MBB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[WAlum]

The Week 1 rankings are out.  Marietta is the lone representative in the OAC but the Pioneers have moved up to #4 in the nation.

[ste24vie]

Wow !!!! What a blow to the Etta machine ..... Can they weather the storm til Halter gets back? Also, back surgery is never an exact time of recovery.  Couple big road games the first week of OAC play and a gimme at home. BW is returning several key players and a definite test for Etta right off and after a gimme at home with the Muskies its on to Westerville where the Cards return the inside game of Chris Davis but were stifled by the 2-3 zone Ithaca threw at em.

[WAlum]

JC 75 Cap 64
ONU 63 Muskingum 48    
BW 93 Marietta    74    
Wilmington 92 Heidelberg    66
Otterbein 82  Mount Union    79    

WOW!!! B-W crushes Marietta today in Berea
Otterbein was picked 3rd but early indications dont look good in Westerville.  So far it looks like BW, Marietta, and JC as the Big 3 in the OAC.

[ste24vie]

I think Marietta without Halter is middle of the pack at best, BW giving notice that they could be for real this year.  Mount Union shoulda clogged the middle and let OC bombs away. Look at the free throw differential, hard to overcome that if you're the Mount. Big surprise from the Quakers, blasting da Berg. The Muskies assume their position at the bottom early. As always, a great JCU/CAP matchup.

[bouncer1]

Not so sure that WAlum might be jumping on the bandwagon so early. We are only 1 game in and he has BW as part of the "big" 3. The coaches picked them 7th in pre-season and Marietta was without Halter and on the road. I think for now it is still JCU and Etta and let the rest prove themselves.  I also disagree with ste24vie that Etta is middle of the pack without Etta. They still have arguably the best post player in Knab and have some great shooters in Puch, Owens, Kimney, and McKean. And their pt. gd. is one of the better ones around. They have a lot of players and will only get better playing without Halter for awhile.  Also not such a big surprise from Wilmington. Look at their pre-conference schedule and as always when you go on the road in the OAC, anything can and usually does happen.  If you are not ready to play, you lose. All in all, another exciting conference schedule is underway.  Probably a month before things will start to separate themselves.

[ste24vie]

I beg to differ on the post player ....Block to block, Davis is by far the better player. You must double and triple team him to hold him down. Ithaca played their defense to the paint only and let the Cards have free 3s all night and held Davis to 6 points. Without Halter, look for Marietta to be about .500. If he is out past Christmas, look for them to have too many losses to win the conference and a long road to even get to the "Dance". That was not just a close loss on the road, that was a pounding.

One man's opinion and only time will tell.   

[bouncer1]

I respect one man's opinion and that is why I said "arguably".  I think there are 3 premier post players in the OAC this year (less than other years).  Knab from Marietta, Davis from Ott., and Schnelle from ONU. There are other good ones but these are the premier ones.  Block to block, with your back to the basket, Davis might be the best but that is only a portion of post play. Can you step out and make a 15 ft. jumper? Can you face up and put the ball on the floor? Can you pass out of double teams and make your teammates better? Can you rebound in traffic? If we consider all aspects, then I think we can create an argument over who is the best "5" man. All 3 are seniors and all are expected to carry a major portion of the load on their backs. (Especially at Etta until Halter is back.) Let's see what happens when more games are played and they also have chances to go head to head. There should be some great battles.

[ste24vie]

Davis' main problem is Otterbein is desperately low on shooters, allowing other teams to double and triple team him. Just the same, why would you ever want Davis away from the rim shooting 15 footers. Also, he leads the conference in scoring AND rebounding. But, The Otts dont play much defense so they gotta score big time. Won't have to wait long to see, OC @ ONU on Wed and Etta @ Westerville on Saturday...If they choose to man up on Davis, mark up 2 wins for the Cards and OAC Player of the Week for Davis.

[ste24vie]

Also, til he puts up some numbers, you cannot mention Schnelle with Knab and Davis.

[bouncer1]

Good point. Probably wouldn't want Davis too far from the basket. Seems to me there were two other Davis brothers that didn't wander too far from the hoop and they both had rather good careers in the OAC. My attempt was to create some discussion about who might be the better post player all-around but it seems that not too many people wish to chime in on this site. (by the way, would you rather have Tori Davis or Jeff Gibbs as your post player--to me, tough choice but can't go wrong with either one) Gotta love the match-ups this week. In my opinion, the Otters take two on the chin.

[WAlum]

John Carroll 79    Mount Union 62
Marietta 87   Muskingum 77    
Otterbein 61  Ohio Northern 55       
Baldwin-Wallace 90  Heidelberg 69    

[ste24vie]

Wow !!!!! Otterbein and ONU looked bad tonight. Those teams are in for some beatdowns if they continue to play like that.

[Bengalsrule]

Whats the scoop on Capital? I see that they are 3-4. I expected them to be better. Did they lose someone or just going thru some tough sledding??

[ohiofan1954]

watched cap today. Didn't look good at all the first half and then turned it on the second too win pulling away. Going to Marietta-Otterbein game here in a few minutes. Will be interesting to see how the pioneers look since they play my bobcats wednesday night. Looking forward to another great game with the cards like the one played at otterbein last year.

[ste24vie]

Etta spanks Otterbein in Westerville. Trevor Halter returns to action.