Whitworth At Linfield, Willamette

Whitworth (1-1 NCIC, 10-5) will take on Linfield (1-1, 7-9) tonight at 7:30 and Willamette (1-1, 8-7) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be carried on KSBN (1230 AM).

At a glance

The Pirates are No. 12 in the NAIA Division II rankings and have the best record among Division II teams in the Pacific Northwest. “It’s a bit of surprise,” head coach Warren Friedrichs said. “I think that win against Eastern Washington caught some people’s attention.”

Because the Pacific Northwest has so many strong teams, a good record is likely to draw an at-large berth for postseason play in the event a conference championship is not in hand. For now, Friedrichs just wants to see his team play well on the road this weekend. Alex Dixon, a 6-6 junior, leads Linfield in scoring at 14.4 points per game.

Willamette features a senior trio of Dave Snyder, Jason Thompson and R.J. Adelman, son of former Portland Trail Blazers coach Rick Adelman.