Halfway through the 2013-2014 season, an outsider could look in on the Biola men’s and women’s basketball and have a pretty good idea how the two teams were going to finish.
Nearing the end of January, men’s basketball had three wins against ranked opponents Hope International University, Concordia University Irvine and Vanguard University. They had a 4-1 Golden State Athletic Conference record and were in sole possession of second place behind an undefeated Vanguard.
Contrast that with women’s basketball, who had started the season 0-10 and didn’t get their first win until over a first month into the season. Around the same time as the men’s solid conference start, the women were 1-4 in GSAC. They had three losses to ranked opponents, including an 87-32 shellacking from No. 1 Vanguard.
Oh how the tides have changed.
Since their completely different starts, the men have struggled to piece together wins whereas the women have begun a comeback season.
Men’s basketball is 2-4 since the start of February and are currently on a three-game losing streak. Over the past three games, the Eagles have lost by a combined total of nine points.
The men appear to be in a position where they play solid defense one night yet fail to put up points themselves, or score a plethora of points but allow their opponents to run up the score on them.
By far the biggest struggle for the men over the past few weeks and for most of GSAC play has been their inability to win on the road. Biola only has one conference road win this season, with the win coming almost a month ago.
WOMEN RISE TO THE OCCASION
Women’s basketball, however, has stepped into the spotlight over the past few weeks.
If there was an example on how to turn a season around and make a push for the playoffs, it would be women’s basketball. Since their 1-4 conference start, the Eagles are 5-1 and have risen from the bowels of the GSAC conference into fifth place.
Their latests achievements include back-to-back upset wins over No. 7 Master’s and No. 14 Hope International.
Where the men fall short is where the women have found success. The women won some big games on the road this season, including a comeback victory in Fullerton this past Tuesday over the Master’s.
With just a few games remaining for both teams, they must start looking ahead to what post-season could entail.
The GSAC Championship Tournament has a very interesting format. Every team in the conference makes playoffs with the top four teams hosting the quarterfinals.
As of now, neither of the Biola teams are in a position to host. The men are tied with fourth place Hope International and fifth place Master’s at 5-6. In reality, moving into a favorable GSAC position is not that much of a difficulty. The Eagles are only a game back of second place Arizona Christian University and third place Concordia, who are 6-5.
The women are in a bit more of a predicament, despite being a position higher than the men. At 6-5 and in fifth place, they are a game back of Hope International and Westmont College, and two games back of Master’s.
A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
Both teams have the potential to move up into a top-four position, but it will require teams above of them dropping games over the next week.
Up next for both the men and the women is a trio of conference games.
The men travel to Concordia this weekend before returning home for senior night against Arizona Christian. The Eagles will close out the regular season in Santa Barbara against Westmont on Saturday, March 1.
The women will face the exact same opponents on the same dates but will do so at 5:30 before the men.
Both of these teams have the potential to go deep into GSAC playoffs, but with the women riding a current wave of momentum, the scales seem to be tilted in their favor.
