MBB: Northwest Conference

[Gregory Sager]

A comfortable win against Linfield on the road with some injuries is a great result though. Is Neb Wes gonna be challenged at all in the IIAC? Or is it coast until the tournament for the Prairie Wolves?

It's the ARC now, not the IIAC. The league changed its name to the American Rivers Conference earlier this year. NebWes is the clear favorite, but Loras is awfully good and will give the Prairie Wolves a run for their money. Simpson has looked strong as well.

[D O.C.]

Health concerns made me just cancel my free rooms at The Bellagio for the 27th and 28th. Damn. Wanted to finally see the tourney.
And root for the 'CATS, of course.

[89Pirate]

Health concerns made me just cancel my free rooms at The Bellagio for the 27th and 28th. Damn. Wanted to finally see the tourney.
And root for the 'CATS, of course.

You could always donate your rooms to me 

[rlgyank]

As a Nebraska Wesleyan fan who saw both of their games in Oregon, I would say that both George Fox and Linfield are very solid teams. NWU had to play well to win both of those games. Teams and fans are definitely fired up to play NWU. I know Linfield had a promotion where everyone got in free, and they had a very good crowd for the game and were really in to it. I think it really helped the Linfield team. For NWU's schedule strength, I hope that both George Fox and Linfield continue the hot start to the season that they have had. The way that they played against NWU, I can see that as a pretty good possibility.

I think Linfield is a very solid team, though I'm not sure what happened against the solutes. That's a team they should have beat. I'm not at all sold on Fox. Early results say they should finish 3-4 in the NWC but this year that's probably not an impressive feat. It took OT to beat St. Olaf, OT to beat UPS, they have losses to Cal Lu and Johnson and Wales. After the Whits, Linfield is better than they were last year IMO. George Fox probably is too, but everyone else is worse so it's hard to tell. UPS, Pacific, L&C, Willamette all look like below average teams. I guess PLU can't be worse than they were last year but that isn't saying much.

A comfortable win against Linfield on the road with some injuries is a great result though. Is Neb Wes gonna be challenged at all in the IIAC? Or is it coast until the tournament for the Prairie Wolves?

As Mr. Sager said, Loras will be 2 tough games. If NWU plays their best, they should win all of the remaining games, but as everyone knows, teams don't always play their best. There are plenty of teams that are good enough in the ARC that if NWU falters at all, they will get beat.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Finals are done. Teams are getting a break, short or long. Everyone is taking a moment to slow down, enjoy time with family (hopefully), and take a breather.

That's what happens when the first semester comes to a close. Before long, the pressure will increase and games will be in full throat. This break will seem like a distant memory.

In an ode to those leaving work, campus early for the holidays - maybe hitting the road in the afternoon instead of evening, Hoopsville wraps up the finale to the first semester with an early show on Thursday. Dave talks with a couple of programs who have captured his attention. He also chats with a conference commissioner who not only has had a direct impact on the evolution of Division IIII basketball, but is also hanging up his commissioner's hat at the end of the academic year.

And who wants to "buy or sell" women's programs? Gordon Mann joins Dave with his take on the first six weeks of the season. There isn't anyone better to break down DIIII women's hoops, than Gordon.

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can tune into Thursday's special edition starting at 2:00 p.m. ET LIVE in the video player above. If you miss any of the show, you can watch it On Demand or listen to the audio-only podcast to the right (available shortly after the show goes off air).

If you have questions about Division III basketball, feel free to send them and we will answer them on a the show. Email them to hoopsville@d3hoops.com or use any of the social media options to the right.

Guests Schedule (order subject to change):
-Michelle Filander, No. 25 Austin women's coach
-Gordon Mann, D3hoops.com Deputy Editor ("Buy or Sell")
- Steve Ulrich, Centennial Conference commissioner
- Shanan Rosenberg, Linfield men's coach

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville




Don't forget you can always interact with us:
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[(509)Rat]

Whitworth beat Concordia-Chicago 143-95. The Pirates only made 9 threes on 25 attempts...but got to the FT line 49 times and made 40 of them.

Whitworth has a couple of games against much better competition coming up at the d3hoops.com classic. Thankfully. Then we wait until Jan 8th when round 1 of what will likely be at least a 3 game series against Whitman is played in Spokane.

Whitman beat Wooster and Alma comfortably. Wooster is traditionally a very strong program, though not sure how good they are this year as they dropped a game the next night to Sul Ross State.

[Gregory Sager]

Whitman beat Wooster and Alma comfortably. Wooster is traditionally a very strong program, though not sure how good they are this year as they dropped a game the next night to Sul Ross State.

According to the Top 25 board, this is the first time in 30 years that Wooster has lost three games in a row.

[D O.C.]

89rat... the thought occurred to me but Bellagio is really tough on things like that.
Then there's that $15 a day valet parking fee and the $30 a day resort fee

Nothing free in LaV anymore.

[(509)Rat]

Whitman squeaks by Ill Wes 105-103. I only caught the last couple of minutes, but I'd imagine that the game played out how a lot of games play out when a disciplined team plays the Blues.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Whitman squeaks by Ill Wes 105-103. I only caught the last couple of minutes, but I'd imagine that the game played out how a lot of games play out when a disciplined team plays the Blues.

I was in and out throughout the game - it was actually quite different from the other Whitman games I've seen this year.  The Blues looked a little rusty, in terms of defense and passing - more mistakes than normal.  It felt more like a shooting contest, with both teams knocking down big shots throughout.  It didn't feel like either team had their best game, but overall it was a great one to watch.

[catjumper]

Looked like a nice win for the 'Cats against Ramapo. Don't know much about them but their impressive record, so there was some trepidation about how it might turn out but Linfield seemed to make shots and plays when it had to and ended up with a comfortable win. Nowhere near saying Linfield will challenge either of the Whits, but hoping they can make it interesting against them - and maybe bring back some South Forty vibes for home games.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Ramapo's solid, but not exceptional.  It's a good win.  Without such hot shooting it could've gone the other way.

[(509)Rat]

Lester saves the day for Whitworth. Johns Hopkins 3pt shooting almost got them the win. Whitworth got inside and converted, or got to the FT line and converted which made up for their poor outside shooting last night. At least College buried one when it counted at the end. It was a good defensive effort by Hopkins and it was and should continue to be seen as a good win for the Pirates.

[(509)Rat]

Whitman did what Whitman does to overmatched opponents and dismantled CLU yesterday. They won by about 50. Forced over 30 turnovers.

Jan 8th...

[wildcat11]

Ramapo's solid, but not exceptional.  It's a good win.  Without such hot shooting it could've gone the other way.

The 'Cats will take it for sure. The Whits are the top shelf but I hope the 'Cats can make them uncomfortable this year.