Edmonds, Big Bend on top for tourney

NWAC Men's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

Championship Edition: Broadcasts | Mens Bracket | Tournament stats

I cover high school athletics for a living, and to my eye, the Southern Region is kind of like that football team from some small town across the state nobody has heard of. They're rough-and-tumble and typically finish the season with a solid record but no respect. Then they come into the playoffs and beat the daylights out of everyone.

The South seems to fit that bill rather well, given that they've won five of the last eight NWAC titles, including last season's Cinderella run from Portland in their first-ever visit to the Tri-Cities. Oh, and let's just leave this out here to dry: region-leading Chemeketa had to forfeit their entire season for using an ineligible player, according to NWAC sources. That hurts, but it opens up a door for a little more madness in the first round.

The most intriguing match out of the gate is also the earliest, an 8 a.m. bout between No. 6 Highline and No. 7 Wenatchee Valley. If you can't be there, don't worry. I will be, and I'll have the league Twitter handle at my disposal for updates. You can also watch games online (link is above) and check the league website for post game recaps.

Updated coaches rankings, released on March 3, have been posted under each team's previous ratings. You can see the full coaches poll here.

                                                                                                                         

1. Edmonds (24-5, 12-2 North)
Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 3 Coaches
Coaches: No. 1

The format at the championships is simple, really. Win four games in a row, and you come home with a fancy, shiny trophy. And when it has come to big games, Edmonds has an edge coming down the stretch — much of which comes from perhaps the biggest game we've seen in the last stretch of the year. The Tritons held on to a nine-point halftime lead and beat former No. 1 Bellevue 84-81 [box] on Feb. 18, putting themselves firmly in the title picture for the Northern Region. From an outsiders perspective, the win shouts a few things heading into the tournament: Firstly, the Tritons have a certain element of mental toughness which will come in handy as they were able to withstand a solid second-half push from perhaps the best defensive team in the league. Secondly, Edmonds had six players in double figures and had 11 assists to the 'Dogs' four. Balanced scoring isn't a necessary key to a title — we saw Cheheles Tapscott take over a few years back — but sharing the ball and playing good defense certainly is.

No. 1 Edmonds will play Mt. Hood at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

                                                                                                                          

2. Big Bend (23-7, 11-3 East)
Previous ranking: No. 4, No. 4 Coaches

Coaches: No. 4

While the Runnin' Viks do have a blemish in their last section of games — a 58-53 loss [box] to No. 7 Wenatchee Valley on Feb. 25 — it's not all bad to lose a close game to one of the best defensive teams in the NWAC. What might be concerning is that it seems the Knights definitely controlled the tempo, managing to slow Big Bend's offense by 25 points from their average of just over 78 points per contest. While Big Bend isn't exactly among the leaders in scoring, it is interesting that they have no one in the top 20 for individuals. They do, however, have the best percentage three-point shooter in the tournament in Alanzo Ramos, but as coaches will always remind their players, shooting is difficult in the cavernous Toyota Center for the first few days while players adjust to having so much space behind the backboard. Will the Vikings put things together and make a run to the final? Maybe. Big Bend has probably the easiest foursome with Green River, Lane and Everett, but it depends on whether the offense gets hot and the defense can hold teams down, especially as there is a possible match up with Bellevue — very similar to Wenatchee Valley — looming in the semifinals.

No. 2 Big Bend will face Green River at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.

                                                                                                                         

3. Bellevue (25-4, 12-2)

Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 1 Coaches

Coaches: No. 2

Playing Bellevue is like wrestling a heavyweight: if they get a lead on you, good luck coming back in a hurry. Bellevue's style — slow, methodical and defensively sound — seems to fit the NWAC tournament perhaps better than anyone, as the Bulldogs come in as the league's best defensive team. They don't play an awful lot of possessions, the times they DO have the ball, they make good use of it. Bellevue averages 1.29 points per possession, tied four fourth in the league, and does serious damage from the free throw line. Again, shooting is more difficult when there are a few thousand seats behind the backboard, but the Bulldogs don't shoot many three-pointers and free throw shooting is a little easier to fix. Bellevue's foursome includes Clark, which could make a fascinating quarterfinal match up — but both teams have to get there first.

No. 3 Bellevue will take on Umpqua at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

                                                                                                                        

4. Clark (21-6, 13-3 West)

Previous ranking: No. 8, No. 6 Coaches

Coaches: No. 3

Coming in to their second game against Highline, Clark had two statements to make. Firstly, they needed to prove an earlier blowout of the Thunderbirds wasn't a fluke. Secondly, the Penguins needed to show they were, indeed, the best team out of the West. Spoiler alert: They did both. The second meeting wasn't quite as much of a blowout, but Clark did walk away with a fairly dominant 92-81 victory [box] to close the season in a game both teams needed to have. The Penguins ended the year on a league-best six-game winning streak after a rough patch in late January to early February that seemed to have derailed Clark's region title hopes. Not only are the Penguins back on track, (see what I did there) they have one of the best point differentials in the league. They're neck-and-neck with Bellevue and Wenatchee on defense, and yet average over 80 points per contest. As I mentioned before, they just might get a chance to see Bellevue in the second round.

No. 4 Clark tangles with Treasure Valley at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening.

                                                                                                                         

5. Columbia Basin (17-11, 10-4 East)

Previous ranking: No. 2, No. 7 Coaches

Coaches: No. 7

While title-noise definitely can't be made alone, there's definitely something to be said about star power at this tournament. The team lifts the trophy at the end of things, but oftentimes the individual moments shine just as brightly. It seems Columbia Basin sophomore James Lopez might be poised for such a tournament, as he comes in as the league leader in scoring and assists. He's in the top-20 in steals, three-point field goal percentage and overall field goal percentage, and he'll be playing in front of his home town crowd. But enough about Lopez and back to the Hawks, who have come from darkness to claim the second seed from Wenatchee Valley over the final few games. Columbia Basin is third in the league in scoring at 85.6 points per game, but are dead last in defense among teams in the postseason tournament. That might be a problem, Houston.

No. 5 Columbia Basin will play Pierce at noon on Saturday.

                                                                                                                          

6. Highline (21-7, 13-3 West)

Previous ranking: No. 5, No. 2 Coaches
Coaches: No. 5

Highline was rolling until their debacle in the season finale, losing 92-81 [box] to Clark and letting the Western Region's top seed slip out of their grasp in the same breath. And instead of a cushy 6 p.m. game to start things off, Highline moves into the 8 a.m. slot and will play one of the best defensive teams the league has to offer. It's the only ranked game in the first round and a big one for the opponent, who hasn't seen the quarterfinals since 2000. If Highline can shrug off a very — very — early morning and beat the Knights, they've got an odd foursome in Clackamas and Peninsula. Getting steals and easy buckets, at which Highline is relatively adept, could be the difference as games get a little later in the day with each victory.

No. 6 Highline kicks things off against No. 7 Wenatchee Valley at 8 .m. on Saturday morning.


                                                                                                                         

7. Wenatchee Valley (20-9, 9-5 East)

Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked Coaches
Coaches: Unranked

It's been 15 long seasons since Wenatchee Valley last picked up a win at the NWAC championship tournament. That win came back in 2000, when the Knights made their way to the finals and lost to Spokane in an all-East championship game. They made the tournament again in 2003, but haven't seen the bracket since. This season, behind a slow but efficient game and solid defensive numbers, the Knights have managed to qualify and get a somewhat slighted Highline team in the first round with the Eastern Region's third seed. As mentioned in previous rankings, getting through the first round makes things a little easier with a noon tip-time and a choice between Peninsula (North No. 4) and Clackamas (South No. 1). Though the Knights are ranked and seeded lower, Wenatchee looks like they have a chance at an upset given they're playing relatively close to home and can rely on their defense to push through adversity.

No. 7 Wenatchee Valley will play No. 6 Highline on Saturday morning at 8 a.m.

                                                                                                                         

8. Clackamas (19-10, 11-3 South)

Previous ranking: No. Unranked, No. 8 Coaches

Coaches: No. 6

Remember that comment about backwoods football teams being really good? Clackamas won that backwoods league — somehow. And while I'll admit they were in the running for second behind Chemeketa, there's no way I expected the Cougars to catch Chemeketa and walk into the tournament with the No. 1 seed from the south. Clif Wegner and Clackamas hold the longest consecutive streak of tournament appearances and while I wouldn't put money on the Cougars to roar their way through to the final, they definitely have the potential to unseat a few favorites given how much they've had to get through to be here in the first place.

No. 8 Clackamas will play Peninsula on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

                                                                                                                        

Bellevue, Columbia Basin lead mens rankings

NWAC Men's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

The upcoming NWAC tournament is as much about match ups and team basketball as anything, as we've seen well-oiled machines best star-power over the last several years. That said, it's star-power which tends to drive the most excitement, both here at one of the NWAC's few community forums and in the arena itself. This season has been somewhat starless, with Brendan Westendorf having moved on to Seattle University, Kyle Impero playing for Western Washington and Shaq McKissic making waves at Arizona, but there seems to be a new face in play: James Lopez. He was in the middle of the pack in scoring for Columbia Basin last season, but has emerged this year to lead the league in scoring and is now 12-2 as a starter. He's averaging the second-most points of any player dating back to the 2006-07 season, including former Tacoma star Mark McLaughlin and Peninsula's USC transfer J.T. Terrell. 

Efficiency stats are running a little behind this week, but we'll have an updated spreadsheet of efficiency stats posted in the next few days, and the stats under each team will be updated. 

Pace is determined by taking a team's total points and dividing it by their average points-per-possession to get the number of possessions they've played. Total possessions divided by games is what the "pace" number is.

Offensive efficiency is what a team would score if they played at the average pace of the top-16 teams, which is 67 possessions per game. Current average points are in parenthesis next to each ranked team's efficiency numbers.

Updated coaches rankings, released on Feb. 5, have been posted under each team's previous ratings. You can see the full coaches poll here.

                                                                                                                         

1. Bellevue (21-2, 8-0 North)
Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 1 Coaches
Coaches: No. 1

All the efficiency numbers and who-beat-who stats really don't apply to the Bellevue Bulldogs, who have now run their streak out to 12 consecutive games. They've beaten No. 3 Edmonds as part of the current streak, and aside from a loss to Pierce on Dec. 18 have won every game with the exception of the opener against No. 8 Clark. They've also shown an impressive ability to win close games, as was the case on Feb. 7 against Shoreline. Bellevue actually trailed at halftime, shooting just 29% and looking up at a six-point deficit. The Bulldogs managed to rebound in the second 20 minute period and outscored Shoreline by 12 to win 62-56 [box]. It might be an area of concern, but good teams will always hang their hats on defense when shots don't fall, and if Bellevue is as mentally tough as they seem, they'll be difficult to beat at the tournament.

                                                                                                                          

2. Columbia Basin (13-9, 6-2 East)
Previous ranking: No. 4, Unranked Coaches

Coaches: No. 7

Proponents might claim the Hawks' success of late is tied to the Eastern Region, but I'd have to disagree. It seems to rest on the shoulders of one James Lopez, the Hawks' sophomore point guard. Get this: Lopez misses the first eight games of the season, and Columbia Basin goes 1-7. Lopez returns on Dec. 19 against Green River and promptly goes off for 33 points, kicking off a 12-2 stretch with Lopez on the floor. And if that weren't enough, he bumped his scoring average from 24.6 points per game to 29.8 points per game once league started. Lopez leads the league in scoring AND assists, and is in the top-10 in steals and three-point percentage. Both of the losses in the last 14 games have come at home, and the last one, a 102-92 barn-burner [box] with Walla Walla looks like one of those games which could have gone either way late in the second half. Columbia Basin, thanks to Lopez, has come back from the dead and transformed themselves into a legitimate home-town title contender. Normally the men's championship game is played on the women's court so the sparse crowd is a little more compact, but the NWAC might actually have to play the men's title game on the mens court at the tournament this year.

                                                                                                                         

3. Edmonds (19-4, 7-1 North)

Previous ranking: No. 2, No. 3 Coaches

Coaches: No. 2

It's a little strange to drop Edmonds, especially after the Tritons proved they were neck-and-neck with No. 1 Bellevue and have continued to distance themselves from the Northern Region pack over the last few weeks. The North seems to be truly top-heavy, a statement Edmonds pounded home with their 110-85 thumping [box] of Olympic on Jan. 28 and the 15-point win over Skagit Valley shortly thereafter. Their win over Peninsula, though, helped lend credence to a big secret to the Tritons' success. Edmonds won by 11, beating the Pirates 77-66 [box] but were badly out-boarded by Edmonds standards. The Tritons lead the NWAC in offensive rebounding at over 17 offensive rebounds per game. It's a big contributor to their fast pace, which may lead this blog to revise the efficiency ratings to balance out big offense rebounding (extra possession) statistics. Now the low shooting percentage, high 'pace' and low efficiency start to make a little more sense when you consider that Zach Pederson has 85 offensive boards by himself.

                                                                                                                        

4. Big Bend (18-6, 6-2 East)

Previous ranking: No. 6, No. 7 Coaches

Coaches: No. 5

It seems Big Bend will see no end of close games this season, as they packed on another pair of thrillers over the last two weeks of Eastern Region play. The first was a huge come-from-behind overtime win over former No. 5 Wenatchee Valley, a game in which the Runnin' Viks came from nine down at halftime to force the extra period and win 81-79 [box]. It was a loss which knocked the Knights — a very good team in the east and an excellent match up for Big Bend — out of the rankings, but the Vikings had a painful loss of their own to follow. Three days later, Big Bend managed to hold the league's highest-scoring team 14 points under their seasonal average but bit a pretty nasty bullet as Spokane pulled the same trick Big Bend had just a few days prior. This time, it was Big Bend giving up a five-point halftime lead as the Sasquatch came back to win it 78-75 [box] in the final moments. As much as the loss stings, the defensive performance is something the Vikings can hang their hats on. Spokane has only been held under 80 points four times this season, and shots weren't falling for Big Bend at their usual rate. Watching Big Bend and Columbia Basin go toe-to-toe for the Eastern title should be fascinating.

                                                                                                                         

5. Highline (17-6, 9-2 West)

Previous ranking: No. 7, No. 6 Coaches

Coaches: No. 2

With a solid 9-2 record and the current top seed from the Western Region, some Highline fans might be disgruntled to find themselves out of the top four with two Eastern teams ahead of them. If any complaining reaches my ears, however, I'll point them in one direction: the debacle on Jan. 28 against Clark. Now, Clark is a reputable opponent. The Penguins barely missed the top eight, and are likely to make noise down the stretch BUT not enough noise to justify beating Highline 95-73 [box]. After a tight first half was blown wide open by Clark making 19 of 25 second-half free throw attempts at the line, I can't help but wonder if there's a formula for beating the Thunderbirds here. Going all the way back to Dec. 16, Highline has been out-shot if not whipped at the charity stripe. When the difference is closer or in the Thunderbirds' favor they tend to win games, as is the case with their 84-81 win [box] over Lower Columbia on Feb. 4 in which the Thunderbirds held off a furious second-half rally. It was a far cry from Highline's earlier blowout of the Red Devils, and if you look closely, there's cause for pause: Lower Columbia tripled their free throw attempts in the second half.

                                                                                                                          

6. Lower Columbia (16-8, 8-3 West)

Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked Coaches
Coaches: No. 8

Red Devils' head coach Jim Roffler is a solid argument that a win is a win, no matter what the score. Much hullabaloo has been made over the last several weeks over Roffler's 500th career win at Lower Columbia, though it came in a grind-it-out game with seemingly inferior S. Puget Sound (7-15, 2-9 West) it becomes a little easier to accept it as a win given how the team played over the next two games. First, they dug themselves a huge hole against No. 5 Highline and nearly managed to climb out of it before falling 84-81 [box]. Next, they put themselves in another double-digit hole by halftime in their game against Clark and managed to pull out an 80-78 win [box] Roffler called "one of the best games" in his 24 years in Longview. Now if you guys would just stop trailing at halftime...


                                                                                                                         

7. Chemeketa (16-7, 7-1 South)

Previous ranking: No. 8, No. 4 Coaches
Coaches: No. 4

One big credit to Chemeketa's resume is the growing distance in status between the Storm and the rest of the Southern Region. Though they only lead the standings by a single game over Clackamas, Chemeketa already has a 17-point road-win [box] over the Cougs and will play four of their final six games in the friendly confines of the Storm Center. Their only loss of region play was a 104-96 [box] loss on the road to Portland, the defending league champions, and a game in which Portland attempted 24 of their 34 free throws after halftime. The teams combined for 48 points from the charity stripe and were nearly even in freebie production, but turnovers — not a common problem for Chemeketa — were the difference. One big match up to watch out for is one of the Storm's two remaining road games, a trip to Clackamas on Feb. 18. The Cougars have a history of playing extremely well down the stretch under longtime coach Clif Wegner.

                                                                                                                         

8. Clark (14-7, 7-3 West)

Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 5 Coaches

Coaches: No. 6

In Clark's defense, all three of their losses in Western Region play have been nail-biters. The other side of that same argument is the Penguins' horrible record in close games this season. They're 1-6 in games decided by less than 10 points, and 1-4 in games decided by less than five points. And while the one win came against No. 1 Bellevue, it's been several months since the Penguins pulled off that miracle in the season opener. In their latest game, an 80-78 loss [box] to No. 6 Lower Columbia on Feb. 7, featured a second-half meltdown after leading 51-39 at halftime. Clark will most likely make the championship tournament and has a chance to muscle their way into the top-two in the West, but Lower Columbia already has the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series and the Penguins will have to beat Highline in the season finale. One big boost to Clark's confidence? They'll be facing most of the bottom-half of the bottom-light Western Region down the stretch, and they'll get Highline at home.

                                                                                                                        

Bellevue men still clinging to top spot

NWAC Men's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

We'll get to it shortly, but the league saw an absolutely fantastic overtime showdown between No. 1 Bellevue and No. 2 Edmonds back on Jan. 21 that is too hard to keep out of the intro and both sets of rankings. As Bellevue — the slower and more efficient of the pair of heavyweights — came out with the victory, it brings to mind a piece written several years ago on what it takes to win at the upcoming tournament. Portland wowed viewers last spring by getting hot and pulling together a group of unbelievable talent at the right time, but it seems the slow-paced and defensively-minded teams have an edge when so many games are crammed back-to-back. 

Once again, remember that these rankings are most often a "what have you done for me lately" grouping of thoughts, and teams are more likely to jump around than in the coaches poll. 

In some housekeeping news, both S. Puget Sound and Grays Harbor have unveiled awesome new logos, keeping with a trend which has seen new insignias from Umpqua, Shoreline, Green River and Clark in recent years. 

This edition of the Power Rankings continues the use of offensive efficiency numbers, which help to gage exactly what a team does with the possessions they're given, and how fast they do it. Bellevue is the slowest among the top eight, with Columbia Basin and Edmonds tying for the fast-paced honors. From this point forward, we'll upload a separate spreadsheet with each set of rankings so older sets can be used for reference. 

[Get the top 16 teams]

Pace is determined by taking a team's total points and dividing it by their average points-per-possession to get the number of possessions they've played. Total possessions divided by games is what the "pace" number is.

Offensive efficiency is what a team would score if they played at the average pace of the top-16 teams, which is 67 possessions per game. Current average points are in parenthesis next to each ranked team's efficiency numbers.

Updated coaches rankings, released on Jan. 22, have been posted under each team's previous ratings. You can see the full coaches poll here.

                                                                                                                         

1. Bellevue (18-2, 5-0 North)
Pace: 59 | Offensive Efficiency: 83.85 (76)
Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 1 Coaches
Coaches: No. 1

This is exactly the type of match up I like to see in the results: Two highly-ranked teams in a tight game with the region lead up for grabs. Such were the stakes. Bellevue won round No. 1 with Edmonds, winning 84-82 in overtime [box] in what I'm thinking will be a huge victory come tournament time. It gives Bellevue a little extra room atop the Northern Region standings, possibly getting Bellevue out of a more difficult first-round match up. It also is a major confidence booster, and proves that the Bulldogs have the mental fortitude to hang on and win a nail-biter despite being outscored down the stretch. Four Bellevue players scored in double figures, led by 19 from Don Holub. What will be more interesting will be how the rematch plays out on Feb. 18, when Bellevue and Edmonds could meet in another top-two showdown. Bellevue remains as the slowest-paced team in the rankings at 59 possessions a game, but is efficient with their chances regardless of their pedestrian shooting percentage.

                                                                                                                          

2. Edmonds (16-4, 4-1 North)
Pace: 70 | Offensive Efficiency: 78 (84)
Previous ranking: No. 2, No. 2 Coaches

Coaches: No. 3

And now the other side of that huge game in Bellevue. I cover high school athletics full time now, and there are times where I wonder how different the conversation would go if I were talking with a different coach but asking the same questions. This is one of those instances. While Bellevue basically played their game — almost exactly their average regulation points and shooting percentage — Edmonds was caught once again by their inability to score the basketball. They still play somewhat quickly, and their points per possession stat has jumped in the last several weeks, but shooting 37% from the field against a slow-it-down team simply won't bring about wins. The Tritons seem to have fixed some of their problems on offense, and have picked up the scoring pace and shooting percentage, and it seems they're now on the level with No. 1 Bellevue, at least for now. The rematch in late February will be fascinating, and could be for the region title.

                                                                                                                         

3. Clark (13-5, 6-1 West)
Pace: 63 | Offensive Efficiency: 85.15 (82)

Previous ranking: No. 6, No. 6 Coaches

Coaches: No. 5

The Penguins have lost just once in their last six games, a tight, anybody-can-win-this contest with Lower Columbia in which Clark was outscored by two in each half and lost 80-76 [box]. Since then they've been on a roll, pasting four of the five opponents on their current five-game winning streak. The largest such victory was a 106-66 thumping [box] of South Puget Sound (they have an awesome new logo) on Jan. 24. The sparkling stat from this sizzling contest was in the turnover column: Clark scored a whopping 33 points of SPSCC's 18 turnovers. The Penguins are fourth in the NWAC in steals at 10.78 per game, and have made a living on the break. It's part of what helps Clark reach the league average in points while playing at a slightly lower than average pace — layups are usually a pretty high-percentage shot. Like Edmonds and Bellevue, the Penguins have a big game on the horizon in a visit from No. 8 Highline, who has won four in a row and technically leads the Western Region.

                                                                                                                        

4. Columbia Basin (11-8, 4-1 East)
Pace: 70 | Offensive Efficiency: 79.3 (86)

Previous ranking: No. 7, Unranked Coaches

Coaches: Unranked

I was a little uneasy in ranking Columbia Basin a few weeks ago, bringing them into the rankings for the first time this season in seventh. At the time, the question was whether their victory over then-No. 3 Big Bend was a fluke, but 10 wins in their last 11 games make things seem as though that's not at all the case. Their one trip-up, and this might have Wenatchee fans upset, was an 86-69 loss [box] to the Knights back on Jan. 14. The Hawks got outscored by 18 from beyond the arc in that game, which is an ironic taste of their own medicine. Columbia Basin shoots from distance at a pretty decent clip, and when they get rolling, well... they do things like blowing the doors off a fast-paced Spokane team to the tune of 110-95 [box]. CBC hit 15 three-pointers in that game, six more than usual, and nailed 13 in their 109-103 victory [box] over Yakima Valley. Will the hot shooting hold for the rest of the season? Maybe. Will the hot shooting continue once they step into the cavernous Toyota Center? Probably not. Either way, this team is hot.

                                                                                                                         

5. Wenatchee Valley (14-6, 3-2 East)
Pace: 62 | Offensive Efficiency: 79.3 (86)

Previous ranking: No. 4, No. 4 Coaches

Coaches: No. 2

Two losses in their last two games would normally drop the Knights further than one spot, but I'll keep them there because of how they kicked off the Eastern Region run. Wenatchee had arguably the most difficult early stretch of any of the ranked teams: Hosting Spokane, traveling to Columbia Basin and hosting Walla Walla, all ending in wins for Wenatchee. Then they faded in the second half and lost to unranked Treasure Valley and unranked Blue Mountain. What's interesting, though, is that in both games the Knights shot FAR below their average number of free throws. In the Blue Mountain game back on Dec. 31, for instance, Wenatchee Valley shot 38 times from the charity stripe. On Jan. 24 in an 86-76 loss [box] they shot 15 free throws. Though they've sped things up in the last few weeks, the Knights still play as one of the slowest-paced teams in the top-16. That means that they need high effieciency (and plenty of free-throws and good shooting percentages) to keep up with the other faster-paced teams in their region. I'll keep WVC in fifth for now, but this next stretch will be telling: they play Big Bend on Jan. 28, and then will have rematches with Spokane and Columbia Basin in the coming weeks.

                                                                                                                          

6. Big Bend (16-5, 4-1 East)
Pace: 64 | Offensive Efficiency: 81.25 (80)

Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 3 Coaches
Coaches: No. 7

In the last set of rankings, I talked about how Big Bend turns the ball over a little more than they should, and I called their upcoming league game with then-No. 7 Columbia Basin a "good challenge." Big Bend, to their credit, cleaned up the turnover act considerably. In the first match up, they had 16 miscues. In the second, just 13. It made for a big difference in the competitiveness of the game, but Columbia Basin still managed to pull out an 85-84 victory [box] despite winning the turnover battle by seven. The Runnin' Viks also nearly let a win slip through their fingers in a battle with Blue Mountain (5-12, 1-4 East) back on Jan. 16. They held an 11-point lead at halftime, but were forced to hold on and win a low-scoring 68-66 game [box] at home, a result which is surprising given the difference in record and the improved turnover statistics. Coming up, though, they'll have a chance to prove themselves and jump back toward the top of the rankings in a trip to take on Wenatchee Valley, with whom they're almost neck-and-neck in points per possession and pace.

                                                                                                                         

7. Highline (14-5, 6-1 West)
Pace: 66 | Offensive Efficiency: 79.3 (80)

Previous ranking: Unranked, No. 5 Coaches
Coaches: No. 6

It's always seemed a little unfair to keep Highline out of the top eight, given that they've led the Western Region for much of the season thus far. The reason? They don't have much by way of signature victories, and have lost many of the bigger games they've played in. And while they play in a relatively weak division (five of the Western teams are below .500), picking up five wins in a row is enough to get just about anybody noticed, and for their efforts they'll get a shot at taking down No. 3 Clark this week — at at home. This is a big chance for Highline to prove they belong in the discussion and erase a few ugly losses from earlier this year before the Western Region schedule takes its toll.

                                                                                                                         

8. Chemeketa (14-6, 5-0 South)

Pace: 67 | Offensive Efficiency: 83.3 (87)
Previous ranking: No. 8, No. 8 Coaches

Coaches: No. 4

Chemeketa's overall offensive pace has dropped a little in the last few weeks, but the Storm are on their best run of the season: Eight straight victories, including the first five games of the Southern Region schedule. Given, as plenty of readers have trumpeted over the years, the South isn't the strongest region in the NWAC, but it has produced two title teams in the last two years and five champions in the last eight seasons. Might it be that all the banging and moving and shaking in the South preps teams for the rigors of the championship tournament? Chemeketa shoots a decent percentage from the field, and has continued their unreal free-throw numbers to the tune of 27 attempts per game. At this point the Storm look like frontrunners in the Southern Region, but they'll need to keep a sharp eye out for an effecient and slow-paced Umpqua team, as well as Clackamas — hate me, c'mon — as the Cougars often go on a hot streak late in the season.

                                                                                                                        

Bellevue men lead rankings into region play

NWAC Men's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

Last year we always assumed the Southern Region would shake itself out and, being stubborn, it never did. The South has always gotten flack for as long as these rankings have been a thing, and yet they've managed to capture two of the last four NWAC titles. Once again, it looks like the South is being its good ol' self, but the Western Region has joined in the fray. Neither region has a standout as of yet, with four teams legitimately in the mix at the start of region play.

The Northern and Eastern regions, however, are entirely different. Bellevue and Edmonds have emerged as frontrunners with entirely differing offensive styles in the Northern Region, while Big Bend, Wenatchee Valley and Spokane are clearly ahead of the remaining teams in the Eastern Region with Columbia Basin making a solid run at relevancy. 

In the last set, we used a beta system to rank a team's pace by adding and dividing and multiplying some numbers together and calling it good. The league has stepped forward and offered the actual possession stats, and we rolled out a new efficiency rating system last week with the women to fairly positive results. This edition [Get the top-16 teams] adds a few things, including a free-throws per game stat which helps to show exactly why certain teams can accomplish their high points-per-possession numbers.

Pace is determined by taking a team's total points and dividing it by their average points-per-possession to get the number of possessions they've played. Total possessions divided by games is what the "pace" number is.

Offensive efficiency is what a team would score if they played at the average pace of the top-16 teams, which is 67 possessions per game. Current average points are in parenthesis next to each ranked team's efficiency numbers.

From this point on, expect the rankings to be published about every two weeks on Sunday or Monday until the NWAC tournament arrives in early March. Coaches rankings, which were released on Jan. 8, can be found beneath each team's rating.

                                                                                                                         

1. Bellevue (13-2, 0-0 North)
Pace: 58 | Offensive Efficiency: 83.2 (74)
Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 2 Coaches
Coaches: No. 1

Over the last several seasons, we've seen Bellevue rack up a handful of solid seasons. They tied for first in a highly-contested Northern Region last year, marking the first season with at least a share of the region title since 2009-10. In each one of those successful years, the Bulldogs have only gotten past the first round of the tournament just one time, which begs the question: Is this finally the year for Bellevue? Among the top-16 teams in terms of efficiency, Bellevue plays with the slowest pace of just 58 possessions per game. They commit just 13 turnovers per game, an excellent job of scoring on the few possessions they DO have. It's a formula which tends to do well at the championship tournament,  which generally sees the slower, defensively-minded and efficient teams succeed. Coming up, they've got 5-8 Shoreline before they'll take on Olympic — the fastest-paced team at 72 possessions per contest.

                                                                                                                          

2. Edmonds (13-3, 0-0 North)
Pace: 72 | Offensive Efficiency: 76.05 (84)
Previous ranking: No. 4, Unranked Coaches

Coaches: No. 2

In the last set of rankings, we covered how Edmonds' low shooting percentage was killing their offensive efficiency. There are still several unsettling numbers which stick out for Edmonds, one of which is their three-point shooting: second-to-last in the league at a dismal 28 percent. Overall percentage is in the bottom third, which is why it's fairly amazing that Edmonds manages to score just over 84 points per game. The reason? Blinding speed and the second-best rebounding in the NWAC. Edmonds plays a full 14 possessions more than a team like No. 1 Bellevue, and actually takes better care of the ball. Much of the reason Edmonds gets so many extra chances is due to their ability to get out in the passing lanes, which gifts the Tritons an extra ten possessions on a nightly basis and has led to five consecutive victories — the second-longest streak in the league.

                                                                                                                         

3. Big Bend (12-4, 0-0 East)
Pace: 65 | Offensive Efficiency: 79.3 (79)

Previous ranking: No. 2, Unranked Coaches

Coaches: No. 3

Big Bend was on an impressive run before it was cut short in a 91-78 loss [box] to Columbia Basin, a loss which gives some interesting insight into a major weak spot in the Runnin' Vik's game: Turnovers. Big Bend had 26 of them, and while it's 10 higher than their game-by-game average, the Vikings still rank among the worst of the efficient teams in terms of turning over the rock. Imagine throwing the ball away on a quarter of a team's possessions, which is about where Big Bend sits. There's your background, now consider this: Big Bend still manages 79 points per game, and ranks ninth in offensive efficiency. It helps to be third in the league in three-pointers attempted, while shooting a somewhat decent percentage. One interesting thing to watch: Big Bend hosts Columbia Basin in a rematch on Jan. 21. CBC is also one of the hotter teams in the league, and should make for a good challenge.

                                                                                                                        

4. Wenatchee Valley (11-4, 0-0 East)
Pace: 60 | Offensive Efficiency: 81.9 (75)

Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 6 Coaches

Coaches: No. 4

The Knights are another slow-paced, but efficient team. They trail Bellevue with 60 possessions on a given night (see what I did there), and have almost identical numbers both on offense and defense. The Knights don't shoot an awful lot of three pointers, and they're not at the top of the list in field goal percentage. What Wenatchee Valley DOE do, and does extremely well, is get to the free-throw line. They're second in the league in free-throws per game at 25, which is impressive because the leader — Chemeketa at 28 — plays at a far quicker pace. The Knights only loss in this last section of games came on a night where they shot 13 percent from three-point range and were outscored 27-6 from beyond the arc and still only lost by three [box] to Grays Harbor. They'll have a fast-paced and efficient challenger in No. 5 Spokane in their next contest, and should the Knights manage to keep the pace slow and control things from the get-go, they'll have a chance to make a huge statement in the Eastern Region.

                                                                                                                         

5. Spokane (10-5, 0-0 East)
Pace: 69 | Offensive Efficiency: 88.4 (94)

Previous ranking: No. 6, No. 1 Coaches

Coaches: No. 7

A faster than average pace often doesn't always translate to an efficient outcome on the offensive end, but Spokane is different. They're far and away the best offensive team in the league at just over 94 points per game, and pace is only part of it. They run about 69 offensive possessions per night, and are about average in turnover-per-possession percentage. The difference is that the Sasquatch score on far more of those possessions than any other team in the league. The efficiency coefficient is a good way to balance, as it takes pace out of the equation and Spokane is still easily at the top of the list by a full four points. And unlike many of the other running teams in the league, Spokane is actually in the middle of the pack in steals and is able to hold opposing teams down on defense instead of games turning into a regular track meet.

                                                                                                                          

6. Clark (8-4, 1-0 West)
Pace: 64 | Offensive Efficiency: 81.9 (81)

Previous ranking: Unranked, No. 3 Coaches
Coaches: No. 6

With eight wins, Clark might look like a questionable choice to make the top eight, considering the three Western Region teams who have more wins. However, as we've discussed before, this is a set of rankings built on what teams have been up to lately, and Clark's resume of late has been a solid one. Something seems to have clicked after the Penguin's loss to Clackamas on Dec. 20, and Clark has won their last three contest by a considerable margin. Most impressive was a 78-58 [box] win over previous No. 5 Green River in which Clark muscled the Gators to a 47-29 rebound advantage and outscored Green River by 15 in second-chance points. Clark is the most efficient of the Western Region teams, and will only see one region foe who is better on the glass even though Clark is in the middle of the league pack in terms of boards. Unfortunately for Clark, their chance to prove themselves comes quickly: Lower Columbia — the only team from the West who has better boarding numbers — looms in the Western Region opener.

                                                                                                                         

7. Columbia Basin (7-7, 0-0 East)
Pace: 70 | Offensive Efficiency: 76.05 (83)

Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked coaches
Coaches: Unranked

Another somewhat curious choice in place of a team like Highline or Umpqua, both of whom are leading their regions, Columbia Basin makes the list as simply the hottest team in the league at this point. They've picked up six in a row, two of which came against teams ranked in the last set. Green River was the first to fall victim back on Dec. 19, but CBC has also managed victories over Portland, Everett, Blue Mountain, and a 113-86 barn-burner [box] against Grays Harbor. The most impressive win, though, was their most recent. Columbia Basin shot a cool 11-22 from distance and picked up 26 turnovers against No. 3 Big Bend on New Years Eve, runnin' past the Runnin' Viks 91-78 [box]. It might have been a flash in the pan, but no one has been able to prove it for the last month.

                                                                                                                         

8. Chemeketa (9-6, 0-0 South)

Pace: 68 | Offensive Efficiency: 84.5 (88)
Previous ranking: No. 7, No. 7 (tie) Coaches

Coaches: No. 8

Every once in a while, my brain will catch a number that simply doesn't fit. Usually it's a mistake when data is entered into the efficiency spreadsheet, but in the case of Chemeketa's unreal free-throw numbers, it's reality. The Storm have shot 423 freebies through 15 games, at a clip of 28 attempts per game. They're not the lightning-quick (again, see what I did there?) Chemeketa team we've seen in the past, but they still manage nearly 88 points per game — good for second in the league behind No. 6 Spokane. And at 9-6, they're just a half-game behind Umpqua for the lead in the Southern Region, which looks like it might end up as much a clustered mess as it was last season. Getting to the line means drawing fouls. Drawing fouls means putting opponents in foul trouble, which forces opponents to change up rotations and put their big men on the bench.