 63-54 – This pace is fast. Both teams need this timeout. Good action-

TICKET TIME- 13th e-mailer to seattleufan@gmail.com is the winner- Good Luck- This is the last one of  the year-

-29 seconds to go Olson hits both free-throws 74-70- Seattle

GAME- Seattle wins 76-72

A breathless Taylor Olson joined the broadcast after the game-