Scots Favored by Coaches and Media to Win Conference

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster was a near-unanimous pick by both the coaches and the media to win the 2004-05 North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball championship, announced the league office following Tuesday's NCAC Media Day festivities.

Wooster gathered all but one of the 10 first-place votes in the coaches' poll, as the Scots totaled 99 of a possible 100 points. Wittenberg University earned the other first-place tally.

The 25-member media panel doled out 21 first-place votes to Wooster as well as 246 of 250 points. Wittenberg pulled in a pair of first-place nods, while surprisingly Kenyon College and Oberlin College split the remaining two.

Wittenberg, Wooster's top rival, was picked second in each poll, garnering 90 points from the coaches and 221 from the media contingent. Ohio Wesleyan University was next in each poll with 71 and 185 points, respectively.

Earlham College and Wabash College were expected to round out the top-half of the conference, while Allegheny College, Denison University, Hiram College, Kenyon, and Oberlin were predicted to make up the bottom-half of the NCAC standings.

The Scots have four starters and six letterwinners back from a squad, which went 26-4, finished second in the NCAC (14-2), and advanced to the “Elite Eight” of the NCAA Div. III Tournament in 2003-04.

Wooster kicks off this season by hosting the 11th annual Al Van Wie/ Rotary Classic on Nov. 19-20. The Scots will welcome Campbellsville University (18-15 last year), Ohio Dominican University (19-16), and Ohio Northern University (19-8) to Timken Gymnasium for that weekend.