OFF TO LA-LA LAND: California trip number seven of 2010-11 takes Seattle University to Los Angeles for a Monday night contest against Loyola Marymount that begins at 7 p.m. This wraps up a four-game road swing for the Redhawks, who need a victory for a split of the four road contests. Meanwhile, the Lions have lost five straight games and hope to end that slide before resuming conference play. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the game live on 710 ESPN Seattle beginning with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.
THE FRESNO STATE GAME: A first half defensive breakdown proved to be too much, as Seattle University dropped an 86-56 decision at Fresno State last Monday at the Save Mart Center. The Redhawks opened the game with a 5-0 run, before playing back-and-forth with the Bulldogs. Each side saw the lead transfer, but Seattle U would hold a 17-15 lead for nearly three minutes, until Fresno State's Bracken Funk received a pass from Tyler Johnson to send in a trey at 10:50. Cervante Burrell would respond by sinking a jumper to reestablish the Redhawks' lead, 19-18, at 10:20; however it would be the last time Seattle U would hold the point advantage in the contest. Fresno State then took off on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes. Their scoring run would be the necessary catalyst for the Bulldogs to take control of the game. The Bulldogs went into the break holding a 44-29 advantage. The second half proved to be an uphill battle that the Redhawks were unable to overcome, despite the offensive efforts of freshman Sterling Carter, who scored 11 of his team-leading 16 points in the final half of action. Aaron Broussard and Alex Jones both scored in double figures as well, with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: Monday's matchup between Seattle University and Loyola Marymount is part of the nationwide Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of Jesuit education. Both SU and LMU are Jesuit schools. The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project highlights more than 90 games this season between men's and women's teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice.
SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: The Lions have an 8-13 overall record after losing to Santa Clara Saturday, 79-72. Loyola Marymount has lost five straight games, including a one-point double-overtime loss at Portland, a two-point loss at Pepperdine, and a one-point loss to San Francisco. The Lions are 5-5 at Gersten Pavilion. Loyola Marymount is scoring 70.8 points per game and giving up 70.8 points per contest. As a team, the Lions are shooting 42.5 percent from the field, including 31.5 percent from behind the three-point line, and 70.4 percent from the free throw line. Drew Viney leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game, plus he is pulling down 6.5 rebounds per contest. Vernon Teel is contributing 13.5 points per game as well as a team-leading 6.7 rebounds, 4.05 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest.
SEATTLE U VS. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: This will be the 31st meeting all-time between Seattle University and Loyola Marymount, with Seattle U holding a 22-8 series advantage. The first two meetings took place in Seattle during the 1952-53 season, with Seattle U winning both contests (89-82 and 93-78). Seattle University also won both meetings in the 1953-54 season as well as the contest during the 1954-55 campaign. In fact, Seattle U won the first ten meetings before Loyola Marymount broke through with an 86-74 victory in Los Angeles during the 1972-73 season. The two teams were West Coast Athletic Conference foes from 1971-80, with Seattle U earning a 13-5 advantage during that time. Loyola Marymount was the final home opponent for Seattle University in 1980, the final year of the first Division I era, as well as the first Division I home opponent for Seattle U as it started its second Division I era in 2008-09. Loyola Marymount had earned victories in Los Angeles during the 1995-96 (70-55) and 1996-97 (83-51) seasons before Seattle U picked up the 49-39 victory on Jan. 1, 2009, at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
LAST MEETING: Six players scored in double figures for Loyola Marymount as the Lions earned a 104-89 victory over Seattle University Dec. 30, 2009, at Gersten Pavilion. Vernon Teel led the way for Loyola Marymount with 24 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals. Mike Boxley paced the Redhawks with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including three baskets from behind the three-point line. Charles Garcia finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Cervante Burrell earned 12 points, four assists, and two steals and Chris Gweth contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
BRACKETBUSTERS: Seattle University will finally find out Monday where it is going the weekend of Feb. 18-20 as part of the ESPN BracketBuster series of games. The 11 matchups set for television will be announced on ESPNU Monday at 3:30 p.m. PST, with the rest of the contests released shortly therafter. GoSeattleU.com will announce the Redhawks' destination as soon as it is known. Here are the possible opponents for Seattle U, a designated visiting team: Stony Brook, Boston University, Idaho State, High Point, Liberty, Presbyterian, UNC Ashville, Winthrop, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, Drexel, James Madison, UNC Wilmington, Old Dominion, Towson, William and Mary, Loyola Chicago, Valparaiso, Wright State, Youngstown State, Fairfield, Marist, Niagara, Rider, Siena, Akron, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan, Morgan State, Drake, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Wichita State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, College of Charleston, Western Carolina, Wofford, Oral Roberts, Nevada, New Mexico State, Saint Mary's.