HILLSBORO, Ore. – Whitworth has been selected as the Northwest Conference frontrunner for the 2023-24 season, as voted on by conference head coaches. The Pirates earned 62 points and six first-place votes. Whitworth were the 2022-23 NWC Men’s Basketball Tournament Champions. Whitman ranks second in the poll with 53 points and one first-place vote. The Blues were the regular season champions last season, with a 14-2 conference record.
Puget Sound received two first-place votes and 50 points for 3rd, while George Fox takes the fourth spot on the list with 38 points. Pacific Lutheran received 37 points to rank them fifth and Pacific (Ore.) placed sixth with 30 points. Lewis & Clark (28 pts), Linfield (18 pts), and Willamette (8 pts) round out the poll.
Conference play begins November 28th as Puget Sound hosts Pacific Lutheran for the first conference schedule game of the season. The Northwest Conference men’s basketball tournament will take place at the #1 seed on February 23rd-24th, 2024.
(Points awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own teams; numbers in parentheses indicate first place votes)
|
Team
|
Pts.
|
2023 NWC Finish
|
|
Whitworth (6)
|
62
|
2nd
|
|
Whitman (1)
|
53
|
1st
|
|
Puget Sound (2)
|
50
|
2nd
|
|
George Fox
|
38
|
4th
|
|
Pacific Lutheran
|
37
|
5th
|
|
Pacific (Ore.)
|
30
|
8th
|
|
Lewis & Clark
|
28
|
5th
|
|
Linfield
|
18
|
5th
|
|
Willamette
|
8
|
9th
|