Snap back to Reality

Some of us, including myself, need to come back down to reality.

For those who don’t know, over winter break the men’s basketball team went on a six-game winning streak, the longest the program has had in 15 years. While the wins were great to see, it unfortunately set expectations at an all-time high (and by all-time, I mean my past four years here), making the two disappointing losses to Pepperdine and USF that opened conference play almost unbearable.

After the team went 3-28 last season and 5-26 two years ago, let’s just say it didn’t take much to get us Lions fans excited. Earlier this season, a simple win was reason enough to celebrate. However, after the team showed promise early this season, and then went on to beat powerhouses such as USC and Notre Dame on the road, certain wins became expected.

Now, I think Head Coach Max Good would love to hear any fan say that, as he too expects for his team to win every game they play. While that’s obviously not going to be possible, building a program that expects to win is a good thing.

However, there is also a downside, and I experienced it driving home from Malibu two Saturdays ago. After winning six straight games, the Lions were set to open conference play against Pepperdine and San Francisco, the two teams in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with the two worst non-conference records. In fact, those two teams had a combined record of 9-22 before LMU played them. The Lions, on the other hand, were above .500 for the first time in years with an overall record of 9-7.

There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to begin conference play 2-0. I interviewed junior guard Vernon Teel right before finals, and even though the team had yet to go on its six-game winning streak, he too guaranteed me that the Lions would be undefeated after their first two WCC games.

After the game tipped off in Malibu, everything seemed to be going the Lions’ way, and they quickly jumped out to a 17-point lead. Not to relive the slow, painful decline again, I will jump to the final buzzer. The Lions lost 79-75.

Let’s just say that during the ride home from Malibu my head was filled with a lot of “what ifs.” What if Teel hadn’t missed some of those free throws down the stretch? What if sophomore Drew Viney hadn’t thrown the ball away on one of our final possessions?

Any sports fans will understand me when I say that thinking like that can make you feel crazy. But after about one hour, and two margaritas, I started to put the loss into perspective.

Even though the subsequent loss to San Francisco didn’t help this new perspective thing I was trying, the bottom line remains the same. The Lions are now talented enough to be a competitive team in the conference, but are not yet at the level to compete with WCC powerhouses like Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Portland on a regular basis. Therefore, we are really playing for a fourth place finish in the WCC, a spot that would grant us a very important first-round bye in the WCC Tournament.

The two early losses severely hurt those chances, there is no question about that, but hope should not be lost. It does mean that stealing a win against one of those top-three teams may be necessary, but from what I’ve seen from the team thus far this year we actually play better when facing tougher opponents. I think a win in Portland tonight is definitely a possibility, a possibility that is more likely if Viney returns from injury.

Good said it to me best after Saturday’s win at Santa Clara. He said that recently, “it’s almost like people expect us to be among the elite teams in the conference.” Expectations like that are just unfair, considering this team is the youngest and most inexperienced team in the WCC. While the Lions may at times play like an elite team, they just don’t yet have the experience to make that transition a consistent one.

Regardless, it’s going to be a wild, wild West Coast Conference, and for the first time in years, Lions fans actually have a team to be excited about. While some sloppy play late in games has put us in a bit of a tough situation, an upset victory over an elite team is going to be more important than ever. Luckily, it is also going to be more likely than ever.