MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[bufordscot]

Let the games begin.  Go SCOTS

[wallyworld12]

I had the opportunity to see Wabash play against Franklin last Friday night. Some of my observations, after a long Monon Bell weekend:

1. As Smed mentioned above, the Little Giants are young. Very young. They started two freshmen, Kyle Aiton and Gary Ulrich, a pair of guards from Castle and Rockville, Indiana. Aiton and Ulrich are pretty good players, but Wabash looked guard-heavy, especially against a Franklin team that was small. Which brings me to my second point...

2. Why not spend more time pounding the ball inside? Nicksic had 20, which was great, but they should have spent more time in the post, especially late in the game, when their tallest player on the floor was 6' 2".

3. Franklin had some kids hit some big shots late, and it seemed like 3s were falling all night. They will be an interesting team to watch in the HCAC.

4. Wabash will definitely benefit from the returns of Hodges and Walsh. Wabash is in action next on Saturday against Albion. A good, early season test to see if Wabash learned any lessons from the OT loss to Franklin.

Finally, a big congrats to DePauw for knocking off the #6 ranked North Central Cardinals! Game story here: http://www.depauw.edu/athletics/mens/basketball/news/details/30505/

Hey Smed, lets get those non-conferences records updated 

[fantastic50]

I took in most of Wooster's alumni game on Friday night.  The "Old Scots" included several key players from the 2007 and 2011 final four teams (Franks, Hallowell, Port, etc.)  The current Scots rotated quite a few players in, and still pulled away after the intermission (and were leading by 20 when I left midway through the second half); sometimes this happens in alumni games due to (lack of) conditioning, but there were 13 former Scots playing, so I don't think that was the major cause. 

Backcourt leaders Doug Thorpe and Xavier Brown struggled a bit in the first half, but started really clicking after the break.  Senior guard Scott Purcell hit several 3's, so he might get in more off the bench, despite the team's clear depth at guard (Pannell, Goodwin, FuQuay).  The sophomores are coming along well, with forward DeVaughn Wingard continuing to improve, and a couple of interior players (McCorkle and Kipfer) also getting better.  While a lot will be asked of senior forward Kenny DoBoer, I was very impressed by the post play of freshman Dan Fannelly, who found ways to score against bigger, stronger defenders; he seems likely to make an immediate impact.  Despite the season-ending injury to sophomore guard Alex LaLonde (who was a key player down the stretch last year, after transferring in from USAFA), this team appears to be ten or twelve players deep.

Interior depth and teamwork seem likely to get tested right away, against OAC favorite Baldwin-Wallace on Friday night, with the winner probably facing #5 Wheaton on Saturday.  This will be the first Al Van Wie Rotary Classic since the passing of its namesake former coach.  Game time is 8:00 on Friday for the Scots, and I heard (but haven't confirmed) that Saturday's games will be at 4 and 6, perhaps so that the out-of-state teams can get on the road a bit earlier?

[Gregory Sager]

Finally, a big congrats to DePauw for knocking off the #6 ranked North Central Cardinals! Game story here: http://www.depauw.edu/athletics/mens/basketball/news/details/30505/

There's less to that win than meets the eye.

[Urban For Prez]

Wittenberg went 1-1 in Illinois over the weekend. The Tigers beat UW-River Falls 69-62 Friday night after leading for the majority of the game. Four players were in double figures led by Leahy (16 points, but on 3-10 shooting) and freshman Brock Kiesler (13 points, 8 rebounds).  The Tigers then fell to #5 Wheaton in OT the following night 73-62. Newell and Masin led the team with 14 and 13 points respectively. Nice to hang in with a nationally ranked team, but disappointing that the Tigers couldn't pull out the win on Wheaton's court. The Tigers went only 2-8 from the field and 0-6 from the 3 in OT. Masin and Leahy were voted to the All-Tournament Team.

Leahy and Newell both played 30+ minutes each night, and Collins was close. First games of the season, so it may not mean much, but it doesn't look like there is much depth beyond Fultz and Kiesler on this team. Witt takes the floor against Cap on Wednesday. Witt has won the last two years. Former Wittenberg assistant coach and Kenyon head coach Matt Croce is now with Capital.

[kiltedbryan]

Finally, a big congrats to DePauw for knocking off the #6 ranked North Central Cardinals! Game story here: http://www.depauw.edu/athletics/mens/basketball/news/details/30505/

There's less to that win than meets the eye.

Greg - could you elaborate? Does NCC have injury issues? Or do you see them as overrated at #6 in the preseason poll? Or maybe just because it's game #2, weird results happen as teams shake off the rust?

[Gregory Sager]

Finally, a big congrats to DePauw for knocking off the #6 ranked North Central Cardinals! Game story here: http://www.depauw.edu/athletics/mens/basketball/news/details/30505/

There's less to that win than meets the eye.

Greg - could you elaborate? Does NCC have injury issues? Or do you see them as overrated at #6 in the preseason poll? Or maybe just because it's game #2, weird results happen as teams shake off the rust?

This.

NCC lost fourth-team All-American Derek Raridon and the team's most versatile player, two-time All-CCIW selection Aaron Tiknis, to graduation. They also lost one of their three reserves from last year's eight-man rotation, Charlie Rosenberg. The Cards still have first-team All-American Landon Gamble and a very solid and experienced shooting guard in Vince Kmiec, but they lost far too much -- in every phase of the game, not just scoring -- with the departure of Raridon and Tiknis to be considered anywhere close to #6.

They probably should've appeared in the Others Receiving Votes category, which seems about right for them. I think that the Cards will be OK this year, but they won't come within a country mile of being a Final Four team again. Most everybody who follows the CCIW sees NCC as a middle-of-the-pack team this season.

[smedindy]

This is why I hate pre-season polls. No offense, Pat.

[Gregory Sager]

In all fairness, having seen St. Norbert on Saturday night, I'd say that the pollsters got that particular preseason pick (#24) just right.

Sometimes they're spot-on, or at least somewhere in the ballpark, with preseason picks. But, yeah, the NCC pick was an absolute head-scratcher.

[woosterbooster]

More importantly, North Central lost assistant coach Ian Franks, who has returned home to the familiar black and gold.  Rumor has it that he has a year of eligibility left.

[wallyworld12]

Those dreaded early season rankings...I can remember when Wabash knocked off 4th ranked Randolph-Macon a couple of years ago, and, while that Wabash team was good, I also think it was a stretch to believe that RMC was the 4th best team in the country. Methinks early season rankings are based a lot on pedigree.

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Wooster 77  Oberlin 58   

Wooster gets its opening win of the season on the road at Oberlin.  Scots were led in scoring tonight by DeVaughn Wingard with 18 points (4 three pointers), Doug Thorpe with 14 points, Josh Kipfer with 11 points and freshman Dan Fanelly also with 11 points.  Starters in this game for Wooster were Doug Thorpe, Xavier Brown, Scott Purcell, Kenny DeBoer and freshman Dan Fanelly.

Next game for Wooster is at home on Friday night vs. Baldwin Wallace in the Al Van Wie Tourney.

GO SCOTS!

[kiltedbryan]

Some observations based solely on the box score of Oberlin - Wooster (e.g., advance disclaimer that I didn't see the game at all)

1. The Scots didn't shoot all that well. Less than 42% overall and 35% from 3pt land. Oberlin actually out-shot the Scots, at 44.4%, even while shooting a terrible 22% from 3pt. I'm guessing a blend of early season rust + some decent perimeter defense both ways contributed.

2. Compensating for the mediocre shooting was the Scots 20 extra shot attempts - predominately, it appears, the result of a +15 turnover margin. That's fantastic - a great early indicator for the Scots of both defensive quickness (15 steals) + excellent ball control.

3. The Scots had 37 bench points...Oberlin had 9. That depth is going to be a huge strength for the Scots. Also, while I realize the game wasn't in question for most of the second half, it does appear that Moore is planning on a 9-man rotation with 9 guys getting 15+ minutes tonight.

4. Great game from DeVaughn Wingard for Woo with the 18 pts in 15 minutes.

[woosterbooster]

Wooster was outrebounded by Oberlin, 35-34.  However, the disparity in shots had something to do with that.  Wooster had 11 ORBs compared to Oberlin's 30 DRBs.  So, the Scots pulled down 27% of the rebounds at that end of the court.  On the other hand, Oberlin had only 5 ORBs against Wooster's 23 DRBs.  Oberlin grabbed only 18% of the rebounds at the Scots' defensive end.

I know that NCAA women's games are going to be called a lot tighter this season.  Both on the perimeter and when the offensive player is driving.  Defenders will be allowed one light touch to measure up; a second touch will draw a whistle.  I've seen this in action several times already (although not so much in UCONN's games), and I love it.  Players are finally able to utilize their offensive skills without the stronger more physical player having a huge advantage.  The girls learned quickly how to defend with their feet, and the coaches have adjusted to get more weak side help come to cut off penetration.  Fouls are up, but I think that for most teams, they'll soon be down to prior levels.

Does anyone know if the officials have been instructed to deal with this in the same way in the men's game?

[ScotsFan]

I know that NCAA women's games are going to be called a lot tighter this season.  Both on the perimeter and when the offensive player is driving.  Defenders will be allowed one light touch to measure up; a second touch will draw a whistle.  I've seen this in action several times already (although not so much in UCONN's games), and I love it.  Players are finally able to utilize their offensive skills without the stronger more physical player having a huge advantage.  The girls learned quickly how to defend with their feet, and the coaches have adjusted to get more weak side help come to cut off penetration.  Fouls are up, but I think that for most teams, they'll soon be down to prior levels.

Does anyone know if the officials have been instructed to deal with this in the same way in the men's game?

I know in D1, the officiating is supposed to clamp down on the hand checking and rough physical nature that defending has turned into in an effort to help increase scoring which was at it's lowest point in 31 years last year.

Here is a link to an article that shows the numbers from the opening weekend in D1 hoops:

Assessing the impact of the new rules after college basketball's opening weekend

Not sure about how these rule changes will impact things at the D3 level.  I didn't watch the game last night, but looking at the box score, it doesn't appear to be much different from a foul calling perspective as both teams combined for 36 pf's and 38 ft attempts which doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me...