THE RECORDS
After splitting two league games last week, Linfield (6-9, 3-3 NWC) has begun to turn its season around since starting 2-6. The Wildcats suffered a close loss to Lewis & Clark before rallying to dominate Willamette and move up into a tie for fourth place in the Northwest Conference standings. This weekend will be Linfield's toughest test of the season as it prepares to take on Whitworth (13-2, 4-2 NWC) and Whitman (8-7, 6-0 NWC) who are currently second and first in the conference respectively.
 
LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
The Wildcats' offense has been playing high-level basketball as of late, averaging 78.5 points. Linfield has become one of the best three-point shooting teams in the conference, shooting the ball at 36% from behind the arc, good for second best in the NWC. Cade Collins is in the top 10 of conference scoring leaders at 13.9 and recorded a career-high 28 points in the win over Willamette. Garrett Callsen and Cayden Lowenbach anchor the paint defensively, each totaling 10 blocks on the season and three steals. Lowenbach also leads the team in rebounding with 4.2 per contest while Josh Ryan remains the top distributor with 2.2 assists.
 
WHITWORTH AT A GLANCE
The Pirates play Whitman early in the week before its matchup with Linfield and look to gain ground on the Blues who stand atop the NWC standings. Whitworth's elite offense tops the conference at 82.2 points while their defense only allows 69.5 points. The Pirates also rank first in three-point shooting at 38.1%. Graduate senior Jake Holtz captains the Pirates' offense with 16.4 points while Garrett Long adds 15.9. Holtz also leads the defensive efforts with 16 blocks and 17 steals on the season. Colton Looney is hitting shots from behind the arc at a rate of 51.1% and proves to be a problem for any opposing defense.
 
WHITMAN AT A GLANCE
After starting the season 2-7, the Blues have won six straight and stand alone at the top of the conference standings having yet to suffer their first NWC loss. They are averaging 74.7 points but that number jumps to 77.6 for conference games and the defense is allowing just 70.2 points. Ali Efe Isik's 14.3 points lead the team, and Isaiah Amato pours in 11.5 points. Alex Pape directs the offense, totaling 47 assists so far this season and coming away with 35 steals. With an early-week matchup against Whitworth, Whitman looks to assert itself as the conference leader before welcoming Linfield to the Sherwood Athletic Center.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Linfield trails Whitworth 35-66 in the all-time series with the last victory in Spokane dating back to Jan. 20, 2001. The Wildcats have lost 25 straight against the Pirates on the road and look for their first overall victory since the 2022-23 season.
 
Against Whitman, Linfield leads 56-54 but have lost the previous five matchups. The Wildcats haven't won in Walla Walla since 2010 and have a chance to make some noise in the conference standings this weekend.