Gameday: Pitt vs Loyola Marymount Lions

Pitt 8-0 (0-0 ACC) vs Loyola Marymount 6-2 (0-0 West Coast Conference)

7:00 pm

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

At one point, Loyola Marymount basketball was a must see.  Their late 80s teams under head coach Paul Westhead might have been the most exciting college basketball team of all time.  Their offensive philosophy was to shoot the ball in 7 seconds or less.  They led the NCAA in scoring in 1988 (110.3 ppg), 1989 (112.5) and 1990 (122.4).  They were involved in the five highest scoring games ever (including a record 181-150 game).  Westhead got two big time players (Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble) to transfer from USC, and they were incredible.  In 1988 Gathers became the second player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring (32.7 ppg) and rebounding (13.7) in the same year.  The next season Kimble led the nation in scoring with 35.3 ppg.  Tragically, in the second round of the WCC tournament, Gathers died after collapsing on the court.  He had a heart problem called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  He collapsed less than 2 feet away from current Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who happened to be a point guard on the opposing team.  In the NCAA tournament that year, Kimble led LMU on a magical run to the Elite 8 before they fell to eventual champion UNLV, which was one of the greatest teams of all time.  They haven't been back to the tournament since.

Skipping ahead a few years, last year's LMU squad finished 11-23 (1-15 WCC) and lost their last 13 conference games.  They went on a bit of a run in the conference tournament, eventually losing to Gonzaga in the semi-finals, but overall a disastrous year.  They'll be much better this season.  They are picked to finish 5th.  They start 3 seniors and 2 juniors and have two 3-star recruits coming in this season, which is impressive for a small school.

Player to watch:  All-WCC player Anthony Ireland is back for his senior season.  He leads the team in scoring at 18.9 ppg because it is a requirement that every mid-major have a 5'10" guard who scores all their points.

Pitt will roll.

Prediction:  Pitt 82 LMU 58

Hail to Pitt,

J.O.