MBB: Northwest Conference

Keandre · February 14, 2013, 06:20:09 PM

Wester didn'y play against LC. The pioneers got a lucky break. Pacific is better than them.

Keandre · February 15, 2013, 04:15:18 PM

I got the Washington teams winning this weekend! Sorry Oregon.

playball · February 15, 2013, 06:00:03 PM

Quote from: Keandre on February 15, 2013, 04:15:18 PM
I got the Washington teams winning this weekend! Sorry Oregon.

Wow, way to go out of your comfort zone for those picks Keandre!

I have Pacific of UPS, regardless of Wester playing or not. UPS got smacked by a Batuik-less Linfield. Enough said.
Whitworth over a Batuik-less Linfield. Whitworth is a tad better than UPS and will be motivated by those 2 loses.
Fox beats PLU.
Whitman loses to Willamette. Malley will be jacking shots up left and right! Might get 40 pts!

Saturday
Whitworth over Willamette.
Whitman over a Batuik-less Linfield.
Fox wins at UPS.
LC beats PLU

All Conference teams??

A Buc Forever · February 16, 2013, 12:10:46 PM

Rat,

I need some help here. If LC and GF both win tonight, they will be the #3 and #4 teams and go to the conference playoffs. Who will be #3 and #4? Is there any scenario that Pacific sneaks into the playoffs?

TryMeTeam · February 16, 2013, 03:33:31 PM

Rat:

I believe the tie-breaker format is:
Head to head (they split)
Finishes against the top teams down (Fox got WW once, LC did not). So Fox would be 3 and LC 4.

There could be a tie for 3rd if both LC and Fox lose (I can't see that happening but it is the NWC), but since LC swept PacU, PacU would be eliminated and the lineup would be the same as above.

Playball:

Why all the love for Will? They hate Linfield! It is one thing "to go out of your comfort zone". It is another to sign up for a p-test for picking Will over Whitm (Malley was a few short of 40)!

Sorry the OR teams lost a couple of big players down the stretch (Wester and Batuik), but it probably only made a minor difference with LC and PacU. LC just seems to have their number.

Fox at 3rd could create an OR team in the final, but it will probably be all-WA. And I believe Whitm is the only team with a chance to beat WW in Spokane.

Tonight the home teams all lose. That means I agree with Playball as he calms down with his picks!

playball · February 16, 2013, 09:51:38 PM

Break the Whitman gimmicky press and easy points!!

(509)Rat · February 17, 2013, 01:34:06 AM

Conference tourney is set. TryMeTeam was exactly right, Fox beat WW and therefore gets #3

#4 LC @ #1 Whitworth
#3 Fox @ #2 Whitman

A Buc Forever · February 17, 2013, 06:23:19 PM

Good first game for Whitworth. They match up well with LC. Needless to say, GF and Whitman have shown that they are capable of beating the Bucs. Hopefully WW can get through the conference tournament and get a high seed for the NCAA tournament.

Greek Tragedy · February 18, 2013, 01:11:09 PM

They dont really have seeds in the tourney. The far West is on an island, so it seems like the NWC plays someone from the SCIAC. If Whitworth was good enough, they might have received one of two byes, but that also could be due to location. With no pods this year and only one game a weekend, it'll be interesting where teams go each weekend.

(509)Rat · February 18, 2013, 01:35:02 PM

There might not be true "seeding" but the tournament committee has been pretty good about making sure the better, higher ranked, more deserving, etc. team has hosted when geographically and therefore financially feasible. ie 4 team pod at UPS when the Loggers and Pirates both made the tourney. Whitworth's back to back round 1 bye's to assure a second round home game. The times where Whitworth got screwed (Texas las year and Wooster two years ago...Wash U and Hope pods from years past were justifiable IMO) it was only because the NCAA couldn't (wouldn't) shell out the money to fly 3 teams to Spokane when they could bus 2 and fly 1. It sucked but was understandable/expected.

With the new format there is absolutely ZERO reason that Whitworth shouldn't host through the 2nd round. Flying Whitworth to Texas or Minnesota or Iowa or....is no different that flying those same teams to Spokane. So the higher "ranked" team should ALWAYS host (barring a facilities issue). Unless of course they get thrown into the same 1/16th of the bracket as STU or UWSP...which would require the NCAA purposefully putting the Pirates into games that they have a better chance of losing for the sole purpose of getting rid of the west coast team as soon as possible. I've seen the NCAA do some pretty terrible things but that would be a new low.

Depending on wether Whitworth wins the conference tourney and who makes it from the South, I bet SCIAC champ comes to Spokane in round 1, Texas or upper Midwest visits round 2, and then round 3 is entirely dependent on where ST, SP, and the CCIW teams show up in the bracket

formercat · February 19, 2013, 02:33:11 AM

I suppose I cannot say for sure because I have not seen the other teams in the Top 25 play, but in comparison with the past teams I can say that after seeing Whitworth play this weekend that they are probably ranked too high. The guard and post play for them is not nearly as strong as it has been the past couple of years. They have good players on team, but nothing like a Friedt, Montgomery, Beal, Riley, etc. Will be interesting to see who they get in their region of the bracket because I don't see them going very far without some favorable match-ups.

(509)Rat · February 19, 2013, 02:01:41 PM

I've always thought that they were ranked a little high...but they kept winning. And outside of the Fox loss, there hasn't been any difference in the type of results they are getting in and out of conference.

This team doesn't have the 1-2 all american type guys that they've had in years past, but they are a LOT deeper in terms of guys who can make meaningful offensive contributions. They don't have the dead-eye 3pt shooter either, but they have a much more athletic backcourt. Farnsworth is no Freidt or Montgomery (yet), but he's continued to imrove, just like the other 2 did. He's good enough to handle NWC competition, but could struggle come tournament time.

They've already beaten UMHB (21-4), Redlands (likely SCIAC champ), Chapman. They would be a favorite over any ASC, SCAC, SCIAC, MAC, or IIAC team. And not to mention, until they got a St. Thomas or UWSP, they're gonna get to play at home...so I don't know if they'll get anything but a favorable matchup until the sweet sixteen/elite 8

A Buc Forever · February 19, 2013, 02:48:19 PM

I agree with Rat. The bottom line is this team played a relatively tough non-league schedule and won. Other than the slip-ups against Fox and Whitman, they won in league. They haven't been crushing teams and they might not look as good as past teams, but they have a record that puts them in the same group of any of the past Whitworth teams. You have to give these guys credit for what they have accomplished so far and hopefully they will get to Salem. The new format gives them a much better shot than previous years.

playball · February 19, 2013, 03:52:10 PM

I agree with Cat. This team to me, does not seem as polished. Yes they have beaten some good squads earlier in the season but that was a while ago and won't be the same type atmosphere. No one on this roster really sticks out to me, which could be a good thing since this team can get contributions from a lot of different angles.

Buc, to put this team in the same sentence as the Beal-Montgomery team or even the Willemson-Nakamura-Symes is pushing the envelope. This years WW team won a conference that seems to me to be down this year in terms of overall team talent.

All Conference Teams?

A Buc Forever · February 19, 2013, 05:58:32 PM

Playball, you are too young to start saying, "Back in my day we were so much better..."

The league does look down a bit watching the level of play. I don't see truly exceptional Div III level players that could have played up at the D I and II level on a lot of teams like there were a few years ago, but that is very subjective. Objectively, the league does about what it always does out of conference and if you look at what I think was the most talented WW team in recent times, the one that went to the Elite Eight, their point guard was Wade Gebbers. He is not head and shoulders above the rest of the players on this team despite being 2 years older (granted a little bang up) so it's hard to say that this team could not have competed with that team from 2 years ago. These guys have to play in the era they are playing in and they are representing our school well and I give them full credit for what they have accomplished. Their ultimate legacy will be decided by how they do in the conference and NCAA tournaments and not by us old guys comparing them to the teams of yesterday.

No clue on all-conference.