Full Court Press: A high-scoring affair

 

A year ago, the bi-weekly publication Full Court Press got started as a way to bridge the gap between the power rankings. With the start of the 2013-14 NWAACC basketball season, FCP is back to provide a little analysis on the off-weeks and highlight some of the biggest happenings around the league as we careen toward region play in mid-January.

In some league-wide news, the initial coaches polls have been released, and the results have been added in to the first edition of the Joward Power Rankings, which were published on Dec. 3. 

At the moment, things are still a little shaky. This early on, most teams have faced a bunch of unknowns, including alumni teams, "all-star" teams and a few club teams from around the northwest. That can make it difficult to determine the haves from the have nots as far as a solid record is concerned, but with the holidays around the corner, we also have a host of crossover and holiday tournaments on the horizon which should provide ample perspective and discussion material. 

NWAACC Men (Rankings | Coaches Poll)

Even with the season being so young, it's unusual to have so many undefeated teams. Four currently grace the standings - Whatcom, Peninsula, Big Bend and Highline. Two, so far, have clearly asserted themselves, and the coaches seem to agree. Though Treasure Valley (4-1) picked up a huge boost by nabbing three first-place votes, Whatcom (5-0) and Big Bend (4-0) have outdistanced the rest of the contenders by a mile or two, and both will have a chance to face undefeated Highline before the year's end.

Game of the Week:

Dec. 13 - No. 1 Big Bend vs. Highline

Talk about an intriguing match up. Both teams average in the league's top-five in scoring, and each team gets it done in a completely different manner. Brendan Westendorf (34 ppg, 62% FG) is arguably one of the best scorer the league has seen these last few years, to be mentioned in the same breath as Tacoma great Mark McLaughlin (Now at Central Washington) and former Peninsula guard JT Terrell (USC). Westendorf isn't scoring in a vacuum, and he's not just jacking up an insane number of shots to bring down his points. He is one of the best shooters among players who actually take shots from outside the paint, and he's a threat from everywhere on the floor. Highline's resume and roster may not be quite as impressive, but their balance makes them a difficult team to stop. No one player is averaging more than 15.25 points, and yet they manage nearly 95 points per game. This is a major chance to prove they belong at the top of the rankings, and a major first step in their bid to make the tournament in March.

It's difficult to imagine how this could be anything but high scoring, and though Highline has an edge in 3-point shooting and rebounding, this looks like it should belong to Big Bend. I won't bet the house I don't own, but the chances of a Vik victory are pretty strong.

NWAACC Women (Rankings | Coaches Poll)

Columbia Basin is at it again. They've won five of their last six, and have broken 100 points in their last two. While their average of nearly 85 points per contest is likely to come down, it's clear that this is nothing like some of the CBC teams we've seen in the last few years. Defensively minded in the past, the Hawks are third in the league in scoring while only having attempted 75 three-pointers. And if they hold on to the defensive principles of Coach Holden? Oi.

Game of the Week:

Dec. 14 - No. 1 Blue Mountain vs. No. 5 Chemeketa

The last time the Timberwolves and Storm met, top-ranked Blue Mountain squeaked out a 59-56 victory. It was sluggish and fairly unusual for a women's game, as the teams combined for five (FIVE) three pointers, which is rather unheard of. Since then, Chemeketa has faced (and beaten) only one NWAACC opponent, spending most of their time out of state (Salt Lake CC, College of Southern Idaho). The Storm dropped both of their non-NWAACC games, making their 4-3 record a little misleading. Blue Mountain actually hasn't played since, and the few games before knocking off Chemeketa were close as well. It should be an interesting measuring-stick of a game, as both teams have nearly identical numbers, yet Blue Mountain is ranked 4th by the coaches and Chemeketa wasn't mentioned.

In spite of all the great numbers from Chemeketa, this one will likely not be quite as close. Blue Mountain has had time to rest up and work on a few things, and the road weary Storm may not be able to hold Blue Mountain to 37% shooting again. Timberwolves with the win, but still not going away.

Full Court Press: Dark Horse Week

To provide some analysis on the non-power ranking weeks, Full Court Press will be released every other week throughout the NWAACC basketball season. In most installments for both the men and the women, FCP will include a prediction and two games of the week, as well as any interesting tidbits that happen to come to light. For  this week, however, it's time to choose a dark horse: a team that hasn't amounted to much thus far, but has all the pieces to make some noise in March. 

Do you have your own dark horse prediction? Let me know via twitter, by email, or in the comments below!

NWAACC Men's Basketball

 Centralia College - Western Region

The beauty of a dark horse is that they can come from anywhere. They can be on the fringe, or come from the cellar, but either way, they manage to put things together at just the right time and make a run. Centralia, my dark horse pick for the NWAACC men, is one of those fringe teams. They have yet to pick up points in the coaches poll, and haven't been ranked so far this season, but they have several things about them that stick out. 

Sophomore Van Lockett leads Centralia
with 18 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Lockett is 17th in the league in
scoring and the 2nd best from the West.

1. "Defense wins championships"

The Western Region isn't a particularly strong offensive region, as evidenced by the fact that seven of the bottom ten scoring teams in the league are from the west. Only No. 6 Tacoma and No. 8 Pierce have broken that mold. The bottom seven teams average just over 68 points per game. Tacoma isn't much better at a little over 75, but Pierce sits at 6th in the league with 86.94 points per contest. 

With Pierce aside, it seems as though the first team to 75 should win just about every contest in the west. Centralia is the third lowest scoring team in the league, but their defense has been solid, even throughout interregional play. Only three times has a team put up more than 80 points on Centralia, with the Blazers going 1-2 in those games, and despite Centralia's 67 point average, they've been holding teams to just 64.7 points per game. 

Related: NWAACC's run and gun may face hardships

2. Tough start, soft finish in the West

Aside from the top two or three teams, there isn't all that much in the West that Centralia needs to fear. They were thumped a few times in the preseason, but they also had some good toe-to-toe moments as well, particularly a 71-65 loss to third-ranked Peninsula at the Clackamas Holiday Invitational. Looking ahead, the teams that Centralia has to face they've already beaten with the exception of Pierce and Tacoma, as well as S. Puget Sound (4-12, 1-6 West), whom they have yet to play. Centralia has already faced the second toughest schedule in the West according to the RPI ratings, and that number will drop from here on out. 

What needs to happen:

Simply put, Centralia needs to find some more offense. Part of their offensive woes are borne of the fact that they play with such a slow pace. Centralia shoots a decent percentage, they just don't take very many shots. The low number of shots means less steals, less assists, and less rebounds, making Centralia seem offensively stunted. 

The slow pace also contributes to the low opponent scoring average, but in order to get past some of their better Western Region compatriots and get a good seed in the tournament, Centralia will have to find buckets from somewhere. Their defensive mindset will work wonders in the tournament, but only if they can get there with a favorable seed.

Related: NWAACC's run and gun may face hardships

                                                                                                                         

Have a dark horse prediction? Respond via twitter, by email, or in the comments!

                                                                                                                         

NWAACC Women's Basketball

Columbia Basin - Eastern Region

Coming off a championship season in 2012, Columbia Basin didn't have many people believing in them. They had lost nearly their entire championship roster, and were showcasing a plethora of new faces. Starting off by losing their first three games and winning just one of their first five, it seemed that the Hawks were in for an off year. CBC won two in a row in mid-December, but went on to lose three of four stretching in to the beginning of Eastern Region play. That's when things started to turn around. 

1. The Power of Momentum

A team that has momentum will play with confidence, and the combination of those two generally means success. Though they didn't look it throughout the preseason, CBC does have a title to defend, and it seems that they mean to. Holding No. 2 Walla Walla to a 59-54 [box] game, they built on the success they found against the high flying warriors and started a streak longer than anything they've seen all season. They have now won five games in a row, including a shellacking of No. 5 Big Bend. They were more of a dark horse two weeks ago, but it still remains to be seen if they can keep this momentum rolling.  

2. Tested early, tested late

As with many of the teams in the East, Columbia Basin's schedule has been wildly tough. In fact, according to the RPI ratings, the Hawks are tied for the toughest schedule in the league. They've had to play No. 1 Lane and No. 3 Clackamas twice each, in addition to No. 2 Walla Walla, an uphill battle by any stretch of the imagination as those three opponents are a combined 52-5. While the East doesn't really get much easier,  the fact that CBC has seen teams with such a caliber gives them some experience in the big games they will have to face to survive in the East, especially if they play as they did when they very nearly knocked off the No. 2 team in the league. 

Freshman guard Sierra Highangle (left) leads the Hawks in scoring with  13.22 points per game.

What needs to happen:

The biggest key to Columbia Basin making a run is their ability to win on the road. Home court advantage doesn't mean as much in the NWAACC as it does in many other leagues, but travel and playing in an unfamiliar setting do have an effect. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they got the hard home games out of the way early, and will have to go on the road to face No. 2 Walla Walla, No. 5 Big Bend and Spokane. They do get Spokane at home, and there is a cupcake sitting at the bottom of the region standings, but without road wins, CBC will constantly be looking over their shoulder at the team that could knock them from the tournament. 

Full Court Press: League Play Begins

To provide some analysis on the non-power ranking weeks, Full Court Press will be released every other Wednesday throughout the NWAACC basketball season. In most installments for both the men and the women, FCP will include a prediction and two games of the week, as well as any interesting tidbits that happen to come to light. Now with that out of the way, dig in:


NWAACC Men:

Now that they're back to full strength, it's clear that Tacoma is back to their usual selves, now having gone 3-0 in their first few league games, and moving to 10-4 over all. Instrumental in that turnaround has been their new assist leader, Josh Lord, whose 4.13 apg are good for 11th in the league. They don't have a particularly difficult week, as they will be facing the basement of the Western Region: Highline and S. Puget Sound. They won't see a real challenge until they play Clark on Jan. 19th, and even then, Tacoma should be favored in that game. Expect Tacoma to move up in next week's rankings - they'll most likely still be undefeated in league play.

Jan. 9 - No. 1 Peninsula at No. 3 Edmonds

While the game is over and done with, it's an easy pick as game of the week. The last time these two programs met, Edmonds got blown out 84-62 [box], but for one of only two losses up to that point. Edmonds picked things back up and had won four in a row coming into the latest meeting with Peninsula, and the Pirates had a streak of six victories on their side. This time around, Peninsula had no answer for Shaquielle McKissic's 31 points and Riccardo Maxwell's 27, including 14-14 from the line, and the Tritons knocked off top ranked Peninsula 104-89 [box]. Edmonds Head Coach Kyle Gray said in a post game interview that the difference was confidence. If they can keep up confidence like that, they'll go a really long ways.

Jan. 12 - No. 2 Lane at Chemeketa

Unless your head has been buried stubbornly in the sand, it's likely that you've heard of Lane's success. At 14-2 and 2-0 in region play, they're kind of... uhh... really good. Their next opponent, Chemeketa, has been somewhat forgotten because of a somewhat forgettable preseason, but they have gotten things together as of late, winning their last four games by an average of 36 points per contest. That success comes from an incredibly balanced scoring attack. Six storm players are averaging between 9-14 points per game, and Chemeketa is second in scoring with 92.6 points per game. Most likely an offensive shootout, but anything can happen.


NWAACC Women: 

With some of the usual Eastern Region powerhouses having somewhat of a down season, it seems that the South has stepped up for it's time in the limelight. Four of the eight ranked teams, and three of the teams in the coaches' top eight are from the south, including two of the top three in both sets of rankings. For now, it seems like the front runner for the 2013 title will be whomever wins the Southern Region, but there is still a lot of basketball left to be played.

Jan. 12th - Yakima Valley at No. 2 Walla Walla

This game doesn't have quite the same luster that it would have had in seasons past, but the Yak-Warrior match ups are always big games, no matter the record. Yakima Valley has had somewhat of a rough time since starting the preseason 4-0, but they've shown signs of life once again with a win over No. 7 Wenatchee Valley and a tough 71-69 loss [box] to No. 4 Big Bend on Jan. 9. Walla Walla, on the other hand, has been on fire all year. They haven't lost since falling to No. 5 Centralia on Nov. 17, and have already jumped out to a 13-1 record overall with two quick wins to start Eastern Region play. It's safe to say that Yakima Valley has their hands full, but a win here could easily see them in next week's rankings.


Jan. 19th - No. 1 Lane at No. 3 Clackamas

In what could easily be a finals preview, Lane will make the trip up to Oregon City to face a very experienced Clackamas squad  that they struggled (relatively) with earlier in the season. In  the last game, Clackamas held Lane to a season-low four point victory, falling 72-68 in easily the closest game that Lane has seen all year. For now, Clackamas is still looking to avenge their loss at home from late last season that dropped them into a second place tie with Chemeketa. Lane is looking to extend their winning streak, which sits at 16 for the moment, but could stretch to 18 with wins over No. 6 Chemeketa and SW Oregon.

Full Court Press: Holiday Edition

Normally, Full Court Press will look a little different. Two games of the week are featured, along with a prediction. This week, because of the slough of holiday tournaments on the horizon, FCP will feature a quick preview of each tournament. Be sure to keep an eye out for next week's Power Rankings, which will be heavily impacted by this weekend's action. And with that, enjoy:


NWAACC Men:

Clackamas Holiday Invitational

This tournament is usually littered with big names, but this year is exceptionally stacked. The last six NWAACC championship teams will be in attendance: Clackamas (2007, 09, 10), Peninsula (2011), Yakima Valley (2008) and Tacoma (2012), and of the eight teams in the tournament, all eight teams are at .500 or above, and five could concevably be in the coaches' top eight and the JOWARD Power Rankings by next week. Three teams have seven wins or more, and all but one squad is fourth place or higher in their division.

There are several obvious favorites. Peninsula has come out and dominated NWAACC competition ever since their struggles against highly ranked Juco opponents, and seems to have rebuilt well from last year.  The host team Clackamas is always difficult to count out, but they lost to a 4-4 Centralia team, one of the tournament participants, a few weeks back. The biggest Everett, too, has a bid, as they knocked off Yakima Valley in overtime, but they followed up with a loss to Tacoma.

That is perhaps the biggest question mark going into this weekend: how will the Titans, who have just recently gotten back several key players from injury, fare going forward? Two of their top four scorers in Josh Lord and Dec. 26 Player of the Week Adrian Harper have only played the last two and four contests respectively, and their integration will be something to closely watch in this weekend's match ups.

Weekend's Pick:

On paper, Peninsula should win this one, despite their 6-4 record. The woodshedding of Edmonds that Peninsula put on was enough to turn a lot of heads, and if PC can put up that type of performance against the NWAACC's best, they will be tough to compete with.

Big Bend Holiday Classic

The BBCC Holiday Classic is lacking in big name teams in comparison to Clackamas. Only two of the competing teams are .500 or above, one of them being Big Bend, and the other being Skagit Valley (5-5). No. 6 Big Bend is already well favored by the coaches, and this tournament, should they win it without a slip-up, will give them the chance to move up even further. They currently sit at 8-3 and are tied for first in the NWAACC East with Yakima Valley, but haven't beaten many good teams so far this young preseason.


While the competition in the BBCC tournament isn't exactly stiff, the tournament provides a window of opportunity to let the high scoring Vikings let the league know if they're for real. They've put up some impressive numbers so far, 2nd in the league in scoring with 92 points a game, and three contests in which they scored over 100. By Sunday, we'll all have a much better idea of where they stand. That will be reflected on Wednesday, when the coaches rankings and JOWARD Power Rankings will be released.


Weekend's Pick:

Barring a huge performance from one of the other participants, Big Bend should win this one handily, going to 11-3 on the season and taking a lead in the Eastern Region over Yakima.


NWAACC Women: 

Chemeketa Holiday Tournament

Teams coming in to the Chemeketa tournament are all looking for very different things. The field on average is decent, with a combined 42-35 record, but 11 of those wins and none of those losses came from Lane - meaning that the rest of the teams are 31-35. Gone, it seems, are the days where Columbia Basin was a sure favorite, as they have now dropped to 3-6, and Treasure Valley is a dismal 1-8. Blue Mountain, Highline and Chemeketa all sit at .500, and there are questions over whether they seem to have the firepower needed to keep up with the big guns. That leaves two clear favorites.

Firstly, ignore that bit about counting out Chemeketa. They face Treasure Valley in the first round, and will challenge the winner of the Wenatchee Valley-Highline game on Saturday, outside of a colossal collapse in the TVCC game. Chemeketa has shown flashes of brilliance in the preseason, most notably a 64-60 win over Yakima Valley, but at the same time they have also stumbled against Everett and had to go into overtime to defeat Grey's Harbor (2-4). That said, with the good moment's Chemeketa has had, one could reason that if they were to build up momentum, they could at least make a run at the title match.

And their opponent in the title game? No matter who wins on the other side of the bracket, you'd have to be a fool to pick against Lane. The Titans have stretched their undefeated season to 11 games now, and their last few contests haven't even been close. Clackamas stayed within striking distance, but even they fell away in the waning seconds.

Weekend's Pick:

Lane should dominate this one going away. Whichever team makes the final against them, whether that be Wenatchee Valley or Chemeketa, had best hold on to their britches.


Skagit Valley Tournament

Coming into the season, the two premiere teams in this tournament would have been Bellevue and Skagit Valley. However, Bellevue's star sophomore Brittany Barrington hasn't played since November 17th against Lane, and Bellevue has struggled to get ahead ever since. However, Bellevue has managed to break even, and their match up against S. Puget Sound (1-5) in the first round looks favorable. Most likely they will face Spokane next, as CCS' first round opponent is 0-5 against NWAACC teams.

Bellevue may have been doing better as of late, but Spokane seems to have the Bulldogs' number. They've defeated Bellevue twice this preseason, including a 65-59 victory on Dec. 16th. If the dice roll the way it looks they will, Spokane should be present in Sunday's title game, but that bridge will get crossed when it's time has come.

On the other side of the bracket, Skagit Valley is an interestingly mixed bag. They have two impressive victories over Umpqua, but managed only 32 points in a blowout loss to Bellevue. However, they have won three of their last four games, and have split a pair of games with Big Bend, with whom they also share fourth place in the coaches poll.

Weekend's Pick:

Being at home, it seems Skagit Valley has the edge in this one. They have more wins in big games, despite their blemishes, and their resume is a lot deeper than Spokane's.

Lady Devil Holiday Tournament 

Initially, the list of participants at the LCCC Holiday Tournament looks really impressive. Whatcom and Big Bend went to double overtime to decide the championship of the Whatcom crossover a few weeks ago. Centralia won four of their first five games, and Yakima Valley surged out of the gates.

However, many of those teams have faltered as of late. YVCC has fallen to 6-4, loosing three straight, and a fourth to Lane by 30 points. Centralia has now fallen to 5-2 with a loss at home to Clackamas, and remains unproven, despite their record and ranking. The one wild card in the mix is North Idaho, who sent Spokane and Columbia Basin to a pair of defeats each a few weeks back. NIC has been successful in the past, but their resume against NWAACC competition is fairly incomplete.

One of the big favorites in this one is easily Whatcom. They rose to the challenge in the title game of their own crossover tournament and gave a favored Big Bend a definite run for their money. Whatcom had won five of six before that loss, falling only to Highline in a close, 65-61 finish. Whatcom's first round opponent isn't an easy one, as they've drawn Yakima Valley, making for perhaps the biggest first round game all weekend.

Big Bend has been brilliant all season long, with their one and only loss being to Skagit Valley in late November. Fourth in average points, first in rebounding, first in assists, they are more than tough for just about anybody they face. They have now won their seventh in a row, and with the exception of the double overtime victory over Whatcom to take the WCC crossover championship, many of their victories have been going away.

Weekend's Pick:

One can only hope for such a finish that Whatcom and Big Bend came to at the WCC tournament, but if Big Bend is anything like they've been in most of their contests, this one has to go to the BBCC Vikings.

Full Court Press: 1st Edition

A word of introduction,

To provide some analysis on the non-power ranking weeks, Full Court Press will be released every other Wednesday throughout the NWAACC basketball season. In most installments for both the men and the women, FCP will include a prediction and two games of the week, as well as any interesting tidbits that happen to come to light. Now with that out of the way, dig in:


NWAACC Men:

We haven't seen much of top-ranked Chemeketa so far this season, as they've played three of their five games against non-NWAACC competition. As previewed in the first set of power rankings, the Storm are returning a lot of class talent that we have yet to catch a glimpse of. They play Lower Columbia on Dec. 8th, but won't play again until they have a rematch with LCCC at the start of the Bellevue crossover on Dec. 14th. Because of their lack of games, Chemeketa will most likely take a bit of a dip in the December 19th Power Rankings, especially if Big Bend and Yakima Valley continue to win as they have been of late.

Of note: Congrats to Portland. They won their first game in two years on November 19th, their last victory coming over Linn-Benton on February 24th, 2010.

Dec. 8th - Bellevue vs. Big Bend

One of the biggest early season matchups, this game pits two playoff squads from last season against one another, with the two teams combining for a record of 9-2 so far. Both Bellevue and Big Bend are tied for the best record in their regions. While Big Bend has the definite scoring edge (1st in the league with 94.3 ppg), Bellevue has held two teams to 50 points or less, and has only allowed more than 65 points just once so far. This being preseason, the game doesn't have any playoff implications, but this will be a big test for both sides, both having lost big names in the off season and both looking to rebound.


Dec. 8th - Skagit Valley vs. No. 4 Tacoma

Skagit Valley and the Titans have seen one another once already this season, with Tacoma's furious second half rally coming up just short in a 62-59 Cardinal victory. This game presents an interesting early season chance for the 2012 NWAACC Champion Tacoma Titans to prove their metal after getting 12 new players on their roster. They took down a good Big Bend team (their only loss),  and lost to Everett (3-1), making the rematch with Skagit Valley somewhat of a fork in the road. For Skagit Valley, this game could be a statement. Two victories against the defending champs in as many weeks with a tough regular season looming in the Northern Region would be great momentum going forward.


NWAACC Women: 

Things are always difficult to call at the beginning of the season, but that being said, the starts  They've dominated teams thus far with the exception of a close loss to Skagit Valley, and their height and talent will be extremely difficult to deal with all season long. Expect Umpqua to take a huge leap in the power rankings when they come out next on December 19th, and if their current streak continues, to contend for a championship in March.

Dec. 9th - Yakima Valley vs. No. 5 Chemeketa

Chemeketa is a hard team to read, at this point. They played a close game with Umpqua (8-1) and lost, and then went on to lose four consecutive times, in each instance to non-NWAACC competition. They faced a semi-pro squad and community colleges in Idaho and Salt Lake City, and are just now returning to face teams they'll see later on in the season. This game against Yakima Valley, who is undefeated up to this point, will be a reality check. Did Chemeketa face much tougher competition, or does their 1-4 record really reflect their future. And for Yakima Valley, this is another game to prove that they haven't missed a step since losing Brandi Henton (injury, graduated) and Simone Jordan (graduated) from last season.


Dec. 8th - No. 8 Umpqua vs. George Fox JV

This one is simply intriguing, pitting one of the NWAACC's best in the early season against George Fox's JV squad. It may seem innocuous at first, but realize that George Fox has one of the best women's basketball programs in the third division of the NCAA. They won the 2009 national title after a perfect season, and advanced to the 2012 final four. This may not be the varsity team, but it is part of a national powerhouse and could be an interesting chance to gauge how Umpqua stacks up. Right now, the Riverhawks are 2nd in the league in average points, and lead the league in both field goal percentage and three point field goal percentage. George Fox JV is 3-1 against the NWAACC so far, their only loss coming to SW Oregon.