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Y! MyWebWITTENBERG-WOOSTER THE RIVALRY
Drama Kings: Witt plus Woo equals Wow
Division III basketball's winningest programs bring out the best in each other.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Former Wittenberg guard Pat Denbow had mixed feelings watching Wooster reach the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2007.
"You're kind of pulling for them to show how good the NCAC is," said Denbow, a 2007 graduate who now works in the athletic departments at DePaul and Northwestern in Chicago, "but I didn't want them to win it all. I was happy they took a couple losses."
Wittenberg players and fans celebrate an 87-86 victory over Wooster at Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield on Jan. 19. Gregg Hill (center with arm raised) hit the game-winning shot with four seconds left in overtime. Brandan Barabino (far left) sent the game to overtime by hitting three free throws with one second left in regulation. It was Wittenberg's first victory over the Scots in Springfield since Jan. 25, 2003. Wittenberg plays at Wooster tonight, Feb. 16.That sums up, in a way, the Wittenberg-Wooster men's basketball rivalry. The two winningest programs in Division III history respect each other to a point, but beyond that point, well ...
"When you're in the midst of it, as a player, you want to knock those guys' heads off," said Ryan Pedon, a 2000 Wooster grad who is now an assistant men's basketball coach at Miami University.
That's what makes this a special rivalry, but it's just a start. Here are some other reasons:
Home and away
Andy Bucheit, a 2005 Wittenberg grad, remembers Wooster's Timken Gymnasium as one of the toughest places to play, even though the Tigers have won five of their last six games there.
Said Bucheit, now an assistant men's basketball coach at Ashland University: "I would say one of my best memories was my freshman year (the 2002 NCAC title game) when we won, and B.J. Harris, who just had a great game, rips his jersey off. We all run to half court, and we're jumping up and down celebrating and looking out and seeing Wooster's bench just dejected, their fans dejected. We're celebrating on their home floor. Then it's the quickest thing I've ever seen — the baskets were raised because they didn't want us to cut down the nets."
Wooster has won four of its last five games in Springfield.
"Both places were definitely fun to play in," said Matt Schlingman, a 2005 Wooster grad who now works at Progressive Insurance in Cleveland. "Maybe when we were down in Springfield we felt like we were more of the underdog. That may have played into (our success)."
"At Wittenberg, they turn the lights off on the fans and leave it on the court," said Matt Smith, a 2003 Wooster grad who now sells insurance in Lima. "That actually makes you kind of forget about the fans a little bit, but they definitely were very loud and very vocal when we played there."
NCAC domination
Since 1993, Wooster has won eight North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season titles, and Wittenberg has won six. No other team has won one.
This means every game is important with the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and an NCAA berth often on the line.
Overall, Wittenberg has made 24 NCAA tournament appearances, and Wooster has been there 18 times.
Wooster is the winningest D-III program of this decade, and Wittenberg is the winningest program in D-III history.
"These games, they're so well matched," said Ryan Gorman, a 1999 Wooster grad who now manages sales for a real-estate title company in Columbus. "No matter what team is predicted to win, they're always going to be close games. One loose ball and one call make it go in either direction."
Coaches' connections
Wittenberg's Bill Brown and Wooster's Steve Moore have ties to both programs.
They played together at Wittenberg, Brown graduating in 1973, Moore a year later. Moore was even the best man at Brown's wedding.
In the 1982-83 season, Brown was the interim coach at Wooster.
"They're cordial, at best, with each other out of respect," Pedon said. "It's probably like (Ohio State's) Woody Hayes and (Michigan's) Bo Schembechler back in the day. Schembechler coached for Woody Hayes, and they had one of the most bitter rivalries in college sports.
"On a smaller scale, this is what that is. I don't think there's hatred. They're both competitive. They're both probably stubborn. They recruit some of the same players. Their programs mirror each other. I love them both."
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
