Action/reaction: Butler’s loss is bad news for St. Mary’s and Arizona (and other items)

We’re a bit heavy on St. Mary’s here, but the Gaels have been the big news on the Bay Area college sports scene the past few days (and might be the big news Sunday, too).

Action: Cleveland State beats Butler, claims the Horizon League’s automatic bid.
Reaction I: Butler’s a lock for an at-large, so that’s one less slot available for bubble teams like Arizona and SMC.
Reaction II: The Gaels and Wildcats could be in even bigger trouble if someone other than BYU or Utah wins the Mountain West, if someone other than Xavier or Dayton wins the A-10, if someone other than Memphis wins C-USA and if USC wins the Pac-10.

Action: SMC gets crushed by Gonzaga in the WCC finals.
Reaction I: A worst-case scenario for the Gaels: They look bad, lose big and Patty Mills goes 2-16.
Reaction II: They’re probably on the wrong side of the bubble at this point when you combine Monday’s loss with a low SOS and lack of quality non-conference wins (Providence, San Diego State and Utah State are the best of the bunch and not very good).
Reaction III: But Gaels fans: Don’t give up hope altogether. The selection committee members know basketball, they know the Gaels tried to schedule as tough as they could, they know SMC is well coached, and they know SMC looked good just before Mills got hurt — and there is a subjective component to the at-large process. The issue is whether SMC’s positive subjective factors offset (partially or wholly) the negative objective factors.
Reaction IV: That said, SMC brought this upon itself in at least one respect: The loss to UTEP in the 76 Classic relegated the Gaels to the loser’s bracket and denied them the chance to play the likes of Wake Forest and/or Arizona State, which would have been showcase games and helped their SOS.

Action: St. Mary’s schedules an extra game vs. Eastern Washington.
Reaction: Good idea, but the Gaels had few options because most teams had reached the max for allowable games. I’m not sure beating a 12-17 team from the Big Sky is going to improve SMC’s chances, however, no matter how well Mills plays.

Action: Gonzaga contains John Bryant, thumps Santa Clar in WCC semis.
Reaction I: Playing on back-to-back nights against a quality frontline, Bryant moved like a 350 pounder, not a 275 pounder. Not good for his draft status, not good at all.
Reaction II: The Zags looked awfully good, but I still wonder if they’ll do any better than a No. 5 seed. It would help their cause if Tennessee wins a couple in the SEC tourney.

Action: Pac-10 tournament starts in Staples Center.
Reaction I: My guess is the arena will be more than half empty tonight for the first round games and again Thursday afternoon for the first quarterfinal session. But the place should be close to full for prime time viewing because both USC and UCLA play Thursday night.
Reaction II: I wonder which conference sold more all-session tickets: The Pac-10, or the WCC? Not sure the Pac-10 wants to know the answer to that one.

Action: Pac-10 coaches pick Stanford’s Jeremy Green for all-freshman, leave off Cal’s Jorge Gutierrez.
Reaction: They blew it. Green’s going to be a very good player in a couple years, but he wasn’t nearly as valuable as Gutierrez … All four of Green’s double-digit scoring games (in conference play) came in defeat. In Stanford’s six league wins, he made a grand total of seven baskets and shot 33 percent from the field. So I’m having a hard time seeing just how Green helped the Cardinal win as much as Gutierrez helped Cal win with his defense and court presence. (His time at the point allowed Jerome Randle to slide to the wing and make big baskets from there). Gutierrez’s contributions were more subtle than Green’s but far more meaningful, and I’m surprised the league’s coaches didn’t pick up on that.

Action: Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin reportedly rips past, present and future South Carolina players, saying they all end up pumping gas for a living.
Reaction I: Kiffin denied making the comment, but given how arrogant he’s been and how many people he’s insulted since taking the job, I’m not sure anyone outside of Knoxville believes him.
Reaction II: Could it be …. an SEC coach more unlikeable than Nick Saban?

Jon Wilner