Toph,

Been a long time since I posted.  I was at the game and know and have seen the officials.  Not the best, but I did not notice them.  I have ties to both schools.  I went to see a good game.  Why do people constantly bring up officials or calls about games.  Ultimately, it is up to the players and coaches who decide the games.  The coaches prepare the players and it is up to the players to execute, adjust to the game and officials. 

Mimes 4th foul could have been let go.  I did not have a good view of the fifth, so no comment.  Mimes also shot 24 FT's by himself to Capitals 21 as a team. 

I hope JCU gets in, but they had the chance to host and the chance to win the game.  They had the lead at the end, but Capital made a few more plays.  Don't bring up one or two calls about the game.  It looks bad and makes you sound like some fans at another school.  You are better than that.  JCU had a great year and hopefully it continues. 

Hats off to both teams for a great effort and entertaining game.

Wooster Booster,  there are different ways to skin a cat.   

Sorry about my last post.  My post about RMC looks like a 2nd grader.  What I was trying to say is that I have seen RMC in the past, not this year.  Their teams in the past reminded me of a traditional Wooster team before this season.

Sorry about my last post.  My post about RMC looks like a 2nd grader.  What I was trying to say is that I have seen RMC in the past, not this year.  Their teams in the past reminded me of a traditional Wooster team before this season.

hugenerd,

BW has been playing against bigger teams all year.  Davis is not your typical DIII player.  He is a DI athlete who did not have the ballhandling skills to consistently play on the perimeter.  Teams have had to outscore BW to beat them.  Rarely have they been stopped.  However, I do think that they are getting tired, and a CMU win would not surprise me.  They have had a great year with some impressive wins.

Tonights Games

Wooster vs Randolph Macon:

I have seen Macon a few times over the years.  I have seen them this year.  Those teams Reminds were similar Wooster teams before this year.  Great Inside / Outside action between post players and guards with great ball movement.  Solid Defensively.  Very well coached and play extremely hard.  My belief with Wooster is that few teams are going to beat them if Wooster gives them a top performance.  They are going to struggle and lose when they have an off night shooting the ball.  The great aspect once you get into the tournament is that you may play a couple of teams that you have not played this year, for a couple of years, or ever and teams are not familiar with your teams style, pace of the game, or the players.  I think the first 3 teams they face may be shell shocked by their offensive fire power. 

Witt vs Lake Erie:

If Lake Erie can get by all the firsts in their program's history (wins, conference championship, tournament championship, NCAA birth), get by the fact that they are playing at Witt and all of their history, and the fact that they have never seen the quality of big men in Russ and Borchers, they can make a game of it.  Lake Erie will try to make it an ugly game, similar to JCU.  They will adjust their variation pressure defense.  They can force turnovers and teams to take bad shots.  I still take Witt.

BW vs Carnegie Mellon:

CMU has some great wins this year.  Do not know anything about them.  I am an Ohio guy so I will stick with the Yellow-Jackets.

Sectional Final Predictions:

Amherst vs WPI (Amherst)
WOO vs Witt (WOO)
Whitewater vs Augustana (Whitewater)
Lincoln vs William Patterson (Lincoln)

WOO over Amherst
Whitewater over Lincoln
WOO over Whitewater

Tonights Games

Wooster vs Randolph Macon:

I have seen Macon a few times over the years.  I have seen them this year.  Those teams Reminds were similar Wooster teams before this year.  Great Inside / Outside action between post players and guards with great ball movement.  Solid Defensively.  Very well coached and play extremely hard.  My belief with Wooster is that few teams are going to beat them if Wooster gives them a top performance.  They are going to struggle and lose when they have an off night shooting the ball.  The great aspect once you get into the tournament is that you may play a couple of teams that you have not played this year, for a couple of years, or ever and teams are not familiar with your teams style, pace of the game, or the players.  I think the first 3 teams they face may be shell shocked by their offensive fire power. 

Witt vs Lake Erie:

If Lake Erie can get by all the firsts in their program's history (wins, conference championship, tournament championship, NCAA birth), get by the fact that they are playing at Witt and all of their history, and the fact that they have never seen the quality of big men in Russ and Borchers, they can make a game of it.  Lake Erie will try to make it an ugly game, similar to JCU.  They will adjust their variation pressure defense.  They can force turnovers and teams to take bad shots.  I still take Witt.

BW vs Carnegie Mellon:

CMU has some great wins this year.  Do not know anything about them.  I am an Ohio guy so I will stick with the Yellow-Jackets.

Sectional Final Predictions:

Amherst vs WPI (Amherst)
WOO vs Witt (WOO)
Whitewater vs Augustana (Whitewater)
Lincoln vs William Patterson (Lincoln)

WOO over Amherst
Whitewater over Lincoln
WOO over Whitewater

Early predictions for Great Lakes Bracket.

Mississippi College over Maryville, MO.
Trinity, Texas over Maryville, TN
Trinity over Mississippi.

Transylvania over Bethany
Wooster over Randolph-Macon
Wooster over Transylvania

Hope over Wisconsin Lutheran
Calvin over La Cross
Hope over Calvin

Witt over Lake Erie
BW over Carnegie Mellon
Witt over BW

Sectional
Wooster over Trinity
Witt over Hope
Wooster over Witt

Happy Final Four to Wooster

Early predictions for Great Lakes Bracket.

Mississippi College over Maryville, MO.
Trinity, Texas over Maryville, TN
Trinity over Mississippi.

Transylvania over Bethany
Wooster over Randolph-Macon
Wooster over Transylvania

Hope over Wisconsin Lutheran
Calvin over La Cross
Hope over Calvin

Witt over Lake Erie
BW over Carnegie Mellon
Witt over BW

Sectional
Wooster over Trinity
Witt over Hope
Wooster over Witt

Hoppy Final Four to Wooster

When JCU made their runs they had to travel to Wooster twice and Witt twice and Albion.  It is great to host, but they JCU got it done a few times.  Stevens Point did not host the Sectional when they won their first Championship.  Wooster Fan is correct when he said that the OAC beats up on eachother too much.  You still have to play the games.  JCU was 2-0 at Witt, 1-1 vs Wooster with one other win vs Maryville TN, and 0-1  at Albion on a half court shot.  They were 3-0 at home in first round games.  BW has a great chance to make a run to the final four.  Just take one game at a time.  They have to win the first game before looking ahead.

Wooster Booster,

We can agree to disagree.  I tend to not worry about ref's.  That is the way I played and the way I coach players.  My personal feeling is that if the team and coach's are preoccupied with ref's it will affect their game and attitude.  Look at one of your favorite whipping boys, John Carroll.  Coach and players get many technicals, and their play is affected by their perception of the officials calls. 

Good luck to Wooster.  I hope to see them play again.  I know that I did not see the other games, I just do not think ref's affect the games as much as you think.

Wooster Booster,

I brought this up on the OAC page and made reference to it earlier about the officiating.  I am tired of referees being brought into the equation.  Teams and players win games.  I always love when a poster says "i thought the ref's did a good job, but...".  I do not think ref's even need to be congratulated.  There always seems to be an implication when someone mentions refs. 

I had a great time Saturday night watching the NCAC final and switching to the OAC final during breaks. I wanted to watch the NCAC final because I had not seen Wooster yet this year.  Wooster Booster, I think it is great that you are passionate and loyal fan of Wooster.  Very rarely do I hear negative comments about Wooster players or coaches.  You give great insights to what is happening to the Wooster program and game analysis.  However, you seem to always have a beef with the ref's even after wins. 

"For about the first 2/3 of the ballgame, I felt that Wittenberg got away with being overly aggressive.  But then, as if a gun went off, suddenly fouls were being called on Witt, fouls that I've not often seen called at Timken on an opponent.  Holds, pushes, hacks.  Mostly, they seemed to be called by the older ref, who just stepped forward and did the right thing.  It was nice to see, and from that point on I thought it was one of the better officiated DIII games that I've seen."

I watched the game.  There were a few calls that raised eyebrows.  I know who the three ref's were and they were on top of their game.  They actually raised their level of officiating, because I thought one was definitely in over his head.  The younger shorter one earlier this year made thought a foul shot went in on a defensive rebound and blew the play dead because the rebounding team did not take the ball out.  I also tracked the fouls in the second half off of the box score.  You state that for 2/3 of the game that Witt got away with being overly aggressive.  Wooster did not pick up their first foul of the second half until 13:48 of the second half.  Witt had 4.  Wooster was shooting the bonus at the 11:28 mark while Wittenberg did not shoot the bonus until the 1:15 mark.  My thought process as a player and team would be that we (Wooster) could get more aggressive because we were not being aggressive enough, we had fouls to give, or the ref's were letting us play.  Maybe Witt just took advantage of how the game was being officiated, but they still were being called for fouls.   Wittenberg won the game.  It was the first time that I saw Wooster, but they seemed to be passive defensively for most of the second half.  Only in the last few minutes did they seem to play with some urgency.  I also think it is difficult for these teams to play each other so many times year in and year out.

Wooster Booster, your insights are great.  Forget the ref's and enjoy the games.  It is much more enjoyable that way.  I definitely enjoyed wathing the game.  I wish more DIII games were broadcast, even if it is on the internet.  Announcers were professional and did a good job. 

Good luck to Witt and Wooster in the tournament.

JC Hoops Dad and Kramerica,

I was not at the game Friday and did not see the play or the call.  Now I agree that calls at the end of the game are difficult to deal with.  I have been involved in enough games to feel both sides.  Look at it from the other side.  If Davis did get mugged and there was no call and Wilmington won, how would that look?  How would the BW players feel?  I am not sure they would have been picked as an at large bid.  It depends on what their SOSI number or quality of wins index would have been.  I am not smart enough or have enough time to figure that out.

I brought this up on the NCAC page.  I am tired of referees being brought into the equation.  Teams and players win games.  I always love when a poster says "i thought the ref's did a good job, but...".  I do not think ref's even need to be congratulated.  There always seems to be an implication when someone mentions refs. 

I am not just talking about this game.  I watched both the OAC and NCAC games on the net Saturday night.  I watched more of the NCAC because I had not seen Wooster play.  One of the Wooster posters made a reference to the ref's,

"For about the first 2/3 of the ballgame, I felt that Wittenberg got away with being overly aggressive.  But then, as if a gun went off, suddenly fouls were being called on Witt, fouls that I've not often seen called at Timken on an opponent.  Holds, pushes, hacks.  Mostly, they seemed to be called by the older ref, who just stepped forward and did the right thing.  It was nice to see, and from that point on I thought it was one of the better officiated DIII games that I've seen."

I watched most of that game.  There were a few calls that raised eyebrows.  I know who the three ref's were and they were on top of their game.  They actually raised their level of officiating, because I thought one was definitely in over his head.  I also tracked the fouls in the second half off of the box score.  The Wooster poster states that for 2/3 of the game that Witt got away with being overly aggressive.  Wooster did not pick up their first foul until 13:48 of the second half.  Witt had 4.  Wooster was shooting the bonus at the 11:28 mark while Wiitenberg did not shoot the bonus until the 1:15 mark. 

Wilmington made a great comeback.  If Davis was fouled, then it should be called no matter what time of the game it is.  I do think that most ref's would let some contact go, but cannot let everything go.  Look at the running box score.  There are always plays that teams can look back on.  A free-throw here or there.   

Congratulations to BW on a great year.  The rest of the conference hope's you have a long run in the tournament.  The sad part of the season is that ONU and/or Wilmington did not get in the tournament.  Just looking at the Great Lakes Region, ONU, Wilmington, and Albion had great years.  Unfortunately their Quality of Wins Index number was too low.  ONU was 85th at 9.130, Albion was 87th at 9.130, and Wilmington was 108th at 8.8519.  IF you look in the multi-regions area under Quality of wins index, Titan Q also shows that there were at least 6 teams with a higher quality of wins index not selected ahead of these three teams.  Unfortunately I think besides the top four teams in the conference the rest of the teams were very average to poor and hurt their numbers before the committee. 

It also hurt that the CCIW and WIAC each got 3 teams into the tournament.  Both these conferences are just a notch above the OAC.  However, I have a hard time putting La Cross in over ONU and some other teams.  ONU finishes second in the conference and second in the tournament.  La Crosse finishes tied for 4th in the regular season and loses in the semi-finals. 

I had ONU over Wilmington.  I am still going to take ONU.  They are playing to continue their season.  BW is in the big dance.  I also think ONU is playing well.  They need to get Badenhop some open looks.  Post players need to rebound and play defense tonight.  BW needs to limit turnovers.  The Bears do not press like JCU has and Wilmington, but are very agressive and physical in the half court.  I think ONU is deeper and will help them in the back to back games. 

Was anyone at the semi-finals last night?  Any insights to the games?  What happened on the last play with Davis being fouled?
 
Tough way for Wilmington to go down.  Congrats to Wilmington and Muskingum on great years.

whoknows,

I did not realize that Ousley was planning on coming back.  That makes Otterbein very interesting.  If Owens and Ousley come back.  Add one or two post players and on more perimeter player for depth and they could very easily make a run.

"Officials"

I have been able to see a number of Division III games this year without any real rooting interest.  It has been a lot of fun to go to games just to watch the game and enjoy the competition.  It is also amazing to sit and listen to some of the words and phrases that come out of fans mouths about officials and players.  Sometimes the fans are also very critical of their own teams players, not aware if that player's relatives or coach's relatives are sitting near the critisism or even insults.  I know everyone has a right to voice their opinion.  I just think more positive cheering for their team would benefit everyone.  For the most part, it is only a few people for each team.

Comment's about the officials are the worst.   This game is so fast and quick.  They are making split second decisions every time down the court.  I have seen only a few officials that seem to carry an attitude.  When you are playing or coaching, it may seem like the officials have done a poor job in a particular game.  After watching the film, you realize that they did a fair job, missed a few calls, but at the same time, you actually see that your team got the benefit of the same number if not more than your opponent.

The charge that Wooster and Wittenberg get the benefit of the calls is brought up often in here.  I just think it is a matter of Wooster and Witt being very good every year, usually on a slightly higher playing level than not only the NCAC but the majority of DIII schools.  They are very well coached and they get top quality recruits who know how to play.  They do not have complicated offensive and defensive strategies which let's their players concentrate on making plays instead of trying to run plays. 

I was able to watch John Carroll win 3 of 4 NCAA Tournament games (2 at Witt and 2 at Wooster) the last couple of years.  For those of you that think there is home court cooking, that was not the case.  And some may think that JCU got the benefit of the calls.  The team that won those four games was the team that made the most plays, not the refs.  The game that Wooster won on their way to the final 4, they made the plays.  JCU came all the way from 15 to 17 point deficits at Wooster.  The first year, Wooster made a few more play down the stretch to win the game (particularly Mitchell).  The second year, JCU made a few more plays.  At Witt, JCU just outplayed Witt the first time.  The second time, JCU made a few more plays.

Sorry for rambling.  It just amazes me how people can put so much emphasis on the officiating of the game, when they have very little influence on the game.  They will miss some calls for your team.  They are human and people just like you and me.  The most regular people, with real jobs, real families, and real problems.  Buy them a beer if you see them at a restaurant or bar and sit down with them.  To understand how quick the game is, try to officiate an elementary game.  Even at that level, you will realize that every time down the court, you probably miss a call.  I still feel that way when I have to referee games as a camp counselor. 

Good luck to Wooster and Witt. Would love to be there, but I have a 2 year old boy that can already snap his wrist on his follow-through that I have to watch.  Congrats to Earlham and OWU on their seasons.