MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Ok, Lou Holtz! 

[smedindy]

Tomorrow the middle will either get more or less muddled. Since it's the NCAC in 2013, expect the former.

Wooster (11-0, 18-2) @ Wabash (4-7, 6-14) - Wooster is Public Enemy #3 in the eyes of Wabash fans, and the trip there is never 'fun' for the Scots. This season it looks to be a bit more fun as the Little Giants are coming off of a big win that may have sapped them a bit emotionally. However, Wabash will be looking to put a "1" on the loss column for the Scots and the fan base will be raucous and ready for them. Put away the knitting and cheer!

Oberlin (3-8, 5-15) @ Ohio Wesleyan (8-3, 15-4) - The Bishops are probably a big favorite here, but the Yeomen have been sneaky close in many games and the Bishops at times play down to their level of competition. The win over Wittenberg was a big boost, no doubt, for OWU's confidence and a big win over Oberlin could mean a solid #2 seed for the Bishops later this month.

Wittenberg (6-5, 13-7) @ Allegheny (3-8, 9-11) - Ah, what to make of the Old Tigers? Gone is the heady optimism of November and December. In is the harsh reality of a potential .500 conference season and a road trip in the first round of the tournament if they don't get their act together. Allegheny's stumbled a bit, but they'll play hard and compete with Wittenberg. Who knows what can happen here.

DePauw (6-5, 13-7) @ Kenyon (5-6, 11-9) - The rivalry loss to Wabash was a killer for the New Tigers. They lost a chance to put themselves in third place, and now they're going to be scrambling to stay over .500. The Lords beat DPU in Greendingle earlier this season, so they'll have confidence and a little momentum on their side. This is a very important game for seeding and hosting purposes.

Denison (5-6, 7-13) @ Hiram (4-7, 10-10) - Hiram's cratering right now, having lost three straight (including two quite winnable games). Is a visit from the Big Red the tonic they need? Well, um...no. Despite getting crushed by Wooster on Wednesday, Denison's on a much better path than they were around the first of the year. A loss by the Terriers will send them into a dangerous place of potential relegation from the conference tourney, so they need this win.

[wooscotsfan]

I watched this one for about the first 10 minutes on the internet then had to leave the house. A very impressive start by the Scot's. They were very focused on both ends of the court.

Congratulations to coach Steve Moore on his 700th career win. The consistency of his accomplishment can be reflected on the list below:

First 100:    Feb  13, 1988  CWRU           100-74 (includes Muhlenberg)
2nd  100:    Jan  20, 1993  Denison         100-29
3rd   100:    Nov 29, 1997 Mount Union   100-27
4th   100:    Dec  8, 2001 Kenyon           100-17
5th   100:    Nov 18, 2005 Kalamazoo      100-17 (includes first Final Four)
6th   100:    Mar  6, 2009 Gettyburg        100-20 (tournament win, includes second Final Four)
7th   100:    Jan 30, 2013 Denison           100-17 (includes third Final Four)

Those last four sets are just about as consistent as can be...


In addition, for the 11th straight season we have a senior class with 100 wins (100-16)

Congratulation to Wooster Coach Steve Moore on his 700th career win!   It was also nice to see that he was interviewed on Hoopsville and recognized for this accomplishment.

[wooscotsfan]

At the Half:  Wooster 27  Wabash 17

Wooster is being led by Doug Thorpe with 8 points, Jake Mays with 6 and Jalen Goodwin with 6.

Top scorers for Wabash are Ross Sponsler with 6 points and Andy Walsh with 3 points.

[DadofBashWarrior..]

I watched this one for about the first 10 minutes on the internet then had to leave the house. A very impressive start by the Scot's. They were very focused on both ends of the court.

Congratulations to coach Steve Moore on his 700th career win. The consistency of his accomplishment can be reflected on the list below:

First 100:    Feb  13, 1988  CWRU           100-74 (includes Muhlenberg)
2nd  100:    Jan  20, 1993  Denison         100-29
3rd   100:    Nov 29, 1997 Mount Union   100-27
4th   100:    Dec  8, 2001 Kenyon           100-17
5th   100:    Nov 18, 2005 Kalamazoo      100-17 (includes first Final Four)
6th   100:    Mar  6, 2009 Gettyburg        100-20 (tournament win, includes second Final Four)
7th   100:    Jan 30, 2013 Denison           100-17 (includes third Final Four)

Those last four sets are just about as consistent as can be...


In addition, for the 11th straight season we have a senior class with 100 wins (100-16)

Extremely impressive.

Congratulation to Wooster Coach Steve Moore on his 700th career win!   It was also nice to see that he was interviewed on Hoopsville and recognized for this accomplishment.

[smedindy]

Wittenberg beat Allegheny 81-64.

However, our attention is somewhere else! 

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Wabash 55  Wooster 48

Congratulations to the Little Giants on a big upset!

Wooster was led by Jake Mays with 10 points and Jalen Goodwin with 9 points.

Ross Sponsler led Wabash with 20 points and Andy Walsh had 7 points.

Wooster lost this game by shooting only 32% and having 15 turnovers.

Wooster is now 18-3, 11-1 NCAC.  Next game is Ohio Wesleyan at home on 2/6

GO SCOTS!

[kiltedbryan]

Credit Wabash with pretty good defense throughout, but man, Wooster looked just simply terrible against the zone. Didn't seem like they ever had a workable game plan to counteract it. Obviously making a couple more of their open looks at 3s would've helped, but the ball movement was simply lackluster throughout and made it too easy for Wabash to force Wooster into 1) the shots 'Bash wanted Wooster to be taking, and 2) the pace of play that Wabash wanted.

Also, awaiting obligatory WoosterBooster post about how the officiating lost the game for the Scots (it didn't).  

[smedindy]

Wow! Huge, impressive win for Wabash. They had to win with defense, and things were looking rough early on, but Wabash put on a defensive clinic and held Wooster to 31.9% shooting.

Sure, it wasn't pretty, but anyone who say the Wabash / DPU game Wednesday at Chadwick knew how this game was going to be. What's even more surprising is that Wooster was up 15-2 at one point in the first half.

[smedindy]

Also, awaiting obligatory WoosterBooster post about how the officiating lost the game for the Scots (it didn't).

HAH!

You can't complain about a slog when you allow the game to become a slog.

[kiltedbryan]

Also, awaiting obligatory WoosterBooster post about how the officiating lost the game for the Scots (it didn't).

HAH!

You can't complain about a slog when you allow the game to become a slog.

Honestly, I didn't think it looked too much like a slog from a physical contact perspective - there was definitely more contact in the second half overall, but to me the "sloggiest" parts of the game was just in the overall pace that it was played at - both teams working pretty deep into the shot clock, not too much offensive flow from either side. Even when the Scots were establishing the 15-2 lead, they didn't really look *good* on offense - I mean they had like 15 points but 8 turnovers(!) in those first 8 or 9 minutes!

[smedindy]

For the most part, that's what I meant. The pace was definitely what Wabash wanted. That's what they did against DPU Wednesday as well - take the rhythm out of the game and make it a half-court battle. With that, you're going to have physical play inside if you can't hit the outside shots.

[smedindy]

OWU seems to be taking care of business against Oberlin.

Meanwhile, Kenyon is making life hard for the New Tigers. The Lords lead DPU 42-33 with 11:40 to go.

And as soon as I flip on the video, it's now 42-39, just like that...

[goscots]

The Scots final stretch is no easy schedule:
at Wabash
Ohio Wesleyan
Wittenberg
at Allegheny
at DePauw

Considering that three two of those opponenets defeated Wooster last year and OWU is second in the standings.... 12-4 is not unbelievable.

[smedindy]

Kenyon now up by 11 with 5:11 to go. More muddle...

DPU now cuts it to four with under three to play.