MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Saturday games:

Wooster 67, Wabash 65
Denison 76, Oberlin 65
Allegheny 80, Kenyon 76
Wittenberg 68, Hiram 59

Updated NCAC Standings with 1/8 Results:

1.  Wittenberg 5-0, 9-4
1.  Wooster 5-0, 14-0
3.  Wabash 5-1, 13-1
4.  Kenyon 2-3, 6-8
4.  Ohio Wesleyan 2-3, 6-8
6.  Allegheny 2-4, 5-9
6.  Denison 2-4, 5-9
8.  Hiram 1-4, 7-7
9.  Oberlin 0-5, 1-12

[wabashsid]

Officials said no time came off. One official was watching the click and said clock should be set to 4.9 after the made basket by Wabash.

[David Collinge]

New poll, actually NCAC-related.    Please vote, even if you think none of these upsets will happen.  Which is the most likely?

[wooscotsfan]

A few other thoughts after Wooster's big road win over Wabash:

Wooster won this game with good defense because they held Wabash to only 33% FG shooting on their home floor.  A good example of the defensive effort was the job on Wes Smith who was only 7 of 21 from the floor.

Scots fans should be thankful once again to have Ian Franks as our top player.   Franks was 11 of 22 from the floor for 27 points and he also had 10 rebounds, 3 assists.  He stepped up his game when it was needed most by scoring 17 points in the 2nd half.

Kudos to Wabash on their late game rally which nearly pulled off the upset.  "Wabash always Fights" was certainly true yesterday and the Little Giants are very deserving of their #7 national ranking.

IF Wooster can beat Oberlin on Wednesday, they will be 15-0 which will be the best start to a season ever in the history of Scots basketball!   Pretty impressive when you think of Wooster's historical success on the hardwood.

[bashbrother]

FOR THE WIN!!!!....... That was very close!



Full recap - http://wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=8588

[smedindy]

Looks like the refs tried to get it right as best they could. But Wabash shouldn't have been in that dire of a situation anyway.

They need to regroup and concentrate on the next game.

This is going to be a fun year, and just wait until the Dannies get in here next year!

[pennstghs]

Looks like a HUGE game is looming a week from this Wednesday in Springfield as Wabash comes to town. That is if Wittenberg can get away with a road win at Kenyon this week. That game will be even bigger for Wabash as getting 2 conference losses will be very detrimental.

Still no idea on Josh Mckee's status, It'd be nice to get him back soon. Same for David Hieber, but I'd guess he'll be back either Wednesday or next Saturday

[wooscotsfan]

Looks like a HUGE game is looming a week from this Wednesday in Springfield as Wabash comes to town.

pennstghs - that whole week is HUGE for Wittenberg.  Witt hosts Wabash on 1/19 then plays at Wooster on 1/22!

[Bash Brother 2000]

According to Mac Petty, Wes was only 75% of himself since he was battling the flu.  What a break for Wooster!  I believe he should try to get more of his teammates involved in the scoring.  Someone else besides Wes need to put up some points.  Courush and Burkett must do more inside and finish their shots.  A couple of times it appeared Courush was afraid to shoot and if he had turnaround to the basket, it would have been some very easy shots. 

[Bash Brother 2000]

On every game day, he's the best offensive player in the gym...usually by a wide margin. 

Ian Franks' 27 points today would suggest otherwise! 

Wally said it right and nothing mean about Ian Franks....great player too!  However, no excuses here, a healthy Wes would had lead to a different outcome.  Can't wait for the rematch on 2/5!!!!   

[bashtownie]

I've never seen Chadwick so packed.

Rarely does a home crowd leave a game smiling after a loss, but that was certainly my impression after the game. While no Wabash fans were happy that the team lost, I think most people were happy to be able to watch such a great contest.

Wooster absolutely shot the lights out for a while in the second half, even on contested shots.

They're good.

[wally_wabash]

On every game day, he's the best offensive player in the gym...usually by a wide margin.  

Ian Franks' 27 points today would suggest otherwise!  

Wally said it right and nothing mean about Ian Franks....great player too!  However, no excuses here, a healthy Wes would had lead to a different outcome.  Can't wait for the rematch on 2/5!!!!  

Having been able to watch Smith and Franks compete against each other for the last three years, and really in earnest over the last two seasons, my feeling is that these two are extremely similar players.  Both can create their own shot on the drive, both have respectable range on their jumpshots (slight edge to Franks here I think), both are excellent defenders (slight edge to Smith here I think)...I think if these two were to swap places, you could probably switch their stat lines.  At Wabash, Franks would be asked to score a little more than he does at Wooster.  At Wooster, Smith would blend a little more offensively, but when they need a bucket, he'd be the guy that gets the shot.  Both are great players and it's silly to try and argue that one is better than the other, particularly based on the stat line from one game out of the 100 or so that these two will have each played in college.  

Of course, ScotsFan is smart enough to know all of this, but couldn't resist taking a shot at me.  That's fine...the Scots have scoreboard and to the victor go the spoils.  For most, being able to watch a team that wins the league every single year, wins the conference tournament most years, and not only gets to the NCAAs every year but also usually gets to host a round or two would be enough...but for some that isn't enough.  For some, the novelty of all of that winning has worn thin and they want to get all Romper Room with it and play the neener-neener card.  Wouldn't be my choice, but if that's how he wants to carry it, that's his prerogative...the Scots have scoreboard and that's the way it goes.  Me, I'm just thrilled that there was a classic game between top 10 teams played in front of the first truly packed house at Chadwick since the Allen Center renovations and I'm excited to see at least one (hopefully two!) more games between these two excellent teams and their two star players.  

[David Collinge]

With the 1988 national championship OWU team set to enter the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame this spring, we take time to mourn the passing of one of this team's players, David Parker.  RIP.

[smedindy]

And now, Wabash enters the slog. Not that the LG's are a fluke, but there are plenty of trouble spots ahead.

A. A long trip to Allegheny. Their routine will no doubt be disturbed with a Friday bus ride across Ohio and into PA to play a Saturday game.

B. A trip to Wittenberg. 'Nuf said. I don't care if Witt is 0-fer, they're going to defend their home court like there is no tomorrow, and all those other cliches.

C. At Oberlin, which I never take for granted. I've seen it too many times that an LG team falls on the road to a bottom NCAC team. Please, not this year guys.

D. A trip to OWU. The Bishops are disappointing, yes, which means that they'll want redemption. What better redemption than knocking off a ranked team at home?

The one thing about this Wabash team is that their strength is defense, and that can make up for any offensive issues that result from road trips.

Come out of this four game stretch 3-1 and I feel really good about Wabash the rest of the year into the NCAC tourney and (dare I say...) further action.

[wally_wabash]

And now, Wabash enters the slog. Not that the LG's are a fluke, but there are plenty of trouble spots ahead.

A. A long trip to Allegheny. Their routine will no doubt be disturbed with a Friday bus ride across Ohio and into PA to play a Saturday game.

B. A trip to Wittenberg. 'Nuf said. I don't care if Witt is 0-fer, they're going to defend their home court like there is no tomorrow, and all those other cliches.

C. At Oberlin, which I never take for granted. I've seen it too many times that an LG team falls on the road to a bottom NCAC team. Please, not this year guys.

D. A trip to OWU. The Bishops are disappointing, yes, which means that they'll want redemption. What better redemption than knocking off a ranked team at home?

The one thing about this Wabash team is that their strength is defense, and that can make up for any offensive issues that result from road trips.

Come out of this four game stretch 3-1 and I feel really good about Wabash the rest of the year into the NCAC tourney and (dare I say...) further action.

Wooster plus four straight roadies is indeed the tough stretch.  This group has enough experience to know how to handle the road.  I would just ask the bus driver to make a quick stop through Franklin and pick up Sutherlin's jumper.  Seems he may have left it there after the game on 12/29 and Wabash is going to need it if they're going to make a run at this thing.