John Carroll men's basketball at Baldwin Wallace next; loaded schedule awaits
Nov. 28—Coach Pete Moran is like most coaches, not one to look too far ahead.
That's because what's next for Moran's John Carroll men's basketball team is an Ohio Athletic Conference opener Nov. 29 at crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace.
What lies ahead in the coming weeks is just as mouth-watering for fans — and daunting for the Blue Streaks.
The first regular season MBB Top 25 is out! Who's the new No. 1? #d3hoops https://t.co/xCjmftLh16
— D3hoops/Patrick Coleman (@d3hoops) November 27, 2023
Nov. 26, the second D3Hoops.com Top 25 men's college basketball poll was released, and there was reshuffling of teams in the Top 10.
Only two teams stayed at the spot where they started in the preseason poll — No. 6 Oswego State and No. 3 JCU.
The Blue Streaks (which got two No. 1 votes in the poll) took care of their first four opponents on the road en route to a 4-0 start. After its fifth straight road game to start the season, JCU plays its first home game of the season Dec. 2 against Ohio Northern at 2 p.m.
First, JCU must take care of business in Berea. Last season, the Yellow Jackets gave the Blue Streaks fits in two meetings. The first game — at JCU — resulted in a 96-91 Blue Streaks victory that was close throughout. Then in the second-to-last regular-season game, BW handed JCU its second OAC loss of the season in a 99-94 setback.
After the BW and Ohio Northern games, the Blue Streaks play at Muskingum on Dec. 9, then home to Wilmington on Dec. 16.
After that, two games will be huge tests.
The first is Dec. 19 vs. No. 2-ranked Hampden-Sydney College in a 2 p.m. matinee at the DeCarlo Center.
"They are legit," said Moran about Hampden-Sydney.
Three weeks after that, No. 4-ranked Mount Union pays a Jan. 10 visit to University Heights for what should be a raucous atmosphere.
A schedule such as that — two top-four teams sandwiched in between JCU in the poll rankings — doesn't get much tougher.
"I don't think the pressure changes much," said Moran about his team's lofty poll position and goal of winning a Division III national championship.
So far, the Blue Streaks' horses have sprinted out of the starting gates.
Point guard Luke Chiccone of Mentor is off to a torrid start. He's averaging 23.8 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 56.3% from 3-point range.
His teammate Luke Frazier of Lake Catholic isn't far behind — averaging 19.5 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds. Chase Toppin (10.5 points) is the other JCU player averaging double figures in scoring, but three others (Henry Raynor, David Gentry and Will Yontek) are averaging eight points. Raynor and Yontek are averaging six rebounds.
John Carroll at Baldwin Wallace
When: 7 p.m., Nov. 29
Where: Lou Higgins Center
Records: JCU 4-0, BW 1-3
