MBB: Northwest Conference

Started by The Show, March 06, 2005, 08:40:16 PM

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blackhawks#4

I say 84-83 Loggers.  Look for UPS to be incredibly well prepared and apply smart pressure.  A lot was learned from last year.  Keys to the game in my opinion are:
1.  Loggers not giving up easy buckets in the press
2.  Mcvey staying out of foul trouble
3.  UPS annd particularly Curtiss shooting the ball well on the road
4.  UPS keeping composure in tough atmosphere
5.  Don't lose Bennet!!!! Limit Kaslow  

I'll be listening to every word and waiting for updates from the posters!!

Old School

Point wins 81-63...the most uncomfortable 18-point win I've attended.  My hats off to the Loggers.  More later.

Point Special

Concerning Blackhawk's post:

1) UWSP got a few easy buckets off of the press (not as many as last year).  They did, however, get a bunch of relatively easy baskets early.  They were just in the half-court offense and a product of some great passing, namely from Kalsow (7 assists to just one turnover).
2) McVey had 4 fouls, but he really played well.  Of all of the UPS players, he impressed me the most.  He was tenacious on the offensive end... but he was tenacious into double teams, which limited his potential effectiveness.  Still, though, he led UPS with 19 (I think he could have had 40 if he had played that hard and not been challenged).  
3)UPS shot 39% for the game (27% from 3).  Curtiss was 6/15 (4/12 from 3).  That isn't going to cut it when your opponent shoots 58% for the game, and you don't force that many turnovers (see comment below)
4)I feel that UPS lost their composure a little bit down the stretch, but I guess it depends on your definition of composure.  They were consistent, playing pretty dirty the whole game.  They seemed to "lose it" (i.e. their composure) after a few calls... but it's one thing to play hard, and it's another thing to play with malicious intent.  That may have just been the fault of the referee crew, however, not getting a handle on the game early.  I thought they let some things go, and that set the tone of the game.  I think players should be able to play hard, but when you have to worry about seemingly probable injuries from the colisions that were happening on the court, I think there's a problem.  But, I guess this is just my opinion, so take it as you will.
5. Bennett didn't go off like last year, though he did go for 22 on 5/10 shooting (3/4 from trey land) and 9/11 on the line.  Maus was the unstoppable one, going 7/7 from the field and 4/4 from the line for 18 points.  Combine that with Freshman Steve Hicklin (3rd string point guard) going for 15, and UWSP's big two didn't NEED unbelievable nights.

Keys to the game:  Puget Sound had +3 turnovers forced.  For them to have won the game tonight, they would have had to shoot the ball much better, or force at least 7-8 UWSP turnovers.  

Like I said, UPS played hard.  They should be proud of this season.  (for more on the game, check the WIAC page)

blackhawks#4

Point Special:  

Thanks for the update on the game.  

As far as dirty play, UPS will play as hard and physical as any team in the nation.  As I'm sure you saw, UPS is not afraid of collisions or diving on the floor.  Also, UPS especially Curtiss will do seemingly anything to win.  That said UPS is not a dirty team and didn't have "malicious intent."  This was the biggest game of the year and I'm sure UPS left everything they had on the court.

Congrats to Aubrey Shelton on a great career, and Chris O'Donnel (the most underrated player in the NWC).

wildcat11


Himjay23

Lets get it started for the upcoming season! Who will be the team to beat? Any sleepers? Who are the players to watch, and what do you think of the conference tourney coming back?

castle

What does Whitworth look like this year...after a down year last year, I expect them to be back atop the NWC in '05-06.
"Dive for loose balls"

Himjay23

They should be much tougher this year. With Jon Young and Williams coming back stronger they should make a run. I'm not too sure about their incoming freshman class though.  I have heard a lot about Puget Sound during the offseason. They sopposedly have a few D1 transfers on board and a good looking recruiting class meshing with what was already a great team.

fosheezie

Coach Lowery for Coach of the Year.  He is a bad bad man!

Himjay23

If he can win 5+ games then he deserves it. Also, where is Jeremy Cross going this year, I saw he's not on the team at Puget anymore?

blackhawks4

Who's gonna win the NWC this year????  Come on.  The only question is if UPS will finally go 16-0 or if somebody (LC or Will) will get them on the road. 

They are returning D3News Pre Season All-American Zack McVey.  Wait til the NWC sees him.  He is a man amongst boys (looking similair to Oriard a few years back but more athletic and better around the bucket).  And there is nobody better than Chase Curtiss in the clutch.  Add a solid starting lineup of returners around them, about 6 talented freshmen and 2 transfers and they just overpower the rest of the league.   

The conference tournament is a terrible idea.  Yes, it builds excitement and gives the rest of the league something to shoot for; but with so many teams in D3 UPS could go 15-1,  get upset in the tourney by a team they already beat twice in conference,  and not make the postseason.  In D3 the tourney is too small and there are too many teams. The NWC should send its best representation.

Hey I'm with it, Coach Lowry for COTY.  I think the magic number should be 4 though.  If he can go 4-12 that definetely qualifies him.  They should get the POTY too.



 

Gregory Sager

Quote from: blackhawks4 on October 27, 2005, 02:21:13 AMThe conference tournament is a terrible idea.  Yes, it builds excitement and gives the rest of the league something to shoot for; but with so many teams in D3 UPS could go 15-1,  get upset in the tourney by a team they already beat twice in conference,  and not make the postseason.

That's not likely to happen anymore, Blackhawks4. The tournament has expanded to 59 teams this year, and Pool C (at-large teams) is expanding from 5 to 18 slots. There's no way now that Puget Sound could go 15-1 in conference, lose in the NWC tourney, and then get left out in the cold on Selection Sunday.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

blackhawks4

Mr. Sager, good point, I was not aware of the expansion of pool c teams.  However, it still does not change my opinion.  You and I both know that a 3rd place team in the NWC can end up with a 9-7 or 10-6 record.  That team has no business representing our league in the tourney if they pull off an upset.    If I'm not mistaken there are well over 350 teams in D3, and unlike D1,  4 and 5 teams from one conference will not make the tourney.  I disagree, I think there is a good chance that a first place team can get overlooked, especially with the midwest and east coast bias.      The team that wins the most league games over the course of the season should have the automatic bid.

Gregory Sager

I'm not a huge fan of conference tournaments, so I'm not going to argue that point with you. But you're dead wrong about a 15-1 NWC team getting left out in the cold. And with 18 Pool C bids now available I can't imagine many scenarios in which a regular-season NWC winner would be denied one of them if they needed it; the league would have to have a total logjam for anything like that to even be a possibility, with the upper half of the league consisting entirely of 10-6 and 9-7 teams. And how often is that going to happen?

Of course four or five teams from one conference won't make the tourney. Even if the number of slots was bumped up from the new total of 59 to D1's total of 65 you still wouldn't see four or five teams from one conference make the tournament. D3 is too big for that; there's 37 conferences that have automatic bids in D3. But that's hardly your original point, now, is it? It's a far cry from worrying whether your 15-1 regular-season champ can get an at-large bid if they falter in the conference tourney to worrying about whether your fourth- or fifth-place team can get an at-large bid. Since no conference has ever received that many bids in the past (with the exception of the NJAC, which got four teams in one year due to the fact that it was a 64-team tourney back then and bids were apportioned on a regional basis -- their region, the Atlantic, is the smallest of D3's eight regions), why even bring it up?

Oh, and there is no midwest and east coast bias in the selection process. That bias charge is a myth. If anything, the national selection committee is too scrupulously enslaved to the five primary criteria for selecting Pool C teams (in-region winning percentage, in-region Quality of Wins Index, in-region head-to-head competition, in-region results versus common regional opponents, and in-region results versus regionally ranked teams).
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Pat Coleman

Quote from: blackhawks4 on October 28, 2005, 02:27:13 AM
Mr. Sager, good point, I was not aware of the expansion of pool c teams.

Rather important story on the front page you'll want to read, then.
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