MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wooscotsfan]

ScotsFan - thanks for the info on R-MC's impressive win vs. George Mason.

The NCAC preseason polls were released today and Wooster was selected as the favorite by both the coaches and media.  In the coaches poll, Wooster collected 7 of the 10 first place votes with Wittenberg receiving one first place vote and Wabash collecting two votes.  In the media poll, Wooster collected 20 of 23 first place votes with Witt, Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash each receiving one first place vote.

The top five places were the same in both polls:
1.  Wooster
2.  Wittenberg
3.  Ohio Wesleyan
4.  Wabash
5.  Kenyon

Here is a link to a full story on the two preseason polls:  http://athletics.wooster.edu/mb/news/2008-09/mediaday.php

[David Collinge]

The Wooster Daily Record previews the season.
So does the Springfield News-Sun, which also makes mention of Gregg Hill's continuing problems with his balky shoulder.  Here's hoping that he's able to play, or if not, that he's able to redshirt and come back next season.

[woosterbooster]

Geeze.  First Randolph-Macon knocks off George Mason, then Wisconsin-Platteville downs Bradley.  Wooster might have to play both of these teams!  R-M is in Wooster's Al Van Wie tournament and will probably meet Wooster in the championship game if the Scots can get by Washington & Jefferson (no lock this year).  Platteville is Wooster's first-round opponent in a tournament at Hanover.  All of these games will be without Brandon Johnson.

[WooMix]

Folks, this is me from Washington DC logging in for yet another season of the always exciting D3 basketball.  Here's hoping my Fighting Scots delivers yet again.  And good luck to the rest of the folks in our beloved NCAC.

[woosterbooster]

After leading for most of the game, Wooster finished second to Ashland last evening, by about five points, in a scrimmage.  The Brandon-Johnson-less Scots did some things well, and revealed that there is some hope for this season.  They have some shooters, and for the most part played pretty good D.  Offensively, though, they did very little on the interior, and if that doesn't somehow improve it will be a rough go.

[David Collinge]

A few nuggets of interest, gleaned from a quick skim-through of the NCAC basketball media guide:

Allegheny: Don't forget about Ryan Hollihan, who was 2nd team all-NCAC two seasons ago but missed most of last season with a knee injury.  The Gators were a pretty good team by season's end without him, so they should be improved if and when he is ready to go.  (“Ryan is working hard to come back from a devastating knee injury,” Clune said. “We’re going to wait and see with him. We’re hopeful he can come back.”)
Denison:  They have 15 freshmen.  Fifteen.  (Although the online roster lists 'only' eleven.)  And ten returning lettermen (although it looks like Jack Twyman and one other are not playing.)  Maybe a JV team in Granville this year?  Also: Denison will have a food drive this fall; admission fees will be waived with a donation of non-perishable food.  Details here.  Good on ya, Big Red.
Earlham:  My new favorite NCAC player?  Frosh Kyle Calder, 5-11 guard from (heh, heh) Crawfordsville.
Hiram:  All-NCAC guard Mike Staley has transferred to Adrian.  I'm very sorry to see this; I really enjoyed watching him play, and thought he had a good shot at NCAC Player of the Year this season or next.  With him, Hiram was going to be my sleeper pick; without him, they're in a heap of trouble.
Kenyon:  As rumored, the Haddox brothers are not on the roster.   Best wishes to them.
Oberlin:  The only NCAC team with five returning starters; no other team has more than 3 (unless you count Ryan Hollihan at Allegheny.)
Ohio Wesleyan:  The starting five is easy to predict, but who will contribute from the bench is not.  They're scrimmaging Otterbein tomorrow, so I'll get a preliminary answer to that question.
Wabash:  Described in the media guide as "experienced and talented," they have just six lettermen returning; the only team with fewer returning vets is...
Wittenberg:  Five returning lettermen, and one of them (Gregg Hill) may not be able to play.  Also: the names to remember are Clayton Black and Alex Brandt.
Wooster:  Frosh Justin Hallowell looks like he may be a starter from day one.

[David Collinge]

Just back from OWU, where the Bishops easily dispatched Otterbein by a total score of 77-57.  The Bishops won both halves, 44-30 in the first and 33-27 in the second.  Otterbein came back to claim the JV period (10 minutes) 14-13.  OWU played a ten-man rotation, which included the seven returning lettermen and two frosh.  The starting five were PG Rob "Don't Call Me Robbie" Gardiner, W Kyle Holliday, W Kyle Miller, P Brent Plieman, and P Pat Pellerite, a 6'6" frosh from Olmstead Falls.  When these five were playing, they were clicking.  They were much quicker than the Cards and seemed to work together very well on both ends.  Gardiner ran an up-tempo attack and, seeing the floor well, always seemed to know where the mismatch would be.  Miller and Holliday, the team's senior leaders, didn't have anything to prove tonight and played capably.  Plieman, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, seemed healthy if not completely in shape.  He's not going to make anyone forget Jesse Jean anytime soon, but he is an immovable object in the paint for rebounds and stickbacks.  Pellerite played very well in the first half, and looks like he'll turn out to be a more than capable replacement for Dustin Rudegeair and the main scoring threat down low.  The whole team (in fact, both teams) were more ragged in the second half, probably due in part to the three-minute halftime after a high-intensity first half, and in part to the coaches trying different plays, attacks, and combinations. 

OWU played both man and zone on defense, both effectively as the score would indicate.  Otterbein was unable to get the ball inside against the zone, and often had shot clock problems against the man.  (Now, just how good Otterbein will be this year is an open question that should be considered when evaluating OWU's performance.)

The problem for OWU, such as it was, was the steep drop off in performance when the second 5 were in the game.  Whereas the offense was clicking for the starters, the second team was just a hair off--errant passes, driving holes that weren't really there, shots just off the mark, etc.  Each of these players (PG Mike Schwartz, frosh G Tim Brady, W Mitch Noggle, W Dillon McBride, and P Andrew Martin) had their moments, but the overall quality of play was inversely proportional to how many of them were playing at a given moment.  Of course, this is a pretty green group--only Noggle got any significant PT last year--so it's no wonder they're not as efficient as the veterans in the starting five.  Only one other player got in the game before the JV period (Ryan Willis), and then only for the last three minutes of the second half.

OWU opens up next Friday vs. UW-Eau Claire at Wheaton College.

[woosterbooster]

Jack Twyman?  Son?  Grandson?  Is he any good?  How come he's not playing? (There.  Broke the record for question marks in consecutive quasi-sentences.  Will D3hoops submit it to Guinness or do I need to do it myself?) 

[David Collinge]

I had to Google "Jack Twyman" to learn that there was an NBA player by that name.  No idea if the Denison student is a relation, nor why he's not on the varsity this year.

The first team out of the gate this season is Allegheny, who dropped a 64-55 decision to Fredonia St. in the opening round of the John K. Adams Tip Off Classic at Rutgers-Newark.  The Gators had a good first half, shooting better than 46% to force a 33-all tie.  They left their shooting touch in the locker room, however, hitting just 8 baskets in the second period.  Better free-throw shooting would have made the game more competitive, as 'Gheny hit just six of 13 attempts (3 for 8 in the 2nd.)  Craig Devinney led all scorers with 19, including 5 of 7 from the new three-point line, and was also the game's top rebounder with 9 (tied with teammate George Raftis).  Ryan Hollihan saw seven minutes of action.  Gheny will face the loser of Medgar Evers and host Rutgers-Newark tomorrow.  Box; recap (such as it is).

[David Collinge]

Kenyon holds off Illinois Tech in Chicago, 71-59, to record the first NCAC win of the season.  It was all Bryan Yelvington, all the time in his hometown--well, home metro-area.  The senior POTY candidate put up 30 points--24 in the second half--while taking better than 40% of his team's shots and logging 38 minutes.  Bryan hit 11 of 22 from the floor and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds to boot.  Sophomore J.T. Knight chipped in 16 mostly second-half points.  Overall the Lords shot 42%, hitting 39% of their 18 treys, and shot 20/27 from the line (4 of the missed free throws were in the final 5:05), while holding IIT to 39% from the field, 29% from the arc.  The Scarlet Hawks missed ten free throws, many of them in key second half situations which helped the Lords take control of the game.  Tied at the half 25-25, the Lords built a 17-point lead with 6:18 left, then held on as both Allen Bediako and Dave Knapke fouled out.  Kenyon played basically a seven-man rotation, with a significant contribution from rookie guard Anthony Chun (8 points, 6 assists.)  Kenyon moves on to the championship round of the Midway Classic, where they will face Edgewood, upset winners over host Chicago, 101-93.  Box; recap.

[David Collinge]

Allegheny 88, Medgar Evers 61 behind a double-double (19/12) from George Raftis.

[David Collinge]

Kenyon takes home the championship trophy from the University of Chicago's Midway Classic, dropping Edgewood 87-79.  Tournament MVP Bryan Yelvington followed up his 30 point outburst with 32 more, including 17 of 20 from the free throw line.  Dave Knapke pitched in a double-double, with 12 rebounds and 10 points (8 of 8 from the line), and J.T. Knight added 15 points and 6 assists; his 31 combined points landed him a spot on the all-tournament team.  When given a chance to shoot, the Lords hit 42% of their field goal attempts, and recorded 15 assists on 23 field goals.  The game, however, was decided at the free throw line, where Kenyon was 34 for 39 (87%), outscoring the Eagles by 21.  The Lords led for most of the game, although Edgewood parlayed an 11-0 run into a one-point halftime lead.  Kenyon quickly reassumed command in the second, and led the final 17:30 of the game.  Kenyon held their opponents to 39% shooting, one night after the Eagles shot 60% and dropped 101 points on nationally-ranked Chicago.  Kenyon is now off until a week from Tuesday when they travel to Washington & Jefferson.  Box; recap.

[MoneyBallSTL]

Any word yet on how the scrimmage between the 2009 Fighting Scots and the 2003/2007 Final Four Scots went? I know the alumni had a decent contingent present and I wanted to hear how the new batch looked. Sounds like Kenyon might break up the party of the "W" schools in the top 4 this year...gotta run, Nelly is calling. Late.

[Gregory Sager]

Kenyon holds off Illinois Tech in Chicago, 71-59, to record the first NCAC win of the season.  It was all Bryan Yelvington, all the time in his hometown--well, home metro-area.  The senior POTY candidate put up 30 points--24 in the second half--while taking better than 40% of his team's shots and logging 38 minutes.  Bryan hit 11 of 22 from the floor and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds to boot.  Sophomore J.T. Knight chipped in 16 mostly second-half points.  Overall the Lords shot 42%, hitting 39% of their 18 treys, and shot 20/27 from the line (4 of the missed free throws were in the final 5:05), while holding IIT to 39% from the field, 29% from the arc.  The Scarlet Hawks missed ten free throws, many of them in key second half situations which helped the Lords take control of the game.  Tied at the half 25-25, the Lords built a 17-point lead with 6:18 left, then held on as both Allen Bediako and Dave Knapke fouled out.  Kenyon played basically a seven-man rotation, with a significant contribution from rookie guard Anthony Chun (8 points, 6 assists.)  Kenyon moves on to the championship round of the Midway Classic, where they will face Edgewood, upset winners over host Chicago, 101-93.  Box; recap.

... and what an ugly game it was to watch. Although it picked up a little in the second half, mostly thanks to Yelvington, the first half was a missed-shot festival. Layups, treys, midrange jumpers, hook shots, free throws, you name it -- IIT and Kenyon missed 'em in all flavors, and leavened the mess with a lot of turnovers as well. And it isn't as though either team was even close to playing the sort of defense that was good enough to explain it all. One has to expect a lot of rust on opening weekend, but that was egregiously bad basketball even by opening-weekend standards.

On the plus side, Kenyon had a great turnout in the Ratner Center, with a lot of enthusiastic students present.

Kenyon takes home the championship trophy from the University of Chicago's Midway Classic, dropping Edgewood 87-79.  Tournament MVP Bryan Yelvington followed up his 30 point outburst with 32 more, including 17 of 20 from the free throw line.  Dave Knapke pitched in a double-double, with 12 rebounds and 10 points (8 of 8 from the line), and J.T. Knight added 15 points and 6 assists; his 31 combined points landed him a spot on the all-tournament team.  When given a chance to shoot, the Lords hit 42% of their field goal attempts, and recorded 15 assists on 23 field goals.  The game, however, was decided at the free throw line, where Kenyon was 34 for 39 (87%), outscoring the Eagles by 21.  The Lords led for most of the game, although Edgewood parlayed an 11-0 run into a one-point halftime lead.  Kenyon quickly reassumed command in the second, and led the final 17:30 of the game.  Kenyon held their opponents to 39% shooting, one night after the Eagles shot 60% and dropped 101 points on nationally-ranked Chicago.  Kenyon is now off until a week from Tuesday when they travel to Washington & Jefferson.  Box; recap.

I didn't see the Sunday games, which is why I was initially shocked to discover that Kenyon beat Edgewood. The Lords looked pretty wobbly on Saturday, as I indicated above, while Edgewood looked like world-beaters in upsetting preseason #22 Chicago. However, the Eagles are very, very young -- they feature only one upperclassman in the rotation -- and a young team can very easily look like world-beaters one night, and self-beaters the next.

[ScotsFan]

(Now, just how good Otterbein will be this year is an open question that should be considered when evaluating OWU's performance.)

Judging by where Ott landed in the OAC preseason coaches poll (9th out of 10), I'd say the Cards aren't expected to be very good...