UC-Riverside was less successful. They dropped their first round NIT game to
Bradley, who advanced to the smaller Final Four and lost to
UNC-Charlotte, who in turn lost the NIT championship to
Illinois.
The NCAA Final Four featured top seed
Rutgers against 8 seed
USC while the other half had top seed
Stanford against 3 seed
UConn. It was the Scarlet Knights' second Final Four and first since the inaugural season, while the Trojans were here for the first time. The Cardinal were the defending champions of course, and one of the storied programs, their sixth trip to the Final Four, while the Huskies were here for the fourth time and had two titles in their trophy case.
Rutgers vs
Stanford in the final - the newcomers vs the blue bloods. And in a thrilling, back and forth championship worthy of the top two teams in the country, the Scarlet Knights took home their first title, 75-74. A single point. The loss dropped the Cardinal to 2-3 in title games.
Want more proof our upset was so stunning?
John Chao of
James Madison took home the National Coach of the Year award, while senior Duke
Terrance Persaud was a 2nd Team All-American. Wow! Hell of a first season for my colleague in Harrisonburg. The 42 year old started his career in 2018 as an assistant with
UNC, then spent four years at
Stetson where he had one NCAA first round exit and four straight winning seasons.
Code:
2027 BIG WEST AWARDS
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Player of the Year:
SR SF Jerald McElroy Pacific 20.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Freshman of the Year:
FR PF Sylvester Davis UC Davis 8.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.2 APG 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Coach of the Year:
Izulde Jestor Cal State Northridge 22 - 12 (12 - 6)
All-league 1st Team:
C SR Major Ramirez Cal State Northridge 16.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PF SR Kip Alsup Hawaii 13.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG
SF SR Jerald McElroy Pacific 20.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG SR Barton Caine UC Riverside 11.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG
PG SR Ned Fraser Cal State Northridge 11.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
All-league 2nd Team:
C SR Nickolas Eck Long Beach State 15.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
PF SR Perry Barnes Cal Poly 6.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
SF JR Lucius Drury UC Riverside 17.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG JR Robert Serra Cal State Northridge 13.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG JR Richard Fanelli UC Santa Barbara 14.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG
All-freshman Team:
C FR Thomas Larue UC Santa Barbara 2.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG
PF FR Sylvester Davis UC Davis 8.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
SF FR William Stenson UC Davis 10.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG FR Rex Arnold UC Davis 3.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG FR Dillon Williams UC Irvine 5.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG
My second Big West Coach of the Year award, our second straight PG to make the All-Big West 1st Team,
Major Ramirez finally got 1st team All-Conference distinction, and
Robert Serra was again honored.
Code:
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS TEAM INFO
Current Performance
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Team Prestige: 39 Record Vs 1-50: 1-4 Poll Rank: NR
Season Record: 22-12 Record Vs 51-100: 1-2 RPI Rank: #93
Conference Record: 12-6 Record Vs 101-200: 5-3
Home Record: 10-5 Record Vs 200+: 15-3
Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR
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Points 75.7 1 34 Points 69.8 5 204 Points 5.9 2 45
O.Reb 12.9 1 27 O.Reb 9.3 1 43 O.Reb 3.6 1 10
D.Reb 23.6 5 254 D.Reb 24.6 7 151 D.Reb -0.9 7 227
Rebounds 36.5 2 114 Rebounds 33.9 4 91 Rebounds 2.6 3 69
Assists 13.4 2 136 Assists 14.1 9 279 Assists -0.7 6 203
Steals 5.7 3 149 Steals 5.1 3 81 Steals 0.6 2 106
Blocks 1.5 10 329 Blocks 3.7 10 268 Blocks -2.2 10 339
Turnovers 11.9 1 16 Turnovers 14.5 2 92 Turnovers -2.6 1 32
Fouls 19.3 3 143 Fouls 19.7 2 144 Fouls -0.5 2 131
FG% .448 4 58 FG% .450 7 284 FG% -.002 5 174
FT% .651 9 261 FT% .721 10 342 FT% -.070 10 334
3P% .369 2 53 3P% .339 4 157 3P% .030 2 66
PPS 1.29 3 63 PPS 1.28 4 250 PPS .007 3 151
Adj. FG% .518 1 41 Adj. FG% .509 6 276 Adj. FG% .009 3 135
Simply put, we were one of the best in the country at winning the turnover battle, giving ourselves second chance points, and having reliable 3 point shooting, even though our defensive fundamentals were not that great. Fascinating squad to be sure.