MBB: Northwest Conference

[NWCer]

Wow, tough night for the NWC.  2 and 6 with the nearly unanimous preseason favorite losing 101-79 and being down by so much (55-31 at half, and 37 at one point).  Either UWSP is better than #10 or Whitworth isn't as good as #16....

Come on NWC, let's bounce back tonight.

Oh, a ball hitting a thigh is not a kick, but touching the rim in warm ups is a technical...

[NWCer]

And TMT, all your favorite teams, the OR schools were 0-5, gotta pick it up!

[LogShow]

Whoa baby, WW sure took a beat down last night.  Humbling I'm sure...especially after that premature final 4 talk.  UWSP is tough!  They always are.  UPS is going to have to bring their A game tonight for it to be a good game...I'm excited to see what they bring to the table.

[Gregory Sager]

Mentioning a blown kicking call after a 22-point beatdown? That's like sitting in a lifeboat after the Titanic went down and griping about the fact that the galley had run out of pudding for dessert that night.

[LogShow]

Good luck tonight Logs!  Lets put on a show!

[LogShow]

Well the Logs kept it close most of the night...it got away from them a little bit at the end.  They hit a real offensive drought in the second half and hardly scored for about 7 mins.  I would have to say I am definately encouraged by this game...it should be something they can build on.

[LogShow]

I am interested in what the WW fans think after this weekend...were any of you able to see them live?

[John Gleich]

Well the Logs kept it close most of the night...it got away from them a little bit at the end.  They hit a real offensive drought in the second half and hardly scored for about 7 mins.  I would have to say I am definately encouraged by this game...it should be something they can build on.

Was it miserable shooting by the Logs or good defense by the Pointers that kept UPS to 55 points?

[logshock101]

Well the Logs kept it close most of the night...it got away from them a little bit at the end.  They hit a real offensive drought in the second half and hardly scored for about 7 mins.  I would have to say I am definately encouraged by this game...it should be something they can build on.

Was it miserable shooting by the Logs or good defense by the Pointers that kept UPS to 55 points?

A little from column A and a little from column B, with the advantage going to column A

[LogShow]

Well the Logs kept it close most of the night...it got away from them a little bit at the end.  They hit a real offensive drought in the second half and hardly scored for about 7 mins.  I would have to say I am definately encouraged by this game...it should be something they can build on.

Was it miserable shooting by the Logs or good defense by the Pointers that kept UPS to 55 points?

I wasn't trying to take anything away from Point...it was probably some of both.

[John Gleich]

Well the Logs kept it close most of the night...it got away from them a little bit at the end.  They hit a real offensive drought in the second half and hardly scored for about 7 mins.  I would have to say I am definately encouraged by this game...it should be something they can build on.

Was it miserable shooting by the Logs or good defense by the Pointers that kept UPS to 55 points?

I wasn't trying to take anything away from Point...it was probably some of both.

I didn't think you were... but I wasn't there, and it certainly could have been UPS just having a very off night.  I've seen UPS play and this Point team is fairly young and inexperienced (that's where the 25 TOs came in, I think).

[PSfan]

I saw a bit of the WW/UWSP game and WW looked godawful.  They were slow and, um, bad.  I've been impressed by WW teams the past several years and I'm sure they'll get things together, but let me add to the mini-chorus of people on the board who've been questioning the early chest pounding by Pirates fans.  WW is well-coached and I'm sure they'll be good, but it's a project, my friends. 

Speaking of projects...the Loggers played hard and did hang in there until the very end.  The team hasn't shown much shooting yet and this just killed them in the second half against a sound Point team.  It looked like they auditioned just about everybody on the roster looking for someone who might nail a 3 in the second half, without success; just one or two would have made this a far more interesting game.  Point played well defensively, but there were lots of open shots there that just didn't go.  At times Coach Lunt had three frosh on the floor--and you know what, they did ok.   

[OxyBob]

Mentioning a blown kicking call after a 22-point beatdown? That's like sitting in a lifeboat after the Titanic went down and griping about the fact that the galley had run out of pudding for dessert that night.

What kind of pudding?

OxyBob

[TryMeTeam]

So, I have been trying to figure out what the first weekend of games mean, and I think I figured it out.  Like all pre-league games, they mean nothing!

Some interesting results though.  No winning records, although LC might have had they had all of their players (more on that later).  It sounds like Linfield was playing its first game against a team that had played several (sounds familar, eh NWCer), and started out slowly.  NW Christ has been a real good team over the years, so there is no disrespect there.

Willamette goes 1-1 and is now at the top of the NWC standings.  CMS looks like they might be down this year, but a win at this stage for the Cats is very impressive without Mitchell and a young, small team. 

Pac is tied for thrd playing three close games including two very close ones.  They will battle for a playoff spot.

According to their roster and other info (from Biddy), LC plays 3 freshman, 1 soph and a football player huge minutes 3 nights in a row and takes two games into overtime, 1 of which beats Whitman by 15.  LC might be a deep team when the other players get back if these young players can do that.

Yeah, NWCer, my OR teams are a combined 2-8 with wins by Wil and a near loss by Pac the only wins.  Not a very good showing so far, but as the UPS fans say, it is early and they will come around.

WW having trouble with S Cruz seems out of character.  Other posters here imply they are not playing well right now, but it is early. 

UPS is on track for that 2-7 pre-league record.  If they do contend in conference, it will be a surprising  turnaround to me.

Whitman pulls away from Portland Bible and then loses to W Jessup.  Kind of a Jekyl/Hyde routine.

I wanted to come in here and say this means that and I told you so, but not much to say about this weekend's results.  Need more data to figure where these teams are.

Okay, Biddy finally got back to me, and he is pissed!  Apparently, from what Biddy heard, the situation at LC is a witch hunt.  And Coach G did not agree to the suspensions, his boss gave him the edict.  He had no choice in the matter.  It is about the meal service and accounting overages, but the system has been used for many years with no problem and suddenly this year there are NCAA violations that require suspensions right before the first games?  I have never heard such language from Biddy, who said nobody seems to know how long this will go on.

It may take to whole pre-league season to make any sense how the teams will fare in league, but that is what these games are all about.  At least it is not boring.

I am leaving town tomorrow and don't know if can find a thread to the board, so...

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving! 

[NWCer]

Thanks TMT,

Unfortunately for the Pios witch hunts usually bring about findings and they take place in the first place for a reason, interesting...

Seems like the guys they played with over the weekend really battled...