MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[smedindy]

Right. Their president nixed the post-season for every team at B-W.

Heidelberg is 4-1 but their best win is over Trine. Marietta may wind up the keeper in that bunch.

[sac]

Whose the favorite to win that conference this year?  I can't seem to find any team that really stands out to me from that conference.  B-W might be the best team in that conference, but aren't they ineligible for the post season?

Capital was the pre-season favorite by the coaches
1. Capital
2. Baldwin-Wallace
3. Marietta
4. Wilmington
5. John Carroll
6. Mt. Union
7. Ohio Northern
8. Heidelberg
9. Otterbein
10.  Muskingum

I think the league has lost every game against an opponent likely to finish in the top half of its conference except BW's win over Bethany.  Its been a rough start.

[djabs7]

For your viewing pleasure, I posted my highlight videos from the last 9 Witt-Wooster games at this link (5 Wooster wins, 4 Wittenberg wins). I only wish I could go back further.

http://wittwooster.blogspot.com/

[bufordscot]

For your viewing pleasure, I posted my highlight videos from the last 9 Witt-Wooster games at this link (5 Wooster wins, 4 Wittenberg wins). I only wish I could go back further.

http://wittwooster.blogspot.com/

Nice - Thanks

[smedindy]

Tomorrow's a big day with four conference tiles and two non-conference:

Non-Conference:

Hiram (1-1) @ Notre Dame (OH) (1-3) - The Terriers step up in class to face a team that just beat Kentucky whilst wearing hideous all-black uniforms...er....the D-2 Falcons that's coming off of a waxing by Findlay. Last year Hiram won 84-73 and the struggles of the Notre Dame to date means that a similar result could be likely.

CWRU (3-2) @ Oberlin (1-4) - The Spartans are 2-1 against the NCAC and will probably be 3-1 after the day is done. But the Yeomen showed a lot of pluck against Wooster and almost knocked off Kalamazoo. I wouldn't count 'em out, yet.

Conference:

Kenyon (0-0, 3-2) @ DePauw (0-0, 4-1) - A nice matchup to start the year for both teams. Both have some talented upperclassmen that certainly know how to play. Brian Liebowitz only played two minutes against Muskingum, so if he's not back it may make it rougher for the Lords. I can see a New Tigers' win for certain if he's out.

Denison (1-0, 3-2) @ Wabash (0-0, 1-3) - The Little Giants' inconsistency is definitely a hallmark of a young team. No player has shown consistency game-over-game yet and a lot of flaws were exposed against Rose-Hulman. Denison's got enough grit and talent to make things rough on the youngsters, especially if Wabash can't find a way to stop Dimonde Hale.

Ohio Wesleyan (0-0, 4-1) @ Allegheny (0-0, 3-2) - The Gators are certainly better than last year, but that won't be enough against the Bishops. OWU rebounded from its stumble against Rochester and put Capital away at the end. Look for an OWU win but it wouldn't surprise me if Allegheny keeps it rather close.

Wooster (1-0, 4-1) @ Wittenberg (0-0, 4-0) - It DOES seem a bit early for this, doesn't it? The NCAC really should schedule games like this at the end of the season on Saturday nights (same for Wabash / DPU in hoops) so that there's maximum impact and exposure. Right now, I'd say the Old Tigers have a definite advantage. They're playing better with more consistency. Yet, it IS a rivalry game and Wittenberg really hasn't had a 'stinker' yet. We'll see Saturday night for sure.

[smedindy]

In early action:

Kenyon beat DPU 68-64 behind Julian Pavlin's 16 points. Barry Flynn netted 26 for the New Tigers but hit just 12-21 free throws on the day. Hack-a-Flynn?

OWU beat Allegheny 76-62. Taylor Rieger scorched the nets for 25 for the Bishops. Devone McLeod led the Gators with 16.

In a thriller, Denison came back from 56-43 deficit with 11:08 to take a lead at 64-63 with 3:36 to go. But the Little Giants showed some fortitude and came away with a 75-72 win. The Big Red thought they tied it with two seconds left, but after a video review Robby Weingart's shot was determined to be a two, not a three. Dimonde Hale was a beast for Denison with 29 points. Kasey Oetting and Ross Sponsler led Wabash with 15.

[smedindy]

I don't think someone at Notre Dame liked my preview of their game against Hiram. They're about to lay a century on the Terriers with six minutes left in the game.

[smedindy]

Oberlin comes close, again, but loses to Case 58-53. With Hiram losing by a badillion it's 0-2 for the NCAC today vs. non-conference and 26-17 overall.

[kiltedbryan]

30-16 in favor of the Scots at halftime. Wittenberg 8-30 from the field.

[imderekpoe]

Love being able to watch Woo-Wit from my hotel in Moscow!  Thank-you Al Gore!

I agree with those that have commented about the scheduling.  No reason that both games shouldn't be played in Jan-Feb.

[imderekpoe]

OK - who thought that Wooster's first bench-emptier would come at Witt?

[kiltedbryan]

Wooster 60
Wittenberg 41

After Wittenberg took a 2-0 lead, Wooster scored the next 9 and Wittenberg never found an offensive rhythm all night, shooting a terrible 29% from the floor for the contest. Credit strong Wooster defense, but Witt also simply missed a number of their open looks. Meanwhile the Scots put together a balanced scoring effort with 10 scorers in the book, led by Xavier Brown with 12 and Jake Mays with 10 to go with a game-high 8 boards. Wooster was content to play a slow-tempo second half as Wittenberg never really threatened.

One stat that jumps out was Wooster's commanding rebounding advantage - not many Woo-Witt games where the Scots enjoy a +16 advantage on the glass (41-25).

[woosterbooster]

One stat that jumps out was Wooster's commanding rebounding advantage - not many Woo-Witt games where the Scots enjoy a +16 advantage on the glass (41-25).

Including free throws, Wittenberg missed 43 shots.  Wooster corralled 31 of those, for around 72%.  Not a bad job, but nothing spectacular.  Wooster, at the other end, only missed 25 shots, but Wittenberg only pulled in 13 of those boards, for 52%, which is really bad.

[wooscotsfan]

Just got back from a holiday event and it is great to see that Wooster picked up a huge road win at Witt!

As KiltedBryan noted, this win was a combination of great shooting (51%), a big rebounding advantage and some good defense that held the Tigers in check.

Wooster is now 5-1, 2-0 NCAC (both road wins).   Next game is Wabash at home next Saturday afternoon 12/8.

GO SCOTS!

[WAlum]

HOLY WINTERS!  I mean Holy Batman or whatever super hero you want to call him. Andy Winters of Ohio Wesleyan goes off for the first ever triple double in OWU history today.  12 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists.