MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Hiram wins, 79-75.  The Terriers take sole possession of first place in the NCAC.  Big game looming when Wooster goes there on Wednesday.

Words I thought would never be uttered! Holy cow!   

[David Collinge]

I don't mean to tread on wooscotsfan's turf, but...

All the NCAC 1/31 Final Scores
OWU 83, Wooster 65
Hiram 79, Wittenberg 75
Kenyon 71, Wabash 59
Denison 67, Allegheny 64
Earlham 78, Oberlin 70

Current NCAC Standings thru 1/29 Games:

1.  Hiram 9-1, 14-5
2.  Wooster 8-2, 13-6
2.  Ohio Wesleyan 8-2, 12-6
4.  Wittenberg 6-4, 9-9
4.  Kenyon 6-4, 12-7
6.  Wabash 3-7, 8-10
6.  Allegheny 3-7, 7-12
6.  Denison 3-7, 6-13
6.  Earlham 3-7, 3-16
10. Oberlin 1-9, 4-15

[David Collinge]

It looks like we've established a Big 5/Dorksen 5 arrangement this season.  Taking a quick look at the Big 5:

Hiram (9-1):
Key road wins: at OWU, at Wittenberg
Key games remaining:  Wooster (h), OWU (h), Kenyon (a)

Wooster (8-2):
Key road wins: at Kenyon
Key games remaining: Hiram (a), Wittenberg (a)

OWU (8-2):
Key road wins: at Wittenberg
Key games remaining: Hiram (a), Wittenberg (h)

Wittenberg (6-4):
Key road wins: at Kenyon
Key games remaining: OWU (a), Wooster (h), Kenyon (h)

Kenyon (6-4):
Key road wins: none
Key games remaining: Hiram (h), Wittenberg (a)

[wooscotsfan]

David - thanks for updating the scores and standings.  I am down at Hilton Head with the family for vacation.  Just finished dinner out and getting the kids to bed so your pinch hitting is much appreciated!

Wooster's remaining shot for a NCAC regular season title is this coming Wednesday at Hiram.  If the Scots don't get the win, the Terriers will win the conference given their remaining schedule which is fairly easy.  Wooster has the tougher remaining schedule with a game also at Witt.

This rather young Wooster team still needs to learn that defense wins games especially when you are on the road.  Coach Moore took several timeouts today after easy OWU baskets (open shots) no doubt trying to stress that point with the team.  It will be very interesting to see if the Scots can get the job done on Wednesday.  Having Bryan Wickliffe back on the floor would help so let's hope that he has a quick recovery.

[ScotsFan]

David - thanks for updating the scores and standings.  I am down at Hilton Head with the family for vacation.  Just finished dinner out and getting the kids to bed so your pinch hitting is much appreciated!

You poor soul...    Well, at least we're supposed to crack the freezing point up here in the arctic circle today. 

Wooster's remaining shot for a NCAC regular season title is this coming Wednesday at Hiram.  If the Scots don't get the win, the Terriers will win the conference given their remaining schedule which is fairly easy.  Wooster has the tougher remaining schedule with a game also at Witt.

Hiram definitely has the upper hand to the conference championship at the moment with their second away win over one of the 'Big 5'.  Wooster hasn't proven they can win on the road with the exception of their win at Kenyon.  I agree with you wsf, in that Wooster's regular season title hopes hinge on their game at Hiram on Wednesday.  A win and the Scots are back in 1st.  A loss and their regular season title hopes are all but over.

One thing for certain.  It's looking more and more like the possibility of the NCAC tournament being held in Hiram is becoming a reality.  Who would have guessed that 2 months ago at the start of the season?!

This rather young Wooster team still needs to learn that defense wins games especially when you are on the road.  Coach Moore took several timeouts today after easy OWU baskets (open shots) no doubt trying to stress that point with the team.  It will be very interesting to see if the Scots can get the job done on Wednesday.  Having Bryan Wickliffe back on the floor would help so let's hope that he has a quick recovery.

I'm really confused as to why this team can't seem to find any consistency on the defensive end of the floor and especially on the road.  It seems that Wooster forgets how to play defense when they are away from Timken.  Wabash and OWU are perfect examples of this.  If the Scots can't figure this problem out, we will be adding Hiram to the list as well...

[BigRedFan]

How about the BIG RED??  Three straight.....now that has not happened in a REAL LONG TIME!!!  That is great.

Looking at the standings are we going to see a whole bunch of tie breaker options?  I have no idea what the rules say but it sure looks like we are going to have some real intesting situations for the tourney spots.  Home field may be HUGE.

Again, way to go BIG RED!!!

[David Collinge]

This rather young Wooster team still needs to learn that defense wins games especially when you are on the road.  Coach Moore took several timeouts today after easy OWU baskets (open shots) no doubt trying to stress that point with the team.  It will be very interesting to see if the Scots can get the job done on Wednesday.  Having Bryan Wickliffe back on the floor would help so let's hope that he has a quick recovery.

Wickliffe's absence was huge.  Mike DeWitt took advantage of the situation right from the start, forcing the ball inside to Brent Pleiman, who had no difficulty backing down first Ross and then Sawyer.  In the first 4:35 of the game, Pleiman had three baskets and two free throws, while Ross and Sawyer had three fouls between them.  Although Pleiman was held to three points for the rest of the game (playing only 24 minutes total), the pattern had been established, as OWU ended up with 44 points in the paint.  Wooster's non-post defenders always had to keep aware of what was going on behind them, so they could help out the overmatched post player if needed, and that (combined with OWU's excellent ball movement) helped create a lot of those open jumpers.  OWU ended up shooting 55% for the game, 64% in the second half, and was 5-of-9 from the arc.  They're good shooters, and they were shooting with confidence, but I think Wooster's vulnerability in the post also contributed to the hot shooting.  How different things would have been with Wickliffe healthy is a guessing game, but I think it would have been at least a little different, because I doubt that OWU would have emphasized getting the ball in to Pleiman so much so early if he'd been going up against Wickliffe.

[woosterbooster]

Pleiman is a cross between a slug and a lug - outweighing the Wooster defenders by at least 50 pounds.  At home, in the friendly officiating environment of the Branch Rickey Center, he was able to throw his considerable bulk around with impunity.  Not a pretty sight, but effective as the refs were also intent in throwing their weight around, smirking at the Wooster players as they did so.  But that's what you get at OWU, every time.   

[wally_wabash]

How about equal time for the Dorksen 5?   

Five teams, three available spots for the tournament...here's how it breaks down:

Wabash (3-7)
Remaining games: OWU, @Wooster, @Earlham, @Oberlin, Witt, @Denison

This is bad, bad news for Wabash.  The LGs have been pretty awful on the road in conference play and have been pretty awful really since the Wooster game on 1/10.  The two home games come against teams that Wabash doesn't seem to match up well with.  There's nothing easy  here and Wabash is going to have to find 2-3 wins here to get into the tournament. 

Allegheny (3-7)
Remaining games: @Oberlin, Witt, @Hiram, Kenyon, Wooster, @OWU

The Gators are on a five game slide here, but they've been losing closer games than Wabash has.  This is a pretty brutal stretch here for Allegheny.  The Oberlin game on Wednesday is a must win. 

Denison (3-7)
Remaining games: Kenyon, @Oberlin, @Wooster, Hiram, @Earlham, Wabash

The Big Red are red hot and two of their remaining games are against teams that they've beaten. 

Earlham (3-7)
Remaining games: Witt, @Kenyon, Wabash, @OWU, Denison, @Wooster

Earlham only has a win against Wabash of their remaining opponents.  The head to heads at home against Wabash and Denison probably will make or break Earlham's chance to play in the postseason tournament. 

Oberlin (1-9)
Remaining games: Allegheny, Denison, @Kenyon, Wabash, OWU, @Hiram

Oberlin isn't likely to make up two full games on the four teams ahead of them, but if they can get home wins against the Gators and the Little Giants, the Yeoman have a real shot to sneak in. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

I really value the online relationship with Woo posters, so I hope no one will take offense: after so many years of dominance by the W's, I'm rooting for the Puppies on Wednesday.

Sorry, but Go Terriers!

[David Collinge]

Oberlin (1-9)
Remaining games: Allegheny, Denison, @Kenyon, Wabash, OWU, @Hiram

Oberlin isn't likely to make up two full games on the four teams ahead of them, but if they can get home wins against the Gators and the Little Giants, the Yeoman have a real shot to sneak in. 

Mike Loll, Oberlin's leading rebounder and second-best scorer, has missed the last four games and is reportedly out for the season with a non-basketball-related condition.  That certainly dampens whatever chance the Yeomen had to make the tournament.

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to Denison's Chris Luther for becoming the latest recipient of the NCAC Player of the Week Award.  Luther scored 37 points in victories over Earlham and Allegheny, hitting better than half of his field goal attempts in the process.  Congratulations, Chris!

[smedindy]

Pleiman is a cross between a slug and a lug - outweighing the Wooster defenders by at least 50 pounds.  At home, in the friendly officiating environment of the Branch Rickey Center, he was able to throw his considerable bulk around with impunity.  Not a pretty sight, but effective as the refs were also intent in throwing their weight around, smirking at the Wooster players as they did so.  But that's what you get at OWU, every time.   

Wow, that reminds me of what I saw when Wooster came to Wabash, and the Ohio-based NCAC refs allowed Wooster to push and maul and go over the back of Wabash players, every time, for years.

Of course  that may just what I THOUGHT I saw, and not what really happened.

And you know, I bet that even though there are different refs each year assigned to those games, they still conspire the same way...


(i.e. - this is getting old, WB - you win or lose on the court...and players should adjust to what is or is not being called)

PS - BTW - is it OWU's fault that Wooster's heaviest player is listed at 215? Time to hit the weights...

[wally_wabash]

Fat jokes?  Really???  Is there any kid in the league with a funny haircut you want to rip on while your at it?  Maybe a guy with a tatoo that you don't care for?  Why stop with the just the big fellas??

[ScotsFan]

I really value the online relationship with Woo posters, so I hope no one will take offense: after so many years of dominance by the W's, I'm rooting for the Puppies on Wednesday.

Sorry, but Go Terriers!

No offense taken from me Mr. Y!  This was bound to happen sooner or later.  I just would have never guessed that Hiram would be the ones knocking over the apple cart...