MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Lancaster Bible is the great unknown in this tournament. The consensus of opinion seems to be that, at 26-1, LBC would NOT have earned a Pool C bid, and I believe that a Wooster team that's had a somewhat subpar season will be the best team they've faced. But maybe they're good enough to have beaten tougher opponents, had they faced any. It's a fascinating draw.

Lancaster Bible 94  Franklin & Marshall 66     Game was played back in November.  Lancaster Bible's best win this season.

Franklin & Marshall is now 22-5 and is in the NCAA tournament.

That's the only game they've played this year against a regionally ranked team. One quarter of Wooster's schedule was vRRO (3-4.) Their SOS is .439, which I suspect is the lowest of the 62 teams in the field; by contrast, Wooster's is .563. But they won all of their games, so who knows what they are capable of.

Take note of the poll on the front page, though.

[wally_wabash]

OWU gets a very favorable draw, and will be a substantial favorite to move on to the sectionals (likely at Benedictine).

Ohio Wesleyan is very good.  I don't think Ohio Wesleyan is a very good tournament team.  I can't find D3 stats for rebound rates which I would prefer to look at, but they are -5.3 on rebound margin- dead last in the conference, 372nd in D3, and the next closest 20-win team to OWU in that category is Salisbury (-0.9, 248th).  That's a really, really poor number for a really good team.  For all of their offensive might, OWU is pretty average defensively and just needs one night when they do something like 8-30 on 3FGAs and they're out.  There's really no plan B for the Bishops. 

I'd look at Wooster to be the last NCAC team standing in this year's tournament. 

[countyroad]

An interesting note about Wooster's opponent, LBC. Their leading scorer, Bryce Williams, appears to be on his 3rd team in as many seasons.

[wally_wabash]

An interesting note about Wooster's opponent, LBC. Their leading scorer, Bryce Williams, appears to be on his 3rd team in as many seasons.

Is there a story behind that or what?  I'm missing something. 

[countyroad]

An interesting note about Wooster's opponent, LBC. Their leading scorer, Bryce Williams, appears to be on his 3rd team in as many seasons.

Is there a story behind that or what?  I'm missing something.

I don't know the story. I was reading his bio which states this is his first year with the team, yet he was a Jr. I did a little Googling and found he played for two other teams prior to arriving @ LBC.

[David Collinge]

Scranton pulled into a tie with Wittenberg with their Pool C bid this season; each will now have 27 appearances in the NCAA tournament in the D3 era. Wooster remains tied for third with Hope at 25, but this, the Scots' 14th straight bid, is a D3 record.
http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/20160229kh6dy9

[Wooster Booster]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

[Dr. Acula]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

This made me laugh!  +k

Also, am I losing my mind or hasn't there been a "Wooster Booster" on here for years?? 

[Wooster Booster]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

This made me laugh!  +k

Also, am I losing my mind or hasn't there been a "Wooster Booster" on here for years??

I'm the same WooBoo.  Took a long break.

[ScotsFan]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

t

This made me laugh!  +k

Also, am I losing my mind or hasn't there been a "Wooster Booster" on here for years??

I'm the same WooBoo.  Took a long break.

You just wanted to reset your negative karma...      

[Wooster Booster]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

t

This made me laugh!  +k

Also, am I losing my mind or hasn't there been a "Wooster Booster" on here for years??

I'm the same WooBoo.  Took a long break.

You just wanted to reset your negative karma...      

Eh?  I was +4329/-110.  Hang on, I have it written down somewhere...

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Don't read too much into things like "if Lancaster Bible went 26-1 they weren't making the tournament" as they aren't that good a team. That is criteria stuff. LBC's SOS was bad and you can learn a lot more about why here: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2016/02/26/go-undefeated-or-go-home/

LBC is a very good team. I have seen them in person and was pretty impressed. Their offense isn't necessarily half-court, but they can play half-court if they want or need. I was actually more surprised with their defense: stingy, aggressive, fast, and smart. They have size inside, almost all of them have a great first step with tremendous speed, and they clearly adjust well in the open floor. What really surprised me in the game on Saturday that I was at was how many other gears they have. They shifted to higher gears several times in the game and ended up shooting 57% in the second half.

I think the match-up with Wooster is a perfect one for LBC who is as good as their game against F&M indicates. They are not with a player who was key off the bench in the first half of the season (apparently thought classes were optional), but they have adjusted well without him. As for the player found at his third year, LBC isn't the kind of school trying to game the system like Green Mountain clearly did. The head coach, Zach Filzen, got the job during the summer after the previous coach who had laid the groundwork left (along with a bad out-of-conference schedule). Filzen's mother is iconic coach in MIAC women's history - so he learned from one of the best.

This is a game LBC can prove they are as good as advertised. Wooster can use to prove they are able to have a good season even when they are "off." And both teams will have a very good test against Catholic (most likely) in the next round.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

I haven't watched Wooster play much this year, but thought they actually played an excellent game against Denison.  They were totally dominant inside, with their bigs both scoring and controlling the boards.  Then Denison decided that they were the Golden State Warriors and it was over.

The Lancaster Bible College Department of Arts and Sciences offers no degrees in, um, any sciences.  Why is it that I always feel I need a shower after going to the websites of these Christian schools?

t

This made me laugh!  +k

Also, am I losing my mind or hasn't there been a "Wooster Booster" on here for years??

I'm the same WooBoo.  Took a long break.

You just wanted to reset your negative karma...      

Eh?  I was +4329/-110.  Hang on, I have it written down somewhere...

Hope to see you on the baseball boards. I believe you were once a regular poster. I believe you and a certain poster, had quite a few discussions over the years.

[bufordscot]

Can we expect a live feed even if we have to pay for it?

[Pat Coleman]

Can we expect a live feed even if we have to pay for it?

They're not allowed to charge for video feeds in NCAA Tournament games.

Catholic has a video feed -- watched a little bit of the conference championship game. Students doing the broadcast but they did a good job. One camera shoot, no replay.