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Okay... A little lunch break thought on where things are:
1) WOU. Finally they get listed where they ought to be conference-wide. It seems like it would take a pretty spectacular effort on the part of another conference team and pretty bad night for them to lose again. It'll be really interesting to see the game against WWU that last week. They should be able to figure out how to right that one blip on their record, because if they don't, that's weird. Not sure what the other top teams from other conferences are like, but WOU is so athletic and so deep at every position, but that said, they do have off-nights shooting, they aren't the *best* rebounders, but life is generally difficult against them. I think if a team had a lot of outside shooters to spread them out and good inside play and mentally tough, it would be a great game! They do finish with 3 of the top 4 teams in the GNAC, so they can't daydream too much about regionals yet. That said, I see them in the elite 8.
2) WWU is young-only Dickson is a SR from their starting lineup. They are exceptionally talented, but they haven't really figured out how to put it all together, but when they do, they are tough to beat as well, but they can be broken down much easier than WOU. They tend to turn it over more than a top team should. They have a relatively easy finish when compared to other teams, with WOU being the only looming game from a top team in conference, but they should be aware of everyone else, because they're sitting ducks for mid-pack teams to have a great night against and break them down. Not sure if they get to regionals without winning the tourney/probably pretty close at this point.
3) SMU had some great non-con wins and now a great conference win and they still have WOU to see if they can give them a run. Probably pretty close as far as getting into regionals without winning the conference tourney as well at this point. They've got a pretty good schedule to finish on and capitalize with...
4) SPU had a good non-con season too but not quite as strong in conference as SMU... They've had a lot of injuries to their roster, so it's dig in the heels time for SPU... Maybe also on the edge as far as qualifying for regionals while taking a loss to SFU without winning the conference tourney. UAA and UAF will be there this week looking for revenge and they'll need to beat NNU to even that score too...
5) UAF has done decent in conference play, outside of a terrible showing in Anchorage to start the season and a literal escape on Saturday from what should've been Concordia's first win. But they don't have squat in non-con. They're gonna have to buckle down and play tougher and more consistent than they have to stay in it for conference tourney. Guys like Baham who have been burning it up on the 3 point line need to develop other ways of scoring. You can't count on nobody else figuring out you can slay the 3 pointers and not doing anything about it in round 2 of conference play. I'm liking the fact that they've only got one senior right now, so I see this year as a great warm up for the next, but that is looking way too far ahead!!! They've got a tough schedule to finish out on. WWU on the road and SMU and SPU on the road this week too... Then that looming game with UAA where a psychologist is definitely needed. Then to MSUB to try to finish on an up note and see what happens to the rest of the league on the last night.
6) CWU has got a real difficult finish schedule as they have yet to go to Alaska, they'll play at WOU, WWU at home this week and they play at SPU & SMU as well... That said, they are capable of getting some wins in there, but they need to figure it all out and put some pretty complete games together.
7) NNU has the same difficult finish as CWU does and in addition has been swept by CWU so will be counting on the work of others in losing or winning to help them pass CWU in the standings. If they put it together, they can sure disrupt things and at this point, there's still lots of disrupting to do and lots of ways they could get into the top 6.
8) UAA is playing uber tough even if their record is not great or even good by typical UAA standards. In my viewing, I see them playing tougher than CWU, NNU, MSUB, SFU or CU right now and I have a hunch that they'll figure out how to win some tough games and sneak into the tournament they are hosting. They are getting a lot of young guys playing time which is great for them for next year too. They still have trouble scoring, but their defense is pretty stellar and the offense seems to be coming a bit easier now. They are gonna be looking to avenge their losses to NNU, SPU, SMU, and CWU this next month and I think all of those games are going to be hard fought for on their part. Look out anybody who's planning to sleep on the Seawolves.
9) MSUB isn't playing particularly well now or finding wins, but it's a long travel trip for the entire conference so they've got that and I think they have yet to play CU & SFU for round two, so they've got some chances to pick up wins, but a trip to Anchorage for the conference tourney is starting to look nearly impossible.
10) SFU might have an easier time finding a few sneaky wins because they are already doing more than they have in recent years, so having an up-attitude goes a long ways.
11) CU is playing every game tough and I'm feeling like they will find a win, but everyone is on guard for losing to the team that hasn't won too...
1) WOU. Finally they get listed where they ought to be conference-wide. It seems like it would take a pretty spectacular effort on the part of another conference team and pretty bad night for them to lose again. It'll be really interesting to see the game against WWU that last week. They should be able to figure out how to right that one blip on their record, because if they don't, that's weird. Not sure what the other top teams from other conferences are like, but WOU is so athletic and so deep at every position, but that said, they do have off-nights shooting, they aren't the *best* rebounders, but life is generally difficult against them. I think if a team had a lot of outside shooters to spread them out and good inside play and mentally tough, it would be a great game! They do finish with 3 of the top 4 teams in the GNAC, so they can't daydream too much about regionals yet. That said, I see them in the elite 8.
2) WWU is young-only Dickson is a SR from their starting lineup. They are exceptionally talented, but they haven't really figured out how to put it all together, but when they do, they are tough to beat as well, but they can be broken down much easier than WOU. They tend to turn it over more than a top team should. They have a relatively easy finish when compared to other teams, with WOU being the only looming game from a top team in conference, but they should be aware of everyone else, because they're sitting ducks for mid-pack teams to have a great night against and break them down. Not sure if they get to regionals without winning the tourney/probably pretty close at this point.
3) SMU had some great non-con wins and now a great conference win and they still have WOU to see if they can give them a run. Probably pretty close as far as getting into regionals without winning the conference tourney as well at this point. They've got a pretty good schedule to finish on and capitalize with...
4) SPU had a good non-con season too but not quite as strong in conference as SMU... They've had a lot of injuries to their roster, so it's dig in the heels time for SPU... Maybe also on the edge as far as qualifying for regionals while taking a loss to SFU without winning the conference tourney. UAA and UAF will be there this week looking for revenge and they'll need to beat NNU to even that score too...
5) UAF has done decent in conference play, outside of a terrible showing in Anchorage to start the season and a literal escape on Saturday from what should've been Concordia's first win. But they don't have squat in non-con. They're gonna have to buckle down and play tougher and more consistent than they have to stay in it for conference tourney. Guys like Baham who have been burning it up on the 3 point line need to develop other ways of scoring. You can't count on nobody else figuring out you can slay the 3 pointers and not doing anything about it in round 2 of conference play. I'm liking the fact that they've only got one senior right now, so I see this year as a great warm up for the next, but that is looking way too far ahead!!! They've got a tough schedule to finish out on. WWU on the road and SMU and SPU on the road this week too... Then that looming game with UAA where a psychologist is definitely needed. Then to MSUB to try to finish on an up note and see what happens to the rest of the league on the last night.
6) CWU has got a real difficult finish schedule as they have yet to go to Alaska, they'll play at WOU, WWU at home this week and they play at SPU & SMU as well... That said, they are capable of getting some wins in there, but they need to figure it all out and put some pretty complete games together.
7) NNU has the same difficult finish as CWU does and in addition has been swept by CWU so will be counting on the work of others in losing or winning to help them pass CWU in the standings. If they put it together, they can sure disrupt things and at this point, there's still lots of disrupting to do and lots of ways they could get into the top 6.
8) UAA is playing uber tough even if their record is not great or even good by typical UAA standards. In my viewing, I see them playing tougher than CWU, NNU, MSUB, SFU or CU right now and I have a hunch that they'll figure out how to win some tough games and sneak into the tournament they are hosting. They are getting a lot of young guys playing time which is great for them for next year too. They still have trouble scoring, but their defense is pretty stellar and the offense seems to be coming a bit easier now. They are gonna be looking to avenge their losses to NNU, SPU, SMU, and CWU this next month and I think all of those games are going to be hard fought for on their part. Look out anybody who's planning to sleep on the Seawolves.
9) MSUB isn't playing particularly well now or finding wins, but it's a long travel trip for the entire conference so they've got that and I think they have yet to play CU & SFU for round two, so they've got some chances to pick up wins, but a trip to Anchorage for the conference tourney is starting to look nearly impossible.
10) SFU might have an easier time finding a few sneaky wins because they are already doing more than they have in recent years, so having an up-attitude goes a long ways.
11) CU is playing every game tough and I'm feeling like they will find a win, but everyone is on guard for losing to the team that hasn't won too...
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