Capital 63 Wittenberg 43

I made my way over to Bexley last night to watch the Tigers live after watching them on that strange sideline-cam feed at Oberlin over the weekend. I wish I had stayed at home to watch the Buckeyes instead.  Other than a brief lead to open the game, Wittenberg was never in this one. Capital outplayed and out-hustled Witt on both ends of the floor for most of the night. I am particularly troubled by the Tigers' offensive woes to start the year. As a team, they are shooting 36 percent from the field and an eye-opening 18 percent from the 3.  Even behind a good defense, which Witt had occasionally last night, it's tough to win with those numbers offensively.  Right now, they simply don't have any playmakers.  I think freshmen Chad Roy and sophomore Brock Kiesler have the chance to develop into decent, if not really good, D3 players, but both struggled last night.  Sam Collins, presumably the leader of this team, has been a non-factor so far.  There's talent on this roster, but it's young.  I think they'll get it figured out eventually, but they are going to take their lumps along the way.

Xavier Brown listed as a First Team Preseason All-American.

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2015

Quote from: sac on November 10, 2014, 06:58:00 PM
DePauw shouldn't be that much of a surprise at two.  They handled Witt twice in the regular season last year easily and were in line to be the NCAC's at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, but for some reason lost to Witt in the NCAC tournament and consequently didn't make the tournament.  Witt lost far more to graduation than DePauw.

No arguments that DePauw owned Wittenberg during the regular season.  And no argument that Wittenberg lost more than DePauw in the offseason.  In fact, I would have had no issue with the coaches ranking Wittenberg last out of the current "Power 4" given the letter winners they graduated last May.  Perhaps "surprising" was a poor word choice, but I do think DePauw's preseason rank is somewhat unexpected.  I would have said the same if the coaches had picked Wittenberg to finish second as well.  DePauw has never finished higher than fourth in the league.  Picking them to finish second is predicting them to accomplish unprecedented success.  But, as I said, I think these expectations are warranted given their roster this year.  So, admittedly, maybe "surprise" wasn't the most accurate way to describe DePauw's ranking. 

Lost in the shuffle of last week's decisive football game (congrats to Coach Fincham and the Tigers) was the NCAC's preseason basketball poll.  Here's how the coaches voted on the men's side: 

1- Wooster
2- DePauw
3- Wittenberg
4- OWU
5- Wabash
6- Denison
7- Kenyon
8-Oberlin
9- Hiram
10- Allegheny

What's surprising?

DePauw's rank, although I think it's deserved.  The New Tigers return a legitimate POY candidate (if not the POY frontrunner) in 6'9" senior center Tommy Ferentz.  Collectively, the league's big men aren't nearly as strong as they've been in the past 8-9 years.  Ferentz is simply going to overpower some teams in the NCAC, Wittenberg possibly included.  That combination of size and skill can be troublesome at this level.  Be prepared to see plenty of his left-handed drop-step hook shoot.  And be prepared to see it go in.  DePauw's guards are still a question mark and Coach Fenlon is still waiting to make his mark in the NCAC, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the New Tigers in the NCAA tournament this year.

Wabash's rank, although I also think it's deserved.  Last year's Little Giant team finished with losing records overall and in the NCAC, making their preseason rank somewhat suspect.  But their roster boasts as much young talent as any in the league. Kyle Alton is a good scorer, and Purvilicius showed signs of genuine promise last year.   The most persuasive justification of their relatively high ranking, however, is the new coach in town.  The Antoine Carpenter experience simply didn't work out.  Coach Brummet was one of the top coaches in the HCAC, and should lead Wabash back into contention.  If Sponsler is out, that definitely changes the picture, but I still expect Wabash to take a Giant step forward this year.

Oberlin outside of the cellar.  Coach Cavaco has definitely changed the atmosphere surrounding the program in recent years, even if his records haven't always indicated that intangible shift.  I didn't catch too many Oberlin games last year, so I don't have much else to offer regarding this season's outlooks.  Perhaps the other coaches recognized that a 6'9" junior averaging 9 and 7 may spell success for the Yeomen in the future. 

What's not surprising?

Wooster and the other top three teams.  It pains me to say it, but the league goes through Wooster until someone proves otherwise.  Their recent success is undeniable, and while they lost some key contributors from last year's team, they bring back Xavier Brown.  And that's enough to warrant the spot atop the poll.  Similarly, I would put Wooster, DPU, Witt, and OWU in a tier ahead of the remaining six teams.  Wabash and Dension may be able to pull off a couple "upsets" at home, but I expect those four teams to finish at the top of the league again this year. 

Quote from: sac on November 04, 2014, 07:06:04 PM
Trine's roster is up:
http://trinethunder.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

Ben Syroka saw inconsistent minutes at Wittenberg before transferring to Trine this past year.  Defensive menace who doesn't lack for confidence, could be a nice pickup for the Thunder.

Quote from: smedindy on October 19, 2014, 12:07:47 AM
That has to be an exhibition....

Yes, definitely an exhibition.  For both Wittenberg and the Canadian teams, as I understand.  I merely meant this was the official beginning of Wittenberg's season. 

The Tigers returned to Springfield (sorry WoBo) yesterday afternoon with a 1-2 record, but also with some apparent optimism for the upcoming season.  Following their loss to Guelph, Wittenberg defeated York University on a last-second three pointer, and ended the trip with a seven-point loss at Windsor--a team that recently beat IPFW.  It's hard to discern much from an out-of-country trip in which all 14 Tigers played in each game.  However, this much is clear: Wittenberg will be very young this year.  You're going to see plenty of sophomores and freshmen in the usual 10-man rotation.  And maybe that's not bad.  At times, I think Brown has been overeager to play freshmen in the past. Given the roster composition this year, however, I think his hand might be forced.  If the group is as talented as promised, this year may mark the beginning of an exciting 3-4 years.  If not, at least the young players will get needed experience. If nothing else, it sounds like Brown is encouraged from the team's play in Canada.   

If a basketball game is played in the heart of football season, is it really played at all? Wittenberg officially (or maybe it's unofficially) began its 2014-2015 season with an 80-69 loss to the University of Guelph in Canada.  No video, so all insight comes straight from the box score.  The Tigers lost every quarter (FIBA rules people) except the 4th, but mostly hung close with the Gryphons, who were playing their fourth game of the season. Sam Collins and Brock Kiesler were the only two Tigers in double figures. 

Some interesting notes: Jaelin Williams, a sophomore from nearby Shawnee HS, started the game and played a near-team high 20 minutes.  But he wasn't the only underclassmen to see playing time.  Not even close.  In fact, 11 of the 14 players who played tonight were underclassmen, with 5 of those players seeing their first "varsity" action.  Ben Bowen appears to be the early starter at PG, but certainly much can change before Wittenberg opens the season at Oberlin.  I was somewhat surprised to see John Albertson getting the start over Kiesler.  I really liked the potential Kiesler showed last year, and his stat line tonight suggests he might deserve some further consideration for that starting role. Of course, this could also just be a case of Coach Brown giving deference to seniors early in the season. Missing from the box score was Alex Fultz, who started 3 games and played in 23 last season.  Need to figure out whether he's yet another Tiger lost to attrition or whether he's missing the trip for another reason. Different looking team without Masin, Leahy, and Newell, but excited for the future of the program.

Quote from: David Collinge on March 06, 2014, 08:30:00 AM

Quote from: Urban For Prez on March 05, 2014, 10:48:23 PM
2. If you give Coach Brown time to game plan and strategize, he does pretty darn well.

Unless the opponent is Wooster.

This is something that has been gnawing at me for a while. Wittenberg is pretty good every year, winning 17-20 games, getting a top-four seed in the conference tournament, and qualifying for the NCAAs every other year or so. That's the kind of resume that would be very exciting to at least 97% of D3 schools.

But Wittenberg is not 97% of D3 schools. Wittenberg is, or used to be, accustomed to success at the very highest levels, and apart from one magical tournament run eight years ago, Coach Brown has just not achieved that level of success. I would like to believe that winning one NCAC (regular season) title in 10 years and losing to Wooster game after game would be wearing pretty thin in Springfield by now. They've got to be looking up at Wooster, going to the NCAAs in 19 of the past 20 seasons and winning at least 20 games for 18 straight seasons, and thinking, "that should be happening here."

I wonder if I'm alone in wondering this.

First let me clarify my initial point, which is substantiated only by my previously cited basic research, the sentiments of those closer to the program than I, and my direct observations.  I think Coach Brown's strength lies in his ability to break down another team's tendencies and prepare his team accordingly.  I think he is able to game plan generally better than his coaching counterparts.  Thus, when he has this extended time (i.e. basically five days before the first round NCAA tournament game) to look at film and digest it, I believe he prepares his team better than his opposing coach's prepare their respective teams.  However, the counterpoint is that when time to prepare is limited (i.e. one night before an NCAC championship game or a second-round NCAA Tournament game), I don't think he's quite as effective.  I think most who are familiar with the program know that his strength is not his in-game adjustments. Again, that's based only on my own observations and what I have gathered from those in and around the program.  I'm currently at work and cannot check to see if that proposition is supported by the results.  I meant my initial post to be a compliment to Coach Brown and his staff, so I hate to take anything away from that, but this is how I see it.

To your point David- I am not sure how much Wooster's recent success is weighing on the Tiger faithful. Wooster's recent success is undeniable, and there has certainly been grumblings in the stands during the last few games.  I think Witt's recent Elite Eight run and sweeping of the Scots in 2011-2012 likely helped ease some of the pain for the Tigers fans, but I, too, wonder for how long. I hope this weekend and upcoming weekends help to alleviate some of these concerns.

A few notes about the upcoming game between Wittenberg and Calvin:

1. The usual starting lineup for the Knights is, as it always seems to be, HUGE. 6'3", 6'3", 6'7", 6'8", 6'9". You just don't see that kind of size and, presumably, length in D3 basketball very often. I think that's why Calvin generally seems to have success in the National Tournament.  Most teams simply aren't used to playing against players of that size.  Adjusting is not easy, and teams can't afford to fall behind too far in National Tournament games. I think the Tigers are going to have to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and really pressure Calvin's guards to have a chance in this game (by numerous accounts on the MIAA board this seemed to work for Hope).

2. If you give Coach Brown time to game plan and strategize, he does pretty darn well.  Some quick research revealed that Witt has won 5 of its last 7 first-round NCAA Tournament games, with the only two losses coming in consecutive years to good John Carroll teams.  I have no doubt that Coach Brown will have the boys ready to play on Friday night. I don't envy his job this weekend though.

Should be a great atmosphere in St. Louis this entire weekend. If I didn't have to work, I would certainly be at the game on Friday. If the Tigers are fortunate enough to pull out the victory, I plan on driving over on Saturday to catch the sectional final.  Good luck to the Bishops and Scots as well.  Would love to see three NCAC teams advance.

If Wittenberg and Wooster played 10 times this year, I am not sure that Wooster wouldn't win all 10.  They seem to have an answer for every Wittenberg punch.  Kenny DeBoer was a stud this weekend, certainly deserving of the MVP honors.  That being said, I really admire the fight in this year's Wittenberg team, and there appear to be some promising young players in the program.

Given the strength of the NCAC this year, it would be a shame for the conference to only get one representative. Still not sure I feel great about Witt's chances though.  If the Tigers aren't fortunate enough to move on, congratulations to Masin, Leahy, Newell, Bond, and McDowell on a solid season and careers. Talented players, but better kids.  Made it easy to be a fan this year.

This conference tournament is shaping up to be as entertaining as any in recent memory.  I think even the most ardent fans have to admit that any of the top 4 teams have a shot at winning this year's tournament and securing the NCAC's automatic bid.  Yet, those 4 teams moving on to the weekend is certainly not guaranteed.

If the tournament started today, or--more relevantly--if the standings stay the same after this weekend, we would see OWU v. Wabash, DePauw v. Kenyon, and Wittenberg v. Denison.  Denison beat Wittenberg @ Wittenberg 63-60 on 2/1, Kenyon beat DePauw 75-67 last weekend, and Wabash beat OWU 77-66 on 2/12. 

Wooster has to be favorite, but it looks like we may be in for a fun week.

Nice pace to the game here at OWU.  Leahy and Rogers playing well for the Tigers and Bishops, respectively.  Witt leads 34-26 at half.

Tigers come out hot...for once and force an OWU timeout.  Up in Delaware 14-5 in the early going.

Smart enough to avoid falling into the trash-talking trap, especially after a loss.  However, I have to agree that Scott Leo's counterpart on Witt's broadcasts is atrocious. Based on his commentary, I seriously question whether he has spent much time around basketball. Leo's not great, but he would be better served covering the game on his own.

Now about the game: First, credit Wooster for doing what they needed to do to win. They built an early lead through creating 12 first-half turnovers, and hit big shots down the stretch to seal the victory.  I felt Witt should have come out of the zone after they cut the lead to to five without about ten minutes left. Their zone became too stagnant late in the game, allowing Wooster to run their sets against only little resistance.  It's hard to dictate the pace of the game and create turnovers in a zone.  When Wittenberg desperately needed a stop with about five minutes left, Wooster ran the exact same play twice in a row (sending a cutter to the deep corner near the Wooster bench and reversing the dribble for a pitch to that shooter) and scored on both possessions.  You have to hand it to Coach Brown for benching his starters early in the second-half and letting his bench carry the team back into contention, but his inability to make in-game adjustments hurts the Tigers. The game may have been different if Leahy had been able to play at full-speed.

More importantly, Wittenberg now finds themselves on a costly two-game losing streak, which has me wondering if this team may have been slightly overrated.  A look at their last four games shows a team struggling to put together two solid halves:

Home v. OWU- Down by 22 before rallying for an OT win.
Home v. Hiram- 1 point victory after giving up 52 points in the second half.
@Depauw- 26 point drubbing after shooting 23% in the second half.
Home v. Wooster- Seven point home loss after committing 20 turnovers in the first half.

Final comments: Ben Bowen and Justin McDowell bring energy every time they are in the game.  They are limited offensively, but they epitomize what I love about D3 basketball. You can tell they love the game. Bad couple of weeks for me as both my Buckeyes and Tigers are struggling.  Here's to better times ahead.

Wittenberg is up big on Denison, 92-65, with three minutes left to go.  Amazing stat(s) of the day: Sam Collins and Scott Masin combined to go 15 for 15 from the field.  Masin scored 21 and Collins added 19.  Masin is shooting an astounding 67 percent from the field this year.  I thought he would be good, but he has exceeded my expectations. 

Wittenberg will travel to Thomas More to play the Saints in a week.  It's a shame they aren't having a better year; I assume Coach Brown scheduled the game believing they would be a quality non-conference opponent.