2010-11 Preview

Caltech's season preview is on the official website, as well as this year's roster and season prospectus.

From the preview:

Coach Oliver Eslinger and his staff are excited to work with an army of returners this year, and anticipate a much more competitive team, both in practices and in games.

"To have a core of veterans back, though mainly sophomores, is such a great feeling," said Eslinger. "These are guys dedicated to developing our program who have a much better sense of what it takes to compete at this level."

For the first time in the history of Caltech hoops, the lineup is loaded with true basketball experience. Two seasons ago, less than half the team's members could even claim being on their respective high school squads. This season, the roster includes an abundance of players who were named all-league in high school along with being legitimate starters. Witness the evolution.

Back are all five starters that not only helped the Beaver defense hold opponents to 32 percent shooting from the 3-point line and account for a school record 3.7 blocked shots per game, but set the mark for team field goal attempts in a season.

Madness Recap in Tech

The California Tech, Caltech's newspaper, recaps Midnight Madness (page 6):


Read the preview to the event here.

History Making at Midnight

The 2010-11 college basketball season began with a bang at Caltech as the university hosted its first Midnight Madness in history. As the clock struck 12:01 am this past Friday, more than 550 undergraduates and 100-plus other fans were there to take part in the festivities.

Prior to the varsity teams being introduced, SCIAC high jump champ Alex Lapides nailed the half court shot and won a basketball signed by the five Nobel Laureates on campus (in addition to a year's supply of sundaes). The band roared, the Beaver danced, and the varsity players' adrenaline pumped.

The event was covered by Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times and then appeared on ESPN's College Basketball Nation Blog.

Check out the highlight reel from the evening.

Caltech is No. 1

Times Higher Education World University Rankings acknowledges Caltech as the best on Earth in engineering:

The engineering and technology table is dominated not just by a single country, the US, but by a single state in that country — California.

Three of the top five in the table are from the Golden State, home to the global centre for high-technology business, Silicon Valley. The California Institute of Technology is in first place; Stanford University is third; and the University of California, Berkeley is fifth.

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