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Eye on the Owls:Conference play starts
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman First shot at the conference: Oregon Tech’s Justin Parnell (25) will get his first taste of Cascade Collegiate Conference basketball when the Hustlin’ Owls host The College of Idaho Friday and Eastern Oregon Saturday as the league season begins. All three teams are among the league favorites, with OIT ranked No. 1, and Eastern No. 5, among NAIA Division II men’s teams. |
Tough foes: Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho coming to town
By STEVE MATTHIES
H&N Sports Writer
Give the schedule maker credit for this one — Oregon Tech’s home openers are dandies.
The Hustlin’ Owls host The College of Idaho Friday and Eastern Oregon Saturday in games among teams picked to finish at the top, or near the top, of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
OIT’s men will take a No. 1 national ranking into the weekend, and are 10-0 this season.
The College of Idaho is a deceptive 3-5. The Coyotes are expected to be among the teams who will challenge to host a first-round playoff when the regular season comes to an end in late February.
Eastern Oregon, which opens at Southern Oregon Friday, is the defending league champion and might be better than last year’s team. The Mountaineers enter the weekend with a 6-1 record.
“These games give us a different look,” OIT senior Joshua Wetzler said after a pair of exhibition games earlier this week, the final preparations for the Hustlin’ Owls before they begin league play.“Now, we get to defend the post normal,” Wetzler said after he and his front-line teammates have battled shorter inside players during much of the preseason that included two wins against ranked NAIA Division I teams.
The men are not alone in a tough start to the season.
OIT’s women were picked to finish third in the league behind Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon, but CofI might be the favorite after the Coyotes went 8-1 during their preseason efforts.
The Hustlin’ Owls are 7-2, SOU 6-0 and Eastern 4-1.
SOU was ranked No. 16 in this week’s first regular season NAIA Division II women’s poll, while The College of Idaho moved up to No. 23. Oregon Tech was among the teams to receive votes.
Final home games in 2008
For the men, this weekend’s games are the final home games of calendar 2008, while the women will complete their non-league schedule with a single home game next weekend.
OIT heads to Northwest University and The Evergreen State College Dec. 19-20 to complete the pre-Christmas part of the schedule.
The Hustlin’ Owls host The College of Idaho Friday and Eastern Oregon Saturday in games among teams picked to finish at the top, or near the top, of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
OIT’s men will take a No. 1 national ranking into the weekend, and are 10-0 this season.
The College of Idaho is a deceptive 3-5. The Coyotes are expected to be among the teams who will challenge to host a first-round playoff when the regular season comes to an end in late February.
Eastern Oregon, which opens at Southern Oregon Friday, is the defending league champion and might be better than last year’s team. The Mountaineers enter the weekend with a 6-1 record.
“These games give us a different look,” OIT senior Joshua Wetzler said after a pair of exhibition games earlier this week, the final preparations for the Hustlin’ Owls before they begin league play.“Now, we get to defend the post normal,” Wetzler said after he and his front-line teammates have battled shorter inside players during much of the preseason that included two wins against ranked NAIA Division I teams.
The men are not alone in a tough start to the season.
OIT’s women were picked to finish third in the league behind Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon, but CofI might be the favorite after the Coyotes went 8-1 during their preseason efforts.
The Hustlin’ Owls are 7-2, SOU 6-0 and Eastern 4-1.
SOU was ranked No. 16 in this week’s first regular season NAIA Division II women’s poll, while The College of Idaho moved up to No. 23. Oregon Tech was among the teams to receive votes.
Final home games in 2008
For the men, this weekend’s games are the final home games of calendar 2008, while the women will complete their non-league schedule with a single home game next weekend.
OIT heads to Northwest University and The Evergreen State College Dec. 19-20 to complete the pre-Christmas part of the schedule.
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