MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

He missed twice today- time to get that kid a shot doctor. 

[wabashsid]

Jack made his last two attempts. He's now 93 away from tying the record set by..... 

[imderekpoe]

One man's quick tourney preview...

This really looks like its going to be another Witt - Woo final, with a possibility that the winner might get to host the first weekend of the NCAA tourney.


First round games:

Allegheny at Wooster – 7:00 PM
Previous results
12/5 Wooster 101 – 84 at Wooster
1/23 Wooster 81 – 72 at Allegheny

The Scots haven't lost a first-round game since and its hard to see it happening this year.


Ohio Wesleyan at Wittenberg – 6:00 PM
Previous results
1/16 Wittenberg 98 – 94 (OT) at OWU
2/6 Wittenberg 91 – 58 at Wittenberg

Witt has been the best team in the league the last month, and OWU is not the team that they've been the past few years.  Witt should take this one, but it feels like it might be close.


Hiram at Wabash – 7:00 PM
Previous Results
12/21 Wabash 102 – 61 at Wabash
2/2 Wabash 95 – 80 at Hiram

Which Wabash team will show up – the one that ran through the first half of the league schedule unscathed, or the one that played .500 the second half? Or does it matter? Tough draw for Hiram to have to go all the way to Wabash for a Tuesday night game.


Oberlin at DePauw – 6:00 PM
Previous Results
12/8 – Oberlin 66 – 58 at DePauw
1/26 – DePauw 68 – 57 at Oberlin

DePauw has been pretty good the second half of the season, beating Wabash and Witt in Greencastle, but they also lost to OWU and Hiram. They mostly stayed in the game with the Scots on Saturday and it could have been more interesting if they could have stayed out of file trouble. Oberlin hasn't won a tourney game since at least 1999 – and this might their best chance in all that time.

[wooscotsfan]

One man's quick tourney preview...

This really looks like its going to be another Witt - Woo final, with a possibility that the winner might get to host the first weekend of the NCAA tourney.

imderekpoe - thanks for the tourney preview.  It sure would be nice for Wooster to use their newly renovated gym to host the first weekend of the NCAA tourney.   If Hempy, Dupler and Williams play some solid games, the Scots could advance a few rounds in the NCAA tourney.

[kiltedbryan]

Allegheny at Wooster – 7:00 PM
Previous results
12/5 Wooster 101 – 84 at Wooster
1/23 Wooster 81 – 72 at Allegheny

The Scots haven't lost a first-round game since and its hard to see it happening this year.

1996. 7th-seeded OWU beat 2nd-seeded Wooster 71-62. The Scots have never lost an NCAC quarterfinal game as a #1 seed.

First time since 2011 that Wooster and Allegheny meet in the quarterfinals. That one was quite a scare -- the Scots escaped with a 62-57 victory after being down 9 points with under 6 minutes to go.

[wally_wabash]

One man's quick tourney preview...

This really looks like its going to be another Witt - Woo final, with a possibility that the winner might get to host the first weekend of the NCAA tourney.


First round games:

Allegheny at Wooster – 7:00 PM
Previous results
12/5 Wooster 101 – 84 at Wooster
1/23 Wooster 81 – 72 at Allegheny

The Scots haven't lost a first-round game since and its hard to see it happening this year.


Ohio Wesleyan at Wittenberg – 6:00 PM
Previous results
1/16 Wittenberg 98 – 94 (OT) at OWU
2/6 Wittenberg 91 – 58 at Wittenberg

Witt has been the best team in the league the last month, and OWU is not the team that they've been the past few years.  Witt should take this one, but it feels like it might be close.


Hiram at Wabash – 7:00 PM
Previous Results
12/21 Wabash 102 – 61 at Wabash
2/2 Wabash 95 – 80 at Hiram

Which Wabash team will show up – the one that ran through the first half of the league schedule unscathed, or the one that played .500 the second half? Or does it matter? Tough draw for Hiram to have to go all the way to Wabash for a Tuesday night game.


Oberlin at DePauw – 6:00 PM
Previous Results
12/8 – Oberlin 66 – 58 at DePauw
1/26 – DePauw 68 – 57 at Oberlin

DePauw has been pretty good the second half of the season, beating Wabash and Witt in Greencastle, but they also lost to OWU and Hiram. They mostly stayed in the game with the Scots on Saturday and it could have been more interesting if they could have stayed out of file trouble. Oberlin hasn't won a tourney game since at least 1999 – and this might their best chance in all that time.

I think what makes this tournament particularly intriguing is that while there are clear favorites in each of tonight's games, I don't think any result would be crazy because:

- While Wooster is the top seed, Allegheny isn't far away from having beaten Wabash and Jordan Rawls can be the best player on the floor on any game.  He isn't always the best player on the floor, but he can be.  He's one of the more overlooked players in the league, IMO.  Roberts has been playing well lately also for Allegheny.  If they can not get knocked out in the first half tonight at Timken, and they can play a two man game with those two well then, who knows. 

- OWU has gone in fits and starts in the year 1 A.N (After Nate) and have scuffled their way to the #7 seed.  They're playing the hottest team in the league tonight, BUT Mike Dewitt is a really good coach and maybe he can find 40 minutes of brilliance tonight.  Not out of the question. 

- As noted, Wabash hit a hard road stretch in the second half of league play and didn't fare so well.  The LGs are undefeated at home this year and it's a long trip for Hiram, but man, Hiram has some dudes and if Wabash can't get scoring from Davidson + Eberhard + one other guy (from my viewpoint, it's been the disappearance of a third scoring option that has tripped Wabash up in the last 3 weeks), Hiram is going to have a shot tonight. 

- Oberlin and DePauw seem to be trending in different directions and Oberlin is making the trip all the way back out to Indiana for the second time in four days.  That's tough.  But, Oberliln has won at DePauw this season so duplicating that December result wouldn't be crazy. 

I do think the home teams are all winning tonight, but I don't think any of these games are gimmes for the favorites.  Looking forward to a fun night of tournament hoops. 

[bufordscot]

If Dontae Williams ever chooses to assert himself in the post I believe Wooster could be a very good team.  Probably a player or two away from a great team but very good nonetheless. 

[kiltedbryan]

Naturally, Scots go into the break down 8, 48-40 Gators. Allegheny ended the half on a 10-0 run. Gators have looked good on offense, and Roberts with 18, Rawls with 14. For the Scots, Hempy has 16.

[kiltedbryan]

Wooster escapes, 91-89. Dupler with the game-winning bucket with 3 seconds to go, Rawls missed a 30-footer at the buzzer. Impressive performance from the Gators -- we'll see more from them in the NCAC next year I suspect.

Wooster was down as many as 13 in the second half (66-53) and trailed 75-65 before going on a 17-6 run to take their first second-half lead at 82-81 with 4 minutes left. That one could've gone either way. As it is, Scots survive and advance and will host this weekend's NCAC semifinals and final.

Elsewhere:
Oberlin 62
DePauw 66

OWU 51
Wittenberg 73

Hiram 76
Wabash 87 (Jack Davidson had 47!) 

Friday games from Timken Gym in Wooster:
#3 Wabash
#2 Wittenberg

#4 DePauw
#1 Wooster

[Wooster Booster]

Escapes is an understatement!  They pulled a hat out of a rabbit!  What a defensive effort down the stretch!

[kiltedbryan]

Hiram 76
Wabash 87 (Jack Davidson had 47!) 

Davidson went 15-16 from the line, what a slacker. What's gotten into him?!?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The third public NCAA Division III regional rankings are out: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2019/02/men-regional-rankings-third

[kiltedbryan]

A programming note: Friday's schedule has Wooster-DePauw playing the first game at 5:30, followed by Wabash-Wittenberg at 7:30. Winners will play at 4 pm on Saturday.

http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190218g79dzi

[wally_wabash]

A programming note: Friday's schedule has Wooster-DePauw playing the first game at 5:30, followed by Wabash-Wittenberg at 7:30. Winners will play at 4 pm on Saturday.

http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190218g79dzi

Have they always done it this way?  It feels weird to lead off the double header with the home team.  Also wouldn't have minded some partisan support from Scot fans vs. Wittenberg.   

[imderekpoe]

Question for any Wabash fans... Who are you pulling for on Friday?  I assume that you'd rather not play Wooster (esp at home) if you make it to the finals, but would you ever root for DePauw?