Teams ready To be considered for college basketball's postseason, a team usually has to win at least 20 games.
for first
NCAA regional
in state
By Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comBut this year is different, and not just because the regional is in Hawaii for the first time.
Half of the field for this weekend's regional tournament failed to win 20 games, including host Brigham Young-Hawaii. But the Seasiders can be excused for not reaching the mark, as they've played only 22 games, the minimum allowed by the NCAA. BYUH had five teams drop games before the season, and coach Ken Wagner looked at his senior-laden team and decided against scrambling to make up the dates.
"I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you have some real experienced players," Wagner said. "We just happened to be put in that situation. Normally you always want as many games as you can get."
All games at Cannon Activities Center in Laie Regional schedule
Today
>> Hawaii-Hilo vs. Humboldt State, noon
>> Alaska-Fairbanks vs. Cal Poly Pomona, 2:30 p.m.
>> Cal State San Bernardino vs. Sonoma State, 6 p.m.
>> Brigham Young-Hawaii vs. Cal State-Bakersfield, 8:30 p.m.
Cal State Bakersfield (19-8), Hawaii-Hilo (18-9) and Sonoma State (18-9) benefited from upsets in the final week of the regular season to earn a trip to Laie. Even those teams that did reach 20 wins barely did so, with Humboldt State going 22-5, although a late-season slump dropped it into the third seed.
Cal State San Bernardino (21-6), Alaska Fairbanks (20-7) and Cal Poly Pomona (20-7) are also in the field.
The parity seems to only be in the West, as two other regions contain six 20-game winners, three contain seven and two only invited teams that have reached the mark. Wagner believes that whoever represents the West in the Elite Eight will prove the region as strong as any other.
"I think you have to realize that it's a real strong region from top to bottom," Wagner said. "None of the other regions deal with the type of traveling we do. If you look at the other regions, you will find that the games they did lose came when they came out West. The West is strong every year, you saw that this year when we didn't have a single easy game."
The Seasiders came into this season with a completely different plan than previous years. They made the NCAA tournament last year -- being blown out by Seattle Pacific in the first round in San Bernardino -- largely because they played the game that all Hawaii coaches play -- winning games in California. The wisdom before Seasiders coach Ken Wagner decided to buck the trend was that winning in Hawaii was not enough, the base of power in the region rested in California and the only way to impress judges was to go to the West Coast to be seen.
Advancing through the NCAA tournament is not the only thing at stake for BYUH's Alexus Foyle; the title of top scorer in the nation is also up for grabs.
Foyle leads NCAA Division II in scoring going into the tournament, averaging 27.6 points per game, just ahead of Ron Christy's 27.2 ppg for Teikyo Post. Jerome Beasley of North Dakota is third at 26.3 ppg. Both players' teams failed to advance to the NCAA tournament, leaving it to Foyle to keep his lead.
Foyle is not the only player in the tournament chasing individual records.
Seeing Foyle three times this year (and three times last year) may help UH-Hilo at the tournament. The Vulcans drew Humboldt State in the first round, the third seed that most resembles the Seasiders in star power. Austin Nichols of Humboldt is 15th nationally in scoring at 22.4 points each game, while guard Fred Hooks is third in the nation in rebounding with 12.3 boards each contest. Both joined Foyle on the Daktronics all-region team this week, along with San Bernardino's Bobby Burries.
Other national leaders spending the weekend in Laie will be Brad Oleson of Alaska Fairbanks (third in steals) and Te'ron Reed of Cal State San Bernardino (fourth in steals).
But those players all say that getting the team through to the Elite Eight at Lakeland, Fla., is the important thing, that team statistics mean more than individual numbers.
Luckily for them, the tournament has its share of team leaders as well.
The Seasiders are eighth in the nation in scoring with 87.8 points per game and third in rebound margin (10.1). The Seasiders' opponent in the first round, Cal State Bakersfield, is eighth in the nation in rebound margin.
Second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino brings the best defense to the islands, hitting the charts ninth in scoring defense and sixth in field-goal percentage against.
The tournament starts today with UH-Hilo taking on Humboldt State at noon followed by Cal State San Bernardino meeting Sonoma State at 2:30 p.m. The second session will begin at 6 p.m. with Alaska Fairbanks taking on Cal Poly Pomona, followed by the host Seasiders against Cal State Bakersfield at 8:30 p.m. The four winners play tomorrow at 5 and 7:30 p.m. and the championship game is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m.
Wagner says his program is being tested off the court this weekend, too. He is looking at the opportunity to host as the chance to impress the region with the quality -- and quantity -- of basketball fans in Hawaii. Hawaii's chances of hosting future regionals might depend on how many people make the trip to the North Shore to take in the first NCAA postseason basketball tournament in the state.
"If you have lived in Hawaii for 20 years and never been to the North Shore, this weekend is the time to come," Wagner said. "I'm always amazed at how many people have never been up here, it's like it's the moon. This weekend they can come up and see how beautiful it is, go swimming in the afternoon and catch some great basketball in the evening."
UH-Hilo Athletics
BYUH Athletics
