Permutations Aside, CLU Must Win

For the Cal Lutheran women’s basketball team, the path to an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs is relatively simple.

If visiting Cal Lutheran (12-12, 8-3) defeats Whittier (10-13, 3-8) in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s finale at 5:30 tonight, the Regals will tie Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for the SCIAC title. They would then play the Athenas (17-7, 9-3) on Saturday to determine the conference’s automatic bid for the Division III playoffs.

In contrast, the Cal Lutheran men will need help to get into an SCIAC playoff.

The Kingsmen (18-6, 10-3) trail first-place Claremont-Mudd (16-7, 11-2) by a game heading into tonight’s 7:30 contest against visiting Redlands (8-16, 5-8), but a Cal Lutheran victory coupled with a Claremont-Mudd loss to Pomona-Pitzer (15-8, 10-3) would result in a three-way tie for first in the conference standings.

That would prompt a two-game playoff to determine the SCIAC’s automatic berth in the Division III playoffs.

Because Claremont-Mudd would have a 3-1 record against Cal Lutheran and Pomona-Pitzer in the above scenario, the Stags would receive a bye into Saturday’s game that will determine the SCIAC’s automatic bid.

Cal Lutheran, which has a 1-3 record against Claremont-Mudd and Pomona-Pitzer, would play the Sagehens at a neutral court Friday with the winner playing Claremont-Mudd.

Whittier College is a likely venue for Friday’s men’s game and could be the site for a men’s and women’s doubleheader Saturday if both games involve Cal Lutheran and Claremont. If the men’s game involves Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd, SCIAC bylaws state it will be played at one of the two schools, determined by a coin flip.

Of course, the scenarios involving Cal Lutheran will mean nothing if both teams lose tonight.

“We just need to concentrate on Redlands,” men’s Coach Rich Rider said. “That’s what we have control over. Everything else is out of our hands.”

“We’ve got to take care of business and not take Whittier lightly,” Cal Lutheran women’s coach Tim La Kose said. “We need to get after them early and try to put them away.”