Looking at Allegheny's website, it appears as if they have a veteran nucleus of juniors that is gelling at right time, winning last four games.

babe has been shooting well since the first wooster game, they have that QB playing who is a good defender, and they have three good big guys to rotate. their PG doesn't seem to score, but he is solid with ball.

so for first time since they have that good guard Catanzarite, Gators have some decent upperclassmen, so maybe not such a shock that they've improved and can challenge the upper three teams, especially at home.

i mean, except for borchers and the emerging Hill, whats so great about Witt's players?

A look at Wooster-Allegheny play-by-play sheet (available on most school websites, except Ohio Wesleyan (subtle hint)) shows that Scots' lead was narrowed to six three times in final minute, so while Wooster's win was not seriously threatened, they did sweat a little bit, which is progress in this league.

Cooper's stat line is totally the difference in the game; he is the MVP of the league, other teams just don't have answer for him.

Yeah, Vandervaart didn't play, but neither did McCloskey, and Allegheny still put up 87, including 6-11 from arc from kid who appears to have been shooting around 30% from arc before game, so the Mighty Scots have defensive issues, which won't be a factor until they start playing the big boys in late February.

As for the bottom eight in this league, Pete Rozelle would be proud. Parity.

OK, say there is a really good high school player in Ohio; both the kid's parents went to Denison (this is hypothetical, not a real case), but, all things equal, the kid would like to play at Denison.

He is a superior student and a basketball player; he just missed out on scholarship to Patriot League school.

Now, the family doesn't have much money........they'll have to dig deep to send the kid to college. My question is this: Do any of the NCAC schools give better financial aid packages than others, or are the rules so strict that all the packages would approximately be the same?

Or do the winning teams win because their adminsitrations are more flexible in the flexible aid they offer?

Just wondering why some teams always win more than others, whether there are advantages certain teams have.

Does anyone know how much money NCAC coaches make? I mean, does Steve Moore or Bill Brown make a lot more $$ than the guy at Hiram or Denison?

Are resources close to being equal in this league? I see some teams have four assistant coaches, others have one or two.

How can one team be so much better than the other teams? Do they have lesser academic requirements, or is their coach just so much smarter than everyone else?

Inquiring minds want to know..........

Does anyone have any opinions about how far Wooster is ahead of the rest of the NCAC? Wittenberg still seems within striking distance, but the other eight teams seem light years away.

Ohio Wesleyan was supposed to be on rise, but then they lost in Meadville; the other seven teams seem to all be able to beat each other on any given day.

The league would be more interesting with more balance, and the team that eventually won the league would fare better in NCAAs, having been tested more during regular season.

Christmas wishes for this board:

1) Fans from all 10 teams to post.
2) For Wooster fans to realize, if you complain about refs after one of your rare losses, now you know how the bottom eight in the NCAC feel every time they go into your gym.
3) A conference final without either Wittenberg or Wooster.
4) Ohio Wesleyan to put boxscores on its website.
5) Some success for Oberlin and Hiram.
6) Consistency for Earlham.
7) Perimeter scoring for Allegheny.
8) A team for Kenyon that its new gym can be proud of.
9) Wittenberg needs one primetime scorer to develop, to come thru in their big moments in big games; the socialist approach to scoring doesn't work in the biggest games.
10) Coeds for Wabash.
11) For Denison, a happier 2007.

Hope everyone on in the NCAC has a Merry Christmas. Even Steve Moore.