UCSB Men's Basketball Preview

Bob Williams will have his hands full with this very young team.  However, this could be his best year as a coach yet...

Keep reading here for continuous updates on Big West news.

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Men's Soccer #4 UCSB vs. CSUN

Men's Soccer #4 UCSB vs. CSUN

In what would turn out to be UCSB's first loss a tough battle was fought (CSUN 1 UCSB 0). CSUN played quickly and aggressively but UCSB was just too tired to keep up, and with good cause. While CSUN had an easy bunker down game on Friday against Cal Poly (because of a goal scored 21 seconds into the first half off a mistake by Cal Poly Goalkeeper Chase Hauser) UCSB had a hard fought victory which extended throughout all of 110 minutes. In conjunction with multiple injuries and starting players being unable to play this would result in UCSB's only loss of the season so far. Hopefully this will last as the single loss and UCSB will be able to overcome the upcoming opponents.

Recap: Men's Soccer UCSB vs UCI Friday (10/6)

The Game
 In what would prove to be a challenging game, UCI rose to the challenge and played as they normally do against the #4 UCSB Gauchos. UCI was trying to turn around their entire season on this one match, a win would indicate the potential to take on any team in Big West and a possibility at a run in the NCAA tournament. UCSB needed the win because losing against an unranked team which is doing so badly overall would ruin their RPI.
The Goals

 About 18 minutes into the first half UCI took the lead as Lester Hayes III made an undramatic goal as UCSB goalkeeper Austin Mansker did not respond fast enough to block it, perhaps expecting it to go wide. A few minutes into the second half Nic Ryan would put UCSB in a tie as he lofted a ball which the UCI goalkeeper was unable to reach as the ball fell shortly out of his reach. Everything indicated it would end in a draw as UCSB and UCI both pushed and defended well. Austin Mansker made his fair share of super mario-esque saves as he would run out of his position in the goal box and punch balls as if they were little brick boxes from which he could receive coins. This was very impressive even though at one point he was pulled down and failed to effectively punch the ball, leaving it to roll loosely in the box with no goalie to keep it out. With the clock running down and less than 30 seconds left UCSB was awarded a corner kick. Nic Ryan made the kick which was easily deflected by the towering UCI players, as everyone scattered to rearrange into practiced formations Nic Ryan was able to run down the ball and effectively took the same kick again, except this time it would curve toward the box missing Peter McGlynn's attempt to redirect it ,missing UCI's attempts to kick it out, and just out of reach of UCI goalkeeper Michael Breslin's arms. Thus the game ended 2-1 with the miraculous golden goal.

Conclusion
 The match turned into a clash of the giants as both teams were pressured and played effectively. While UCI may currently be unranked it's clear that deep within them lives the foundation of what they've been taught by coach Kuntz. The Gauchos remain undefeated in the year at 8-0-3 and take on CSU Northridge on Sunday (10/7) at 5 PM.

Men's Soccer Friday Preview: UC Santa Barbara vs UC Riverside

Men's Soccer Friday Preview: UC Santa Barbara vs UC Riverside

 This Friday the undefeated UCSB Gauchos will take on the UC Riverside Highlanders (only recently defeated). The Gauchos look to go without a loss in their 9th game of the season while the Highlanders look to bounce back after an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Cal State Bakersfield.

Scoping it Out:

 The game this Friday is crucial for both teams as a win by either could be reflected in the next polls while a loss could significantly move UCSB down and would most likely knock UCR out of the rankings entirely. While the game will be hard fought there are some inherent conditions which may adversely affect one team or the other. These concerns were expressed by UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg in an interview on Tuesday Night. Among the concerns listed he emphasized that UCR tends to play the exact same tactic every year which is very dramatically favored by their home field. The field is narrow in its dimensions and this allows UCR to run its traditional play of kicking a long ball and counterattacking. While this may be unfair it is still allowed by regulation and surely many of UCR's victories this season will be attributed to their schedule which features 10 home games with what is currently ranked (by RPI) as the easiest schedule of all the teams in Big West. Another concern (primarily for Riverside) is their lack of fans which obviously makes their team lose morale.

What We Can Expect From Our Boys (Gauchos, obviously):

This is what Vom Steeg said he expects on the injuries for Friday-

Machael David-will most likely come back next week

Achille Campion-some chance (depends on how he feels)

Peter Schmetz-is out for Friday

Dion Acoff-expected to be back on Friday

Javier Castro-swelled up above the knee, he'll be out for Friday

How to Approach this Match:

  Riverside and Santa Barbara are both currently tied for highest winning percentile in Big West but this is a rather misleading statistic. The Gauchos are currently ranked #3 in the NSCAA rankings while Riverside is #24. With their previously undefeated status Riverside had unfolded an impressive record of 7-0-0 but without that there isn't much of an impression to be made; there wasn't anything else (besides multiple consecutive wins) to be expected from playing mostly unranked teams and thus their 15 minutes of fame have come to an end with their defeat last weekend. Will they be able to grasp this coming opportunity to make a statement? My prediction is probably not. Vom Steeg has quite a bit under his belt and he will have formulated some ingenious strategy to deal with whatever Riverside has to throw in. With this and ridiculously talented players with exposure from all over the world UCSB clearly has the favor in this match.

Final Score Prediction: UCSB 3 UCR 0

Morning Links 6/6/12

Happy Slump Day everyone! Here are your links:

Follow the Track and Field athetes here!
Scroll down to Div I M (& W) Track and Field and stay updated on your teams and conference.

UCSB's Dolan honored as West Region Coach of the Year
This is his first honor as the Gauchos Head Coach, and we hope to see the seasoned coach continue his success as he enters his 25th season next year.

Five selected in Day 2 of MLB draft
Selections are as follows: No. 286 Pittsburgh Pirates - DJ Crumlich, UCI
No. 301 Boston Red Sox - Matt Miller, Cal Poly
No. 319 Oakland Athletics - Brett Vertigan, UCSB
No. 370 Minnesota Twins - Alex Muren, Northridge
No. 422 Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Dylan Floro, Fullerton

For those of you who play NCAA Football on XBOX like an addict
The list is now out for all the teams ratings.  Luke Zimmerman makes some good points.  Some of their rankings don't make any sense whatsoever.

Awesome baseball .gif anyone?

Via Baseball Nation from SBNation

Have a good rest of the day!

"Playoffs? PLAYOFFS? You kidden' me? PLAYOFFS?"

Yes...playoffs, college basketball playoffs for that.  Why are we back talking about basketball playoffs? Because while we had the open threads and some coverage, we really had no closure of the teams who made the different playoffs.  So thank you to those who reminded me that I needed to finish, this one's for you.

NCAA Women's Tournament 2012 Bracket: UCSB Is 16, Will Face Baylor On March 18

The 2012 NCAA Women's Tournament bracket and field has been announced, and the UCSB Gauchos will receive a 16 seed in the Des Moines region. UCSB's first opponent will be the No. 1 ranked Baylor Bears, and they will play on March 18 at 11:45 am in Bowling Green, Ohio. If the Gauchos win their first matchup, they will face the winner of No. 8 Ohio State/No. 9 Florida on March 20.

The Gauchos earned the 16 seed by winning the Big West Conference tourney despite entering as a No. 6 seed.  Their overall record is 17-15 (14-15 before the conference tourney) in a weaker conference.  For the Gauchos to beat the number one team in the nation they'll have to play their top defense against a Bears team and keep them under 60 points to have a chance.

Here's a look at the Des Moines of the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket:

No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 UCSB, March 18 at 11:45 am PST

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Florida, March 18 at 9:15 am PST

No. 5 Georgetown vs. No. 12 Fresno State, March 18 at 9:20 am PST

No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. No. 13 Sacred Heart, March 18 at 11:50 am PST

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 UT Martin, March 17 at 1:10 pm PST

No. 7 DePaul vs. No. 10 BYU, March 17 at 3:40 pm PST

No. 3 Delaware vs. No. 14 UA Little Rock, March 18 at 2:20 pm PST

No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Kansas, March 18 at 4:50 pm PST

Click here for a link to the complete NCAA Women's tournament bracket.

Let's go Dancing: Big West Conference Tournament Finals OPEN THREAD

Good morning everyone,

We had some exciting matches yesterday and we have two awesome matchups today, featuring a double header of teams.

First, the women's final: No. 7 seed LBSU 49ers vs No. 6 seed UCSB Gauchos 2 pm PST

My Prediction: No. 4 seed UCD vs No. 6 seed UCSB

Well, I was half right, UCSB took care of business by dominating the competition up to this point, defeating UCI 61-51 and routing Pacific 84-66.   They've become stronger as the tournament goes on, and they had three players last night with 20+ points in Emilie Johnson, Nicole Nesbit and Melissa Zornig.  LBSU on the other hand, has played scrappy ball, first edging out CSU Northridge 57-52, then knocking off Cal Poly 51-48.  Devin Hudson had a double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) and will look to be the X-factor in tonight's matchup.

Final Prediction: UCSB 72, LBSU 68

Now the men's final: No. 1 seed LBSU 49ers vs No. 3 seed UCSB Gauchos 7 pm PST

My Prediction: No. 1 seed LBSU vs No. 2 see CSU Fullerton

With the way the bubble teams have been falling in their respective conference tourney, there is absolutely no reason, outside of a horrible 10+ pt loss, that LBSU should not be in the Big Dance next weekend.  That being said, this is the third straight year that these two teams are meeting up, and that does not bode well for the 49ers as the Gauchos have won the last two years.  I think with Larry Johnson being out, the 49ers will have a tough time tonight as they had to work to put away the pesky Anteaters last night.

Final Prediction: UCSB 81, LBSU 80 but both these teams will go dancing due to LBSU's RPI being high and bubble teams falling like flies.

Who are you pulling for?  Does the Big West deserve two teams?  Leave your comments below!

Morning Links 3/7/12

Morning all,

I went 2/4 on games last night so lets review with links:

49ers upset Matadors with a 31-4 final run
While I predicted it would be close, but Northridge would pull it out, Long Beach did their job and held the Matadors to under 60 points in a shocking come from behind victory.  This was not just one person scoring everything though, the 49ers manages to spread the points fairly evenly.

Pacific ousts Davis, 59-51
There goes my prediction of Davis winning it all.  The Tigers outclassed the Aggies in every way, and one could predict the game was over when Pacific was up 23-7 in the first half.  Next up: Pacific vs Cal Poly

Gauchos upset Anteaters, 61-51
I'm glad I predicted one upset in this tournament.  UCSB kept UCI's star player, Kassandra McCalister, quiet with only 5 points and 4 turnovers en-route to a convincing win.  The 6 seed Gauchos vs 7 seed 49ers should be a very interesting matchup on Friday.

Santiago scores 31 as Mustangs dominate Fullerton
This game wasn't even close, and with the way Santiago is playing, Cal Poly might be dominant enough to go to the Big Dance.

An interesting preview of the Big West tourney by CBSSports
H/T to Jeremy Mauss of the Mountain West Connection and The Skip Shot for bringing this article to my attention.  The article itself points out a couple really good things, but I still disagree that the 49ers wouldn't be a lock if they didn't win the conference tourney.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh wait, you're serious? Chris Dufresne may have just become my favorite columnest ever...
Dufresne points out that "Southland's" (A.K.A. Southern California) only NCAA tourney participant will probably be from the Big West, suggesting that Big West wins the drama factor this weekend with LBSU and Fullerton both fighting for a potential 1-bid spot.

See anything I miss?  Comment below.

Morning Links 3/2/12

Happy Friday!  Little late this morning, but lets hop into it:

UCSB continues it's pursuit of the No 2 seed with a win over Pacific
They should be able to clinch it outright with a win over the Aggies on Saturday night (remember that Fullerton plays LBSU).

Cal Poly beats Davis 69-56
Interesting fact of the night: the Mustangs had three players get into double-digits with points (David Hanson-16, Dylan Royer-14 and Chris Eversley-13)

A full slate of Women's BB recaps in conference play
UCR finished their season completely with a loss to UCI, while the Anteaters and the 49ers pause to wait for their final seeding.

Interesting piece on UCR Women's BB Coach, John Margaritis
This is basically an article showing that the coach doesn't believe in double standards. Margaritis made an example of discipline by suspending his best player the final 3 games for an unspecified incident, while still fighting to try and just make the conference tourney.

Matadors 4, USD 3
Steven Keller of the Matadors hit 2 HR's and had 4 RBI's to beat the Toreros in the Aztec Invitational.

Aztecs 4, No 22 Mustangs 3
SDSU walked off with a single to right, as the future BWC team beat Cal Poly.

Highlanders softball shutout Portland State to begin the Highlander Classic
Jordyn McDonald had a 2-hit complete game as UCR won 5-0.

See anything I missed? Comment below!

Morning Links 3/1/12

Where's the time gone? It's already the first of March!  Here are some links to occupy your computer during breakfast-time:

Big West Tourney: 49ers to face Aggies in the first round
While this was predictable last week, it's nice to know that it will be official.  Now that being said, here's what happened last night:

LBSU dominates UCI in final home game of the season
Caspar Ware had 16 points and T.J. Robinson had his 53rd career double-double in what turned into an old fashioned beatdown.

Titans beat Matadors to set up for a huge Saturday night
Kwame Vaughn went 5-11 from the arc to carry Fullerton to victory.

The Sacramento Bee points out that the Aggie women can host the tourney opener with two wins
Which poses the question: why aren't the women's tourney openers hosted at the Honda Center as well.

UCSB hosts Pacific tonight at the Thunderdome
The Gauchos will look to continue fighting for the No. 2 seed in the tournament.  On a less serious note, does anyone else but me think that the Big West teams have the coolest names for their arenas?

Well that's it for this morning.  As usual, if you feel that I missed something, comment below.

Morning Links 2/27/12

The weekend is over and there is a lot of news to go over, so lets hop to it:

LBSU clinches conference title with low scoring, but dominating effort over UCR
If "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" I hate to think what the conference tourney is going to be like...

Davis beats Fullerton in shocking victory
If you had watched this game, Davis started out on a 12-0 run and never looked back.  If Fullerton wants to have a shot at LBSU in the conference tourney, they better look more alive than last Saturday night.

Lady Mustangs win a share of the title over in Women's BB
Interesting to note that the only team that can share with them is the team that they beat (Northridge).

Gauchos move into a tie for second as they beat Cal Poly
The Blue-Green rivalry intensified as UCSB evened up the season series to 1 a piece.  Orlando Johnson had 16 points to become UCSB's all-time leading scorer.

The Big Vote occurs all this week
It's an older article but relevant specifically to this week as UCSD students are voting to either move the Tritons to Div I (and with that the Big West) or keep them in Div II.   UCSD is the largest academic institution with an athletics program not in Div I.

Baseball weekend recaps
Fullerton takes the series from the Horned Frogs, Gauchos sweep the Spartans, Dirtbags beat Cal to take the series, Mustangs sweep LMU, Aggies drop series to CSU-Bakersfield, Anteaters go 1-2 against Washington, Pacific falls to the San Diego schools, UCR falls hard to ASU, goes 1-2 in the series.

UCI Invitational: UCLA upsets Stanford in final
In actual Big West news: it wasn't a great showing as UCI was the highest placed BWC team (9th).

Softball weekend recaps
Gauchos split their games in the Gaucho Classic I, Cal Poly splits their games, LBSU and Northridge drop both their matches in the Cathedral City Classic, UCR goes 3-1 in the aTen Construction Tournament

As always, leave your comments below, especially if I missed something.

Big West Baseball: One week done in the season with a big weekend coming up

We are one week done with the season and so far, the teams have not really managed to follow the Preseason Poll.  Only 4 games have been played though, with a huge slate of 3 game series this weekend.  Let's look at them:

Cal Poly (3-1): @Loyola Marymount (Feb 24-26)
UC Davis (3-1): @Cal State Bakersfield (Feb 24-26)
UC Irvine (3-1): vs Washington (Feb 24-26)
Cal State Northridge (2-2): vs Northwestern (Feb 25-26, Feb 24 game was cancelled)
LBSU (2-2): vs Cal (Feb 24-26)
UC Riverside (2-2): @ASU (Feb 24-26)
Cal State Fullerton (1-2): vs TCU (Feb 24-26)
UCSB (1-3): @San Jose State (Feb 24-26)
Pacific (0-5): @USD (Feb 24, 26) @SDSU (Feb 25)

So what can we predict from the outcomes? The big ones obviously are UCR traveling to Tempe to take on the No. 13 Sun Devils and the Titans hosting No. 15 TCU.  Both of these series' will obviously be a success if UCR and Fullerton can take 2 of 3 or sweep, reestablishing Big West competitiveness against other western conferences.  Cal Poly is going to take on a very tough LMU (2-1) who scores a lot of runs, but gives up a lot as well.  The Aggies are going to have a challenge themselves against potential future Big West members Cal State Bakersfield (3-1).  The Roadrunners have outscored their opponents (Kansas State and Fresno State) 24-11.  The Anteaters are facing off against a high octane Washington (2-2) team who, like LMU give up runs as much as they score: the Huskies have scored and given up 29 through 4 games.  If UCI can force Washington in a pitchers duel, I can see them winning the series.  Due to weather conditions in the Midwest, the first game of the three game series between the Matadors and the Wildcats (1-2) was cancelled.  However, Northridge should like their chances as Northwestern didn't fare so well in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.  LBSU will have to play their best if they want to win against Cal (3-0).  However Cal beat up on Pacific, so they haven't really been tested yet.  UCSB has a very evenly matched series with the Spartans (1-3) who have seemed to have a hard time finding an offensive rhythm.  Pacific looks to gain their first win against either USD (2-2) or future Big West mates SDSU (1-4).  Look for the Tigers to gain that first win against the Aztecs because the Toreros put the whipping on KSU 15-1 in their last game.

Good luck to all Big West teams this weekend.

Morning Links 2/24/12

Morning all, here's your daily dose of that all important sports page of internet Big West news:

Titans pull out win at Pacific
Cal State Fullerton won the match with 13 seconds left to keep pace for second.  Talk about hanging by a thread...

A full day of softball action has a whole bunch of recaps
Between the Gaucho Classic and the Cathedral City Classic, the Big West teams have started off towards the right direction, with UCSB sweeping No. 23 Houston, Pacific beating No. 21 Oklahoma State and LBSU splitting their games.

Pacific loses a close one at USD against No. 21 Oregon State
It was the top three batters that kept the Tigers in this game going 6-14 with 2 doubles and 6 of the 7 RBIs