2005-06 Men's Basketball Coaches Pre-Season Poll:
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
2004-05 All |
2004-05 NWC |
| Puget Sound (Wash.) |
(9) |
90 |
22-4 |
15-1 |
| George Fox (Ore.) |
|
62 |
18-7 |
13-3 |
| Whitworth (Wash.) |
|
61 |
13-11 |
9-7 |
| Willamette (Ore.) |
|
50 |
11-14 |
8-8 |
| Lewis & Clark (Ore.) |
|
45 |
11-13 |
7-9 |
| Linfield (Ore.) |
|
36 |
14-11 |
10-6 |
| Whitman (Wash.) |
|
35 |
5-20 |
3-13 |
| Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
|
20 |
5-20 |
3-13 |
| Pacific (Ore.) |
|
15 |
5-20 |
4-12 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Puget Sound is Unanimous Pick to Repeat Men's Basketball Championship
Spokane, Wash. - The University of Puget Sound is a unanimous choice to win the 2005-06 Northwest Conference men's basketball championship, according to the conference coaches' preseason poll.
The Loggers, who are gunning for their third consecutive NWC title, picked up all nine first place votes and a maximum of 90 points in the poll. UPS will be led by First Team All-NWC honorees Zack McVey (post) and Chase Curtiss (guard), both seniors. A total of three starters and eight letter winners return for head coach Eric Bridgeland.
George Fox University edged Whitworth College for second place in the poll by one point. The Bruins, who finished second a year ago behind NWC Player of the Year Mark Gayman and NWC Coach of the Year Mark Sundquist, had 62 points in the poll. However, George Fox must replace Gayman, who graduated. All-NWC wing Aaron Schmick returns to lead the charge.
Whitworth had 61 poll points. The Pirates welcome back four starters, including All-NWC forward Lance Pecht.
Willamette University and Lewis & Clark College were fourth and fifth in the poll. The Bearcats (50 points) will be led by Second Team All-NWC guard John Olinger, while the Pioneers (45 points) will look to Second Team All-NWC forward Tommy Magnuson for leadership.
Linfield College edged Whitman College for sixth in the poll with 36 points. The Wildcats were hit heavy by graduation, including All-NWC selections Blake Shelton and Chris Lewis. The Missionaries (35 points) return honorable mention honorees Kyle Born and Matt Kelly.
Pacific Lutheran University (20 points) and Pacific University (15 points) rounded out the poll in eighth and ninth places, respectively. The Lutes will relay on senior wing Drew Cardwell, while the Boxers welcome back sophomore guard Brad Krichevsky.
This season the Northwest Conference returns to a conference tournament to decide the automatic (Pool A) bid to the NCAA tournament. At the conclusion of the regular season with second place team in the final standings will host the third place team in a playoff. The winner will play at the regular season champion for the NCAA bid.