MATINEE SPECIAL: Right in-between the Seattle Seahawks take on Brett Farve and the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Galaxy battle Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup at Qwest Field, the Seattle University men's basketball team hosts Weber State at Elgin Baylor Court at KeyArena. Seattle University has won 12 straight home games, spanning the finale of the 2007-08 season through Thursday's home opener. Coming off an emotional victory over Fresno State, SeattleU will need to quickly recover to face the Wildcats, a perennial Big Sky contender.
THE FRESNO STATE GAME: Sophomore Cervante Burrell picked up a loose ball and hit a layup with eight seconds remaining in regulation to give Seattle University its first victory of the season, an 85-84 decision over Fresno State Thursday night at the newly-dedicated Elgin Baylor Court at KeyArena. After Greg Smith hit a layup to give Fresno State an 84-83 lead with 24 seconds left to play, Burrell quickly brought the ball up the court before Seattle University decided to call timeout. The final play was set up to feature Charles Garcia, but the inbounds pass went to Chris Gweth. He fed Burrell, who went under the basket and converted from the other side. Fresno State had one final chance, but Garrett Lever tipped the ball away from Steven Shepp and towards Burrell, who threw it in the air in celebration as the clock wound down to the end. Seattle University outscored Fresno State, 10-3, in the final two minutes of the game. Garcia earned his first career double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, along with a game-high two blocks. Aaron Broussard and Burrell each scored 16 points, and Mike Boxley was perfect on the night, going 5-for-5 from the field, including a career-high two three-pointers, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for 14 points. Gweth contributed 12 points and three assists.
SCOUTING WEBER STATE: The Wildcats come into Sunday's game with an 0-2 record, losing to Utah State at home, 66-60, and at UC Santa Barbara, 66-57. As a team, Weber State is shooting 31.5 percent from the field, including 15.5 percent from behind the three-point line, and 75.7 percent from the free throw line. Damian Lillard leads the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game, with Kyle Bullinger contributing 10.5 points per contest. Franklin Session is averaging 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocked shots per game.
JEFF SAGARIN SAYS: The Sagarin ratings are one of the ways experts judge potential matchups. As of Nov. 20, Weber State is 168th (72.28), and SeattleU is 179th (71.36). Using this system which incorporates an advantage for the home team, the Redhawks would be favored by about three points. Last season Seattle University finished 132nd in the Sagarin ratings after a 13-8 season against Division I opponents.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 15th meeting all-time between Seattle University and Weber State, with the Wildcats holding a 9-5 series edge. These two teams met for the first time during the 1965-66 season at the Seattle Center Coliseum (now KeyArena), with SeattleU earning a 95-82 victory. Weber State won, 86-72, during the 1966-67 campaign, and the two teams split home-and-home meetings in the next four years. Weber State knocked SeattleU out of the 1969 NCAA Tournament with a 75-73 decision. Weber State has won the last three meetings, including a 91-63 victory over SeattleU in Ogden, Utah, duirng the 1998-99 season.
THE KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS: The Seattle University men's basketball team returns to downtown Seattle this season, playing all regular season home games at KeyArena at Seattle Center. There are 13 games scheduled for KeyArena this season, beginning with this past Thursday's contest against Fresno State and concluding with two-time defending Big Sky tournament champion Portland State on March 2. In between, the Redhawks welcome Weber State, UC Irvine, Oakland, Harvard, Utah Valley, Cal State Northridge, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Sacramento State, UC Davis, and Cal State Bakersfield to the former home of the Seattle Supersonics and the current home of the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. Back when it was known as the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle University used the downtown arena as its home court from 1964 to 1980. SeattleU closed out its stay at the Connolly Center in style last season, winning all nine regular season games in the North Court as well as the Janaury 1 game at KeyArena against Loyola Marymount, 49-39. Overall, SeattleU has won 12 straight home games, tied for the ninth-longest home winning streak in program history.
SPREADING THE WORD: Seattle University men's basketball games will be broadcast all season long on 710 ESPN Seattle, the sports station that also carries Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks broadcasts as well as local shows featuring Brock Huard, Kevin Calabro, and John Clayton. Long-time Seattle sports talk radio personality Dave "The Groz" Grosby will handle the play-by-play duties with Gary Hill alongside.
DELAYED REACTION: Due to the coverage of the Seattle Seahawks by 710 ESPN Seattle, Sunday's game between Seattle University and Weber State will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis by the station. 710 ESPN Seattle will begin the broadcast from the beginning at 4 p.m.
INTRODUCING ...: Junior college transfer Charles Garcia came to Seattle University with hopes of helping the team get through the transition to Division I play a little smoother, and so far he has succeeded. Through three games, Garcia (called Chuck by most everyone around him) is averaging 23 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Last Tuesday at Portland, Garcia scored 30 points, 21 in the first half, as SeattleU hung with the Pilots until a 17-4 run midway through the second half. The 30-point effort by Garcia was the most points scored by a Seattle University player in over three years. Thursday night against Fresno State, he earned his first double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.