MBB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Ohigy]

Congratulations to Marietta on clinching a share of the OAC title.  The bad news for Marietta if they are the #1 seed is Capital is the #8 and is playing very well right now.  Mt and JCU will have to battle it out int he tournament to see who gets a shot at 'Etta in the championship if the Pioneers survive.  ONU, Wilmington, Berg, and BW are a mess in the middle.  Nobody of that group emerged as a real threat to the Big 3.  Musky and Otterbein have been eliminated again and need complete overhauls.

[Onward on, John Carroll]

True but Capital would need to beat the 5 seed AND the 4 seed before getting the opportunity play Marietta and it would be their 3rd game in 4 days and 4th game in 6 days.

Tournament Schedule
1st Round - Monday, Feb. 23
No. 8 at No. 5
No. 7 at  No. 6

2nd Round - Tuesday, Feb. 24
No. 6/7 at No. 3
No. 5/8 at No. 4

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 26
No. 3/6/7 at No. 2
No. 5/8/4 at No. 1
 
Finals - Saturday, February 28

[sac]

True but Capital would need to beat the 5 seed AND the 4 seed before getting the opportunity play Marietta and it would be their 3rd game in 4 days and 4th game in 6 days.

Tournament Schedule
1st Round - Monday, Feb. 23
No. 8 at No. 5
No. 7 at  No. 6

2nd Round - Tuesday, Feb. 24
No. 6/7 at No. 3
No. 5/8 at No. 4

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 26
No. 3/6/7 at No. 2
No. 5/8/4 at No. 1
 
Finals - Saturday, February 28

The OAC has gone back to a traditional 8 team tournament format.  1v8, 2v7 etc

http://oac.org/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/2015Tournament

[Onward on, John Carroll]

Thanks for the update.  Oddly, I cut and pasted that schedule from the OAC website just this morning so someone was misinformed.  My apologies. 

[EttaFan1]

I liked the format which sent the top two seeds directly to the semi-finals.  It seems like an appropriate reward for their regular season successes.

As it stands, I will hopefully get to see three more home games next week. 

Marietta still sits atop of the regional rankings, even following two losses.  JCU and Mount are both in the group this week which doesn't include the results from last night. 

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/19/second-regional-rankings-released-thursday/

[Dr. Acula]

Mount leads at Wilm 39-31 at half.

[sac]

Ohio Northern and Marietta is postponed, I assume that's made up tomorrow.  If not, would they play this on Monday since a share of the conference title is still in doubt?

[Dr. Acula]

Both Etta and JCU are supposed to play tomorrow afternoon it looks like.

Mount took care of business beating Wilm 74-71.  They survived a 2nd straight 20 turnover effort with Wilm being +13 in that category today.  Ruffin seemed to be in foul trouble and only played 16 minutes attempting 1 shot.  Griffin shot well and topped the Raiders with 17. 

[EttaFan1]

Both marietta and jcu wn today. So the matchup for Tuesday are (copied and pasted from the OAC website.)

2015 OAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Posted: Feb 17, 2015

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, Feb. 24

•No. 8  Capital (6-12) at No. 1 Marietta (16-2)-7:30
•No. 7 Heidelberg (7-11) at  No. 2 John Carroll (15-3)-7:30
•No. 6 Ohio Northern (7-11) at No. 3 Mount Union (15-3)-7:30
•No. 5 Wilmington (8-10) at No. 4 Baldwin Wallace (11-7)-8:00

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 26 (at higher seed) All game times 7:30, unless double header

•No. 1/8 vs. No. 4/5
•No. 2/7 vs. No. 3/6

Finals- Saturday, Feb. 28
•2nd Round winners will play at highest remaining seed

[Dr. Acula]

Mount is hammering ONU 70-41 w 12 to go.

[sac]

Marietta 78  Capital 55    --it was tied at 43 with 12:30 to play

John Carroll 75  Heidelberg 66

[EttaFan1]

Marietta 78  Capital 55    --it was tied at 43 with 12:30 to play

John Carroll 75  Heidelberg 66

Cap played tough. Strangely officiated game. Brutal mugging one minute with no calls and Ricky tack touch whistles the next.

BW wins 71-67 and will make the trek to marietta on Thursday.

Marietta must shoot better if they want to win on thursday

[Onward on, John Carroll]

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015
No. 4 Baldwin Wallace at No. 1 Marietta - 7:30
No. 3 Mount Union at No. 2 John Carroll  - 8:00

I think the home teams will prevail tonight, FWIW.

Breaking down the numbers for the purposes of predicting NCAA tournament probabilities, it seems pretty safe that Marietta will be playing next week regardless of whether they win the OAC tournament or not.  I think a win tonight over BW makes them almost a sure thing but they could likely afford a loss tonight as well without ruining their at-large chances.

As for Mount Union and John Carroll, the loser of tonight's game is done for the season, without question in my opinion.  I cannot envision a Pool C scenario in which tonight's loser is given a Pool C bid over tonight's winner.  This is especially true if tonight's winner goes on to win the OAC championship against (I would assume) Marietta.  In that scenario, tonight's loser would need to be picked over or in addition to Marietta and the numbers do not support that, either.  The OAC has little chance of getting two teams in and no chance of getting three teams in.  In fact, it is my opinion that the best way for the OAC to get two teams in would be if the OAC champ/Pool A is NOT Marietta.  If it's Marietta as champ, then tonight's winner will be on the bubble and cheering hard for the favorites in the other conferences the rest of the way.

In short, Mount and JCU better win their next two if they want to be playing next week.  Tonight's winner would have a chance of getting in "off the bubble" but it is not a chance I would want to take.

[EttaFan1]

I think you are probably correct when you say this.  It could be a two bid league, but it is unlikely unless Marietta is a Pool C. 

I didn't really get to see JCU play this year, so I can't offer much in the way of intelligent opinion on them.

I will say that Mount Union is the second best team I've seen play this season.  They can really shoot it.

Marietta has to shoot it better tonight.  They can't shoot <35% for the first 30 minutes like they did against Cap and hope to come out on top against a much better BW team. 

The last matchup between BW and Marietta was as intense as it comes.  They have presold tickets to both of these games.  Tuesday's crowd was OK.  I would expect a stronger showing tonight.

[NJBalla35]

Just saw on HoopDirt.com that Coach Adrian is out at Otterbein. 
http://hoopdirt.com/blog/b141cbf8/hot-rumor-adrian-out-at-otterbein/
Does this surprise anyone?