Otterbein men's basketball to test pre-season rankings in weekend tournament

The Otterbein men’s basketball team and first-year head coach Todd Adrian will not have the benefit of easing their way into the new campaign.

The Cardinals, picked to ninth out of ten teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, are set to open with a tough early-season test against Adrian College (Mich.) tonight at 6 p.m. The game is part of the Al Van Wie Rotary Classic hosted by the College of Wooster.

Wooster and Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) will play in the second game. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. with the consolation game at 6 p.m.

Here is a quick hit on all three teams:

Adrian

The Bulldogs were picked to finish second out of eight teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Preseason Poll on the heels of a 17-9 record last season.

Adrian lost its two top scorers from last year, but return the next three in senior forward Sean Gallant (10.5 points per game), sophomore forward Adam Meier (9.7 ppg) and sophomore guard Eric Lewis (9.5 ppg).

Wooster

The Fighting Scots enter the season ranked 13th in the nation by D3hoops.com following last season’s 26-5 showing that took them to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen. On top of the national recognition, Wooster was picked first out of ten teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference Coaches’ Poll.

Wooster lost its leading scorer from last year, but bring back the next highest scorer in sophomore guard Xavier Brown (12.9 ppg). Third-leading scorer, senior forward Josh Claytor (11.2 ppg), is back along with sophomore guard Doug Thorpe (6.3 ppg).

The team has already seen preseason action this year, traveling to Division I and Mountain Wset Conference team University of Wyoming Nov. 3 for an exhibition match. Wooster fell 61-46, but Claytor dropped 14 points while Brown contributed six and sophomore guard Evan Pannell had seven.
Carnegie Mellon

The Tartans don’t have much preseason clout having been picked eighth out of eight teams in the University Athletic Association Preseason Poll. Last year Carnegie Mellon finished 9-16.

They return only two of their top five scorers from last season in junior guards Rashaun Riley (11.9 ppg) and Asad Meghani (8.5 ppg).

Carnegie Mellon lost an exhibition game against Division I and Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Duquesne University Nov. 1, 74-48. Senior guard Andre Moore scored 11 points while Meghani had nine.

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