In the sectional round of the NCAA Div. III Men's Basketball Championships for the sixth time now over a 12-season stretch, The College of Wooster (25-5) hopes to extend its postseason run this weekend when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., where Eastern Mennonite University (24-4), Guilford College (28-2), Whitworth University (26-2), and the Fighting Scots will vie for a trip to the "Final Four." Wooster, ranked 17th in the D3hoops.com poll prior to the NCAA's, will take on the host school, No. 3 Guilford, in one match-up Friday night, March 12, starting approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the No. 10 Eastern Mennonite-No. 4 Whitworth game, which begins at 6 p.m. The two victors will then meet Saturday, March 13, at 7 p.m., with a spot in the national semifinals at Salem, Va., March 19-20, on the line.
NCAA Tourney Notes: The Scots are making their 19th appearance in the NCAA Div. III tourney. Only six others have been in as many – Franklin & Marshall College (21), Hope College (21), Illinois Wesleyan University (19), Salem State College (22), Univ. of Scranton (22), and Wittenberg University (24).
Wooster, which also played in two other NCAA Tournaments prior to Div. III (1971, 1973), has been in the national field 15 of the last 16 seasons and 18 times since 1990. The Scots' all-time record in the Div. III tourney is 20-19 – 13-5 in games played at Timken Gymnasium, 6-5 at neutral sites, and 1-9 in true road games. Wooster has twice before made runs to the "Final Four," finishing in third- in 2003 and fourth-place in 2007.
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, Guilford will be providing live video of this weekend's games. Visit http://www.pennatlantic.com, then click on men's basketball, and follow the appropriate links.
Ticket Information: An allotment of 433 tickets have been reserved for the Wooster section of this Friday's games. Fans who are interested in reserving a ticket can call administrative coordinator Bonnie Hughes (330-263-2349) or the Guilford athletic department (336-316-2190). Prices are $7 for adults and $4 for students/senior citizens/children.
Against the 2010 NCAA Field: A highly challenging non-conference schedule prepared the Scots for the 2010 NCAA Div. III Men's Basketball Championships. Wooster played three teams ranked among the top-five (D3hoops.com) – John Carroll University, Randolph-Macon College, and the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) – and all three made the national field. Wooster dropped all three, however, two were very close road losses to John Carroll (71-63) and Randolph-Macon (72-65). Also, two other NCAA participants, Albright College and Washington University-St. Louis, were in tournaments that the Scots were involved in, but they did not meet.
All-Time Series: Wooster has not met Guilford, or any of this weekend's other potential foes, on the hardwood previously.
Head Coach Steve Moore: The architect behind the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 2000s is Steve Moore. In addition to guiding Wooster to 280 victories this decade, he carries a 23-year record of 538-125 (.811) with the Fighting Scots. Prior to coming to Wooster in 1987-88, Moore coached Muhlenberg College for six seasons and was successful there as well, giving him a career record of 625-190 (.767), which puts him eighth all-time in wins for Div. III coaches. Moore has seven Coach-of-the-Year honors from the North Coast Athletic Conference.
NCAA Tourney Recap: Wooster hosted and won a pair of NCAA Div. III Tournament games at Timken Gymnasium last weekend.
On March 5, the Scots overcame their second-worst shooting game of the season, in terms of field-goal percentage (.339), and advanced with a 63-52 first-round victory over Grove City College. Wooster struggled offensively from the outset, but its defense was up to the task, as the Scots owned a 29-20 advantage at intermission. In the second half, they led by at least six points the whole way. While Wooster shot an uncharacteristic 21-of-62 from the field, including 9-of-35 on 3-pointers (.257), it made up for it with a 48-29 rebounding margin. Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) and Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) both matched personal highs with 15 and 11 boards, respectively, and they also each scored 12 points for double-doubles. The Scots' other player in double figures was Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) with 11 points, while Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) tallied a game-high seven assists.
On March 6, Wooster warded off a furious rally by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater that saw a 16-point margin at the 3:20 mark dip to four with :49 remaining before prevailing 87-78. At the final media timeout, the Scots held a seemingly comfortable 74-58 lead and they were still up 80-69 when the Warhawks scored seven unanswered points in just 14 seconds to make it 80-76 with 1:05 to play. Wooster held on, though, for the nine-point win, which included a 40-34 lead at the halftime break and the Scots never trailed during the second. The difference in the game came at the free throw line where Wooster was 35-for-43 (.814), the fourth-most free throws made in a single-game in school history, and Wis.-Whitewater struggled to a tune of 15-for-27 (.556). Franks was another difference, as he scored 30 points on 10-of-16 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws, and Balch posted the first double-double of his career, recording 15 points and a personal-best 11 rebounds. Johnson added a season-high 15 points and five steals, while Justin Hallowell (Columbus, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) chipped in 10 markers in the scorebook.
Conference Tourney Recap: The Scots won the NCAC Tournament two weeks ago, marking their 12th such title (out of a possible 26), a league high.
On Feb. 23, top-seeded Wooster, behind 8-of-13 3-point shooting in the first half and a strong defensive effort in the second, steadily pulled away from the No. 8 seed, Kenyon College, as the Scots ultimately triumphed 73-59 during the quarterfinals. Wooster was ahead for all but two possessions, both coming in the early stages, and it utilized a 10-3 run late in the first half to secure a 41-32 advantage going into the break. In the second, the Scots held down the Lords to just 8-of-25 field goals (.320) and strung together a similar late run, this time 10-2 to take a 72-55 cushion before emptying the bench with a little over 2:00 left. Wooster put three in double figures, headlined by Ian Franks' (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) 25 points, which included 9-of-11 field goals (4-of-5 3-pointers). Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) contributed 13 tallies in the scoring column, keyed by 3-fo-5 3-pointers, and off the bench, Matt Fegan (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville) hit 3-for-4 3-balls as part of a 12-point night.
On Feb. 26, the Scots jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back, rolling past fifth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University 87-70 in the semifinals. Wooster scored on six of its first nine possessions, including a pair of 3-pointers from Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison), the second of which gave them a 14-3 lead and forced the Battling Bishops into a second timeout less than five minutes into the action. Ohio Wesleyan kept the margin at a manageable distance for the ensuing 10 minutes, only to see Wooster close the first half with a 14-2 run, resulting in a 51-28 cushion at the break, and in the second, the Scots stretched out their advantage to as much as 30 (74-44). Wooster had a very balanced effort with four in double figures, led by Josh Claytor's (Oxford, Ohio / Talawanda) collegiate-high 17 points. The freshman forward made 3-of-4 3-pointers and four other field goals, and paced the team with nine boards as well. Balch contributed 13 points, while Franks and Wickliffe produced 12 apiece. Franks passed out a game-high six assists, too.
On Feb. 27, Wooster built an 18-point halftime lead and then withstood a comeback attempt by Wittenberg University in the second, completing a wire-to-wire 88-77 victory during the championship game. The two rivals split the regular season, with each winning on the others' home floor, but the Scots set the tone right from the outset of this one, as within eight minutes they were ahead by 10 (16-6). Wooster, after seeing its lead trimmed to five at 21-16 and 23-18, also would close the half strong, edging out to a 45-27 advantage at the break. During the second, Wittenberg cut an 18-point deficit (57-39) all the way down to six (61-55) in a span of less than three minutes. Balch ended that run with a 3-ball and then the theme of the game became Franks' ability to get to the free throw line, where he finished 14-of-16 with all of the attempts coming in the second half, as the Scots sealed the win. Balch scored a season-high 22 points, 14 coming in the first half and 4-of-7 3-point shooting overall, and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Franks wound up with a 21-point, five-assist night, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Also for Wooster, Wickliffe scored 18, Justin Hallowell (Columbus, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) had a game-high nine caroms, and Johnson led all players with six assists.
Regular Season Recap: 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. The Scots proceeded to win 18 out of their 20 remaining regular season contests, with the lone setbacks coming on the home floor of No. 5 Randolph-Macon College and to arch-rival Wittenberg University.
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. Those two triumphs, plus a road win against Wittenberg (66-56) and a season sweep of second-place Wabash College (78-60 and 64-61), helped spur Wooster to a sixth-straight NCAC championship via its 15-1 conference record.
Franks, a junior guard, has been the difference maker for Wooster throughout the season with an average of 17.6 points, which ballooned to 19.5 against NCAC competition. Also in double figures are Balch and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) at 11.8 and 11.2 points, respectively, and not far behind is Justin Hallowell's (Columbus, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) 9.4 points. More than half of Hallowell's and Balch's scoring comes from 3-point range, as they've combined for 120 3-pointers made, while Wickliffe is the Scots' primary post presence. He pulls down a team-leading 7.2 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 3.5 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 6.2 points and a .434 3-point percentage.
Peaking at the Right Time: With the exception of the loss to Wittenberg Feb. 13, Wooster has been playing its best ball of the season over the past six weeks, witness double-digit victories in 10 of the 13 outings. The Scots have been shooting 49.1 percent from the field, raising their season average to 46.3 percent, and holding the opposition to a rate of .383, compared to .402 for the entire year. They've also averaged a +7.9 rebounding margin during this current stretch.
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 ... Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) became the 33rd player in team history to score 1,000 points on Nov. 29, and now with 1,144 points, he ranks 17th on that list. Wooster's lone senior also ranks third in both assists (403) and steals (183) in the school annals. In games with Johnson in the lineup, the Scots have a 101-19 record (.842) ... Junior Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) joined the 1,000-point club recently, as he has 1,046 for his career.