MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

David, didn't know if you'd seen Old Student/Athlete's post on the SCAC board - this game tomorrow night is sort of a homecoming for Coach Dewitt.  Prior to Greg Mason taking the reins at Centre, Dewitt coached the Colonels for 3 years.  This is a big rematch of the SCAC - NCAC from the Wooster-Centre game in the 2nd round last season.  Agreed OWU played a tremendous game tonight and they will present some major challenges for the Colonels, particularly with Jean and Rudegeair scoring and rebounding well.

I hadn't, but I was aware of Mike DeWitt's Centre connection.  The fact that Greg Mason was his assistant during his time in Danville I think adds to the intrigue of the matchup, in the sense that each coach is a little bit inside the other's head (although nine years is a long time.)

[Vanilla24COW]

Seems to me, the more competitive this league gets, the better chance the eventual winner will have of getting to Salem, and then winning there

Altho I agree with this, it also takes a good deal of good fortunes and avoidance, if Johnson doesn't sprain his ankle we might be talking about Woo moving on...that being said injuries are part of the game and the teams that win championships find ways to rise above the adversity...my point being a competitive leage/schedule definitely prepares you for a championship run but so do the basketball gods!!! Good luck to the Bishops.

[jscwittfan]

OWU leads 38-35 at the half.

[pbrooks3]

Great win for OWU.  Congratulations to Centre on finishing another wonderful season at 26-3.  They were defeated tonight by an outstanding Ohio Wesleyan squad with tremendous senior leadership.  Not the easiest way for seniors from Centre, Britt and Nestheide, to go out.  In a way it was fitting to finish on the home court though.  My hat's off to the Mike Dewitt, Ohio Wesleyan and NCAC on a very solid performance.  Best of luck to the Battling Bishops as they move on in the tournament.

[jscwittfan]

Final score is OWU 82-65, eerily similar to their opening round win (83-62).

Congrats to the Bishops, and continue to do the NCAC proud!

[pbrooks3]

I put this on the SCAC board earlier.  Congratulations Ohio Wesleyan on advancing after a good win tonight at Centre.

Centre went up against a top-notch team from the NCAC in Ohio Wesleyan tonight.  This is a reminder of the physical and mental strength of the Wooster team Centre faced last year in the 2nd round of the NCAA III tournament.  The Colonels got off to a nice start with a 10-0 run.  The Battling Bishops didn't quit
and were able to break into the lead late in the 1st half.  Centre held tough and played hard to keep the game close until about the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half. OWU then made a nice run to build the lead to double digits.  Centre had one last run, but couldn't sustain it with 5 minutes to go.  Ohio Wesleyan
then played like a champ building the lead to the final margin of 82-65. 

Centre had a wonderful season, and played successfully using their superior strength - smart, solid guard play.  Good balanced teams like Ohio Wesleyan are able to offset Centre's strength by exposing the team's weakness - inferior post play.  There are many teams throughout the NCAC and other conferences that are comprised of teams similar to Ohio Wesleyan that play a physical inside/outside style of basketball.  The Bishops scored their share of points in the paint tonight with Jessee Jean and Dustin Rudegeair backing down their opponents but they were also hitting big threes all night - Kyle Holliday hit 2 big ones late in the game, and Brian Cafarella simply hit anything he put up.  What I am saying is the Bishops' style of basketball is indicative of the best of D3 basketball throughout the land.  Coach Greg Mason has done a fabulous job working a different system to get amazing results.  The SCAC is a conference that has few teams like those of the NCAC or OAC. Centre did not play many teams of Ohio Wesleyan's caliber this season.  This probably also explains the fact OWU has 7 losses while marching on, and Centre has 3 in bowing out of the D3 tourney.  I now have an appreciation for strength of schedule that was easy to ignore when watching the Colonels go on a 25-game winning streak.  I am not saying Centre had a weak schedule, but rather a weaker schedule than teams in the NCAC or some of the other power conferences across D3.  I also have not given credit where credit is due to good defense - OWU played it tonight.  Wooster played it last year against Centre as well.  The defensive side frequently is overlooked when you're generating 80+ points on the offensive end and I'm guilty of not recognizing this.

With all of this said, I am very proud of the Centre team's accomplishments in a record-setting season that produced a 26-3 record.  Seniors Thomas Britt and Matt Nestheide, you provided a lot of exciting moments for an old-timer.  Through the course of the past 4 seasons, I have grown to become a D3 fanatic thanks to the Centre Colonels and their coach, Greg Mason. 

[David Collinge]

Thanks for the kind words, pbrooks3.   

So now the Bishops move into a sectional with Hope, Wheaton, and a west coast team (Oxy or Whitworth).  Normally you might expect such a confab to be at Hope, but there's a complication.  In even-numbered years, when both teams at a school are in a position to host a sectional, priority is given to the women.  The Hope women's team (also ranked #1, but evidently not #1 in the GL at the time the tourney began) will be in a sectional with DeSales, Howard Payne, and a west coast team (UPS or George Fox).  None of these teams is within 500 miles of any of the others, so the presumptive host will be whichever the women's committee thinks is best-qualified.  That may well be Howard Payne, in which case the OWU group will likely be at Hope.  But if Hope is tabbed to host the women's sectional, and keeping in mind that the west coast team is out of the running as a host (3 flights--forget it), would the tourney end up in Delaware or in Wheaton?

It's great to even be able to contemplate the possibilities of a sectional at OWU.  Go Bishops! 

[Mr. Ypsi]

IF Hope can't host, the decision may be interesting in terms of how finely the NCAA watches the dollars.  I'd guess that air fare West Coast to Ohare, then a 10-15 mile bus trip to Wheaton would be cheaper than air fare to Columbus, then a somewhat longer bus trip to OWU (and bussing OWU and Hope to Wheaton would be less than bussing Wheaton and Hope to OWU); on the other hand, lodging might be cheaper at OWU.  And then there is seeding: while Wheaton was probably the #17 (i.e., last) pool C, OWU would not even have been in the running for a C.

While I think the Hope women deserve to host, maybe they won't and all this speculation will be moot as the men play in Holland.

[sac]

IF Hope can't host, the decision may be interesting in terms of how finely the NCAA watches the dollars.  I'd guess that air fare West Coast to Ohare, then a 10-15 mile bus trip to Wheaton would be cheaper than air fare to Columbus, then a somewhat longer bus trip to OWU (and bussing OWU and Hope to Wheaton would be less than bussing Wheaton and Hope to OWU); on the other hand, lodging might be cheaper at OWU.  And then there is seeding: while Wheaton was probably the #17 (i.e., last) pool C, OWU would not even have been in the running for a C.

While I think the Hope women deserve to host, maybe they won't and all this speculation will be moot as the men play in Holland.

O'Hare to Wheaton:  36 minutes, 25 miles
Port Columbus to Delaware: 34 minutes, 29 miles
Ford Int'l to Holland: 36 minutes, 33 miles

[Mr. Ypsi]

Those airport to campus distances are closer than I would have thought.  And checking airline quotes, Spokane to Chicago is only about $25 cheaper (per person!) than to Columbus - who knows on charters?  For the men, Holland is obvious; for the women, it is less clear but I suspect 'Horrid Pain' (thanks, Ralph!) will win out and this will all be moot.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

For the record... I have been told that OWU will NOT be able to host this weekend... Hope or Wheaton... suspect Hope, because the women's teams was about a #2 of #3 in the NCAA's mind in the region.

[hope1]

for the people coming up to holland this weekend the double tree motel in holland is pretty nice right on 31  and waverly street with swimming pool inside

[HopeConvert]

Or, on campus, the Haworth Inn:

http://www.haworthinn.com/

[aueagle]

Listened to the game last night and had a buddy call me and say, "Could this be 1988 all over again?" It is way to early for that comparison...but, way to go Bishops! Keep it rolling...Keep Battling!!

[monsoon]

I just started a "Hope Sectional" page in the Great Lakes Region.  Let's try to move most of the OWU - Hope - Wheaton - Whitworth talk to that common location.