MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[woosterbooster]

DC -

If your modified bracket prediction holds up (or even something similar), would you think there would be any chance of Wooster hosting the sectional if they were to still be alive and Hope wasn't?

[David Collinge]

There's always a chance.  Quality and size of facilities is a factor in selection of host sites.  Wooster has an edge on most schools in that department (probably not over Hope, though, unless a more eastern location is preferred.)  Furthermore, sectional sites are only announced (and presumably decided upon) after the second round is complete.  So there's a chance.

Based only on how I have seeded the tournament, for Wooster to get the sectional, not only would Hope have to lose, but B-W and CMU would as well.  And I have CMU in a pretty much lose-proof bracket.  So if my delusions come true, Wooster is not likely to have another home game.

For my full bracket, check the Daily Dose.

[kiltedbryan]

Looks like a nice bracket, DC.  <chooses not to make a crack about how the NCAA will mess it up>

I hope (no pun intended) that Wooster gets a chance to host- but I agree with your analysis that York is a better geographic center.

[Blue Russian]

As a Wittenberg fan, it pains me to say this, but if I had a vote in POY, I would have to give it to Cooper.  I have seen him once this year (and many people have talked about how their one viewing can have a large impact), and was awed by what he did to Wittenberg in Springfield.  Add to that the fact that Cooper's numbers have been outstanding, and he stepped up to another level when Port got hut and I can't see not giving it to him. 

Dan Russ is second . . . right now.  He is such a dominating presence inside that is makes it hard for anybody to stop him.  It will be interesting to see if postseason play does play a role in the vote, because if it does, and if Witt can win the tourney, I think Dan has a shot.  Look at what he did Tuesday against Denison (27 pts, 5 rebs, compared to Cooper's 14 against Kenyon), and his season numbers against the 3 teams he possibly could play (OWU - 18.5 ppg, 5 rpg; Earlham - 15.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Wooster - 27.5 ppg, 7.5 ppg).  He'd definitely be tournament MVP if he put up numbers like that, and you know it would influence voters on POY.

However, with that said, I still have to go Cooper.  He's 4 points a game ahead of Dan, shoots 56% from the field (which is incredible for a guard, especially considering Dan is at 57% down low shooting "high percentage shots"), is a far better free throw shooter (81% vs. Dan's 63%), and has 25 more assists than Russ.  I enjoy watching Russ, and I don't think we could complain if he was named POY, but I think it is Cooper's award unless Dan takes it away here in the tourney.


POY

Now that the tournament is over, perhaps we could revisit this subject. I'm not sure if the tournament statistics are even included in this process, but I think we may have a little clearer picture of the players that made it to the tournament finals.

Of the 3 most common names that seem to keep coming up, Russ, Cooper and Miller, I would like to give my limited perspective after watching them for several games.  I'm a Witt fan and the 3 games that I saw Miller play (2 vs Witt and 1 vs Wooster) I would say he probably deserves the title as the one player with the most 'raw' talent or potential in the league. The only issue I have with Miller is his antics after some fouls. There is not a player in the conference who doesn't get some good and bad call during the course of the game, you just have to deal with it and go on. When he fouled out of the Witt game, he pulled his shirt over his head at midcourt and walked off straight to the locker room. I'm not sure that I would want to bring my son or daughter to the game and tell them to mold themselves after this player. Is there more to player of the year than just talent? I don't know but I would like to think that this POY has it all.

As for Cooper, I would think that he would have to be the leader in the 'Best Offensive Player' in the league. Boy, is he fun to watch and can he hit the shots from all over the floor. Once again, looking for multiple qualities for this title, I'm know that Cooper plays tenacious defense and is very quick with a steal, but I haven't seen where he can take over a game on both ends of the court.

I'm trying not to be biased, but I believe that Dan Russ has demonstrated that he can change the outcome of the game at both ends of the court. His offensive skills has been mentioned several times in these discussions, but please also note that his shot blocking and rebounding on the defensive end, along with how he handles himself under pressure, shows that he is the complete package. There were several mentions that some other players had higher stats, but with the controlled tempo that Coach Brown is using this year, his players are not going to rack up any impressive individual numbers. This strategy finally worked in the Tournament Championship Game. Regardless, Dan is very capable of putting up some impressive stats as well.

With that being said, in my opinion ..... Dan Russ should get back-to-back POY award in the NCAC.

[c-busballer]

Wooster Booster,

I brought this up on the OAC page and made reference to it earlier about the officiating.  I am tired of referees being brought into the equation.  Teams and players win games.  I always love when a poster says "i thought the ref's did a good job, but...".  I do not think ref's even need to be congratulated.  There always seems to be an implication when someone mentions refs. 

I had a great time Saturday night watching the NCAC final and switching to the OAC final during breaks. I wanted to watch the NCAC final because I had not seen Wooster yet this year.  Wooster Booster, I think it is great that you are passionate and loyal fan of Wooster.  Very rarely do I hear negative comments about Wooster players or coaches.  You give great insights to what is happening to the Wooster program and game analysis.  However, you seem to always have a beef with the ref's even after wins. 

"For about the first 2/3 of the ballgame, I felt that Wittenberg got away with being overly aggressive.  But then, as if a gun went off, suddenly fouls were being called on Witt, fouls that I've not often seen called at Timken on an opponent.  Holds, pushes, hacks.  Mostly, they seemed to be called by the older ref, who just stepped forward and did the right thing.  It was nice to see, and from that point on I thought it was one of the better officiated DIII games that I've seen."

I watched the game.  There were a few calls that raised eyebrows.  I know who the three ref's were and they were on top of their game.  They actually raised their level of officiating, because I thought one was definitely in over his head.  The younger shorter one earlier this year made thought a foul shot went in on a defensive rebound and blew the play dead because the rebounding team did not take the ball out.  I also tracked the fouls in the second half off of the box score.  You state that for 2/3 of the game that Witt got away with being overly aggressive.  Wooster did not pick up their first foul of the second half until 13:48 of the second half.  Witt had 4.  Wooster was shooting the bonus at the 11:28 mark while Wittenberg did not shoot the bonus until the 1:15 mark.  My thought process as a player and team would be that we (Wooster) could get more aggressive because we were not being aggressive enough, we had fouls to give, or the ref's were letting us play.  Maybe Witt just took advantage of how the game was being officiated, but they still were being called for fouls.   Wittenberg won the game.  It was the first time that I saw Wooster, but they seemed to be passive defensively for most of the second half.  Only in the last few minutes did they seem to play with some urgency.  I also think it is difficult for these teams to play each other so many times year in and year out.

Wooster Booster, your insights are great.  Forget the ref's and enjoy the games.  It is much more enjoyable that way.  I definitely enjoyed wathing the game.  I wish more DIII games were broadcast, even if it is on the internet.  Announcers were professional and did a good job. 

Good luck to Witt and Wooster in the tournament.

[woosterbooster]

Whoops. I just answered you over on the OAC page before seeing this post.

Let me just add this to what I said over there.  I'm critical of the refs because I think they could often do a better job.  Actually, I would think it sounds better coming after a win than after a loss.

You mentioned that this was the only time this year that you've seen Wooster.  The refereeing in most of their other games was considerably worse; maybe if you'd seen those, in person where it's much easier to see than on tv, you might agree with me.

[woosterbooster]

Holy cow!

Wooster goes to Transylvania to play Randolph-Macon.  Transylvania gets to host, even though they're ranked 21st to Wooster's third, and their gym holds only 1,200?  This looks like a purely geographical call, and that also the size of the facility was completely overlooked.

And should Wooster win down there, their chances of hosting a sectional look nigh on to impossible.  Probably either Wittenberg or BW out of that group, Hope or Calvin, and Mississippi College from the other group.  The first three teams probably all have hosting precedence over Wooster.

[witt4ever]

And look who Wooster has to beat.

NOBODY

Wittenberg will trade places with Wooster, right now.

Who cares about the hosting issue.

------------

Have a nice trip to Hope or pleasant jaunt to BW.

[smedindy]

Don't sluff off Transylvania - remember they took care of their business. Also, Wooster's QOWI was always lower this year than what you would expect. Transylvania was 14th and Wooster was 26th in that measure.

[smedindy]

The NCAA cares not a whit about rankings either, as well they shouldn't. As long as Transylvania is able to host - and they are - they probably deserved it based on their location and QOWI.

[AndersDY]

Hey, at least Woo and Witt can avoid each other until the Elite 8. Clearly the committee doesn't mind deja vu on the Hope Calvin game exactly one week later. It does seem odd that for Witt winning on Saturday, they are "rewarded" by getting a Saturday game against either CMU or BW followed by a game that'll almost certainly be the Hope/Calvin winner. Hey, at least they avoid getting on a bus. I'm sure Wooster has never been happier to have to get out of town to play their first weekend slate.

[witt4ever]

Don't sluff off Transylvania - remember they took care of their business. Also, Wooster's QOWI was always lower this year than what you would expect. Transylvania was 14th and Wooster was 26th in that measure.

Witt already has played Transy and beat them, 62-51.

So you are saying that you would rather be in Witt's bracket than Woo's bracket?

Get real.

[c-busballer]

Wooster Booster,

We can agree to disagree.  I tend to not worry about ref's.  That is the way I played and the way I coach players.  My personal feeling is that if the team and coach's are preoccupied with ref's it will affect their game and attitude.  Look at one of your favorite whipping boys, John Carroll.  Coach and players get many technicals, and their play is affected by their perception of the officials calls. 

Good luck to Wooster.  I hope to see them play again.  I know that I did not see the other games, I just do not think ref's affect the games as much as you think.

[dren]

Hey, at least Woo and Witt can avoid each other until the Elite 8. Clearly the committee doesn't mind deja vu on the Hope Calvin game exactly one week later. It does seem odd that for Witt winning on Saturday, they are "rewarded" by getting a Saturday game against either CMU or BW followed by a game that'll almost certainly be the Hope/Calvin winner. Hey, at least they avoid getting on a bus. I'm sure Wooster has never been happier to have to get out of town to play their first weekend slate.

Looks like Wittenberg should have lost to Wooster in the NCAC finals, to get a more favorable bracket.

What a joke.

The NCAC finals don't determine the seedning.  The committee is making it clear that win or lose Wooster was going to be seeded higher than Witt.  And Woo deserved that much by being 2-0 vs Witt heading into the NCACs. All the NCACs did was assure Witt entry into the tournament.  Had Witt lost... Woo would be hosting for sure and Witt would be on the road to Hope/BUU/CM... not playing the weaker teams to the east.

[pennstghs]

wow what a draw for witt-but it is manageable. witt defintely has the easier game friday night vs lake erie college (no offense erie fans) but saturday night should be a good game whoever witt hopefully will have to play. i guess witt can hope that both teams wear eachother out friday night. witt might be one team taht has the ability to neutralize tori davis