SCU @ SMC -- The Little Big Game

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bronco66

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Posts: 1320

01/09/09 11:07:33

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8:00 PM PT 1 2 Score

Santa Clara 7-9 0

St Marys-CA 13-1 0

Preview | Lineup | Wrap | Box

0

Santa Clara (7-9) at Saint Mary's-CA (13-1)

The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Friday, January 9th, 11:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS:

Site: McKeon Pavilion (3,500) -- Moraga, California.

Television: ESPNU.

Home Record: SCU 5-1, SMC 5-0.

Away Record: SCU 2-5, SMC 4-0.

Neutral Record: SCU 0-3, SMC 4-1.

Conference Record: SCU 0-0, SMC 0-0.

Series Record: Santa Clara leads, 130-73.

GAME NOTES: With Gonzaga suffering a number of setbacks in recent weeks, the favorite to take the title in the West Coast Conference has to be the Saint Mary's Gaels at this point. The team will try to get off on the right foot in league play tonight as it hosts the Santa Clara Broncos at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. Aside from a loss to UTEP at the 76 Classic in Anaheim back in late November, the Gaels have put together a remarkable season thus far with 13 victories. There have been some weak opponents along the way (Seattle Pacific, Vanguard, Morgan State) so perhaps the overall record for SMC is not completely indicative of the squad's abilities. Regardless, last Friday night the team made the trip to Bakersfield and barely made it back with an 80-74 victory over the Cal State program. The win was the 10th in a row for the team as it heads into the WCC portion of the season. As for the Broncos, they've been playing in streaks and the current run finds the team having lost back- to-back outings. Last Friday it was a 73-68 setback to Harvard on the road and then two days later the team followed that with a 58-54 loss to New Hampshire before returning to the West Coast. Saint Mary's, which won both meetings against the Broncos last season, has played Santa Clara more times than any other program, allowing SCU to post a 130-73 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 1909-10 campaign. The Gaels, who have matched the best start in school history, have captured nine of the last 14 meetings with the Broncos.

Santa Clara put together a late 8-1 run against New Hampshire in the first ever meeting between the schools in any sport, but it turned out to be too little, too late as the Broncos suffered the four-point loss. Marc Trasolini had a huge game for the Broncos as he cranked out a career-high 24 points and cleared 10 rebounds off the bench. Kevin Foster contributed 12 points as well for the visitors, but the bigger story was John Bryant who entered the game averaging a double-double but was limited to just seven points and eight boards. Now, after 16 games, Bryant is still one of the top rebounders in the country with his 12.3 per game and continues to lead the Broncos in scoring with 17.9 ppg. The top shot blocker on the unit with 40, Bryant is shooting close to 60 percent from the field and has shown great touch at the free-throw line where he's 81.3 percent successful. Foster accounts for another 12.6 ppg which means between the two of them they generate almost half the program's 64.9 ppg at the moment.

Except for Carlin Hughes who finished with only five points, every starter for the Gaels hit for double figures against Bakersfield, beginning with Patrick Mills and his 21 points. Omar Samhan, one of three to register a double- double, came up with 20 points and 14 boards, followed by Ian O'Leary with 15 points and 10 boards and Diamon Simpson who dropped in 12 points and came up with 12 rebounds in the close call. With another strong effort on the glass, Simpson is now the school's all-time leading rebounder with 920, breaking a record that had stood for almost half a century. Simpson, who ranks 17th all- time in the WCC in rebounding, is averaging a double-double with his 12.8 ppg and 11.9 rpg. Samhan is ahead in points (14.9 ppg) but trailing on the glass (9.9 rpg), while Mills takes care of the scoring burden with his 19.3 ppg. A pair of dynamos in the paint, Samhan and Simpson have also accounted for a combined 56 blocks, giving opponents plenty of reason to second-guess their chances when they take the ball into the lane.

The Gaels came close to overlooking Cal State Bakersfield the last time out, so it is important for the team to focus from the opening jump. Given that Samhan and Simpson are so dominant in the paint, give the advantage to SMC at home tonight.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Saint Mary's-CA 74, Santa Clara 68

01/09 10:23:09 ET

Probable Starting Lineup: Santa Clara at Saint Mary's-CA

Santa Clara Saint Mary's-CA

Pos Player Pos Player

F Marc Trasolini F Diamon Simpson

C John Bryant F Ian O?Leary

G Perry Petty C Omar Samhan

G Michael Santos G Patrick Mills

G Kevin Foster G Carlin Hughes

Santa Clara at St Marys-CA

Points 64.9 66.6 Pts Against

Assists 13.4 10.4 Ast Against

Rebounds 34.1 35.6 Reb Against

Steals 5.9 5.6 Stl Against

Blocked Shots 4.9 2.4 Blk Against

FG% .461 .393 FG% Against

3P% .361 .296 3P% Against

FT% .722 .674 FT% Against

Inverse Matchup

St Marys-CA vs Santa Clara

Points 78.2 63.3 Pts Against

Assists 13.6 10.9 Ast Against

Rebounds 42.7 28.8 Reb Against

Steals 8.2 7.4 Stl Against

Blocked Shots 5.6 2.4 Blk Against

FG% .445 .420 FG% Against

3P% .325 .368 3P% Against

FT% .727 .698 FT% Against

Inverse Matchup

SCU Team Leaders

Points J. Bryant 17.9

Assists P. Petty 3.7

Rebounds J. Bryant 12.4

Steals P. Petty 1.6

Blocked Shots J. Bryant 2.5

FG% M. Trasolini .636

3P% J. Rahon .403

FT% S. Thompson 1.000

SMC Team Leaders

Points P. Mills 19.3

Assists P. Mills 3.5

Rebounds . Simpson 11.9

Steals P. Mills 2.3

Blocked Shots O. Samhan 2.1

FG% O. Samhan .574

3P% C. Steindl .462

FT% L. Walker 1.000

SANTA CLARA Pomeroy Rank: 135
Record: 7-9
Conference: West Coast Conference

Scouting Report Game Plan

Date Result Site Record Conf Prediction*

Fri Jan 9 (135) Santa Clara vs. (59) St. Mary's (sr) Away 7-9 0-0 L, 75-64[68] (13%)

Projected record** 15-16 7-7

Chance of undefeated record 0.00%

*Predictions include predicted pace in [brackets] and chance of winning in (parentheses)
**Projected record is based on chances of winning, and therefore may not conform to the
cumulative game-by-game predictions. This accounts for the unexpected results that
will inevitably happen during the season.

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
SCL	64.9	46.1	72.2	36.1	35.9	9.8	24.3	13.4	16.5	5.9	4.9	18.2
SMC	78.2	44.4	72.7	32.4	46.0	15.8	27.1	13.9	13.6	8.3	5.7	17.6
SCL Opponents	63.3	42.0	69.8	36.8	30.4	8.7	20.1	10.9	13.2	7.4	2.4	17.6
SMC Opponents	66.6	39.3	67.4	29.6	40.1	14.2	21.4	10.4	13.7	5.6	2.4	20.1

Rank and Records	SCL	SMC
RPI	#193	#24
Strength of Schedule	#120	#109
Overall	7-9	13-1
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	5-1	5-0
Away	2-5	4-0
Top 25	0-0	0-0
RPI Top 50	0-1	0-1

Latest Point Spreads

Bookmaker	SMC Odds	SCL Odds	Spread	Last Updated
WSEX	1.909	1.909	-14.0	Jan 09 12:52 AM ET
BETCRIS	1.909	1.909	-14.0	Jan 09 12:08 AM ET
Matchbook	1.917	1.962	-14.5	Jan 09 12:07 AM ET
5 Dimes	1.909	1.909	-14.5	Jan 08 10:43 PM ET
Bet 365	1.9	1.9	-14.5	Jan 08 09:06 PM ET
PinnacleSports	1.952	1.952	-14.5	Jan 08 05:27 PM ET

Complete Point Spread History

Reply Quote

RedHatBronco

ahem ...

#1

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Posts: 271

01/09/09 11:49:19

The Sports Network wrote:

A pair of dynamos in the paint, Samhan and Simpson have also accounted for a combined 56 blocks, giving opponents plenty of reason to second-guess their chances when they take the ball into the lane.

ahem ... TRAZ and BIG John have 58 ... opponents beware

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SCUFan

Da*n!!!

#2

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Posts: 25

01/09/09 23:01:33

So close. Great game, great effort. Free throws killed us. Freshman and Petty played well, too...Foster out of his mind!
Bogus Intentional Foul call on Rahon at end of game. I think they know now they can play with anyone...

Da*n!!!

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bronco66

that's saying a bit ... and THE LINE ...

#3

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Posts: 1322

01/10/09 00:42:37

Moderator

SCUFan wrote:
So close. Great game, great effort. . . . Foster out of his mind!
Bogus Intentional Foul call on Rahon at end of game. I think they know now they can play with anyone...

Da*n!!!

Points in the paint-SCU 28,SMC 28.
Points off turnovers-SCU 17,SMC 17.
2nd chance points-SCU 12,SMC 14.
Fast break points-SCU 0,SMC 0.
Bench points-SCU 5,SMC 5.
Score tied-9 times. Lead changed-12 times.

Last FG-SCU 2nd-00:12, SMC 2nd-00:04.
Largest lead-SCU by 5 1st-00:35, SMC by 9 1st-17:11.

doesn't get much closer than that !!!

and WHOSE your Freshman/Newcomer of the Year ???

                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 Foster, Kevin....... * 11-19   5-9    4-5    0  1  1   1  31  3  0  0  3  35
13 MILLS, Patrick...... * 10-24   4-13   7-9    0  0  0   1  31  2  1  0  4  35

btw (Block party version) ....

## Player Name BLK
20 SIMPSON, Diamon..... * 1
50 SAMHAN, Omar........ * 4
15 Trasolini, Marc..... * 3
54 Bryant, John........ * 5

THE Block Brothers ... thank you ....

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scu04

Encouraged

#4

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Posts: 62

01/10/09 08:49:41

Great game. I agree on the Rahon intentional foul being bogus.

I am impressed that Foster seems to always square his feet and look under control when shooting. No doubt he will be in the running for Conference Newcomer of the Year.

Trasolini's length gave Simpson problems.

Petty played well. He made an excellent kickout to Foster for the go ahead three with 12 seconds. Mills was just launching threes most of the game. Not sure if this was Mills being lazy and settling for the three or Petty not letting him turn the corner.

I am confident Rahon will catch fire at some point during the conference season. As our PG plays improve, he will benefit the most.

Bryant had a sub par game...but he was getting lots of attention. Missing those two free throws hurt.

D. White is still a little hesitant on offense but I thought he had a nice game. He played quality defense and got some loose balls. The same goes for Dowdell.

For what it is worth, the ESPNU announcers love our young talent and did a good job of hyping up Robert Smith and Company for next year.

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GAELHOOPFREAK

#5

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Posts: 35

01/10/09 10:57:15

Win or lose ........ I was REALLY impressed with Foster ( obviously ) and your other freshman players.
But wow ...... Kevin Foster, what a great player. Havent seen a freshman performance like that in a long time.
Traz is tough too, and Rahon is going to be really good. Add in next years class,
and I think your Broncos are right up there in the top 2-3 for several years to come.

Your right Bronco 66. I was sitting right there ....... That WAS a foul on Rahon, but NOT a flagrant one.

Just my opinion ...... KK is all over the refs from the opening tipoff. He is yelling at them about every little play. Not going help him when he needs a call.
He was close to a "T" about 3 times ........Gonna hurt you guys some time in a big game. Four SCU alums were sitting right in front of me and were saying the same thing.
But nothing wrong with him sticking up for his players. And I think he's a great fit for you.
The re-match in Leavy will be a good one.

Freak .... is out

Last Edited By: GAELHOOPFREAK 01/10/09 11:01:02. Edited 1 time.

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BroncsBeliever

Frustrating but there is a silver lining

#6

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Posts: 59

01/11/09 16:03:17

Tough to see the Broncos fall after that effort Friday night. Was watching at a little food & beer place with some alums and we went from jubilation to frustration in about minute. Very tough loss, but the Broncs put up a hell of an effort. Gotta give credit to SMC inside game for limiting Bryant, and to Mills for his performance...we just KNEW when he made that cut on the final inbounds play that he was gonna hit that three. Too bad to leave with an L. But there were silver linings to pull from that game. Our freshmen showed some guts going into a place as hostile as McKeon (probably second only to Kennel II in terms of tough road arena in the WCC) and playing the way they did. You can obviously see the talent we'll have for some years to come, just gotta hope the guys can tame their wild streaks over time. They do look out of control at times, with some bad turnovers, but I guess those are freshman mistakes to be expected. But still, Foster's got a natural stroke, Traz is going to be a force inside in another year or so (add some more muscle and strength), and White should find his game. We are forgetting that White has gone over a year without playing a competitive college game, so maybe by late Feb./early March he'll look much more honed in. Looking forward to the rematch in Leavey, although I'll be out of town. And hopefully we get SCU-SMC III in Vegas...the WCC Tournament battles against SMC always bring out the best (and in some cases, worst) of both fans. But it's always a hell of a game.

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gobroncs

#7

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Posts: 212

01/11/09 22:06:16

Hey Freak thanks for the honest post. You're right about KK - see my post re the USD game as I don't want to repeat it.

We could easily be 2-0 now against 2 of the top teams in the conf.

They're still losses but it bodes well for the future.

Anyone catch the radio show tonight?

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SCU @ SMC -- The Little Big Game	01/09/09 11:07:33	bronco66
ahem ...	01/09/09 11:49:19	RedHatBronco
Da*n!!!	01/09/09 23:01:33	SCUFan
that's saying a bit ... and THE LINE ...	01/10/09 00:42:37	bronco66
Encouraged	01/10/09 08:49:41	scu04
Re: SCU @ SMC -- The Little Big Game	01/10/09 10:57:15	GAELHOOPFREAK
Frustrating but there is a silver lining	01/11/09 16:03:17	BroncsBeliever
Re: SCU @ SMC -- The Little Big Game	01/11/09 22:06:16	gobroncs

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