MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Witt4ever]

Printable bracket:

http://www.northcoast.org/mb/mbrkt07.pdf

[smedindy]

Witt D's up this year. Hill had a rotten game against 'Gheny from what I saw of the stats. Once in a while, the bear (or gator) eats you no matter who you are.

[imderekpoe]

I think I have it.

Kenyon went 3-1 vs. Earlham and Hiram so Kenyon gets #6
Hiram beat Earlham so Hiram is #7
Congrats Earlham - you get Wooster.

So it's:

Earlham at Wooster
Hiram at Wittenberg
Kenyon at OWU
Wabash at Allegheny

Of course, I could be wrong, but that's my best guess at the 3-way tiebreaker.

Its unfortunate for the Scots the way that the tiebreakers fell.  With the Quakers regional record at exactly .333, a Scots win will be worth only 8 ratings points, and will also cost them 4 more points for the regular-season games against Earlham.

[David Collinge]

I don't think there many teams in D3 that Ohio Wesleyan would have lost to tonight, but unfortunately for them, Wooster at home was one of them.  OWU played a brilliant game on the offensive end, moving the ball around crisply and finding the open shooter (they shot 53% overall and 11/19 from the arc) and crashing the offensive glass hard (11 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points.)  The shooting was even better than it looks: when Casey Teeters drilled a three to tie the game at 87 with 4:55 remaining, the Bishops were at 57.9% and 64.7 from the arc.  However, the Scots clamped down on D a bit harder and held the Bishops to just 1 of 7 the rest of the way to pull out the six-point victory.  Wooster's defense was actually reasonably good all night, despite the gaudy numbers.  OWU was just lights-out, especially from the arc.  Wooster frequently forced the Bishops down to the last 5 seconds of the shot clock, but still OWU would find a way to get the ball into the hole. 

On the other end, James Cooper (23 on 7/15 with three treys) and Tom Port were a two-man wrecking crew, with their dazzling moves and ability to find an open shot.  Port particularly was huge tonight, scoring 21 on 7/11 shooting (3/5 3's) and 4/4 FTs, with 14 rebounds (4 off.), 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and just 1 turnover and 2 fouls.  The All-Americans were capably aided by Brandon Johnson, who exploited the middle of the OWU defense with four driving buckets and two assists in the first four minutes (he ended up with 11 pts and 5 assists in the first half, 17 and 6 for the game.) 

But it was free throw shooting that decided it.  Wooster was 13/15 for the game, including 8 of 9 after that Teeters tying three.  Port hit all 4 of his free throws down the stretch. 

It was a very exciting and well-played game, and it's just OWU's bad luck to waste such a brilliant performance on a loss to a top national team.  If they can play like this next week, I would not be surprised to see them in the championship game Saturday.

[imderekpoe]

I don't think there many teams in D3 that Ohio Wesleyan would have lost to tonight, but unfortunately for them, Wooster at home was one of them.  OWU played a brilliant game on the offensive end, moving the ball around crisply and finding the open shooter (they shot 53% overall and 11/19 from the arc) and crashing the offensive glass hard (11 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points.)  The shooting was even better than it looks: when Casey Teeters drilled a three to tie the game at 87 with 4:55 remaining, the Bishops were at 57.9% and 64.7 from the arc.  However, the Scots clamped down on D a bit harder and held the Bishops to just 1 of 7 the rest of the way to pull out the six-point victory.  Wooster's defense was actually reasonably good all night, despite the gaudy numbers.  OWU was just lights-out, especially from the arc.  Wooster frequently forced the Bishops down to the last 5 seconds of the shot clock, but still OWU would find a way to get the ball into the hole. 

On the other end, James Cooper (23 on 7/15 with three treys) and Tom Port were a two-man wrecking crew, with their dazzling moves and ability to find an open shot.  Port particularly was huge tonight, scoring 21 on 7/11 shooting (3/5 3's) and 4/4 FTs, with 14 rebounds (4 off.), 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and just 1 turnover and 2 fouls.  The All-Americans were capably aided by Brandon Johnson, who exploited the middle of the OWU defense with four driving buckets and two assists in the first four minutes (he ended up with 11 pts and 5 assists in the first half, 17 and 6 for the game.) 

But it was free throw shooting that decided it.  Wooster was 13/15 for the game, including 8 of 9 after that Teeters tying three.  Port hit all 4 of his free throws down the stretch. 

It was a very exciting and well-played game, and it's just OWU's bad luck to waste such a brilliant performance on a loss to a top national team.  If they can play like this next week, I would not be surprised to see them in the championship game Saturday.

This was probably the most entertaining game that I've seen this year.  OWU may have been a little lax on the defensive end at the outset, allowing Johnson to drive the lane at will.  But. as David mentioned, after that both teams played reasonably good defense but the offenses just plain shot lights out.  I haven't seen anybody else try to keep up with Wooster.  Most teams try to slow the game down and limit the Scots' offensive posessions, but OWU showed that they could play the Scots' game and play it well.  If they can approach this kind of effort next Friday, it should make for a very interesting game against the Tigers!

[woosterbooster]

I don't think Wooster's defense was there at all for most of the game, and that's probably due more to Witt's afternoon loss than anything else.  

It's rare that a Wooster team is beaten back down the court after scoring, but that happened all too frequently tonight.  These rushes didn't produce immediate baskets, but often led to forced defensive switches and/or good positioning for the OWU big men.  The Scots had no answer at all for Dustin Rudegeair who backed his way in at will, or on Will, or Port.  If he was doubled, he found the open man for a three, and OWU can definitely shoot them.  Tim Vandervaart's prescence at that end was sorely missed.

I'm at a loss as to why Jesse Jean only played 14 minutes.  It wasn't foul trouble, and I can't believe it's conditioning as he's picked up his minutes considerably since Chojnacki went down, averaging close to 30 in games that were close.  He was a force inside as usual, and his sitting on the bench only helped Wooster.

Wooster did tighten up their "D" in the last minutes and that was the difference.  I'm predicting right now an OWU win over Witt in one of the semifinals next week, and for the Bishops to battle the Scots heartily in the final before going down in a close one. I give them one chance in four to beat the Scots, odds not quite as good as Captain Ramius figured the Red October had to safely defect.  However, if Tim is able to Vandervaart again, Wooster might win going away by 10-15.

Congrats to the Wooster women for sending Wittenberg home with a loss.  When they're patient and don't throw the ball around like little leaguers taking infield, they're actually a pretty decent team.  Good luck on the road at Allegheny.

[imderekpoe]

I'm anxious to see how the region's QOWI's are shaping up.  If my calculations are correct (not necessarily a good assumption!), Wooster's rating has climbed to 10.316 this week.  However, the best that is can be is 10.182 after next week's conference tournament, and that's assuming a Wabash upset at Allegheny! 

My real question is what happens if they don't win the NCAC tourney?  If they were to lose to OWU in the finals, their rating would only be 9.636.  Last year that rating would be about 45th overall, and with only 1 win (and 2 losses) against regionally ranked teams I wonder if they would even make the NCAA tournament??

[kiltedbryan]

I'm anxious to see how the region's QOWI's are shaping up.  If my calculations are correct (not necessarily a good assumption!), Wooster's rating has climbed to 10.316 this week.  However, the best that is can be is 10.182 after next week's conference tournament, and that's assuming a Wabash upset at Allegheny! 

cmhscots,

I agree with your math.  Here's the basis of the calcuation that I used:

136 = 17 in-region wins x 8 pts per win
    8 =   8 in-region road games x 1 pt. per road game
    0 =   6 in-region games vs. sub .333 opponents x 0 (2x Hiram, Denison, Oberlin)
  14 =   7 in-region games vs. .333-.499 opponents x 2 (2x Earlham, Wabash, Kenyon; Mount Union)
  20 =   5 in-region games vs. .500-.666 opponents x 4 (2x OWU, Allegheny; Calvin)
  18 =   3 in-region games vs. .667+ opponents x 6 (2x Wittenberg; Ohio Northern)

196 QoWI points over 19 regional games = 10.316

Edit/Note:  I just ran John Carroll's.

128 = 16 in-region wins x 8 pts per win
  12 = 12 in-region road games x 1 pt. per road game
    0 =   2 in-region games vs. sub .333 opponents x 0 (2x Marietta)
    8 =   4 in-region games vs. .333-.499 opponents x 2 (2x Mount Union, Muskingum)
  36 =   9 in-region games vs. .500-.666 opponents x 4 (2x Wilmington, Ott, Heide; CNU, E&H, Albion)
  42 =   7 in-region games vs. .667+ opponents x 6 (2x Ohio Northern, Capital, B-W; Greensboro)

226 QoWI points over 22 regional games = 10.273

[ScotsFan]

Nice work on the qowi's scotsbrod and cmhscots.  Just one question and I'll admit that I'm too lazy to do the math myself, but would anyone know what LEC's qowi fell to after their loss this week?  I really don't see any reason Wooster isn't rankesd #1 in the GL Region  this week. 

I'm anxious to see how the region's QOWI's are shaping up.  If my calculations are correct (not necessarily a good assumption!), Wooster's rating has climbed to 10.316 this week.  However, the best that is can be is 10.182 after next week's conference tournament, and that's assuming a Wabash upset at Allegheny! 

My real question is what happens if they don't win the NCAC tourney?  If they were to lose to OWU in the finals, their rating would only be 9.636.  Last year that rating would be about 45th overall, and with only 1 win (and 2 losses) against regionally ranked teams I wonder if they would even make the NCAA tournament??

cmhscots, 

I was thinking this same thing last night about Wooster's opponents in the NCAC tournament.  They won't meet an opponent above .500 until the finals which won't help their qowi at all when you compare that to what kinds of points the OAC Tournament team will walk away with.


As for the NCAA tournament, I'm not really worried about the Scots getting in with a Pool C if they happen to lose in the NCAC finals.  I just hope it doesn't come to that because I feel that if this team wants to go deep in the tournament, they need to have as many games at Timken as possible.  A loss in the NCAC Tournament would basically eliminate the Scots' chances of hosting any tournament games.  I'm also hopeful that a win like last night can give this team some confidence and loosen them up a bit as they meet up with other quality opponents as they move into the post-season.

[wooscotsfan]

Congrats to Wooster on winning their 3rd straight NCAC regular season title and their 4th in the last 5 years! 

The video feed from Timken last night was quite good and as others have noted, both teams shot very well in this high scoring game.  If OWU continues to play at that high level, the Bishops will be a real threat in the NCAC tourney.

GO SCOTS!

[wooscotsfan]

As for the NCAA tournament, I'm not really worried about the Scots getting in with a Pool C if they happen to lose in the NCAC finals.  I just hope it doesn't come to that because I feel that if this team wants to go deep in the tournament, they need to have as many games at Timken as possible.  A loss in the NCAC Tournament would basically eliminate the Scots' chances of hosting any tournament games. 

ScotsFan -- great point about hosting NCAA tournament games.  Wooster's season ended the last two years at Albion and at Transylvania because they did not get to host 2nd round NCAA games when they lost in the NCAC tourney.

If the Scots want to avoid that scenario again, they need to focus on winning three straight in the NCAC tourney and getting the automatic bid.  Hosting games is never a sure thing (since NCAA travel expenses are a factor) but Wooster will have a much better chance if their record reaches 25-3.

GO SCOTS!

[wooscotsfan]

With the regular season complete, here is the case for Tom Port as the NCAC MVP using only the conference stats (16 games).

Tom Port is ranked in 9 categories, the most by any player:

-Scoring 6th (16.6 ppg)
-Rebounding 7th (6.9 rpg)
-Field Goal Shooting % 5th (56.8%)
-Assists 4th (3.19/game)
-3 Point FG Made 1st (40 total, 2.5/game)
-3 Point FG Shooting % 4th (49.4%)
-Blocked Shots 9th (1.13/game)
-Assists to Turnover Ratio 4th (2.13)
-Defensive Rebounds 3rd (5.06/game)

I'm guessing that most NCAC teams are glad that Port is a Senior!

[David Collinge]

I'm sure you all knew this was coming, sooner or later...

Let's give it up for the Big Red.  Eliminated from tournament contention, suffering through a disastrous season with nothing left to play for, and they pull it all together for dramatic season-ending victories over Earlham and Hiram.  As usual, they were led by the their two seniors, the Chicagoland Dans.  Dan Izzo contributed 19 points and 12 boards at Earlham, including a big basket and assist that gave DU the lead they'd hold throughout the OT session, and followed that up with a 13 point, 5 rebound performance yesterday which included three huge free throws to seal the win in the waning moments.  As for Dan Hodgkinson, well, all DU's all-time leading scorer did was cement his first-team all-NCAC status by pouring in 53 points (19/33 shooting) and grabbing 23 boards in 68 minutes of action.  Hodgkinson finishes his DU career with 1908 points and 719 boards, and led the conference in scoring this season at 20.8 ppg with a FG% of .605 this season (3rd in the NCAC.)  He was also among the conference leaders in rebounding (11th) and minutes played (4th.) 

Congratulations to Dan, Dan, and the Big Red! 

[David Collinge]

Aaron Dorksen addressed the reaction to his recent column in today's Daily Record.  He says that he was contacted by two coaches (one head, one assistant) from elsewhere in the conference, each expressing their displeasure at his suggestion that Woo and Witt stay on top of the league by out-working the other eight programs.  The head coach told Dorksen that he shouldn't "question my work ethic, you don't know what I'm doing."  Both coaches pointed out that each NCAC school has different obstacles to deal with, ranging from admissions standards and financial aid to resources allocated to basketball.  Dorksen says he agrees "that other factors [besides work ethic and recruiting edges] contribute," but he's not backing down from his contention that Woo and Witt have the best (and presumably hardest-working) staffs and get the best recruits.

[Li'l Giant]

I'm glad those coaches saw fit to call him out on it.