MBB: Northwest Conference

[nwhoops1903]

Prediction show:

WW over LINF
WIL over PLU
UPS over PAC
FOX over LC

[etule]

We will find out about PLU this weekend! I think they beat Willamete not sure about Fox. It will be interesting to see.

[TryMeTeam]

You the man, NW, but I gotta disagree with half your calls tonight.

PLU will not lose to Wil.  The guards will make the difference here.  McTaggart and Mitchell will offset each other as will Bull and Mounts.  PLU guards are more talented than Wil.  But there can be only one winless team after this weekend, and I say "will be".  Wil at Pac gets one team off the streak.

Fox's bigs with give LC fits, but LC guards showed the kind of play I thought they would against Pac last weekend, and they will give Fox a problem tonight.  I am going with LC in a tight one at home. 

As I said before, the hype will not match the game.  Lin gets blown out at WW, and UPS handles Pac easily.   

[nwhoops1903]

LC looking good with 1:00 to go...but wait now 83-80...at the buzzer...NO LC wins by 3.

Wil over PAC

LIN over WHT in a tight one 84-80

FOX throttles PLU 92-67

[pineconefan]

Halfway through the NWC schedule.  How about some impressions from the posters on this board?

Biggest surprise (good) - tie between PLU and George Fox.  PLU scrapping and clawing their way to one more win already (5) this year then the Lutes had last year.  Fox getting the benefit of a solid post presence in Smith.

Biggest surprise (bad) - tie between UPS and Willamette.  We knew there would be some drop off for the Loggers, but at this point it doesn't look like they will make the conference tournament.  Coaching changes are always tough, but Willamette's 1-7 start is a big surprise for a proud basketball program.

Prediction for second half - Whitworth will win, so the battle will be for second place.  Linfield can take a huge step forward for second place if the Wildcats can win twice in Tacoma next weekend.  Otherwise it will be a battle.  I expect George Fox to make the tournament as well.  Fourth place will be a battle between L&C, PLU and UPS.

[pineconefan]

First Half All-NWC:
Montgomery (WW, Post)
Beal (WW, PG)
Wiser (Lin, Post)
Tesoro (Lin, G)
Edwards (L&C, W)
Shaw (WM, G)

Left Mitchell off the list.  He leads in scoring and rebounding, but he is Willamette's only option at this point, so he gets a lot more touches than the other players.

Okay, time for the rest of you to opine...

[A Buc Forever]

First Half All-NWC:

I haven't seen anyone Whitworth has played against that would crack the first 7 at Whitworth.  I know Wiser has been beating up some other teams, but he was no match for Whitworth's bigs.  Tesoro played well, but not as well as Whitworth's guards.  Edwards played decent, but not as good as Whitworth's wings.  Shaw played decent--he had a stat line similar to Bo Gregg coming off the bench and scored 20 less than Riley.  Beal is head and shoulders above any point guard in the league (except for Wade Gebbers).   Seriously, is there any team in the league that Loofburrow would not start for?  He ranks 9th in minutes played at Whitworth.

[nwhoops1903]

First Half ALL NWC Top 10:

Montgomery, WW              
Beal, WW
Riley, WW
Shaw, WHT
Edwards, LC
Stockner, GF
MacTaggart, PLU
Bartlett, PAC
Mitchell, WIL
Tesoro, LIN

Seriously, is there any team in the league that Loofburrow would not start for?  He ranks 9th in minutes played at Whitworth.

No, he would be averaging 25+ minutes a game.  I expect Jack's minutes will go up in the second half.  I think conditioning (layoff) and understanding of his benefit to THIS team took some time to decifer.  He will be a major force in the conference, as will Wade G.



                         

[etule]

Put Montomery on several other teams and he will make the people around him better. Not saying that the WW players are not very good they are but who you play with has a big impact on what you can do! I think Beal is the best PG I've seen this year.

[A Buc Forever]

Put Montomery on several other teams and he will make the people around him better. Not saying that the WW players are not very good they are but who you play with has a big impact on what you can do! I think Beal is the best PG I've seen this year.

First Half ALL NWC Top 10:

Montgomery, WW             
Beal, WW
Riley, WW
Shaw, WHT
Edwards, LC
Stockner, GF
MacTaggart, PLU
Bartlett, PAC
Mitchell, WIL
Tesoro, LIN                         

I agree that Montgomery would help any team in the conference and that the three WW selections for nwhoops1903 are great players.  However, what amazes me about WW this year is the depth.  Take nwhoops1903's all-star selections from WW's team out of the picture and I still think WW is in the running for a playoff spot.  This is a classic deep team that doesn't lose anything when they bring guys off the bench.  In fact, they often get a boost.  Great overall team, but they are going to have to run the table in the second half to get the championship outright.  I don't see Linfield losing to anyone but the Bucs. 

[TryMeTeam]

Can't argue with anyone on any of the teams.  They are all good players.  WW is deep, and you could make a case for all five starters on the all-league team, but we all know that is not the way it is done.  So just pick 3 of them and move on. 

Wil and LC get to make "the trip" this weekend and will probably lose all of the games there.  Fox starts an interesting round of games this week with a game at Pac tonight.  Might try to see that game, will you NWCer?

Can Linf keep on winning against the middle of the pack?  I don't think so, and this weekend they will be upset twice with two tough games in Tacoma. .  How about PLU and Fox?  PLU will sweep as will UPS, Whitm and WW.   Fox will split.  UPS has their backs against the wall, and pretty much has to come close to winning out to make the playoffs. 

Predictions: 
     WW        2-0
     Whitm    2-0
     UPS        2-0
     PLU         2-0
     Fox         1-1
     LC           0-2     
     Linf         0-2
     Pac          0-2
     Wil          0-2

I said I wasn't going to do this anymore, but I just can't help myself.   All home wins except Fox at Pac tonight.  Bold (or stupid) predictions!  Probably stupid.

[D O.C.]

FWIW...http://www.wildcatville.blogspot.com/ blogger T Mar sent this out to me

Apparently new* NBA official Scott Twardoski, Linfield alum, worked
the Big Sky (men's hoops? women's hoops?) in the early 2000s. And,
apparently he worked as an official in the WNBA the last four years as
well as the Big Sky and earned high marks on both fronts.


*He's apparently one of about 10 rookie refs the league is breaking in
this year.

[nwhoops1903]

Pac defeats GF 72-69.  Huge game for Bartlett, 29pts 18 rebs.

Boxers get their first!!  The second half madness has begun....

[TryMeTeam]

Just got back from the game tonight.  R Bartlett was huge!  Fox seemed to wane down the stretch, maybe got a little tired in the dark gym.  Fox missed a lot of wide open shots.  Both teams played similar on offense with the high pick and roll, but Pac was just a little bit better.  Fox just couldn't hit a 3 in the second half (20%, well below their average), and Gault and Bartlett hit their shots.

Puzzling loss for Fox, great win for Pac!

NWCer, tell me you were there to see your Boxers win!

Oh, yeah, Jury may be gone for a while.  He took a hard foul on a layup and went down with 14 minutes left in the first half.  He left the court on crutches, not a good sign.

[nwhoops1903]

Prediction Show:

WW over WIL
LC over WHT
PLU over LINF
UPS over FOX

Would that be 2 upsets?