MBB: Northwest Conference

[BluesBrother]

Not only was Isaiah Hernandez back, but he played an excellent game and really made the difference for Whitworth.  College was not hitting early and Hernandez hit four clutch FTs down the stretch.  I'm glad I didn't drop Whitworth entirely out of my ballot.  I was counting on Hernandez being back and while they still need some adjustments, it does appear Whitworth is the class of the NWC this season.


(Cue a Whitman win on Tuesday).

It's a frustrating kind of magic, but it's magic nonetheless.

[BluesBrother]

Fun back-and-forth game last night, with Whitman emerging with their 63-game NWC regular season winning streak intact and their 5th consecutive win in Spokane, both mighty impressive feats. Neither team looked sharp, but there were some great individual efforts on both sides, most notably Aussie Rob Colton's career high 25 points for Whitman (and 9 offensive rebounds!).

I'm eager to see how Linfield fares this weekend, and glad the Blues get to face them on Saturday after they play Whitworth on Friday.

[D O.C.]

Yep, brutal weekend for LINFIELD

[BluesBrother]

Whitman is now firmly in the driver's seat in the NWC after handing Linfield their second loss on the weekend. Linfield burst out to a 14-2 lead, but from that point forward Whitman controlled the game and cruised to victory.

It'll be interesting to see how the Whits fare next month when they travel to Linfield. Whitworth barely pulled the game out at home -- not hard to see it playing out the other way next time. And Whitman would likely have a harder time digging out of a hole on the road.

Whitman is playing at a very different level than they were 6 weeks ago. It's a credit to Bridgeland that he has brought this group together despite losing so much talent and dealing with early season injuries to key returners.

[BluesBrother]

The Blues 67-game NWC regular season winning streak is over, after Lewis & Clark prevailed on Saturday.

The Pios shot really well and held Whitman to just 83 points, well below their season average. Whitman was just 6-21 from 3 and 15-28 from the line...tough to win with that kind of shooting. Rob Colton dominated the offensive glass with 8 boards, but his 5-14 from the line really hurt.

It's been a while since Whitman laid an egg during conference play, but this feels a lot like some of the early season losses. Unlike previous years, this Blues team will have a harder time winning on an off night.

Also concerning is that Trevor Osborne went down in the waning seconds with what looked like a knee injury and had to be helped off the floor. Hopefully he's back in action this weekend.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First Regional Rankings are out: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/02/men-regional-rankings-first

[A Buc Forever]

Looks like an AWESOME finish coming up for the conference.  The three top teams will play each other at the end of the regular season and how they do in these last games will determine the seeding for the tournament. Then they will play each other in the tournament. Hopefully, we get 2 teams in the NCAA tournament and those two will play each other one more time.  By the time we get to the third round of the NCAA tournament these teams will be sick of each other but they will all have played some great games. If you are a NWC basketball fan, the only way this gets better is if Whitworth is the team that heads into the Sweet Sixteen.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Looks like an AWESOME finish coming up for the conference.  The three top teams will play each other at the end of the regular season and how they do in these last games will determine the seeding for the tournament. Then they will play each other in the tournament. Hopefully, we get 2 teams in the NCAA tournament and those two will play each other one more time.  By the time we get to the third round of the NCAA tournament these teams will be sick of each other but they will all have played some great games. If you are a NWC basketball fan, the only way this gets better is if Whitworth is the team that heads into the Sweet Sixteen.

First ... regional rankings indicate getting a second team in would be difficult this year. That said, let's see what this week's say. But Whitworth is ranked fourth but other data not included that could hurt them. And no other team ranked at all.

Second ... third round of the tournament? As much as I want to see it ... I doubt that the committee would be able to split up the teams if they have two from the Northwest in the tournament. Not with the expenses this tournament will already have.

Remember, Sweet 16 will be played at eight different schools (eight games, four on friday and four on saturday). And the quarterfinals and semifinals will be in Fort Wayne this year.

[A Buc Forever]

If the NWC gets 2 teams in the tournament, then the first round will be a pod of 4 teams someplace.  Hopefully the committee won't make the two NWC teams play each other in the first round.  Then, if both NWC teams win their first round, they will play each other in the second round and then a NWC team will be in the Sweet Sixteen.  That has been the norm the last few years. We might not get two teams in this year, but we consistently put out a top 16 team every year. The NWC has had a team in the Sweet Sixteen or higher every year since the 2002-03 season with two exceptions when their top team went out in the second round.  Most of those years were with one team getting into the tournament.  Hopefully the streak will continue.  Most importantly, before we get to the NCAA tournament, we have some great games comping up.  The top 3 teams will play each other once each.  Then these teams will be in the conference tournament and we can count on 3 more games of top level basketball. Then the NCAA tournament will start. It is great to see the league have at least 3 high level teams.  Back  10 to 15 years ago the league had 3 to 5 teams slugging it out and the league was more interesting than where it was a couple years ago with Whitman and Whitworth way above the rest of the teams.  Hopefully LC beating Whitman is a sign they are on the rise and PLU's record is an indication that they will be challenging the top 3 teams next year.

[Gregory Sager]

If the NWC gets two teams into the tourney, they won't play in the first round. The committee is instructed by the NCAA to avoid pairing two teams from the same league in the opening round if at all possible -- and, even with the constraints of being one of the "island" leagues in D3, the NWC won't be in a situation in which the committee will be forced to go against those instructions by bracketing two NWC teams to meet in the first round. Second round? Sure. But not the first.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

If the NWC gets two teams into the tourney, they won't play in the first round. The committee is instructed by the NCAA to avoid pairing two teams from the same league in the opening round if at all possible -- and, even with the constraints of being one of the "island" leagues in D3, the NWC won't be in a situation in which the committee will be forced to go against those instructions by bracketing two NWC teams to meet in the first round. Second round? Sure. But not the first.

Sager - it's a step further than "if at all possible." DIII in ALL sports has a trial period in place as of this academic year (19-20) that NO conference opponents will face one another in the first round of ANY NCAA tournament for the next few years. Basketball (both genders) has done as much as it can to avoid it despite there not being a hard and fast rule, but the NWC women a few years ago had no choice with three teams in the tournament - two had to face one another in the first round. Currently, one of those teams (at least) would be shipped out to another place to avoid the first-round match-up.

After this trial period is over, things will be re-evaluated (costs and other factors). Both basketball committees are trying to push that no conference opponent can face one another, even possibly, in the first weekend/two rounds ... but that might be a hill too far.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's very unlikely two NWC teams will get in this year anyway.  Whitworth is a very borderline case with another loss and no other team will even sniff Pool C.

[89Pirate]

It's very unlikely two NWC teams will get in this year anyway.  Whitworth is a very borderline case with another loss and no other team will even sniff Pool C.

Ryan - so if Whitworth wins out this week ending the regular season at 21-4, then loses in the Conference tourney final and goes 22-5, they wouldn't get a Pool C at large berth?  Is that based on the overall strength of the West region?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

It's very unlikely two NWC teams will get in this year anyway.  Whitworth is a very borderline case with another loss and no other team will even sniff Pool C.

Ryan - so if Whitworth wins out this week ending the regular season at 21-4, then loses in the Conference tourney final and goes 22-5, they wouldn't get a Pool C at large berth?  Is that based on the overall strength of the West region?

That may be the only way they get in ... their SOS is right at .500 which isn't going to help them ... and their vRRO is currently 1-3 and that likely won't get better (could get worse if the wrong teams leave their rankings) .. and 1-3 bolstering much.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's very unlikely two NWC teams will get in this year anyway.  Whitworth is a very borderline case with another loss and no other team will even sniff Pool C.

Ryan - so if Whitworth wins out this week ending the regular season at 21-4, then loses in the Conference tourney final and goes 22-5, they wouldn't get a Pool C at large berth?  Is that based on the overall strength of the West region?

That may be the only way they get in ... their SOS is right at .500 which isn't going to help them ... and their vRRO is currently 1-3 and that likely won't get better (could get worse if the wrong teams leave their rankings) .. and 1-3 bolstering much.

It's basically this.  It's not out of the question, but they don't have a resume they can be confident in for Pool C.