MBB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[rscl70]

Dr. A,
You must at times feel lonely on this board.  Just want to let you know I enjoy reading your recaps and opinions.

Mount worries me.  They just don't seem to play up to their potential.  They do so in spirts, but not consistently throughout the game. As a result they have close games against teams they should blow out.  If they make the NCAA tournament this will hurt them.  That's a big "if" as JCU and the Berg, I'm sure, have other ideas.

[D3fanboy]

Mount, JCU and Berg all hold serve to remain tied at 7-1 atop the conference.  Berg notched a solid win over Etta 82-76.  JCU certainly had the strangest game as they fouled on purpose up 66-63 and grabbed a rebound off the missed 2nd FT to survive 66-64.  The strange part was this was at home against Wilm who is now 1-7 in OAC play.

Mount won 74-65 at Ott.  They did not play great by any stretch, but they battled through some issues including 1-13 on 3s and most notably Parker taking an Ott pass to the face.  With his broken nose that caused him to head to the locker room ahead of halftime and basically not play at all in the 2nd half.  Poole stepped up and carried them for stretches (23 pts on 8-10 shooting).  Poole also had 7 boards 6 of which were offensive.  Much like JCU, Ott was able to get numerous easy scores off screens/backdoor cuts.  Fortunately, Mount forced 24 turnovers to more than make up for a few lapses.

19-21 at the charity stripe though

[Dr. Acula]

I think it would take an epic meltdown at this point for them not to make the NCAA tourney.  They're already 14-1 with only a game each against JCU and Berg remaining.  I would be very surprised if they end up with more than 4 losses at worst heading into the NCAA.  And to be fair, JCU and Berg have also shown lapses in consistency. 

My main concern with Mount at the moment is shooting.  The FT shooting I previously mentioned and it remains a concern although they were excellent Saturday.  Outside of Newsom and maybe Painter (less than 2 att/gm) they currently lack a consistent 3 point threat.  I'm surprised to say that with Gurley back, but the numbers are what they are so far.  He's just above 30% from deep and after the opening weekend it's 26%.  They don't have anyone else who plays regular minutes shooting over 30% from 3.  IMO this is good and bad.  While I'd love to have a couple guys capable of bombing from deep this team is also veteran enough to know and they play to their strengths which are forcing turnovers hopefully leading to easy points and in the half court moving the ball and getting looks in close, especially with Parker.  Gurley, Mansfield, Hudson all look to go to the hoop.

Their calling card has been and will continue to be defense.  When it's crunch time they have 3 guys that basically have to be out there defensively in Parker, Poole and Newsom.  I've liked the look Fuline has shown late in some games with those 3 plus Gurley and Mansfield with Mansfield being the primary ball handler.  That 5 has good size and athleticism in addition to being probably your best offensive 5 group as well.

[Dr. Acula]

Big game in Alliance tomorrow w Berg in town.  With the Princes dropping one at home to ONU Wednesday they really need this tomorrow.  Hopefully Mount opens up a 2 game lead on Berg setting up the showdown in UH.

Btw Etta dropping one to a Cap squad I watched and was in no way even impressed by was certainly a surprise.  But even if I was an Etta fan I wouldn't care.  You take last year's epic season every single time.  They'll be back next yr.

[Dr. Acula]

Mount routed Berg 94-71 to set up the showdown in UH on Wednesday.  Both teams head in 9-1 and now 2 games ahead of 7-3 Berg.  You don't want to say it's for the OAC regular season title when you just started the 2nd half of the conference slate today, but it very well may prove to be.  We still have JCU going to Berg and Mount going to Etta ahead so certainly some potential pitfalls beyond Wed, but the JCU game is huge.

As for today, man it's fun to watch a game when your team is shooting well.  59% from the floor, 62% from 3 isn't gonna happen every night but it's fun when it does.  5 players in double figures:  Gurley (22), Parker (22), Newsom (12), Mansfield (11) and Painter (10).  Gurley had a great game with 22 pts, 4 reb, 4 stl, 3 asst fueled by efficient shooting (8-12 FG, 4-6 3P).  Watching the game I also thought he did a nice job defensively using his frame to be physical without fouling on guys trying to drive.

Newsom was efficient yet again (4-7 FG, 4-6 3P) and continues to climb the list of my favorite Raiders of recent memory.  He's just a winning player.  He does everything that helps win games including all the little stuff.  Him coming back has been far bigger than even I gave credit and I was already a fan.

[bluestreak66]

Should be a great game tomorrow! I feel like both teams are probably in good shape for bids to the tournament, but getting a win over a top 10 caliber team is never a bad thing

[Dr. Acula]

Should be a great atmosphere tomorrow night for sure.  With both teams in the top 10 I don't imagine a loss is going to drop either one too far in the rankings.  It's shaping up well for both teams to make the tourney and probably host.  Hopefully that goes better than last year for Mount.  We're still a few weeks away from regional rankings, but I can't imagine they aren't 1-2 on the unofficial regional ranking currently.

[Dr. Acula]

Listen, JCU is really really good.  But the fact that they shot more FT than Mount is absolutely laughable.  Given how Mount shot from the line which was absolutely embarrassing it may not have mattered but that was not good officiating.  Either let them play on both ends or don't.  You can't call every little bump one way and ignore anything short of WWE clotheslines the other way.

That being said Gurley got really lucky that wasn't a charge w 8.6 sec left.  That was borderline at best i thought.  He splits the pair and JCU makes both the next possession.  That's the difference.

I said it in Alliance I'll say it again tonight.  The first word I use to describe JCU skilled.  They're built for a little ncaa run.

[D3fanboy]

45% from the line is a recipe for an early round exit for Mount.

[Dr. Acula]

Yeah, it's not good when you shoot better from 3 than from the line.  That is becoming a more glaring issue by the week.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my rant last night was JCU on the offensive glass.  15 offensive rebounds including 6 from Raynor alone.  That's another thing that's going to kill you is giving a team that good multiple looks.

Those are just two very evenly matched teams.  The OAC title game should be a good one if they meet again.

[raiderpa]

 I thought that was a charge on Gurley, too,  the push with 3.9 was a make-up. Mount has struggled from the line most of the season.  The coaching and talent is there, but the little things can be fatal. JCU's offensive rebounding was, I thought, was the biggest factor in the loss. They consistently beat the Raiders to the glass and "boxing out" seemed to be a forgotten fundamental.
Gotta finish strong for an NCAA bid, both Mount and JCU.

[BillyRayJimBob]

A bit painful to watch so far today.
First two foul shots ... Miss and Miss.

[BillyRayJimBob]

A bit painful to watch so far today.
First two foul shots ... Miss and Miss.

Very painful.

Nice shot at the buzzer!  Liked the graphic at the interview with the ONU Coach that said "Mike Fuline," and with purple colors.
ONU coach's comment was priceless:  "I asked if he made the shot before or after he carried the ball.  [Paraphrasing] He made it after he carried the ball, so I guess it counts (was good)"

Looks like some good pizza being made in Ada.  ONU has that going for it.

But, it is a "win.'

[Dr. Acula]

JCU takes care of Berg in Tiffin last night giving themselves the inside track for the OAC crown.  They're hosting Etta next so you never know, but Etta snuck out of New Concord with a 68-65 win last night.  Maybe Etta was looking ahead, but that's how crazy the OAC is.  Musky is 1-19 and they had the ball with 11 seconds left down 66-65 and missed a layup with 3 seconds left (according to the box score PBP).

I will also gleefully mention that Mount blasted BW 102-69 to remain a game back of JCU.  It will never get old beating BW in anything.  Parker with another double double last night with 24 and 10.

With Berg's loss dropping them to 8-5 in OAC play they're now tied with Etta for 3rd.  It will take a complete disaster for the OAC tourney to be outside of NE Ohio. 

[raiderpa]

Huge game to stay in contention for the Mounties tonight in Marietta.  Always a tough assignment there.  Foul shots, defensive boards will be huge.  I expect a nail biter, hope for a win to stay on JCU heels....It seems that all away games in the OAC can be difficult.