Only four games are left in the basketball regular season for the Linfield Wildcats, who are in prime position to make the Northwest Conference Tournament. The Linfield men clinched a spot in the tournament this past weekend and have their sights set on hosting a postseason game at Ted Wilson Gym for the first time since the 2009-10 season. For the Linfield women, the next two weekends are focused on securing a berth in the postseason.
 
Willamette and Lewis & Clark are on tap for Linfield this weekend. The women head to Salem to face the Bearcats Friday at 6 p.m. then trek to Portland to face the Pioneers on Saturday at 4 p.m. The men head to the Beaver State Capital to take on the Bearcats on Friday night at 8 p.m. and challenge the Pioneers in the Rose City on Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
The Linfield Sports Network will be on location for all four games this weekend. Graeme Fineman and Joe Stuart provide the play-by-play description on audio-only broadcasts. The host schools will provide video broadcasts and live statistics.
 
THE MEN HOLD SERVE AT HOME
The Linfield men defeated Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran this past weekend in McMinnville. The Wildcats are 6-0 at home this season in conference games, setting up important clashes against Whitman and Whitworth next weekend. Linfield can finish no worse than third in the NWC standings and is one game out of the top spot in the conference. The Wildcats have a 10-2 record in conference games.
 
In their last three games, the Wildcats are averaging 100 points per game. The 'Cats own the 10th-highest scoring offense in the nation, generating 89.6 points per game. Linfield is also fourth in the nation in assists, averaging 19.8 per game. Combined, the team is shooting 51.4 percent this season, sixth-best in the nation.
 
Dempsey Roggenbuck is averaging 22.6 points per game over the last five games. His season average of 18.3 points per game is fourth in the conference. Tanner Autencio drives the Linfield offense with efficient passing, leading the conference with 4.6 assists per game. Max Lommen and Austin Hilton are the two most accurate shooters in the conference, shooting 60.9 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Hilton is also eighth in the NWC with 6.5 rebounds per game.
 
With an overall record of 16-5, a sweep this weekend will help Linfield eclipse last season's mark of 17 wins, the highest total under seventh-year coach Shanan Rosenberg. The 18 wins would also be the most for the Wildcats in a season since the 2000-01 season, the last time the Wildcats appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
 
SEPERATION IN THE STANDINGS FOR THE WOMEN
The Linfield women entered this past weekend knotted with Willamette for fourth place in the NWC standings, but emerged with a one-game cushion in the standings with a 6-6 conference record. The Wildcats can increase that cushion with a win over the Bearcats, who are among three teams that are tied for fifth place.
 
Following a loss to Puget Sound on Friday night, the Wildcats bounced back with a 75-71 win over Pacific Lutheran, which sits one game back of Linfield in the NWC standings.
 
The Wildcats are second in the NWC in assists per game with an average of 13.6 per game and free-throw percentage, shooting 72 percent. Linfield is third in the conference in points per game, scoring 69.3 points per game and third in field-goal percentage, shooting 42 percent.
 
One of the leading candidates for Northwest Conference Player of the Year, Kory Oleson leads the NWC in scoring with an average of 18.2 points per game. The West Linn, Oregon, native is also second in the conference in blocks per game with an average of 1.3 rejections per game and seventh with 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
Schutz is eighth in the NWC in assists per game, averaging three per outing and Paige LaFoutain is 10th, averaging 2.5 assists per game.
 
A win this weekend this will help the Wildcats reach 13 wins, thus securing their first .500 or better season since coach Casey Bunn-Wilson's maiden season in 2015-16.
 
CHALLENGING THE RIVAL BEARCATS
Willamette is 0-12 in conference play and has lost 18 straight. The Bearcats are fifth in the NWC in rebounding, with an average of 36.9 per game. The top-three scorers on the team are either freshmen or sophomores, making the Bearcats' future appear bright.
 
Guard Daniel Plumer is the leading scorer for Willamette, averaging 16.1 points per game and a candidate for the NWC Freshman of the Year award. Forward Ben Sutton is third in the conference with seven rebounds per game. Plumer leads the team in assists per game with an average of 2.6 per game.
 
Linfield defeated Willamette 111-98 in McMinnville on Jan. 18, though Willamette outscored Linfield in the second half. The Wildcats have prevailed in the previous eight matchups of this rivalry.
 
The Willamette women were tied with Linfield for the final spot in the Northwest Conference standings, before falling to Whitworth this past weekend. The Bearcats, who have lost three-straight matchups, rank fourth in assists per game, averaging 12.5 per game and fifth in three-point percentage, shooting 32.1 percent.
 
Kassin Hopkins is the top scorer for the Bearcats, scoring 11.6 points per game. She scored 19 in the first meeting between the two clubs this season. Sami Riggs is a dangerous shooter for the Bearcats, ranking second in the conference with a 41.2 percent rate of accuracy from outside the arc. She is also second on the team with 10.4 points per game.
 
Guard Drew Farmer is second in the NWC with 4.2 assists per game while Ava Kitchin leads the team with 4.5 rebounds per game.
 
Linfield took the first matchup of the season, 61-56 on Jan. 18 at Ted Wilson Gym. The Wildcats own a narrow 6-5 edge in the last 11 matchups.
 
SURVEYING THE PIONEERS
The Lewis & Clark are coming off the biggest win of their season, defeating NWC powerhouse Whitman, 90-83, on Saturday. The upset ended 67-game conference winning streak for the Blues. The Pioneers are 5-7 in conference play and sit one game back of the Lutes for the final spot in the NWC tournament.
 
The Pioneers are third in the NWC in field goal percentage, shooting 47.6 percent and first in blocks per game, averaging 4.9 blocks per game. The Pioneers defense holds opposing offenses to 44.8 percent shooting, the fourth-lowest number in the conference.
 
L&C is led by Zeke Crawford, the NWC's top rebounder. Crawford averages 9.5 grabs per game and is also the Pios' leading scorer (14.1 points per game) and leading shot-blocker in the conference (2.4 per game).
 
Including the a 70-57 victory in the teams' first meeting of the season last month, the Wildcats have won six of the last seven matchups over the Pioneers.
 
The Lewis & Clark women are 1-11 in conference play, dropping the last six games. The Pios reside at the bottom in most statistical categories, however they stand fourth in the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 68.7 percent.
 
Stopping Delsie Johnson is the key for the Wildcats on Saturday. She is fourth in the NWC in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game and third with 8.5 rebounds per game. In the first meeting between the 'Cats and the Pios earlier this year, Johnson totaled 35 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes before fouling out. Hannah Martin had 23 points and 15 rebounds in that game.
 
Linfield won 82-73 on Jan. 17, and the 'Cats have lost six of the last nine matchups against Lewis & Clark.