Pilots Log February 5th
Nov 18, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Matt Costello (10) and Portland Pilots forward Ryan Nicholas (32) battle for position during the second half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Michigan State won 82-67. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Introducing: The WCC Championship Belt
Let me first say that I pretty much never go on the internet black hole that is reddit, but I do appreciate some of the fantastic ideas that have come from the site. One great idea came at the beginning of the NBA season was to keep track of the “NBA Championship Belt”. The rules were pretty simple,: The belt started with the NBA Champion Heat. Each game they played, the belt was on the line, with either the Heat retaining the belt, or the challenger becoming the new owner.
I decided it would be fun to track this through the WCC season and see where it takes us. Currently the WCC Belt belongs to Pacific, which may be surprising but it goes on the line Thursday at Pepperdine. Here is a recap of how the Tigers came into possession of the Belt:
Gonzaga came in as the reigning Champions and therefore were in possession of the belt.
Gonzaga beat Santa Clara, San Francisco, Saint Mary’s, and Pacific before losing to Portland on January 9.
Portland then took control of the championship belt and beat LMU before losing to Pepperdine
Pepperdine took over and immediately turned the championship belt over to Saint Mary’s.
Saint Mary’s beat LMU, but then lost it to San Diego last weekend.
San Diego was then beat by Pacific who is the current WCC Championship Belt Champion.
Where we came From
Overall Record: (13-10, 5-6) 6th in the WCC standings, 6th in latest West Coast Convo Power Rankings
Last week: 1-1 with a 71-84 Loss to San Francisco and a 76-64 Win over Santa Clara.
Portland again split the week. They looked lost at San Francisco, and they just couldn’t get anything going consistently. The Pilots got down early, and while they climbed back into contention, it just wasn’t enough down the stretch. The win at Santa Clara was much more solid as van der Mars’ efficient night propelled them to a win.
Where we are headed
Portland @ Gonzaga Wednesday
Portland Heads to Spokane where the Bulldogs will try to avenge their lone WCC loss before they take on non-conference Memphis on Saturday. Gonzaga has just recently re-entered the top 25 after falling out following the loss at Portland. Again for Portland to have a chance in this game it will start on the defensive end. When the opponent scores, it prevents Portland from getting out in transition, and the offense isn’t nearly as effective. The Pilots will also need solid and efficient nights from 3 or 4 guys to complete the series sweep.