MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

Back from Chadwick....and I'm just as stunned as LG about the way this one played out. Not so much stunned that Wabash won the game as we all realize that this isn't the same kind of dominant Wooster team that we're used to, but stunned at the way in which this one went down.  I've seen Wabash hold double digit leads on Wooster at Chadwick in the past, only to have Wooster flip a switch and make a run in the second half.  It was a little uncomfortable waiting for that inevitable Scots run, but it just never came along today.  

Of course congratulations are in order to Coach Petty for winning his 500th game this afternoon.  Milestones are always awesome, but they are even better when they happen in big moments in front of the home crowd.  

Wes Smith's effort today was outstanding.  Wooster really did not have an answer for Wes's dribble penetration game and Smith's great first half really helped to get Wabash off on the right foot.  I knew Chase Haltom could shoot, but egads his range was ridiculous today.  He hit a three pointer early in the game right out of Steve Moore's lap.  I've not seen that kind of range from a Wabash shooter since Josh Estelle....high praise indeed.  Wabash also got very valuable minutes from freshmen Nick Curosh and Derek Bailey.  These kids look like they could develop into solid players in the next couple of years.  

Perhaps some Wooster fans can shed some light on this for me....last year when I saw Bryan Wickliffe, he looked like the next big thing for the Scots.  I wasn't looking forward to seeing him for three more years.  However, his numbers this season don't seem to indicate much improvement from a year ago and he only played 20 minutes today (fouls were not an issue).  Is Wickliffe hurt or has he not progressed that much from his solid first year?  

[David Collinge]

Allegheny could get no closer than 6 down the stretch.  Witt holds on for a 72-64 victory.

At Earlham, Kenyon shot a mind-boggling 71% from the field in the first half, including 5/8 from the arc, and yet only led by 5 at halftime, as the EC got off seven more shots, hitting 42%, and made 8 treys.  That must have been a great half for the fans.  Things settled down in the second, with both teams shooting in the low 40s and just 4 treys made (of 19).  Bryan Yelvington had 22 points and 8 boards, game-highs in both categories. 

[seinfeld]

Wickliffe's play this year is a mystery, quite frankly. He seems to have regressed, or at least he is not being used even as much as last year.

Another puzzling development has been the play of Ian Franks in recent games. In the first seven games of the year, Franks averaged 15.6 points per game and shot 54.8% (40-of-73) from the field and 39.1% from three-point range (9-of-23). In the last six games, he is averaging just 10.5 points per game (if you take away the last two minutes of the Mt. Union game, when he got eight points at the foul line when the Purple Raiders were fouling to stay in the game), his average would be 9.2 points per game. He is shooting just 37.7% from the field (20-of-53) and 18.2% from three-point range (2-of-11). Throw in three foul outs for good measure.

I don't think it is coincidence that his recent poor streak coincides with his movement to the two-guard position. It seems that his natural position would be shooting guard, but he put up better numbers when he was running the point. Maybe they need to use him more in that role.

Whatever the reason, Wooster is going nowhere if he is not playing like he was earlier in the year, when he looked like one of the best players in the league.

[woosterbooster]

Jerry (if I may use your first name), that's a very good point.  I think everybody expected Franks to be moved to the two spot upon the return of Brandon Johnson.  Now, under different circumstances, with Balch at the top, he's there anyway and it's not working that well, which surprises me.

There is one thing that I noticed at the Kenyon game, and that's that Wooster has gotten away from the high picks at the top of the circle that were a staple of their offense earlier in the season.  Against the Lords, they only went to that near the end of the game.  Listening on the radio today, it's not possible to tell why they were struggling offensively, only that they were.

With a good scouting report, most of the Wooster players can be somewhat exploited.  Put a man on Hollowell and give him no room.  Do NOT drop off him much to double team or he'll get that open three that is pretty much his only offense.  When Bidwell drives, do NOT have your other players leave their men, as he's looking to pass.  Work to deny Franks the ball in the half-court set.  Pressure Fegan, as his ballhandling, although improved, is still a bit suspect and he's a shooter not a penetrator.

[wooscotsfan]

Wickliffe's play this year is a mystery, quite frankly. He seems to have regressed, or at least he is not being used even as much as last year.

Another puzzling development has been the play of Ian Franks in recent games.... Whatever the reason, Wooster is going nowhere if he is not playing like he was earlier in the year, when he looked like one of the best players in the league.

Both of these points about Wickliffe and Franks are well noted by Seinfeld and they both beg the larger question:  Who is Wooster's "go to" player this year when the Scots need a bucket?

It was very clear in today's game that no Wooster player took charge on the offensive end and got the Scots some key baskets when Wabash was extending their lead.  In fact, no one on the Scots was even close to matching what Wes Smith was scoring for the Little Giants.

In the past 12+ years, Wooster has had James Cooper, Tom Port, Bryan Nelson, John Ellenwood, etc. and each season the offensive leader(s) for the Scots would get the key baskets when they were needed.

It seems like Ian Franks, Bryan Wickliffe, Nathan Balch and Justin Hallowell have the potential to be the key scoring leaders of this Wooster team but none of them have demonstrated enough offensive consistency to get the job done.  Wooster needs one or more of these guys to demonstrate leadership on the offensive end or it could be a challenging season for the Scots.

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Hiram 77  Ohio Wesleyan 73

Hiram registers an impressive road win at OWU this afternoon and they are clearly the team to beat in the NCAC at this point. The Terriers were led by Ian Pfouts with 16 points and Chris Roberts with 14 points.

Ohio Wesleyan was led by Kyle Holliday with 22 points and Brent Pleiman with 18 points.  The difference in this game appears to be slightly better shooting by Hiram and the Terrriers also made 8 three pointers compared to only 5 for the Bishops.

Here is a link to the boxscore:  http://bishops.owu.edu/2008-09/owum0111.htm

Hiram improves to 9-4, 4-0 NCAC while OWU drops to 6-6, 2-2 NCAC.

It should be an interesting game on Wednesday when first place Hiram plays at Wooster!

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Oberlin 64  Denison 63

Oberlin gets the road win this afternoon.  Yeomen improve to 4-8, 1-3 NCAC.  Denison is 3-10, 0-4 NCAC.

[wooscotsfan]

NCAC Standings thru 1/11 games
(NCAC record, Overall record)

Hiram 4-0, 9-4
Wooster 3-1, 8-5
Wittenberg 3-1, 6-6
Kenyon 2-2, 8-5
Wabash 2-2, 7-5
Ohio Wesleyan 2-2, 6-6
Allegheny 2-2, 6-7
Oberlin 1-3, 4-8
Earlham 1-3, 1-12
Denison 0-4, 3-10

[David Collinge]

The difference in the game is hard to pick up from the boxscore, and it amounts to one thing: Hiram played more aggressively the Bishops.  It's not that OWU didn't play hard, it's just that Hiram is just a touch more athletic at most positions, and they had that tiny edge on loose balls, on ball movement, on defense, and on rebounds.  Their defense was fierce all evening, staying right in the faces of the ballhandlers and forcing some awkward shots.  OWU was able to get the ball inside quite a bit, but they'd have to force or hurry the shot; I lost count of how many OWU layups or putbacks stayed on the rim before dropping off.  Still, if OWU could have hit their threes with any regularity, it'd've been a different game.

And even with all of the above, the game was still in OWU's hands: they had the ball on their own baseline with 0:40 left, trailing by two.  They called a timeout to set up the offense, but Hiram wouldn't allow them to breathe and OWU never got a decent shot.  It was practically a case of the Terriers running out the clock on defense.

Fear the Pooch--this team is for real (in NCAC terms, at least.)  They've got bangers, drivers, and shooters, they play good defense, they move the ball well, and they dictate the tempo.  It's easy to get caught up in the Cinderella story (although, given the way they swagger and woof, it's more like an Evil Stepsister story), but they're earning these wins.  Three of their four conference wins are over legitimate contenders, and they played well in all three games.  They're playing with a chip on their shoulders and they're not backing down to anyone.  This may be a team only a (wicked step-)mother could love, but they're a real threat.  Wooster will have their hands full on Wednesday.

[David Collinge]

I realize it's very early yet, with just a quarter of the conference season gone, but here's something to ponder:  when was the last time the All-Conference first team had no Wooster or Wittenberg players on it? 

It's a distinct possibility this year, as neither team has what I consider to be an obvious choice.  As of right now, the first team is looking like Chris Roberts, Bryan Yelvington, Wes Smith, George Raftis, Tristian Gregory, and Kyle Holliday, with (probably) one slot open (there were seven first-teamers each of the last two years.)  Earlier, I thought it might be Ian Franks, but he's tailed off of late.  Both Witt and Woo are getting balanced contributions up and down the lineup with no real standout.  And there's other candidates as well, such as Mike Loll, Jordan Beard, and Chris Luther who are having good years for non-championship caliber teams. 

Just something to keep in the back of your mind.

[wally_wabash]

Hiram registers an impressive road win at OWU this afternoon and they are clearly the team to beat in the NCAC at this point.

It hurts my brain to even begin trying to comprehend this. 

[ScotsFan]

Hiram registers an impressive road win at OWU this afternoon and they are clearly the team to beat in the NCAC at this point.

It hurts my brain to even begin trying to comprehend this. 

Could this be signs of the Apocalypse??? 

[sac]

Hiram registers an impressive road win at OWU this afternoon and they are clearly the team to beat in the NCAC at this point.

It hurts my brain to even begin trying to comprehend this. 

Could this be signs of the Apocalypse??? 

One word...  'Oberlin'...........then I'm moving to Idaho.

[woosterbooster]

Still, if OWU could have hit their threes with any regularity, it'd've been a different game.

A rare written double-contraction sighting.  Generally confined to verbal usage in hairstyling salons and farm equipment stores.

[smedindy]

If memory serves, wasn't Mr. Pfouts the recipient of a lot of flack for a particularly hard foul on a Wooster player a couple of years ago that caused said player to miss time? Does that still linger at Wooster?

Inquiring minds.