WCAC Basketball Tournament : Loyola and Pepperdine Meet Top Two Teams
The University of San Diego is a solid favorite to win the first West Coast Athletic Conference basketball tournament, but both Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount take to the road optimistically.
On the surface, this optimism appears misplaced or, at least, curious. The seventh- and eighth-place teams in the eight-team WCAC, neither has an enviable road record, and both will be playing the top teams in the conference at 7:30 tonight.
Loyola will be at regular-season champion San Diego, winner of 13 straight games and owner of the best record west of Las Vegas at 23-4. The Toreros also have the WCAC’s toughest home pit-- the 2,500-seat Sports Center.
Pepperdine has to make the longest trip, to Spokane, Wash., to play Gonzaga, the second-place team at 18-9.
Even so, in a conference in which last-place Loyola could take first-place San Diego to double overtime, the Los Angeles area coaches are taking the approach that anything can happen. Loyola, despite its 4-10 conference record, won two of its last three games handily. The Lions, 12-15 overall, have appeared revitalized since freshman guard Jeff Fryer returned last week, recovered from an injury, and Chris Nikchevich was shifted to shooting guard.
“We’re playing the best we have in weeks--and the league was close when we weren’t playing that well,” Loyola Coach Paul Westhead said. “I think we have a good chance. If we’re playing our zone sharp like we have been . . . I’d rather be us right now than them (San Diego).”
San Diego, 13-1 in the WCAC, is big and physical. The team features 7-foot Scott Thompson and muscular 6-8 Nils Madden up front. The Toreros may also have the league’s top point guard in Paul Leonard. Coach Hank Egan’s team ranks first in the nation in field goal defense, holding opponents below 40%. Loyola is 1-10 on the road.
Pepperdine, 10-17 overall and 5-9 in the WCAC, recently lost at Gonzaga, 84-70, but before that the Waves had won five straight games in Spokane. “We like to play up there,” Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said.
The Waves, 1-11 on the road, handed the Bulldogs, 9-5 in conference play, one of their league losses at Malibu. Gonzaga depends on the shooting of small forward Jim McPhee.
As a sidelight, Loyola forward Mike Yoest and Pepperdine forward Eric White are tied for the WCAC scoring title. Each has 527 points in 27 games, a 19.5 average.
The other opening-round games are San Francisco at St. Mary’s at 7:30 tonight, and Santa Clara at Portland on Sunday.
St. Mary’s, under first-year Coach Lynn Nance, finished with its best record in 26 years, 16-12 overall and 7-7 in the WCAC, good for third place. The Gaels are led by guard Paul Robertson.
USF started out strongly and finished at 16-11 but wound up in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference at 6-8. For tiebreaker purposes, the Dons are considered the sixth-place team.
Santa Clara and Portland both finished 6-8 in the WCAC. Portland got the nod as the home team by winning both head-to-head games. Portland, 14-13 overall, has the league’s probable freshman of the year in guard Greg Anthony, who became the school’s all-time freshman scoring leader Wednesday. Santa Clara is 15-13 this season.
This weekend’s winners will advance to the semifinals and finals next weekend at USF. The tournament winner will get the league’s automatic NCAA bid. Only San Diego would appear to have a shot at an at-large berth.