GLIAC D2 Men's Basketball

• Don Provolone

  Since I'm a newbie on this site - thought I would start a discussion thread about the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for NCAA DII schools. Currently Ohio has three (3) teams in this league - defending NCAA Champion Findlay; Ashland University and Tiffin University. There are several pending schools who will join this competitive league next year including, Ohio Dominican, Urbana and Lake Erie.
  
  The early season started this week as Ashland and Findlay both won with home games against Ohio Dominican University and Concordia University (Michigan) respectfully. Tiffin was not so fortunate in a loss to West Liberty State University (WV).
  
  Should be a great season as Findlay begins the road to defend their crown. Ashland and Tiffin both sport new coaches and many newcomers to their teams.
  
  Ohio is blessed with a ton of good basketball for colleges! DI, DII, DIII and Naia schools comprise some excellent hoops for those inclined to get out and watch. The big boys tend to dominate the media, but I'm a believer that some of the best basketball is played at the lower levels.
  
  DP
• thedynasty1998

  

  Don, good to have you over here! Someone was talking about you over here, and I was hoping they would have pointed you in the right direction.
  
  You make it up to Ashland on Monday? I was able to watch the game on STO. AU seems to have some talented young players, but I'm scared for them when they get into league play. Ohio Dominican should have been blown out, but it will take time for Ellenwood to get his guys adjusted to the college level.
• Don Provolone

  Dynasty - Yep! Made it up for the game. ODU was as hot as AU was cold for the first 10 minutes. Both teams settled down. The difference in the game (AU shot 34%) was the defense. When Coach E turned the dogs loose in the last 2 minutes, ODU had trouble doing anything. In fact, with less than 2:00 to play ODU held a 7 or 8 pt. lead. They never scored again - AU went on to a 5 pt. win.
  
  I agree that conference play is going to be tough if AU doesn't find an inside presence. Everyone can't stand outside and jack 3's. I know some of the players and they are certainly better than 2 for 22 behind the arc, but we better establish some inside game to go with what I hope is a promising outside game.
  
  The biggest adjustment for the team and Coach E is to be able to harness the energy and athleticism that the players bring this year and for the players to commit to Coach E's play hard all of the time style of play. Not much time for a steep learning curve for the Eagles. A 500 season would be a good start!
• Don Provolone

  Findlay defeats Malone University last night in a home game for the OIlers. The victory margin was closer than expected as the defending NCAA champs won by 11. A wins a win as a win is a win..........
• thedynasty1998

  

  Don what happened against Mount Vernon? If Ashland is struggling against ODU and getting blown out by MVNU, things won't be pretty in the GLIAC.
• Don Provolone

  AU is struggling on Offense. The offense has been offensive! The normally stout defense was MIA - AU shot in the low 30's and MVU shot a blistering 65%. Looks as if the AU players don't know where they are supposed to be in the ebb and flow of the offense. This is something Coach E is working on - they're going to be a work in progress for much of the season. My opinion is that there is way too much one on one play. Hopefully it gets corrected because the GLIAC schedule will be unforgiving.