Not worried, but it begs the question.....again...why schedule it?

Then again isn't Northern Iowa playing a D-II school the night before the OHIO game?

Arguably Marietta's best player, Trevor Halter, played in his first game Saturday in Marietta's win at Otterbein.  He is a 6-6 post player who averaged 15 ppg last season.  Earlier this year, he had back surgery and is just now getting back into shape.  

I'm glad he will be able to compete against Ohio Wednesday.  

MC will be an improved team when Halter gets back to 100%.

Ethan Jacobs will set a career high in minutes.

Jeff,

Trevor comes from my hometown of Malvern and I got a chance to talk to him about this game over Thanksgiving weekend. He wasn't even sure he was gonna play this season because the surgery was that serious. I guess the coach wanted him to get back and play as quick as possible, but he wanted to take it easy because there was a fear he was going to have back problems for the rest of his life. He actually thought there might be an opportunity at redshirting, but it looks like he's healed a lot quicker than expected.

As far as the OU game, he said he was most disappointed that he might not be playing in this one because he's been looking forward to it and has always wanted to play in the Convo. I think he was in 4th/5th grade when Malvern went to the 2000 Regionals and we played in Athens. Ever since then, he (and myself) have always wanted to play a game in the Convo, whether it be pickup or an actual game.

Glad he's healthy and getting to play in this one, and I'm thinking of actually taking the drive over to Athens from Cincy to watch him play against us.

Thanks for proving his point.  you just listed the very 1st ingredient necessary for being trapped.


Thank you also for not coaching the team 

Knowing Marietta's team better than just about anyone, they have a lot of strengths that contribute to their success. Marietta has a great deep team that can go 10 deep and not drop any quality. That is negated by the fact that we also have great depth. Marietta can be very streaky, when they get going they can score a lot of points quickly. They have some great shooters including junior Scott Kimmey and freshman Brennan McKean that can hit the 3 in bunches. Down low, Kevin Knab is the heart and soul of the team. He is not big or overpowering, but has a knack for slipping away from much bigger guys and getting the ball in the hoop. As said already on here, Trevor Halter is the main scoring threat for the Pioneers. He can do it all, he can bang down low, hit the mid range jumper, and drain the 3. He is just coming off of back surgery and played his first minutes this past Saturday. Sophmore Tyler Hammond runs the point and is probably the best pure talent this team has. He turned down scholarships at bigger schools to come to Marietta and it's clear he has a different level. His problem is when he tries to do to much and ends up trying to make to big of a play and looks silly by turning the ball over. Of course the very next time down the court he will make an acrobatic layup that no one else on the court could imagine doing. You just never know what you're going to get when he drives down the lane.

I've seen both these teams play a lot. I could see OU coming out sleepwalking and Marietta jump on them early. Expect a large crowd from Marietta, we sold out our allotment of tickets twice. Marietta plays well in big games and the players have been talking about this game since it was announced. But in the end, Ohio is to athletic and talented for this game to be close. I'l take the Cats by 25-30.

I know everyone hates the fact that this game is on the schedule. But as a lifelong fan of the Bobcats and a graduate and diehard fan of Marietta, this game is a dream matchup for me. Just seeing these two teams on the same court will be a wildly exciting moment for me. I fought a long time over who I would root for in this game, as I couldn't imagine rooting against either team. In the end though, I have to root for my alma mater. If not, I'm no better than the loser who walks down Court Street in O$U gear.

Looking forward to a fantastic evening of basketball.

GO PIONEERS AND GO BOBCATS!

My first game in the Convo:  November 1977...Ohio defeats Marietta 69-67.  Marietta's Mitch Miracle almost leads a big upset of Ohio with his outside shooting.  

I don't hate it.  There are some benefits that can be derived from this game. 

Love the pbp.  "Knab, Kevin cleans up the glass"

That would be me. I'm definitely looking forward to the Wright St. game. Marietta is a no-win situation.

It's more of a win than NC A&T IMO.  At least we can reach out to some potential fans in Marietta.  We'll probably have a larger attendance as well.

That's the point. NC A&T hurts our RPI.   As for the fans, it's not like we are rivals and they hate us. It's a chance to make more fans and get more coverage in Marietta.