MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[scottiedoug]

I want to encourage Wooster to focus on who they will play after they win the first pod.  After all, y'all have no reason to take the South seriously!

[pennstghs]

Congrats on all the NCAC teams to make it! I will hopefully be making the trip Friday to see some NCAA tourney action in Lexington. A few thoughts:

Although I completely understand how Wooster got hosting rights over Wittenberg, doesn't mean I necessarily agree. (This doesn't mean I need to hear that Wooster won the conference tourney, I get it) I just think too much focus is on the conference tourney when Wittenberg was 5-0 against Great Lakes regional teams to make the tourney. Oh well. Both teams have their arguing points that could go both ways. Whether it be regional, or rewarding Wooster for winning the conference tourney, the decision was made so move on. I think if Witt would have made the finals they probably would have hosted. But, I did call this early on in the season when I stated that their home loss to Otterbein would possibly hurt them later on in the year.

Great draw for NCAC teams. OWU can definitely advance, Wooster should as they can beat Capital and Maryville. Wittenberg probably has the toughest draw of the 3 as Transylvania is a tough place to play.

A dream Elite Eight would be Wittenberg, Wooster and Hope in a sectional together. We shall see!

[sac]

A dream Elite Eight would be Wittenberg, Wooster and Hope in a sectional together. We shall see!

That would be a Sweet Sixteen ........and in this bracket could also include Washington Univ as the 4th team.

That would be something to see.

[kiltedbryan]

A dream Elite Eight would be Wittenberg, Wooster and Hope in a sectional together. We shall see!

That would be a Sweet Sixteen ........and in this bracket could also include Washington Univ as the 4th team.

That would be something to see.

And it would almost assuredly be at Hope, at one of the finest DIII facilities in the country. That would be an incredible atmosphere for some DIII tournament hoops, basically sold-out games in a final-four-quality facility.

[wooscotsfan]

As ScotsFan noted, it is great to see 3 NCAC teams make the tourney.   Congratulations to Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan on receiving their well deserved at large bids.  Good luck to all three teams in the big dance!

I agree with other posts that the first 2 rounds look reasonable for all 3 NCAC squads.  If OWU plays well, they should be able to beat Hobart.  Cabrini is very thin in the post and they have a small lineup with only one 6'7" guy -- this is essentially the same lineup that Wooster outrebounded 39 to 20 last year in the NCAA's when the Scots beat them by 17 points.

Wittenberg does have a tougher task having to play 2 games at Transy but I think they are capable of winning that pod.  Witt's big men will need to play well and they should be able to control the paint vs. BSC and likely Transy in the second round.  I watched some video of Transy vs. Rose Hulman on Sunday and was not particularly impressed.

With Wooster hosting, they have a real home court advantage with the Timken crowd.  Maryville's schedule and 18-9 record do not suggest a strong team but after all they are "Scots" too so Wooster better take them seriously.   Over the years, I have also  learned to respect both OAC and ODAC teams so IF Wooster advances to the second round, they cannot take either Cap or Randy Mac lightly.  Overall, Wooster has an excellent chance of winning its pod and advancing to the Sweet 16, IMO.

[ScotsFan]

Scots...you like OWU's draw because Cabrini may be a bit overrated.  Hmm....looking at the bracket, I see that OWU doesn't play Cabrini.  They play Hobart from the Liberty League.  You should know not to overlook anyone this time of year!  The Statesmen are a talented team!

OD, where did I say Cabrini was overrated?  I was actually trying to point out why I didn't think OWU should take Cabrini lightly and buy into their reputation of being overrated as smeds indicated should the Bishops defeat Hobart and meet up with Cabrini in the 2nd round.  Also, as a fan, I think I can overlook an opponent if I choose to do so.  And I'm fairly certain that OWU isn't overlooking anyone.  Hobart may very well be a talented team but it is my opinion that OWU is going to be more than prepared to face your talented Hobart team due to the Bishops being battle tested in a very deep and competitive NCAC this season.  The fact that the NCAC was awarded two Pool C's speaks volumes as to how difficult our league was this season.

I want to encourage Wooster to focus on who they will play after they win the first pod.  After all, y'all have no reason to take the South seriously!

Again, because some fans may be looking ahead hardly translates to the coaches and players doing the same thing.  I guarantee Maryville will have Wooster's coaches and players full attention and focus.

[smedindy]

I mentioned that 'many wags' have Cabrini as overrated.

[ScotsFan]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

[Gregory Sager]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

You're right; it won't be a gimme. However, IWU is a good-but-not-great team that comes stumbling into the tourney having gone 4-4 over its last eight games, while UWSP has lost its top scorer, Tyler Tillema (17.3 ppg) to a thumb injury.

[ScotsFan]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

You're right; it won't be a gimme. However, IWU is a good-but-not-great team that comes stumbling into the tourney having gone 4-4 over its last eight games, while UWSP has lost its top scorer, Tyler Tillema (17.3 ppg) to a thumb injury.

To be fair to IWU, those four losses were @ #24 Wheaton, @ orv Augie, home to # 23NCC and @Wheaton again in the CCIW semis, all teams that finished in the top 4 in the CCIW so they weren't bad losses by any means...

[scottiedoug]

"Again, because some fans may be looking ahead hardly translates to the coaches and players doing the same thing.  I guarantee Maryville will have Wooster's coaches and players full attention and focus."

I was thinking this would be the case.  After all, they are Scots too and thus wise and determined.
The Maryville Scots are young and better than they were earlier (when they lost to Witt) but still play freshmen a lot of minutes.  I wish I could be there to see how the Murvul Scots handle being in such a difficult environment for visitors.

[Gregory Sager]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

You're right; it won't be a gimme. However, IWU is a good-but-not-great team that comes stumbling into the tourney having gone 4-4 over its last eight games, while UWSP has lost its top scorer, Tyler Tillema (17.3 ppg) to a thumb injury.

To be fair to IWU, those four losses were @ #24 Wheaton, @ orv Augie, home to # 23NCC and @Wheaton again in the CCIW semis, all teams that finished in the top 4 in the CCIW so they weren't bad losses by any means...

No, not bad losses, but it's still a good-but-not-great team. Having seen both Hope and IWU this season, I can state with reasonable certainty that if IWU beats Hope at DeVos it'll be a considerable upset. I was fairly surprised that Wheaton made a late run and almost beat Hope at DeVos back before Christmas, since Hope's definitely a better team than Wheaton ... and Wheaton's definitely a better team than IWU.

[sac]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

You're right; it won't be a gimme. However, IWU is a good-but-not-great team that comes stumbling into the tourney having gone 4-4 over its last eight games, while UWSP has lost its top scorer, Tyler Tillema (17.3 ppg) to a thumb injury.

To be fair to IWU, those four losses were @ #24 Wheaton, @ orv Augie, home to # 23NCC and @Wheaton again in the CCIW semis, all teams that finished in the top 4 in the CCIW so they weren't bad losses by any means...

No, not bad losses, but it's still a good-but-not-great team. Having seen both Hope and IWU this season, I can state with reasonable certainty that if IWU beats Hope at DeVos it'll be a considerable upset. I was fairly surprised that Wheaton made a late run and almost beat Hope at DeVos  at Van Noord Arena at Calvin back before Christmas, since Hope's definitely a better team than Wheaton ... and Wheaton's definitely a better team than IWU.

Fixed it for you.

Not to hijack the board, but that Wheaton game for Hope was weird because 3 Hope starters played less than 20 minutes due to foul trouble.  Wheaton's Aaron Garriot faced the same problem and he was the toughest matchup on the floor for Hope that day.  A full game from Aaron might have seen a different result.  Both teams were reaching deep for minutes.  At the end Wheaton just made an all out effort while Hope just couldn't finish off plays on their end and ended up having to steal the game away to win it.

Until this weekend it was really the closest full 40 minutes anybody has been with Hope all season(and Wheaton still included a double digit Hope lead).....at the games I saw.

[ScotsFan]

"Again, because some fans may be looking ahead hardly translates to the coaches and players doing the same thing.  I guarantee Maryville will have Wooster's coaches and players full attention and focus."

I was thinking this would be the case.  After all, they are Scots too and thus wise and determined.
The Maryville Scots are young and better than they were earlier (when they lost to Witt) but still play freshmen a lot of minutes. I wish I could be there to see how the Murvul Scots handle being in such a difficult environment for visitors.

The Wooster Scots are also young as we lost 3 key starters off of last year's national runner up team.  Arguably Wooster's best player this season is a freshman guard who just won NCAC Newcomer of the Year.  And then there are 3 other freshmen contributors that come off the bench and log around 15 minutes/game.

Wooster has their NCAA Tournament page up and here is the link to it:  Wooster to Host NCAA First- and Second-Round Action

There are links to all four teams available.

[Gregory Sager]

Wooster being put in Hope's sectional is not a real favorable draw.  Odds are whoever wins out at Wooster will be traveling to Hope the next weekend.

Hope may have an easy first round opponent, but having to play the winner of traditional powerhouse programs IWU and UWSP will be no gimme for the Dutchmen.

You're right; it won't be a gimme. However, IWU is a good-but-not-great team that comes stumbling into the tourney having gone 4-4 over its last eight games, while UWSP has lost its top scorer, Tyler Tillema (17.3 ppg) to a thumb injury.

To be fair to IWU, those four losses were @ #24 Wheaton, @ orv Augie, home to # 23NCC and @Wheaton again in the CCIW semis, all teams that finished in the top 4 in the CCIW so they weren't bad losses by any means...

No, not bad losses, but it's still a good-but-not-great team. Having seen both Hope and IWU this season, I can state with reasonable certainty that if IWU beats Hope at DeVos it'll be a considerable upset. I was fairly surprised that Wheaton made a late run and almost beat Hope at DeVos  at Van Noord Arena at Calvin back before Christmas, since Hope's definitely a better team than Wheaton ... and Wheaton's definitely a better team than IWU.

Fixed it for you.

Sorry. I keep mixing up the two Master Plans.