Kenny Love is one of the Pirates' leaders, but it's not just a one-man show. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

Whitworth is a name most Division III basketball followers are quite familiar with, considering the Pirates have been in the NCAA Tournament each of the last nine years.

But with most of the D-III landscape located thousands of miles east, where games played on the west coast can be too late to stay up for, it’s forgivable if you’re not an expert on the Pirates.

So, here is what you should know about the new No. 1 team in the country.

Style

Whitworth’s style this year has been to beat you at your game. No week was more evident of that than this last one.

The Pirates outscored run-and-gun Whitman 95-89 on Tuesday with five players in double figures. Whitworth tallied season bests for field goal percentage (.570) and 3-point percentage (.480), making 11.

Then on Friday, Pacific slowed the pace and trailed 52-48 with just 6:03 to go. But the Bucs provided some suffocating defense of their own, holding the Boxers to one field goal the rest of the way in a 62-50 victory.

“I told our guys after the Pacific game we’re kind of becoming a chameleon, just changing our stripes and being able to adjust and adapt to different game situations,” head coach Matt Logie said. “That’s something that we want to pride ourselves on and we always have. We have various styles within our conference here, so you’ve just got to be prepared for everything.”

Who do they play?

Whitworth beat two teams typically in the national picture, but a bit down this year, at the D3hoops.com Classic in Calvin (68-65) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (68-58).

It’s a tough non-conference schedule to put together when you’re virtually on an island from the rest of Division III.

But despite the NWC being a one-bid league each of the last six years – all coming during Whitworth’s regular-season conference championship streak – Logie advocated for its strength.

Whitman is ranked 21st and Pacific Lutheran was receiving votes before falling victim on the road twice last weekend.

“I think the conference as a whole is a lot better than people realize,” Logie said. “We haven’t had the opportunity to get multiple teams into the NCAA Tournament over the last few years, but we’ve always had a second, and sometimes a third team – from our perspective having gone into the NCAA Tournament and being able to advance – that’s every bit as competitive and good as the teams that are winning first and second-round games.

“It’s a grind. The way that we have to go through that schedule, with our location being where it is in relation to the other conference schools, we’re constantly playing back-to-back Friday-Saturday games. There’s a good deal of travel that is involved for our guys compared to some other types of programs. That presents its challenges and is something that our guys have really enjoyed the opportunity to overcome.”

Christian Jurlina, from Sydney, Australia, is a 6-5 presence down low and currently leads the Pirates in scoring. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

The Pieces

STAR POWER

The name you might recognize is 6-1 junior guard Kenny Love, the reigning Northwest Conference player of the year and a third-team All-American.

He missed four games earlier this year with an eye injury and is averaging 13.8 points and 3.6 assists. Love is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

Not drooling over those numbers? Well, it’s not about the box score for this group

In fact, Love isn’t even the leading scorer so far this year. 6-5 forward Christian Jurlina – who, Logie said, “has been every bit as good for the last three years as Kenny” – is averaging 15.8 points after an all-conference sophomore year.

MR. RELIABLE

That’s probably an understatement of a nickname for George Valle.

The 6-4 senior has started every game of his career and is averaging 14.3 points and 7.5 boards this season.

THE POINT

Senior Matt Staudacher runs an efficient team at the point guard position, averaging 10.2 points and nearly three assists a ballgame.

Matt Staudacher has just 18 turnovers while averaging 30 minutes in Whitworth's 13 games. Whitworth athletics photo

He transferred in from Canada’s Simon Fraser University and, says Logie, “has made a number of big plays for us.”

THE GLUE

6-10 forward Drew Sears is the other starter, but averages 16.8 minutes as this team goes at least nine deep.

Forwards Forrest Baker (6-7 senior) and Ben Bishop (6-8 freshman) have also played in every game this year.

Guards Derek Isaak (6-0 freshman) and Kyle Roach (6-4 freshman) saw significant playing time when Love was out, which Logie called a blessing in disguise.

“It’s hard to really focus in on one person when you’re trying to game plan for us,” Logie said. “We want it that way because we think it’s the way the game should be played and these kids enjoy playing with one another and sharing the ball.”

The next step is to figure out which combinations and rotations are most effective for a team that believes it can stretch to 10 or 11 deep.

“For all intents and purposes, we’re really just hitting our second week of having the whole team together, so that’s exciting, too,” Logie said.

Yes, the No. 1-ranked team appears on track to get even better.

Handling the label

Whitworth has been ranked No. 1 only once before, headed into the 2011 NCAA Tournament. That was the last year Jim Hayford was head coach before taking over at Division I Eastern Washington.

The program is no stranger to success but it is still looking for its first Final Four appearance.

Does the extra attention change much? It shouldn’t, the coach said, touting the team’s experience and the media scene in Spokane.

“I think we have an experienced group that’s accustomed to the spotlight,” Logie said.

“Being ranked No. 1 is a unique achievement and a special thing to be recognized. The thing that we told our team before (Monday) was, before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water and after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. Sometimes when you get to a place you’ve been wanting to go, you pause and look around for a minute, and that’s when your competitors can catch up to you. We definitely addressed it and then got back in the business of getting better.”

Caltech!?

Yes, Caltech. The Beavers are alone in first in the SCIAC, off to a 3-0 start for only the second time in program history.

The last 3-0 occurrence came in 1953-54, which also happens to be the year of Caltech’s lone conference championship.

The Beavers trailed 41-25 last Wednesday at Cal Lutheran before a 20-4 run to begin the second half quickly erased the deficit. It was the program’s first win over Cal Lutheran since their original meeting in 1962-63 and first SCIAC road win since the 1979-80 season.

“All I can say about the historical significance of these wins is just, ‘Wow,’” head coach Oliver Eslinger said in a release. “These guys are accomplishing some amazing things. The fact that we did this on the road is huge.”

Caltech followed that up with a 62-48 victory over Occidental and looks to keep the run going Wednesday night against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Pomona-Pitzer visits Saturday.

Early championship week

It’s only mid-January, but there’s a championship week feel in four of the five West Region women’s basketball conferences.

Showdowns involving teams tied for first in their respective leagues take place three of the next four days

No. 13 Wartburg (12-1, 2-0), which is ranked this high for only the second time in school history and first time in 14 years, travels north to take on rival Luther (10-3, 2-0) in Iowa Conference play Wednesday. The Norse won all three meetings last season, including the conference tournament championship. Loras is also 2-0 and gets both teams at home next week.

Then on Friday, there’s a top-25 battle out west as No. 3 George Fox (13-0, 4-0) hosts No. 24 Whitman (11-1, 4-0) in a pivotal Northwest Conference game.

Saturday the premier action lies in the Twin Cities. UMAC newcomer UW-Superior (11-2, 6-0) visits Northwestern (11-3, 6-0), with the winner likely taking over first place. Both have games Friday, but are three games clear of the rest of the league.

In case that’s not enough, St. Mary’s (12-1, 6-0), the final remaining MIAC unbeaten, hosts No. 19 St. Thomas (10-3, 4-2) on Saturday as well. Both have stiff challenges Wednesday against teams locked with UST in a five-way tie for second. SMU hosts Concordia-Moorhead while the Tommies welcome St. Benedict.

Sounds like fun, eh?

Men’s notes

Carleton posts Kevin Grow (28, 6) and Tianen Chen (27, 9) combined for 55 points and 15 rebounds in an overtime win at Concordia-Moorhead. Each set career highs … North Central hit 11 of its first 12 3-pointers, including nine in a row at one point, to beat Martin Luther 87-74 … Pacific Lutheran was receiving votes in the d3hoops.com poll last week, but surprisingly fell to Linfield and George Fox. Kevin Hurley hit the game-winner with five seconds left for Linfield … Jordan Bolger is doing work for Concordia-Moorhead, leading the MIAC in both scoring (18.9) and rebounding (9.1). The Cobbers blasted St. John’s, a team expected to be in the running for the league title, 83-65 Saturday.

Women’s notes

St. Benedict became the third MIAC program (St. Thomas, Concordia-Moorhead) to record 500 conference wins by beating Macalester 63-56 in overtime. It’s even more impressive when you consider the Blazers were the last school to join the league in 1985. … Kate Lewis set Caltech’s career double-double record with her 18th in a loss to Redlands. The junior had 13 points and 10 boards. … Bethel is looking like the team coaches picked to win the league with the return of all-conference guard Kalli Zimmerman. What’s scary is that in a 20-point win over then-No. 9 St. Thomas that snapped the Tommies’ 17-game home wins treak, four players scored in double figures, and she wasn’t one of them. … Kristie Sommer set a school record with eight 3-pointers in Wartburg’s 89-54 thumping of Dubuque … Coe is off to an 0-2 start in IIAC play, but Mickey Hansche took over as the career 3-point makes leader (188) with three against Simpson.