MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[sac]

Just looked at the regional rankings. Wooster is 5th in the GL, behind Capital, JCU, C-M and Calvin. OWU was sixth but that will fall now, for sure.

It looks like Wooster will be the third or fourth GL team on the "C" board if they lose in the NCAC tourney, perhaps. If they lose to Denison, then all bets are off.

CMU lost again last night to WashU.  I would guess they would fall below Wooster in the rankings.  And Calvin lost today as well and to lowly Kzoo to boot!  So, Wooster's position in the GL region may not be as bad as previously thought...  8)

Pool C slots are going to depend on when teams lose in their respetive conference tournaments.  From this region this year, I wouldn't bank on an invite with any loss prior to the conference championship game.

Cap and JCU might be ok if they lose in the Semi's........but I wouldn't want to be in that position.

[Gregory Sager]

If Wooster manages to win their next 2 games and then if they lose in the NCAC tourney final game, their record would be 21-7.  The last time that Wooster lost in the NCAC tourney final and finished at 21-7 was in the 2001-2002 season.  Wooster did not receive a Pool C bid at 21-7 that year and missed the NCAA tournament.

Acknowledging that the NCAA tourney field has expanded some since 2001-2002, there may be a small chance for a Pool C bid with that same 21-7 record this year.  However, as we all know Pool C bids become very scarce if a number of highly ranked teams are upset in their conference tourneys and then are selected as Pool C bids.  If there are too many upsets around the country, a 21-7 Wooster team will not get invited as a Pool C.  I can remember one season several years ago when a Capital team with only 5 losses failed to receive a Pool C bid due to a large number of upsets.

That 21-7 record would be irrelevant, WSF, because it's the regional record that counts in the eyes of the selection committee -- or, to be more precise, the regional winning percentage. In other words, throw out the win over Messiah and the losses to UW-Platteville and Hawaii-Hilo when you're discussing Wooster's record. If Wooster loses in the NCAC tourney final, the Scots will be 20-5 (.800) in regional play. And that would be more than good enough for a Pool C berth.

[Pat Coleman]

Pool C slots are going to depend on when teams lose in their respetive conference tournaments.  From this region this year, I wouldn't bank on an invite with any loss prior to the conference championship game.

This has actually been less and less of a concern in the new system. The smoke-filled room/old-boys network system cared a lot, lot more about when you lost in your tournament. In this system, top seed Randolph-Macon lost in the ODAC quarterfinals a few years ago and still made the tournament.

The entire body of work is taken into account, not just your last game and what round it was in.

[David Collinge]

I'm not saying [Ian] Franks is as good as Port, because he isn't, but he is a lot closer than I think anyone could have imagined. And he is doing this while basically playing the point guard position. And as a result, he should get strong consideration for NCAC Player of the Year.

Aaron Dorksen agrees with you.



Sincere congratulations to Bill Brown and the Wittenberg Tigers on the occasion of extending their streak of non-losing seasons to 40.  The Tigers overcame a lot of adverse circumstances to achieve this goal, and should be proud of what they've accomplished.

[David Collinge]

After careful deliberation, here's my choices for the end-of-season awards.

All-Conference, First Team (listed alphabetically):
Ian Franks, sophomore, Wooster
Kyle Holliday, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Kevin Murray, senior, Wittenberg
George Raftis, junior, Allegheny
Chris Roberts, sophomore, Hiram
Wes Smith, sophomore, Wabash
Bryan Yelvington, senior, Kenyon
no real surprises here

All-Conference, Second Team (listed alphabetically):
Jordan Beard, senior, Oberlin
Marty Bidwell, senior, Wooster
Babajide Eniola, sophomore, Hiram
Tristian Gregory, senior, Earlham
Justin Hallowell, freshman, Wooster
J.T. Knight, sophomore, Kenyon
Kyle Miller, senior, Ohio Wesleyan
Pat Pellerite, freshman, Ohio Wesleyan
eight players for seven spots; see Newcomer of the Year discussion

All-Conference, Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically):
Nathan Balch, freshman, Wooster
David Knapke, junior, Kenyon
Nick Russo, sophomore, Hiram
Pat Sullivan, senior, Denison
19 spots overall, nine of then freshmen or sophomores

Player of the Year:  Bryan Yelvington, Kenyon, the conference's scoring champion, who was also third in rebounding, ninth in steals, first in FG%, and 8th in free throw percentage.  Ian Franks and Kyle Holliday had tremendous years, but neither was as dominant as Bryan...when he was healthy, that is.  His four missed games could cut both ways; on the one hand, it's hard to be outstanding from the bench, and while Yelvington sat, Franks was powering his team to a conference title; but on the other hand, his absence clearly demonstrated just how valuable he was to his team. 

Newcomer of the Year:  Maybe it's a cop-out on my part, but I just can't decide between Wooster's Justin Hallowell and OWU's Pat Pellerite.  Pellerite was the slightly better rebounder (7.5 rpg, 3rd in NCAC vs. 5.0 rpg, 11th), while Hallowell was the slightly better scorer (12.9 ppg, 15th vs. 10.9 ppg, 21st).  Pellerite led the league in FG% at .588, while Hallowell was 6th in 3PFG% (.469).  Pellerite hit better than 80% of his free throws (10th in NCAC), but Hallowell hit 90% of his (2nd).  Both were starters from day one, and both were crucial elements in their team's success, with Pellerite averaging 23.6 and Hallowell 27.9 minutes per game.  Neither has any significant weakensses: Pellerite is perhaps a little too prone to foul, while Hallowell could maybe use his size to better effect.  In trying to decide which had the better season, I can't find anything to hang my hat on.  This extended to my being unable to decide between them for the last spot on my all-conference second team, which is why there's 8 players rather than the seven required by the conference regulations.  (As an aside, as far as I can tell, Hiram's Babajide Eniola is ineligible for this award, which is restricted to "freshmen and transfers."  Although Eniola saw no action last season, he is a sophomore and evidently not a transfer.  Otherwise, his dominant performance on the offensive glass would make him a strong candidate for this award.)

Coach of the Year:  Steve Fleming, Hiram.  This choice need not be defended.  Special mention, however, should be made of the jobs done by Wooster's Steve Moore and OWU's Mike DeWitt, contending for the conference title after losing such stars as James Cooper, Dustin Rudegeair, Brandon Johnson, and Jesse Jean.  In any other year, perhaps, but not this year.

So these are my choices, FWIW.  I hope posting this will stimulate some positive discussion.

[wooscotsfan]

If Wooster loses in the NCAC tourney final, the Scots will be 20-5 (.800) in regional play. And that would be more than good enough for a Pool C berth.

The problem with Pool C bids is that there are no guarantees.

Pool C slots can fill up very quickly if there are a large number of upsets in conference tourneys of highly ranked teams.  In the scenario where Wooster loses in the NCAC tourney final and they are 20-5 in regional play, they still could miss a Pool C slot if there are 18 teams nationally that have better Pool C records based on the selection criteria.

My advice for Wooster remains the same - they need to win the NCAC tourney and the automatic bid.

[lebron23]

Now that we are nearly on the eve of the NCAC tournament....let's hear some predictions....my first round predictions are as follows...
1.) Wooster over 8.) Denison...the Scots will be focused after nearly losing to the Big Red a week and a half ago.
4.) Wittenberg over 5.) Kenyon...although it's hard to beat teams 3 times in a row, I feel that the Tigers have the Lords number and will advance to the semi-finals. 
3.) Hiram over 6.) Wabash...despite the Little Giants recent hot streak and the Terriers recent struggles...I feel Hiram's scoring and rebounding prowess will offset Wabash's height advantage.
2.) OWU over 7.) Allegheny...the rematch of the final regular season game for both teams won't be close as I feel the Bishops will regain form and put it to the Gators.
-No upsets seedwise, setting up some great semi-final matchups b/w Woo-Witt, and Hiram and OWU on Friday at Timken Gymnasium in Wooster....thoughts?

[smedindy]

I'm no Nate Silver (but geez, I wish...I mean, he's taken his geekdom to fame and fortune, while I...well...) but here are my predictions.

Wooster over Denison (98%) - While Denison has played hard all season and has improved greatly, AND they gave the Scots a huge scare at Timken - it will be a tall, tall order to do that again.

Ohio Wesleyan over Allegheny (67%) - Anything can happen once, but I don't think the Gators can do it twice.

Wabash over Hiram (52%) - Hiram is still one of the best stories in D-3 hoops this year, and seems to have laid the foundation for a good future. Wabash has been playing better than Hiram of late, but I for one would not wager any hard earned dollars on this matchup. Too close to call, just like Franken vs. Coleman.

Witt over Kenyon (70%) - If Kenyon were 100% healthy, then I'd pick the Lords. But if Kenyon were 100% healthy they'd be hosting this.

[wally_wabash]

I'll bite...

Wooster over Denison - Like most of the rest of us here, it's hard to see Denison getting another run at Wooster like they had a couple of weeks ago. 

OWU over Allegheny - OWU isn't coming into this thing playing their best ball, but I think they'll put together enough to get the Gators here. 

Wabash over Hiram - Of course I'm taking the LGs.  But not without good reason.  Hiram is scuffling, Wabash is hot and not just hot but they've been playing well on the road which is key. 

Kenyon over Wittenberg - There's no way Yelvington sits out again and if he's in, Kenyon wins. 

I do think that at least three of these four games will be very close.  It's going to be fun to follow along on Tuesday night. 

[imderekpoe]

I'll take a shot, too.

Wooster over Denison:  I doubt this game will be close, although Denison's style gave the Scots fits for the 1st half in Granville too.

OWU over Allegheny: Not sure what was up with the Bishops last week, but I think that OWU will have a strong tourney.

Wabash over Hiram: Seems like the pressure of being in the race so long took its toll on the Terriers and after they lost close games to Wooster and Wesleyan they couldn't get the momentum back.  I think this one will be tight, though, and could go either way.

Witt over Kenyon: Might be close, but unless Kenyon's got everyone back and at full strength I don't see them pulling this one off.

In any event, it should be a much more interesting tournament from beginning to end than in past years!

[seinfeld]

Very sad news involving the Wooster basketball team. The 3-year old son of assistant basketball coach Doug Cline was killed in a car accident this morning, when a car driven by Scot junior Dustin Geitgey (and cousin of Doug) slid off the road. Corey was then apparently hit by another car that also slid on ice.

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4532098

[lebron23]

That is terrible terrible news...what a tragedy...Dustin is a great kid and I feel horrible for him because he is a hardworking, very kind young man.  Coach Cline is also a great coach and even better man, and no words can explain what he must be going through right now.  RIP Corey Cline, you will be missed by everyone in the Wooster community! 

[M.Knapke]

I'm going against the grain, with all lower seeds on tuesday.
Denny
Al
Bash
Ken

I'm thinking they will all be deliberate, grindem out games.

Lord Supporter

[countyroad]

I live out of town now but check the DR online every morning.  When I saw the headline for this story, and before I could read the story, I was fearful of what family may be affected.  It's definitely a very sad story.  Prayers are sent to everyone involved.   What a tragedy..

[ECHOOPER]

When was the last time that Woo and Witt met on friday night and not saturday for the conference championship?

Wooster over Denison- Wooster is unstoppable at home when they don't miss.
Wittenberg over Kenyon- Witt inspired to play Wooster in the second round
Hiram over Wabash- Hiram's youth over the long bus ride from C'ville.
OWU over Allegheny- Bishops win in the rematch