FOR CSUN, BIG SKY BECOMING BIG PROBLEM MATADORS HAVE BEEN PLAIN MEDIOCRE IN A CONFERENCE THEY EXPECTED TO WIN.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer They said their shocking victory against UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX was meaningless if that turned out to be the biggest story of their season. They understood beating the Bruins couldn't be used as a vehicle to ride into the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Clearly, it hasn't. The Cal State Northridge Matadors established themselves as basketball contenders on the West Coast early in the season. Two months later, CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge hasn't even established itself as the best team in the Big Sky Conference. After CSUN pulled off the unthinkable against UCLA, people across the country were asking: Who are these guys? But after a rare home loss to Eastern Washington
``I think we were excited and we wanted to come out and show the world we were still a great team and that we were capable of being a Top 25 team,'' guard Carl Holmes said. ``I think we went into some of those places like Hawaii and UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas as the team with the target on our back. ``We were rated higher than all those teams and they came after us. We didn't step our game up. They came at us with a challenge and we kind of rolled over.'' The Matadors were the unanimous favorites to win the Big Sky, but after six games, CSUN (11-8) has stumbled its way to a four-way tie for second place with a 4-2 conference record. A 13-point home loss Saturday to Eastern Washington - which snapped a home win streak at nine games - had CSUN coach Bobby Braswell Bobby Braswell, an American basketball coach, is currently the head coach for Cal State Northridge. Braswell was named the fourth head coach in Northridge history on April 30, 1996, succeeding the retired Pete Cassidy. questioning his team's character. A road win over conference leader Montana State (12-6, 4-1) today would put the Matadors back in first place. But the Montana swing - CSUN plays at Montana on Saturday - isn't easy. It's not like CSUN can't win the regular-season title. It's not like it can't make the NCAA Tournament. But this is the same team that had a couple of players chatting about an undefeated conference record. And the same team that went 0-3 in the Nike Festival in Honolulu in December. ``I think we've been relaxing in practice and not really going hard,'' senior John Burrell John Buster Burrell (born November 22, 1940 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American football wide receiver in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Washington Redskins. He played college football for Rice University. said. ``We're trying to pick it up early in the season like we did before UCLA.'' When there were no expectations. No pressure. Players have talked about how they're the ones with a target on their back. They haven't played especially well in that role. ``Nothing's wrong,'' senior center Brian Heinle said. ``We lost one game Saturday night. We won two in a row and lost one. It's not like we're going to finish 8-8 in conference. There's a lot of games to play and we'll get a lot of wins and not get many more losses. The season isn't over. ``People don't realize that you can't just be a good team and walk through this conference.'' Matadors fans must. There's no denying CSUN has the most talent in the Big Sky. With players such as Heinle (averaging a conference-best 20.1 points per game), forward Jeff Parris, shooting guard The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. John Burrell - all in the top five in scoring in the Big Sky - and point guard Markus Carr (8.1 assists per game), and reserves Marco McCain, Holmes and Joey Busch, there's no reason the Matadors shouldn't win. CSUN's defense was shoddy shod·dy adj. shod·di·er, shod·di·est 1. Made of or containing inferior material. 2. a. Of poor quality or craft. b. Rundown; shabby. 3. in the second half against Eastern Washington, allowing 47 points. The Matadors were outrebounded 37-26 and had just nine second-half rebounds. Other glaring glar·ing adj. 1. Shining intensely and blindingly: the glaring noonday sun. 2. Tastelessly showy or bright; garish. 3. problems came on the offensive end. CSUN averages 87.5 points per game in its wins and just 75 points in the losses. CSUN had just 13 assists Saturday and Carr had 11 of those. The other two came from backup point guard Craig Calloway. Ten players combined for no assists. ``I think we need to be more unselfish offensively,'' Carr said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if people were being selfish. I think they were going more with the flow of how the game was going. We were rushing and I think we need to be more patient. If we do that, there will be more assists for other players.'' Braswell said his team probably listened to the media too much and let distractions be distractions. Last Thursday, athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Dick Dull informed reporters the school would play host to the Big Sky Tournament if CSUN won the regular season. Obviously, that announcement was premature. But Braswell hasn't hit the panic button yet. ``This could come down to the last weekend,'' Braswell said. ``There's the old saying that you're never as good as you think you are or as bad as you think you are. You're somewhere in the middle. We just need to stay solid and continue to compete. If we win (today), we're back in first place.'' CSUN has 10 games left and just one road game in February. The Matadors have lost only two home games the last two years, but home games aren't a given anymore. Braswell said his team thought it was invincible at the Northridge gym. Hopes of an undefeated Big Sky season were dashed at Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the land slowly rose around it. and Eastern Washington put ideas of an undefeated home schedule to rest. But the Matadors hold out hope for the Big Sky Conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth. ``We can go 14-2 if we get our heads together and get back to the basics,'' Holmes said. CSUN vs. MONTANA ST. Today, 7:05 p.m. at Worthington Arena Worthington Arena is a 6,378-seat multi-purpose arena in Bozeman, Montana. The arena opened in 1956 as the MSU Fieldhouse. It was renamed the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse/Worthington Arena, in honor of John "Brick" Breeden and Max Worthington, both members of the "Golden Bobcats" CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Brian Heinle, right, and CSUN have run into plenty of obstacles in the Big Sky. John Kennedy/Special to the Daily News |
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