MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[imderekpoe]

Nice run at the end of the half by the Scots to take an 11 point lead. No idea what the stats are as OWU's live stats has been wrong the whole game and now has it as a 6-point game. Kipfer has been a monster for the Scots this far.

[bufordscot]

Big Josh, What a game.

[imderekpoe]

Big Josh, What a game.

No doubt! I hope he's got something left in the tank for tomorrow night.  OTOH, Fanelly should be well-rested!

[David Collinge]

Denison is giving OWU all they want, down 3 with 12:00 left.

Denison now up 9 inside 4:00.

It's Denison with the upset, 95-85. OWU moves on to the NCAAs, but as a Pool C and possibly on the road.

[Wooster Booster]

So, is this good for Wooster or what?  First of all, Denison looked pretty darned good.  But let's just say, on the upside, that the Scots now have an easier route to the NCAC Tournament championship, if for no reason other than the final is now a neutral-court game.  However, if they lose, do they still get a Pool C bid, with OWU also in the running for one?  Is this now a more dangerous situation for the Scots?

[David Collinge]

So, is this good for Wooster or what?  First of all, Denison looked pretty darned good.  But let's just say, on the upside, that the Scots now have an easier route to the NCAC Tournament championship, if for no reason other than the final is now a neutral-court game.  However, if they lose, do they still get a Pool C bid, with OWU also in the running for one?  Is this now a more dangerous situation for the Scots?

The consensus is that both OWU and Wooster are locks at this point.

[WooClone15]

The consensus is that both OWU and Wooster are locks at this point.

So dumb question, but d-3 functions kind of like d-1 right? So if wooster wins tomorrow they're in because they get the auto bid. If Denison wins, then Denison, OWU, and Wooster would all get in, right?

[fantastic50]

OWU was already in very solid position, and (if there was doubt) Wooster now also appears to be going.  If Denison beats Wooster to get the automatic ("Pool A") bid, then all three will go, and some other team's bubble will burst.

Tonight was a bit of deja vu of 2015, with #2 Wooster advancing to the final before the 4th seed eliminated OWU at home.  Last year, DePauw finished the job by pulling back-to-back upsets to win the conference.

[David Collinge]

OWU was already in very solid position, and (if there was doubt) Wooster now also appears to be going.  If Denison beats Wooster to get the automatic ("Pool A") bid, then all three will go, and some other team's bubble will burst.

Tonight was a bit of deja vu of 2015, with #2 Wooster advancing to the final before the 4th seed eliminated OWU at home.  Last year, DePauw finished the job by pulling back-to-back upsets to win the conference.

And this is just about the extent of D3 "functioning like D1." But yeah, conference champions get auto bids. D3 has a LOT more conferences than D1. If Denison wins tonight and the NCAC gets three bids, no other conference will have more NCAA participants (the MIAA is in a similar situation and may get three, and there may be others; the NESCAC has been known to get 4 in I believe.) Contrast that to the Big Ten, who I suppose will get 7 or 8 in.

[imderekpoe]

Quick timeout in the tourney talk.  I was perusing the NCAC site and noticed this.  "Consisting of 10 academically selective colleges and universities in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania — Allegheny College, Denison University, DePauw University, Hiram College, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wabash College, Wittenberg University, The College of Wooster, along with affiliate member Earlham College  — the NCAC believes that high-level athletic programs need not be sacrificed in order to meet rigid academic standards." 

Does anyone know what Earlhan's 'affiliate' status entails??

[fantastic50]

Earlham plays field hockey (only) in the NCAC.

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to Denison! Wittenberg, Ohio Wesleyan, then Wooster -- not a bad week's work.

[David Collinge]

Looking at where our three likely participants may end up next weekend:
Ohio Wesleyan may host or may go on the road, but either way they are likely to avoid Alma, who they defeated(by 19 points) in November. The "dream" matchup is a second-round meeting at Marietta, pitting mentor (Mike DeWitt) against student (Jon VanderWal), although two such highly-ranked teams should meet later in the draw. Marietta has to avoid Wooster, who they beat (by 15 at Wooster) in December; Wooster also has to miss Salisbury, who toppled the Scots (by 17) in Puerto Rico at Christmastime. Denison has no potential rematch problems, but a big resume problem that will probably make them a first-round opponent of a highly ranked team.

Considering all that, my guess is that Denison opens up at John Carroll, OWU goes to Marietta to play some team from the south or east, and Wooster gets shipped far away, to Benedictine or even Augustana, to play in a 2/3 game (maybe vs. Alma.)

[Fifth and Putnam]

I was just thinking about what to do with the NCAC teams myself this morning. Wooster could go to JCU as they have already played Marietta. Denison could easily get to Marietta. The wild card here is OWU. I don't think they host but they are a landmine for any host they see. I would hate to see them get send to JCU or Etta as that would be a terrible first weekend match up for everyone involved. Their central Ohio geography means they can probably get to a lot of places. OWU very well may get shipped out somewhere out of the region but I am not sure where.

[David Collinge]

My experience, if you can call it that, is that the committee's view of things doesn't always match the conventional wisdom, they stick to the numbers. So looking at a team like OWU, we might say they shouldn't draw Augustana or Benedictine or Marietta or JCU in the second round, that they should be sent further east or south to play on the floor of someone not quite so "good." (I don't know who the hosting candidates are or whether they are within 500 miles of Delaware; maybe Rochester or Emory?) But chances are those teams have numbers (SOS, vRRO, WP except for Benedictine) comparable to those of the Central/GL powers. That's why I like the OWU/Marietta pairing, especially since, of the four C/GL hosts, 'Etta is probably#4 at this point.

Denison is going to meet one of those 4 on Friday, and I doubt they can reach Rock Island (IIRC, Wooster was within a mile or two of the limit when they went to Augie several years ago.)

Wooster can get to Rochester in the east and Augie in the west, since they've done it before. For OWU and DU, those might be too far.