Randy Youngman is a former Page 2 columnist with the Orange County Register

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Mustangs Strike Sweet Revenge
Parity Creates Wild-Open Battle for Trophy

Page 2 From The Tournament
     
ANAHEIM – Cal Poly Cinderella lives!
    
In a tense, sneaker-squeaking defensive showdown that featured the added drama of three hold-your-breath official reviews in the final 20 seconds, No. 7 seed Cal Poly registered its second jaw-dropping upset in as many nights by eliminating top-seeded UC Irvine, 61-58, Friday night in the Big West Tournament semifinals at Honda Center.
    
Joe Callero’s Mustangs, who entered the tournament with a 10-19 record and nine losses in their last 11 regular-season games, have somehow turned into giant killers under the spotlight of the conference tournament.
    
After absolutely dominating No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara in a 31-point runaway in Thursday’s quarterfinals, Cal Poly returned to Honda Center one night later to conquer the Big West regular-season champion Anteaters (23-11).
    
It is the first time in the 39-year history of the tournament that any team has knocked off the top two seeds in the first two rounds and the first time that a No. 7 seed has knocked off a No. 1.
    
Cal Poly also joins 1991 Fresno State as the second No. 7 seed to reach the Big West Tournament title game and becomes the lowest seed to play in the championship game since No. 10 UC Irvine in 1994.
    
There are a lot of ways to say the Mustangs have shocked the world to earn the right to take on No. 5 seed Cal State Northridge in Saturday night’s title game (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).  Fittingly, CSUN also beat two higher seeds -- No. 4 Hawai‘i on Thursday and No. 3 seed Long Beach State on Friday – to earn its title shot.
    
“When you beat a really good team like Santa Barbara soundly and then you beat the conference champion, it builds confidence and it is deserved,” Callero said.  “Our motto right now is ‘Let’s not be lucky; let’s just be good.’ ”
    
“Give Cal Poly credit,” said disappointed UCI coach Russell Turner. “They were really good tonight and they beat us.”
     
Veteran UCSB coach Bob Williams said it a different way after his team’s stunningly lopsided loss to Cal Poly.
     
“All of a sudden, they are world beaters,” Williams said.
    
What is the secret?
     
“All I know is these guys are going to go to ESPN Zone for the third night in a row,” Callero said, laughing, referring to a restaurant/sports bar in nearby Downtown Disney.
      
No reason to change the routine now.
      
The Anteaters and Mustangs were the top two defensive teams in the Big West, so it was anything but a surprise that the game was physical and so closely contested.
     
UCI had won both regular-season contests, but Callero said his team gained experience playing against a team that was ranked among the national leaders in field-goal percentage defense and blocked shots.
     
“We didn’t come up with anything magical (to finally beat Irvine). We played against them three times,” Callero said, adding that each game the Mustangs became more used to UCI’s physicality, initially avoiding contact and finally playing through it.
     
UCI jumped to an early nine-point lead (22-13), but Cal Poly battled back to take a 31-29 halftime lead. In the second half, the Mustangs built a 10-point lead (43-33), and then it was the Anteaters’ turn to battle back.
      
The Mustangs appeared in control when they took a 61-55 lead with 1:07 left, but the Anteaters’ impassioned full-court pressure defense kept them in the game until the end, including a pair of potential tying 3-point attempts by Chris McNealy and Luke Nelson that missed in the closing seconds.
     
Those seconds actually lasted minutes, because the officials stopped play and huddled three times near the replay monitors at midcourt to examine a flying elbow with 19.5 seconds left (no contact, no foul on Cal Poly), an out-of-bounds play under the basket with :04 left (ball awarded to Cal Poly) and an examination of elapsed time on the clock when Cal Poly turned the ball over on a long inbounds pass with 2.6 seconds left (time was added, giving UCI 3.2 seconds for its final possession).
     
“You want to get it right,” Callero said, conceding that “human error is part of the game” but saying it makes sense to take advantage of available technology.
     
Turner had mixed emotions about stopping the flow of the game down the stretch for such reviews.
     
“It’s a new thing in college basketball,” he said. “That’s not why we lost. But it makes it hard when you do all those reviews.”  He raised the possibility that such delays could “ice shooters” and conceded he didn’t know “if there’s a perfect scenario” for using it.
    
What there is no disputing or debating, however, is that “Cal Poly Cinderella” is still alive. One more upset, and we might be calling them the “Miracle Mustangs.”
   
WHO’S THE UNDERDOG?:  Cal State Northridge’s 82-77 victory over Long Beach State in Friday’s late semifinal set up another first in Big West Tournament history – the first title showdown between teams without winning records.
     
Northridge, the No. 5 seed, is 17-17 after its second consecutive tournament victory. Cal Poly is 12-19. Both teams have RPI power rankings in the 200s.
     
“Everywhere we go, we're the underdogs. Everywhere we go, people pick the other team,” CSUN first-year coach Reggie Theus said after the game. “And I think that’s great, because that’s fuel for us. We have to thrive on adversity.”
     
Don’t want to spoil your motivation and your mantra, Reggie, but did you know the Matadors will be playing No. 7 seed Cal Poly for Saturday’s championship?
     
That makes two underdogs. Are Theus and Cal Poly’s Callero going to have to flip a coin to see which team is the biggest underdog?
     
“No,” Theus said, laughing, “because they beat us twice during the regular season.”
     
True. Cal Poly won only 10 games during the regular season, but two of them were 62-52 and 62-55 victories over the Matadors.
     
And Theus hinted that Cal Poly should have an advantage because “tournament basketball fits their style. The game gets more physical when it becomes more of a halfcourt game. And if we don’t fight through contact, we can’t win the game. And I thought they played more hungry and harder in the two games they won here.
    
“If we don’t match that, it’s going to be hard for us.”
    
Nice try, Reggie.
    
This will be the first Big West title game between the No. 5 and No. 7 seeds, but Cal Poly is No. 7.
    
Besides, Northridge beat each of the eventual top four seeds during the regular season, so why is it a surprise that the Matadors are still dunking and dribbling two days before the NCAA Selection Show?
     
And with guards Josh Greene and Stephan Hicks (combined 48 points against Long Beach) peaking at the right time, the Matadors are tough to beat right now.
     
It says here Cal Poly is the underdog in the Big West title game.
    
Sorry, Reggie.
      
UCI HEARTBREAK: Why do UC Irvine’s best teams come up short at tournament time? The past four times they have been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the Big West Tournament, they have lost in the semifinals, including Friday’s semifinal loss to Cal Poly. They have never advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I team.
    
The Anteaters also have advanced to the tournament title game four times, at four different venues. The near-misses:
        
** In 1988, Bill Mulligan’s Anteaters were the No. 5 seed when they lost, 86-79,  to No. 2 seed Utah State at The Forum.  
** In 1994, Rod Baker’s Anteaters were the No. 10 seed when they pulled three consecutive upsets before losing, 70-64, to No. 1 seed       New Mexico State in Las Vegas.
** In 2008, Pat Douglass’ Anteaters were the No. 5 seed when they lost, 81-66, to No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton at Anaheim Convention Center.
** And in 2013, Turner’s Anteaters were the No. 4 seed when they lost, 64-55, to No. 2 seed Pacific at Honda Center.
    
At least UCI will get an NIT berth based on its outright Big West regular-season title.
    
“We know we are going to play in the NIT, and we are going to be excited to compete,” Turner said after Friday’s loss. But he sounded more disappointed than excited.
       
TWIN UPSETS: Cal Poly became the fifth team in tournament history to beat a No. 2 and No. 1 on consecutive nights but the first to do it in the first two rounds.  The other spoilers:
    
** In 1980, No. 4 San Jose State defeated No. 1 Utah State and No. 2 Long Beach State.
** In 1984, No. 3 Fresno State defeated No. 2 UCI and No. 1 UNLV.
** In 1993, No. 4 Long Beach State defeated No. 2 UNLV and No. 1 New Mexico State.
** In 2002, No. 3 UC Santa Barbara defeated No. 2 UCI and No. 1 Utah State.

LAYUP LINE: Interestingly, Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge will play in both the men’s and women’s tournament title games Saturday, marking the third time that has happened. . . . Upon further review, Cal Poly’s 31-point romp over UCSB (69-38) in Thursday’s quarterfinal tied for sixth among the most lopsided scores in men’s tournament history. No. 1 on the list was San Jose State’s 92-56 runaway over Utah State (a 36-point spread) in 1985. . . . The 38 points was the second-fewest scored by a team in tournament history, behind Long Beach State’s 29-point total in a 49-29 “stall ball” loss to top-ranked and undefeated UNLV in 1991. . . . Attendance for Friday’s semifinals was announced at 4,589.