It was nice seeing a familiar NCAC face tonight in Witt. After a slow start, the Tigers pulled away from Catholic late in the first half thanks to hot shooting from Nowicki and a consistent effort on the boards. Catholic went ice cold in the second half, leading to Wittenberg's big run. The bigs did a nice job down low getting the team second chances and Hill really adds another element to the game that was definitely missing last season from what I gather.

The Tigers should not have too much trouble beating Messiah tomorrow. It was a bit of a yawner between the Falcons and Bullets, with a few threes here and there keeping the hosts in it. Messiah was unimpressive in the win, so I look for Witt to win by double figures especially if they can shoot a little better from the field.

Just some thoughts from an NCAC alum. Good luck to everyone in the NCAC this season!

It's good to see the NCAC board is lively as always. Just thought I'd shed some light on the Bullets for you gentlemen. While Wooster has an obvious advantage outside the arc, Gettysburg's inside game could wreck havoc on the Scots. While Spierenburg has primarily been a force on the defensive side, Powers is a legit offensive presence in just his second year on the squad. He has good moves in the post and makes his shots (.542). He also draws contact and has made more free throws than anyone on Wooster's team has attempted. While the combo isn't quite Witt's talented duo of Dane Borchers and Dan Russ, it's potent and could be a pivotal point to the game, especially if the Scots are off the mark from deep. While the Centennial may not be on the same par from distance as the NCAC, I assure you there is not a lack of big men, and Powers has had his way with most of them.

On the perimeter, the Bullets stack up with Nevolo, Capkin, and Dorsey. Nevolo doesn't score much, but he's a solid passer and pesky on the defensive end. Capkin is the team's top shooter, but he is also the best driver and slasher. He'll take a hit and keep on ticking. Dorsey is the most athletic player outside of Powers and can be a match up problem for most teams when he's on his game. Should be a good match with Bidwell, given the latter's physicalilty on defense and quickness.

Yes, Gettysburg uses a pretty shallow lineup, while Wooster's is pretty deep. But remember a few years ago when the Scots only went three deep on the bench? Didn't seem to hurt them too much (Final Four anyone?) Most teams try to throw in all their players to wear the Bullets down (McDaniel used 16 in the CC semis), but it doesn't matter very much given the team's conditioning. 

One last note...Gettysburg runs an offense that is unlike anything Wooster has seen. With the scores the Bullets have put up, some of you might compare it to Witt or Wabash's style. But it's not even close and I can't even begin to explain it. Just a blur of movement and cuts from everywhere.

So let's have it out: Youth versus Experience; Depth versus lack of Depth; Three-point offense versus Three-point defense; Perimeter play versus Inside Play; and on and on...The possibilities are endless, but I can't wait to see what the coaches draw up to try and throw the other off.

Hope this helps with your NCAA perusing about the first round. As much I enjoyed my time at Wooster watching the Scots battle it out with Witt, score 100 points every night, and advance in the NCAAs, I have to give the nod to the  Orange & Blue based on experience and plain, old adversity. This is a team that lost to the worst team in the conference and still managed to bounce back at the end of the season and knock off the top two conference teams twice each in the final two weeks.

Good luck to all this weekend!

Since it's been pointed out that Allegheny's defensive numbers have come against not-so-good teams, let's look at Bash:

Franklin gives up 24.0 ppg (Wabash scored 38) - they are 4-0
Millikin allows 26.5 ppg (Bash scored 38) - they are 1-3
OWU allows 38.4 ppg (Bash scored 42) - they are 0-5
Earlham allows 32.8 (Bash scored 48) - they are 2-2

Just trying to even the playing field a bit gentlemen. It's not like the Little Giants have played defensive stalwarts out there.

I think it's pretty clear Wabash's offense and Allegheny's defense are facing their first real tests of the 2006 season. Should be a great game in Crawfordsville.

Wally,

I really don't think it's going to take Wooster a year to recover from the whoopings they received late last season.  You have to take into account the fact the starting QB (Justin Shafer) was injured in the third quarter of the Allegheny game (the first one of the NCAC slate) and couldn't play the last several games of the season, in which they got man-handled.  Having Shafer back, although I think he's been overrated at times, is a tremendous boost to that offense.  Add in those young wide receivers from last year, and of course Sheppard, and the Wooster team is looking pretty decent on offense, although the defense is still a question mark in my opinion.  I think they'll finish ahead of the Gators in the final standings, and remember, I'm a Gator alum.

Hmmm, when did Wabash get one of the best D3 athletic programs in "several" sports?  What teams or individuals can even say they've seen the national playoffs on a perennial basis?  Football going twice in the last four years doesn't really qualify Wabash as a national power. 

It's suprising that no Wooster fans have pointed this out, but the Scots defensive effort has really picked up since Port's return.  Each of Wooster's last three opponents (Hiram, Wabash, Kenyon) have been held to about 40 percent shooting overall in each contest.  That number is even lower in the first half, when Wooster's top-nine predominately play. 

Last night, the Scots were up 88-49 when Moore pulled the starters, and the score was very similar against Wabash when the bench was emptied.  I'm sure someone will point out the quality of competition is lacking (though Wabash is hardly low-quality), but I just thought I'd throw out what I've seen, not just from what one can gather from the numbers themselves.

You can't even compare Fulk and Coop to Redick.  Redick does more running around while the play is developing than anyone in college basketball today.  He reminds me a lot of Reggie Miller's ability to use screens to get open and hit off-balance treys.  Coop and Fulk are great shooters, don't get me wrong, but they don't compare to Redick at all, which is why they play DIII and J.J. is the creme de la creme of DI.

That's pretty ironic that Wooster fans are ragging on Hiram for poor facilities.  Outside of Timken Gym, which is a pretty sweet basketball court, what good is the Armington PEC?  Everything is out of date and there's no room to do anything.  I mean it's awesome trying to shoot hoops around yoga people and try to find somewhere to lift among the grunts in the weight room.  Facilities have nothing to do with a game, unless the rims are crooked and floor boards are sticking up, which I don't believe is the case. 

I'm pretty sure Wooster just didn't play well in the second half, but having not seen the game, this is just my honest opinon.  I doubt it's going to reoccur in Timken tomorrow night.  As a matter of fact, I'd put the spread somewhere in the 30s, as long as the Scots can contain T.C. Spencer and his myriad of post moves (that's sarcasm in case you couldn't tell).

Strangely enough, no, there have never been any co-winners in the NCAC.  The only co-anything was COY in 1998-99, shared by Steve Moore and Jeff Justus. 

That's nice Witucky is getting so much support in the online voting.  Maybe it will sway the committee when they actually select the winner at the Final Four.

So you're saying neither Coop nor Russ is dominant in this league? 

They can both do pretty much what they want, when the want, at least as far as I've seen.  It helps having some pretty good players around them like Borchers, Vandervaart, and Witucky, but they are pretty much the centers of attention for opposing defenses at this point in the season.  If they aren't "true" dominant players, then please enlighten everyone else on who is?

FYI, Witucky has the best winning percentage among the point guards up for the Bob Cousy Award.  The next closest is Dee Brown, who I would consider the early favorite for the award.  Nevertheless, congrats to both Witucky and Dauksas on representing DIII.

For Newcomer of the Year, my picks would by Yelvington (Ken), Hollihan (All), and Johnson (Woo).  I would have said Yelvington is ahead of the other too, but his recent injury may hurt his chances if he isn't able to come back.  I could be wrong though.  Hollihan will be at Wooster on Wed. so we'll see how it actually stacks up against some real competition.  Johnson has been far and away the most impressive that I've seen play so far this year and he just gets more impressive as the season progressess. 

I actually just had a similar discussion with an associate about Witucky's confidence.  He's passed up a few open shots the last couple games, but I'm sure he'll come around.  I'd like to see him take it to the rack and get his game started.

Since there hasn't been an overwhelming reply to my question about All-NCAC teams, here are my picks as of right now, based on what I've seen and the numbers themselves of course: 

First Team
Brandon Miller, EAR
Dan Russ, WIT
James Cooper, WOO
Tim Vandervaart, WOO
Ben Chojnacki, OWU
Dan Hodgkinson, DEN

*Pretty much same as last year, except for Wooster.  I think Vandervaart and Cooper have outplayed Port and Witucky at this point, although if Port lights it up when he comes back he should still receive first team consideration.

I have to think about the other teams and Newcomer before I make my guesses.

DC,

If you haven't seen Witucky play since Stout, then you have no idea what I'm talking about.  He gets the same shots as he did last year and he is simply off target.  If anything, he is pasing the ball more often this season than last, and not being forced to heave up desperation shots.  I've seen him barely draw iron on two very open 3's in each of the last two games.  I don't mean to be rude, but you'd have to see it to understand precisely what I mean.

Is it just me, or has Witucky just looked bad this season at times?  His 3's are all over the place and his shooting percentages have plummetted.  Out of the regular members of the rotation, his shooting percentage (.421) is by far the lowest and is free throw numbers are scraping just above 60 percent.  I realize he's still leading the NCAC in assists with over four per game, but it seems like the rest of his game has taken a turn for the worse.  Any insightful explanations from the Wooster posters?

It is slightly ironic that one of the discussions before the season began was about Witucky being one of the best guards in the region, which I agreed with on several levels.  What would be his status now in region?  I'd put him second team All-NCAC at best.

I would say Miller is definitely going to be considered for POY, but Earlham is so inconsistent it really hurts his chances of having a legitimate shot.  I think Cooper and Russ are the frontrunners at this point, primarily because of the way they play in pressure situations and big games.  Out of those two, I like Coop to take it because he's been so dominating at his position, even more so than Russ, IMO.

I think Miller and Chojnacki will be up there too, and possibly Hodgkinson if Denison can do anything down the stretch.  The way the NCAC selects awards anything can happen, though.

This is probably a good discussion to bring up now that we're past the midway point in the season.  Anyone else have any opinions on Newcomer and Coach of the Year, or maybe the All-NCAC teams?

It'll be nice to see the Gators on Wednesday.  I haven't had a chance to see them play at all this season so my opinions and details have been fairly limited.  Hollihan looks like a nice player, and it'll be interesting to see how he fares against Vandervaart in the post.  BTW, Hollihan was recruited by Wooster last season.