Ohio Valley Conference report

SportsLine Report
March 12, 2000

In the Paint

It's so long OVC, hello Sun Belt for the Blue Raiders.

After a rough start, the Blue Raiders became one of the OVC's hottest teams down the stretch in their last season in the league.

They won 10 of their last 12 games after starting the OVC season with a 1-6 record. With the late rally, the Blue Raiders finished sixth in the OVC race with a 10-8 record.

It was not really surprising when they knocked off third-seeded Tennessee Tech in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament, but the Blue Raiders were expected to be competitive in their semifinal against second-seeded Southeast Missouri State. They weren't, though. The Raiders got drubbed 78-60 after falling behind early, and finished the season 15-13.

Hopes were much higher for the Blue Raiders, one of the more talented teams in the league.

A Glance at 2001

The Blue Raiders move to the Sun Belt, and the going will get tougher than during their days in the OVC. One thing in their favor will be a strong nucleus of players returning.

The Coach

In four season at Middle Tennessee, Randy Wiel's record is 65-53. He's had only one losing season, and that came in 1998-99 when the Blue Raiders went 12-19. Wiel seems to be able to get the talented players, and after a terrible start, he was able to put a competitive team on the court. The jury's still out on Wiel as a coach. We'll see what happens after a year or two in the Sun Belt before judging him.

Who'll Be Back

Middle Tennessee has enough talent coming back to be competitive in the Sun Belt, but not if it doesn't find the same chemistry it had late in the season. Fernando Ortiz, a junior swingman, earned All-OVC second-team honors, ranking 11th in the OVC in scoring (15.3), 14th in 3-point percentage (.316) and tied for ninth in 3-pointers per game (1.79).

Three other starters also return: point guard Jonathan Whitworth, center Lee Nosse and forward Dale Thomas. Also back is combination guard Ron McKnight. Whitworth led the OVC in 3-point percentage (.505). Kevin White, a shooting guard, can also look forward to more playing time next season, along with Iiro Tenngren, who could start for Cedrick Wallace at power forward.

Who's Gone

The Blue Raiders' biggest loss will be senior power forward Cedrick Wallace, a third-team All-OVC player. He's the only starter not returning. Wallace was the team's second-leading scorer (12.1) while shooting 49.8 percent from the field. Also gone are senior forward Ellious Swanigan and senior Johnny Cobb, but their roles were minimal.