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Albert,

I can appreciate your choice of the Bears in the OAC Tournament. I have a similar sentiment when it comes to them. They frequently get double digit scoring from five players, have a deep bench...they play sticky man to man defense and they haven't been blown out by anyone this season. Their achilles has been the lack of killer instinct down the stretch and at times inability to make crucial late game free throws when given the opportunity and during certain stretches have displayed a propensity of turning the ball over. In reality I expect the same trends to continue in the tournament, but it is a short road to the championship game so anything can happen, right? Go Bears!

GS,

Amen to that brother, good white chili is hard to beat and this site does have a very poor following despite the great effort those Dlll kids give us week in and week out. As to the basketball, underachieving ONU got beat by an inspired Muskie team Wednesday night. I must confess I haven't had the time to see how everyone else did, but I fear that ONU's problems of not being  able to perform well down the stretch will follow them in to the tournament. Their largest loss this season has been by nine, and it seems as though the trend has been for them to be unable to close a team out in the late stages of the game  and consequently lose the close ones in the final minutes. As a Bears fan, I hope they can turn that trend around.

GS,

You are obviously quite passionate about proving your point concerning the "dumbest cliche" in sports. I will take your extensive diatribe on the subject in the spirit in which I am sure it was written,to-wit, to educate ,even though I continue to disagree with your position.Thank you. My only request is that if you feel the need to reply to this post, please keep the response to 500 words or less, otherwise you tend to come off  a "tad bit shrill". Also, I really don't have the time or attention span to read anything much longer than that and it would certainly seem that you and I are really the only two that give a damn about the topic anyway.Spending any more time on the subject would truly appear to be a waste of your time and mine. Thank you again.

,GS,

At the risk of beating a dead horse, you are correct that the cliche doesn't mention anything about the teams being evenly matched,however to say that it isn't even implied is a stretch. I seriously doubt the phrase was started at the Roman Colesium when the Christians and the lions were going at it on a daily basis. It more than likely reared it's ugly head after two opponents had experienced very evenly matched competitions on two prior occasions. Viewed in that context, it can hardly be referred to as the ''dumbest cliche in sports''. t can however be viewed as a cliche that is utilized by dumb people.

To say that the two prior outcomes between Cap and ONU this season has nothing to do with a third match-up couldn't be further from the truth. Talk to anyone with knowledge and experience in the game and they will tell you that those two prior games have a very definite impact on how the third game will be approached. The two teams strengths will try to be countered by what was learned from the previous two meetings and consequently the team that learned more from those prior two meetings and can also esecute their game plan will emerge victorious.

As to the odds of Cap emerging victorious in a third meeting being reduced,you are  mathematically correct. However, you then make the statement that ''the more times you play a team the less likely you are to continue to sweep them''which is exactly the point I was trying to make. Thank you. I guess it really is tough to beat a team three times in one season after all.

GS,

No offense taken, but with all due respect it is not even close to the dumbest cliche in sports. To be more precise, in my opinion, CAP and ONU are so evenly matched, the more often they play, the higher the liklihood that the wins and losses are going to even out. CAP has an OT win and a four point win this season over the Bears. Both games could have gone the other way. As to thinking through the implications of the cliche, yes, people do think through them. Beating an opponent three times in a season that is evenly matched with you is difficult to do. Beating them twice is also difficult, but with each ensuing meeting the odds of emerging victorious are reduced. That was the point of the comment.

I would have to agree that John Carroll is probably the team to beat in the tournament. I also don't feel Cap is as good as their ranking would indicate. I have seen them only twice this season, but came away both times wonderiing how they won the game and how they continue to win, but they do, so there is obviously something going on with this team that I certainly don't see. As to the tournament, I don't see Cap, John Carroll or ONU losing in the first round...Wilmington is another story...They won by three twice over the Muskies, and had a three point and I believe a six or seven point win over Marietta. It depends on which team shows up in the tournament. I really don't see ONU losing to Cap again if they meet...The Bears got beat at Cap in OT and once again by four this past Saturday in Ada, but as they say, it is tough to beat a team three times in one season. All things considered, I see JC advancing to the NCAA tournament, but that is why they play the games, right?

Albert,

You inquired as to whether anyone was surprised by John Carroll's success or Cap's ranking.....I say hell yes to both!!
I never expected JC to be this deep into  the season with only two OAC losses. ONU handled them with little trouble at home but got handled themselves at John Carroll....I still believe Cap is overachieving. I don,t think they are a top ten team and I will be very surprised if they manage to win the OAC tournament...We shall see...

B23...Thanks for the word on Tony G's ousting at BW. It is appreciated.....Took in the ONU/Marietta game today. Got to hand it to the Pioneers,they  shut down much of ONU"s guard penetration and when the Bears managed to get inside they had numerous shots swatted away or just outright blocked. The pioneers hit the boards hard and outrebounded ONU significantly in the first half. Overall the offensive and defensive rebounds were abot even but Northern is usually on top in that category due to their size advantage, but not today. This is a real setback for the Bears with Cap cruising and John Carroll and Wilmington taking care of business. Three losses is probably not going to get a sniff of the regular season title. Oh well, ther's always the OAC tournament.....And there 'sstill alot of basketball left to watch....

Gotta know what brought on the Gholson double T's...Rare in the OAC and having watched Tony as an assistant at ONU and observing his demeanor over the years, I would like to know what you think caused the double T's and ejection....

Dr. A,

In answer to your question regarding Otterbein, the answer is yes they are relatively young, and yes they are not very talented. Looks like a tough couple of years lie ahead for the Cardinals. Cap keeps rolling along, but i still can't get by the buttwhipping they took at the hands of Wilmington. I realize Wilmington had one of those  hot nights of shooting, but where was the Cap defense? I think they are of course one of the top two or three teams in the OAC, but I think their number 8 ranking nationally is a bit charitable. Time will tell. As to the OAC race, Wilmington took a major hit with Rogers out for what I have heard is for the season. The race would appear to be between Cap, John Carroll and ONU. No bets on who comes out on top, any of the three could beat the other on any given day in my opinion. Cap beat ONU in overtime and Northern slipped by John Carroll at home. John Carroll has seemed to pick up the pace lately and the John Carroll/ Cap match up will be interesting.

ONU continues to quietly pile up the W's winning in San Diego on Sunday night by ten over Linfield 67-57. I am telling ya, these guys are good, and have yet to appear on the D3 Hoops poll. In my opinion, this team is the best ONU has had  since Coach Coleman took the reins from Joe Campoli. Barring injuries, they will be going places....As an aside, is anybody visiting OAC sight? It is eerily quiet this year....

Four games in to the OAC schedule I think the team to watch is Ohio Northern. They seem to have slipped in under the radar nationally, but they have a very nice team. Well balanced....two big men underneath in Cannon and Meyer that are getting it done at both ends of the court....a good ball handling penetrating guard in Bradshaw along with Bastian and Brown. In addition they have a deep bench which they have not had in recent years.They typically have four to five players in double figures and are playing their normal good "D".  Can't speak to Cap's chances  but the Wilmington loss has to make you wonder about just how strong they really are. I expect to see the Bears appear in the polls in the very near future.... This team has the opportunity to go far this year if they stay healthy.

 Ohio Northern knocked off Baldwin Wallace on Saturday afternoon to up it's OAC record to 2-0. They had four players in double figures and are playing good heads up basketball. They didn't shoot the ball all that well, but they  in control at both ends of the court. This team is interesting to watch because they really don't have a marquis player, but have seven to eight very good bastketball players that work  well and very unselfishly together. Their guards have the ability to penetrate and score or dish off to an open teammate. They have  good size inside and experience. In addition, due to their depth, frequent substitutions keeps everyone fresh and so far has kept them out of foul trouble. This is going to be a team to watch and enjoy.

Caught the ONU/WITTENBERG contest on Wednesday....The Tigers were outplayed at both ends of the court. Northern played sticky defense and their offense was clicking most of the night. The bears got 16 points apiece from Kyle Meyer, Sam Bastian and Ezra Bradshaw with Curtis Brown knocking down 18. Don't know much about the Tigers, but those guys shot the eyes out of the basket from the charity stripe. Must have been  in the 90 percent vicinity,but other than that, they appeared out of sync the entire game and never really got anything going at either end of the court. If they play the rest of the season the way they played last night it is going to be a long year for the Tigers. They look like a .500 team at best. Maybe a rebuilding year? They do appear to have several big men on the team as Freshman. Time will tell....So far ONU is playing .. well together, something they had difficulty doing last year. Lookout Cap, I think the Bears are going to be a force to be dealt with this year.