MBB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[ScotsFan]

Heard a rumor that Crozier and Hartnett might not be playing this year for JCU.  Any truth to that???  They have many players but that would hurt their rotations.  Plus Crozier is a real force inside with one of those groups. Any news on new players to any of the programs--transfers or freshmen?? Might there be some immediate impact players that are new to schools?

You seem to be right about Crozier, but not on Hartnett.

But even with JCU not being dealt a blow by losing both players you questioned,  it still definitely looks like JCU is not going to be running Moran's patented platoon system this year.

The Blue Streaks were the topic of conversation over on the Top 25 board for their noted upset of #5 Carthage last night.  Interesting to note that they had 3 players log 35 minutes in that game!  Quite the contrast from a team that had 10 players averaging between 15 and 20 minutes per game last season.

As I noted on the Top 25 board, this was certainly a nice win for the Blue Streaks.  No doubting that.  But the question I have is concerning the depth of this team and apparent lack of it based on having 3 starters log 35 minutes and a 4th going for 27 minutes.  My opinion is that they are going to need some bench players to step up as the season wears on if they hope to make a deep run once March comes along.

[Toph]

Heard a rumor that Crozier and Hartnett might not be playing this year for JCU.  Any truth to that???  They have many players but that would hurt their rotations.  Plus Crozier is a real force inside with one of those groups. Any news on new players to any of the programs--transfers or freshmen?? Might there be some immediate impact players that are new to schools?

You seem to be right about Crozier, but not on Hartnett.

But even with JCU not being dealt a blow by losing both players you questioned,  it still definitely looks like JCU is not going to be running Moran's patented platoon system this year.

The Blue Streaks were the topic of conversation over on the Top 25 board for their noted upset of #5 Carthage last night.  Interesting to note that they had 3 players log 35 minutes in that game!  Quite the contrast from a team that had 10 players averaging between 15 and 20 minutes per game last season.

As I noted on the Top 25 board, this was certainly a nice win for the Blue Streaks.  No doubting that.  But the question I have is concerning the depth of this team and apparent lack of it based on having 3 starters log 35 minutes and a 4th going for 27 minutes.  My opinion is that they are going to need some bench players to step up as the season wears on if they hope to make a deep run once March comes along.

Big win on the road for the Streaks.  I haven't had a chance to go see these guys yet, but look forward to the opportunity. 

[bouncer1]

JCU does seem to have come out of the gate strong.  Impressive wins so far. Also Wilmington is 3-0.  What other teams seem to be doing well? Etta has had some impressive wins with their big 3 providing plenty of firepower especially Knab.

[David Collinge]

JCU comes from behind to nip Bethany, 90-85.  Streaks will face Olivet, who thrashed Case Western Reserve, in tomorrow's championship of the Steadman Classic.

Elsewhere,
Otterbein 83, Wisc.-La Crosse 77
Wooster 67, ONU 53
Muskingum 67, Pitt-Greensburg 58
Transylvania 72, Wilmington 69
Trine 72, Heidelberg 67
No report from the UMU/Rust game at Rhodes College This just in: Mt. Union 93, Rust 86

[David Collinge]

JCU falls at home to a tough Olivet squad, 86-79.   

Other scores:
ONU 62, Susquehanna 49
Capital 68, Kenyon 57
Piedmont 78, Mt. Union 77

Hiram at Baldwin-Wallace is about to get underway: Audio & live stats

[wooscotsfan]

12/1 Final Scores:

Marietta 65  Muskingum 61   Etta is now 5-0
Baldwin Wallace 86  Heidelberg 75
Trine 71  Ohio Northern 70
Ohio Wesleyan 67  Capital 57

No games tonight for JCU, Otterbein, Mount Union and Wilmington

[ste24vie]

Hey, why dont we play ...."PICK THE WINNERS" for OAC games this year.....

Who wants to keep track ??

[kiltedbryan]

48-42 Capital leads at the half in Columbus.

Video, stats, audio here: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/capital.portal#

Final: 93-87, John Carrol wins.

[wooscotsfan]

12/4 Final Scores:

John Carroll 93  Capital 87
Heidelberg 85  Wilmington 62
Muskingum 65  Ohio Northern 64
Mount Union 84  Otterbein 81
Marietta 83  Baldwin Wallace 61

Etta on top at 2-0 and 6-0 overall.  JCU and Mount are both 1-0. All other teams with at least 1 OAC loss.

[ScotsFan]

12/4 Final Scores:

John Carroll 93  Capital 87
Heidelberg 85  Wilmington 62
Muskingum 65  Ohio Northern 64
Mount Union 84  Otterbein 81
Marietta 83  Baldwin Wallace 61

Etta on top at 2-0 and 6-0 overall.  JCU and Mount are both 1-0. All other teams with at least 1 OAC loss.

First of all that Wilmington loss has to be somewhat of a surprise, especially when you consider how badly the Quakers lost as well.

Also, it has to be somewhat of a surprise to see Marietta off to such a good start!  I guess they aren't just a baseball school after all!   

[ste24vie]

WOW !!!!!!!! The once mighty Otterbein looks to be headed for their fourth straight losing season, once again showing that severe lack of defense and fatigue will get you beat in the OAC. Tired legs and reaching hands sent the Mount to the line 31 times converting on 26 on their way to an 84 point evening.

Dear Santa, please drop off a "FUNDAMENTALS OF DEFENSE" booklet in Westerville.

[billy the kid]

Maybe they should take a lesson from the ladies soccer team about playing defense......

[kiltedbryan]

ScotsFan-  I got interested in what might be happening at Marietta, and so did some digging.  Turns out that perhaps it shouldn't have been as big of a surprise as you thought.

It's certainly a great start for the Pioneers...but there's a few ways in which they may be over-achieving so far.  For example, 5 of their first 6 games have been at home, so they haven't had to face the top OAC teams on the road yet.  Also, since their non-conference schedule generally contains opponents that were even matchups back when Marietta was a cellar-dweller, and while the Pioneers have won those contests this year, we'd hardly call them resume-builders.

So it's still a little hard to know what to make of Marietta yet.  However, they could very well be the real deal: they're being led by 4 returning starters, plus at least one significant new freshman who's having an immediate impact.  According to the OAC media guide, the Pioneers returned over 80% of their minutes, scoring and rebounding from last year's squad, and 'Etta doesn't even have a senior on their current roster.  The preseason coaches poll put Marietta at T-4, with Baldwin-Wallace.

Juniors Trevor Halter and Kevin Knab were All-OAC selections last year, and it looks like they've picked up right where they left off, averaging 14.7 and 19.2 ppg, respectively, in the young season.  Halter is the primary outside threat while Knab seems to do the damage in the paint.  Freshman starting guard Tyler Hammond looks to be a major addition, as he's already third on the team in scoring at 10 ppg and has tallied team-bests with 26 assists and 11 steals.

It's VanderWal's fourth year at the helm, which means that these players should represent the fruits of his first set of recruiting classes.  The Pioneers have been much more competitive in the OAC under his leadership, going 6-12 last year and 7-11 the year before.  VanderWal's first season was the last of Marietta's terrible stretch of non-competitiveness in the middle part of this decade: from 2004-05 to 2007-08 the squad was 5-67 in OAC play.

In sum, VanderWal's looks to be moving the program in a decidedly positive direction, and it looks like the Pioneers should not be taken lightly in the league this year.  In fact, I'd say that if Marietta ends up contending for the OAC title, VanderWal should be the hands-down winner for OAC coach of the year as and acknowledgment of the turnaround he's accomplished down there along the banks of the Ohio.

[ScotsFan]

Nice post bryan!  Thanks for the research. 

[kiltedbryan]

Nice post bryan!  Thanks for the research. 

Thanks SF.  I continue to wish that more people would follow this basketball league (or at least come and post here regularly).

Back when I lived in Columbus I really enjoyed seeing OAC games at Capital and Otterbein.  I usually had a chance to see most of the league each year, and they were pretty enjoyable games to watch.