Western Buckeye League

I am tempering my expectations re his productivity this season. Coming off ACL and virtually no production in tourney run last season as a junior. I think he can help defensively and rebounding.
 
St. Marys quite impressive in decisive win vs Marion Local 58-39.

Roughriders forced many turnovers and played great defense.

Owens, Turner, and Angstman are talented players.
 
Records through 12/24

OG 6-0 (1-0)
Elida 5-1 (1-0)
Shawnee 5-3 (1-0)
St Marys 4-1 (1-0)
Celina 2-2 (1-0)
Wapak 5-2 (0-1)
Kenton 4-3 (0-1)
Defiance 3-5 (0-1)
Van Wert 1-6 (0-1)
Bath 0-6 (0-1)
 
spirit454 said:
Even OG seems to be a bit down from recent time. Even with a Buckeye commit on the roster.
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No question.
1 great player, 1 pretty good player, and a supporting cast of very average players, and no bench. 1 injured kid with size who is coming off ACL, should be back soon. Just not sure of contribution expectations at this time.
 
FlightCrew said:
WBL is absolutely terrible this year. Should come down to OG/Shawnee, likely OG wins league.
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I think you could throw St Marys in the mix. I could see a potential upset of St Marys over OG. Haven’t figured out Shawnee yet, they lost to Crestview and struggled and lost against Coldwater.
 
ctown14 said:
I think you could throw St Marys in the mix. I could see a potential upset of St Marys over OG. Haven’t figured out Shawnee yet, they lost to Crestview and struggled and lost against Coldwater.
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Could be. Tough weekend for OG that weekend. At St. Mary’s and then at Findlay.
 
As follower of the WBL and fan of what it has provided over the years, I don't hesitate to say for basketball it has been down for a few years. OG has had a fairly easy path thru the WBL for a few years. Been some good games but not many strong challenges like historically.
 
Defiance had its best team since the year after the state title, last season, but took a big hit this year and I just hope it can eke out a winning record by the end of the season. Maybe it's because I've already watched St. Marys play but I'm surprised it isn't being listed as the clear #2 behind O-G. I'm not saying St. Marys couldn't suffer an upset to Shawnee, but I think St. Marys could beat O-G as well. SM has like three starters that have been varsity players, if not starters, for at least three seasons, and a couple other good additions. I wondered last year if the team would be better once Parks left because he wouldn't be the center of attention anymore, and/or everyone else would have another year of experience too. I know Bertke is going to be a big star for Shawnee but do they have much else? I seem to recall that team losing at least two or three seniors from last year.
 
Records through 12/28

OG 7-0 (1-0)
Elida 6-1 (1-0)
St Marys 4-1 (1-0)
Shawnee 5-3 (1-0)
Celina 2-3 (1-0)
Wapak 5-3 (0-1)
Kenton 4-3 (0-1)
Defiance 3-5 (0-1)
Van Wert 1-6 (0-1)
Bath 0-6 (0-1)
 
Records through 1/4

OG 7-1 (1-0)
Elida 7-1 (1-0)
St Marys 5-2 (1-0)
Shawnee 5-4 (1-0)
Celina 4-3 (1-0)
Wapak 5-4 (0-1)
Kenton 5-3 (0-1)
Defiance 3-5 (0-1)
Van Wert 2-7 (0-1)
Bath 0-7 (0-1)

League games for 1/5
Elida at OG
Wapak at St Marys
Shawnee at Celina
Kenton at Bath
Defiance at Van Wert
 
13 fouls in the 2nd quarter alone in the Celina vs Shawnee game. Shawnee up 23-21 at the half, probably 60% from the foul line.
 
All right the holidays are over and we're back into league play. Is this place gonna pick up at all?
In a game between two teams that will probably finish below the mid-point in the league and who both might have lost all their starters from last year, Defiance had a slow start but took over in the final three quarters to beat Van Wert by 13.
 
Celina vs Shawnee

I have not been able to figure out Shawnee all year. Two losses to a good LCC, an OT win over St Henry, and a close loss to Crestview. Celina came out looking pretty good in the first quarter as Celina took a 9-4 first quarter lead. The second quarter featured 13 fouls, including 1 technical. I do not have the exact stats, but Shawnee probably had 8 points from the foul line in the second quarter, but they could not buy a field goal. Shawnee changed up their game plan in the 2nd half and got Beckett Bertke outside and he drained three 3’s to pull away. Celina shot 56% from the line 9/16, Shawnee was 12/21 for 57%. The big stat line was Shawnee out rebounding Celina 28-16, Shawnee got 16 second chance points. Celina does not box out at all, their free throw shooting is questionable, and they don’t know how to set a screen. Not the players fault, they aren’t being taught.
 
Really thought Elida would give OG a little better game....but once OG gets running it's hard to slow them down. Elida led 17-14 at the end of 1. OG hit 5 threes in the 2nd quarter and ran away with it in the second half. St Marys and Findlay next weekend for the Titans. Surprised at the St Marys / Wapak score. St Marys played Findlay pretty close last weekend. Maybe looking ahead to OG next Friday? One thing I noticed looking at the schedules today is how awful some of the schedules are. Van Wert plays 9 D4 teams this season. That's crazy for a D2 school.
 
tcgobucks said:
One thing I noticed looking at the schedules today is how awful some of the schedules are. Van Wert plays 9 D4 teams this season. That's crazy for a D2 school.
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Outside of OG and Defiance, all the league schools are playing at least 6 D-4 schools and several small D-3 schools. In the past Celina would play 3-4 larger schools like Lima Senior, Toledo CC, Toledo Waite or Bowsher, and usually a Columbus suburban school. In the last 10 years, it seemed they were dropped 1 by 1 every couple years. I remember one weekend about 9 years ago where Celina traveled to Bryan one Saturday and the next Saturday traveled to TCC, quite the haul!
 
tcgobucks said:
Really thought Elida would give OG a little better game....but once OG gets running it's hard to slow them down. Elida led 17-14 at the end of 1. OG hit 5 threes in the 2nd quarter and ran away with it in the second half. St Marys and Findlay next weekend for the Titans. Surprised at the St Marys / Wapak score. St Marys played Findlay pretty close last weekend. Maybe looking ahead to OG next Friday? One thing I noticed looking at the schedules today is how awful some of the schedules are. Van Wert plays 9 D4 teams this season. That's crazy for a D2 school.
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Why is that crazy? What is VW's record so far this year vs those D4 schools? Makes more sense to me that VW plays DSJ or a Crestview than drive 60 miles to play a game.
 
Glad to see the WBL pick up two nice non-conference wins over what will be top MAC schools. Congrats Elida & Shawnee.

Standings as of 1/7
OG 9-1 (2-0)
St Marys 7-2 (2-0)
Shawnee 7-4 (2-0)
Elida 8-2 (1-1)
Kenton 6-3 (1-1)
Celina 5-4 (1-1)
Defiance 4-6 (1-1)
Wapak 5-5 (0-2)
Van Wert 3-8 (0-2)
Bath 0-8 (0-2)

League has turned out to be a little more competitive than I originally thought. Both conference and non-conference games have been a pleasant surprise.
 
tcgobucks said:
Lol...they can play whoever they want...wasn't my point. But it does nothing to prepare them for the tourney loo
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they played 9 D4 teams last year and made the regional finals, so i'd say your argument isn't correct
 
tcgobucks said:
You're correct.....and a great run, but beating a bunch of D4 teams by 15-20 points does nothing to prepare for a matchup with a team like Lutheran West.
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I could have sworn D4 Marion Local def. Van Wert last year as I was at the game, but I must be mistaken, and VW must have won by 15 - 20 pts.
 
Big matchup this Friday in St Marys as the Titans come to town. Will St Marys be able to stop OG from the three-peat in the league? With the game at St Marys, I am going with the home team on this one.
 
O-G wins at St. Marys by 9...so, does Shawnee have anything for the Titans? I feel like outside of these three teams, the rest of the league is pretty humdrum.
 
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