Click HERE to see the Seattle University men's basketball team's victory over Oregon State mentioned in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) newsletter.
Click HERE to read about Chuck Garcia in this week's Sports Illustrated College Basketball column
GOING BACK TO CALI: After a historic night Wednesday, the Seattle University men's basketball team had one day back home to regroup before hitting the road again first thing Friday morning. The team flew into Sacramento Friday in anticipation on Saturday's matinee against Sacramento State. After that game, SeattleU will head down to Burbank, Calif., and prepare for a contest against defending Big West tournament champion Cal State Northridge Monday night. After playing 13 of its first 18 games away from home, SeattleU will not step on a plane for five weeks and will play eight of its final 13 games at home.
THE OREGON STATE GAME: Seattle University played as a team Wednesday night, as five players scored in double figures and the Redhawks controlled every statistic in a convincing 99-48 victory over Oregon State at Gill Coliseum. Mike Boxley led the way with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers, along with four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Playing in front of family and friends, Chris Gweth finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Cervante Burrell contributed 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Down 21-18 after back-to-back three-pointers by Oregon State, SeattleU went on a 23-6 run over the last eight minutes of the first half to take a 41-27 into the locker room at halftime. Accomplishing this without the services of leading scorer Charles Garcia, who was on the bench with three fouls, the Redhawks received points from seven different players during the run, including five points each by Boxley, Gweth, and Peter Harris. Seattle University continued to increase the lead early in the second half, as Burrell and Gweth scored six points each during a 19-2 Redhawk run in the first seven minutes after halftime. Aaron Broussard played a solid game, finishing with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Alex Jones made a significant contribution off the bench with nine points and seven rebounds. As a team, Seattle University shot 58.3 percent (35-of-60) from the field, including 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the three-point line, and 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the free throw line.
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE: The Hornets come into Saturday's game with a 6-10 overall record, including a 1-3 Big Sky record after losses at Eastern Washington and Portland State last weekend. Sacramento State is scoring 63.7 points per game and giving up 69.4 points per contest. As a team, the Hornets are shooting 40.4 percent from the field, including 33.7 percent from behind the three-point line, and 70.7 percent from the free throw line. Sultan Toles-Bey leads the team with 11.1 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. John Dickson is also scoring in double figures with 10.5 points per game. Justin Eller is the leading rebounder with 5.6 rebounds per game to go along with 8.6 points per contest.
SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors come into Monday's game with a 4-10 overall record, having lost seven straight games, including Big West losses at Pacific, at UC Davis, and against UC Irvine. Cal State Northridge is scoring 70.7 points per game and giving up 78.9 points per contest. As a team, the Matadors are shooting 42.4 percent from the field, including 30.7 percent from behind the three-point line, and 63.3 percent from the free throw line. Kenny Daniels is the team's leading scorer with 14.3 points per game, as he is shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 77.5 percent from the free throw line. Lenny Daniel is averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game for the Matadors.
SERIES HISTORY: On Saturday, Seattle University and Sacramento State will meet for the second time in history. In the 1968-69 season opener for both teams, SeattleU defeated Sacramento State at the Seattle Center Coliseum (now KeyArena), 92-80. Seattle University and Cal State Northridge will meet for the first time ever on Monday. This is the first of home-and-home series with both teams for the Redhawks, as Cal State Northridge comes to Seattle for a game Tuesday night, Jan. 19, and Sacramento State visits KeyArena Saturday afternoon, Feb. 13.
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. The team will play eight of its last 13 games at home after starting the season with just five of the first 18 games at KeyArena. 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.
JEFF SAGARIN SAYS: The Sagarin ratings is one of the most popular tools for comparing two teams and attempting to predict the result. As of Jan. 8, Seattle University is 173rd with a rating of 71.85, Sacramento State is 285th with a rating of 63.45, and Cal State Northridge is 247th with a rating of 67.07. Taking into account a 4.30 home advantage, the Sagarin ratings would say that Seattle University is favored to win Saturday's game by about four points, but Monday's game would be considered too close to call.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: As part of the reclassification process, Seattle University is not eligible to officially win any statistical awards. However, if SeattleU was eligible, Charles Garcia would be 12th in scoring at 21.8 points per game and 46th in rebounding with 9.3 boards per contest. As a team, Seattle University would be 24th in scoring offense, averaging 81.2 points per game.
RECEIVING CHARITY: Charles Garcia has been prolific in getting to the free throw line so far this season, averaging 11.9 free throw attempts per game. Garcia has attempted a Division I-high 191 free throws in the first 16 games of the season, 55 more than Marqus Blakely of Vermont.
ROSTER CHANGES: At the conclusion of the fall quarter, redshirt junior Ricky Berry left the men's basketball team for personal reasons. He appeared in seven games off the bench, averaging 12.4 minutes, 3.7 points, and 1.3 rebounds per game. Also, Evan Sanzo-Davis, who did not see action in any game this season, decided to leave the program.
THE BELIZEAN BALLER: Here is what Andy Katz of ESPN.com wrote about Charles Garcia in reviewing the first six weeks of the college basketball season: "Biggest surprise player on the national scene: Charles Garcia, Seattle - Scouts have flocked to see the 6-9 junior out of Los Angeles who is averaging 23.3 points and 10.2 boards for the Redhawks. He scored 30 at Portland, 41 at Wofford and 29 against UC Irvine. You will hear more about Garcia as the season progresses."
SEATTLEU VERSUS THE PAC-10: Before Wednesday night, Seattle University had not defeated a Pac-10 school since earning an 81-67 victory over California at the Seattle Center Coliseum (now KeyArena) on Dec. 9, 1978. The last road victory for SeattleU over a Pac-10 squad came earlier that season, as SeattleU traveled across the city and defeated Washington at Hec-Ed, 82-78, on Nov. 28, 1978. The Redhawks improved their record against Oregon State to 5-15, last defeating the Beavers on Jan. 28, 1977, in Seattle, 55-51. After 11 straight losses, Seattle University finally broke through with a victory over Oregon State in Corvallis. Heading into the Jan. 26 game at Washington, Seattle University is 32-69 against current members of the Pac-10. SeattleU has a winning record over Arizona State (6-3) and has evenly split 14 meetings with Washington State (7-7).
A WIDE MARGIN: The 51-point margin of victory was the highest for Seattle University since a 55-point victory over Trinity Western (117-62) during the 1989-90 season. It was the largest margin of victory as a Division I school since the first regular season game of the historic 1957-58 campaign, when SeattleU defeated Portland State, 104-54, at the Civic Auditorium.
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. Gary Hill also posts on his blog, www.seattleufan.com, during the broadcasts as well as during the week.