Like a friendly neighborhood restaurant, the Vegas Showdown offers a dine-in option (Duke vs. Kansas, Seattle vs. Furman in T-Mobile Arena) and a take-home option (Seattle at Duke on Friday, Furman at Kansas on Saturday).
So the #11 Blue Devils return to the East Coast and continue their season against the Seattle Redhawks in Cameron this Friday evening, broadcast on the ACC Network (streaming link, listen, live stats).
I'll put together a game preview soon, but for anyone ready to move on, discuss the Seattle game here.
Just want to point out that one of the all-time greats, Elgin Baylor, led Seattle to its only Final Four appearance (1958). Unfortunately, Seattle lost to Kentucky.
Just want to point out that one of the all-time greats, Elgin Baylor, led Seattle to its only Final Four appearance (1958). Unfortunately, Seattle lost to Kentucky.
Good recall! Seattle's appearance in the 1958 title game was the pinnacle of a great run for the program from 1952-1969, a 17-year period with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under 6 different head coaches. But what came after that is truly interesting.
The school's website has an Athletics History page that's worth reading in its entirety, but here's a summary in timeline form.
1971: A longtime independent program, Seattle joined the West Coast Conference (then known as the West Coast Athletic Conference).
1972: Title IX was passed, and Seattle's athletic program grew over the decade, with some success from their women's teams.
1980: A local economic downturn (spurred by early 1970s layoffs at Boeing Aviation) forced the school to de-emphasize athletics. They left Division I and became an NAIA program.
2007: After a few years of success in NAIA, Division III, and Division II, the school returned to Division I under a 5-year transitional period.
2009: Former UCLA point guard and Washington assistant coach Cameron Dollar was hired as the men's basketball head coach.
2012: Now fully Division I, they joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and they've been there ever since, although...
2025: Seattle will go full-circle and rejoin the West Coast Conference next July 1.
In March Madness terms, that's a 55-year drought. In that time, the Redhawks have had only 11 seasons in Division I with a winning record, but that includes the last 3 seasons under their 4th-year head coach, the appropriately named Chris Victor.
In the WAC preseason poll, they were picked to finish 3rd, behind heavy favorite and mid-major darling Grand Canyon, as well as UT Arlington. (Grand Canyon was supposed to join Seattle in a 2025 move to the WCC, but recently flipped to the Mountain West, accepting an invitation as a non-football member starting in 2026.)
The Redhawks are 2-4 this season, with only one win against a Division I opponent (at UC San Diego) and 4 single-digit losses to Eastern Washington, Liberty, Cal Poly, and now Furman (highlights below). The nerd polls still seem to like them: they are KenPom #125 and T-Rank #135, second-best in the WAC so far.
Sorry, wrong Seattle. But a convenient time to share one of my all-time favorite sports trivia questions: Only two people in Oregon State men's basketball history have achieved a triple double, and they did it 26 years apart. Name them.
Not quite as intimidating as the Reign Man, The Glove, and the 1996 NBA Western Conference champs, but still a team worth taking seriously.
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe leads the WAC in rebounds and steals -- always an interesting combo. After 2 seasons at Oklahoma State and 2 more at Georgia, he's using his fifth year of eligibility in Seattle. In addition to rebounds and steals, he's enjoying career highs in points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and minutes.
Moncrieffe was ranked #94 by RSCI for the 2020 recruiting class. I mention that because some very familiar names are among the bottom 20 of that list: #82 Jaxson Robinson and #96 Kerr Kriisa of Kentucky, as well as Houston's LJ Cryer (#83), Kadary Richmond of St. John's (#89), and a future opponent in SMU's Matt Cross (#90).
John Christofilis was named to the 5-player preseason All-WAC Team. He was a freshman at Creighton before transferring to Seattle in 2023. He is hitting 35 percent of his threes, shooting them at a decent volume (40 attempts in 6 games, same as Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor). Brayden Maldonado is also 35 percent from outside, though not quite as often (12-of-34). Maleek Arington leads the WAC in assists.
Good recall! Seattle's appearance in the 1958 title game was the pinnacle of a great run for the program from 1952-1969, a 17-year period with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under 6 different head coaches. But what came after that is truly interesting.
The school's website has an Athletics History page that's worth reading in its entirety, but here's a summary in timeline form.
1971: A longtime independent program, Seattle joined the West Coast Conference (then known as the West Coast Athletic Conference).
1972: Title IX was passed, and Seattle's athletic program grew over the decade, with some success from their women's teams.
1980: A local economic downturn (spurred by early 1970s layoffs at Boeing Aviation) forced the school to de-emphasize athletics. They left Division I and became an NAIA program.
2007: After a few years of success in NAIA, Division III, and Division II, the school returned to Division I under a 5-year transitional period.
2009: Former UCLA point guard and Washington assistant coach Cameron Dollar was hired as the men's basketball head coach.
2012: Now fully Division I, they joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and they've been there ever since, although...
2025: Seattle will go full-circle and rejoin the West Coast Conference next July 1.
In March Madness terms, that's a 55-year drought. In that time, the Redhawks have had only 11 seasons in Division I with a winning record, but that includes the last 3 seasons under their 4th-year head coach, the appropriately named Chris Victor.
In the WAC preseason poll, they were picked to finish 3rd, behind heavy favorite and mid-major darling Grand Canyon, as well as UT Arlington. (Grand Canyon was supposed to join Seattle in a 2025 move to the WCC, but recently flipped to the Mountain West, accepting an invitation as a non-football member starting in 2026.)
The Redhawks are 2-4 this season, with only one win against a Division I opponent (at UC San Diego) and 4 single-digit losses to Eastern Washington, Liberty, Cal Poly, and now Furman (highlights below). The nerd polls still seem to like them: they are KenPom #125 and T-Rank #135, second-best in the WAC so far.
Sorry, wrong Seattle. But a convenient time to share one of my all-time favorite sports trivia questions: Only two people in Oregon State men's basketball history have achieved a triple double, and they did it 26 years apart. Name them.
Not quite as intimidating as the Reign Man, The Glove, and the 1996 NBA Western Conference champs, but still a team worth taking seriously.
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe leads the WAC in rebounds and steals -- always an interesting combo. After 2 seasons at Oklahoma State and 2 more at Georgia, he's using his fifth year of eligibility in Seattle. In addition to rebounds and steals, he's enjoying career highs in points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and minutes.
Moncrieffe was ranked #94 by RSCI for the 2020 recruiting class. I mention that because some very familiar names are among the bottom 20 of that list: #82 Jaxson Robinson and #96 Kerr Kriisa of Kentucky, as well as Houston's LJ Cryer (#83), St. John's Kadary Richmond (#89), and a future opponent in SMU's Matt Cross (#90).
John Christophilis was named to the 5-player preseason All-WAC Team. He was a freshman at Creighton before transferring to Seattle in 2023. He is hitting 35 percent of his threes, shooting them at a decent volume (40 attempts in 6 games, same as Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor). Brayden Maldonado is also 35 percent from outside, though not quite as often (12-of-34). Maleek Arington leads the WAC in assists.
Good recall! Seattle's appearance in the 1958 title game was the pinnacle of a great run for the program from 1952-1969, a 17-year period with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under 6 different head coaches. But what came after that is truly interesting.
The school's website has an Athletics History page that's worth reading in its entirety, but here's a summary in timeline form.
1971: A longtime independent program, Seattle joined the West Coast Conference (then known as the West Coast Athletic Conference).
1972: Title IX was passed, and Seattle's athletic program grew over the decade, with some success from their women's teams.
1980: A local economic downturn (spurred by early 1970s layoffs at Boeing Aviation) forced the school to de-emphasize athletics. They left Division I and became an NAIA program.
2007: After a few years of success in NAIA, Division III, and Division II, the school returned to Division I under a 5-year transitional period.
2009: Former UCLA point guard and Washington assistant coach Cameron Dollar was hired as the men's basketball head coach.
2012: Now fully Division I, they joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and they've been there ever since, although...
2025: Seattle will go full-circle and rejoin the West Coast Conference next July 1.
In March Madness terms, that's a 55-year drought. In that time, the Redhawks have had only 11 seasons in Division I with a winning record, but that includes the last 3 seasons under their 4th-year head coach, the appropriately named Chris Victor.
In the WAC preseason poll, they were picked to finish 3rd, behind heavy favorite and mid-major darling Grand Canyon, as well as UT Arlington. (Grand Canyon was supposed to join Seattle in a 2025 move to the WCC, but recently flipped to the Mountain West, accepting an invitation as a non-football member starting in 2026.)
The Redhawks are 2-4 this season, with only one win against a Division I opponent (at UC San Diego) and 4 single-digit losses to Eastern Washington, Liberty, Cal Poly, and now Furman (highlights below). The nerd polls still seem to like them: they are KenPom #125 and T-Rank #135, second-best in the WAC so far.
Sorry, wrong Seattle. But a convenient time to share one of my all-time favorite sports trivia questions: Only two people in Oregon State men's basketball history have achieved a triple double, and they did it 26 years apart. Name them.
Not quite as intimidating as the Reign Man, The Glove, and the 1996 NBA Western Conference champs, but still a team worth taking seriously.
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe leads the WAC in rebounds and steals -- always an interesting combo. After 2 seasons at Oklahoma State and 2 more at Georgia, he's using his fifth year of eligibility in Seattle. In addition to rebounds and steals, he's enjoying career highs in points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and minutes.
Moncrieffe was ranked #94 by RSCI for the 2020 recruiting class. I mention that because some very familiar names are among the bottom 20 of that list: #82 Jaxson Robinson and #96 Kerr Kriisa of Kentucky, as well as Houston's LJ Cryer (#83), St. John's Kadary Richmond (#89), and a future opponent in SMU's Matt Cross (#90).
John Christophilis was named to the 5-player preseason All-WAC Team. He was a freshman at Creighton before transferring to Seattle in 2023. He is hitting 35 percent of his threes, shooting them at a decent volume (40 attempts in 6 games, same as Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor). Brayden Maldonado is also 35 percent from outside, though not quite as often (12-of-34). Maleek Arington leads the WAC in assists.
This team is still figuring out its identity in terms of primary playmakers in the half court against tough defense. Cooper failed the test against UK. Proctor has struggled driving the ball. Caleb has been largely MIA. Sion is a mystery at this point. Kon did well against Kansas.
All of them are capable against lesser competition. But who will we lean on to make plays against the top defenses?
I think we will get a big clue on what Jon is thinking in this game. I think he'll want to give reps to the guys he wants creating offense against Auburn, Illinois, etc. I'm betting Kon is one of those guys, but we really need another. It could be Cooper - but I think he's better as the screener or attacking the basket after a kickout. I would love for it to be Caleb to keep Proctor as the catch and shoot specialist.
So I'll be watching to see if he puts Kon in the PNR game. And then who else? Caleb or maybe give Sion a shot? Tomorrow will be like a dress rehearsal for Auburn.
Just want to point out that one of the all-time greats, Elgin Baylor, led Seattle to its only Final Four appearance (1958). Unfortunately, Seattle lost to Kentucky.
Furman GREAT Frank Selvy is the only person to score ONE HUNDRED POINTS in a single game…. And he did it WITHOUT a three point shot !!! Try to get your head around that. In the days of 57-52 basketball scores… Selvy, at Furman, scored exactly 100 points without a three point shot. Not even sure there was a shot clock !?!!
He was then a 2X NBA all star and drafted number one overall. From Furman. Since Furman offered him first he spurned UK when they came calling later . Loyalty !! A long forgotten item.
So cool and worth a read. He passed away this year in South Carolina. The first TV broadcast of a college basketball game in South Carolina was this 100 point game !!! And it was the first game his mother saw him play in college !!! A different era. He hit the final shot to give him 100 points on a half-court heave
There has been opinions expressed regarding the possibility of Isaah Evans being a player who could provide a spark on offense in agames where we seem to be struggling. Clearly Jon has seen some defensive shortcomings with Evans that he at least that substitution would provide a net neggative, especially against power teams.
What also seems to have become a glaring weakness against the power teams has been rebounding but no discussion that I have seen suggests that Patrick Ngongba might be a force on the boards. At 6'11" and 240 lbs he hasw shown a hint that he can rebound inside and has a knack for playing inside. There was concern about his foot and also about his stamina, but why not gove him some minutes and see what he can add. Maliq got into foul trouble and heither he nor Maluach was effective on the boards?
What also seems to have become a glaring weakness against the power teams has been rebounding but no discussion that I have seen suggests that Patrick Ngongba might be a force on the boards. At 6'11" and 240 lbs he hasw shown a hint that he can rebound inside and has a knack for playing inside. There was concern about his foot and also about his stamina, but why not gove him some minutes and see what he can add. Maliq got into foul trouble and heither he nor Maluach was effective on the boards?
.... Patrick Ngongba might be a force on the boards. At 6'11" and 240 lbs he hasw shown a hint that he can rebound inside and has a knack for playing inside. There was concern about his foot and also about his stamina, but why not gove him some minutes and see what he can add. Maliq got into foul trouble and heither he nor Maluach was effective on the boards?
Scheyer has publicly stated (several weeks back) that Ngongba’s minutes will be very restricted this season because of previous/lingering injury issues. But he didn’t say Ngongba will not play at all.
So Ngongba will presumably get some minutes — 10-12? — in tonight’s game. Evans and Harris as well, probably. All of which goes out the window if it’s a tight game.
I am more concerned right now on who will initiating our offense, a’la point guard!! We don’t seem to know right now who is best suited for that! Hope we figure it out soon!!
So the #11 Blue Devils return to the East Coast and continue their season against the Seattle Redhawks in Cameron this Friday evening, broadcast on the ACC Network (streaming link, listen, live stats).
This team is still figuring out its identity in terms of primary playmakers in the half court against tough defense. Cooper failed the test against UK. Proctor has struggled driving the ball. Caleb has been largely MIA. Sion is a mystery at this point. Kon did well against Kansas.
All of them are capable against lesser competition. But who will we lean on to make plays against the top defenses?
I think we will get a big clue on what Jon is thinking in this game. I think he'll want to give reps to the guys he wants creating offense against Auburn, Illinois, etc. I'm betting Kon is one of those guys, but we really need another. It could be Cooper - but I think he's better as the screener or attacking the basket after a kickout. I would love for it to be Caleb to keep Proctor as the catch and shoot specialist.
So I'll be watching to see if he puts Kon in the PNR game. And then who else? Caleb or maybe give Sion a shot? Tomorrow will be like a dress rehearsal for Auburn.
I've been impressed with Kon's ability to distribute. So, I looked up how he did against Kansas, Kentucky and Arizona. The assists to turnover numbers are really good. Kentucky: 3/1, Kansas: 8/3 and AZ: 3/1. Total 14 assists and 5 turnovers. Compared to Cooper who has been the player with the ball in his hands the most. Kentucky: 2/3, Kansas: 3/4 and AZ: 3/4. Total 8 assists and 11 turnovers. The player that was our point guard last season has been used as a 3&D player, Tyrese of course doesn't have point-guard stats: 13 total assists and 9 turnovers, Caleb who Jon figured would be the point-guard: 12 assists and 7 turnovers. Sion is better than those two with: 14 assists and 6 turnovers. My thinking is we need Kon distributing the ball but not as actual point-guard. Point-Forward? Maybe, but can he do that and at the same time, improve his shooting? If the team was built to be a 3-point shooting team, we need Kon to get it going against the good teams. He's a good shooter but he can't pass the ball to himself. I hope Jon can figure something out.
I know many of us are clamoring for “big” changes tonight, particularly regarding Evans. Personally, I’d like to see a smaller but consequential change, Sion starting for Caleb. My bet is that the minutes wouldn’t change much, but I think having Sion’s physicality on defense and ability to get downhill offensively could help with our early game struggles… plus, Caleb played well as a sixth man last year. It also sends a good, but not over the top, message to Caleb that he needs to pick it up.
Other than that, I want to see Kon shoot well. Get his confidence back… if he’s shooting well tonight like he has most of the season at Cameron there’s reason to believe that’ll carry over against Auburn.
I know many of us are clamoring for “big” changes tonight, particularly regarding Evans. Personally, I’d like to see a smaller but consequential change, Sion starting for Caleb. My bet is that the minutes wouldn’t change much, but I think having Sion’s physicality on defense and ability to get downhill offensively could help with our early game struggles… plus, Caleb played well as a sixth man last year. It also sends a good, but not over the top, message to Caleb that he needs to pick it up.
Other than that, I want to see Kon shoot well. Get his confidence back… if he’s shooting well tonight like he has most of the season at Cameron there’s reason to believe that’ll carry over against Auburn.
Good points. I agree the most important change would be to start Sion and I would play Caleb no more than 15 to 17 minutes. The second change would be to get Evans more than mop up minutes. However, that will still not give Jon and idea of how Evans will perform against the better teams left on the schedule.
I agree with Sion starting and expect to see it. But I haven't given up on Caleb. I continue to believe he's got the most potential out of our 3 guards in driving the ball and breaking down a defense. Maybe it's a confidence issue. Maybe it's something else. Coming off the bench might be the tonic he needs.
. Loyalty !! A long forgotten item. 
