MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[kiltedbryan]

well as an added nicety to wooster fans-i would plan on arriving at witt early like for the JV game as witt's student body should be strong and early in attendance-the hype for the game has reached a strong level today, with mentions and headlines in the local paper.

Glad to see the game is getting attention in Springfield, too.

Here's a question for Witt people:  Will there be any changes in strategy for Saturday following the loss at Woo?  The first Woo-Witt game was by far the highest scoring game Witt has played- do you think Witt will focus even more on working the half-court game?

[woosterbooster]

Just for fun, using an Excel-based basketball game called Above the Rim (derived from the old Statis-Pro board game), I simulated Saturday's upcoming Wooster-Wittenberg game.  Players are rated based upon their actual stats.  Teams are also rated based upon team defense, rebounding, tempo, strength of schedule, etc.

Wooster opened up a big early lead, mostly based upon the inside play of Tim Vandervaart.  Scoring the Scots first 9 points, he propelled them to a lead of 22-12 at the 12 minute mark of the first half.  The teams traded baskets, Wooster able to maintain a quick tempo, and the Scots went into the locker room leading 50-39.

Wittenberg came out strong to open the second stanza, closing to within 5 with 16 minutes to go.  It was nip and tuck for a few minutes, the Tigers getting as close as 3.  But that was all she wrote.  Wooster begin to score quickly, often from behind the arc, and with 8 minutes to go had extended their lead to 16 points.  At one point, it reached 29.  Final score, Wooster 106, Wittenberg 81.

Wooster shot 64% from the floor to Witt's 53%.  The Scots were 12-22 from behind the arc (James Cooper 4-5, Kyle Witucky 3-5) while Witt was only 4-15. Wittenberg had a narrow 27-23 edge on the boards, but lost the turnover battle, 17-9.

For Wooster, Cooper led the way with 24 (10-15) while Tim Vandervaart poured in 23 (9-11).  Witucky contributed 11 points and 8 assists.

Wittenberg's Russ had 22 on 10-16 shooting while Dane Borchers posted 20 on 8-10 from the floor.

To see the complete boxscore, go here:
http://arkski.com/~jwood/2006%20Wooster.html

I held Tom Port to around 9 minutes on the court because of his undetermined condition.  Of course, this was only one game.  If I have the time this evening, I might give it another go to see how different the result might be.

[WoosterFAN]

 Indeed the hype machine running full bore in Southeastern (the best corner)  Wink Ohio...articles from the Dayton Daily News:
link and this article sindicated by Cox News Service and appeared in the Springfield News-Sun newspaper
http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/daily/0203wittenberg.html

another nugget:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/daily/0203wittenbergbox.html

And from the Springfield News-Sun:
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/02/03/snssp0203brownmoore.html

and this story about Tom Port's injury: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/02/03/snssp0203tomport.html

And from the hometown 'fishwrap' Wooster Daily Record:
http://www.the-daily-record.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles//sports/&file=_sports3.txt&article=1&tD=

And you thought Superbowl coverage was comprehensive!!

Go Scots!!

(edit: fixed URLs)

[Vanilla24COW]

Congrats to Kyle on being named, that is a huge honor and well deserved. Good luck to the Scots and hopefully this game will be as exciting as the last couple that have been played down here in the HPER and the one in Wooster earlier in the year. I wouldn't read too much into Cooper playing harder due to the report in the Springfield Sun, if a player can't get up for Witt without needing extra inspiration then something is wrong. Looking forward to seeing BJ Harris courtside.

[oldwittfan]

Bill Brown basically believes in the strategy that Witt has used.  He thinks his guards have developed a greater capacity to defend out on the court. They will not help the big guys inside very much.

Offensively he probably thinks they were a little quick at times at Wooster.  However, Wittenberg does run the court if they think they can. Clearly he wants the big guys to get touches almost every time down the court. Obviously, it is not easy to dictate tempo to Wooster.

I assume he would like a lower score this time. We will see.

[bigkrapper]

Great point VanillaCow24,I only wish I will be there to see Wittenberg alum (he did graduate right?) BJ Harris leading the Wittenberg Student Section, and of course the great game that will be played.   I know it will be another classic Woo-Witt game and I will definitely be listening to it on the radio.  I just can't wait till the replay it on ESPN 8 "the ocho" Good luck scots

[kiltedbryan]

I just can't wait till the replay it on ESPN 8 "the ocho" Good luck scots

We should start creating a list of quality D-III games that ESPN is missing, then send it to them at the end of the year.  

Does anyone know if Witt will have TV coverage/anyone taping the game?

[jscwittfan]

Does anyone know if Witt will have TV coverage/anyone taping the game?

No TV coverage, but we always have the basketball team's student manager tape the game.  So, there will be a copy on tape somewhere (and who knows if Wooster will bring someone either).

I'm assuming that the local news stations will be there, as they were here for the 3OT game last year.

[ScotsFan]

Does anyone know if Witt will have TV coverage/anyone taping the game?

I don't know who was taping the 3 OT game last year, but Wooster's Clear Picture Cable had a showing of the game with Hugh Howard (Wooster's SID) and Coach Moore doing commentary with the game.  I haven't heard whether or not  CPI is sending a crew down to Springfield, but, they have done it before.  I think a couple of years ago they sent down a crew to cover the conference finals between Witt and Woo in Springfield so it is a possibility.

[David Collinge]

Also, there was an interesting article in the Daily Record today regarding that Springfield Sun report about James Cooper "pleading" to be admitted to Wittenberg following Wooster's win over Witt back in December.  Here's an excerpt from the article:

Cooper, angry over the report, denied it and said it won't ruin his homecoming on Saturday. He also said it's not something he will soon forget.

"It was low class to do something like that," Cooper said. "Most people knew it wasn't true, but I can't worry about that. It will just make me want to play even harder."

You know, it's funny.  I was about to quote from that very same article earlier today, but in the midst of typing the post I got called away from my computer, and didn't get back until just a short while ago.  Here's the section of the article that I was going to mention:

The morning after that game, a Springfield Sun report indicated Cooper, a Springfield native, had "pleaded" with Wittenberg officials to attend the university and play basketball during his senior year at Springfield South. The paper only cited "administrators" as its source.

Tigers coach Bill Brown condemned the report, saying he didn't think the issue was for public print and had nothing to do with the basketball game. He declined further comment.

I recall Bill Brown being lit up pretty good in here over this incident, and I never thought he actually had anything to do with it.  I see that is now confirmed; in fact, his attitude about it matches mine exactly (that it was not something that should have been reported, regardless of it truth or falsity.)  I greatly admire his statement.   

[smedindy]

"Administration" could mean some student worker in an office who heard something from someone who swore they heard something from someone who saw it in a file in admissions - they swear to God.

[woosterbooster]

Reporters should know better than to write something like that, but the real blame lies with the editors that let it get into print.

[smedindy]

Wasn't this tacked onto a game story? If so, the editors probably had little time to fact check before deadline. Especially at a smaller paper like the one in Springfield. Sad, but true.

[woosterbooster]

Wasn't this tacked onto a game story? If so, the editors probably had little time to fact check before deadline. Especially at a smaller paper like the one in Springfield. Sad, but true.

I agree with David, though.  That whether there was truth to the story or not, it's not something that belongs in a newspaper.  In which case the editor wouldn't need to fact check to squash it, just to read it then apply some common decency.

[hoopsfan1111]

I am going to hold off on all that admiration for Coach Brown just yet...he didn't say the rumor was false (as it obviously was based on Cooper's statement)...all Bill did was say it shouldn't have been printed.  I would have more respect if he had stated the rumor was false AND shouldn't have been printed.  The way it stands he makes it seem like he still believes it is the truth...and it was poor taste to print it...

Not that it matters now...

We will let the playing speak for itself!  GO SCOTS!!!