MBB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[kiltedbryan]

Final from the Capital Center:

Ohio Northern 70, Capital 74

HUGE win for Capital, keeping them at the top of the OAC.  Capital moves to 15-7, (12-4), and ONU falls to 17-6, (10-6) in the OAC.  With the loss, ONU is eliminated from contention for the regular season OAC title, as the best they could hope for is a tie with JCU or Capital, and they are 0-4 against those schools this season.

I'll give a wrap-up including my firsthand observations of this game later.

[whoknows]

Otterbein 77-Heidelberg 74

What a great game. The first half was back and forth and Ott looked ready to play for once. Heid had a 6 point half time lead. They got up by as many as 11 in the second half but Ott played much better down the stretch. In one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my entire life the ref sealed the deal for Ott. With about 45 seconds left and Ott up by 1, Heid is coming on a fast break and an Ott player steals it for a second. Right as the Ott player steals it Reynolds calls a time out but Greg Tyson had already stole the ball back from the Ott player but the back official awarded the timeout to Ott even though It was definitly the wrong call. Then Ott converted its foul shots and that was it, but that call was HUGE. As an Ott fan there is no doubt that our numbers are high but wait this weekend for the Capital game and that crowd will speak for its self

[wooscotsfan]

All the OAC 2/10 Final Scores:

Capital 74  Ohio Northern 70
John Carroll 85  Marietta 58
Baldwin-Wallace 76  Muskingum 66
Otterbein 77  Heidelberg 74
Mount Union 96  Wilmington 73 (upset, road win for Raiders)

So, the Current OAC Standings are:

CAP and JCU both at 12-4 (First Place Tie)
ONU and B-W both at 10-6
OTT and Heide both at 9-7
Wilm at 8-8
Musky at 5-11
Mount at 4-12
Etta at 1-15

[kiltedbryan]

Got to see Capital ride a late comeback right to victory today at the Capital Center in Bexley.

Unlike the ONU-Otterbein game I saw a week-and-a-half ago, this game's first half got right into the action.  Right from the gate, both teams shot very well.  ONU ended the first half with 39 pts and a 2 point lead on the strength of 64% shooting and 54% from 3, while Cap earned their 37 behind 59% and a whopping 71% (5-7) from beyond the arc.  Almost everything going airborne fell through a net.  ONU's leading scorer, Greg Badenhop, didn't start the game, and was wearing a brace on the left ankle that he had twisted.  He entered around the 15 minute mark and didn't seem hampered by the injury at all, and he played virtually the entire rest of the game after not starting.  I would not blame his poor shooting night (only 1-6 from 3) on the ankle, rather, he did not select his shots as well as I had seen him do at Otterbein.

The best shooter on the floor was Capital's Nate Stahl.  His 13 first-half points, on 3-3 3 point shooting, really helped keep Capital right in the game.  Capital needed that type of performance because ONU was hot and executing well throughout the first half, looking much improved over the team I saw play Otterbein.  Stahl added 8 more in the second, but those 8 didn't feel quite as impactful.

The second half was more of a struggle for both teams.  Shooting precentages fell off the first half cliffs as the game tensed up and lost some of the excellent offensive flow of the first half.  Counterintuitively, however, both teams scored some easy layups due to defensive lapses.  Northern, in particular, was exploiting holes in the Capital defense and the Cap fans around me were rightfully worried when Northern built an 8 point advantage with around 7 to play.  However, just like Otterbein forgot to actually beat ONU last week, ONU couldn't close out the win.

Down 3 with 18 seconds left, ONU's Jake Cannon got off a clean 3-pointer that didn't fall.  ONU fouled with 4 seconds left, then proceeded to miss both foul shots, but Quinten Mitchell secured the win with a huge offensive board (as part of his impressive career day, 15 pts and team-high 6 boards) and then the icing free throw with a second to go.

Cap's Stahl led all scorers with 21, Mitchell 15 and Ryan Wood had 11.
ONU was led by Kyle Gehle with 16, Cannan with 13, and Badenhop with 11.

box score here

[kiltedbryan]

A few other, related thoughts:

Toph, best as I can figure, Capital would be in the driver's seat if both leaders end 14-4.  Searching for "best win" leads to these results:

Against:
ONU:  both swept
B-W:  both split (assuming JCU's win on Wednesday)
Heidelberg:  JCU split, Capital swept (assuming Capital win on Wednesday)
Otterbein: both swept (assuming Capital win Saturday)
Wilmington: Capital swept, JCU split (assuming Saturday win)

So, if they both end 14-4, I think Capital holds the tiebreaker regardless of the final standings position of these 5 teams, because Capital does hold the "best win" tiebreak against Wilmington and JCU doesn't appear to hold a "best win" scenario against any of them.  If they both end 13-5, Capital will hold the tiebreaker if JCU loses to B-W.  However, if Capital loses to Otterbein, whom JCU swept, and Otterbein finishes ahead of Heidelberg, then JCU could earn hosting rights by virtue of its sweep of Otterbein.

ONU cannot win the league.  I think there is one, however unlikely, scenario where B-W can.  If B-W beat JCU a second time and got lots of help from Heidelberg, Otterbein, and Wilmington, forming a 3-way tie at 12-6, then B-W would be holding the tiebreaker by virtue of their sweep of then third-place JCU.  Fun league, no?

[kiltedbryan]

Also, since it's been a source of discussion in here, the box score listed attendance for today's game at 1134.  My guess would have been 1100 in the 2100 seat gym.  A nice crowd, and accurately measured, though honestly the ONU contingent was louder and more involved in supporting their team than most of the Capital fans were.  Very disappointed in the level of student turnout for Capital.  Probably under 150 there, loosely spread throughout one side of the stands.  No student-led cheers.  Perhaps they attend more for the cross-town Otterbein rival matchup, but I was hoping that a game between two teams battling late in the season for the league title would have brought out a larger student crowd.  The afternoon game certainly affected this, but I was hoping for a gym atmosphere that reflected the quality and intensity of the play on the court and I didn't feel like I received it.

Capital does have a very nice, very modern facility.  The gym reminds me a lot of Wooster High School's main gym, for those Wooster posters that read this board.

[Toph]

Sorry I wasn't able to post, I wasn't around a computer all weekend.  First, huge win for Capital, although we certainly can't rule out the possibility of an upset by Heidelberg or Otterbein.  The same can be said about JCU...at BW will be a very tough game, Tori Davis always plays some of his best games against John Carroll.

B-W:  both split (assuming JCU's win on Wednesday)

I understand you didn't mean it like this, but there is no way I assume this win.  I can't wait to go see this game on Wednesday.  I saw the first game and was disappointed in the way Carroll played.  It was encouraging to me that they could play that badly (especially defensively) and still have a chance to win. 

Here is my early breakdown of the JCU/BW game...I've got four keys:
1.  Brandon Mimes needs to be more of a factor defensively than he was in the first contest.  I understand that he wants to keep out of foul trouble, but at the same time Tori Davis has to be contested in the paint or else he'll score 40.  Mimes and the other players in the low post need to bully him a little bit just to keep him uncomfortable.  Derek Smith's size makes him a great candidate to play the role of "enforcer," but he can't keep up with Davis' speed.
2.  The guards must play better perimeter defense than the first game.  I think part of the problem was that the Streaks were so concerned with Davis down low that they played off BW's guards, leading to open threes...and those guys can flat out shoot it.  Also, BW moves the ball very well on the offensive end.  Anyone who has seen BW play since Bankson has been the coach can attest to this.  Great coaching leads to great execution.
3.  Offensively Carroll needs to figure out how to attack the 2-3 with Davis in the middle.  Again, this is a great coaching maneuver by Bankson.  The Jackets have quick guards who rotate extremely well and with Davis in the middle down low, it is very difficult to get an uncontested shot.  Good, quick, well executed ball movement around the perimeter is one way to break this (with a few threes from Walsh and Kirbus hopefully coming out of it), but also Pete Moran has to use his slashing ability to draw the defense in and either kick out to the wing or find an open man in the post.
4.  Carroll usually has a much more vocal fan base than BW...the students need to turn this game into a home game.  Since the JCU home game was during the break, the normal crowd noise at the DeCarlo Varsity Center wasn't there.  I hope plenty of students make the short trip.

That's all I've got for now.

[kiltedbryan]

Yeah, Toph, I was just trying to clarify what would happen if JCU and Cap had 2-0 weeks.  Looks to me that in that scenario Capital wins hosting rights.  Also, it looks like JCU must beat B-W to have a shot if they both go 1-1 and end 13-5. 

You're right; none of the games in this league can be "assumed" wins.  That's a big part of why I'm enjoying starting to watch this league.  I might catch Otterbein/Capital this Saturday, and also some of the OAC tourney games if Capital wins hosting rights.  I feel like I'm becoming the unofficial OAC Columbus Correspondent!  That's the OACCC, for short.   

Does B-W or JCU broadcast their games?

[Toph]

Both BW and JCU broadcast their games.  I'm not sure whether or not either is still streaming over the net.  You may or may not know recently legislation was passed that made it much more expensive for radio stations (including noncoms) to stream copyrighted content over the internet.  What WJCU is trying to do, I think, is still stream sports and original shows without copyrighted content, but I am not sure if they've been able to do this yet.  If I were you I would check wbwc's website to see if they're still streaming.

[David Collinge]

From the OAC website:

**Men's Basketball Cancellations**

Heidelberg at Capital today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7p.m.

Muskingum at Ohio Northern today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Marietta at Mount Union today 2/14has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Otterbein at Wilmington today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

John Carroll at Baldwin-Wallace today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

**Women's Basketball Cancellations**

Capital at Heidelberg today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Ohio Northern at Muskingum today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Mount Union at Marietta today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Wilmington at Otterbein today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Baldwin-Wallace at John Carroll today 2/14 has been postponed until 2/15 at 7:30p.m.

Muskingum at Heidelberg on 2/16 has been move [sic] to 2/17 at 8p.m.

[wooscotsfan]

All the 2/15 OAC Final Scores:

Capital 79  Heidelberg 67
Baldwin-Wallace 81  John Carroll 77  (Senior Tori Davis - 32 pts, 10 boards)
Ohio Northern 63  Muskingum 57
Otterbein 52  Wilmington 49
Mount Union 69  Marietta 56

So, the Crusaders are in sole first place.

CAP at 13-4
JCU at 12-5
ONU and B-W both at 11-6
OTT at 10-7
Heide at 9-8
Wilm at 8-9
Musk and Mount both at 5-12
Etta at 1-16

[kiltedbryan]

Thanks for posting the scores, Wooscotsfan.

With John Carroll's loss tonight, Capital has claimed at least a share of the OAC Crown, and the #1 seed in the OAC Tournament, regardless of this Saturday's outcomes.

Congratulations to the Crusaders!

Capital Press release

[Toph]

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the JCU/BW game last night, but I did have a friend calling me with updates.  Tough loss for Carroll...especially considering that they were lights out in the first half and led by something like 14.  From what I can gather Mimes was a non factor both offensively and defensively.  Tori Davis blew up once again...

I really didn't want to have to drive to Columbus to watch the tournament.

[ScotsFan]

The OAC gives credence to show how useless pre-season polls are.  If my memory serves me correct, I believe that Cap and JCU were picked 3rd and 4th respectively behind B-W and ONU who are currently tied for 3rd?!

[Toph]

I'm trying to remember the last time the preseason #1 won the conference tourney...BW last year I think, but then before that, I don't remember.

I do remember the year that Carroll went to the final four they were picked to finish 3rd.