MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Well, let's all gather at the campus of the winner for a four-day hoops extravaganza! I remember watching the MAAC tourney on Empire (back when that channel existed - the NHL lockout killed it) and they had the mens' AND womens' tournaments in the same location at the same time.

Day 1 - Women's 7/10 and 8/9
Day 2 - Women's Quarterfinals + Men 7/10 and 8/9
Day 3 - Women's Semis + Men's Quarters
Day 4 - Womens Final + Men's Semis
Day 5 - Men's Final

I'll volunteer to run the computer for stats!

[David Collinge]

New poll!
I'm setting aside the question of 8 teams vs. 9 or 10 teams, only for the sake of making the poll more manageable.  

My two cents on this, in the world in which we actually live rather than an idealized one, is that a neutral location tournament would strongly favor Wooster, provided it wasn't held in Indianapolis.  If it were held in Columbus, as I suspect such a tournament would be, the crowd would likely be almost as pro-Wooster as a home game.  For evidence, look at the recent second-round NCAA game at Capital, where the Wooster crowd was both larger and louder than the Cap Cru.

[woosterbooster]

Or Maybe it's because the Big Red scared the heck out of them last weekend at Livingston?  After seeing how the Scots handled that game, I don't think they have the heads for sweeping conference play and going deep in the tournament any more.  The big guys seemed to get intimidated by the smaller, but tougher, Denison inside guys.  Coach Moore went as ballistic as I've ever seen him, and Hallowell spent a good part of the game jawing with and whining to the officials.  Not the composure I expected from the Number 1 team, and I have to say I enjoyed watching it. 

Yeah, Wooster was intimidated by the Big Red up here, too.  Funny, though.  With fourteen minutes to go, the Scots led by 37 points and cruised home.  Just imagine what the score might have been if they weren't afraid of getting beaten up.

Truth is, nobody on here can refute your ridiculous account of the game because why in hell would anyone from Wooster drive an hour and a half to see a second-rate team like Denison play?  I hope they enjoy the off-season; it'll be starting soon in Granville.   

[wally_wabash]

If I thought that using the "other" option as a means to vote for "let's not have a conference tournament" wasn't a cop out, then I would have.  I think the best format is the way it is now.  Moving all of those quarterfinal games to the home of the top seed or to a neutral site takes a home game away from three or four teams, and every one of those games is going to be better attended on a Tuesday evening on a home campus than it would be on a Thursday afternoon at who-knows-where. 

[David Collinge]

Saturday slate, with live video for every game!

Wabash at Oberlin, 1pm -- video and live stats -- Game 1 of a doubleheader, OC women vs. Hiram to follow
Allegheny at Denison, ~3pm -- video and live stats -- Game 2 of a W/M doubleheader (and game 1 should be a good one)
OWU at Kenyon, ~3pm -- video and live stats -- Game 2 of a W/M doubleheader (and game 1 should be a good one)
Wittenberg at Wooster, 7:30pm -- Video, (separate) audio, and live stats (COW); audio (WU) -- essentially game 3 of a tripleheader (women at 2, JVs at 5:30)

[GoRed]

Or Maybe it's because the Big Red scared the heck out of them last weekend at Livingston?  After seeing how the Scots handled that game, I don't think they have the heads for sweeping conference play and going deep in the tournament any more.  The big guys seemed to get intimidated by the smaller, but tougher, Denison inside guys.  Coach Moore went as ballistic as I've ever seen him, and Hallowell spent a good part of the game jawing with and whining to the officials.  Not the composure I expected from the Number 1 team, and I have to say I enjoyed watching it. 

Yeah, Wooster was intimidated by the Big Red up here, too.  Funny, though.  With fourteen minutes to go, the Scots led by 37 points and cruised home.  Just imagine what the score might have been if they weren't afraid of getting beaten up.

Truth is, nobody on here can refute your ridiculous account of the game because why in hell would anyone from Wooster drive an hour and a half to see a second-rate team like Denison play?  I hope they enjoy the off-season; it'll be starting soon in Granville.   

If you had joined your fellow fans in Granville last weekend, you would have seen a different side of the team and its fans.  As a matter of fact, Wooster fans outnumbered Denison by at least 3:1 because school still wasn't in session.  Ask a few of the arrogants who were there expecting a blowout but found out you don't come into Livingston expecting to get all the calls, like you do in Timken, and have a cakewalk.  They got into an unexpected fight and didn't react well until some of the long-range threes finally started dropping.  I see a lot more cool from the other two W's - maybe because they don't read as much of their own press. 

Oh, and keep in mind that Farmer got hurt during that first game.  Finally - yes, the off-season always comes too early for Denison's men.  I've given my opinion as to why.

[woosterbooster]

So Wooster fans are arrogant, the team gets all the calls in Timken, they're not cool on the road, and they read too much of their own press.  You got anything else to say here where you can safely say it, you anonymous little troll?

[imderekpoe]

I was curious as to Wabash's "cold" shooting in their losses.  Sure they shot below their average in both games, but really it was within a few percentage points of their season average.  So I looked at all their games and there are only 2 games where Wabash's FG% varies by more than 5% from their opponents season-long pct - one higher (first Franklin game) and one lower (DePauw).  I compared that to Wooster where 8 of the 16 games I could compare (Cincy Christian doesn't have stats posted) and 8 of their games had a variance of over 5 pct (5 higher, 3 lower).

Not really sure what conclusions can be drawn.  But I would say that the perceived cold shooting of Wabash is more a product of who they have been playing rather than their own offense.  Whereas Wooster seems to be more able to control their shooting pct rather than let the defense dictate their efficiency.

[GoRed]

So Wooster fans are arrogant, the team gets all the calls in Timken, they're not cool on the road, and they read too much of their own press.  You got anything else to say here where you can safely say it, you anonymous little troll?

So you weren't at the game, and haven't spoken to anyone who was?

One minor clarification.  I did not say they were not cool on the road.  They were not cool in that game. 

So how tall are you and how do you wear your hair?  By the way, I wear dark glasses now - not just to remain anonymous (how did a Wooster fan manage to spell that word correctly?) but to hide my bug eyes.

[Pat Coleman]

You got anything else to say here where you can safely say it, you anonymous little troll?

Didn't you get bounced from the site FOR MORE THAN A YEAR for threatening people? What is your deal?

[smedindy]

I was curious as to Wabash's "cold" shooting in their losses.  Sure they shot below their average in both games, but really it was within a few percentage points of their season average.  So I looked at all their games and there are only 2 games where Wabash's FG% varies by more than 5% from their opponents season-long pct - one higher (first Franklin game) and one lower (DePauw).  I compared that to Wooster where 8 of the 16 games I could compare (Cincy Christian doesn't have stats posted) and 8 of their games had a variance of over 5 pct (5 higher, 3 lower).

Not really sure what conclusions can be drawn.  But I would say that the perceived cold shooting of Wabash is more a product of who they have been playing rather than their own offense.  Whereas Wooster seems to be more able to control their shooting pct rather than let the defense dictate their efficiency.

I think it's the in-game streakiness of certain players, and the disappointing shooting of Sutherlin in losses. It was expected that AJ really be one that could hit the long jumpers with more regularity.

Wabash has a tendency, I think, to bundle together possessions where they don't finish inside and then miss a 3-pointer, and that leads to the perception.

But...if they shoot better against Witt and Wooster they're undefeated.

And if wishes were horses...rides would be free.

[ScotsFan]

Could it possibly be the defense played by Witt and Woo that contributed to Wabash's cold shooting in those two games?  I mean, Wooster is 4th in the nation if fg percentage defense.

[wooscotsfan]

Here is the Team Stats comparison for Wooster and Wittenberg:

Wooster 17-0  8-0 NCAC
Offensive Field Goals 48.0%
Defensive Field Goals 37.0%
3 Point Shooting 41.2%
Free Throw Shooting 76.1%
Rebound Margin Per Game:  +10.6
Assists to Turnovers Ratio:  1.24
Scoring Margin Per Game:  +17.1 points

Wittenberg 12-4  7-0 NCAC
Offensive Field Goals 45.8%
Defensive Field Goals 42.9%
3 Point Shooting 36.8%
Free Throw Shooting 68.4%
Rebound Margin Per Game:  +5.7
Assists to Turnovers Ratio:  0.90
Scoring Margin Per Game:  +4.8 points

Stats edge to Wooster but rivalry games are played on hardwood, not paper!

[smedindy]

Could it possibly be the defense played by Witt and Woo that contributed to Wabash's cold shooting in those two games?  I mean, Wooster is 4th in the nation if fg percentage defense.

That's true as well - it all adds together in the end.

[wooscotsfan]

Wooster Probable Starters
6'4"  Ian Franks SR  17.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.4 apg
6'1"  Nathan Balch SR  12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 48.6% three pointers
6'7"  Justin Hallowell JR  12.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.0 apg
6'1"  Matt Fegan JR  8.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 44.3% three pointers
6'5"  Bryan Wickliffe SR  8.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg

Wooster Key Reserves
6'7"  Josh Claytor SO  4.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg
6'8"  Jake Mays SO  4.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg
6'2"  Justin Warnes JR  3.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg
6'0"  Ryan Snyder FR  3.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg

Wittenberg Probable Starters
6'7"  Clayton Black JR  16.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg
5'9"  Chris Sullivan SR  16.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 40.0% three pointers
6'7"  Alex Brandt JR  7.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
6'4"  Michael Cooper JR  5.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.5 apg
6'0"  Steven Newell FR  5.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Wittenberg Key Reserves
6'2"  Cameron Walton SO  8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 47.4% three pointers
6'2"  Seth Hill SR  4.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
6'6"  Jacob Weide JR  3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
6'4"  Scott Masin FR 2.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg

Wooster has more scoring balance; Black & Sullivan provide over 45% of Witt's offense, Walton big off the bench