As California and Washington duke it out for the Pac-10 Tournament Championship today, the Beavers are licking their wounds and wondering just what could have happened over the last few days if the second half of Wednesday's quarterfinal game would have gone differently.
The Beavers finish the regular season at 14-17 after the post-season loss to the Huskies. Last season, the Beavers were eliminated from the conference tournament by Stanford, who also used a monumental second half rally to run the Beavers out of the Staples Center.
At this point last season, the Beavers were 13-17 overall.
As we all know, the CBI came calling, and the Beavers were able to make use of the opportunity by downing Houston, Vermont, Stanford (redemption!), and UTEP (twice) to win the CBI title.
Is another CBI tournament appearance in the works for the Beavers, who have a very similar record as compared to last season?
"We would love to try and defend our title. If there is enough room for us in one of these tournaments, specifically the CBI, that would be terrific," Coach Robinson said following the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinal loss. "But you know me, when you end on a tough note, I want to make sure that the players want to do it because we wouldn't be able to do it if every single one of them said yes."
Tomorrow is the NCAA's Selection Sunday, and the NIT field is announced Monday morning. Last year, the Beavers were notified Monday night of their bid in the CBI, so Coach Robinson expects to know the post-season fate of his team by late Sunday or Monday.
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)