2003-04 Men's Basketball Coaches Pre-Season Poll:
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
2002-03 All |
2002-03 NWC |
| Whitworth (Wash.) |
(5) |
81 |
23-4 |
13-3 |
| Puget Sound (Wash.) |
(3) |
69 |
12-13 |
7-9 |
| Lewis & Clark (Ore.) |
(1) |
56 |
16-10 |
11-5 |
| Pacific (Ore.) |
|
54 |
11-14 |
8-8 |
| Linfield (Ore.) |
|
45 |
16-9 |
9-7 |
| Willamette (Ore.) |
|
43 |
19-7 |
12-4 |
| Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
|
31 |
10-15 |
7-9 |
| Whitman (Wash.) |
|
23 |
7-18 |
4-12 |
| George Fox (Ore.) |
|
12 |
7-18 |
1-15 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Whitworth Strong Favorite to Repeat Men's Basketball Championship
Spokane, Wash. - The Northwest Conference men's basketball coaches predict that Whitworth College will return to the top of the NWC standings, where the Pirates finished as conference champions in 2002-03.
Whitworth picked up five first place votes and 81 total points to finish ahead of the University of Puget Sound in the poll. The Pirates only return two starters from last season, but one of those is 2003 NWC Player of the Year and three-time first team All-NWC forward Bryan Depew. Last season's title was the Pirates' first since 1998 and 2003 NWC Coach of the Year Jim Hayford's first at Whitworth.
Puget Sound picked up three first place votes and 69 points in the poll. The Loggers anticipate making a big jump up the standings from last season's 6th place tie with the return of all five starters, including Second Team All-NWC guard Matt Glynn.
Lewis & Clark College, which finished third in the conference last season, is third in the poll with 56 points and the final first place vote. Senior All-NWC guard Danny Winchester returns, as well as 2002 First Team All-NWC forward John Mietus, who studied abroad last season.
Pacific University surprised many last season by finishing fifth in the NWC with an 8-8 record after getting picked to finish 8th. The Boxers finished fourth in this season's poll with 54 points. Three starters, including honorable mention All-NWC guard Erin Gram, return.
Linfield College finished fifth in the poll with 45 points. The Wildcats hope for a full season of health from guard O.J. Gully, who was a Second Team All-NWC selection last season despite battling persistent injuries.
Willamette University, last season's runner-up, finished sixth in the poll with 43 points. The Bearcats must replace a pair of First Team All-NWC honorees (Marques Johnson and Ryan Hepp), but will get help from senior wing Miles Sandgathe, a Second Team All-NWC pick in 2003.
Pacific Lutheran University (31) was sixth in the poll, followed by Whitman College (23), and George Fox University (12).
This season for the first time the Northwest Conference will not use a conference tournament to decide the automatic (Pool A) bid to the NCAA tournament. That bid will go to the conference champion and winner of the regular season.
Several teams begin play on November 21st.