Tough road ahead

Here’s an example of the unpredictable nature in the Big West

Conference, and this should serve as an example for the UC Irvine

men’s basketball team or any other Big West squad.

Utah State had the table set for at least a second-straight share

of the Big West regular-season title. The Aggies were in a three-way

tie with UCI and UC Santa Barbara after defeating Cal State

Fullerton, 62-41, Feb. 20. Up next for Utah State, was a game at UC

Riverside, and then three home games to close out the season (Idaho,

Cal State Northridge and University of the Pacific).

The Aggies choked.

They lost to Riverside and then followed that up with a loss to

Idaho. Now, Utah State is clinging to the third place in the Big

West.

“We are 19-8, it’s not like we have four wins,” Utah State Coach

Stew Morrill said Monday in a press conference. “We are in third

place. There are seven teams below us. We are not going to win the

league every year, and the sooner people realize that they will

probably be less disappointed.”

And, so the cliche makes sense in the Big West: Take one game at a

time.

“It seems like any time a team has the table set, that’s when they

stub their toe,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said recently. “Anybody can

beat anybody.”

Utah State should have nothing to worry about. The Big West

regular season is hardly meaningful. It’s the Big West Tournament

that means the most. The Big West will have one representative in the

NCAA Tournament and the only team allowed to go to the Dance will be

the tournament champion.

* There will be no gimmie wins next week. It seems UCI, the No.

2 seed, will have the toughest road to reach the Big West Tournament

championship game, which is March 15 at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The Anteaters

will most likely begin with Pacific, which took UCI to the wire in

both meetings, including an overtime game that the ‘Eaters won.

If UCI gets past the Tigers, it could very well meet up with Utah

State, and the winner of that matchup is usually decided on the last

shot or in the last minute.

Santa Barbara will have Fullerton for starters and then, most

likely, an intriguing matchup with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The games get started Thursday at noon at the Anaheim Convention

Center.

* Most observers say UCI senior Mike Hood is the X-factor, or

the difference-maker if you will, when it comes to UCI’s title hopes.

I beg to differ. The player who will make the difference for the

Anteaters is redshirt freshman point guard Jeff Gloger. He has been

the difference, thus far.

Of the top three teams in the Big West Conference, Gloger is the

only freshman point guard. Most teams will choose to sag off Gloger

and challenge him to knock down the outside shot, just as UC Santa

Barbara did.

* Hood, who has been trying to overcome a dislocated finger

injury, and Jordan Harris, will play in their final home game

Saturday against Long Beach State.