Around the WCC: 12/3-12/7 edition

The big story from the WCC over the last four days is the tragic injury for Brandon Johnson. Johnson tore his Achilles tendon against San Diego St., and he will miss the remainder of the season.

LMU (o-8; 0-1): Things are starting to turn ugly in Los Angeles. With the issues surrounding Bill Bayno, and injuries to some of their top players, it is starting to become a possibility that LMU won't have a win heading into 2009. In their lone game this week, the Lions fell to Wyoming by a score of 62-55. LMU continues to get good production from LaRon Armstead, as the talented freshman had 15 points and 4 rebounds in the defeat. The return of Vernon Teel over the next two weeks should provide a huge boost to this struggling team.

Schedule this week: 12/13 @ UCSB

Pepperdine (1-7; 0-2): Speaking of struggling programs, Pepperdine recorded their seventh consecutive loss earlier today. The Waves fell to Dan Monson and his Long Beach St. 49ers 80-61. The game was relatively competitive until the midpoint of the 2nd half, when the 49ers heated from beyond the arc. While it was expected this team would struggle, I have been very disappointed in the play of Mychel Thompson. Thompson was impressive as a freshman, and it looked like he was ready to emerge as one of the top players in the conference this season. However, Thompson hasn't score in double figures since the second game of the season, and only scored six points against LBSU. Thompson's poor play saw him earn a spot on the bench against UC Irvine, but the results remained the same, as he only scored two points in the 71-63 defeat.

Schedule this week: 12/13 vs. Pacific

Portland (5-2; 1-1): Who would have thought that Portland fans might be frustrated with a 5-2 start to this season? After playing great basketball over the first month of the season, the Pilots fell back to earth with a 63-58 loss to Eastern Washington. Portland had the lead with just over 12 minutes remaining, but they could not contain the duo of Benny Valentine and Milan Stanojevic, who scored 16 and 17 points respectively. Robin Smeulders led the way for Portland with 18 points, but the usually consistent Nik Raivio shot only 2-12 from the field. The Pilots did bounce back later in the week, with a 68-65 victory over Idaho. Raivio bounced back from his poor performance against Eastern Washington, as he led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds.

Schedule this week: 12/13@ BYU

St. Mary's (6-1; 1-0): In a match up of two traditional mid-major powers, St. Mary's beat Kent St. 75-69. In the victory, the Gaels were led by 26 points from Patty Mills and 19 points from Omar Samhan. Although he struggled on the offensive end, Diamon Simpson grabbed 15 rebounds. I would consider this to be the top victory for the WCC this week, especially after Kent St. defeated St. Mary's in Moraga last season.

Schedule this week: 12/13 @ San Diego St.

San Diego (4-4; 0-1): In their 57-46 loss to San Diego St., USD lost much more then a basketball game. As I mentioned earlier, Brandon Johnson, who is one of the elite guards in the WCC, was lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Johnson is not the type of player that USD can just replace, and this injury likely ends any hope of USD competing for the WCC championship. TKR would like to with Brandon Johnson a speedy recovery from this horrible injury, and his tremendous offensive ability will be missed.

Schedule this week: 12/8 vs. San Jose St.; 12/10 vs. New Mexico; 12/13 @ Oregon

San Francisco (6-3; 1-1): Rex Walters and his USF Dons continue to be one of the pleasant surprises this season. After playing great in a tough defeat against USC last week, it appeared that the Dons had fallen back to earth when they were blown out by Cal Poly. In the 60-41 defeat, Dior Lowhorn scored 21 points, but none of his teammates were able to score in double figures. However, this has proven to be a resilient team, and they demonstrated this again with their 78-74 victory over Long Beach St. Dior Lowhorn matched his season high with 26 points and also grabbed eight rebounds in this terrific game. USF can be a very good team if they can find someone to complement the tremendous Lowhorn.

Schedule this week: 12/9 @ Pacific; 12/13 @ Boise St.

Santa Clara (4-4; 2-0): Don't look now, but the Santa Clara Broncos have found their groove. After beginning the season 1-4, the Broncos have won three consecutive games and are playing terrific defense. Against San Jose St., John Bryant had the game winning basket with 7.5 seconds remaining, which secured the 59-56 victory. Bryant scored 20 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the victory. San Jose St. will compete for the WAC title this year, so this is a very good victory for Santa Clara. The Broncos followed up this thrilling victory by destroying Sacramento St. 51-32. John Bryant again led the way with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Much like Dior Lowhorn at USF, this Santa Clara team could be scary if they can find someone to complement the dominate John Bryant.

Schedule this week: 12/13 vs. Notre Dame (CA) Argonauts

Around the WCC: 11/24-12/3 Edition

Sorry for the delay, but with the Old Spice Classic running through Sunday night, TKR was unable to get to its WCC weekly recap. This will be an extended version, as it will cover how all the WCC teams did from November 24-December 3.

LMU (0-7, 0-3 this week): If their start to the season is any indication, it appears that LMU has set itself up to be in the cellar of the WCC this season. It is disheartening to see this LMU team struggle so much without head coach Bill Bayno. Bayno is currently on an indefinite leave of absence, and there have been no reports about any timetable for his return. Since the last edition of Around the WCC, LMU was defeated by Wagner (72-51), Arkansas-Little Rock (67-59), and the University of Arizona (84-57). Even more frustrating for Lions fans is that Vernon Teel, who has been the best player for LMU this season, will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. The one shining light for LMU has been the play of Jared Dubois. The freshman has become the main offensive threat since the injury to Teel, and he responded last week with a career high 23 points against Arkansas-Little Rock.

Schedule this week: 12/6 vs. Wyoming

Pepperdine (1-5, 0-1): Since opening the season by defeating Cal State Monterey Bay, the Pepperdine Waves have lost five consecutive games. This week saw the Waves play only one game, and they fell to Cal State Bakersfield by a 79-72 score. In defeat, Pepperdine got terrific play from the freshmen combo of Keion Bell and Lorne Jackson. Bell led the way with 23 points, while Jackson scored 17. While both committed some costly mistakes during the game, the future looks bright for both of these young men.

Schedule this week: 12/3 @ Long Beach St.; 12/7 vs. UC Irvine

Portland (4-1, 1-0): I'm really starting to believe that this Portland Pilots team can make some noise in the WCC this season. After opening the season with a surprising victory over the University of Washington, the Pilots have maintained their strong play. This week saw Portland defeat the Nevada Wolfpack 63-61. While Nevada is young and has struggled so far this season, this is still a terrific win for the Pilots. Kramer Knutson led the way with 15 points, and Portland continues to receive terrific play from JC transfer T.J. Campbell, who scored 13 points and had 6 assists in the victory.

Schedule this week: 12/3 vs Eastern Washington; 12/6 vs. Idaho

St. Mary's (5-1, 2-1): Over the Thanksgiving weekend, St. Mary's participated in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California. Although the Gaels went 2-1 in the tournament, I would classify their performance as a huge disappointment. St. Mary's came out flat in the opening game against UTEP and fell 75-62. This was a frustrating and disappointing loss because a victory in the opening round would have setup a match up against Wake Forest. By losing in the opening round, the Gaels were forced to play in the consolation bracket, and were unable to face high level opponents like Arizona St., Baylor, and Wake Forest. Although the Gaels responded by defeating Cal State Fullerton (79-54) and Providence (81-75), this tournament will likely by considered a failure by Randy Bennett and his team.

Schedule this week: 12/4 @ Kent State

San Diego (4-3, 2-1): Like St. Mary's, San Diego will look back on their preseason tournament as a failure. The Toreros ended the Paradise Jam Tournament with a 80-45 defeat at the hands of Miami (FL). While the Hurricanes came into the season ranked, I thought that USD had the talent and experience to secure a victory. However, USD played poor basketball from start to finish in the defeat. Since the conclusion of the tournament, USD has gone 2-0. The Toreros defeated San Diego Christian (82-48) and Cal State Bakersfield (77-65). Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare continue to lead the way for USD, but the Toreros must take advantage of games against Oregon, San Diego St., and Mississippi St. if they want to be in at-large contention in March.

Schedule this week: 12/6 @ San Diego St.

San Francisco (5-2, 2-1): USF has proven to be one of the pleasant surprises in the WCC so far this season. This past week saw the Dons pick up impressive victories over UC Santa Barbara (73-72) and Colorado St. (65-63), while falling to USC (74-69). While the two wins were very impressive, I came away most pleased with the performance against USC. Although the Trojans have struggled to start the season, they have tons of talent and some very strong athletes. However, the Dons were up in this game with less than eight minutes remaining. Dior Lowhorn continues to prove that he is one of the top PF's in the nation, as he is averaging 20.6 points per game.

Schedule this week: 12/3 @ Cal Poly; 12/6 vs. Long Beach St.

Santa Clara (2-4, 1-2): I honestly have no read on how good this Santa Clara team can be. The Broncos have lost four games by a combined 16 points. They have been competitive against quality teams like UAB, Georgia, and Arizona, but it doesn't really matter if they keep losing to these type of opponents. They were able to end their four game losing skid by defeating the Montana Grizzlies 71-68. Perhaps all these close games can serve as a learning experience for Kerry Keating's team. With John Bryant and his 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game anchoring the paint, Santa Clara has one of the more talented big men in the entire country. I expect Santa Clara to build some momentum heading into WCC play and challenge Portland for 4th place in the conference.

Schedule this week: 12/3 @ San Jose St.; 12/6 vs Sacramento St.