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June 24, 2009 10:36 AM
Steve Fisher has been emboldened by San Diego State's appearance in last year's NIT Final Four in New York.
The Aztecs' veteran basketball coach figures that if they can make it there, they can make it anywhere - UCSB's Thunderdome included.
A visit from San Diego State highlights the Gauchos' schedule, which also includes visits to both Arizona State and Cal.
"These are all really good programs, and they present great opportunities for us," coach Bob Williams said. "San Diego State is always good - Coach Fisher never has a talent shortage.
"Cal will have a lot of good players back, and so will Arizona State - although they do lose two great players who will probably get drafted this week."
The Gauchos will play their first three games at home against Cal State Los Angeles on Nov. 14, Weber State on Nov. 17 and the University of San Francisco on Nov. 23.
They'll visit Loyola Marymount on Nov. 28, but return for two more games at the Thunderdome against Santa Clara on Dec. 1 and San Diego State on Dec. 5.
The Aztecs were 26-10 last year, advancing to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Their recruiting class has been ranked 15th in the nation by Hoop Scoop Magazine.
The Gauchos have had a spirited series with them, which includes a triple-overtime victory during the 2001-01 season and an overtime loss in San Diego to open the 2003 NIT.
"We led the entire game until the final second of regulation, when (Brandon Heath) hit a 15-foot bank on the run to tie it up," Williams recalled. "We've played a lot of pretty close games with them."
Although UCSB is still in search of one more game, it will play the rest of its December schedule on the road. That includes a trip to Montana State on Dec. 18 and Arizona State on Dec. 21.
"It'll be after finals and before Christmas, and that's always a good time for the team to bond," Williams said. "We'll have a good layover between the two games, which will give us plenty of time to prepare.
"The schedule lays out really, really well for us."
Arizona State went 25-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Although two of its players - James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph - are expected to be selected in Thursday's NBA Draft, the Sun Devils will still return the nation's eighth-ranked 3-point shooter in Rihards Kuksiks (118-for-267, 44.3 percent) as well as point guard Derek Glasser, who is just 61 assists short of the school's career record.
UCSB will follow up the Christmas holiday by visiting another Pac-10 venue on Dec. 28-29 with a pair of games at the Cal Classic. The Gauchos will open against either Furman or Utah Valley, and then hope to face the Bears in the championship game.
"We'd been struggling to get any Pac-10 teams to play us after we had back-to-back wins over UCLA and USC, but I think they're becoming more receptive to it," Williams said. "They still only want to play at their places. There are plusses and minuses, and that's one of the minuses."
Cal will return four of its five starters from last year's 22-11, NCAA Tournament team, including two of the Pac-10's top guards - Jerome Randle (18.3 points) and Patrick Christopher (14.5).
UCSB will also play a nonconference road game on Feb. 20 in the ESPN Bracket Busters against an as yet undetermined opponent.
The Gauchos will be busy to start Big West Conference play with a three-game opening week - Jan. 4 at UC Irvine, and then at home on Jan. 7 against UC Davis and Jan. 9 against the University of Pacific.
"We'll be playing five league games in 12 days," Williams said. "But the league schedule is more balanced now. None of us could really understand why some of us would be playing four straight games on the road. We played five of seven on the road to start league last year.
"But this year, they've put in some restrictions to keep that from happening now."
e-mail: mpatton@newspress.com
