MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

For the record, the score was Denison 76, Wooster 72. The wheels are officially off in Wooster.
Elsewhere,
DePauw 75, Hiram 61
Wabash 63, Allegheny 49
Wittenberg 71, Oberlin 53
OWU 102, Kenyon 93

1. OWU 12-2/17-4
2. Wooster 10-4/16-5
3. Wabash 9-5/14-7
4. DePauw 8-6/15-6
5. Denison 7-7/13-8
5. Allegheny 7-7/10-11
7. Wittenberg 6-8/8-13
8. Oberlin 4-10/8-13
8. Kenyon 4-10/6-15
10. Hiram 3-11/9-12

First round matchup if nothing changes: Witt at Woo.

[ettaexpress]

Has Wooster played themselves on the bubble here?  If they don't win the automatic bid here, they're going to have six losses and the best win they'll have will be....looks like Mount Union.  Is that enough?

Wins over St. Vincent, Hope and Mt Union should keep them in the middle of the GL rankings.  Enough so that they should be at the table.  They're in a big pack of teams now with 5 in-region losses but they still probably have the best criteria of those 5-loss teams.

Their margin for error has narrowed for sure.

Why is St. Vincent a quality win for them, but part of a "weak" schedule for other teams that shall not be named?

Seems like Wooster is somewhere between 5-8 in a pack with JCU and Mount among others. At the beginning of the year they were probably better, not sure now. They're really dependent on 3 guys from what I saw tonight.

[smedindy]

It's not the St. Vincent game. It's the collective. And remember, the regional rankings follow some criteria, while other rankings do not. Wooster's SOS in Massey is 50. Marietta is 52.

There's also a leap between ranking a team #1 and then ranking them in the mid-pack. The regional ranking watchers know the criteria (or at least follow the bouncing ball whilst games count or don't). I applaud them...

[woosterbooster]

My oh my.  Looks like Delaware will be the site this year.

That's worth a whoa. I believe that's three out of four for Wooster and I can't really remember the last time that's happened in league play.

No worries.  Wooster has just announced that Proposition Joe has been hired as an assistant coach.  Around tournament time, ringers will be arriving from the Terps and Hoyas.

[ettaexpress]

It's not the St. Vincent game. It's the collective. And remember, the regional rankings follow some criteria, while other rankings do not. Wooster's SOS in Massey is 50. Marietta is 52.

There's also a leap between ranking a team #1 and then ranking them in the mid-pack. The regional ranking watchers know the criteria (or at least follow the bouncing ball whilst games count or don't). I applaud them...

Well you absolutely can't rank them higher than 4. That's just out of the question now. After that it's parsing a number of similar teams. I think Mount would beat them if they played again and Jackson was able to play.

None of that addresses why St. Vincent is a quality win but isn't talked about as such for other teams. Seems like having it both ways, or trying to.

[smedindy]

Citation please.

[sac]

It's not the St. Vincent game. It's the collective. And remember, the regional rankings follow some criteria, while other rankings do not. Wooster's SOS in Massey is 50. Marietta is 52.

There's also a leap between ranking a team #1 and then ranking them in the mid-pack. The regional ranking watchers know the criteria (or at least follow the bouncing ball whilst games count or don't). I applaud them...

Well you absolutely can't rank them higher than 4. That's just out of the question now. After that it's parsing a number of similar teams. I think Mount would beat them if they played again and Jackson was able to play.

None of that addresses why St. Vincent is a quality win but isn't talked about as such for other teams. Seems like having it both ways, or trying to.

I never called it a quality win, but in the eyes of the committee its probably considered one.  Its a head-to-head win, something that's part of the criteria.  In the group of teams in this region that will be selected between 4-9 Wooster has 3 of them against other teams in the same group.

[Ohigy]

It appears the semi-finals and finals may be in Delaware IF OWU wins the quarterfinal game.  The way the NCAC has been this year, I can see several upsets occurring in those quarterfinals games.  I believe it is very possible for a 3 seed or below to win the tournament and the automatic bid.  I can also see a desperate Wooster team, thinking it needs to win the tournament to get in the NCAA's, come back to life and roll through the NCAC Tourney.

[ohiofan1954]

GO BIG RED

[BigRedFan]

HISTORIC VICTORY for the Big Red!!!!
Way to go!!!!

Not since Feb 1, 1997 has the Big Red beat Wooster!!!!!!

The Big Red are rolling at the right time to maybe make some noise come tournament time.

Coach G MUST be considered for the Coach of the Year!!!!

Well done!!!

[Dr. Acula]

It's not the St. Vincent game. It's the collective. And remember, the regional rankings follow some criteria, while other rankings do not. Wooster's SOS in Massey is 50. Marietta is 52.

There's also a leap between ranking a team #1 and then ranking them in the mid-pack. The regional ranking watchers know the criteria (or at least follow the bouncing ball whilst games count or don't). I applaud them...

Well you absolutely can't rank them higher than 4. That's just out of the question now. After that it's parsing a number of similar teams. I think Mount would beat them if they played again and Jackson was able to play.

None of that addresses why St. Vincent is a quality win but isn't talked about as such for other teams. Seems like having it both ways, or trying to.

While I would root for this to be true...even as a Mount fan I can't find any way Wooster is behind them currently when Wooster won head-to-head AND their other two common opponents (Hope and St. V) were both Mount losses and Wooster wins.  Now do I think Mount would beat Denison?  Of course.  I think they'd beat them easily.  And I think they'd beat Wabash too.  But unless they play that's just speculation.  Based on the results Wooster is still ahead of the OAC outside of Etta IMO.

[smedindy]

Basketball is weird. The best team doesn't always win, because it's hard to shoot a round ball into a round hoop at times.

Baseball and softball are variable based on how the pitcher is throwing, etc. Sports with goalies can turn on its head based on how that player performs.

Football is about the closest sport we have to where the best team prevails, and even that's sketchy many times.

Sports!

[David Collinge]

Let's not get too carried away about Denison. After all, Wooster did beat them by 23 five weeks ago. Denison is playing well and having a great season, but they're not Marietta. They may or may not be a better team than Wooster at this moment; I don't think you can say--and that alone is a feather in DU's cap.

Wooster is clearly going though some serious issues, mostly on the defensive end, and they are very vulnerable right now, especially with Wittenberg on the immediate horizon. The fact that they could not pull out a close game, at home, against an opponent they "should" beat, with the conference race in a critical situation, is almost unprecedented in the Steve Moore era and really gives me pause. Suddenly Hiram -- Hiram! -- is a huge game.

[wally_wabash]

1. OWU 12-2/17-4
2. Wooster 10-4/16-5

As noted earlier, the race for the title is essentially over.  OWU is up two games in the standings, plus they hold the h2h sweep over Wooster which effectively makes their lead three games with four to play.  It's difficult to see a scenario where OWU can't scratch out the one win they need to lock up home court advantage in the tournament. 

3. Wabash 9-5/14-7
4. DePauw 8-6/15-6
5. Denison 7-7/13-8
5. Allegheny 7-7/10-11
7. Wittenberg 6-8/8-13

This is where the intrigue lies.  Five teams in play for the other two home games.  Giant week for Wittenberg with games at DePauw and home against Wooster.  DePauw probably has the toughest slate left with games against a desperate Witt team, at Wabash, and against OWU.  Wabash has a roadie at OWU this week, then play their final three games at home (Denison, DePauw, Kenyon) which is a nice bit of scheduling serendipity. 

On the side- If Wabash catches Wooster in the standings, do they get the #2 seed thanks to the records vs. OWU?  I'm not sure I necessarily want Wabash as the #2 seed (I think I'd prefer a Wabash game against Denison or Allegheny to a game against Wittenberg), but it's fun to know that a #2 seed is in play here at the end of the season.  Quite a job by Coach Brumett this season. 

8. Oberlin 4-10/8-13
8. Kenyon 4-10/6-15
10. Hiram 3-11/9-12

I feel like Oberlin has a slight advantage here thanks to their wins over Wabash and DePauw.  The Yeomen also close with OWU and Wooster.  I think Oberlin makes the field if they can get one win this week. 

[woosterbooster]

...it's hard to shoot a round ball into a round hoop at times.

WABASH MAN PROPOSES CHANGES TO GAME
UNCLEAR ON WHETHER DESIRE IS FOR SQUARE HOOP, BALL, OR BOTH