San Diego vs Pepperdine (+1) - 5:30pm Pacific - WCC Tournament - Game #659-660
In tournament play I love teams that show the ability to come back from double digit deficits and win going away. It is usually a sign of good things to come. Pepperdine did just that by outscoring LMU 57-33 in a dominating second half yesterday. Five Waves finished in double figures for the first time all season. Pepperdine played very well in both meetings vs San Diego this season winning by 16 in Malibu and losing by just 4 in San Diego. In the game at San Diego, Pepperdine led almost throughout the game, by as many as 9 in the second half, and it was tied with :38 seconds left. They just did not execute well at the end. That was the second game Pepperdine played with their dual point guard lineup which has been constant for 8 straight games now. All offensive statistics have been improved in the span and they are getting more and more comfortable with it. 7 foot freshman center Russell Hicks continues to show rapid improvement. He had 15 points and was one of the keys in yesterday's second half run. San Diego has improved considerably from last years 4-26 record but I just do not feel they are as good as Pepperdine. They do have the advantage of being rested but Pepperdine holds has the confidence and comfort edge of already having a win in the tournament under their belts. This senior laden Pepperdine team is still very hungry after two straight seasons of unmet expectations. They came ready to play in last years WCC tourney as well but lost a close game to St Mary's without star forward McGowan who injured his knee in the previous round. It is all systems go this year. Expect the Waves continue momentum and advance.
Official Play: Pepperdine -1 2 UNITS
UCSB at Long Beach State (-3) - 5:00pm Pacific - Game #619-620
Long Beach is really clicking on all cylinders now. After a 3-18 start to the season they have won 6 of their last 7 games with only loss coming at Utah State. Two games back they won at Idaho by 13 for their first road win of the season. Last time out they used a big second half run to blow out Cal Poly by 19. Center Anthony Coleman who led the team in scoring early in the season before sitting out 13 games due to injury returned 7 games ago and is becoming more of a factor as each game passes. Sophomore guard Louis Darby (8 points last game) has seen action in last two games after missing 16 games to injury. He was an important player on this team when they were playing well to start the season. Guard Keion Kindred also returned four games back after missing 11 games due to academic and injury related issues. Meanwhile, second semester addition Onye Ibekwe (Oklahoma State transfer) has added some much needed toughness on the inside and sophomore point guard Kevin Houston has really stepped up his play in recent weeks. Houston averaged 11.8ppg & 4.3apg over a six game span before dropping in a career high 18 on Thursday night. I have always liked Long Beach best with Houston running the point. He is finally getting big minutes consistently. They also had a season low 5 turnovers in last game which is huge for this team. UCSB continues to use smoke and mirrors to play competitively in most conference games and because of it I do not think the oddsmakers have caught up with how bad this team really is. UCSB's loss on Thursday at UC Irvine dropped them to 3-8 in last 11 games and to 1-7 in Big West road games. Give the small number.
Official Play: Long Beach State -3 1 UNIT
