MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Yick. The Yeomen are struggling more than I thought they were.

[pennstghs]

DC- I completely agree with you on Capital. As Witt lost to them by 4 I was thinking wow I don't know how we didn't beat that team, they are not that good. But when i went home and looked at the boxscore and realized they were 10th in the nation, I didn't know whether to think that they are vividly overrated or Wittenberg is just not that far off.

I'm leaning towards Capital is not as good. They were able to exploit Wittenberg's subpar post defense and capitalize when the double teams came to hit open perimeter 3-pointers, so I think Capital may not be as strong as everyone thinks. Bring on the OAC haters with this post I'm guessing......

[David Collinge]

But when i went home and looked at the boxscore and realized they [Capital] were 10th in the nation, I didn't know whether to think that they are vividly overrated or Wittenberg is just not that far off.

How about...both?  I've seen Capital twice (at home vs. Denison, at Kenyon) and while I don't think they're anything close to the 10th (or 18th, now) best team in D3, they have shooters and some big guys who can play.  They're a good team, just not a great one.

I haven't yet seen Wittenberg, and I'm sure they're still trying to figure themselves out.  I have confidence in Bill Brown and Travis Schwab (to say nothing of his brother) and expect they'll improve as the season goes along.  I think a close loss to a good Capital team is a sign that the cupboard is not entirely bare.

As far as the OAC goes, I took my shots at them in my Daily Dose column this week.  I'm dying to see Heidelberg (not sure when; they don't come to Muskingum until the last day of the season, and its the same day that Witt visits Kenyon) who, on paper, looks to me like the team to beat.  And one can never count out JCU.  But B-WC is off to a horrible start, ONU has a bad loss, Muskingum is mediocre (certainly no better than Capital), Otterbein sucks, etc. etc.  I think this is a down year for the OAC, except perhaps for the Princes. 

[NCAC4Life]

Final from  Defiance. Ohio Wesleyan 68 Defiance 67.   Bishops come from nine down late in 2nd half to win! Big win for OWU!

[sac]

Those of you in central Ohio may want to circle the Otterbein tournament near the end of the month.

You could get a matchup with Albion who should be 7-1 facing Ohio Wesleyan.  That should be a good D3 matchup.

[pennstghs]

Wittenberg 57 Ohio Northern 59-ONU ends game on 8-0 run. DC i have a few comments concerning what we were discussing earlier. I will wait till tomorrow morning to post my analysis because right now i'm not thinking rationally-what a disappointing game......

[David Collinge]

Those of you in central Ohio may want to circle the Otterbein tournament near the end of the month.

You could get a matchup with Albion who should be 7-1 facing Ohio Wesleyan.  That should be a good D3 matchup.

I'll be there.  It overlaps a women's tournament, four games each day, so it's hoops heaven for someone like me.  Fri/Sat Dec. 28-29 at Otterbein.  Participants--Men:  Albion, OWU, Hanover; Women:  Kenyon, Franklin, St. Mary's of IN.

Scores from tonight:
As noted, OWU won and Witt lost close games against good opposition
Wabash 63, Rose-Hulman 60...I thought Rose was sucky at hoops.  Am I wrong?
Wash/Jeff 66, Denison 58...another close loss for the luckless Big Red
Edinboro 61, Allegheny 55...Edinboro is D2, so that's not too bad a result for the Gators
Bluffton 87, Hiram 70...23 more points from Mike Staley, but he's not getting a lot of help, it appears

[Li'l Giant]

Final from Chadwick Court:

Rose-Hulman 60
Wabash 63

I have no further insight. I worked late tonight and only have the score.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Those of you in central Ohio may want to circle the Otterbein tournament near the end of the month.

You could get a matchup with Albion who should be 7-1 facing Ohio Wesleyan.  That should be a good D3 matchup.

I'll be there.  It overlaps a women's tournament, four games each day, so it's hoops heaven for someone like me.  Fri/Sat Dec. 28-29 at Otterbein.  Participants--Men:  Albion, OWU, Hanover; Women:  Kenyon, Franklin, St. Mary's of IN.

Scores from tonight:
As noted, OWU won and Witt lost close games against good opposition
Wabash 63, Rose-Hulman 60...I thought Rose was sucky at hoops.  Am I wrong?
Wash/Jeff 66, Denison 58...another close loss for the luckless Big Red
Edinboro 61, Allegheny 55...Edinboro is D2, so that's not too bad a result for the Gators
Bluffton 87, Hiram 70...23 more points from Mike Staley, but he's not getting a lot of help, it appears

No, you're right - RHIT is now 1-4, including losses to Manhattanville, Fontbonne of the SLIAC, and Millikin, picked (a distant) last in the CCIW.  This was NOT an impressive win for the LGs.

[smedindy]

Rose used to be pretty good at hoops, especially in the 90s. They've been on a slide recently when they moved to the SCAC and now back in the Heartland...

Plus Rose and Wabash have had a pretty good rivalry in the past when Rose was also all male, and then when they became a 'turncoat'.

[wally_wabash]

The article on the website mentioned that this was the first time since 1998 that Wabash has beaten Rose in hoops.  That makes me feel old...that game would have been the game at RHIT's brand new arena where Estelle nailed a triple with just about no time left to win.  Bryan Egli (who was an absolute baller) had a shot for RHIT to win but just missed.  Unbelievable game.  I can't belive Wabash hasn't beaten Rose since then...wow. 

Good win for the LGs tonight..I must confess that I wasn't able to get down for the game tonight, but it's good to see Wabash winning games against decent teams that they've struggled against in recent history. 

[smedindy]

To be honest, since they went to the SCAC and we went to the NCAC, we hadn't played Rose that much.

[David Collinge]

Good win for the LGs tonight..I must confess that I wasn't able to get down for the game tonight, but it's good to see Wabash winning games against decent teams that they've struggled against in recent history. 

Since I jumped on pennstghs for calling Ohio Northern a "top opponent," I feel obligated to object to the above characterization.  Rose is 1-4 against the unimpressive schedule that Chuck makes reference to, and they were picked to finish dead last in the HCAC by that league's coaches.  Still, a win is a win, and if it's against a rival against whom you have struggled, so much the better.  Game story by Wabash's Brent Harris.

While eagerly waiting ghs's promised analysis of the the Witt/ONU game, here's the game story from Ryan Maurer's point of view.  It sounds like it was absolutely gut-wrenching.

Denison did their best Polar Bear impersonation (imursanation?), converting a 10-point deficit at 12:37 to a one-point lead at 4:01, but unlike their Ada counterparts they were unable to hang on to the lead, eventually falling by 8 to the visiting Presidents.  Rookie Larry Farmer (15 points) is starting to look like a player, and may even provide the scoring ability, the lack of which is the bane of this team.  Craig Hicks' game recap.

Here also are the SID recaps from Allegheny/Edinboro and Hiram/Bluffton.

[sac]

To be honest, since they went to the SCAC and we went to the NCAC, we hadn't played Rose that much.

According to the Wabsh site, they'd played twice 2004 and 2006.

[wally_wabash]

Good win for the LGs tonight..I must confess that I wasn't able to get down for the game tonight, but it's good to see Wabash winning games against decent teams that they've struggled against in recent history. 

Since I jumped on pennstghs for calling Ohio Northern a "top opponent," I feel obligated to object to the above characterization.  Rose is 1-4 against the unimpressive schedule that Chuck makes reference to, and they were picked to finish dead last in the HCAC by that league's coaches.  Still, a win is a win, and if it's against a rival against whom you have struggled, so much the better.  Game story by Wabash's Brent Harris.

Mea culpa...I should have looked up RHIT's numbers before dubbing them a "decent" team.