Marietta College Pioneers vs. Heidelberg Student Princes
Saturday – February 18 – 2:00 pm
Ban Johnson Arena – Marietta, Ohio
Marietta College Game Tickets
“Beat the Berg” – “Build Momentum”
February 17, by C. Jay Prescher
Momentum is an important part of sports. It can change on a dime. A missed officiating call, a blown assignment, a series of poor decisions. Coaches call timeouts and manipulate game plans to stop it from building into an overwhelming tidal wave. Momentum not only changes during games; it can be something that builds from one game to the next. When it comes to momentum in sports, it’s fantastic when it’s on your side. But when it’s not, you better find it fast.
The Marietta College men’s basketball team has won its last two games in convincing fashion. A young and talented basketball team seems to have found its momentum at the right time of the year. The Navy Blue are gradually building a head of steam ahead of tournament play. Even a close loss to #4 nationally ranked Mount Union proved that this team is “good enough to play with anyone in the country.” If they can feed off that momentum on Saturday against Heidelberg, the Pioneer men may very well get that opportunity.
Wednesday night’s victory at Capital University locked down a home Ohio Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game. The top four seeds are already determined. After being upset at Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday, John Carroll lost control of the top seed. If both Mount Union and the Blue Streaks win on Saturday, they will each finish 16-2 in the final OAC standings. After splitting the regular season head-to-head match-ups, a second tiebreaker will determine #1 overall seed. Regardless, the Purple Raiders and John Carroll will get a opening-round bye next Tuesday.
However, the two opponents facing off at “The BanJo” on Saturday will play on Tuesday. Marietta and Heidelberg are set to host the two OAC quarterfinal games. The two opponents, and who plays where, will come from a three-team group: Otterbein, Capital, and Baldwin Wallace. An Otterbein Cardinal win locks down the #5 seed and a trip to Marietta. However, the Cardinals play #4 ranked Mount Union in Alliance. We should note that Otterbein is looking to find some sense of momentum having lost three straight.
Now’s where the #5 and #6 scenarios get tricky. BW and Capital play in Columbus in what amounts to a “winner gets in” game. A Comet victory would tie them with BW. However, Capital would then own the head-to-head tiebreaker. That would leave Otterbein and Capital at 8-10 in the conference. The Cardinals get the #5 seed based on winning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Comets. However, a Baldwin Wallace upset on Saturday combined with an Otterbein loss would send the Yellow Jackets down to Ban Johnson Arena to play the Pioneers on Tuesday night.
But inside Ban Johnson Arena, two teams already locked into their seeds will play to see which one can “maintain momentum” heading into the conference tournament. Both teams will be “long shot bubble teams” to make the NCAA championship field, if they can’t win the OAC tourney title. After Saturday, every game from here on out is essentially a “lose and go home” battle for both Marietta and Heidelberg. Here’s a look at what the Pioneers need to do to finish the regular season strong and head into Tuesday night’s first-round tournament game with “Mr. Mo” on their side.
• Keys to a Pioneer Victory •
- Shoot the Ball Well: Shooting the basketball well is a no-brainer when it comes to winning basketball games. When the Pioneers shoot well, especially when they take advantage of open looks, the results are favorable. When they don’t, the outcome usually isn’t good. Marietta has shot over 50% from the field in back-to-back games. The Pioneers’ accurate marksmanship resulted in a pair of impressive wins.
In the three games prior to those victories, the Navy Blue shot under 40% in each game. Two were tough losses against nationally ranked teams John Carroll and Mount Union. The other was a near disaster at Muskingum where the Navy Blue escaped New Concord with a much harder-than-necessary three-point win. Their shooting touch has been erratic at times during the season. With one regular season game remaining before Tuesday, which will be the start of what, in all likelihood, will be must-win tournament games the rest of the way, the Marietta College men need to shoot the ball well.
- Avoid Turnovers: This is another telling statistic in most basketball games. As with shooting percentage, it’s been a revealing stat for the Pioneers. In every single game that Marietta turned the ball over more than a dozen times, except for home wins over Penn State Altoona and Otterbein, the Navy Blue have been beaten. Except for two losses to Capital and #5 ranked Keene State, when Marietta commits fewer than 10 turnovers, they win. Heidelberg is an opportunistic basketball team. They take advantage of turnovers. Likewise, when the Pioneers turn the ball over, there is no shooting percentage to worry about because they don’t get a shot off. Marietta needs to reduce their turnovers on Saturday, and in every game remaining for that matter. If they do, momentum will continue to build.
The Marietta College men’s basketball team is talented enough to compete with anyone in the country. They’ve proven it more than once this season. However, they’ve lost focus and underperformed at times during the 2022-2023 schedule as well. With one regular-season game remaining on Saturday and then “do-or-die” tournament battles beginning next Tuesday, they can ill afford to lose focus anymore. If they do, the season will end. However, if the Pioneers play up to their capabilities, the sky’s the limit. The two most-recent dominating victories are a clear indication of how talented this team really is. Now they just need to step on the court and do it. Saturday is a chance to “Beat the Berg” and “Build Momentum!”
Player photographs courtesy of Marietta College Pioneer Athletics – Men’s Basketball
The Word Jester is not employed by Marietta College, and is not affiliated with the Ohio Athletic Conference or D3 Hoops.com
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They do not reflect the points of view, policies, or principles of any outside agency or organization.
