MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

So Wittenberg played a good opponent and played an outstanding game, grabbing a key win, while Wooster played a terrible opponent and looked horrible doing so (at least for a half).  What does that say about Saturday's matchup?  Given the history of the Wooster/Wittenberg rivalry, probably nothing at all. 

Yeah, it means nothing. Wabash lost to Denison less than 48 hours before winning at Wooster. Anything can happen in conference play.

Well, not anything. Oberlin winning two halves against Wooster on the same night rather than just one would certainly cause a massive rupture in the fabric of the space/time continuum.

[Li'l Giant]

Well, not anything. Oberlin winning two halves against Wooster on the same night rather than just one would certainly cause a massive rupture in the fabric of the space/time continuum.

I was thinking more along the lines of:

[KnightSlappy]

Anyone else find it a bit strange that Wittenberg dropped out of this week's regional rankings without losing a game?  And they seem to be getting stronger with the addition of McKee from a personnel standpoint.  It really will not matter in the long run but I found it a bit odd.  If they beat Wooster at home on Saturday (which I believe they will) they will almost assuredly jump back into the top four in Great Lakes.

It happened because Wittenberg and Thiel (and PSU-Behrend) were so close in the rankings that a few small changes in the winning percentage and SOS numbers were enough to jockey their positions around some.

[imderekpoe]

From the OAC board:
With so many opinions on here... I am curious to find out how would all the OAC followers rate the OAC coaches from top to bottom?

What about the ncac coaches?

I know this was 10 days ago, but I never really noticed any responses.  And I think this is at least the 2nd time that someone asked basically the same question this season - with a similar lack of response both times!

I would find it tough to rank all 9 coaches, but I'd be willing to give a shot to the 4 that have been constants in the league for a number of years.

1.  Moore - Wooster. There really shouldn't be any argument on this one.  He has the highest All-Time career winning % of any DIII coach.  Recruiting, player development, game prep, in-game adjustments - none better.
2a.  DeWitt - OWU.  Always runs a very competitive program, perhaps without quite the same level of talent as the W's.
2b.  Petty - Wabash.  Runs a great program, recruits well.  Sorry to see him go.
4.  Brown - Witt.  Good coach, but I think he's a half-rung or so below Petty and DeWitt.

There has been a lot of turnover in the lower half of the conference. Fleming from Hiram would probably be next on my list, but I have no clue after that.

[smedindy]

Derek,

I'd put Mac at 2 and DeWitt at 2 1/2. Fenlon from DPU will be right there as well with DeWitt. Priest at Kenyon may be pretty good based on what he did at Hendrix. Fleming has made Hiram more than just an automatic "W" which is a tall order there. I'm still shocked Allegheny cut ties with Clune.

One guy who I thought was a pretty good coach was Jeff Justus at Earlham. He's hamstrung by many factors at Earlham but the Quake always seemed to play hard.

The question is can anyone really evaluate Oberlin's coaches fairly? Cavaco may be a coaching genius but Oberlin's program and priorities are not conducive to 20+ win seasons. What would coach Moore or Petty do with the limitations at an Oberlin or Earlham?

The mind wonders...

[smedindy]

One thing I do have faith is this administration at Wabash getting the right coach for the team. The entire athletics program is headed in the right direction, and improving in every facet. I think Tom Bambrey's last great move will be to hire a Wabash basketball coach that will carry on Mac's legacy while being his own coach.

[GoRed]

Wow. It seems like all coaches have been mentioned but one.  But if people are waiting for me to weigh in, I have an event to get to. 

[David Collinge]

I recuse myself from discussion of head coaches.  I'm anxious to see what kind of teams Doug Cline and Travis Schwab have when they reach that level.

Tomorrow's games:
Hiram at Wabash, 1pm -- video, audio, and live stats
Denison at Allegheny, ~3pm -- live stats -- Game 2 of a W/M doubleheader
Kenyon at OWU, ~3pm -- live stats -- Game 2 of a W/M doubleheader
Wooster at Wittenberg, 7:30 -- video, audio, and live stats; audio (COW) -- Game 3 of a tripleheader; women at 2pm and men's JV at 5:30
Oberlin is idle

[Wabash2011]

Any word on Hallowell? Will he play tomorrow ?

[smedindy]

Wow. It seems like all coaches have been mentioned but one.  But if people are waiting for me to weigh in, I have an event to get to. 

Seriously, about every Denison team of recent vintage has one or two top players, and then a bunch of role players that seem to be a notch below most NCAC teams in terms of talent, especially on defense. It's very odd, and quite the pattern. While you can definitely win with stud + role players, the role players have to be able to play their roles and play good defense, and not just be good, scrappy, nice guys.

[David Collinge]

Here's a nice article in the Daily Record on the Wooster players volunteering at a local school.

[wooscotsfan]

Here is the Daily Record article on tonight's big game between Wooster and Wittenberg: www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4980070

The article points out that the winner of tonight's game will have the upper hand in the race for the NCAC title.

GO SCOTS!

[pennstghs]

Here's to another good chapter in the Witt/Wooster rivalry tonight!!!

LETS GO WITT!!!

[GoRed]

OWU holds Kenyon to two points in the last 9 minutes of the game to come from 11 down and win on a three with 14 seconds left.  Looked like a thriller. 

Denison drops a critical game to Allegheny to stay in contention for a sixth seed spot. Looks like a 7th seed for the Big Red unless a few miracles happen.

[David Collinge]

Those scores were as follows:
Allegheny 66, Denison 63
OWU 58, Kenyon 56

Elsewhere,
Hiram 70, Wabash 58

Updated standings, heading into the nightcap:

1. Wooster 12-1, 21-1
1. Wittenberg 12-1, 16-5
3. Ohio Wesleyan 10-4, 14-9
4. Wabash 9-5, 17-5
5. Hiram 6-8, 12-11
6. Kenyon 5-9, 9-13
7. Denison 5-10, 8-16
8. Allegheny 3-12, 6-17
9. Oberlin 1-13, 2-21