MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[zander]

Denison has a real nice team. Speelman and Meurer played together in HS and know each other well. They have a fairly strong bench. Coach Ghiloni and Sullivan work very well together and the players seem to respond well to them. It should be a fun Year!

[sac]

In the NCAC tournament in 2012, Denison won its first game at Wittenberg in 62 years

In Springfield since
2012  Denison 66  Wittenberg 58
2013  No game at Witt
2014  Denison 63  Wittenberg 60
2014  Wittenberg 64  Denison 49
2015  Wittenberg 59  Denison 57
2016  Denison 75  Wittenberg 72
2017  Denison 72  Wittenberg 68 OT

Denison has won 4 of its last 6 games at Wittenberg


Overall since that first win in 62 years at Wittenberg
2013  Wittenberg 79  Denison 78
2014  Wittenberg 97  Denison 69
2014  Denison 63  Wittenberg
2014  Wittenberg 64  Denison 49
2015  Wittenberg 59  Denison 57
2015  Denison 75  Wittenberg 72
2016  Wittenberg 75  Denison 68
2016  Denison 75  Wittenberg 72
2016  Denison 81  Wittenberg 75
2017  Denison 72  Wittenberg 68 OT

[Gregory Sager]

Is that more indicative of the rise of Denison or of the decline of Wittenberg?

[smedindy]

Is that more indicative of the rise of Denison or of the decline of Wittenberg?

Yes and yes.

[wally_wabash]

The young Little Giants came close to the upset, losing to Wooster 66-62.

Wooster may be overrated a tad.

I feel like we've been saying "young Little Giants" for maybe one year too many.  I know there are good players there and I know Brum can coach 'em up, but I'm ready for Wabash to have experience and compete for a league championship and a tournament spot.  20 years is a long time to go between tournament games, so the LGs are due. 

Hiram also got Wooster this week, so the Scots have some soul searching to do.  They'll get it figured out and be good before this thing is done, but yeah.  We're not seeing peak Wooster at the moment.

Hopefully this group of LG's will stick around and shine in the next two years. I think they have the talent.

They're definitely scrapping this year.  Near misses with league favorites Wooster and at OWU last week...road win at Kenyon and a home win over Hiram this week.  Some good momentum here heading into the winter break. 

Also noticed a bit of quirky scheduling here.  Wabash and DePauw will do the east coast back-to-back in February, but they aren't doing the same at home.  Hiram swung through Indiana this weekend for a back-to-back (lost both).  Allegheny will do the same after the new year.  So you've got Allegheny and Hiram doing double back-to-backs in league play, while Wabash and DePauw are just doing one (and I presume the rest of the league can avoid this hassle). 

[WoostAr]

Watched the Wooster feed today against Lewis and Clark -- Lewis and Clark finished 4-20 last year and was 3-7 going into tonight and likely will finish in the cellar of their conference --  Wooster did not look good at all -- since I haven't watched any other games yet this year I wonder if this is how they have looked so far this year?  Transition seemed to be their only effective way of scoring -- they got some good looks out of the half court but did not convert. 

Out-rebounded -- defense gave up 56% shooting -- some lost players on the floor -- not sure I've ever seen a game like this out of Wooster....one off or chronic problems??

 

[bufordscot]

Watched the Wooster feed today against Lewis and Clark -- Lewis and Clark finished 4-20 last year and was 3-7 going into tonight and likely will finish in the cellar of their conference --  Wooster did not look good at all -- since I haven't watched any other games yet this year I wonder if this is how they have looked so far this year?  Transition seemed to be their only effective way of scoring -- they got some good looks out of the half court but did not convert. 

Out-rebounded -- defense gave up 56% shooting -- some lost players on the floor -- not sure I've ever seen a game like this out of Wooster....one off or chronic problems??

They just don't appear to be very good this year which is hard to understand given their talent.  Should have beat No. 2 Whitman three days earlier and then this.  Don't know.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Watched the Wooster feed today against Lewis and Clark -- Lewis and Clark finished 4-20 last year and was 3-7 going into tonight and likely will finish in the cellar of their conference --  Wooster did not look good at all -- since I haven't watched any other games yet this year I wonder if this is how they have looked so far this year?  Transition seemed to be their only effective way of scoring -- they got some good looks out of the half court but did not convert. 

Out-rebounded -- defense gave up 56% shooting -- some lost players on the floor -- not sure I've ever seen a game like this out of Wooster....one off or chronic problems??

They just don't appear to be very good this year which is hard to understand given their talent.  Should have beat No. 2 Whitman three days earlier and then this.  Don't know.

If you recall, they weren't the most impressive team most of last year, and really turned a couple of disciplined performances down the stretch into a decent tourney run.  Maybe we had them ranked too high, but I don't think they're a bad team; they may just be one more prone to take losses.  It comes with the style they're playing right now.

[smedindy]

I don't think Wooster fans are used to .500 records or losing to a backmarker in another conference.

[WoostAr]

Watched the Wooster feed today against Lewis and Clark -- Lewis and Clark finished 4-20 last year and was 3-7 going into tonight and likely will finish in the cellar of their conference --  Wooster did not look good at all -- since I haven't watched any other games yet this year I wonder if this is how they have looked so far this year?  Transition seemed to be their only effective way of scoring -- they got some good looks out of the half court but did not convert. 

Out-rebounded -- defense gave up 56% shooting -- some lost players on the floor -- not sure I've ever seen a game like this out of Wooster....one off or chronic problems??

They just don't appear to be very good this year which is hard to understand given their talent.  Should have beat No. 2 Whitman three days earlier and then this.  Don't know.

If you recall, they weren't the most impressive team most of last year, and really turned a couple of disciplined performances down the stretch into a decent tourney run.  Maybe we had them ranked too high, but I don't think they're a bad team; they may just be one more prone to take losses.  It comes with the style they're playing right now.

The games I watched last year it seemed like the defense was weak, they just don't get stops -- I thought the same of this game -- but again I'm on the West coast and see very few games. 

I don't think Wooster fans are used to .500 records or losing to a backmarker in another conference.

A bit about the games I usually watch -- I work at Caltech and watch most of their games since I know many of their players and alums -- very accustomed to watching bad basketball over the years.  

Some food for thought via comparison: L & C beat Caltech by 20 a few days before the Wooster game, they shot 43% against Caltech's defense.  (Caltech is ~400 in Massey Rankings) L&C shot 56% against Wooster's defense.

[Wooster Booster]

Learn it.  Live it.  Love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVs3R77wxAo#t=204.0033541

[GoRed]

Learn it.  Live it.  Love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVs3R77wxAo#t=204.0033541

Very helpful, thanks.  Do you happen to have one for pronouncing "Worcestershire" too?

[bufordscot]

That's better.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Usually I make sure to alert people of who is on Hoopsville prior to the show. Unfortunately, Thursday was a challenge production wise and I was a bit distracted. So, I hope you don't mind finding out after the fact considering you can watch the show On Demand or listen to the podcast(s).

As the season turns from the first to the second half, we are starting to see which teams are doing more than just getting off to good starts. Now conference races are starting to take shape and we get an idea of how the rest of the season may play out.

On Thursday's edition of Hoopsville, Dave chatted with several coaches whose teams are either leading their conferences or in the battle for first place. Are these teams going to still be near the top come late February? What do they have to do to maintain their level of success. Dave even hit the road to Washington, DC to chat with several of his guests.

Dave also talked to a coach who now has the second-most wins in Division III history. Wooster's Steve Moore won his 787th (700th at Wooster) Wednesday night. Moore joined Dave in the NABC Coach's Corner to discuss the incredible milestone and all the milestones along the way.

You can watch Hoopsville On Demand or listen to the podcast by downloading it from SoundCloud and iTunes by clicking here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan12

And don't forget about the Hoopsville Mailbag segment! Email questions you may have to the show at hoopsville@d3hoops.com and we will answer them on a future show.

Guest appearances (in order):
- Steve Moore, Wooster men's coach - NABC Coach's Corner
- Kevin Kovacs, Gallaudet men's coach
- Matt Donohue, Catholic women's coach
- Chuck Winkelman, Calvin women's coach
- Dale Wellman, Nebraska Wesleyan men's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

[woolax]

Wooster at Wittenberg this evening. While this match up may lack some of its regular luster since neither team is ranked it is a rivalry game so I am sure both teams will be fired up. What are people's thoughts?