MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ohiofan1954]

big games for the big red this week. Would love to see them sweep. That Ohio Wesleyan game should be a good one. Is there a more Jackel and Hyde team this year then the big red though? Go Big Red.

[David Collinge]

DePauw has beaten Wooster and Wabash and lost to Oberlin; tough to be much more Jekyll-Hydian than that.

[woosterbooster]

When discussing missed free throws, it's important to remember that when the front end of a 1-and-1 is missed, so is a two-point scoring opportunity, even though that never-taken second shot isn't in the stats.  This has happened numerous times to Wooster this season, and it's cost them big time.

[fantastic50]

Matt Snyder's latest update has Wooster still solidly in (as the #8 Pool C team overall, and the first one in the GL region), Wabash as one of the last teams in, and OWU as one of the first teams out.  As others have said, the loser of Wabash-OWU may have to win the conference tournament to get in, while the winner would have a decent shot at a Pool C.

[ohiofan1954]

dave, sorry for not following the ncac as close this year as the past. Work hasn't allowed me to know all the goings on or too watch as many games as in the past.. Losing too Oberlin, ouch. As for missed free throws I have noticed this year that the problem has crept down in division. It used to be that only in d1 did you consistently see poor free throw shooting. My Ohio Bobcats are a prime example of mastering the fine art of not just missing the shot but the entire basket. However it is amazing just how many teams now are having similar problems in d3. I know this is a ncac board but if you were too catch Otterbein games they have had a terrible  problem shooting ft's. The two losses to Capital were caused directly by their inability to make them. I am surprised their %'s especially those of  Chris Davis are as high as they are. This used to be a problem with d1 I used to write off because nobody bothered practicing anything but dunks there. Unfortunately that is no longer true.

[David Collinge]

New poll:
Wooster takes a hard fall to #22
Wittenberg gets a small boost up to #21
Wabash gain a few to 4 votes
OWU is AWOL

DePauw maintains a solid #4; the three ahead of them refuse to lose.

[smedindy]

There's some good games on tap tomorrow:

Oberlin (2-12, 7-16) @ Hiram (6-8, 13-10) - Well, I'm not totally writing off the Yeomen again after they upset DePauw last week but they are facing a Hiram squad that needs the win. The Terriers have been mercurial lately and need a win to gear up for the tourney and hopefully be in the conversation for the five or six seed.

Kenyon (4-10, 10-13) @ Denison (8-6, 11-12) - The Big Red have really charged up their fans of late and can sneak away with a four seed if OWU co-operates (by losing). The Lords' performance on Saturday was dismal, really, and they could be in danger of missing the tourney. Denison probably takes care of business, but they'll need to contain Brian Liebowitz much like Wabash did Saturday.

Allegheny (3-11, 5-18) @ Wooster (10-4, 19-4) - Normally I would pretty much write off this game as a win for the Scots, but then there was the Oberlin / DPU game which taught me a big time lesson. Never write off ANY team, especially in this year's NCAC. Realistically, though, unless the Scots are still mourning their loss on Saturday (with ashes and sackcloth perhaps and three of their closest friends to say how bad they screwed up), they should come away with the win.

Wittenberg (12-2, 18-5) @ DePauw (7-7, 13-10) - Just a couple weeks earlier, this had the hallmarks of a very important contest in the top of the NCAC. Now it's a trap game for the Old Tigers after their big win, and the New Tigers need a win or they may have trouble hanging on to the #6 seed much less trying for the #5. What a difference a couple of weeks makes.

Ohio Wesleyan (9-5, 17-6) @ Wabash (9-5, 17-6) - The game of the week in the NCAC. This probably decides the #3 seed and the loser will have to fight off Denison for the #4. Wabash has found another offensive threat in Andy Walsh off the bench and that's given the Little Giants a spark. Ohio Wesleyan needs a good game from Tim Brady and needs a good all-around defensive game.

[ScotsFan]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but if DU wins and OWU loses, who holds the tie-breaker for that 4 seed? 

With the addition of DePauw to the conference this season, who would have thought Denison would be competing for a 4 seed in the NCAC tournament? 

[smedindy]

OWU swept DPU so they have the tiebreaker.

[ScotsFan]

OWU swept DPU so they have the tiebreaker.

Sorry for the mixup but my DU was for Denison University, not DePauw University. 

I see that Denison and OWU play in the final game of the season in Delaware and that game could be for the four seed.  If both DU and OWU win on Wednesday and DU happens to beat OWU on Saturday, then I believe the 4 seed would go to a tie-breaker and I don't know who would come out on top of that given that DU and OWU would have split their head to head match-ups.  If OWU loses their last 2 games and DU wins out, DU is the 4 seed...  I think. 

[smedindy]

My bad, I think DePauw every time I see DU.

But it would be a three way tie if OWU beats Wabash, Wabash beats Oberlin and Denison wins out.

Here's the tie breaker as Derek posted earlier:

1. Head-to-Head competition (NCAC contests only – no restrictions regarding number of games and sites).
2. Combined win-loss record with all teams above tied teams (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
3. Record versus individual opponents examined in descending order of standings (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
4. Coin toss.

In a three way tie, Wabash would lose tiebreaker #1 in that scenario since they'd be 1-3 head to head (OWU would have swept Wabash if they win Wednesday)

Going to #2, it's record vs. Wooster and Witt. Denison 0-2, OWU 0-4. No matter how you slice it, it's the same.

Going to #3 - going in reverse, both teams beat Gheny and Oberlin. OWU played Kenyon just once, at home. The 'like game' is Wednesday, so the Denison loss at Kenyon is thrown out. Both Denison and OWU swept Hiram. The tiebreaker is broken by DPU. OWU swept DPU while Denison went 1-1.

Then I believe Denison and Wabash would be paired up, and Wabash's win over Witt trumps Denison.

So if it's a three-way tie, OWU is #3, Wabash #4, Denison #5.

Denison should root for a Wabash win over OWU to set up the showdown (providing it beats Kenyon).

Please, correct me if I'm wrong...

[ScotsFan]

My bad, I think DePauw every time I see DU.

But it would be a three way tie if OWU beats Wabash, Wabash beats Oberlin and Denison wins out.

Here's the tie breaker as Derek posted earlier:

1. Head-to-Head competition (NCAC contests only – no restrictions regarding number of games and sites).
2. Combined win-loss record with all teams above tied teams (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
3. Record versus individual opponents examined in descending order of standings (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
4. Coin toss.

In a three way tie, Wabash would lose tiebreaker #1 in that scenario since they'd be 1-3 head to head (OWU would have swept Wabash if they win Wednesday)

Going to #2, it's record vs. Wooster and Witt. Denison 0-2, OWU 0-4. No matter how you slice it, it's the same.

Going to #3 - going in reverse, both teams beat Gheny and Oberlin. OWU played Kenyon just once, at home. The 'like game' is Wednesday, so the Denison loss at Kenyon is thrown out. Both Denison and OWU swept Hiram. The tiebreaker is broken by DPU. OWU swept DPU while Denison went 1-1.

Then I believe Denison and Wabash would be paired up, and Wabash's win over Witt trumps Denison.

So if it's a three-way tie, OWU is #3, Wabash #4, Denison #5.

Denison should root for a Wabash win over OWU to set up the showdown (providing it beats Kenyon).

Please, correct me if I'm wrong...

Thanks for figuring all that out.  Just reading it gives me a headache so I can imagine what trying to figure it all out would have done... 

I had a feeling that a 3-way tie for 3rd was possible...

[smedindy]

I am wrong.

Wabash gets eliminated first in the three way tie scenario, but DENISON would have swept OWU and beaten Wabash once, thus a 3-1 record. Wabash would be 1-3 and OWU 2-2.

Then it would be an OWU / Wabash face-off four #4 and #5. And then I think Wabash wins the #4 based on their win over Witt. No, idiot, OWU wins that because of the season series sweep.

Hat tip to Wally Wabash on that.

[smedindy]

OWU leads Wabash at the half 32-22. Wabash shooting poorly and losing the battle on the boards.

[wooscotsfan]

At the Half:  Wooster 43  Allegheny 35

Wooster started slow again, trailed by 8 points early, and then rallied to take the lead.  Wooster is being led by Justin Hallowell with 14 points (4 three pointers), Doug Thorpe with 11 (3 three pointers) and Josh Claytor with 8.

Allegheny is being led by James Ness with 10 points and Devone McLeod with 10 points.

Scots made 8 of 13 three point shots in the half while the Gators were 4 of 12 from behind the arc.