MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[fantastic50]

Okay, but Hampden-Sydney is unofficially 7th in their region...
http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/2010-2011-d3-mens-regional-rankings.html

Also, I'm not concluding that Wooster is necessarily #1 in their 8-team group just because of placement as the first team listed.  St. Thomas and Williams appear to be clear #1 seeds in their groups, but aren't listed first in the bracket.  I'm really not sure who would host a 3rd round Wooster/OWU rematch...

[kiltedbryan]

Okay, but Hampden-Sydney is unofficially 7th in their region...
http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/2010-2011-d3-mens-regional-rankings.html

Also, I'm not concluding that Wooster is necessarily #1 in their 8-team group just because of placement as the first team listed.  St. Thomas and Williams appear to be clear #1 seeds in their groups, but aren't listed first in the bracket.  I'm really not sure who would host a 3rd round Wooster/OWU rematch...

But, Hampden-Sydney was #2 last week in the actual NCAA regional rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

Since those rankings they had a win and a loss, so obviously they may have moved - but maybe not, as well. I really don't know the teams in the South well at all, and didn't follow the conference tourneys down there, so not sure how H-S may have moved in the final, unseen, NCAA rankings.

And I agree that trying to read the tea leaves of bracket placement is a frustrating science, at best.

[ohiofan1954]

this should make for a fun day at ohio wesleyan saturday. Lacrosse in the afternoon(hampton-sydney as a matter of fact) and basketball that evening.

[fantastic50]

And I agree that trying to read the tea leaves of bracket placement is a frustrating science, at best.

100% agreed!  Having actual seeds would be nice, particularly this year, when the lack of four-team pods doesn't lead to weird hosting situations (like when national #1 Whitworth had to travel to Wooster). 

In March, every opponent is one that's capable of ending your season, so I guess we'll just take it one week at a time.

[algernon]

Okay, but Hampden-Sydney is unofficially 7th in their region...
http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/2010-2011-d3-mens-regional-rankings.html

The site you cite ...  ... is not only unofficial, but has no real relationship to the NCAA rankings or tournament "seeding". 

Last NCAA South ranking:
1 Virginia Wesleyan    16-5    19-6
2 Hampden-Sydney    18-3    22-3
3 Mary Hardin-Baylor    21-4    21-4
4 Christopher Newport 17-5    18-5
5 Emory                       17-6    17-6
6 Concordia (Texas)   18-4    20-5
7 Texas-Dallas              19-6    19-6
8 Randolph                  14-5    20-5

My own bet on the final ranking used by the NCAA:
1 Virginia Wesleyan    18-6    21-7  (Lost ODAC final to Randolph-Macon.  Pool C)
2 Hampden-Sydney    19-4    23-4   (Lost ODAC semifinal to Randolph-Macon.  Pool C)
3 Mary Hardin-Baylor  23-5    23-5  (Lost ASC final to Concordia-TX.  Pool C)
4 Concordia (Texas)   21-4   23-5   (Won ASC title, defeating Mary Hardin-Baylor)
5 Emory                     17-6    17-6   (Won 2 games, including a win over Rochester.  No UAA tourney.  Pool C)
6 Christophr Newport 20-5    21-5  (Won USA South title against weak competition)
7 Randolph-Macon     18-9   19-9  (Won ODAC title, defeating Guilford, Hampden-Sydney, and Virginia Wesleyan)
8 Randolph                14-5    20-5  (Defeated Lynchburg, but lost semifinal to Virginia Wesleyan.  Pool C)

It's certainly not altogether clear, but it appears that Wooster gets 2 home games, and possibly a third.

I'm really unclear about who would host an Ohio Wesleyan / Hampden-Sydney 2nd round game.  And I'm also unclear whether either of these teams might host a 3rd round game against Wooster.

[seinfeld]

A very good draw for Wooster, all things considered. But it doesn't really matter if they don't start to shoot better. The defense has been there all year, and it should keep Wooster in every game. But unless guys start knocking down shots, a long run seems very unlikely to me.

Over the last month (8 games) Wooster has shot just 43.4% from the field and 31.5% from three-point range. The areas they struggled with earlier in the year (free-throw shooting and turnovers) is actually better now than at any point in the season, so that is something to hang your hat on.

I know coach Moore has cited shot selection and patience as issues in some of their recent losses, and no doubt that is part of it. But to me, it's simply a matter of guys  just making shots they are capable of (or seem capable of making based on talent). When Marshall Morris takes five three-pointers in one game, you can say that's a lack of patience and poor shot selection. Except he makes four of them. Wooster took plenty of shots quickly during it's 11-game win streak, they just made them. You can be as patient as you want, but when guys simply miss shots they need to make, you don't look very good.

To me, three guys hold the key to any kind of run -- Mays, LaLonde and Brown. At some point, Mays has to decide if he wants to be the dominant player his talent says he should be. Something has to make him play angry. The number of easy shots he misses because he doesn't attack the rim is becoming a real problem. For LaLonde, it's a matter of finding the stroke that made him a Div. I recruit. He was a scorer in high school, with excellent three-point range. Now he simply can't make a shot unless it's a layup or a dunk. He is playing much better defense than I think anyone expected, but his "potential" shooting from the outside can really help break the zone Wooster has been seeing.

As for Brown, he has done much better with cutting down on his turnovers and having better shot selection than he did last year. He just isn't making shots. In the offseason he needs to work on shooting the ball with his fingertips more. The ball gets too far down in his hand. He has a nice release and squares his shoulders well. He should be a better shooter. Another thing I've noticed in comparison to how he started last year (and this year as well), is that he doesn't get deep enough into the shooting area. He needs to get a few feet closer when he makes his one-on-one moves. He can get by people, he just needs to get in closer. If nothing else it would draw the defense to him, allow him to dump the ball down to Mays to make those easy layups we just talked about

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

FYI - from what I have learned about the final regional rankings... Wooster was #1... Hampden-Sydney was 5.

[Gregory Sager]

In unofficial final national rankings, based on a formula intended to mirror the selection criteria, Wooster and OWU are both in the top 15 nationally, while Hampden-Sydney is #50.  With that in mind, I see the two NCAC teams as the top two seeds in this group of 8, in some order, with Hampden-Sydney and Dickinson below them.  I think that both get two home games, provided they advance.

Yes I agree with you on the relative rankings nationally; but I'm not sure the committee looks at it this way - my sense has always been more that the committee looks at each regional ranking relatively equally - e.g. GL #1 = South #1, GL #2 = South #2, and doesn't rank all teams nationally to then decide seeding.

In other words, it feels like the bracket is seeded more as "OK, Wooster is GL#1, then OWU and Hampden-Sydney are both regional #2s" (as a example; not sure if H-S would've been South #2 in the final rankings). And that the bracket is not seeded as "Wooster and OWU overall rank in the Top 15, H-S ranks in the Top 50, so thus Woo-OWU-Hampden."

Could be totally off, but I seem to remember feeling this way back when Wooster got sent to St. John Fisher the one year - I think they both ended up as Regional #1s coming into the tournament (or maybe Woo was even the GL#2), so the committee saw them as roughly equal even though I remember thinking that Wooster looked like they were clearly higher "nationally."

Based upon what Mike DeWitt said on Hoopsville yesterday, I don't think that your read is necessarily going to be accurate. The odd format created by the extended tournament schedule is going to allow the committee to re-evaluate after the first round in order to assign hosting privileges for the second round, and they may or may not add in the first-round games to the extant statistical profiles of the teams in question. In other words, it's a whole new ballgame as far as seeding is concerned from the way that it was done in the past when the tournament was on a 2-2-2 basis over three weekends.

[wabashsid]

Just a quick note for everyone. Pat Coleman will receive the Jake Wade Award from the College Sports Information Directors of America this June at the organization's annual convention in Orlando, Florida. The award is presented to a member of the media for their significant contributions in the field of intercollegiate athletics. A well-deserved award for the outstanding work Pat provides in the coverage of Division III student-athletes. I will be pleased to be able to congratulate him in person later this year, but thought I would pass this along. You can read more about the award here:

http://www.cosida.com/news.aspx?id=3977

[wooscotsfan]

Congratulations to OWU Senior Guard Andy Winters on being named the NCAC Player of the Year!

NCAC First Team:
Xavier Brown - Wooster (So.)
Barry Flynn - DePauw (Sr.)
Dimonde Hale - Denison (Sr.)
Scott Masin - Wittenberg (Jr.)
Ikenna Nwadibia - Kenyon (Jr.)
Doug Thorpe - Wooster (Jr.)
Andy Winters - Ohio Wesleyan (Sr.)

Second Team:
Andrew Fox - Oberlin (Sr.)
Alex Longi - Denison (Jr.)
Devone McLeod - Allegheny (Sr.)
Taylor Rieger - Ohio Wesleyan (Jr.)
Alan Sheppard - Hiram (Sr.)
Ross Sponsler - Wabash (Fr.)
Aaron Stefanov - Hiram (Jr.)

Honorable Mention:
Josh Claytor - Wooster (Sr.)
Kenny DeBoer - Wooster (So.)
Zack Leahy - Wittenberg (Jr.)
Brian Lebowitz - Kenyon (Jr.)
Marshall Morris - Ohio Wesleyan (Sr.)

Newcomer of the Year: Ross Sponsler, Wabash
Coach of the Year: Dan Priest, Kenyon

[wooscotsfan]

Penn State Behrend Profile

20-8 Record, Won the AMCC conference tournament and NCAA automatic bid

Common Opponents with Wooster (2):  PSB beat John Carroll by 2 points and Wooster beat them by 14.  PSB beat Carnegie Mellon by 13 points and Wooster beat them by 12.

PSB Starters:
6'9" Russ Conley Sr.  19.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 61% FG, 79% FT
6'0" Nick DeLisio So.  11.7 ppg, 3.3 apg, 41% on three pointers, 82% FT
6'0" Keith Wallace So.  7.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 47% FG, 62% FT
6'2" Pat St. Andrews Sr.  5.1 ppg, 2.5 apg, 33% on three pointers
6'2" Adam Palcic Sr.   5.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 51% FG, 70% FT

Key Reserves:
6'9" Shane Skelly Jr.  6.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 52% FG, 80% FT
5'11" Casey Courneen Jr.  6.0 ppg, 48% FG, 44% on three pointers, 75% FT
6'6" Mike Knoll Fr.  1.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg
6'7" Chris Dudzenski So.  1.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg

Obviously, slowing down 6'9" Russ Conley and their guard Nick DeLisio will be key for Wooster to get the win.  Facing two guys that are 6'9", Wooster needs to keep Mays and Claytor out of foul trouble and on the floor.  It will be interesting to see if either Kenny DeBoer (knee issue) or Jalen Goodwin (hand issue) get any playing minutes tonight?

GO SCOTS!

[ScotsFan]

Wooster's up at the break 37-25.   

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Wooster 62  Penn State Behrend 44 

Wooster cruises to a comfortable win by going on a 7-0 run to start the second half that was punctuated by a Evan Pannell alley oop dunk that forced a PSB timeout.  Xavier Brown led Wooster with 17 points (3 three pointers) while Doug Thorpe added 10 points (3 three pointers) and Kenny DeBoer also looked good with 10 points.

Wooster next faces Dickinson which registerd a home win vs. Marietta tonight by a 80-65 score.

GO SCOTS!

[wooscotsfan]

Final: Ohio Wesleyan 84  St. Vincent (PA) 75 

Good night for the NCAC as the Bishops also get a first round win knocking off St. Francis.  Andy Winters led OWU with 21 points while Taylor Rieger had 16 points and Reuel Rogers added 10.

Ohio Wesleyan next faces Cabrini which pulled an upset win over Hampden Sydney tonight.

[kiltedbryan]

Final: Ohio Wesleyan 84  St. Vincent (PA) 75 

Good night for the NCAC as the Bishops also get a first round win knocking off St. Francis.  Andy Winters led OWU with 21 points while Taylor Rieger had 16 points and Reuel Rogers added 10.

Ohio Wesleyan next faces Cabrini which pulled an upset win over Hampden Sydney tonight.

I believe NCAC teams are 13-5 in their last 18 NCAA tournament games (2011, 2012 and 2013 tournament to-date).

Also the third straight year that multiple NCAC teams have won an NCAA tournament game.

Not too shabby for the conference.