My Take on Week #6 GSAC Preview

[APU13]

Week #6 in the GSAC will be a pivotal week for the top 4 teams, Azusa, Pt. Loma, Vanguard and Biola. These are the teams that will be playing games that will effect the conference crown. It's time for NAIA Div I Women Basketball, GSAC style! And here we go....

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Fresno Pacific at Point Loma Nazarene, 2:30 pm*
Here's an upset waiting to happen, right?? Not a chance! The Sea Lions will be putting more effort into scoreboard watching to see if Biola can knock off Vanguard! Take Pt. Loma at home over the Fresno Pacific easy.

Vanguard at Biola, 5:30 pm*
Right out of the box, a big game which will have a direct effect on the conference crown! Biola loss in The Pit down in Costa Mesa was a difficult loss for the Eagles. The Eagles turn the ball over 31 times, shot poorly from the field, and just did not show the type of grit that Biola is known for. Coach Crawford couldn't have like that performance and must have done something effective about it. In the Biola next game, the Eagles knocked off Pt. Loma 81-72. A lot has happened to both teams since that December match-up. Biola in particular is in a stretch of 2 games where they have to play Vanguard and Azusa Pacific back to back. The Eagle trail Vanguard by 1 game and are 2 1/2 games behind conference leading Azusa. Vanguard of course is on a mission to win out their remaining games and win the conference. To beat Biola on their home Vanguard will have to hold their own on the board, apply effective full court pressure and most importantly hit the 3 ball. These are all requirements or Biola will pull another upset of a top 5 ranked team. Take Vanguard on the road over Biola in a squeaker!

The Masters at San Diego Christian, 5:30 pm*
Not a lot of discussion is needed on this one! Take the The Masters over the Hawks by a bunch!

Hope International at Westmont, 5:30 pm*
Of course Hope is full of surprises, but the Warriors should be able to deal with most of them. Take Westmont over the Royals going away!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Azusa Pacific at Biola, 5:00 pm*
Cougars! Eagle! Another brawl between Azusa and Biola, so there will be blood! Last season Alex Moore-Porter had brought the Cougars back from the brink and stake the team to a 13 point lead. Which Biola promptly erased and when on to victory over a young and inexperience Azusa team. A complete meltdown is what the Azusa SID called, right Stump? Well it is a different season and there is a new sheriff in town. Take the Azusa Pacific Cougars over the Biola Eagles, but it will be close!!!

San Diego Christian at Point Loma Nazarene, 5:30 pm*
Well what can be said about this match-up? Not much....so take Pt. Loma over San Diego Christian by as many as the Sea Lions want. If you look real close, you will see Pt. Loma checking out that scoreboard for an update on the Azusa vs Biola tilt!

Hope International at Vanguard, 5:30 pm*
Just let me know when Vanguard plays someone. Take the Lions in rout over Hope in The Pit. This is a different Lions' team now Hope!

The Masters at Concordia, 5:30 pm*
Concordia, Concordia... Coach Hansen is probably wondering if her team can win another game. The Eagles are game, but take Masters over the Eagles.

California Baptist at Westmont, 5:30 pm*
Cal Baptist will give it shot, but at this point in the season the Lancers have lost the fire that they had at the beginning of the season. Take the Warriors at home over the Lancers.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Vanguard at Fresno Pacific, 5:30 pm*
After a pounding from Pt. Loma comes the spankin' from Vanguard. Take the Lions over the Sunbirds as the Lions feast on.

The big question this week in the GSAC is who will be on top of the conference at week's end. Most favor Vanguard to defeat Biola and then next week beat Azusa on the road, and thus end up in second and placing Pt. Loma on top. Others feel that althought Vanguard is still a force to be reckoned with, they have not provened themselves to be ranked in the top 5 in the country. Also there some, including Azusa fans who think that the Cougars will stumble this week at Biola. IMO, I believe that Azusa is the only team that matches up well with either Vanguard, Pt. Loma, or Biola. That's why I picked them to win the conference crown. There are some other aspects as well that the Cougars have in their skill set as a team also have a bearing, but the bottom line it comes down to how well do you match up overall with your opponent. If Azusa does indeed win out the remaining games this season, then the Cougars will earn a top 5 ranking. That's what matters, not how they are ranked now or even next week. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It's not about Azusa's 4 losses, or how teams fair against common opponents, it's about winning the conference.

Enjoy the games!


_________________
APU13
Don't hate the player, get in the game.

[SGAstumpJ]

[APU13]

[SGAstumpJ]

This is the start of a huge four game stretch for Azusa.

Tuesday: at Biola
Saturday: Point Loma
Tuesday, 2/16: Fresno Pacific
Saturday, 2/20: at Vanguard

If they can get through that 3-1 (with the loss at Vanguard), they should win out and get a share of the conference title. But first, they have to beat their arch-rival on the road...a team that came back from 13 down in the final 8 minutes to beat them here last year.
_________________
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."-Winston Churchill

GSAC MBB Pick 'em Champion: 2008, 2009

Check out Stump Speech on College Fanz: http://www.collegefanz.com/blogs/SGAstumpJ

[APU13]

[SGAstumpJ]

Yes, I'm worried about the Vanguard game, and why shouldn't I be? Azusa has everyone back from last year's team, and that team went 0-3 against Vanguard. Just because you matchup well against an opponent doesn't mean that you'll win every time, especially in the other team's gym.
_________________
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."-Winston Churchill

GSAC MBB Pick 'em Champion: 2008, 2009

Check out Stump Speech on College Fanz: http://www.collegefanz.com/blogs/SGAstumpJ

[APU13]

Those are all great points about what happened last season. The Cougars did indeed go 0-3 against Vanguard. And it is definitely a fact that a good matchup does not guarantee a victory (although in fairness, that wasn't my point about the matchup issue).

But here are some other facts to consider about the Azusa vs. Vanguard tilt on February 20th. The Cougars are 1-0 this season against Vanguard, and in that one victory Azusa was in control from beginning to end. And the Cougars dominated the paint and the boards.

But the question that cannot be answered until game day is; Will Vanguard's homecourt advantage be enough to secure a victory for the Lions?

I believe that's really what is bothering you the most. In other words, wouldn't you pick the Cougars to win if the game was at Azusa?
_________________
APU13
Don't hate the player, get in the game.

[iforgot]

Vanguard really plays well at home and I think most every team coming in believes it is hard to play well there. From what I hear the crowd doesn't play a factor, so why do teams think that? Someone should tell them to watch Hoosiers, get a measuring tape, and measure the baskets when they get there.
APU is really playing well. porter is a clutch offensive player and Hall does a real good job of "running the show". They SHOULD win this game. Will they? Earlier in the year I would have said no, but right now I say they will. They would have to have an extremely poor shooting game in the paint to lose this one and although that could happen I don't think it will. Hala'ufia has been known to have off nights, but not when she shoots uncontested layups, which is what she will get again in this game(just like the 1st meeting). Another high scoring game. APU 92 VU 85.

[APU13]

[APU13]

Let start this session of Take It or Leave It with look back at how the GSAC conference landscape has changed. Here we are at the end of Week #6 in the GSAC but neither Pt. Loma nor Vanguard are the conference leader. Azusa Pacific completes the week with a big win over their arch-rival Biola 83-72 on the Eagles homecourt. With the win, the Cougars stay in first place, followed by Pt. Loma in second and Vanguard trails Pt. Loma by half game in third. This is somewhat of a surprise in the NAIA, as Azusa continues to be ranked national and in the conference rating behind both Vanguard, who are ranked #3 nationally and Pt. Loma, holding the #5 spot in the national poll. As for the conference rating, Azusa sit behind both Vanguard and Pt. Loma, who are tied for first. Of course, this was the conventional wisdom in the preseason, and continued into the regular season up even to the present day. This is not unusual, since it takes some time for the ratings to catch up to reality. After all, it not how long you are in first, it finishing in first that count. In other words, if you have an all out prize fight, you wait to see who left standing, and that's how you know who won.

The Biola win completes a season sweep by Azusa Pacific over the Eagles and overcomes yet another obstacle to the conference crown. The game was a typical Eagles vs. Cougars affair, meaning that the outcome was uncertain until the final few minutes. Biola had the lead for most of the second half, but once again the Eagles just couldn't hold on and succumbed a barrage of three pointers from Briana Hall and the clutch performance by Alex Moore-Porter. Both Hall and Moore-Porter scored game-high 22 points and carried the Cougars to their 9th consecutive GSAC conference win.

Cal Baptist, Hope, Concordia and Fresno Pacific will all continue to contend for the 7th and 8th spots going down the home stretch, while Westmont and Masters will fight over the 5th and 6th positions. It may be come to a point in Week #7, where Biola will have to win a crucial game to maintain their position in 4th place. For our GSAC fans, this is the most exciting time of the regular season. Some teams will rise to the occasion, while others will fall. We will witness tremendous efforts by all of these athletes as they compete for success.

Fortunately, my record this week was a perfect 10-0, bringing my season record to 58-11. Would you Take It or Leave It?
_________________
APU13
Don't hate the player, get in the game.

[iforgot]

Isn't it funny that APU is in 1st place in the conference yet are ranked behind both VU and PLNU? Even if they beat VU this coming week they will not pass them in the national rankings. Every team in front of them would have to lose for that to even have a chance of happening.

[APU13]