MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Two non-conference games on tonight's agenda:
Kalamazoo at Oberlin 7pm -- Live Stats, Audio, Video
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology at Wabash 7:30pm -- Live Stats, Audio, Video + Wally's Twitter Feed

[David Collinge]

Oberlin put on a clinic tonight, and no I don't mean a cello masterclass or a poetry slam.   Check out some of these numbers:
> The Yeomen shot 71% from the field
> They recorded 18 assists on 24 buckets
> They outrebounded Kzoo 28 to 22
> They held the Hornets to 15 second-half points
> They won the game 71-51
The good defense is nothing new; they held Hiram to 14 points in the first half just the other day.  On offense, Oberlin missed a total of 19 shots on the evening, but nine of them were free throws (65%).  They did turn the ball over 20 times, sloppiness which helped get them into an early 14-2 hole, but they filled that hole with a 12-0 run and went into the half tied at 36.  After the half, Oberlin did their best Wash U. impersonation and utterly dominated the visiting Michiganders to raise their record to 3-5.  Go Yeo!

[gobash83]

Congrats to the Little Giants on their 64-46 victory over Rose-Hulman.  While the reports from those present and the stats suggest it wasn't pretty, a win is a win.

Time to get ready for another shot at DPU!

[wally_wabash]

It was definitely an uneven effort offensively for Wabash tonight, but the defense was there for the full game which helped to keep RHIT at a comfortable distance even while Wabash struggled to score in the second half.  Certainly, I don't think that an 8-29 half of basketball is going to be good enough on Friday, but I think this is a positive step after the last two starts Wabash has had (vs. DPU and Denison).  Hopefully the good start will be duplicated on Friday night.  It's just too hard to dig a deep hole against a good team like DePauw and come back to win.  I'm looking forward to a rowdy crowd and a full 40 minutes from Wabash later this week. 

[David Collinge]

Today in the NCAC:
One conference game, a rematch of last year's 4/5 quarterfinal, highlights the slate:
Kenyon (3-4, 0-1) at Wittenberg (4-1, 0-1), 7:30 -- Live Stats, Audio, and Video

Non-conference:
Allegheny (4-2) at Thiel (2-4), 7pm (no coverage)
Washington & Jefferson (3-5) at Denison (1-5), 7:30pm -- Live Stats and Audio
Grove City (3-3) at Hiram (3-3), 7:30pm -- Live Stats, Audio, and Video (Hiram's 4th game in 8 days)
Capital (1-3) at Ohio Wesleyan (1-5), ~8pm -- Live Stats and Video (second game of a doubleheader, women face Wash/Jeff at 6pm, men's tip time 30 mins. after women's game ends)

[pennstghs]

Lets go Witt, don't want an 0-2 conference start.

I can tell you that Witt will have great energy tonight

[WooHoopsntrack01]

Looks like its about to get ugly for Kenyon.........39-26, witt up with 7 to go in the first half

[David Collinge]

Hiram has revised their end-of-the-game playbook; this time they fed Nick Russo on the left baseline, and he drained the game-winning three, as Hiram wins 68-65.

Elsewhere,
Washington & Jefferson 79, Denison 69
Wittenberg 76, Kenyon 66
Thiel 84, Allegheny 82
Capital 34, OWU 33 (half)

[pennstghs]

A few notes from the Wittenberg Kenyon game tonight

Wittenberg 76 Kenyon 66

If anyone wants me to go into detail on anything let me know.......

Witt shot pretty well from 3 point range in the first half, but needs to get the ball down low a little more when the shots aren't falling

Coach Brown received his first technical of the year (deservedly) but probably should have been given a second......needless to say one of the officials wasn't having a good night. Not sure on the ethics of shouting at a coach and a player but any way.

Coach Brown on his post game show stated that we won't be seeing Mckee or Cooper until the holiday tournament and probably not into the regular rotation until the first of the year.


Kenyon is a gritty team most definitely. Croci's teams, as always, are well-coached, but for some reason I can see Kenyon possibly sneaking into that Top 4 tier at the end of the season and being a pain in the conferenec tournament. It doesn't help to start off 0-2, but most teams struggle with Wooster and Wittenberg as the first two games. Can Oberlin and Denison come soon enough? No offense

[David Collinge]

If anyone wants me to go into detail on anything let me know.......

No man, I hate it when anyone goes into detail in here. 

Trying to make a "The Bishops lead the Crusaders" joke but coming up empty...
anyway, it's over.  In a very sloppy and, frankly, poorly played game, OWU outlasts Capital 64-63.  DJ Frazier, still going coast to coast in many Wooster fans' nightmares, couldn't convert the second of two free throws with 0:00.8 showing, and the Bishops escaped the Holy Land Branch Rickey arena with their second win.  OWU recorded a rare victory in a game where their turnovers (24) outpaced their buckets (21).  Frosh Marshall Morris had a double-double (13/10), but committed the stupid foul that put Frazier on the line with a chance to tie.  Prior to that, Pat Pellerite threw the ball away on back-to-back possessions, but he did contribute 10 points and 9 boards.  OWU still has a lot of room for improvement as they move to 2-5 on the season.

[ScotsFan]

As much as a win over Kenyon can be big, last night's win for Witt was big.  I don't know if Witt could have rebounded from and 0-2 start to conference play vs. Kenyon and Hiram.  Although, as penn pointed out, Kenyon could very well be a team challenging for a top 4 finish in the league when it's all said and done.

OWU on the other hand...

I'm quite stunned at how poorly the Bishops have started this season.  I know they lost some big contributors from last year's team, but they still had a lot of talent waiting in the wings.  And I know that their schedule has been difficult, but I didn't think it was 2-5 difficult.   And they're very fortunate they didn't start off 1-6 after surviving against a sub-par Capital squad in Deleware no less. 

IMO, as I've said before, this has the makings of being one of the most wide open conference races ever.  As it stands now, Wooster still seems to be the team to beat, but they are far from looking invincible.  Witt has shown signs that they are back, but that loss to Hiram kind of opened up some questions wrt them.  Hiram shows flashes of the team they were to start last season, and they also show flashes of the team that finished last season.  Kenyon is off to an 0-2 start in conference, but they have more than held their own against Woo and Witt in those 2 losses.  And for me, Wabash and OWU are the enigmas of the conference thus far.  With all of the talent they both returned, there should be no reason why these 2 teams should be struggling the way they have to start the season. 

If I had to rank the NCAC today, I would have a hard time including Wabash and OWU in the top 4 or even in the top 5.  Woo, Witt, Hiram and Kenyon would be my top 4 for now with Gheny checking in at #5 followed by Wabash and OWU with Denison not far behind them.  Anyone else have any thoughts on how they would rank the NCAC today?  Just trying to drum up some more lively conversation...  8)

[KnightSlappy]

Anyone else have any thoughts on how they would rank the NCAC today?  Just trying to drum up some more lively conversation...  8)

This probably isn't quite what you're looking for, but here's how the NCAC currently* stacks up from a regional RPI basis.

   REG   RANK     WP    OWP   OOWP     RPI   NAT   REG   OVR   CONF   TEAM
1   GL    010   .600   .625   .549   .5998   070   3-2   3-3   NCAC   Hiram
2   GL    011   .667   .571   .536   .5865   091   4-2   4-3   NCAC   Wooster
3   GL    012   .500   .632   .558   .5804   098   2-2   4-2   NCAC   Allegheny
4   GL    023   .667   .385   .483   .4798   224   2-1   5-1   NCAC   Wittenberg
5   GL    029   .600   .360   .470   .4474   276   3-2   3-4   NCAC   Earlham
6   GL    030   .333   .448   .556   .4465   279   2-4   3-5   NCAC   Kenyon
7   GL    033   .167   .567   .456   .4390   292   1-5   1-6   NCAC   Denison
8   GL    034   .200   .524   .496   .4360   300   1-4   2-5   NCAC   Ohio Wesleyan
9   GL    035   .500   .379   .485   .4359   301   3-3   3-4   NCAC   Wabash

*Up to date with scores reported on d3hoops.com thru 7:15 am (EST)

[smedindy]

Um, ick for Wabash.

Good to see others besides OWU and Wabash in the top 3 or 4 in some people's minds. It makes the conference more balanced and intriguing.

[David Collinge]

If pressed, I think I might argue that Allegheny belongs at least as high as Hiram and Kenyon right now, but I don't feel like doing the analysis that would either support or refute that position.  I have no doubt that Wooster and OWU will right their respective ships and be at the top come season's end.  I still haven't decided whether I'm a believer in the Wittenberg renaissance just yet.

-----------------------------------

Fairly light weekend in the NCAC, so let's do the schedule in one fell swoop.

Friday:
Alma (2-4) at Oberlin (3-5), 6pm -- Live Stats, Audio, and Video -- stay tuned as Oberlin's women have their home opener (believe it or not) afterward, vs. Ursuline, also on video
DePauw (6-1) at Wabash (3-4), 7:30pm -- Live Stats, Audio, and Video

Saturday:
Earlham (3-4, 1-0) at Denison (1-6, 1-0), 3pm -- Live Stats -- The weekend's lone conference game, and lo and behold, it's a battle for a share of first place!
Wittenberg (5-1) at Anderson (6-1), 3pm -- Live Audio (Witt) -- Anderson seems to have live audio as well, but I can't figure out how to access it--"The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast and WQME 98.7 FM from O.C. Lewis Gymnasium at 3 p.m."

Sunday:
Wooster (4-3) vs. North Carolina Wesleyan (2-6) at Randolph-Macon, 4pm -- Live Audio (Wooster) -- RMC will have Live Stats, Audio, and Video for at least their own games in this tourney, perhaps for this game as well, check here

Monday:
Wooster (5-3) at Randolph-Macon (7-0), 7pm -- Live Stats -- Live Audio (Wooster)

[ScotsFan]

In case anyone missed it, R-MC has nearly moved into the top 5 in the latest D3hoops Top 25.  They currenly sit at #6.  If the Jackets and Scots happen to meet up on Sunday Monday (sorry, didn't notice the R-MC tournament didn't start until Sunday...) this would be the 3rd opponent for the Scots ranked in the top 6 out of the 9 games they've played thus far.  And as if that wasn't enough, they still have top ranked WashU on the horizon as a possible 4th top 6 opponent this season!  I don't think too many teams could match that kind of resume as far as facing so many highly ranked opponents this season.