MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

It's a very odd Saturday with no NCAC action, but there's a smattering of hooping for league teams starting Sunday.

Sunday, December 18

Hiram (4-3) @ Washington & Jefferson (4-5) - The Terriers ran Grove City out of the gym, and there's a chance they'll do the same against the Presidents. Also, there is a chance that Hiram could revert back to how they played against Denison. They do have one common opponent in Notre Dame, where Hiram won by 11 and W & J won by just one. Hopefully the NCAC will win another against the PrAC.

Monday, December 19

Wooster (5-2) vs. St. Mary's (MD) (7-2) @ San Juan, PR - No there's no truth to the rumor that Wooster fans ran their squad out of town thanks to the two-game losing streak. But it's not like it's a pleasure trip down to the island. St. Mary's made the elite eight last year and their two losses, like Wooster's, were also to quality programs. I hope the Wooster faithful has a chance to follow this game - it looks to be a barnburner.

Earlham (0-10) @ Kenyon (2-6) - Finally out of the NCAC meat-grinder schedule they were given, the Lords get a break in their quest for a solid season. The Quakers are struggling, to say the least and the Lords should be able to get well against them. LATE NOTE: Earlham lost to Anderson, as expected, on Saturday.

Rose Hulman (8-2) @ DePauw (5-3) - None of the NCAC big guns are shying away from tough non-conference games. The Engineers only loss was an ugly, bruising battle against Wabash (their specialty) and DPU needs to be ready for a game like that. RHIT held Manchester to just 29 points earlier in the year, and DPU hasn't exactly been consistent on offense so far. LATE NOTE: Hanover thwapped RHIT Saturday. Rose's offense was stymied much of the game.

Tuesday, December 20

Wabash (8-0) vs. Baldwin - Wallace (6-2) @ Transylvania - Transylvania knows how to schedule a tourney. They schedule the weakling in the first round (Hendrix) and let two tough squads duke it out in the first game. The LGs have had time to recover from their dismantling of Wooster, but the Yellow Jackets thwacked Marietta earlier in the season and are coming off an upset loss to Wilmington. I hope the fans in Lexington show up early to watch this match-up. LATE NOTE: B-W eased past the 'Berg Saturday.

Wittenberg (4-2) @ Ohio Northern (6-2) - Not an easy game here, either. The Tigers seem to have recovered from their early season issues. The Polar Bears knocked off NCAC nemesis Hanover. However, by the time this game has been played ONU will have faced Marietta and so the Tigers may be in a good spot to sneak out with a win. LATE NOTE: ONU upset Marietta on Saturday.

Wooster (5-2) vs. Sacred Heart - PR @ San Juan -  I can't find much info on Sacred Heart, PR. I guess we will get a read on them after they play St. Mary's on the 18th.

[smedindy]

Hiram goes to 5-3 on the season with a convincing 85-66 win over Washington & Jefferson. Andrew Weigand came up huge with 29 points. Alan Sheppard added 17 and Jamaal Watkins netted 12 and grabbed eight boards. A good win for the Terriers.

Non-conference record now 34-24

[Gregory Sager]

Wooster (5-2) vs. Sacred Heart - PR @ San Juan -  I can't find much info on Sacred Heart, PR. I guess we will get a read on them after they play St. Mary's on the 18th.

I think that Sally Field played for their women's team in the '60s. Apparently, she had quite a vertical.

[woosterbooster]

I think that Sally Field played for their women's team in the '60s. Apparently, she had quite a vertical.

See?  This is what you get when you leave the doors to the room open.  Guys sallying forth with comments like this.  Geeze.

[smedindy]

Wooster (5-2) vs. Sacred Heart - PR @ San Juan -  I can't find much info on Sacred Heart, PR. I guess we will get a read on them after they play St. Mary's on the 18th.

I think that Sally Field played for their women's team in the '60s. Apparently, she had quite a vertical.

I also think she surfed all the way there from her home base.

You like me, you really like me...

[ScotsFan]

This St. Mary's game has a very similar feel to that national semi-final Wooster win over Williams.  Wooster was down 18 17 at the half and as many as 21 early in the 2nd half, but have managed to whittle away that lead to just 3 points with 7 to play!

Wooster was only 1-11 from deep in the first half and are 4-6 so far in the 2nd half.

[smedindy]

Since the NCAC is no longer a true double-round-robin I wanted to see who was missing who in a game this year.

Wabash - Hiram, Allegheny
DPU - Hiram, Allegheny
Hiram - Wabash, DPU
Allegheny - Wabash, DPU

Denison- Witt, Wooster
Witt - Denison, Kenyon
Wooster - Denison, Oberlin
Kenyon - OWU, Witt
OWU - Kenyon, Oberlin
Oberlin _ Wooster, OWU

Denison, Hiram and Kenyon have advantages that they could exploit if they were so inclined to improve their seeding. Obviously, besides limiting the long road trip to just one jaunt, the NCAC did power ranking for the rest.

[ScotsFan]

And the comeback is complete!!!   

Wooster comes all the way back to win 63-61 despite missing at least 6 ft's down the stretch!!!  BIG win for the Scots to get back on track!  Things didn't look too good for the Scots to avoid their first 3 game skid in forever.

Claytor led the Scots with 18 pts. including 16 in the second half!    Again, can someone tell me why Wooster is being so stubborn at getting the ball inside and letting the offense run through Claytor and Mays?  Wooster struggles offensively in the first half and shoots just 23% and there was no effort to get the ball inside.  Then, Wooster starts to have success with Claytor inside in the 2nd half which led St. Mary's to start to collapse which then opened things up for the shooters.  I think it's time to just let the offense run through Wooster's bigs!

[woosterbooster]

Wow, that was some comeback.  Wooster was in the water neck deep, on their way to being routed, and then came halftime.  According to Mike Breckenridge the game was played in an "open air" gym, more like a picnic pavilion.  The backdrop at one end, which had a road and traffic going by, was a bear.  Wooster faced that during the first half and couldn't make a shot.  Things quickly changed after the intermission, as it was Wooster who then could see the basket while St. Mary's struggled.  All in all, a monster turnaround win for Wooster.

[smedindy]

Interesting on the 'gym', though it reminds me of some of the playgrounds I've played on where the shooting background was intriguing.

Good win for the Scots and the NCAC. Hopefully that karma rubs off on the other NCAC tilts tonight.

[David Collinge]

The backdrop at one end, which had a road and traffic going by, was a bear.

Lucky for the Scots that the bear decided to stay put for the whole game and not go looking for picnic baskets or anything.

[ScotsFan]

The backdrop at one end, which had a road and traffic going by, was a bear.

Lucky for the Scots that the bear decided to stay put for the whole game and not go looking for picnic baskets or anything.

Comic Rimshot   

[smedindy]

Kenyon took care of business, sending Earlham back to Richmond with a 76-55 loss. Ikenna Nwadibia and Barry "No More Animal House Jokes" Liebowitz led the Lords with 21 each. Nwadibia grabbed 13 boards and Liebowitz nabbed 10. The Lords move to 3-6 on the year.

NCAC is now 36-24 non-conference on the year pending the outcome of DPU vs. RHIT.

[smedindy]

And make that 36-25. Rose-Hulman bested the new Tigers 67-59. DPU now 5-4 on the season.

DePauw sprinted out to a 36-26 halftime lead but the slow-starting Engineers kicked it into gear in the second half (as is their modus operandi this year) and outscored DPU 41-23 in the second half.

Sean Haseley was the only Tiger in double figures with 10. Barry Flynn, who had been playing well for DPU, had just six points (on 3-4 shooting).

[Wabash2011]

This DePauw team is very streaky, hot and cold in long stretches.  They will slip up on some teams if you don't play defense on the perimeter.  DePauw coach makes some weird substitutions at times...won't let a streaking team streak by subbing for scorers.

Wabash handled Rose Hulman with ease, I did not think they would win many HCAC games.