MBB: Northwest Conference

[LogShow]

What was the difference, how can they cream Pac (didn't say my Boxers with that Pat! ) and then fall to Fox?

Wow, thanks for that!

Yeah good thing, that post could have been wrong is so many ways!

[nwhoops1903]

Satern not the planet is a good senior guard.  He has come a long way since I saw UPS dismantle him at GF last year with like 13 TO's in first half.  I was there and it was brutal.  I think the other guy Atwater, had a much better game and then he almost tossed it when he turned it over up by 1.

Saturday games are likely more difficult for teams because of fatigue.  Fri-Sat back to backs will continue as long as not missing classes is the criteria and expenses.  This is D3 and NWC does have some mileage between schools.  It is all natural. 

All that being said, I do think WW and UPS played pooooooorrrrrrrly on Sat.  But if you play poorly, you might very well LOSE.  The UPS win for GF is more surprising then the WIL win at WW to me.  WIL is still strongly in the hunt for playoffs and has been giving a good effort every game all conf.  I hope they get 3rd and have to come back to Spokane.

[Mr. Ypsi]

What was the difference, how can they cream Pac (didn't say my Boxers with that Pat! ) and then fall to Fox?

Wow, thanks for that!

Yeah good thing, that post could have been wrong is so many ways!

I don't suppose it would help at all if your team switched from 'Boxers' to 'Briefs'?

[NWCer]

Had to watch myself, Pat jumped me for using "spanked" and "my Boxers" together before.

I'm with you Logshow, I think Satern is a quality PG, speaking of PG's, I look forward to seeing Whitworth's transfer PG when they come to the grove.

Whitworth (LC and Pac) and UPS (PLU and Linfield) have a couple tough trips coming up, how do you see them going?

[NWCer]

nwhoops, I agree that Fox's win is a bit more stunning than Willamette's.  Satern was dominated at Fox last year?, didn't Fox win that one too?

[Pio20]

Our students are out on break. Not to say that we have a huge student body normally, but J term has just finished. We won't have a student body for the UPS game either. Our kids need to take notes from the Linfield guys. They were amazing when we played them. You couldn't hear anything in the gym the entire night except them.

Ah that explains it. There were definitely a lot of parents and others there. Seems like there would be a real good crowd if the students were there.

[NWCer]

Mr. Yipsi, don't think they'll change to "Briefs", the "Boxer" is pretty unique - http://www.goboxers.com/traditions/boxer.cfm

[nwhoops1903]

I think the WW trip is easily more difficult.  LC wants  respect and Pac is Pac.  They play better at home.

PLU will be playing very hard for their first good chance to beat UPS in a long time but its not a "travel" trip.  LF game would be fun to watch, if UPS lost to PLU Tues.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on Satern's bad game, it was bad whenever it happened.  lol   point is that he is playing better than ever.

[Pugetsoundfan]

I didn't see the Fox game on Saturday night, but was there for the win against Pacific on Friday.  Pacific can't handle UPS pressure and there wasn't a moment of that game when it appeared that Pac could even make it close.  UPS was up defensively with the proverbial blood on the water, but offensively they were extremely sloppy, a little too much french pastry if you ask me....was this an issue on Saturday? 

[Do-Work25]

Well, this weekend was more than a bit disappointing for Logger fans.

My observations -

Loggers just didn't have people who wanted to win. They thought it would just "happen" as a team, they didn't want to do anything about it. Everyone looked to someone else. Foster had an incredible night. He was the only one who could score for them that night. Kraul had normal numbers, freethrows aside, played a fairly good game. Might have just been fatigue?

Second half of the season is a gear up time and after a big win on Friday could have made them lathargic for Saturday.

A common problem I have noticed, and it may just be me, is that when UPS gets into a trouble situation...Williams simply tries to do too much. Although there are times when he is highly affective i.e. LC - but then there are other times when his offense is just not clicking he needs to tone it down a bit - he is a tremendous player, but part of the responsibilities of the pg position is to recognize when a players game is off and find who's hot. I think it was just an off night for the UPS team in general.

Bottom Line: Foster should have touched the ball every time down the floor for the he/the team was playing.

[80sshorts]

Satern and Atwater did play a huge role in that game, and there's no doubt that the Bruins would have been able to win that game without the shooting performance of Atwater, but on the other hand I think it was really a huge joint effort on GFU's part.  There were a couple reserves who usually don't play that often (Campbell and Ahn) and they were in the mix for quite a while late in the game and were able to make plays.  Really GFU did a good job of protecting the ball, despite the fact that they had 21 turnovers.  The Bruins are a solid defensive team and that night they did just enough on offense to get by.  However Jason Foster played like a beast, and GFU had no answers for him.  I was sort of surprised that UPS didn't get him the ball late in the game, but they did have a chance to win...

[LogShow]

Well, this weekend was more than a bit disappointing for Logger fans.

My observations -

Loggers just didn't have people who wanted to win. They thought it would just "happen" as a team, they didn't want to do anything about it. Everyone looked to someone else. Foster had an incredible night. He was the only one who could score for them that night. Kraul had normal numbers, freethrows aside, played a fairly good game. Might have just been fatigue?

Second half of the season is a gear up time and after a big win on Friday could have made them lathargic for Saturday.

A common problem I have noticed, and it may just be me, is that when UPS gets into a trouble situation...Williams simply tries to do too much. Although there are times when he is highly affective i.e. LC - but then there are other times when his offense is just not clicking he needs to tone it down a bit - he is a tremendous player, but part of the responsibilities of the pg position is to recognize when a players game is off and find who's hot. I think it was just an off night for the UPS team in general.

Bottom Line: Foster should have touched the ball every time down the floor for the he/the team was playing.

Thats an interesting observation Do-Work.  I hadn't really thought about that but do see it now that you mention it.  Looking at the stats, over the past 4 games Williams has 20 turnovers probably resulting from trying to do too much.

[LogShow]

I may be wrong but if its not a big game it seems like UPS just doesn't get up for it(which seems hard to believe)...especially at home losing to G Fox and then Whitman last year.

[UPSoundLogs]

Rough weekend for the Loggers... :-\That GFox game was one that they shouldnt lose, especially at home.  They lost a great oppurtunity to get back into 1st place in the hunt for the NWC title.  I wasnt able to make the games this weekend but in general I agree with Logshow on how UPS has been performing so far this year.  They are EASILY the most talented and athletic group in the conference, yet they never seem to act interested in the beginning of games.  It's not until they are down that they actually start to play hard. If they played with more intensity consistently nobody would touch them.  It's sad but true.  Hopefully they can find something to motivate themselves into playing with a little more fire, game in and game out. 

Not to get too down on them though, they still have a great record, are still in a tie for first place, and still have a lot of bball to play.  Every team slips up, hopefully they will use this loss to focus and finish out the regular season strong.  If they can stay motivated every game and I'm sure coach Lunt will get them there, I think they can have a great second half of the year!

[LogShow]

Thats true SoundLogs...its time for them to turn their attention towards PLU and tomorrows game.  Its a big one!  Hopefully the Loggers will be a better job on McDaniels, this time around.  Foster Vs. McDaniels is going to be a great match-up.