MBB: Northwest Conference

[loggerfan1]

Comparisons between the 2008-09 16-0 uPS team and the 2009-10 WW team....I don't know.  Last year WW was the only team in NWC with a winning record overall. WW was great, but the league was unimpressive.   Puget Sound swept the league with WW at 23-6, third place team at 16-10.  I don't know which team was better.  I also thought UPS should have won its third round game.  Sucked that the other guys scored more points that day!   

[TryMeTeam]

Okay, everyone agrees that WW is the best team in the conference.

Who will be the other 3 teams in the playoffs?

Gotta go with LC as the #2 seed (way out on a limb there, huh?).  But they will be challenged in the second half.  5 of their 8 second half games on the road including the first 4 makes for a tough road.  Only home games: Pac, PLU and UPS.  They have to get Whitman tomorrow or even the second seed may be in danger.  Not sure they will go after WW too much because a win doesn't help them.  They will have to go through WW in the playoffs and everyone knows it is tougher to win 3 in a row, and the last game is the most important.  But even if they do win the 3rd, they will be back in Spokane for the DIII playoffs.  WW has all the advantages, but they earned them.

Whitman as my #3.  Reverse schedule of LC, 5 of 8 at home, and 4 of those teams have to go to WW to play the night before or after.  Away games: at Pac, PLU and UPS, all should be wins with UPS being the focal point tough game.  They could easily go 6-2 in the second half, and 10-6 would be good enough for 3rd.

PLU is my #4, but not a strong pick.  Their schedule is favorable, 4-4 home/road, and their EastWA trip is over.  They start the 2nd half at GF and PacU, two games they should win before taking on the EastWA teams at home.  Other than the blip against PacU, they have only lost to WW and LC.  I think Whitman gets them this time around as well as WW and LC, and another surprise loss to finish 9-7.

There very well could be a tie for that last spot or even last two spots.  UPS seems to be playing better (Dre will say/has said definitely playing better), and only have to play LC on the road for a tough game.  Their other games are at Wil, GF, and PacU, very win-able games.  But being a game out and behind the other playoff teams could really hurt them.  

Linfield's bubble could pop with 3 losses in the second half to start.  They got Whitman the first time, but Whitman is better now and Linf has to play at WW first.  We saw what happened to PacU on the second night of that trip.  4-4 games at home/away doesn't aid their chances, and I see them going 4-4 to finish 8-8, and just outside.

[David Collinge]

Okay, everyone agrees that WW is the best team in the conference.

Who will be the other 3 teams in the playoffs?

I thought the NWC had a three-team playoff.  Am I just crazy?

[A Buc Forever]

Okay, everyone agrees that WW is the best team in the conference.

Who will be the other 3 teams in the playoffs?

I thought the NWC had a three-team playoff.  Am I just crazy?

They have gone to a 4 team playoff.

Comparisons between the 2008-09 16-0 uPS team and the 2009-10 WW team....I don't know.  Last year WW was the only team in NWC with a winning record overall. WW was great, but the league was unimpressive.   Puget Sound swept the league with WW at 23-6, third place team at 16-10.  I don't know which team was better.  I also thought UPS should have won its third round game.  Sucked that the other guys scored more points that day!   

The UPS team from 2 years ago had similar levels of talent to the WW team of this year and they are hard to compare since UPS played the fast up and down game and WW plays a more controlled game.  However, I thought that UPS team faded at the end.  WW beat them in the league championship and gave them a great game the second round of the tournament even though the guy that was guarding Foster hurt his knee in the first round game.   Then UPS got their hat handed to them in the third round.  Last year's WW team finished strong and were in posiition to win their third round game. OK, they blew it. No other way to say it.

I would put last year's team on par with the UPS team of two years ago.  This year's team looks better than last, but their legacy   will depend on how they finish.  I'm worried about the playing time Wade Gebbers has missed recently.   Foul trouble really worries me.  When they get in a game with lots of fouls called, it really hurts them.  The bench is short. We'll see how they finish, but right now you have to say they are having as good a season as they could possibly have (how's that for a non-controversial statement).

[Keandre]

There is a lot of basketball left to play, a lot of things can happen from the 2-6 teams. I still think that UPS will make a run and be in the top 4 in the end. They can take care of business at Pac tonight, Wil tomorrow, get Whitman PLU and Linfield at home, and go to Fox and get one there, that is 6 wins which will put them at 9-7 and that is a pretty good spot to get in the top 4, plus, if they can get LC at LC, that is for sure possible, even though it is their coaches last home game and senior night, if UPS brings it, they will beat them. Plus, they get Whitworth at home and UPS is better now than they were at Whitworth minus the long road trip. Plus, the game was a good hard fought battle by UPS so who knows, they may be able to get WW at home if they play flawlessly lol.

[Keandre]

That means they could possibly get 10 wins, which is not out of the question.

[nwhoops1903]

The #2 in the nation Whitworth Pirates over Linfield

Whitman over LC

PLU over  G' Fox

Pac over UPS

[A Buc Forever]

Whitworth wasn't able to hold Linfield to 14 in the first half this time.  The Wildcats got 16.

[(509)Rat]

I would be embarrassed if I was a Linfield fan and had to watch Doty keep in his starters and start pressing with 5 min left in the game against the Pirate backups. Wiser still has more fouls than points...

[A Buc Forever]

Wiser, K.C.   *   0-6   0-2   1-2   7   0   4   1

[(509)Rat]

You think 'ol "playball" still reads the forums?

Wiser's like Sasquatch to me. I hear all these stories and but I've never seen him...

[(509)Rat]

Tonights winners...

WW (70-43)
Whitman (80-70)
PLU (60-58)
UPS (79-73)

[playball]

Haha I'll give it to you, thats pretty funny Rat.  Whitworth played a great game and showed why they are ranked #2 in the nation.  On a different note, BIG win for Whitman tonight, giving Whitworth a little more room.  A split would be huge for Linfield right now.

[(509)Rat]

Doty really hung you guys out to dry. Point Special was right. Lot of either standing around or useless/wasted motion. Linfield is good enough inside that they could have used the pick and roll more effectively to get the ball down low with someone other than Fredit or Loofburrow defending the post. Could have gotten Riley in fouls trouble and not had to rely on hucking up contested 3's. Reallisticaly, Linfield wasn't going to win. But when option A isn't working I'd expect my coach to do something different to try and get my team back in the game.

I like what Castle said last night. Whitworth keeps expecting challenges and close games but they just haven't gotten one yet. I don't expect tonight to be any different. There is zero pressure on Whitworth now with the LC loss. And looking at the stat line something might have happened to McCoullagh (sp?). Either way, LC will only stay in the game if they can outrebound the pirates on both ends of the court. I don't know how else they can limit Whitworth's possessions and get enough possessions the selves to win in Spokane.

[playball]

Doty really hung you guys out to dry.

Thats not really all that true.  Whitworth's defense was able to control and contain most of our sets regardless.  Another off game by us and good game from them.  The game plan worked for a while but we, as players, weren't able to keep it going.  Thats not on the coach