Gauchos Offer No Apologies

The eyes of Cal State Long Beach are upon UC Santa Barbara today, watching the dribbles that could have been theirs and the rebounds that would have been theirs until the 49ers got low-bridged by the NCAA selection committee Sunday.

The Gauchos are here, facing Houston in the first round of the Southeast Regional, because the 49ers aren’t. And the 49ers aren’t here because the NCAA got peeved at the timing of the Big West Conference tournament final--Never On a Sunday--and decided to turn Long Beach’s sure thing into a multiple-choice stumper:

a) If Long Beach beats No. 2-ranked Nevada Las Vegas in the Big West final, Long Beach goes.

b) If Long Beach loses, Santa Barbara goes.

You didn’t need a crib sheet to know what happened next.

Long Beach Coach Joe Harrington cried robbery and lashed out at the NCAA for not picking the right team, which, by way of extrapolation, made Santa Barbara the wrong team.

Fact: Santa Barbara (20-8) had two fewer victories than Long Beach (22-8).

Fact: Santa Barbara lost a regular-season game on its home court to a 5-23 UC Irvine team.

Fact: Santa Barbara lost in the first round of the Big West tournament to a 15-14 team from the University of the Pacific.

Harrington’s conclusion?

“I’m happy for (Gaucho Coach) Jerry Pimm,” he said, sounding not at all convincing, “but I felt he really messed up when they lost to UOP. When we won our (semifinal) game, I thought, ‘We’re going.’

“It mystifies me. Santa Barbara lost to UOP twice and Irvine--on its home court. That mystifies me.”

Pimm had questions, too.

Since when did an NCAA invitation require an RSVP?

Since when did a playoff team with 20 victories, including one over Nevada Las Vegas, need to explain itself?

“We won 12 of our last 16 games,” Pimm says, building his case. “And we lost by two at (New Mexico State), by two at UNLV, by one at home (against Irvine) and by three in the tournament.

“We were competitive in all those games, going into the last possession.”

Pimm also pointed to Santa Barbara’s season-series sweep of Long Beach--”A big factor”--and the Gauchos’ 78-70 upset over Las Vegas Feb. 26, which “gave us a shot in the arm” come pairings time.

Pimm’s conclusion?

“I feel like we deserve to be here,” he says.

The Southeast Regional seedings have the same kind of feel. Santa Barbara landed in the middle of the pack, seeded ninth out of 16 teams and drawing eighth-seeded Houston (25-7) in today’s 9 a.m. (PST) playoff opener. A victory over Houston would move the Gauchos into Saturday’s second round against either Michigan State (26-5) or Murray State (21-8).

The second round would be a new experience for Santa Barbara. This marks the third consecutive postseason appearance for the Gauchos’ Eric McArthur-Carrick DeHart nucleus, but Santa Barbara was ousted early in 1988 (by Maryland in the NCAAs) and in 1989 (by Wichita State in the National Invitation Tournament).

What to expect this time around?

Any team capable of beating Las Vegas and losing to Irvine within a span of nine days ought to be taken off the board.

Statistically, the Gauchos do many things well. They led the Big West in scoring defense, rebounding and three-point percentage. They also were second to Las Vegas in overall field goal percentage and had the nation’s No. 2 rebounder in McArthur, who averages 13.3 a game.

So how did they lose eight games this season?

Seventeen turnovers a game, that’s how.

Pimm went into the season without a true point guard, so he elected DeHart, all-conference at off guard as a junior, for a conversion. The on-the-job training was a rough go for a while--DeHart had nine turnovers against Iowa, six against Loyola Marymount--but he’s finally settled into the role. He’s also averaging 15.8 points a game and shooting 47% from three-point range, so Pimm figures he can live with a few passes into the seats.

McArthur averages 15.7 points and led the conference in both rebounding and blocked shots (3.3), which at least gives Santa Barbara the quality to counter Houston’s quantity. The Cougars are a strong rebounding team, led by 6-9 forward Carl Herrera (9.2 rebounds) and 6-8 forward Craig Upchurch (7.0).

“We’ve got height,” Houston Coach Pat Foster says, “but no bruiser like McArthur. Players like McArthur have given us trouble this season.”

Foster calls Santa Barbara, “a quality basketball team. They beat UNLV at home and lost by two there--and the loss was probably the most impressive accomplishment.

“They won’t slip up on us.”

Maybe Long Beach deserved to be on the court today. Maybe the NCAA was guilty of petty theft when it kept the 49ers out of Knoxville.

All Pimm can do is draw up his starting lineup. And when he does, he will send out two guards, two forwards, one center and no apologies.