MBB: Northwest Conference

[(509)Rat]

I only caught the part where Linfield peed down their own leg. It really wouldn't have mattered if the Blues had lost, maybe it's a good thing that they didn't. Hate to see them mad and extra motivated.

[wildcat11]

Missed last nights game.....

[D O.C.]

  Tried to watch the WILDCAT - Bruin game Friday night.
Mostly edited Micro Soft Word while listening.
I'm just not up on Division III recruiting.

Again, I'm comparing everything I watch to Chino Hills High School....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnCFC-_CyYQ

Sign O the Times : Ballervision

[catjumper]

Just got home from the Linfield vs. George Fox game - an entertaining evening, even if the outcome was disappointing for the 'Cats. By halftime, it looked like the Bruins were just a little bit the better team: a bit more decisive, a bit more precise. Most of the second half felt like Linfield looking for a way to stay in the game, and they did until GFU's little run with about 3:00 left that pushed it to an eight-point lead. But ... the 'Cats are getting there.

Now, what's the tiebreaker criteria for the potential logjam?

[wildcat11]

Very good game last night.  Rico for Fox was just feeling it with that 35 he dropped and was the game's difference maker. Linfield's Maloof was also fantastic with 28. Great showing by the Linfield student body and it created a fun atmosphere.

[catjumper]

And there's your Northwest Conference "trap game" for the weekend ... setting up an interesting finish next week.

[(509)Rat]

Linfield just needs to beat PLU and they are in. L&C will pick up at least one loss, probably two next weekend, so will Fox, and they are already up a game on PLU and 2 on UPS (they would own a tiebreaker over UPS if they lost their next two given that they split with Fox and UPS was swept...Im pretty sure). If they lose to PLU, but beat Willamette and end up being tied with Fox and PLU, I don't know who gets the last two spots in the conference tourney. I just checked standings and schedules real quick so I could be missing something too and be wrong about the standings ending up in a tie for 3rd-5th.

[catjumper]

Thanks, (509)Rat - given the Linfield vs. PLU result in McMinnville, I'm mostly wondering about that scenario where it's the 'Cats, George Fox and PLU (and maybe L&C?) tied. I've been around high school conferences where if someone had a win over one of the higher-placing teams then they're in, then you eliminate that team and go head to head among the remaining teams, and around conferences where they just go head-to-head among all the tied teams, and so on and so on. (Warning: do not attempt to diagram that last sentence.) I'll be interested to see what the tiebreaker ladder looks like.

Of course, the 'Cats could just go ahead and win to get in, and that would be fine.

[Pinecone_Curtain]

If I did my math right, I believe we have our 4 tourney teams:
1) Whitman
2) Whitworth
3-4 tbd) Linfield & George Fox -- though obviously Linfield has a better shot at the 3 since they play WIL & Fox plays WM

So I'm guessing next weekend looks like:
Fox @ WM
Linfield @ WW

I don't think Fox or Lin are on the level of the Whits, so I'd guess it will be a WW/WM showdown for the tournament. I think both are safe to get into the national tournament, no matter the result. This is WM's year, so I think they take the tournament.

Thoughts on NWC awards?
Here are mine
POY - Howell (WM)
COY - Bridge

1st team
Jurlina
Roach
Lester
Lacey
Harrison

[A Buc Forever]

I have not followed the league as closely as I usually do, but Pinecone's assessment seems about right.  WM is having the best year a NWC team has ever had.  WW 2010 went undefeated in league and won the tournament, but had a couple preseason losses.  UPS 2009 went undefeated in league, but lost the tournament.  Kudos to WM if they win out.  Bridgeland has put together an amazing program in Walla Walla.  WW is actually having a great year, but they feel like a distant 2nd to WM right now.  Hopefully they can get to Walla Walla for the league tournament final, take care of the ball, and get a big win. I agree with Pinecone. You would think WW's resume would be good enough to get into the tournament if they don't win the tournament, but you cannot count on it.

It will be interesting to see what the NCAA does WM wins out. Is there any chance they play at home in the first round?

[wildcat11]

Congrats to the 'Cats on their first NWC playoff appearance since 2010!  Great progress by this program under Coach Rosenberg.

Yeah, I think that both Linfield and GFU might be annoyances next weekend but it comes down to the Whits.  Part of me would rather take the four seed with the way Linfield has played Whitman this season but just happy to see Linfield representing.

[Pat Coleman]

I have not followed the league as closely as I usually do, but Pinecone's assessment seems about right.  WM is having the best year a NWC team has ever had.  WW 2010 went undefeated in league and won the tournament, but had a couple preseason losses.  UPS 2009 went undefeated in league, but lost the tournament.  Kudos to WM if they win out.  Bridgeland has put together an amazing program in Walla Walla.  WW is actually having a great year, but they feel like a distant 2nd to WM right now.  Hopefully they can get to Walla Walla for the league tournament final, take care of the ball, and get a big win. I agree with Pinecone. You would think WW's resume would be good enough to get into the tournament if they don't win the tournament, but you cannot count on it.

It will be interesting to see what the NCAA does WM wins out. Is there any chance they play at home in the first round?

There's no first-round byes anymore, so remember that Whitman would be hosting first and second round, a pod of four teams, not just one first-round game.

[Gregory Sager]

I have not followed the league as closely as I usually do, but Pinecone's assessment seems about right.  WM is having the best year a NWC team has ever had.  WW 2010 went undefeated in league and won the tournament, but had a couple preseason non-conference losses.

FTFY. 

You would think WW's resume would be good enough to get into the tournament if they don't win the tournament, but you cannot count on it.

Actually, I think that you can count on it. Whitman and Whitworth are currently #1 and #2, respectively, in the West Region rankings. As far as the other West Region leagues are concerned, the IIAC is a mess, with everybody beating everybody else left and right. There won't be anybody from the IIAC standing in line ahead of the Pirates on Selection Monday, should Whitworth fail to win the NWC tourney. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was the only SCIAC team with a respectable W-L percentage -- the other criteria for CMS, including SoS, absolutely stink -- and the Stags are fading fast, having lost three of their last four. I don't see CMS beating out Whitworth for the honor of being the West Region's top Pool C candidate, unless the Pirates tank tonight against L&C and then lose in the NWC semis while CMS beats Chapman, Oxy, and the #4 SCIAC tourney seed, and then loses in the SCIAC tourney's title game. That leaves the MIAC, where #3 St. Thomas is currently the only regionally ranked team. If the Tommies somehow fail to win the MIAC automatic berth, while the Pirates somehow lose either to L&C or in the MWC semis, or both, then it's possible that UST could move ahead of Whitworth. But, even then, Whitworth would still get to the table pretty early in the Pool C discussion on Selection Monday.

The number crunchers over on the various Multi-Regional Topics boards all have the Pirates as either a lock or a near-lock for a Pool C berth. I don't really think that you have anything to worry about.

It will be interesting to see what the NCAA does WM wins out. Is there any chance they play at home in the first round?

Given the fact that Whitman's most likely going to be either the first or second seed in the entire bracket, let alone the West Region's #1, it's practically a given that the Blues will be hosting a first-weekend pod in Walla Walla. The NCAA is going to have to pay for at least two flights the first weekend, no matter what; either Whitman and Whitworth get shipped out elsewhere, or else two other teams get sent to eastern Washington, so it's both proper and economically feasible for the Blues to host.

Make plans to see Whitworth play somebody from outside the Pacific Northwest in the early game in the Sherwood Center on Friday, March 3, while Whitman hosts another long-distance traveler in the late game that night.

[A Buc Forever]

Glad you think WW is a lock, but we are the school that won the league in football and did not get a bid. 

WM deserves a home game.  However, it's a 3 hour drive from Spokane. The NCAA has not wanted p to make teams travel just to Spokane.  Now they have the Spokane flight and a 3 hour drive.

[Gregory Sager]

The length of the drive is meaningless, unless it's over 500 miles, It's cheaper to pay for three hours' worth of diesel bus fuel than for a team's worth of plane tickets.

And, as I said, there will be two first-weekend flights no matter how the bracket is put together. Whitworth's within-500-miles proximity to Whitman therefore means that the Blues can get the hosting privileges they've earned, because it's just as easy to fly two teams into eastern Washington as it is to fly two teams out.

What happened to Whitworth football is irrelevant. Track the Pool C board on the Multi-Regional Topics tree, and see for yourself where Whitworth sits in the big picture.