MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wooscotsfan]

With Wooster's win tonight, they have achieved another 20 win season.

Congratulations to Coach Steve Moore, Coach Doug Cline and the rest of the staff on their 12th Consecutive 20 Win Season!

During those 12 seasons, Wooster has 299 wins vs. 52 losses (a winning percentage just over 85%!)  

[jscwittfan]

Well, let's hope OWU loses another, Kenyon or Wabash catches them for the #3 seed, and Witt doesn't have to see them until potentially the NCAC tournament finals!  Seriously, I feel more confident about Witt going into a game against Wooster than I do going into a game against OWU at Wooster (which is what an NCAC tourney match-up would be).

And, on a completely non-NCAC related side-note, am I the only one who was absolutely amazed by Dwight Howard in the dunk contest tonight?  The slap the ball off the backboard with the left hand dunk it with the right may have been one of the most impressive dunk contest slams I've seen.

[wally_wabash]

And, on a completely non-NCAC related side-note, am I the only one who was absolutely amazed by Dwight Howard in the dunk contest tonight?  The slap the ball off the backboard with the left hand dunk it with the right may have been one of the most impressive dunk contest slams I've seen.

I watched and yes, Howard's dunks were awesome tonight.  Probably the best set of dunks in a dunk contest since Vince Carter in 2000. 

[pennstghs]

dwight howard is the man-ill have some actual intellectual thoughts on the game later-it seems as if we all are prognosticators in a way...

[David Collinge]

Here's the beginning of the game recap on the Witt site, written by John Strawn, assistant SID (formerly known around here as 'TigerUp07'):

The Wittenberg-Wooster rivalry never fails to disappoint. Not permanently, at least. When the buzzer sounded Saturday night in Timken Gymnasium, the Scots had secured a 66-61 victory over the Tigers, and for about 30 seconds an air of disappointment fell over the Tiger crowd. But it was quickly replaced with the glow of pride and the satisfaction of being a part of one of the best Division III rivalries.

Very classy; a great write-up.  Way to go, John. 

[goscots]

Congratulations to Coach Moore, his staff, and the Wooster players for their 4th straight NCAC regular season title. They earned it with three straight home Saturdays wins against the top tier of the NCAC.

The frontline of Evan Will, Robert Melick, Bryan Wickliffe and Craig Elam have continued to improve throughout the season. It may have been Will's and Melick' s best all round game of the year. If the front line continues to play like this the rest of the season, coupled with what I believe has been the best defensive team Wooster has had in years, making a deep run into the NCAA is a seasonable expectation.

[woosterbooster]

Notes from Timken:

The Wooster JV starters piled up a big first-half lead on Wittenberg only to have the bench give most of it back.  Same thing happened in the second half, as Coach Gaubatz gave everyone lots of playing time.  Nate, don't you understand, we want to beat Witt by 50?

Watching the game last night, even from up close, it wasn't clear how Marty Bidwell acquired the cut on the side of his head that, for a while,  forced him from the game.  Was he the victim of a Greg Hill elbow?  Did he hit his head on the floor?  After the game, it was explained to me that he had actually banged his head on the top of an exit when saving a ball at the Wittenberg corner of the gym.  The Clear Picture replay verified this, showing Marty running into the exit, then while within the doorframe, leaping high in the air only to bang his noggin hard enough to give himself a pretty good gash.  Super Marty has met his kryptonite, and it's not any opponent, but hard inert objects.

Cooper, you're amazing, especially in big games, and especially in big games against Wittenberg.  The young big men all continue to improve, giving help to the redheaded warrior Will.  Ian Franks begins to look more and more like he belongs on the floor.  He moves his feet very well defensively, always in position, and is deceptively quick to loose balls. 

In attendance last night, the big man trio of Tom Port, Ryan Gorman, and Matt Schlingman.  In absentia: Tim Vandervaart, out sick with the flu.  Better soon, Tim!

Last night's game was one of the better officiated matches that I've seen at Wooster.  Kudos where kudos is due.

Marty Bidwell Sr. continues to hold his lead in the season-long pick-the-score contest, but the gap is narrowing!  Unfortunately I'm not a part of the closers, wallowing in last place.

The great cookie mystery deepens.  Someone ain't leveling with me, and I suspect it ain't the blonde.   No matter how you look at it, the two perps are guilty.  Either they pilfered the cookies, or they lied about doing so.  Punishment will be swift and severe.

[goscots]

Notes from Timken:

In attendance last night, the big man trio of Tom Port, Ryan Gorman, and Matt Schlingman.  In absentia: Tim Vandervaart, out sick with the flu.  Better soon, Tim!

Also in attendance was Matt Smith.....

[wooscotsfan]

Notes from Timken:

In attendance last night, the big man trio of Tom Port, Ryan Gorman, and Matt Schlingman.  In absentia: Tim Vandervaart, out sick with the flu.  Better soon, Tim!

Also in attendance was Matt Smith.....

goscots - k+ since we shouldn't overlook anyone who posts on this board.

[David Collinge]

Last night's game was one of the better officiated matches that I've seen at Wooster.  Kudos where kudos is due.

There were just 29 fouls called--17 on Witt, 12 on Woo.  In that sense, it was perhaps the least officiated game in a while.  But I don't doubt that "less officiating" is the equivalent of "good officiating" in your book! 

Seriously, though, from my position on the futon, I was not aware of the officiating, or lack thereof, being a factor one way or another during the game, and that certainly is best.

Looking ahead at the tournament, and not overlooking the two huge recent wins by a suddenly resurgent Earlham squad, I think the only 6-10 team that might cause a problem is Hiram.  They play aggressively and up-tempo, and if they are hitting they can play with anyone in the league.  As it stands right now, they'd draw Witt in the first round, and they gave the Tigers fits up at Hiram just a couple of weeks ago (remember Mike McDevitt's 43 points?)  Witt beat 'em by 20 in Springfield, though, and that was back in December before things really gelled for the Tigers.

Other prospective first-round matchups are Oberlin at Wooster, Allegheny at OWU, and (of course) Wabash vs. Kenyon, location TBD.

[David Collinge]

Beating Witt is nice, sure, and clinching your fourth conference championship in four years is okay I guess, but James Cooper got what he really wanted this evening: the coveted NCAC Player of the Week trophy!  Fair's fair in the NCAC Office, since Brandan Barabino was similarly honored after Witt/Woo I.  Congratulations, Coop!

Current odds on next week's NCAC Player of the Week:
George Raftis 3:2
Bill Babe 4:1
Charlie Jaicks 6:1
Ben Torsney 6:1
Field 40:1

George Raftis is just going to have to wait until next Sunday.  The odds on him have moved to 2:5.

[wally_wabash]

Wabash's Andrew Zimmer had a good week with 60 points and 21 rebounds in two games...it's worth noting.   

[ScotsFan]

After spending most of the weekend demolishing my kitchen, and in the process discovering some other fun projects,    I finally have a minute to spare to share some brief thoughts on Saturday's game.

Last night's game was one of the better officiated matches that I've seen at Wooster.  Kudos where kudos is due.

But I don't doubt that "less officiating" is the equivalent of "good officiating" in your book! 

Seriously, though, from my position on the futon, I was not aware of the officiating, or lack thereof, being a factor one way or another during the game, and that certainly is best.

I have to agree with all of these points.  As the game went on, I really hadn't noticed how non-existent the  officials were.  It basically dawned on me in the final 2 minutes when Witt was getting to the point where they needed to start fouling and they still had 2 fouls to give with less than a minute to go in the game!  I definitely think a game where you don't notice the officials qualifies as a well officiated game.  Especially in games of this magnitude.   Can we track down that officiating crew and get them back for the NCAC tournament?

As far as the game, I just sat there through Witt's unconscious 8-12 performance from deep (and many were Cooper deep) in the 1st half and thought, here we go again?!   The silver lining was Wooster was only down 1 at the half and Witt surely couldn't keep that shooting pace going.  Little did I know that Witt would do one better going 0-6 from deep in the 2nd half with many not even drawing iron.  Wooster didn't help themselves any in the 2nd half either. I thought it was deja vu all over again as Wooster went on a 10-0 run building an 8 point lead and continuing to get key defensive stops only to not capitalize on the offensive end.  And sure enough, Witt quietly crept back in eventually taking the lead.  But Wooster responded on this night and did just enough to not allow a repeat of what happened in Springfield.

And what else can be said about James Cooper!  Yet another sparkling performance and yet another vivid reminder to Coach Brown about the one that got away!   In case they forgot, the students helped remind them with the, "He's from Springfield" chant.

I'll echo the sentiments of those praising the efforts of Wooster's bigs as well.  They have really improved as a unit.  Especially the young ones.   And speaking of young ones, I agree with WB's thoughts on Ian Franks as well.  I'm pretty sure that it's what he has done on the court that has allowed him to surpass Dustin Geitgy on the depth chart. 

All in all, great win by Wooster in clinching at least a share of their unprecedented 4th straight NCAC Championship.  Congrats especially to the seniors on such a great accomplishment!  Wooster now is one win away from clinching home court for the NCAC tournament and more importantly, shouldn't lose any ground in the GL Regional rankings.

[smedindy]

I would like to extend a thanks to the Wabash seniors for a great career.

[kiltedbryan]

Now back from my weekend in Wooster, I have a chance to put a couple comments out there about watching two Wooster wins last week.

A few posters have beat me to it, but Wooster has definitely improved on the inside- both defensively and offensively. Will notched 5 blocks (matching his career high set about two weeks ago) and the team contributed 2 more- I'm tempted to go back through box scores to see when the last time was that Wooster had 7 blocks against Witt.  Offensively, Woo was very effective inside early when it was beating Witt's zone defense.

4 turnovers.  Wow.  I think Woo had 8 turnovers @Witt.  12 total in the two Woo-Witt games is a good sign for Wooster if they can continue to protect the basketball in the big games coming up. 

Kudos to Witt on handling the "Cooper holds for the last shot" defense well at the end of the first half.  Coop makes that shot so often when it's 1-1, but Witt brought extra defense out beyond the 3 point line and forced a poor shot from way, way outside.  It turned out to be a play that only seemed significant--ie. Witt protected its lead into halftime..Wooster misses out on the chance for a huge momentum swing, etc.--but didn't seem like it mattered at all once the second half started.

I don't know what it is, but Wooster again seemed to tighten up offensively once it opened a lead in the second half.  Ugh.  Does it just seem like every time Wooster gets up 8-10 points on a good opponent we're unable to keep the pressure up and push it out to 12-15?  I felt like Woo started making bad offensive choices (awkward Cooper fade-away, Wickliffe shoots a 3?) moreso than Witt shutting Woo down on offense...but the opportunity was there around the 14 minute mark to push the advantage out into double digits, and Wooster suddenly lost its offense.

Overall, though, another quality game in a great rivalry.  Wooster guts out the 66-61 win.