MBB: Northwest Conference

[playball]

When a team relies solely on one player for the majority of the game is the point you are bringing up Buc.  I am talking about when things get difficult.  An example of riding a player hen things get tough would be when Nate torched us at WW when he was a junior in the playoff game.  A guy that comes up with that big bucket.  MJ was MJ and Rodman was a total bum on the offensive end until the rebound was loose.  Kind of a far flung example.

And Keandre, I agree that Gebbers is a tough kid, but the games Ive checked on he has struggled a bit.  That has surprised me since in the past it seemed like this kid could not miss a shot or do any type of wrong!

[A Buc Forever]

Playball,

    Gebbers has been hurt on and off this year.  Seems to be getting healthy for league though.
   
   I agree it is great to have a guy that can get you a bucket in crunch time, but what I'm talking about is having a team that runs a balanced offense that gets everyone involved versus isolation plays. The MJ example is relevant. I think a whole game of isolation plays makes you stagnant. it's not as effective in college as it is in the NBA because of the rule differences.

BTW, it's more than Gebbers/McConnell.  WW has had several other players have big nights. A couple guys have come off the bench and had huge games to lead the charge. Tough team to scout. You don't know who is going to come up big.

[John Gleich]

We forgot to mention the impressive 23 point 2nd overtime by the Bucs!!!  Keep that up for a whole game and you can put up 180.

I listened to the two overtimes, and my initial reaction to this was going to be "Well, they shot a lot of free throws... it's easy to score lots of points if you do it when the clock isn't running."

I thought that because, during the second OT (which took quite some time), I remember tweeting something to the effect of "This is turning into a free throw shooting contest."

But that's not (completely) why Whitworth scored so many points and won.

There were a lot of free throws in the second OT (17), though WW only took 5 of them (and made all 5... WM was 9/12). Whitworth was also a perfect 8/8 from the field.

After a WM TO started the second OT and the teams traded baskets to tie it at 91, here's how the next 2 1/2 minutes went:

WW Made 3 (+3 WW)
WM TO (+3 WW)
WW Made 3 (+6 WW)
WM 1/2 FT's (+5 WW)
WW layup (+7 WW)
WM TO (+7 WW)
WW layup +1 (+10 WW)

It was basically academic at that point... for a Whitman team that had been pressing all game, 60% of the time was gone and they were down 10. They didn't quit... they forced two Whitworth turnovers on the next two possessions but could *only* hit 3/4 FT's (I say "only" kind of tongue in cheek... they did cut the lead in just :15), but you could tell that Whitman was exhausted from all of the additional energy expended from their press.

Whitworth's two 3's to start the second OT were enormous... but if you look at the other 6 shots, they were layups (if the play by play can be believed... though I seem to recall this as being fairly accurate). It's much easier to go 6/6 on layups than on jumpers... and Whitworth was able to break the press and either get quick easy scores or break down the defense in the half court setting and score a high percentage shot.

You can argue with the #5 ranking and talk about talent levels, etc., but this team finds a way to win.  I also like the motion offense that gets everyone involved and doesn't rely on isolation plays.

Other than the biggest test (UST @ Whitworth in Whit's game #1), Whitworth can't do anything other than play their schedule and beat the teams that they play. They've done that thus far this year, and that's all anyone can ask of them.

For a team like Whitworth, who has had several years of recent success, or the UPS teams of the early Aughts, they always run into this question because they're forced to play other west coast teams (no matter if they're good or not or even D-III teams or not). They get the occasional team who flies out to play them (a la UST) or they make a trip east (Pat said that they're playing in Las Vegas next year, and there will also be 3 WIAC teams there, yay inter-regional opponents!) but other than that, they're stuck with who they're stuck with.

Whit needs to just keep beating the teams that they play and let the chips fall where they may. They'll get yet another opportunity to prove themselves worthy in the NCAA tournament.

[Pat Coleman]

We forgot to mention the impressive 23 point 2nd overtime by the Bucs!!!  Keep that up for a whole game and you can put up 180.

I listened to the two overtimes, and my initial reaction to this was going to be "Well, they shot a lot of free throws... it's easy to score lots of points if you do it when the clock isn't running."

I thought that because, during the second OT (which took quite some time), I remember tweeting something to the effect of "This is turning into a free throw shooting contest."

Because I remember crazy stuff like that (for a couple days at least) I think it was with about 1:30 left.

[John Gleich]

We forgot to mention the impressive 23 point 2nd overtime by the Bucs!!!  Keep that up for a whole game and you can put up 180.

I listened to the two overtimes, and my initial reaction to this was going to be "Well, they shot a lot of free throws... it's easy to score lots of points if you do it when the clock isn't running."

I thought that because, during the second OT (which took quite some time), I remember tweeting something to the effect of "This is turning into a free throw shooting contest."

Because I remember crazy stuff like that (for a couple days at least) I think it was with about 1:30 left.

It was likely then, or soon thereafter... from the 1:45 mark until the end of the game, Whitworth shot 4 FT's and Whitman shot 10.

It just took forever for that game to end due to foul shots... but it wasn't Whitworth who was shooting them, it was Whitman!

[A Buc Forever]

Another close win. This team doesn't win easily, but they win.  I'll take it.

[John Gleich]

Another close win. This team doesn't win easily, but they win.  I'll take it.

I didn't watch the whole game... just the last 7 minutes or so. How did WW get so many turnovers? GF pressure? Or largely unforced TO's?

Hard to tell if this is just a hangover from Tuesday's game or if there are more troubles afoot for WW.


Listening to the end of the GF broadcast... did I hear that right? GF turns right around an plays Whitman tomorrow? So Whitman gets 4 days rest and GF gets none? That's a strange schedule...

[A Buc Forever]

I didn't watch the whole game... just the last 7 minutes or so. How did WW get so many turnovers? GF pressure? Or largely unforced TO's?

Hard to tell if this is just a hangover from Tuesday's game or if there are more troubles afoot for WW.


Listening to the end of the GF broadcast... did I hear that right? GF turns right around an plays Whitman tomorrow? So Whitman gets 4 days rest and GF gets none? That's a strange schedule...

I just caught the end also.  WW seems to be winning a lot of games like this. Not exactly dominating.  Just getting it done.  It didn't look like the GF pressure was that great. The announcers even said it wasn't GF pressure, but Whitworth played sloppy.

The schedule works out this way.  After Whitworth and Whitman play each other on Tuesday night, they each play one game the next weekend against the same team.  Really not fair for the team that has to travel and play them back to back while the Whits just play one game that weekend.

[playball]

Another close win. This team doesn't win easily, but they win.  I'll take it.

Listening to the end of the GF broadcast... did I hear that right? GF turns right around an plays Whitman tomorrow? So Whitman gets 4 days rest and GF gets none? That's a strange schedule...

Thats what happens when one of the Oregon schools doesn't get paired up with another school for games.  Their "travel partner".  Every year this happens to some unlucky team.  Makes a tough trip east even tougher.

Trouble in paradise for WW?  I doubt it.  Its a long season, and there is bound to be down games like this for any team, just not usually seen that much, if at all, from WW. 
"But as he has so many times in his career, Wade Gebbers came up with the big shot for the Pirates.  His long three-pointer stemmed the tide and started Whitworth on its final game-winning 10-2 run."  From the D3 hoops write up.  Looks like whoever writes these things reads the boards!!

Linfield beats UPS!!!  Batuik is an animal.  25-12-5  POY?  He has to be a first teamer at least.  Name is all over the top 10 league lists for stats.  Pretty impressive for a soph.

I didn't see this coming at all, but Pacific downs PLU at PLU.  Another youngster getting it done with Brakebush scoring 26.  From the pictures of the game the place looks packed!  Not surprised though, PLU was a fun place to play with some rowdy students, regardless of the teams record.

And Willamette falls to LC.  Not surprised much here.  However, with the lack of size that LC has, I thought Willamette would go to Dart more than 8 times.  And they might not have given him the ball even that much since he did have 3 O boards.  I get it that when Malley goes, the team goes.  However, in a game against a 6'3 and under squad like LC he should not be taking 20 shots!  Big game for Justin Leathers.  Hard working big for LC.  Shot it well last night.

[Pinecone_Curtain]

Whitworth did play sloppy tonight, but as some of you called a few days ago, it was Gebbers who hit the big shot when they needed it to lift the Bucs. Many of the turnovers were self-inflicted. A stupid travel here. A bad pass there. But credit the Fox defense for a lot of the turnovers. After Whitworth dominated in the paint early (remember they built a 20-5 lead before Fox went on something like a 26-5 run the rest of the first half), Fox made defensive adjustments to collapse on the WW bigs, which, 1) caused some turnovers from the WW bigs, and 2) opened up a lot of kick-out looks for their guards. It's just their guards went cold for about a 10-minute stretch. Like, really cold.

Second half, WW made a comeback, got up 8-ish before Fox made it a game late. Fox led by six with two minutes left or so when Gebbers came up with a HUGE and DEEP 3. Then WW got defensive stops on their next three or four possessions. Getting defensive stops in the clutch (a la WM's last possession in regulation) has become what this team is all about. WW didn't deserve to win tonight, but they found a way, which is what good teams do. Are they the fifth best team in the nation? They don't have #5 in the nation talent (or probably even top 10 talent), but they just find a way to win games and that's all that matters.

The thing about this team: they aren't the most talented WW team. In fact, they probably are the least talented WW team in a decade. But they are tough, gritty, well-coached, can play any number of styles (won shoot-out with WM and won a grind-it-out game with Fox in three days), and can come up with a stop when they need it. And sometimes that's all it takes.

[(509)Rat]

Whitworth did play sloppy tonight, but as some of you called a few days ago, it was Gebbers who hit the big shot when they needed it to lift the Bucs. Many of the turnovers were self-inflicted. A stupid travel here. A bad pass there. But credit the Fox defense for a lot of the turnovers. After Whitworth dominated in the paint early (remember they built a 20-5 lead before Fox went on something like a 26-5 run the rest of the first half), Fox made defensive adjustments to collapse on the WW bigs, which, 1) caused some turnovers from the WW bigs, and 2) opened up a lot of kick-out looks for their guards. It's just their guards went cold for about a 10-minute stretch. Like, really cold.

Second half, WW made a comeback, got up 8-ish before Fox made it a game late. Fox led by six with two minutes left or so when Gebbers came up with a HUGE and DEEP 3. Then WW got defensive stops on their next three or four possessions. Getting defensive stops in the clutch (a la WM's last possession in regulation) has become what this team is all about. WW didn't deserve to win tonight, but they found a way, which is what good teams do. Are they the fifth best team in the nation? They don't have #5 in the nation talent (or probably even top 10 talent), but they just find a way to win games and that's all that matters.

The thing about this team: they aren't the most talented WW team. In fact, they probably are the least talented WW team in a decade. But they are tough, gritty, well-coached, can play any number of styles (won shoot-out with WM and won a grind-it-out game with Fox in three days), and can come up with a stop when they need it. And sometimes that's all it takes.

[John Gleich]

Trouble in paradise for WW?  I doubt it.  Its a long season, and there is bound to be down games like this for any team, just not usually seen that much, if at all, from WW. 
"But as he has so many times in his career, Wade Gebbers came up with the big shot for the Pirates.  His long three-pointer stemmed the tide and started Whitworth on its final game-winning 10-2 run."  From the D3 hoops write up.  Looks like whoever writes these things reads the boards!!

I have to think there was some holdover from the extra "quarter" that WW played on Tuesday, but the number of turnovers is concerning.

I don't know if it was the pressure or what... but George Fox did just about everything they could at the end of the game to lose that one. You have to give some credit to WW for forcing their will... but GF turned the ball over 4 times, missed the front end of a 1 & 1, and shot two airballs.

From purely a talent standpoint, you could tell that Whitworth was the better team... they certainly shot the ball better. But I think they were slow on defense and it caused them to foul. GF was almost able to overcome a nearly 20% difference in shooting percentage between WW and GF by getting to the line and making WW pay.

I do feel sorry for George Fox... having to turn right around and play a rested Whitman today, in a game that certainly won't end up 61-59. Whitman just causes opponents to play much faster than that.

[(509)Rat]

Fox beat Whitman...

[Bearcat Press]

Bearcat: I don't understand why Babcock-Krenk and Dart aren't the main guys of that offense.  Any thoughts?

To be fair, WU ran a ton of plays trying to get EBK open for threes last night.  L&C just did a great job keeping him under wraps.  Dart, though, was on the bench for much of the second half, including when the Pioneers went on their big run to take over the game.  To me, that was mystifying.

Also, I've given up trying to understand what's happening this year with the eight NWC teams not named Whitworth.  Fox beating Whitman is ridiculous.  So is Willamette beating PLU on the road despite shooting 18-27 from the free throw line.

[(509)Rat]

Current NWC standings...

Whitworth              6-0
George Fox              3-2
Willamette              3-2
Pacific (Ore.)      2-2
Lewis & Clark      3-3
Whitman              3-3
Pacific Lutheran      2-4
Linfield              2-4
Puget Sound      1-5