MBB: American Southwest Conference

[mcmfan]

D3hoops has Whitworth ranked #10 in the nation, and UMHB was #5 until McM beat them.  Trinity and McM may have won their respective conferences, but both obviously have their work cut out for them.

[(509)Rat]

Well, see you guys in a week... 

[cover2]

509Rat...tell us about Whitworth.  Obviously, we can see their profile but give us some insider views.

[(509)Rat]

Whitworth is a very disciplined team that likes to play in the half court. They are pretty deep which should allow them to match up with a smaller McMurry lineup, or a team that uses a more traditional lineup with a true post. Defensively they'll play a man as long as they can/think it's advantageous. Offensively, they shoot the ball very well from the outside, just over 40% as a team on the season. Anyone, outside of Friedt (6-8 243) is a threat to shoot at any given time. That being said, they would prefer to work down low to Friedt, make you collapse, and then kick out to open shooters. They are generally patient in that regard.

Felix Friedt hasn't really had any competition in the NWC this season. Led the league in rebounds and shoots 58% from the field (132-227). He is a true post player who hits 82% of his FT's. If the game is close at the end you need to abandon conventional wisdom and NOT foul him.

Idris Lasisi (6-2 200) is the most athletically gifted player on the team. He has been on a tear as of late. In the last 5 games he has scored 24, 27, 12 (Friedt had 29), 27, and 19. He was originally supposed to go to TCU but they had eligibility issues being he is from Germany, so this is his 1st and only year at Whitworth. He and Gebbers are very active defensively and on the offensive end he gets to the basket with ease in the NWC. I would expect the McMurry defenders to slow him down some compared to what we've seen in our conference.

Wade Gebbers is the starting PG and shoots 44% from 3. He is better than his brother who started on last year's team. Hasn't scored a ton of points this year but hasn't had to. Nothing about his measurables will "wow" you but he's a very good player.

Mack Larkin will most likely be in the starting lineup for defensive reasons. He'll take shots when he's open but mostly looking to get the ball to everyone else on offense. However, he knows his role and usually takes high percentage shots because of it which of course benefits Whitworth. Dustin McConnell will probably start as well given McMurry's size. Plays a lot like Gebbers. Good shooter, not gonna "wow" you athletically but plays well in the system and has been a lot better about handling the ball as the season has progressed.

Loofburrow is a 6-7 3 point specialist who usually comes off the bench within the first 5 minutes of the game. He can (and SHOULD) go down to the post more often, due to the fact that most teams can't afford to put another big body on him with Friedt on the court. But, he tends to hang around the 3 point line, hitting 43% on the season. He will launch shots up with someone right in his face, mostly because at 6-7 he can...

Colton McCargar is another guard in Gebbers and McConnell's mold. He seems to be a little streakier with his shooting but has been able to come off the bench and maintain leads. He is shooting 48% from 3 but that is only on 52 attempts.

Michael Taylor is a lanky 6-8. He will come off the bench to give Felix a break. He's gotten better as the season's worn on, but he isn't nearly as physical or aggressive as Friedt. A guy like Steven Jones would push him around, even though he's giving up at least 5 inches of height.

The only NWC team that has had success against Whiworth (really in the last 2 years) is Whitman. The biggest difference in those games were the number of FT's Whitman shot. They got to the lane and drew fouls. This year in Whitworth's lone conference loss, Whitman shot 34 FT's to Whitworth's 21. Whitworth wasn't at full strength and they really rely on getting those 8 guys significant minutes, which also helped Whitman's cause.

There are a couple more Whitworth posters who are more knowledgeable than I. I'll have them come over 

[Ron Boerger]

UMHB hosts Trinity at 7:30 Friday. 

http://cruathletics.com/news/2012/2/27/MBB_0227120615.aspx

[Ralph Turner]

My concern is whether the referees allow us to play our usual very physical style of defense.

We run into problems when referees employ "Naismithian" guidelines for contact, i.e., handchecking,etc.

Whitworth is incredibly good from beyond the arc. (Think of a bunch of Matt Addison's who are 4 inches taller.)
I think that this a "5 vs 12 game" in the minds of the committee, and we are the "12".

[cover2]

A 12 always beats a 5 in the big dance.  This may bode well for McMurry! 

[cover2]

Thanks for the breakdown 509rat...always nice to have a fan's POV when the playoffs roll around. 

[(509)Rat]

My concern is whether the referees allow us to play our usual very physical style of defense.

We run into problems when referees employ "Naismithian" guidelines for contact, i.e., handchecking,etc.

That will be interesting. NWC officials have been very inconsistent this year IMO. Even from 1 half to another. 1 game will be called real tight in the first half (Felix usually thrives as he isn't quite as aggressive on the defensive end outside of rebounding), and then nothing gets called in the 2nd.

UPS, Whitman, and PLU tend to be more physical in terms of handchecking. Especially UPS. So Whitworth has dealt with it, but I would feel safe saying more often than not you don't get that in your face half court pressure in the NWC.

[(509)Rat]

Bottom line is that Whitworth is a very good team. With that being said, the only team (and I'm by no means an expert) that could come out of this pod and be a complete shock to me would be Trinity. Whitworth v McMurry and the winner vs UMHB should be great games.

I still would have preferred a 1st round bye... 

[playball]

Dont listen to Rat, he doesn't know much about Whitworth basketball

Good synopsis Rat.  Like Buc said in the other message board, I would like to see how Felix does when he can't push around his opponent like he has been able to do the last couple years.  The fact that WW has this sectional in Texas is bogus though.  I would even go as far as to say that all these teams at that site have gotten the short end of the stick this year.  Does the selection committee ever explain their reasoning?

[Ron Boerger]

Dont listen to Rat, he doesn't know much about Whitworth basketball

Good synopsis Rat.  Like Buc said in the other message board, I would like to see how Felix does when he can't push around his opponent like he has been able to do the last couple years.  The fact that WW has this sectional in Texas is bogus though.  I would even go as far as to say that all these teams at that site have gotten the short end of the stick this year.  Does the selection committee ever explain their reasoning?

Lordy, as many times as Texas teams get shipped all over the country no matter their seeding, we can certainly understand how you feel coming here.

[mcmfan]

Our complaint, at least in the ASC, is that the post-season generally seeds our teams with the same teams that they just played in the conference tournament.  So, all the tournament really determines is whether anyone will beat the conference leader to get an at-large bid.  Last year, McMurry won the conference but UMHB and UT Dallas also got bids.  In the post-season, UMHB got to play UT Dallas (again) and then McMurry (again).  This year is a little better, since at least McM and UMHB don't play each other in the first round.  It seems to me if a team is good enough to make it to the post season, it should be able to play someone new right away, and not the same-old-same-old (which saves the NCAA $$ in transportation costs).  In fairness to the NCAA, our women's teams got a much better break this year: one goes to the Northwest, the other to the Midwest; they don't have to play each other (again) in Texas.

[A Buc Forever]

Whitworth Alum and Fan here. Rat gave you as good of a run down as you can get on the team.  My only addition is that I think Gebbers is underrated.  Runs the show. Tough competitor.  The heart and soul of the team. You'll enjoy watching him.  The thing you'll notice about Whitworth basketball is that the players are fundamentally sound.  They won't wow you with spectacular plays, but they'll be efficient.

[playball]

Our complaint, at least in the ASC, is that the post-season generally seeds our teams with the same teams that they just played in the conference tournament.  So, all the tournament really determines is whether anyone will beat the conference leader to get an at-large bid.  Last year, McMurry won the conference but UMHB and UT Dallas also got bids.  In the post-season, UMHB got to play UT Dallas (again) and then McMurry (again).  This year is a little better, since at least McM and UMHB don't play each other in the first round.  It seems to me if a team is good enough to make it to the post season, it should be able to play someone new right away, and not the same-old-same-old (which saves the NCAA $$ in transportation costs).  In fairness to the NCAA, our women's teams got a much better break this year: one goes to the Northwest, the other to the Midwest; they don't have to play each other (again) in Texas.

While that is rough, be thankful that you get 2 teams in the tourny!  We get hosed generally in the NWC.  There are too many NAIA schools, not enough D.3 schools in our neck of the woods!   However, I don't want this post to make this discussion into who has it worse.  What I really would like to know is if the NCAA actively recruits schools into membership or not.  I think if they did this and upped the amount of teams out west (the real west, not Wisconsin which is near the center of the country) that we would all get better recognition as a whole region. 

As for Buc's comments on Gebbers, he is right on the money.  The kid averages 3 threes a game while shooting in the mid 40's%.  Very smart player and orchestrates this team to a t.  It will take a lot to dismiss this Whitworth team from this years tournament.  And while I think last years team was overall better, this team brings a lot to the table as well.  And Im not saying this as a WW fan, I hate them.  Played against them for 4 years, never liked them.  But I have to respect how they play and go about their business.  Should be a fun one this year