How good is Marietta?

[McChicken]

What do the experts have to say now?

[Shoot_It_From_Deep]

Unbelievable win by Waterford, continuing to prove that they have an elite coach and elite program. Cats were up 16 in the 4th at one point. Granted , Marietta had a tough night shooting but Waterford’s defense causes poor shooting by a lot of teams. Best of luck to both teams on a deep tournament run.

[SEOsportchamp23]

Not good enough to beat Waterford. That was a game. And Waterford proved to have the best team in the southeast.

[Fanatic]

Just because they lost to a 21-1 team doesn’t mean Marietta is not a good team.
Marietta seemed a little intimidated inside the first half.
WaterFords defense is as good as anyone’s, Marietta is used to getting some open looks and Waterford didn’t allow a lot of those.

Waterford will go far in the tournament.

Marietta with a tough draw, Sheridan and if they get by them they follow that up with Unioto.
Very capable of beating them both, but must play better than they did tonight.

[SEOsportchamp23]

Marietta is a good team but they were not good enough to beat Waterford tonight. Waterford plays defense like no other team. Marietta has played a run and gun game all season. Their speed - outside shooting and cuts to the basket have not allowed teams to set up their defense and has resulted in some big wins.
Waterford has played a tough schedule outside conference play. And picking this game up was a tourney preparation game. And it definitely was for both teams.
Marietta is a good team but they looked lost. They had no answer for what Waterford was putting in front of them.
The disarray that was happening on transition hurt Marietta. If they clean that up they will have a great tournament run but they are heading into some tough games.
Hats off to both teams for scheduling that game. It was one of the best games to watch in the SE region.

[schenk11]

What do the experts have to say now?

Marietta is still a really good team. Waterford has a very good chance of winning a state championship. No shame in an 8 point loss to them. Yes I know it was as much as 16, but there were several occasions it was down to 5.

Two good teams in a great atmosphere!! Way to go Washington County coming out in force for this one!!

[dboy]

One game doesn't change that Marietta is a very good team. I think this game simply exposed some things that the tigers will need to clean up before the tournament. The tough thing for Marietta is that they don't have any gimmes in the tournament so they have very little time to adjust. Playing games like this earlier would have given them some time to adjust before the tournament. On one hand, Waterford just provided a blueprint on how to beat them. On the other hand, Coach McClain now knows what could be an Achilles heel for them and he can fix it for the next game. I think the Lauer girl is really good and I think this could be a game that refocuses them for the tourney. This game didn't go the way I expected it but I may actually be higher on Marietta now than I was before the game. Best of luck to the Tigers moving forward.

[SEOsportchamp23]

One game doesn't change that Marietta is a very good team. I think this game simply exposed some things that the tigers will need to clean up before the tournament. The tough thing for Marietta is that they don't have any gimmes in the tournament so they have very little time to adjust. Playing games like this earlier would have given them some time to adjust before the tournament. On one hand, Waterford just provided a blueprint on how to beat them. On the other hand, Coach McClain now knows what could be an Achilles heel for them and he can fix it for the next game. I think the Lauer girl is really good and I think this could be a game that refocuses them for the tourney. This game didn't go the way I expected it but I may actually be higher on Marietta now than I was before the game. Best of luck to the Tigers moving forward.

Agree. Marietta is good but Waterford came and sucker punched them. This is the same Waterford team that got punched in the mouth by Sheridan in December and hasn’t lost a game since.
Might be a turning point for Marietta but they have a tough road ahead. Sheridan is good. Plays up in your face defense. Which is what gave Waterford fits in their matchup with them. If Marietta can play good defense - they have a shot. Defense keeps you in the game- and it creates good offense. And Waterford proved that last night.
But I also think Marietta can learn a lot from this game. They played a team that had size- speed- and defense. They haven’t faced a team that has had all three. And this was a good game for Waterford as well. They played a team that pressed, had speed and could shoot from anywhere on the court. Both teams benefited from the game. And it seemed to be injury free also. Which is always a plus.
Waterford came away with the W but I think Marietta came
away with a win as well with some great knowledge on what it takes to get to that next level. They will face teams like Waterford in the post season.

[dboy]

If Marietta handles the half court defensive pressure and can get shots, I think this goes their way. Sheridan has had some issues scoring at times so this has to be in the 30s or 40s for Sheridan to have a chance. If Marietta can get it up tempo, I think they win comfortably.
Good luck to both squads for a good game and no injuries.

[bullfrog93]

If Marietta handles the half court defensive pressure and can get shots, I think this goes their way. Sheridan has had some issues scoring at times so this has to be in the 30s or 40s for Sheridan to have a chance. If Marietta can get it up tempo, I think they win comfortably.
Good luck to both squads for a good game and no injuries.

Could either of them beat Athens?

[Whs95fan]

Sheridan 51
Marietta 49
Final

[Barney Rubble]

If Marietta handles the half court defensive pressure and can get shots, I think this goes their way. Sheridan has had some issues scoring at times so this has to be in the 30s or 40s for Sheridan to have a chance. If Marietta can get it up tempo, I think they win comfortably.
Good luck to both squads for a good game and no injuries.

Could either of them beat Athens?

Not a chance, not with Athens historic season.

[Fanatic]

They don’t need to, Unioto took care of Athens by 22

[schenk11]

Could either of them beat Athens?

Marietta beat Athens by 17.

[blackshooky]

who does marietta play next?

[unclequis]

who does marietta play next?

Cancun.

[Whs95fan]

who does marietta play next?

Cancun.

[danicalifornia]

Sheridan knows how to win tournament basketball with multiple starters back from last year’s Elite 8 team and a starter from the State Runner-Up team from 3 years ago too.

Marietta has had a nice 3 year run, but in that time, they have less tournament wins than Sheridan had a year ago…heck, they have the same amount of tournament wins that Sheridan has this year.

Winning in the regular season and the tournament are two totally different things and I’m not sure the Tigers schedule prepared them for that.

This part isn’t their fault, but not playing ANY close games at all certainly didn’t help them on Saturday either. Only 3 games decided by less than 10 points and 7 being the closest. Sheridan was 0-5 in games decided by 6 points or less, but just playing in those games gets you prepared for how to handle the pressure of them and ultimately that made the difference for the Generals.

[dboy]

Just saw that Marietta is playing Wheeling Park tonight. Is this an OVAC championship game or just a normal makeup? Either way it would be a great way for Marietta to go out with a win, but especially if they can win the OVAC.

[Sportsfan01]

Just saw that Marietta is playing Wheeling Park tonight. Is this an OVAC championship game or just a normal makeup? Either way it would be a great way for Marietta to go out with a win, but especially if they can win the OVAC.

Would have to be just a normal game. The OVAC championship games were already played 2 weeks ago