GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
So it’s come down to this for the men’s basketball team. Their last home game of the season is against fifth-ranked Gonzaga University, a national powerhouse and West Coast Conference bully. Before that nationally televised game is a chance to avenge a loss to Portland University, something that realistically looks like the last home win we seniors will ever see.
I’m not completely writing off this team against Gonzaga, but it might take more than just effort and good execution to beat the Zags. It’s probably going to take a little luck and maybe even an all-out miracle. I’m not saying it’s impossible, stranger things have happened in sports. But the Waves won’t be alone on the court if they pull off the upset, and I mean that in a strictly “Angels in the Outfield”-type of way.
So, instead of focusing on Adam Morrison and the Zags, I was thinking let’s go the other direction. Let’s talk about Pooh Jeter and the Portland Pilots, a team that looks talented on paper, but really hasn’t performed up to expectations this season.
The purple-clad Pilots are on a five-game losing streak entering the game against Pepperdine. Their last win was against the Waves on Jan. 16, when the Waves couldn’t quite overcome poor officiating (funny how that came up again this weekend against LMU; it’s also funny that the head official for both games was a guy named Charlie Range).
In fact, Portland is statistically the worst team in the WCC, according to the RPI Ratings. Pepperdine is seventh, but the disparity between Pepperdine and Portland is nearly the same as between Pepperdine and the second-best RPI team in the conference, San Diego.
It may not be surprising to most people who follow WCC basketball that Portland has been pretty bad this season. However, they were picked third in the preseason coaches’ poll, even garnering one first-place vote. Apparently, this team that couldn’t get out of the cellar last year was supposed to challenge Gonzaga for the league title. For some reason, I find that wholly unbelievable.
The problem with Portland all season has been that the team couldn’t guard a team of statues. They allow opponents to shoot .465 from the field against them and .404 from three-point range, both dead last in the conference. Not only that, but they usually get outrebounded by 5.1 boards per game, dead last in the conference. To top it all off, they average just 1.65 blocks per game, dead last yet again.
By now you may have guessed, the biggest trouble with Portland is size. They have the smallest starting backcourt in the conference, with Jeter and Darren Cooper averaging just over six feet tall and with a frontcourt with only one player over 6-10.
Knowing this, Derick Grubb should have a huge game. Just look at his stats last time. He was 5-for-6 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the three-point line. None of their big men can guard him inside and none of their guards have the ability to stop his outside shot. With his size and inside-outside game, it could be a long night for the Pilots’ defense.
However, Portland’s lack of size means they’re quick. They get to loose balls faster than any team in the conference, which could be the reason the Gonzaga students started their “Brokeback Mountain” chant, but I digress. The Pilots play an up-tempo style that both causes them to score a lot of points and causes them to give up a lot of points.
It should be a fine game for the Waves. If Pepperdine’s shooters hit the open shots that they are sure to see, it could be a fairly easy victory. The Waves haven’t gotten a win in the second half of the season, which has a lot to do with the schedule being more than a little bit slanted against the team. This could be their first real good chance to get back in the win column.
Not much has gone right for the Waves this season. Pepperdine is young and wasn’t supposed to blow anybody away this season. However, with a big win against Portland, the team can regain confidence going into what could end up being the most difficult game of the season against Gonzaga.
I’m not suggesting that Pepperdine will take down the Zags if they beat the Pilots, but it would be nice if the Waves can play as well as they did against University of Connecticut when they began the season. If the Waves can do that, anything’s possible. After all, Adam Morrison has to have an off night some time, Monday night seems like as good a time as any.
02-16-2006