MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Here's what the coaches think:

1.  Wooster [8]...98
2.  OWU [1]...90
3.  Wittenberg [1]...78
4.  Wabash...73
5.  Kenyon...55
6.  Allegheny...54
7.  Hiram...33
8.  Earlham...30
9.  Oberlin...20
10. Denison...19

No love for Oberlin from the coaches!

[wally_wabash]

Wabash almost pulled it off last year despite having no business of being anywhere near that loaded Wooster team.   Wabash looks to be improved this year, Wooster is definitely not as stacked as they were last year...could be Wabash's chance to finally get one at home against those guys.  There's a lot of hoops to be played between now and then...and a lot of football left to be played before the hoops.   

[ScotsFan]

Too bad you can't see how the 1st place votes broke down.  Is it correct that coaches can't vote for themselves?  So, did Moore send his vote OWU's direction?  And who voted for Witt?

David, your prediction turned out to almost mirror the coaches predictions with the exception of Wabash and Witt being reversed and the coaches apparantly being higher on Hiram than you were and not so much with regards to Oberlin.

And smed, as far as your predictions of Wooster losses, I would say recent history would suggest Witt would beat Wooster at Timken and not at the HPER.  And as Wally pointed out, the same could be said for Wabash as they haven't beaten Wooster at home since joining the NCAC.  Although, it's not as though the games at Chadwick have all been easy.  And I would expect the LG's to give the Scots all they can handle this year as well!

Wabash almost pulled it off last year despite having no business of being anywhere near that loaded Wooster team.   Wabash looks to be improved this year, Wooster is definitely not as stacked as they were last year...could be Wabash's chance to finally get one at home against those guys.  There's a lot of hoops to be played between now and then...and a lot of football left to be played before the hoops.   

The only football I'm still following still is following Michigan's improbable run to a Big 10 Championship and Rose Bowl birth and an even more improbable run to a playoff spot by the Cleveland Browns! 8)

Still, good luck to the Lil Giants on their march to the playoffs and do the NCAC proud once you get there!

[smedindy]

Thanks, ScotsFan. I only wish I was close by this year to see the action at Chadwick. It's always fun when there's a football / basketball DH thanks to a playoff home game. I see one again this year.

And I'm sure Marian wouldn't mind moving the Nov. 8 game after we roll past Mt. Union and into the Final 4 in football...

...oh, wait...sorry, irrational exuberance! 

[ScotsFan]

Hey, this has been a crazy year in college football across the board.  Appy State beats #5 Michigan.  Stanford beats #1 USC.  Trinity uses 300+ laterals on the last play of the game to beat Millsaps!  Maybe Wabash over MUC can add another improbable chapter in what has become a year of improbables.

[Mr. Ypsi]

d3 preseason poll is out:

8.  Woo

(37) Witt [31 votes]
(40) OWU [24 votes]

[smedindy]

Wow, no offense to Witt this year, but I can't see how they can get votes except for the people who automatically rank Witt just because they are Witt.

Of course, this young Witt team may surprise, but still...who knows with them!

[Pat Coleman]

That's 37th. They could still be the 37th-best team yet not be great.

[David Collinge]

The NCAC media poll is out, and appears thusly:
1.  Wooster (20)...218
2.  Ohio Wesleyan (2)...192
3.  Wittenberg...174
4.  Wabash...142
5.  Allegheny...130
6.  Kenyon...128
7.  Hiram...75
8.  Earlham...59
9.  Oberlin...50
10. Denison...42

[smedindy]

That's 37th. They could still be the 37th-best team yet not be great.

I can see them being the 37th best team or so, but obviously some voters put them in the top 20 or 25.

[woosterbooster]

Well, dang it, I missed Friday's scrimmage between Wooster and Defiance and was hoping to get some insight on here as to how it went.  Didn't any posters attend?  If so, spurt it out!   Who won?  Who played and how much?  Who looked good?  Did Wickliffe play?  C'mon, spill it!

[seinfeld]

Wooster won by 13 or something. Easily won the first half. Then they reset the score for the second half, and Defiance won by about 6 points. Cooper worked his magic, and had several assists. Everyone else had their moments, but still have some improvement.

Defiance was very athletic and could very well win the HCAC this year. Wooster's interior players had some trouble getting offensive position against their quick defenders. Will have to work on that. Wickliffe was back with a wrap on his left elbow. Showed that he is athletic, but didn't do much.

Overall, I would grade the Scots at a B or B+ for the scrimmage. If the big men can improve their footwork and defensive position, then Wooster is good to go.

[David Collinge]

Defiance was very athletic and could very well win the HCAC this year.

Defiance is more or less a co-favorite (with Franklin), according to their coaches' poll.  Interestingly, Bluffton, picked to finish 5th in that nine-team league, reportedly (according to poster RO_24) beat Wittenberg in a scrimmage in Springfield on Saturday. 

[smedindy]

However, I don't know how much weight I put in scrimmages. It's a good way to get a lot of people game action, and I think some coaches will let everyone get time and work on some floor combinations.

[wally_wabash]

Tell it to Tom Izzo, smeds.  Izzo has his team dressing down in a weight room after they lost their exhibition/scrimmage to GVSU.