^^^ Good to know about the difference between Massey and Jacob Schauer. Thanks.

D3datacast has VWU as a 4.0 point favorite tonight. Their data includes only D3 vs D3 games.

VWU downs Ferrum at home 65-45. The first half was close, though neither team looked that good for those 20 minutes. The second half was pretty much all VWU. The Marlins out rebounded the Panthers 45-23.

I tried to watch some of it on replay, but it was sloppy and couldn't hold my interest.  Too many turnovers and Ferrum couldn't get a rebound.  Ferrum's rebounding was adversely impacted when 6'7" Bryant Wall was ejected for jingling the bells of VWU's Omari Devaux in the first 4 minutes of the game.  Mr. Wall didn't like getting pushed while seeking rebounding position, and caused Mr. Devaux to drop to the floor and remain in the fetal position for quite some time, which attracted the officials' attention - eliciting a video review.  As there were two additional techs called during the game according to the box score, I don't think I missed a beautiful game.   

It's a strange early going for the ODAC.  HSC is clearly on top of the heap, but they certainly haven't looked as solid as a #1 ODAC team in recent years.  I almost voted for Ferrum this week, but clearly they've still got something to prove.  VWU might be my second place choice at the moment, but only because Guilford and RMC haven't found any sort of consistency yet.

Obviously, plenty of time for everything to shake out, but I'm not yet convinced there's going to be any real clarity this year - just surprising wins and losses all over the place.

You should put Roanoke on your list.  The Maroons looked like a machine on offense against the Tigers - very decisive in everything they did.  The Jackets have a great backcourt and their frontcourt is improving.  They threw a defensive wrinkle at H-SC's Fernald last time that caused a lot of problems for 36 minutes.  Guilford appears to have a lot of talent, but not much depth, and they are not playing the defense we expect from a Quaker squad.  VWU plays defense well, but their offense looks like they lack a PG who can create opportunities for others.  They turn the ball over too much vs their assists and their leading assist guy is a big (and a large portion of his assists came against non-D3 Regent).  The stats confirm what I saw the other night - they don't move the ball real well on offense.  The Tigers have a lot to like: offensive firepower, depth and they take care of the ball.  Team defense and rebounding need to improve so that they don't just have shootouts every game.  Everybody has some vulnerability; whoever fixes it, or hides it, will come out on top.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on December 12, 2024, 08:46:55 AMIt's a strange early going for the ODAC.  HSC is clearly on top of the heap, but they certainly haven't looked as solid as a #1 ODAC team in recent years.  I almost voted for Ferrum this week, but clearly they've still got something to prove.  VWU might be my second place choice at the moment, but only because Guilford and RMC haven't found any sort of consistency yet.

Obviously, plenty of time for everything to shake out, but I'm not yet convinced there's going to be any real clarity this year - just surprising wins and losses all over the place.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. The way HSC plays and if they keep playing they're the clear winner of the league but right now I don't think anyone would be in the talk to get a bid (I know it's early) but no one seems to be consistent. I'm hoping Roanoke comes out hard and ready to play in a week.

The current NPI doesn't look great for the ODAC.  Having higher ranked teams now means the wins in conference will be more valuable later.  The WIAC, UAA, and NESCAC all have quite a few teams in the top 40.  It's just going to make things more difficult at the end of the year.  If two or three teams beat everybody, they've got a good shot, otherwise, it's definitely an uphill battle.

ODAC teams went 2-3 yesterday. I checked in briefly on four of the five games. All the games were reasonably close and competitive with Guilford downing Methodist by 7 and VWU beating NC Wesleyan by 14. Both were home games for the ODAC teams. Bridgewater fell by 11 at Penn State Harrisburg, Randolph lost by 10 at Southern Virginia, and Averett lost to UW-Whitewater by 11 at VWU.

VWU and Averett switch opponents today, for the only two games involving ODAC teams.

VWU squeaks out a win over UW-Whitewater 61-58. Averett loses to NC Wesleyan 65-58.

In a game that was closer throughout than the final score would suggest RMC downs EMU 80-60. EMU plays at a quicker pace at both ends of the floor than RMC likes. They press in the back court and move effectively in their zone defense. The Jackets still have to make progress attacking the zone. Bryce Scott seemed most comfortable playing against the zone. He knew where to be and what to do with and without the ball. EMU's movement on offense was also effective and the game might have played out differently if they had rebounded better. The Jackets won the boards 44-21. Coach Merkle wisely started and played a smaller and quicker lineup almost the entire game. "Big men" Joe Bachmann and Liam Joyce combined for five minutes on the court. 6'7" freshman Ty Showalter did not play at all. I couldn't tell if he was on the bench. Although EMU never led, they were within striking distance until about 2 1/2 minutes remained.

H-SC handles Shenandoah at home, 80-63.  The game was close into the second half until Adam Brazil took control.  He had 21 in the second half, including 6 treys.  He added 8 assists to his 28 point total.  Fernald chipped in with 8 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.  Freshman Travis Stickney had a solid all around game with 8/8 to go along with some strong defense.  Hard to believe that the Hornets are 0-3 in the ODAC; they are fast, have some scorers and play hard.  They have an out of conference win over a good Hood team, but can't get any traction in the ODAC.

^^^ I just took a look at Brazil's season stats. He has played 34+ minutes in every game except blowout wins over Pfeiffer and William Peace. Except vs Swarthmore (17 points) and William Peace (6 points in 19 minutes) he has scored 22 or more points in every game. It seems apparent that if a team can stop Brazil it can possibly beat H-SC.

In the two other games involving ODAC teams last night Randolph lost to Nazareth and Ferrum beat Methodist.

In a rematch of the 2022 National Final game, RMC Jackets held Elmhurst to their lowest point total all season in a 71-43 shellacking in Charlotte in the Jay Bilas Classic! Malcolm Hodges with his first Double Double of the season with 23 pts and 10 rebounds! Now the Jackets face #11 Wisconsin- Stevens Point in a big test at 7 pm tonight! Coach Merkel told me at a football game this Fall we'd know by Christmas/ first of January how good we could be after we ran the gauntlet of early season tests we've had. That was a pretty good assessment! Hope we're up to the task tonite! GO JACKETS!!

There's some good games around the ODAC this evening.  Roanoke takes on NJAC team Montclair State in Florida.  Of course, the Macon vs Stevens Point game.  Guilford gets a conference game at home against BC - the Quakers should have no problems.  H-SC gets a game against a strong John Carroll program.  JCU has a ton of size, including a 6'6" All-American wing in Luke Frazier to go with 2 other 6'7" starters.  However, they lost first team A-A guard Luke Chicone to injury and perhaps another guard starter is hurt.  They were preseason #2, but have dropped some games due to the backcourt issues. 

^^^ That, definitely, is a good lineup of games. Not sure I agree, though, that Guilford won't have a problem with Bridgewater.