New Beginning: A UC Riverside Dynasty (NCAA Basketball 10)

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BIG WEST BASKETBALL 2010-2011 PREVIEW

UC Santa Barbara won both the Big West Championship and the Conference Tournament Title and with three starters returning the Gauchos are predicted to end the season again as no. 1. Leading the Gauchos are All-Conference Defensive Team center Nikolai Kossenko (73), All-Conference Second Team forward James Donnelly (72) and Freshman of the Year shooting guard Cory Carmichael (72). A much improved Soong Lee (74) will play alongside Kossenko while guard Will Drew (71) call the shots.

Hot on the Gauchos' heels are the conference runners-up the UC Davis Aggies has four returning starters, Player of the Year Mark Paine (82), All-Conference First Team Joe Harden (82), and a couple of senior guards Ryan Silva (74) and Todd Lorenzen (70). Senior center Dwayne Tate (71) will complete the Aggies starting five.

Guard Larry Anderson (82) and forward T.J. Robinson (79) are the two returning starters for Long Beach State and the 49ers are seriously considered to be the dark horses for this year.

UC Riverside has only one returning starter in forward Kurt Schraeder (72( but the Highlanders were big winners in the recruiting battle gaining two priceless recruits in 4-star Quinn Moody (74) and 3-star Matt Olsen (68). In contrast, losing tournament finalist Cal State Northridge was the biggest loser. The Matadors failed to land a single recruit and now find themselves languishing at the bottom.

Knocking at the Riverside's door is UC Irvine who has two returning starters in junior forward Eric Wise (80) and senior playmaker Patrick Randle (75 and reliable shooting guard Brandon Scott (73).

ESPN U's predicted conference finish is as follows: (1) UC Santa Barbara, (2) UC Davis, (3) Long Beach State, (4) UC Riverside, (5) UC Irvine, (6) Cal Poly, (7) Cal State Fullerton, (8) Pacific and lastly (9) Cal State Northridge.

Pre-Season Highest Rated Players:
Mark Paine (Sr.), UC Davis (82)

Joe Harden (Sr.), UC Davis (82)

Larry Anderson (Jr.), Long Beach State (82)

Shawn Lewis (Sr.), Cal Poly (82)

Jacques Skinner (Jr.), Cal State Fullerton (80)

Pre-Season All Conference First Team:
Larry Anderson (Jr.), Long Beach State

Shawn Lewis (Sr.), Cal Poly

Mark Paine (Sr.), UC Davis

Joe Harden (Sr.), UC Davis

Nikolai Kossenko (Jr.), UC Santa Barbara

Pre-Season All Conference Second Team:
Jacques Skinner (Jr.), Cal State Fullerton

Cory Carmichael (So.), UC Santa Barbara

James Donnelly (Jr.), UC Santa Barbara

Eric Wise (Jr.), UC Irvine

Jared Gilmore (So.), UC Riverside

Pre-Season All Conference Freshmen Team:
Quinn Moody, UC Riverside
Tom Rodriguez, Long Beach State
Michael Shannon, Pacific
Cory Meyer, UC Riverside
Matt Carlton, UC Riverside

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Schedule of Conference Games

Jan. 2 at Cal State Northridge
Jan. 3 vs. Cal State Fullerton
Jan. 7 at UC Davis
Jan. 9 at UC Santa Barbara
Jan. 17 at Long Beach State
Jan. 20 vs. Pacific
Jan. 21 vs. UC Santa Barbara
Jan. 24 at UC Irvine
Jan. 28 at Pacific
Jan. 30 vs. UC Irvine
Feb. 5 vs. Long Beach State
Feb. 6 vs. Cal Poly
Feb. 10 at Cal State Fullerton
Feb. 16 at Cal Poly
Feb. 19 vs. UC Davis
Feb. 28 vs. Cal State Northridge

Big West 2010-2011 Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 1, 2011
TEAM	CONF	PCT	REG	PCT	STRK
UC Riverside	0-0	0.00	10-3	.769	2
Long Beach State	0-0	0.00	8-5	.615	-1
Cal Poly	0-0	0.00	8-5	.615	2
UC Santa Barbara	0-0	0.00	6-7	.462	-1
UC Irvine	0-0	0.00	5-8	.385	-1
UC Davis	0-0	0.00	4-9	.308	1
Pacific	0-0	0.00	3-10	.231	-2
Cal State Northridge	0-0	0.00	0-13	.000	-13
Cal State Fullerton	0-0	0.00	0-13	.000	-13

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UC Riverside def. Cal State Northridge, 70-62

Jan. 2, Northridge CA - UC Riverside won its conference opener with a road win against winless Cal State Northridge at the Matadome, 70-62. The Matadors led scored the first basket shortly after jump ball but it was their last taste of the lead. The Highlanders responded with a 16-6 blast en route to a 38-26 halftime lead. The lead ballooned to 22 as the Highlanders limited the Matadors to only 2 points in the first 7 minutes of the second half. From there, they began to cruise all the way to its 11th win of the season.

Matt Olsen was the game's high scorer with 22 points for the Highlanders while. Terry Gant added 12. Mark Ferguson led the Matadors with 16 ponts and a game high 9 rebounds, Jared Givens contributed 10. Matadors main man Vinnie MgGee was never a factor in the game after committing 2 early fouls in the first 2 minutes. He played only 12 minutes good for a measly 2 points before fouling out.

UC Riverside def. Cal State Fullerton, 78-72

Jan. 3, Riverside CA - UC Riverside won its second straight in the conference but not after a scare by winless Cal State Fullerton, 78-72, in front of a relieved hometown crowd at the Student Recreation Center. The Titans held the Highlanders at bay most of the ever since halftime which ended at 35-all.

The Highlanders stretched their lead to 10 in the final 3 minutes, 72-62, but the Titans never gave up. The Titans had cut the lead to 5 before an inbound violation by the Highlanders led to a jumper by Jacques Skinner to further come closer at 75-72, but time had ran out with only 35.4 seconds. Quinn Moody then put the last nail in the coffin with two free throws.

Quinn Moody top scored with 22 points for the Highlanders. Matt Olsen, Jared Gilmore and Terry Gant added 12, 11 and 10 points respectively. Brian Carty led the Titans with 17 points while Jamal Dangerfield and Oscar Calderon had 14 and 12. Jacques Skinner hounded throughout the game and was limited to only 8 points but his game high 10 assists kept the Titans within distance of the Highlanders.

The Highlanders head out for three tough games all on the road against the UC Davis Aggies on January 7, Big West champions the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on the 9th, then 6 days the Long Beach State 49ers on January 17.

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UC Riverside def. UC Davis, 83-56

Jan. 7, Davis CA - The unexpected challenge by UC Davis right in front of its home crowd at the Pavilion never came. UC Riverside zoomed to its third straight victory in the Big West Basketball Conference with a very sound thrashing of the UC Davis Aggies, 83-56.

Sophomore head coach Tim Bell was quite surprised of the outcome, "Never expected this would be easy, credit to the boys they were a well-oiled machine out there." The Highlanders, who were up 47-35 at halftime, shot a high 58% from the field and limited the Aggies to only 40%. In the second half, the Aggies virtually gave up.

Matt Olsen led all scorers with 17 points for the Highlanders. Corey Meyer came from the bench and contributed 12. Center Jared Gilmore finished with a double-double 11 points and 12 rebounds while Terry Gant added 10. Ryan Silva and Derek Jefferson were the only Aggies is double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively, while the scoring tandem of Mark Paine and Joe Harden was nowhere to be found accounting only for a combined 14 points.

UC Santa Barbara def. UC Riverside, 78-53

Jan. 9, Santa Barbara CA - Big West Champions UC Santa Barbara caught UC Riverside in one of its worst days and gave them a sound thrashing at the Thunderdome, 78-53. "It came not when we needed the victory most" said coach Tim Bell. "Not this time" he added as the Highlanders take a week's time off before they meet with conference leading the UC Irvine Anteaters (5in a road game at the Bren Events Center on January 17.

Totally outclassed from the opening tip-off, the Highlanders were listless coming out of the gates. "They made the rims a lot smaller, we couldn't get a shot in" says Quinn Moody, who was a miserable 2 of 9. Matt Olsen was even worse with 1 of 5. The Gauchos were up 45-30 at the half and were never threatened.

James Donnelly was the game's high scorer for the Gauchos with 19 points. Nikolai Kossenko, Cory Carmichael and Soong Lee added 16, 15 and 14 respectively. Jared Gilmore was the lone bright star for the Highlanders finishing with a double-double 10 points and 11 rebounds while Jalonni Diggs came off the bench and contributed 10.

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Big West 2010-2011 Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 16, 2011
TEAM	CONF	PCT	REG	PCT	STRK
Long Beach State	5-1	.833	13-6	.684	1
UC Riverside	3-1	.750	13-4	.765	-1
UC Santa Barbara	3-1	.750	9-8	.529	-1
UC Irvine	2-1	.667	7-9	.438	2
Paciific	3-2	.600	6-12	.333	1
UC Davis	3-3	.500	7-12	.368	-1
Cal Poly	1-3	.250	9-8	.529	1
Cal State Fullerton	1-5	.167	1-18	.053	-1
Cal State Northridge	0-4	.000	0-17	.000	-17

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LBSU def. UC Riverside, 72-70

Jan. 17, Long Beach CA - Long Beach State woke up in the nick of time and sent UC Riversidecrashing down for the second straight time, 72-70, in front of an ecstatic crowd at the Pyramid. It was the 49ers' sixth conference victory against a single defeat putting a stranglehold of 1st position while the Highlanders dropped to 4th behind UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. With barely a minute left and the Highlanders up 70-68, Mike Davenport came alive with back-to-back winners to seal the win for the 49ers. The Highlanders had 13.8 seconds to tie and eventually win the game but Quinn Moody was defended well and his trey bounced off the rim.

The 49ers started off like a house on fire and led early by as much as 17 points, 25-8, en route to a halftime 43-29 advantage mainly from a torrid 59% shooting from the field. This cooled off considerably in the second half allowing the Highlanders to creep back and eventually grabbing the lead at 56-55 with 8:40 left. It was nip and tuck from thereon until the last 2:37 when a Kurt Schraeder put back gave the Highlanders a sizeable 70-65 margin.

The 49ers however were not through. A three-point play by backup guard Tom Rodriguez made it close once again at 70-68 with two minutes remaining. After a series of misses, Schraeder was called with a costly offensive foul giving the ball back to the 49ers and a jumper by Tom Davenport to tie the game at 70-all, tome down to 46.1 seconds. After another series of misses, T.J. Robinson who was unstoppable early got himself double-teamed but found an unmarked Davenport all alone underneath for the go ahead jam.

T.J. Robinson, who had a double-double 22 points and 11 rebounds for the 49ers, was the unanimous choice as Player of the Game. Forward Lin Chang came off big from the bench with 11 points while Tom Davenport added 10. Main man Larry Anderson was marked throughout the game by Quinn Moody but settled with 9. Moody himself had another off game offensively with only 3 points but had a game high 8 assists and 3 blocks. It was Kurt Schraeder who carried the load for the Highlanders finishing with game highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds. Jared Gilmore was hampered with early foul troubles early allowing Corey Meyer to shine with 10 points.

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UC Riverside def. Pacific, 70-61

Jan. 20, Riverside CA - UC Riverside broke out from a 2-game losing skein with a come from behind victory at home over a tough Pacific squad, 70-61. The Highlanders attempt to avenge their loss against UC Santa Barbara when they play host to the Gauchos the following day.

The Tigers held the upper hand going into the second half after ending the low-scoring first half ahead at 28-24 thanks to the relentless shooting of Terrell Smith. The Highlanders gained ground tying the ballgame at 34-all. It was a pendulum affair from thereon with the lead changing hands 10 times until the Tigers went on an 8-0 scoring spree to lead 58-50 with 4:17 remaining. However, the Highlanders made a run of their own eventually regaining the lead at 59-58 time down to 2:10.

After the Tigers tied the game for the last time on a free throw by Golden Meadows, Matt Olsen heave a three-pointer from afar for a 62-59 lead. But the Tigers weren't done, Smith drove into the middle for a slam which was later nullified with two free throws by Kurt Schraeder, 64-61 with a minute to go. A costly turnover by the Tigers in the return play then an under goal stab by Terry Gant sealed the fate of the Tigers. Quinn Moody iced the game with 4 straight free throws.

Olsen led the Highlanders with 13 points while Schraeder and Gant had 12 and 10 respectively. Smith had a game high 24 points for the Tigers while Sam Willard added 11.

UC Santa Barbara def. UC Riverside, 79-52

Jan. 21, Riverside CA - UC Santa Barbara repeated its first round win with another impressive performance against UC Riverside, 70-52. The Highlanders was hoping to avenge their earlier defeat but failed to solve the Gauchos' relentless defense. The Highlanders had only 13 assists against 16 turnovers.

The rookie laden Highlanders played tough in the first half behind by only a single field goal, 33-35. However, the Gauchos went on a demoralizing 18-5 run at the start of the final half to pull away at 53-38. It was virtually over from there. Junior junior forward Soong Lee had a game high double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds while Will Drew and Cory Carmichael added 11 and 9 respectively. Terry Gant and Tim Griffith led the Highlanders with 11 and 10 points.

Big West 2010-2011 Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 21, 2011
TEAM	CONF	PCT	REC	PCT	STRK
UC Santa Barbara	6-1	.857	12-8	.600	3
Long Beach State	6-2	.750	14-7	.667	-1
UC Irvine	2-1	.667	7-9	.438	2
UC Riverside	4-3	.571	14-6	.700	-1
UC Davis	4-3	.571	8-12	.400	1
Pacific	3-4	.429	6-14	.300	-2
Cal Poly	1-3	.250	9-8	.529	1
Cal State Fullerton	1-6	.143	1-19	.005	-2
Cal State Northridge	0-4	.000	0-17	.000	-17

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UC Irvine def. UC Riverside, 69-57

Jan. 24, Irvine CA - UC Riverside suffered its second straight defeat this time at the hands of arch rival UC Irvine Anteaters at the Bren Events Center, 69-57. The Highlanders try to avenge this loss when their rivalry goes to the Student Recreation Center on January 30.

Up 37-29 at the half, from thereon the Anteaters were never threatened by the listless Highlanders. Brandon Scott led all scorers with 20 points while Patrick Randle and Eric Wise contributed 14 and 10 respectively for the Anteaters. Terry Gant was the lone Highlander in double figures with 10. In utter disappointment head coach Tim Bell decided to go back to the drawing board before the Highlanders meet the Pacific Tigers on the road three days from now.

3 in-a-row as Pacific defeats UC Riverside, 66-52

Jan. 2, Stockton CA - Things have gone from bad to worse at the home front after Pacific dealt another setback to UC Riverside, 66-52. The Highlanders have lost 3 straight and 6 of their last 7 games. however, head coach Tim Bell said no need to press the panic button at this time considering his Highlander team composition of 9 rookies including 3 starters. With this lineup, his team should be on survival mode by now but no, it is far from that.

The Tigers were off to a good start, taking the half at 36-27 after limiting the Highlanders to a measly 38% shooting from the field. The lead stretched further to its widest at 17 points, 49-32. A 14-2 Highlander run cut the margin to 5, 57-52, before reserve point guard Jon Shank waxed hot for 7 points to pull the Tigers back to safe territory, 66-52.

Sam Willard was the Player pf the Game with game high double-double 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jon Shank finished likewise with 16 points while Nathan Banks and Michael Shannon contributed 15 and 11 points respectively. Matt Olsen came out from his scoring slump to lead the Highlanders with 12 points while Corey Meyer and guard Jalonni Diggs both came out from the bench to add 10 apiece. The Highlanders bigs of Jared Gilmore and Kurt Schraeder were a total shut out combining only for 4 points.

At the dugout, point guard Quinn Moody soft spoke out the team and urged the coach that he be relieved from his starting role. He said it's very obvious his performance has dampened the spirits of his teammates not to mention the entire school community, which had expected instant magic on their 4-star rookie. Moody's average points output in the last 6 games is a dismal 4.3 points and for the down to 8.7 points and 3.6 assists.