MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[pennstghs]

disappointing loss for Witt and sorry to say Wally, Witt had this game won but let it slip away in the first half of all things. Wabash came out way lethargic and Witt had careless turnovers and quick shots that if they could have extended the lead further, Wabash may not have been able to come back.

Rebounding was the big difference once again in this matchup b/w the two as Wabash outrebounded Witt 34-25. Also, Witt had no answer for Wes Smith's driving to the lane and drawing fouls.

It also helps that everything and anything Witt threw up was missing and Wabash could not miss with countless lucky shots. I mean Zimmerman was shooting 15% from 3 point range for the season and made 3 three's.

Mckee had a shot to tie it for Witt with under 10 seconds and was 75% of the way in the basket but somehow rimmed out.

Witt still has a chance at the 3 seed and would prefer that big time. When's the last time if Witt ends up as the 4 that Witt and Wooster met on a Friday night?

[wally_wabash]

At what point did Witt ever "have this game won"?  Wabash erased the halftime deficit pretty quickly in the second half, and with 10 minutes to go it was 55-55...anybody's game at that point.  From what I saw on the vid stream, Wabash let Witt hang around in the last two minutes more than anything. 

[pennstghs]

Wally, if you read further into that statement, what I meant to say was Witt had the game won (in other words could have put this game dangerously out of reach) if they could have extended the lead before the half instead of playing sloppy and throwing up quick shots.

I give Wabash credit for coming out after half and showing up as a completely different team. The two teams from the 1st half to 2nd half were completely different

[bashbrother]

Wally -

I'm sure you have season stats that go back much further then I do,  If Wabash beats Oberlin (please no let down)....  This will be the most successful regular season for the Little Giants in how many years?  Don't know if the NCAC tourney is considered reg. season?  Even if it is, figure in 1 loss.... it has still been a while.

[wally_wabash]

Wally -

You I'm sure have season stats that go back much further then I do,  If Wabash beats Oberlin (please no let down)....  This will be the most successful regular season for the Little Giants in how many years?

The final regular season game is vs. Kenyon, but your point is the same.  Although I will say that Wabash was dangerously close to dropping their game at Kenyon a few weeks ago.  Wabash will have to figure out a way to get inside on Kenyon's 2-3 zone to be successful...otherwise it'll be a matter of shooting a decent percentage on 3's which, while it worked out tonight for the LGs, isn't a game I like to see Wabash playing. 

As for where this season stacks up against recent Wabash history....I mentioned earlier this year that I think this team is the best team Wabash has had since their first year in the NCAC...that team went 20-7 overall, 13-3 in NCAC play, and was led by Wabash's all-time leading scorer.  This team is currently 16-7.   To get to 20-7, these guys would need to win the NCAC tournament.  The 11 (or possibly 12) league wins is the most since that inaugural NCAC season.  And with all of that in mind, were it not for that dadgum Denison game in December, this team's record (overall and conference) would be dead even with that 99-00 team. 

So that's a long way of saying...10 years.   

[bashbrother]

Thanks..... Kenyon (not Oberlin) my bad.

[seinfeld]

The unbalanced schedule of the NCAC looks to have an impact this year. Wabash didn't have to make the trip to Hiram or Allegheny this year, while all the other contenders, including Witt, had to play both teams twice. Of course the same can be said of Allegheny, but they had to go to Wabash. Who knows how things might have played out differently, but obviously if Allegheny and Wabash played another time, someone had to lose, meaning at least one of them would have five losses in conference.

This will be one added bonus of having Earlham out of the league next year.

[ScotsFan]

This will be one added bonus of having Earlham out of the league next year.

Amen to that! 

[David Collinge]

This will be one added bonus of having Earlham out of the league next year.

...but next year only.  At this point, and without any hard information to back it up, I have no reason to doubt that the NCAC will be a 10-(men's-)team league again for the 2011-12 season.  Regardless (or perhaps especially because) of who that 10th team is, we'd surely be right back to the 16-game unbalanced schedule we enjoy now.

[seinfeld]

Can anyone confirm that Wittenberg would get the tie-breaker advantage over Allegheny (if Allegheny loses to OWU) based on "best win." I can't think of how else they'd break it short of coin flip.

[ScotsFan]

Can anyone confirm that Wittenberg would get the tie-breaker advantage of Allegheny (if Allegheny loses to OWU) based on "best win." I can't think of how else they'd break it short of coin flip.

derek is the expert in this field. 

I would think Witt would get the nod due to their win over Wooster.  Allegheny's best win is their win over Witt is it not?

Of course, they have to lose to OWU for that to happen and the based on recent history in this series, I wouldn't bet on the Bishops to get it done... 

[wally_wabash]

Wabash is going to have a hard time winning one in Deleware or Springfield, let alone both of them. 

Whoopsie.   

[wally_wabash]

I finally found the official tiebreakers:

1. Head-to-Head competition (NCAC contests only – no restrictions regarding number of games and sites).
2. Combined win-loss record with all teams above tied teams (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
3. Record versus individual opponents examined in descending order of standings (restricted to "like" games – any team played twice; and single games played at the same location, either home or away).
4. Coin toss.

IF THREE OR MORE TEAMS ARE TIED, the combined records of the teams
involved versus each other are totaled and rankings are listed according to
the winning percentage. The best percentage will be given the highest
seed. If two or more teams tie for the highest percentage, the lowest team
will be seeded. Once the lowest team is clearly seeded the remaining
teams repeat the process until the tie is broken. If three or more
percentages are arrived in initial process, and no ties remain, then teams
shall be seeded according to their percentages.

LIKE GAMES: Defined as: games that are played under the same
traveling condition (either home or away). E.G.: OWU and ALL are tied.
ALL plays DEN once—at DEN. OWU plays DEN twice—once home and
once at DEN. In comparing the two schedules, only compare the games
at DEN, throw out the DEN at OWU game. All teams played home &
home are also "like" games (teams that play each other twice).

So if I'm reading this correctly, and we assume that Wittenberg and Allegheny end up tied at 11-5, then the tiebreak falls as such:

H2H - Split the season series.  Next up....

Combined record vs. all teams above tied teams (like games only) - The teams ahead of Witt and Allegheny are Wooster and Wabash.  We are only allowed to count Wittenberg's game at Wabash so that we satisfy the "like game" condition.  Wittenberg is 1-2 in these games, Allegheny is 0-3.  Wittenberg owns the tiebreak. 

Of course this is all moot if Allegheny wins on Saturday. 

[ScotsFan]

Wabash is going to have a hard time winning one in Deleware or Springfield, let alone both of them. 

Whoopsie.   

Yeah yeah.  You got me there...   

Can I have some ketchup to go with my crow?   

Congrats on Wabash on their first ever win at Witt's PESC.  I guess a name change was all that was needed for Wabash to get a win in Springfield.  Must be easier winning at a PESC than at a HPER... 

[wally_wabash]

Looking ahead to Saturday....nothing is written in stone of course, but let's say that Wooster, Witt, and Wabash all win on Saturday.  We've got two games left that have some impact...Hiram/Denison and OWU/Gheny.  Scenarios please! 

Hiram and Allegheny win:
1.  Wooster 15-1
2.  Wabash 12-4 (Wabash wins #2 seed on tiebreak)
2.  Allegheny 12-4
4.  Wittenberg 11-5
5.  Hiram 9-7
6.  Ohio Wesleyan 8-8
7.  Denison 7-9
8.  Kenyon 3-13
9.  Oberlin 2-14
10. Earlham 1-15

Tournament pairings are:

1 Woo vs. 8 Kenyon
2 Wabash vs. 7 Denison
3 Allegheny vs. 6 OWU
4 Witt vs. 5 Hiram

Hiram and OWU win:
1.  Wooster 15-1
2.  Wabash 12-4
3.  Wittenberg 11-5 (Witt is #3 seed on tiebreak)
3.  Allegheny 11-5
5*.  Ohio Wesleyan 9-7
5*.  Hiram 9-7
7.  Denison 7-9
8.  Kenyon 3-13
9.  Oberlin 2-14
10. Earlham 1-15

*OWU is #5 based on having a better record (2-5) against teams above them than Hiram (1-6)

Tournament pairings are:
1 Woo vs. 8 Kenyon
2 Wabash vs. 7 Denison
3 Witt vs. 6 Hiram
4 Allegheny vs. 5 OWU

Denison and Allegheny win:
1.  Wooster 15-1
2.  Wabash 12-4 (Wabash has the h2h tiebreak for the 2 seed)
2.  Allegheny 12-4
4.  Wittenberg 11-5
5*.  Ohio Wesleyan 8-8
5*.  Hiram 8-8
5*.  Denison 8-8
8.  Kenyon 3-13
9.  Oberlin 2-14
10. Earlham 1-15

* I believe in this scenario OWU is 5, Hiram 6, and Denison is 7 by comparing results amongst the three tied teams.  In this case, OWU would be 3-1 vs. the other two, Hiram 2-2, and Denison 1-3.

Tournament pairings are:
1 Woo vs. 8 Kenyon
2 Wabash vs. 7 Denison
3 Allegheny vs. 6 Hiram
4 Witt vs. 5 OWU

Denison and OWU win: 
1.  Wooster 15-1
2.  Wabash 12-4
3.  Wittenberg 11-5 (Witt has the 3 seed via tiebreak)
3.  Allegheny 11-5
5.  Ohio Wesleyan 9-7
6*.  Hiram 8-8
6*.  Denison 8-8
8.  Kenyon 3-13
9.  Oberlin 2-14
10. Earlham 1-15

*Hiram earns the 6 seed by having a better record against the teams above this tie...2-5 vs. 0-7 in like game...unfortunately Denison's win over Wabash is of no use here as only the games at Wabash are eligible to be counted here

Tournament pairings are:
1 Woo vs. 8 Kenyon
2 Wabash vs. 7 Denison
3 Witt vs. 6 Hiram
4 Allegheny vs. 5 OWU

And there you have it.  What we know is that Wooster will play Kenyon and Wabash will play Denison.  Three of our four scenarios will create Witt/Hiram and Allegheny/OWU matchups in round one.  If both Denison and Allegheny win on Saturday, the matchups change slightly to Allegheny/Hiram and Witt/OWU.