Wild, Wild West Coast Conference

I received two texts this past weekend, both asking the same question, about two separate West Coast Conference men's basketball games. They both read, "Who do we want to win, again, in this game?"

That is because the WCC men's basketball standings are closer than they have been in years, and with six of the nine tournament seeds still up for grabs with just one week left before the conference tournament begins in Las Vegas, it is hard to know exactly how to root for your team, especially if you're a Lions fan.

The Lions have secured a fourth seed, and therefore a first-round bye, at the tourney, but there is still a decent shot they can snatch the third seed away from either Gonzaga or (more likely) BYU. While that would allow LMU of playing the second seed, not the first, in the semifinals, what may be more important is it would give the team a much easier quarterfinal matchup; basically, avoiding a very hot San Francisco team.

Here is the easiest, and most probable, way for the Lions to steal the third-place spot. All of the following things would need to happen.

• LMU would need to win its final two conference games against Santa Clara and San Diego. Both are at home and against teams the Lions have previously beat. Odds are definitely in LMU's favor here.
• Saint Mary's would need to win its final two games. The No. 1 team in the conference is set to face Portland and San Francisco. Portland should be easy, but the Dons could definitely test the struggling, limping Gaels, especially since the game is on the hilltop in SF. The odds, however, do have to be in Saint Mary's favor here. And therefore, also the Lions' favor.
• Gonzaga needs to win its final two games. This is the trickiest part, as Gonzaga will most likely beat San Diego Saturday, but will first face BYU in one of the biggest games of the season Thursday. Luckily for the Lions, the game is in Spokane, a place where the Zags have not lost yet this conference season. 

Why this works for the Lions: If the above happens, the best BYU could do this weekend is go 1-1 (having lost its game to the Zags Thursday). That would leave BYU and LMU tied in the standings. Because the two teams split their head-to-head matchups, LMU would beat BYU in the tiebreaker based on the fact that it had the "bigger" conference win, defeating the No. 1 Gaels over BYU's biggest conference win, defeating the No. 2 Bulldogs. 

There are a lot of scenarios still possible, but the above seems both the most likely and easiest when it comes to figure out who to root for this weekend. It is important, however, to mention that if Saint Mary's and Gonzaga TIE for first-place in conference, I am pretty sure BYU would then beat out LMU in the tiebreaker for third place, as it would have matched LMU's biggest win and tops LMU in the next tiebreaking category (RPI).

Either way, Thursday and Saturday should be a lot of fun. Can't remember who to root for or just want to follow along with the action? Follow The Bottom Line on Twitter at @thebottomlinejp.

What doesn't kill them makes them stronger

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." It's an age-old saying and to be honest, one I don't necessarily believe in. When it comes to the Lions, however, it just may be the truest statement you can make this season.

After an ugly win over Pepperdine last Thursday, I wasn't feeling to confident for the game against San Francisco Saturday. The Dons were coming in hot, and LMU had just barely squeaked out a win at San Francisco Dec. 31. In fact, the two teams had been separated by only a combined four points in the previous three match-ups.

I feared my gut instinct was right when the Lions got off to a horrible start Saturday. The team had eight first half turnovers, shot 37 percent from the floor and only 14 percent from three and allowed the Dons to  shoot 47 percent and an impressive 48 percent from deep. The lead would get as large as 19 numerous times, and every time the Lions began to claw their way back the Dons would hit a rally-ending three.

But even during tough seasons, games and moments, this team has never been one to quit. However, as Lions fans will know, the team is notorious for making a huge comeback and falling just short. But not this time.

The win turns what started as 30 minutes of sloppy play into positive momentum for the team. They now hit the road for a tough road trip with confidence and more camaraderie than ever before. And all that without even mentioning how important that win was for LMU's place in the West Coast Conference standings. The victory allowed LMU to further distance itself from San Francisco, and keep pace with BYU with just five regular season games remaining.

But I am not one to critique the team when it loses and solely praise it when it wins. The Lions cannot expect to play an astonishing ten minutes of basketball night-after-night and beat teams like Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and BYU. The team was able to pull out the miraculous comeback with hot shooting that it can't expect night in and night out.

The Lions have yet to lose a conference game on the road, but haven't been tested away from Gersten Pavilion in a couple weeks. Thursday's showdown with Portland tips off at 8 p.m.

Upon further thought ...

A couple more thoughts from last night's game:

• Other than a six-point win over San Diego, LMU's seven-point loss to Saint Mary's last night was the closest game the Gaels have played in conference this season. There's no shame in the loss, and now the Lions know what they need to do differently when they travel to Moraga on Feb. 15.

• Drew Viney went 7-12 in the game. However, he took five shots in the first five minutes of play, and seven shots in the remaining 35 minutes. He had 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, and seven points in the remaining 30 minutes. Drew needs to stay actively engaged in the offense for the full 40 minutes, and continue to look for his shot throughout the game. The Lions offense went dead during the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, which not surprisingly matches up with the period of the game where Drew took little to no shots.

• The Lions did not receive good offensive games from their bigs (Ashley Hamilton, Godwin Okonji and Alex Osborne). Ashley did have 14 points, however he was only 5-15 from the field. If Okonji and Osborne are handling the ball like they did last night, it's a liability to have them shoot. We should still pound the ball inside, but with the game plan being to immediately kick it back out for an open shot.

• Tomorrow's game against Portland is big. The team needs to get the conference-home-win monkey off its back, and not let a surging University of San Francisco team get any closer in the standings.

Lions must gain momentum from big win

The Lions played a great game against BYU last night. Other than the victory over ranked Saint Louis in non-conference play, that was the most complete 40 minutes of basketball I've seen LMU play this season. Once again, Anthony Ireland led the way, but both Drew Viney and LaRon Armstead both contributed big minutes on both the offensive and defensive (props to both of them for stepping up their defense) ends of the court while the rest of the players played the roles they needed to.

Since WCC play began, I've been extremely impressed with the Lions ability to improve their offense since non-conference play, when the offense at time looked repetitive and stagnant. LMU is currently doing a great job of making an effort to work the ball inside (somewhat thanks to the return of Ashley Hamilton) and keeping their opponents defense on its heels.

The Lions, however, have a potentially tough game in store for them on Monday at Santa Clara. Sandwiched between a huge win over BYU and an impending home game against 7-0 Saint Mary's, LMU will take a quick trip up North to take on the Broncos. This game has the recipe to be a trap game for the Lions, who will need to make sure they don't overlook the 0-4 Broncos. Santa Clara is better than their 0-4 WCC record shows, with two talented guards in Kevin Foster and Evan Roquemore, and now that LMU has proven it belongs as one of the top-four teams in the conference it needs to prove it can stay that way with a win over a bottom-tier team.

While it is still early (LMU has played only six of its 16 conference games), here are where the WCC standings sit right now.

While we'll wait until later in the season to truly start discussing WCC Tournament matchups, it is not too early to state the the Lions need to aim for a top-four conference finish, which would bypass them into the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. 

The great news for LMU? This team could very easily be 6-0 in conference right now, with its two losses both coming in close games (loss to BYU, loss to Gonzaga). There is no need to start a "what if" game about those two contests; it's truly a great thing that the Lions have not looked outmatched against any team thus far in conference play. 

Let's hope LMU can keep up the great play and handle Santa Clara as they should Monday night.

Jekyll and Hyde

The only bright spot of the evening was seeing Drew Viney back on the court.

Life as a Lions fan can pretty much be summed up with a detailed summary of the last 78 seconds of tonight's game against Columbia.

Down by 12 with 1:18 to play, LMU switched into a full-court press, raised the intensity of its defense, and scored three straight baskets from inside the key to cut the deficit to six with 38 seconds still remaining. The energy and hope that had earlier escaped the building quickly returned to the crowd of 3,844, and ideas of a miraculous comeback crept into everybody's mind. But, just as quickly as the comeback began, it ended, and poor shot choices suddenly snapped the Lions' three-game winning streak. LMU lost by the final score of 69-61.

The similarities are too apparent. First, the Lions beat Saint Louis Tuesday in one of the best played games I've seen in years. Hopes and expectations soared for Lions fans, much like they did after a very impressive 18-16 season in 2009-10. Then, by halftime of Friday's game, the Lions trailed by 14 and look flat, confused and nothing like a team that could contend in the WCC. That's where fans will have de ja vu back to last season, when high expectations and a boatload of talent ended with an 8th play finish in WCC play. The ups and downs can't be good for the hearts of all these Lions fans.

Were expectations too high entering today's game? Definitely. Fans (myself included) got swept up in the excitement of Tuesday. However, are the Lions more talented than the Columbia team they were embarrassed by tonight? Definitely. And that's the worst kind of loss.

Someone may look at the box score and think Columbia is the best shooting team in the country, after they lit the Lions up shooting 52 percent from the field and 63 percent from beyond the arc. While the visiting Lions shot extremely well, the defensive rotations by LMU were awful, and Columbia shooters were left with wide open shots Division I basketball players should only dream about.

Quick Hits:
Despite coming in off the bench, Drew Viney made his season debut, scoring 10 points in 22 minutes. His shot looked smooth as silk, but his conditioning and defense are not yet game-ready. Viney has one of the best shots I've ever seen, but right now his style of play doesn't exactly fit in with the identity the Lions have when they are playing their best basketball.

Anthony Ireland finished with a team-high 17 points, but had only one assist from the PG position. The offense looked weak for the majority of the game, and it looked like the Lions weren't running offensive sets often enough.

The Lions shot 5-18 from behind the arc. Instead of driving to the hoop, they settled for (sometimes ill-advised) jump shots, even when they weren't falling.

Jarred DuBois helped lead the Lions attempt of a comeback, scoring eight points in game's last 62 seconds. He scored five points in the game's other 39 mintes. He needs to bring that scoring mentality to the entire game, especially when the team is struggling to find its shot.

LMU will take on a non-Division I team tomorrow (La Sierra), so the opportunity to erase the feeling of tonight's loss will have to wait until Sunday. Tomorrow's game tips off at 7:30 p.m.

Thoughts, expectations and more ...

Can the Lions keep their focus with a lineup change and against unranked opponents?

The Lions' game against Saint Louis Tuesday was one of the most well-played, complete LMU games I've seen in a long time. The defense was stellar, the chemistry was better than it's been in years, and multiple players stepped up to fill the roles required of them. The win was great, but the matter of which the Lions earned that win was even more important in my mind.

A few things that stood out:

• I thought the coaching staff did an excellent job. Most people won't remember that the beginning of the game was sloppy (missed defensive assignments, missed lay-ups), and that is very much because of the fact that the coaching staff seemed to have righted the ship early on in the game. I also want to give Coach Good and co. credit for their substitution pattern. LaRon Armstead was hot from the field, and Good gave the team the opportunity to ride that. Good also managed foul trouble extremely well.
• Anthony Ireland was tough as nails down the stretch. He hadn't shot well at home thus far this season, but he didn't let it stop him from shooting through his cold-spell. A big three-pointer from the top of the key got him going again, and as he did in the Idaho State win he took the team on his back for a portion of the second half.
• Jarred DuBois has let Ireland shine this year, but he stepped up bigtime went Ireland went to the bench with foul trouble. Props to JD for leading the run that, in the end, really won LMU the game.
• LaRon Armstead plays inconsistent minutes but still manages to produce when he's on the court. He's always had a nice shot, but with Drew, Ashley and even AI out of the game late in the second-half, he had to create his own shot, something that hadn't been asked of him to do in a Lions uniform in years. The way he played Tuesday, Good is forced to find playing time for the senior this weekend. Congrats to him for such a strong game.

The Lions now have a great opportunity to improve to 7-2 on the season with three home games this weekend against weaker teams. Drew Viney is expected back in the lineup, which will definitely be a weight off the shoulder of Anthony Ireland, who will now have someone else helping to steady the offense. 

I'm as excited as anyone to see Drew back on the court, but it does bring up a few concerns; the rotation and chemistry. Things seem to be gelling so well right now, that bringing in a guy that should play well over 30 minutes a game is going to change things. Good and his staff are going to have to figure out a way to work the bench guys into the lineup with Drew, and eventually Ashley, holding down the forward spots. Lions fans shouldn't be surprised if a new rotation takes some getting used to. But with a player as talented as Drew Viney, I know the players and Good will figure out whatever it takes.

The Lions next take the court Friday at 7 p.m. against Columbia. LMU has been known to play to the level of its opponents in the past, but let's hope they come out with the same intensity and focus they had in the second half of Tuesday's game.

Jarred DuBois ... remember him?

If you take the expectations into account, last season was an absolute train wreck for the LMU men's basketball team. Expected to finish in the top-three in the West Coast Conference, the Lions finished dead last and throughout the entire season never looked like a team any fan would have confidence in.

There were many factors that contributed to the disappointing season, too many to list, and at the same time placing blame and rehashing the season we all already lived through once doesn't do much good. But heading into the 2011-12 season, the one thing that is important to take a look back at is the absence of guard Jarred DuBois, which was vastly overlooked (by myself included) this past season.

The emergence and stellar play of point guard Anthony Ireland last year caused many to forget who he was replacing in the lineup. Jarred DuBois, arguably the most consistent player on the Lions' roster, played just six games last season. Despite playing with a myriad of injuries, including an ankle injury serious enough to require surgery, DuBois' 10.2 points per game in those six contests was the fourth highest points per game average on the Lions last season.

DuBois can score (he had 39 points in a non-conference win his freshman season), but he gives the Lions much more than that. He gives them a lot of exactly what they were missing last season. DuBois can shoot, and not only can he shoot, but he can make shots in high-pressure situations. Last year, the Lions lost a number of games at the buzzer, needing just to score on their final possession to get the win. Every time, they were unable to. DuBois is that guy you want taking the final shot in a game, as we all saw in the Notre Dame game two years ago, and the Lions severely missed that last year (aside from Drew Viney, LMU had not one guy on that team I would want taking a shot to make or break a game).

In addition to clutch moments, DuBois also brings a steady hand and head to an LMU team that made its fair share of boneheaded mistakes last year. A number of players on the Lions' roster seemed to not quite know their place last season, and you could tell, as they played like they were unsure of their role (home game against San Francisco, just needing a bucket to win, Anthony Ireland received the ball in his hands and drove to the hoop. With ticks left on the clock, he froze, not knowing whether to shoot or pass, and ended up shoveling the ball to Ayodeji Egbeyemi in a bad situation). The reason I bring that up? DuBois seems to know exactly what type of player he is. 

DuBois will not lead the Lions in scoring, although I would argue he potentially could. He will leave that for Viney, and possibly even Ireland if that is what the coaches drum up. However, if the Lions find themselves in any sort of scoring drought, DuBois will take it upon himself to take control of the offensive game and end it. Furthermore, his turnovers will be low, while his basketball IQ will remain high.

The question mark for me is going to be how he and Ireland play together. Both seem to be team-oriented guys, so I don't foresee any problems, it will just be interesting to see how their two styles of play mesh together. That's where offseason work is going to be of the utmost importance, so let's hope those two have spent some time in the gym developing some sort of chemistry.

DuBois absence cannot be used as an excuse for poor play last season, and I wouldn't want anyone to try and claim that with him the season would have turned out any differently. His absence last season, however, can be used as a reason to be more excited for this year. Seeing No. 0 back in a Lions jersey can only be a good thing.

Lions hope to make surprising WCC Tournament run

The Lions left for Las Vegas this morning, and in about 31 hours will be taking the court at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas to kick-off the men's portion of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Lions have gone 2-2 on that court since the WCC Tournament moved there two seasons ago.

This season was, as many Lions fans know, a huge disappointment. Expected to finish in the top-three of the conference, LMU instead went just 2-12 in WCC play and will enter the tournament as the eighth, and last, seed. To make matters worse, they will face an unlikely draw of Portland - Santa Clara - Saint Mary's if they wish to get to the WCC Tournament finals. Portland and Saint Mary's have been the two toughest teams for the Lions to match-up against, as they have deadly three-point shooters.

But first up for LMU is the Portland Pilots, who have beaten the Lions twice this season. The first time the two teams matched up, LMU forced the Pilots into double-OT, before falling 79-78. Drew Viney came up huge for the Lions in that game, contributing 24 points.

In that initial game, the Lions did a nice job defending the three against a Pilots team that is one of the best long-range shooting teams in the nation. Portland went just 7-22 from three in the game. The Lions interior defense, however, left a little to be desired, as they allowed WCC All-Conference player Luke Sikma to score 24 points, the majority of which came in the paint.

The second meeting between the two teams was a game the Lions would like to forget, as they fell 71-48 in what many feel was the Lions' worst game of the season. Playing without leading scorer Drew Viney, LMU struggled to score. Freshman Anthony Ireland and senior Larry Davis were the only two Lions to score in double figures, with 10 and 11 points respectively.

LMU's three-point defense was again stellar, holding the Pilots to just four threes, but was outscored in the paint 32-16.

Facing the Pilots tomorrow, LMU is going to have to find a way to shutdown Sikma, who has topped 20 points in both meetings against the Lions this season. A combination of Drew Viney, Ashley Hamilton, and Tim Diederichs should get the nod against Sikma, and are going to have to do their best to stay out of foul trouble, something that has been difficult for Hamilton all season long. 

Another key for the Lions is going to be to continue shutting down the Pilot's long-range shooters, Jared Stohl and Nemanja Mitrovic, who had all four of the Pilot's threes in the two teams last meeting. LMU again did a good job in the majority of the team's last game against San Francisco in defending the three, before giving up two to lose the game in the closing minutes. Defensive rotations, and not leaving Mitrovic or Stohl open for a three, will be key.

On the offensive end, the Lions need to play better team ball. Moving the ball around more and playing less one-on-one isolation is extremely important to LMU's offensive success.

The game tips off tomorrow night at 6 p.m., and can be seen live on ESPN3.com and byutv.com. You can also keep it here for a live chat from press row.

Looking Forward: Migraines and more

Drew Viney will be key to the Lions success in Vegas | Courtesy of Facebook

Another close loss last night. The final score is in no way indicative of the closeness of the game, as the Lions trailed by just four points with four minutes to play, and had numerous attempts to cut that lead down to two. Yet again, however, key turnovers cost the Lions from making a full-fledged comeback.

Junior leading scorer Drew Viney missed his second straight games with affects from migraines. Could the outcome of the game have been different if Viney had played? Definitely. Should we have been able to win that game without him? Definitely. Viney's name was spoken a lot in Gersten yesterday as fans were wondering "what if Viney had played last night," but let's not forget that Viney played when this team lost to San Diego, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara. The truth is with or without Viney in the lineup, this team has yet to play a full 40 minutes of basketball in any game this conference season.

But it is also clear that this team's offense runs so much better when Viney is on the floor (although to give credit where credit is due, the team played phenomenal defense last night in Viney's absence). 


After the game, Loyolan Sports Editor John Wilkinson spoke with Head Coach Max Good about Viney's current status. "He’s still got to see a neurologist [today]," said Good. "The [migraine] medication they thought was making him anemic and kind of weak.  It was like he was kind of tired and drained."

To read the full Loyolan story, click here.

And for those fans wondering why a migraine has kept Drew out of two and a half games this season, a close family member of his has chosen to explain that on the LMU Lions fan message board. I can assure you that this poster is close to the situation, but I will respect any privacy on their identity past that point.

So what does this mean for LMU? Well clearly, and unfortunately, the Lions will not play another meaningful until they step onto the court at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in March. This conference regular season is a wash, and it is apparent that we will probably enter the tournament as the seventh seed. However, I still believe that while this team may have lost its chemistry and confidence, it has not lost its talent that we all believed was enough to win them a WCC Title. There is no reason this team can't string together a couple of exciting wins at the WCC Tournament. However, Lions fans have got to pray that Viney's migraine situation clears up by then, as he will be vital to any successes we have in Vegas.

Until then, the best we can hope for is to treat the remainder of this regular season as tournament prep. I would like to see Godwin Okonji and Edgar Garibay get big minutes, as they seem to have been improving each game and should play a huge factor at the Tourney. I would like to see a consistent rotation set in place by Head Coach Max Good, so that each and every player knows his role come WCC Tournament time. And lastly, I would like to see the mental mistakes begin to be eliminated from play. If that can happen, there is no doubt that LMU is just as good a team as any in Vegas. 

It's time for the players to create change

I haven't posted on my blog in a awhile. I'd like to see it's because I started a new job and I've been to busy, but that would just be an excuse. The real reason is because I'm finding it hard not to sound like a broken record.

The Lions loss to Pepperdine last weekend was the low point to an already disappointing season. LMU hasn't won in Malibu since the 1998-99 season, just making it even more difficult to feel like the Lions have made any progress over the past few years. This year was supposed to be different. This year this team was supposed to go places. It turns out the only place they've gone this season is further down the WCC standings.

But at this point, any speculation about poor team chemistry, what-ifs about the previous game, and even suggestions on what aspects of the game the team needs to improve upon just make all us fans sound like a broken record. We've said it all.

The Los Angeles Clippers began this season with a dismal 1-13 record. Since Dec. 17, however, they have gone on an impressive 12-6 streak (which began at 12-4 before losing their leading scorer to injury). According to the team, the turnaround happened non-coincidentally shortly after a players-only team meeting on a bus. At the time, many considered the Clippers to be the worst team in the NBA. In the meeting the players discussed "having pride and stepping up." That night they earned their first road win of the season, and have since gone on an impressive tear.

The season is not over for LMU. There is a tremendous amount of talent on this year's squad, and most notably that is led by Drew Viney and Vernon Teel, WCC First Team selections from less than one year ago. It honestly doesn't matter who does it, but someone on this team needs to step up like the Clippers did. These players needs to be sick of playing below their abilities, and start addressing their lack of team chemistry. These players need to want to win, and they need to want to win as a team, something I didn't specifically see in the closing seconds of the loss to Pepperdine.

I still believe this team can win any game they step onto the court for, I have just lost expectations each game day that that is going to happen. Let's hope the Lions pleasantly surprise me in a tough WCC-contest tonight against San Francisco. Go Lions!

I vote for a Teel/Ireland position swap

Freshman Anthony Ireland has become a scorer for the Lions' offense | Courtesy of Facebook

Freshman Anthony Ireland is rapidly becoming one of the most important pieces to this Lions' team. He is LMU's second leading scorer in conference play and has showed incredible poise for a freshman during crunch time of close games.

However, I don't think Head Coach Max Good and the Lions are really using Ireland to the best of his abilities. In recent games, it's become apparent that Ireland is a pure shooter with great three-point range. However, he's currently running the point, and therefore is limited in his open-shot opportunities.

I looked back at Ireland's high school basketball stats, and in high school he was a true scorer, even scoring 40 points in one game. It's time for Ireland to fit that role for LMU, and to do that he and senior guard Vernon Teel need to switch roles.

Putting Teel in the point guard spot wouldn't be weird by any stretch of the imagination. He still runs the point now when Ireland is on the bench, and he ran the point all of last season when he helped lead the Lions to their greatest season in years. I know Good probably moved Teel off the ball to limit his turnovers, which can definitely get a little high, but that also removes Teel from doing what he does best; facilitating the basketball and setting up his teammates.

Teel recently went 0-10 in the team's loss to Portland, and shot three ill advised three-pointers. As the ESPN2 announcers kept repeating, Teel hasn't knocked down a three-point shot since November 20. However, he's primarily playing the shooting guard position. Our shooting guard doesn't have an outside shot? Recipe for disaster.

The Lions are a much better team when Teel is dishing out assists, not being asked upon to score. Sure, he will get his points driving to the basket from time to time, but last season Teel was up around the nation's leaders in assists per game, and this year that is just not the case.

Ireland's strength seems to be scoring, while Teel's strength seems to be dishing out passes. Seems clear to me who should be running the point and who should be open on the wing for a three. But, I'm in the stands not on the bench.

Competitive basketball is back

The good news is that the Lions played three halves of incredible, competitive basketball this weekend against two of the top teams in the West Coast Conference. The bad news is that despite playing hard, the team still comes out with an 0-2 record, bringing the Lions conference record to 1-3.

Now, in some ways, that record is skewed, as LMU has played the three toughest teams in the WCC already, just four games into the conference season. I fully expect the Lions to rattle off a five game win streak starting Saturday, especially if they play like they did up north this weekend.

The Portland game was unbelievable, and it's too bad the Lions don't have anything to show for it. What was encouraging to see, however, was how LMU's tough defense continued into the first half against Gonzaga yesterday, where it held the Bulldogs to just 35 points. Unfortuntely, it seemed that LMU just ran out of gas in the second half, melting down and allowing itself to be outscored by 20. But hey, the team was facing Gonzaga on the road; not an easy task.

It's important for fans not to be too disappointed about the 1-3 conference record, and really look at the tough schedule the team has already played. After a week off, the Lions will face Pepperdine on Saturday in Malibu, a place where LMU hasn't won in years. I expect that to change Saturday.

Also, it appears Godwin Okonji sat out yesterday's game due to swelling around his nose, after being elbowed in the game at Portland. He should be back for the game at Pepperdine.

Here's to hoping that was the turning point

Last night's showdown on ESPN2 turned out to be one hell've a basketball game. Lead changes, intensified defense in the closing minutes, clutch shooting; this game had it all. Unfortuntely for the Lions, they came out on the losing end of things in a game that really could have gone either way.

But considering how tough this season has been thus far, last night's game was important for both the Lions and their fans. LMU proved that they can still compete for a top-4 spot in the WCC standings.

The most important part of last night's game was the fact that the Lions played the best defense they had all season, and they played that defense against a strong offensive team. There is no reason the Lions shouldn't be able to bring that kind of defensive intensity to every game. LMU had 11 steals and five blocks in the contest.

It is easy to point the finger at certain individuals for last night's loss, and the message boards are already having fun placing blame, but when you watch last night's game you'll see that almost everyone on the team made valuable contributions that the team could not have lived without, but also made some mental errors that hurt the Lions chances. Vernon Teel and Edgar Garibay both missed key free throws down the stretch, but both also were the only Lions making free throws during the bulk of the game. Drew Viney would have been the hero if the Lions had won, and deservedly so, as he hit the two biggest shots of the Lions season despite the loss, but was seemingly absent in the first half. The list could go on and on, but the important part is that that game was lost by the Lions as a team, but also kept close by the Lions as a team.

Both technical fouls were unfortunate (committed by Head Coach Max Good and Vernon Teel), and I expect better from Teel when it comes to keeping his composure on the court. I hope this was a good learning experience.

Overall, considering I was worried about the Lions getting embarrassingly blown out on national television, I am so pleased with last night's game. Let's hope it wasn't a fluke, and that tomorrow's game against Gonzaga is just as competitive. If we can keep things competitive against Gonzaga, St. Mary's (next time) and Gonzaga, then a fourth seed (and first-round bye at the WCC Tournament) should be in our future.

It's not that we lost, but how we lost

The problem is not that the LMU men's basketball team lost to Saint Mary's last night. Saint Mary's is arguable one of the best teams in the nation right now, and clearly has one of the top-10 offenses in the country. They are third in the nation in shooting percentage, and seventh in points per game.Right now they are playing like a team who could make a solid run in the NCAA Tournament.

The problem for the Lions is that they let Saint Mary's beat them playing their game. If I were Max Good and the Lions before last night's game, I would have said the following: "Saint Mary's is a great team and we're going to have to play a flawless game to beat them. However, the last thing I want is for the Gaels (who are one of the top-20 three-point shooting teams in the nation) to beat us with the three. We will do everything we can to throw them off their game."

But I am not Max Good, and I am hoping he didn't say that, because if he had, than the team has a huge problem executing a game plan.

Everyone is Gersten Pavilion last night knew the Gaels were going to come in shooting, and so they did, knocking down 13 of their first 16 shot attempts. What confused me, and all fans within my earshot, were why the Lions looked like they didn't know that was coming. Right off the bat LMU defenders gave Saint Mary's players room to shoot. Furthermore, Lions players were doubleteaming any Gael who drove towards the basket, therefore leaving a shooter wide open. To say LMU got burned on that strategy would be an understatement.

There was even one instance when a Saint Mary's player held the right at the three-point line for a good three or four seconds, with the Lion defender two feet away with his arm somewhat outstretched. The crowd screamed at the defender to "get closer" but that didn't seem to be in the Lions gameplan. The Gaels player drained the three.

Picking apart yesterday's loss any further would be pointless. I'd basically be reiterating things that were said after previous losses. Inability to adjust mid-game, inability to execute, etc.

All the Lions can do now is look forward, and luckily for them they have the worst team in the WCC coming to Gersten tomorrow. With a win, LMU would still have a realistic shot at the fourth seed in the WCC Tournament. I guess as long as the Lions can beat up against the teams they should beat up on, we can all still pray for some sort of miraculous WCC Tournament run.

No rest for the weary

Vernon Teel had a quiet 20 points in Thursday's win over Irvine | Courtesy of Facebook

The Lions WCC schedule starts off with a bang, as LMU will face St. Mary's, Gonzaga and Portland (the conference's three best teams so far this season) in three of its first four games of 2011. With the way the Lions have been playing recently, it looks like they will begin conference play 1-3 if they don't turn things around quickly.

In the Lions victory over UC Irvine last Thursday, we fans saw more of the same lackluster play that we've seen all season long. After playing a decent first half, in which the Lions earned an eight-points lead while holding the Anteater shooters to just 38 percent overall and 21 percent from beyond the arc, LMU fans again saw a confusing Lions team in the second period.

At first, it looked like the Lions were poised to play their best half of basketball on the season. In less than six minutes, LMU pushed their eight-point lead to 19, and was moving the ball extremely well on offense.Things seemed to be clicking, but as soon as I looked down at my phone and read a text from my friend that said "Why do we look so great this half ... I'm getting too excited for conference play now," it seemed that the Lions self-destructed once again. In less than five minutes the 19-point lead was back down to eight, and then to make things worse, with just under five minutes left in the contest LMU and Irvine were locked in a close four-point game.

I give the Lions, and especially Anthony Ireland's free throw shooting, credit for pulling out the victory down the stretch, but it worries me that the game even had to get to that point. If we are fortunate enough to build a large lead against a team like St. Mary's, and then happened to let it slip down to four, there is little chance we would have been able to still pull out the win. This is actually nothing new this season, but our attitude and the way we play with a lead needs to change for us to do well in WCC play.

The first thing that fell apart when we had a large lead was our offense. I know a lot of teams like to begin to run out the clock in the second period when they hold a significant advantage, but that just doesn't seem to work for us. There were too many empty possessions midway through the second half, possessions where the Lions let the shot-clock dwindle down before being forced to take an awful shot. Whatever we were doing to get the 19 points lead was working; I would have liked to see those same offensive sets continue, even with the big lead. It's not like our offense in general couldn't use the practice ...

Thursday the Lions will host a tough St. Mary's team who has begun the season 12-2. They shoot threes well and play tough defense. If the LMU team who seems to have an inability to play a full 40-minutes of solid basketball shows up to Gersten, they will get blown out by twenty points, at least.

But, and you can call me an optimist, I will not give up hope of a victory this Thursday. For starters, we finally saw the Drew Viney Lions fans know and love last week, as he put in 22 points on 7-10 shooting (although it should be noted that if Viney is on, and making 70 percent of his shots, he should have shot at least 17 times. Just saying). Viney's "pump fake - step left - shoot" move was working to perfection, so well in fact that Vernon Teel borrowed it to knock down a long two just as the shot clock was expiring late in the second half. If Viney's outside game, which I critiqued for not being on point this season just last week, is working like it did against Irvine, he can be the type of player to change the outcome of Thursday's game, as long as other people fill in their roles adequately.

Thursday's game tips off at 6 p.m., and can be seen live on ESPNU. Hope to, however, see many of you at Gersten. Go Lions.

Observations after rewatching the Florida State game

Drew Viney, pictured here sporting a new navy away jersey, has yet to find his long-range jumper this season. | Photo courtesy of Facebook

I sat down and re-watched the LMU vs. Florida State game today, thanks to ESPNU and my tivo, and had a few observations I wanted to share:

• The announcers must have said at least five times that there "needed to be more movement within the LMU offense." I can't say it better myself. There are too many times when players without the ball are stationary, and the LMU offense is relying too heavily on making isolation plays.

• Anthony Ireland needs to take the open three when its there. 

• As I stated in my column earlier today, we NEED to have better defensive adjustments mid-game. In the Florida State game Drew Viney was being beat up inside by Singleton, one of the Florida State big man. It wasn't Viney's fault, Singleton is a bigger, stronger body, but instead of making an adjustment and double-teaming, LMU left it alone and got punished inside  

• Florida State scored in nearly every possession after a timeout. We struggle to do that every game.

• Announcer said down the stretch, "I want to see LMU get Viney a touch this possesion." It didn't happen. I don't know how many times I've uttered that phrase, and didn't get my wish.

• They replayed highlights from last year's win over Gonzaga. The best sports moment I've ever been present for. However, I do have to say that watching clips from last year it is apparent that Drew Viney's outside shot is not where it was last year. He's still our biggest offensive threat, but I don't know what changed; he's not shooting the three in the rhythm he was last season and it can't be denied that it's hurting us.* Last year he shot 43 percent from beyond the arc, this year that number is down to 26. Let's hope he finds his groove for WCC play, because having that inside/outside game makes him so much more of a weapon.

*Drew Viney, despite his shooting struggles, is still leading the Lions in scoring and is invaluable to the team. His shot may have been affected by his shin injury, but regardless you can't argue with the fact that his three just isn't there consistently right now.

Failing to adjust/improve plagued Lions non-conference season

The Lions have failed to make mid-game adjustments this season | Julia Pine

The Lions (6-7) last non-conference game of the season is this Thursday, as the team will face UC Irvine looking to bring their record to an even .500. Heading into this season expectations for LMU were higher than they had been in years, and with a weak non-conference schedule many (including myself) thought the Lions would have a substantially better record heading into the new year than they do now.

With as much talent as last year, if not more, on this season's roster the Lions struggles are unexpected. The team returned two First-Team All WCC players in Drew Viney and Vernon Teel, in addition to adding impressive freshman like Anthony Ireland and Godwin Okanji who have not only played well for freshman but have succeeded most expectations. Yes, the Lions have faced injury trouble again this year, but that is nothing new, and a season ago LMU was able to play through its injury trouble almost flawlessly.

For things to turnaround for conference play it is extremely important that the team's problems be examined, accepted, and hopefully corrected.So far this season, the Lions biggest problem has been failing to adjust and/or improve throughout the course of the game.

Out of LMU's seven losses this season, I would argue that there are five any Lions fan should still be pretty bitter over, especially if you take into consideration the talent of this year's team compared to last. In my humble opinion, I don't think the Lions should have lost any games other than the team's matchups against Florida State and UC Santa Barbara, games that I watched LMU play hard throughout before eventually losing to what is probably just a better team.

The season started off with a brutal home loss to Morgan State, a game in which the Lions led by four points at the half and as many as 14 mid-way through the second period. Seemingly looking content with a large lead, the Lions played with no sense of urgency or toughness down the stretch, allowing Morgan State to shoot 53 percent in the second half after holding them to just 37 percent in the first. The result was a two-point loss, and some may say props should be given to Morgan State for adjusting their offense and finding a way to attack the Lions defense.

After a win over a non-Division I team, the Lions then lost a heart-breaker to Bradley on the road, a game that was tied up at the half. With six minutes to go in the game, and the score tied at 35 (yes, scored tied at 35 in the SECOND half) the Lions failed to make any improvements, while Bradley was able to establish a lead of nine in just six minutes of play. At the final buzzer LMU fell 45-38. After playing them even for a half, you have to wonder how Bradley all of a sudden became seven-points-better in half number two. The answer seems to be that they made defensive adjustments; after having allowed the Lions to shoot 45 percent in the first half they held LMU to just 32 percent from the field in the second half.

After yet another win over another non-Division I team, the Lions dropped a road game to Rider University by ten points. Most frustrating part? LMU held a one-point lead at the half and somehow managed to get outscored by 11 in the second period. Just 11 minutes into the second half the Lions found themselves down by as many as 14. It is obvious that Rider made adjustment to its defense at halftime, as the Lions shot 50 percent in the first half and just 25 percent in the second.

The next loss for the Lions came to a poor Cal Poly team, who beat LMU 55-48. The Lions had only 21 points at the half, and found themselves down by six. LMU never led in the second half, and this loss had nothing to do with failing to adjust or improve. This was flat out the Lions worst game of the season. They played with little energy, and didn't look like they cared to win.

Then, the Lions gave all LMU fans some hope, when they went on a 4-1 stretch including an OT win over Long Beach State. The one loss? A hardfought one against UC Santa Barbara in a game in which the Lions were missing four scholarship players, including three starters.

But just as many of us thought things had turned around, with three straight wins and then a tough showing against Florida State, the Lions dropped a road game against South Dakota by 12 points, a game in which the Lions were winning by SEVEN at the half. Instead of looking to increase that lead to double-digits, LMU instead let the home team go on a 7-0 run to open the half. The result was a tie game just 2.5 minutes after the half. The Lions were outscored by 19 in the second half, and this time it was the result of  either offensive adjustments by South Dakota or a defensive letdown by the Lions, as South Dakota shot 33 percent in the opening period and 55 percent in the closing one.

Some may think it is counter-productive to dwell on these losses, but it's not. If the Lions can't go into the locker room at halftime and figure out a way to attack a team better then they aren't going to win many conference games. Opposing teams are clearly studying the Lions weaknesses at the half, and then making adjustments to exploit them, and LMU needs to do the same.

The blame here can be pointed at Head Coach Max Good and his coaching staff, or even at the players, but placing blame isn't going solve anything. Instead, either Good and his staff, or the players themselves, need to take it upon themselves to make these mid-game adjustments. A seven point halftime lead should never disappear in two minutes, no matter what team you face and especially against a sub par team like South Dakota.

There is one more non-conference game yet and honestly, it doesn't mean much of anything to the Lions. Having already blown their chance at any sort of at-large bid, the Lions last hope for some postseason action depends solely on how they do in conference play and at the WCC Tournament in March. However, I hope LMU takes this next game against Irvine as an opportunity to try and make positive halftime adjustments. If the Lions hold a halftime lead of five, they shouldn't be happy unless they win the game by ten, as that would still show that the opponent made more of a halftime adjustment, but one that the Lions were able to fight off.

I'm a sports optimist, as I wrote here almost one year ago, and I haven't given up on this team yet. I believe if the Lions can win a half, they can win the game, and I hope to see that more times than not when conference play begins Jan. 6.

Streaking Lions set to face biggest test

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post after Saturday night's 72-67 win over South Dakota, but there were a few key things I still want to touch on. The win brought the Lions to 6-5 on the season, as they are now set to face Florida State on Saturday to wrap up this homestand. Florida State is easily the toughest competition on the Lions non-conference schedule this season.

Saturday night against South Dakota the Lions received excellent guard play from senior Vernon Teel and freshman Anthony Ireland. Ireland had a career-high 21 points to lead the Lions in scoring with Teel following closely behind with 20, accounting for more than 50 percent of LMU's offense. In addition, Ireland had seven rebounds and eight assists while Teel just narrowly missed recording LMU's first ever triple-double, finishing the game with the 20 points, along with 13 rebounds and eight assists.

The Lions had 22 assists in the game, and 29 buckets. The last three games LMU has been sharing the ball really well, something that is going to be vital if they want to continue this run.

Not only is it great to see the two starting guards play so well, but it also came on a night when leading scorer Drew Viney shot only 5-15 from the field with ten points. For the second time this season (the first being the OT win at Long Beach State) the Lions were able to overcome a rough shooting night from Viney and still secure the victory. It was also nice to see Viney come through with two big buckets down the stretch, even though he was having a tough game on the offensive end.

One thing though, that is still plaguing the Lions, is poor free throw shooting. In Saturday's game LMU shot only 52.4 percent from the free throw line, and while that might not hurt so much against South Dakota, it would definitely limit the Lions' chances against a tough Florida State team.

The Lions were without Ashley Hamilton (broken hand) for the first time since his injury, and his absence was definitely felt. Center Godwin Okonji had a nice game, but fouled out with about three minutes to go in the second half. It would have been nice to have Hamilton around, but he will be out at least another four weeks.

One thing that should ease the pain a little is the expected return of Edgar Garibay on Saturday night. His size should definitely be an added bonus for LMU against FSU.

Keys to today's game

Ashley Hamilton is a key to tonight's game | Courtesy of Facebook

I was going to start this post by writing, "Tonight's game is really important for the Lions," but let's be honest, because of the hole they've dug themselves into early this season all of their games right now are important.

The Lions have lost a chance at an at-large bid, so conference play is going to be of the utmost importance to LMU. However, if the Lions want to make a solid push for the WCC crown, then they have to start playing like a team who can challenge Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, or even Portland.

Beating up on opponents like tonight's Cal Poly is part of that. Two weeks ago at Cal Poly, the Lions offense was non-existent. That can't happen tonight, and with the team playing back at Gersten with chip on their shoulder after losing to this sub-par team already this season, I don't expect it to.

However, it seems unlikely that Drew Viney will play tonight (and likely that he will play Tuesday, which is good news for LMU), and therefore the offense needs to come from somewhere else.

Vernon Teel is a lock for about 15 points, but without Viney in the lineup other people have to step up, much like Larry Davis did in the team's loss to Santa Barbara on Wednesday. I'm hoping that game was a turning point for Davis, and that he can now be a reliable scorer who plays valuable minutes for LMU. But the other person who's really going to need to step up tonight is Ashley Hamilton. With Viney out, Hamilton needs to take it upon himself to be the Lions inside presence on the offensive end of the court, and to do that, he needs to make sure to stay out of foul trouble. He's capable of scoring 20+ points against a Cal Poly team which doesn't start anyone over 6'8", and I want to see it happen.

With home games tonight, and then again just three days later, let's hope the Lions can start building some momentum before beginning conference play in just one month.

Go Lions.

Fans short leash on Vernon seems uncalled for

Vernon Teel | Courtesy of Facebook

I feel compelled to address something I keep reading on the message boards, and that is the fans cries for Vernon Teel to be benched.

I don't know why it is, but I think Lions fan have too short a leash for Vernon. I've watched almost every game the last three years, and I wonder if these fans and I are seeing the same thing.

Yes, this year we have not seen the Vernon we did last year. His shooting percentage has dropped by 10 percent, his assists per game are way down, and so are his points per game. But, who on the Lions team has seen their stats go up or even stay the same this season? The answer is no one, and that is why the team is 1-5 against Division-I opponents.

It's frustrating, but Vernon is definitely having turnover problems this season, something we also saw two years ago. But, if the team is playing well as a whole, then these turnovers don't happen to the extent they are now. The Lions offense is out of sync, and therefore, the turnovers for the point guard start to pile up, as they don't have anywhere to go with the ball or feel more compelled to make something happen. Anthony Ireland has taken over the role of point guard for the most part, and his turnovers are starting to pile up as well.

There is no doubt in my mind that Drew Viney is the most talented player on the Lions, and many other fans feel that way. But because of that, I think the Vernon-bashing comes through even louder. Drew had an awful game against Long Beach State, and there was barely a peep about it on the message boards afterward. I was there, and hands down we would not have won the game without Vernon, and especially without his clutch free-throw shooting (who would have every thought we'd say that).

On the flip side, after Vernon's awful Morgan State game, and after nine turnovers last night, the message boards are calling for him to be benched, some even saying the walk-ons should play before him. It seems absurd. I'm in no way implying that there should have been any negative talk about Drew after Long Beach State, I'm just pointing out what looks to me like an unfair difference.

These season has in no way gone as planned, but beginning to point fingers doesn't help. Vernon and Head Coach Max Good have gotten the majority of the blame on the internet, but the truth is no one on the team is doing their job as well as they did last year. All we can do is hope they can turn it around.