While the North Coast Athletic Conference championship is not on the line, as it usually is when The College of Wooster (18-4, 13-0 NCAC) and Wittenberg University (17-5, 9-4 NCAC) meet late in the regular season, fans can still expect another knock-down, drag-out clash between the arch-rivals Saturday night, Feb. 13, at 3,400-seat Timken Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Wooster clinched a sixth-straight outright NCAC championship on Wednesday, extending its perfect record to 13-0, and the Fighting Scots also own a 13-game winning streak overall and are the top-ranked team in the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Region. Wittenberg would like nothing more than to knock Wooster off its perch, while continuing to vie for second-place in the league. Currently, the Tigers are part of a three-way tie for second.
In the teams' match-up three weeks ago, the Scots weathered an early storm which saw Wittenberg jump out to a 16-5 cushion. The Tigers were still leading by double digits (21-11) when Wooster started to get hot from outside, resulting in a 19-4 stretch and 30-25 halftime advantage. Though it was close throughout, the Scots never trailed during the second, eventually securing a 66-56 victory.
On the Air: Every Wooster men's basketball game can be heard live in the Wooster area on WQKT 104.5 FM or anywhere in the world by following links on the radio station's Web site at http://wqkt.com/. Mike Breckenridge serves as the "Voice of the Fighting Scots."
Additionally, the audio and video from local cable provider Clear Picture, Inc., will be broadcast live over the Web at no charge to the viewer at http://www.teamline.cc/teampage?teamcode=1100, thanks to an agreement with Clear Picture and a donation from the "W" Association, the school's alumni organization which supports athletics.
Witt-Woo Rivalry: The only two schools in NCAA Div. III with 1,500 all-time men's basketball wins – Wittenberg (1,605) and Wooster (1,513) – are ready to add another chapter to their historic rivalry. Saturday marks their 96th meeting on the hardwood, with the Tigers owning a 50-45 advantage, despite the Scots having prevailed in the last four. Incredibly, 40, or 42.1 percent of previous Wittenberg-Wooster games have been decided by five points or less, including seven of the last 11 as well as 20 of the last 40.
Since Wittenberg joined the conference in 1988-89, one of the two rivals has either won outright or shared the NCAC regular season championship (Wooster with 14 and Wittenberg 11), and they have combined to win all but three NCAC Tournament titles over the 20 years. Also since then, the squads have met 48 times, with Wittenberg slightly ahead at 25-23, and neither has won more than four in a row against the other during that stretch and the average margin of victory has been just 7.7 points.
Scots' In-Season Update: Wooster entered 2009-10 with typical high expectations, including a No. 9 preseason ranking (D3hoops.com), but got off to a 2-3 start in the month of November, thanks in part to a highly-challenging schedule that featured losses to then-No. 4 ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.) and No. 2 John Carroll University. Since then, the Scots have won 16 out of their 17 contests, with the lone setback coming on the home floor of No. 5 Randolph-Macon College.
In the conference portion of the schedule, Wooster had some good fortune early. On Dec. 5, Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) fed Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) for a lay-up with :02 left, capping a 66-65 victory that saw the Scots come back from a 63-57 deficit with 1:28 remaining. On Jan. 13, they put together another furious comeback, this time down 45-33 with 15:47 to play and 59-51 with 5:40 on the clock before pulling out a 69-68 win at Allegheny College. Franks paved the way with a career-high 33 points, 24 coming during the second half.
Over the past three weeks, Wooster has been playing its best ball of the season, witness double-digit victories in five of the last six outings. The Scots have been shooting 47.9 percent from the field, raising their season average to 45.2 percent, and holding the opposition to a rate of .365, compared to .408 for the entire year. They've also averaged a +8.8 rebounding margin during this current stretch.
Franks, a junior guard, has been the difference maker for Wooster throughout the season with an average of 17.8 points, which has ballooned to 21.2 against NCAC competition. Also in double figures are Balch and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) at 11.2 and 10.5 points, respectively, and not far behind is Justin Hallowell's (Columbus, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) 9.9 points. More than half of Hallowell's and Balch's scoring comes from 3-point range, as they've combined for 95 3-pointers made, while Wickliffe is the Scots' primary post presence. He pulls down a team-leading 6.9 rebounds an outing.
Wooster's fifth starter is senior point Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison), who endured a second ACL surgery in as many years this past summer. A gutsy return sees him averaging 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals to lead the team in each of those categories, while another key player for the Scots has been his back-up, Matt Fegan (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville), who chips in 6.1 points and a .440 3-point percentage.
This and That: Wooster's six consecutive NCAC championships is a conference record, bettering the five in a row by the 1990-94 Wittenberg squads ... The Scots are ranked No. 19 in this week's D3hoops.com top-25 poll, the highest they've been since the preseason ... Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) became the 33rd player in team history to score 1,000 points on Nov. 29, and now with 1,080 points, he's just 20 shy from moving into the top-20. Wooster's lone senior also ranks third in steals (171) and fifth in assists (377) in the school annals. In games with Johnson in the lineup, the Scots have compiled a 94-18 record (.839) ... Wooster leads the NCAC in free throw percentage (.760) and rebounding margin (+7.1 per game), and individually, Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) ranks first in field-goal percentage (.618).