Sombody can correct me, but it looks like it will be Otterbein on the outside looking in, in terms of grabbing the 8th spot. They need to pull off the major upset Saturday at home against CAP in order to overcome all of the tie-break scenarios which are decidedly against them.

Anyone surprised by these scores? I suppose the only upset was Otterbein over Ohio Northern. I thought the Cards might spring this one, losing by only 7 in Ada, and losing by a last second three in overtime in Westerville. As the old adage states, it's hard to beat a team three times in a season. As for the Cards matchup against Capital, I gotta go with the Crusaders in the rubber-match, but it should be a great game! My prediction...BW over Cap in the finals.

Final: Otterbein 52, Ohio Northern 51. Last second shot by OTT's Ousely goes in. The Cards advance to take on Capital for round three Friday night.

Took in the OTT-CAP game tonight. For those questioning Otterbein's attendance counts of late, the number you will see in the paper on Sunday will be legit. I will agree that the Cards have not drawn big crowds for most of the year, but tonight's game had a feel like those of five years ago. I also believe that Otterbein typically reports the number of tickets sold. I would guess they have at least 500 season ticket holders, and on for a Wednesday night against Wilmington, my guess is about 30 of those folks show up.

As for the game, both teams played very hard, even though it really had no impact on the league standings. CAP was seeking an outright conference title, but they already had hosting privileges locked up. OTT will still have to travel on Wednesday, but this game is always about pride. The Cards looked in control most of the night, leading by 6 at the half, by nine with 3:30 to go, and even by 7 with 1:45 to go. Like a few other times this year though (ONU and JCU), the cards could not hold the lead in the last few minutes. CAP forced overtime with a short jumper with 20 tics remaining. The extra session began slow, but after #40 for the Crusaders fouled out, Tyler Ousley took over. #40 had kept the Otterbein senior quite most of the night, but in the last two minutes of OT, he scored the Cards final 9 points to secure the 4 point victory. Ousley made all of his free throws in the final minute, and had a key block when Capital's $50 had a good inside look in the game's waning moments.

My last thought: What the heck was that play Capital drew up with 5.7 seconds left and down three? They kept everyone in the frontcourt, and threw the ball to mid-court, where the kid who caught it stumbled out of bounds, but still almost made a half-court heave as he stepped on the line? Goodwin really needed a better play drawn up there. It looked like a play for when there is under 2 seconds left. 5.7 is more than enough time to get the ball down the court.

  Good to see Otterbein win their first road game of the year, 56-55 (OT). I'm not too impressed by the point total, but they gave up only 17 second half points to a Gettysburg team that I know has had some successful seasons in recent years. Ott's 1st seven games are on the road, so hopefully they can improve upon last year's 3-road win total.

Ralph Turner,
       One of Coach Brewer's former players (Marc Thibeault) has gotten John Carroll off to a 10-2 start!

Interesting day today as both Wooster and B-W fall in their regular season finales. Should we chalk it up to both teams not playing real hard knowing they are the number one seed in the conference, or is there some reason to be concerned? I recall watching my team (Otterbein) down the stretch (2001-2002), thinking that they had to win EVERY game just to secure home court advantage leading up to the final four. It is such a HUGE advantage in DIII basketball considering there are no neutral courts until you reach Salem!

Otterbein holds off Capital 74-72!

The Cards go in to the Cap center today and barely protect a 10 point half-time lead when Ross Banaszak hits a runner with 11 seconds to go.

Way to go Cards!

Hey ScotsFan,
       I see what you are saying about Mucky losing to Kenyon earlier in the year, then coming back to knock off the Quakers. I suppose it is something like a 5-9 Otterbein squad beating the co-NCAC leader Ohio Weslyan a couple of weeks ago. Anything can happen on any given night.

I would say that the NCAC's two best teams, Witt and COW are better than the OAC's two best teams (BW and Wilmington) but top to bottom the OAC is much deeper IMO. I also look for BW to make quite a bit of noise in the NCAA tournament. Perhaps they could be the fourth team in the past 6 years to make it to the Final Four from the OAC!

  //

Nice win by Otterbein tonight. Down 48-35 at the half to Ohio Weslyan, they continued to chip away and finally took the lead with about 90 seconds left. Final score was 84-78, but it was essentially a one-possesion game. Fifth straight "o-club Classic" championship and their overall record now stands at 5-6 after winning three of their last four.

Last week in the OAC forum, I predicted Otterbein to lose by 30 to John Carroll, and they nearly pulled off the upset against the Streaks. This week, I predict that the Cardinals will shock the nation and upset #3 Wittenberg in Springfield. Any thoughts?

Last week in this forum, I predicted Otterbein to lose by 30 to John Carroll, and they nearly pulled off the upset against the Streaks. This week, I predict that the Cardinals will shock the nation and upset #3 Wittenberg in Springfield. Any thoughts?

I just saw the score, and JCU beat the Cards 83 to 81. So much for my prediction, but like I said, this is why you play the game. Go figure. Any one (toph) care to share some insights on the game???

Also, I don't know if wobnsports still posts in this forum, but if he's around, why does 101.5 WOBN seem to broadcast only Otterbein women?

Pete Moran will be the second oldest on the court today. Kevin King of Otterbein is 28. I predict JCU wins by 35, but this is why you play the game. Go Cards!

I wouldn't mind discussing Otterbein basketball, but one reason I haven't logged on in a while is that I couldn't figure out this new format, and the other reason is that right now, the Cards stink! I will be supportive of the program (I have ever since 1984, and if you knoe their history, the 1987-88 team went 1-26). I do believe they are better than that. They have some talent, although they are very young. I hope they can pull it out against the Quakers tonight!