Wow, I'm seriously a slacker. I could make up some silly excuse for why I didn't get the writeup posted yesterday but that would.... wait a second. That's exactly what I should do. So yeah, sorry I didn't get the writeup posted yesterday but I was in a massive all-day strategy brainstorming meeting with my coaching and scouting staffs to work on a game plan for Wooster's huge clash with ranked Wittenberg last night. Considering Wooster lost by 10, that's sixteen hours of my life that I'll never get back.
Anyway, here's the writeup for yesterday. Feel free to pretend you're reading this yesterday if you'd like to make it more realistic. Today's writeup will be in a separate post later today.
Last Night
#4 Ozarks 70 #7 Millsaps 59
The two teams traded leads in the first half with Millsaps having a 4 point lead at the break. The second half was more of the same as it was anyone's game until Ozarks made a quick 9-0 run around the five minute mark to seize control. They didn't trail the rest of the way and made enough free throws at the end to make the score look more lopsided than it really was. Ozarks and spike got off to a great start in conference with a clutch road win and moved up a couple spots in the rankings. Millsaps and brian slipped a couple spots down the rankings and look to rebound quickly.
Also considered: Trinity got a rejected dunk attempt with two seconds on the clock to preserve a two point road upset over #25 Dallas 66-64, #13 Rivier got a go-ahead layup with sixteen seconds left and held on for the 58-57 win over St. Joseph's, #12 W. New England didn't need any drama in there 74-59 win over Emmanuel, and Hendrix defended their home court against Louisiana 60-57.
Sim blowout watch: La Roche became our latest official blowout victim by falling to #5 Susquehanna 56-111 while Texas, Tyler covered the spread against #21 Colorado 52-89.
ITaLRbHAGotN: Everyone's favorite terribly named daily feature got off to a heck of a start to the season last night as Whitworth and E. Oregon needed extra time to decide things. E. Oregon led pretty much the entire first half but Whitworth made a run near the end to cut the lead to just 1 point as the score at the break was 39-38. E. Oregon tried to pull away again in the second but from the ten minute mark on the game was extremely close with no lead getting higher than 3 points. The last minute of regulation was depressing for the home fans as the teams traded free throws, with only Whitworth making all of theirs. The last two makes tied the game with two seconds left, a halfcourt shot fell short, and we went to overtime. The free throw momentum carried over and Whitworth turned up the defense to outscore E. Oregon by 10 in overtime to claim the 93-83 road win.
GotN
#15 Suffolk (10-1)(chichisteve) at #17 W. New England (9-2)(rednu)
Night two of the conference season and we move over to the GNE. Both these teams won their first conference game and this one will be the first of many big games when it comes to deciding the west division title. The home team is only favored by 1 but call it a gut feeling, I'm thinking WNE is going to pull this one out. I'm seeing maybe... 9 or 10 point win? Again, just a hunch I have.
Also considered: #14 Dallas at #7 Emory, Louisiana at #5 Ozarks, #23 Whittier at CSU Eastbay, and #24 Wittenberg at Wooster (sad face)
Sim blowout watch: Averett is getting a silly 97 points (new record!) as they host #1 Piedmont and Albright is a much-more-sensible 59 point home dog against #4 Susquehanna.
ITaLRbHAGotN
Tufts (10-1)(zmark513) at Worcester St. (9-2)(SimAI)
Here we have an early-season division battle in the NESCAC between the clear front-runners in the south division. The other four teams in their division are 200+ RPI so this is a crucial road test for zmark's team if they're going to claim the division. The visitors are favored by 1 point and as above I have a good feeling about the favored team. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this one was another 9 or 10 point game.