Just a quick clarification.  Tickets for all NESCAC tournament first round games are $3 for adults and $1 for students.  This is mandated by NESCAC.  It is not a school by school choice.  Tickets for the game at Bates are not free.  If you're a Bates student or employee the Bates athletic department will buy your ticket for you.  Due to Bates' trimester schedule, the students are currently on break, so the athletic department is probably trying to entice as many people as possible to attend in hopes of still having a sizable home crowd.

Just a quick clarification on hosting:  The host of the semi-finals and finals of the NESCAC tournament is the highest remaining seed after the first round.  There is no other criteria for the NESCAC, and if Bates is the highest remaining seed at that point then they will host.  NCAAs is another story.  Bates can host first and 2nd round games, but cannot host sectionals (sweet 16, elite 8) or further since the gym does not meet the requirement of seating 1000 fans.  Bates can still apply to host a sectional, if they're still playing, and if no one left in that section meets all the requirements (which include enough local lodging, practice space, etc.) the NCAA could still, in theory, choose Bates for those games, but it's highly unlikely.

That said, although the legal capacity of Alumni gym is 750 Bates can squeeze in up to nearly 900 I think (not legally).  Back in the days when Coach Furbush was a player, and a few years after, both the men's and women's teams were very strong.  (The women's team went into the NCAAs as the #1 team in the country at one point.)  At that time the attendance, according to the SID was over 1000 (I think around 1050).  I believe that was embellished a bit as an attempt to get the NCAA to let Bates host the women's sectional.  It didn't work.  Even taking the embellishment into account the attendance was well over 750 back then.  All the stands were filled with the fans shoulder to shoulder, all corners had people standing in them, even the gap between the stands where players enter and exit was full of fans.  Some fans were also allowed up to the press box area just to help fit them all.  The downside was that the local fire marshall (who's evidently not as basketball friendly as the one in Amherst, MA) got wind of it.  For a couple of years after that Students stood by the doors stamping hands and counting people and the doors had to close when 750 was reached preventing any extra people from going in.  That restriction has been lifted, so if Bates gets to host some post season games and some extra fans want to squeeze in that could be possible.  Just remember, if anyone asks how many people were in the gym, the number, clearly, could not have been more than 715

Hi Everyone,

I enjoy reading everyone's posts, but don't generally post myself.  However, someone requested a highlight reel from the Bates/Tufts game this weekend (including Billy Selmon's massive jam), and here it is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxbDG2ZCeys

Somehow it doesn't seem quite as massive on this reel as it did live in Alumni Gym.  Enjoy.

Bates 75 Wentworth 49.  Bates cruised.  The bobcats couldn't buy a basket for the first 8 minutes, and it still didn't matter.  Once the shots started falling Bates ran away.   Wentworth tried to double and triple team Val Beckwith to keep her from scoring, but every time they did that they left Maggie Depoy open from outside and she was money from behind the arc tonight.

Bates' biggest problem right now looks to be their hands.  I found out why there was such a huge skew in foul shots taken between USM and Bates.  It's because Bates makes too many stupid fouls.  Most of them being or the reach in variety.  I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that it's only a foul if you get caught.  To put it in a way to illustrate tonights defensive side for Bates; If you're going to initiate contact at least try not to be obvious.

If Bates improves their defense and does a better job of moving their bodies, and not reaching with their arms (or at least do a better job of not getting caught the bobcats will be formidable in Nescac.

Chees,
Red1   

Bates 79 Husson 64.

A solid 15 point for the Bobcats over a team against whom they should earn a solid 15 point win.  I don't have any stats from the game but Bates safely improves to (3-1) and comes home to play Wentworth Tech on Thursday at 6pm.

Cheers,
Red1

Bates 84-Thomas80

Bates grabbed a win from Thomas college, but the gab is not nearly as big as it needs to be against a relative unknown.  Bates was lights out in the first half (.714 fg%) but forgot about the defensive half of the game, and was only up 46-42 at the half. 

Coming back down to earth in the second half Bates finished at 59% from the field, and with mediocre foul shooting was unable to pull away from Thomas.  Thankfully, despite having off days from the foul line, and on defense, the stellar first half offense was just enough for Bates to run away with the win.

Cheers,
Red1

Bates 66 USM 45

Bates had a slow first half and appeared out of sink and unable to shoot with any kind of consitency.  USM led 30-24 at the half.  That was the end of Bates' troubles.

The second half consisted of much improved shooting and defense and a dominating performance from the bobcats.  Bates was hot in the second half while USM was ice cold.  There wasn't much more to it than that.  USM seemed to have difficulty with language resulting in 3 technical fouls (1 on the bench), but the difference was by far more than that.

The passing was crisp, the cuts were sharp, and Bates just owned the 2nd half of this ball game.  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come for the bobcats.

Red1   

USM 67-Bates57.  Not bad I guess considering the Huskies constant dominance in women's hoops.  Sorry about the webcast, I guess the Bates website was wrong.  I'm a little questioning of USMs 19-22 from the foul line while Bates only got 4 shots from the foul line (hitting 3).  That's a huge difference, far larger than normal, and more than the difference in the game.  Was Bates just handsy on defense or something?  How did such a huge discrepancy in foul shots occur?

Cheers,
Red1

Watch Bates take on USM live in Alumni Gym on www.batescast.com at 5:30pm!!!

Enjoy.

Red1

Bates vs. USM to be webcast live at www.batescast.com at 7:30 this evening.  The website hasn't been updated to show that yet, but that's what Bates said on their athletics website.  Enjoy.

Red1

Bates 65, Salem St. 60.  Hard fought win for the bobcats at Salem State.  I don't know much about them this year, but Salem State has tended to be one of the stronger teams in the region (and one of the few along with Bates, Bowdoin, and now Amherst and Tufts who have shown the potential to take down the always very strong Huskies of Southern Maine).  This win should give Bates some confidence as they head home to take on USM.

Cheers,
Red1

Met_fan,

Good freshman is right.  Hamilton picked up Patrick Sullivan, up a 6-7 forward out of Delbarton private school in New Jersey.  He can shoot 3's well, blocks a lot of shots, rebounds like crazy, plays phenominal defense on the permieter, and in the midcourt in transition.  Hell I've started referring to him as mini-hansbrough.  One lacking thing though:  He loves to dunk, and he can't do it.  Went 0-3 on dunks in 2 games and committed 2 charges in the process. (Apparently he forgot he's not actually Tyler Hansbrough and is not capable of dunking straight over the top of people.)  On the plus side he was smart enough not to try a 4th time and resorted to normal layups (and those he didn't miss).

Less known (or looked at) is a guard they picked up named Russ Rosenband.  I don't know where he's from, but I can tell you where he's headed:  Starter, and perhaps all conference.  He was 7-13 from behind the arc over 2 games, money from the foul line, scored 17 points in both games, and did it all coming off the bench.  He also did it with lots of hands in his face.  The composure he showed knocking down shots with defenders right in his face was outstanding.  But this is where Hamilton's depth is scary.  Their starting point guard is out with an ankle injury (hasn't played yet), so this team is only gonna get stronger, and this money shooter will keep coming in unnoticed off the bench. 

This guy's weakness:  defense.  His feet aren't quick enough to defend guards and he resorts to a lot of handchecking and reaching in.  While the officials let 'em play style (which I'll admit was consistent both ways, albeit annoying) worked well for him today, he'll struggle mightily on D when a tight calling crew is officiating.

I don't know how good this team really is, but I hope their phenominal so that this won't be a bad loss for Bates.  We'll find out in early January when the contintals head to the midwest to take on the No.1 Bears from Washington Universtiy (Mo.) (great win over Augstana in OT btw), followed by Illinois Wesleyan.  The only other Nescac game to watch for with Hamilton is later in the season when they take on Williams.  I'm wondering about how weak the Nescac maybe or how strong Liberty League may have gotten given Bates' loss to Hamilton, and hearing about Amherst's scare at the hands of Skidmore.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Cheers,
Red1

Hamilton 85-Bates 68.  Everything went Hamilton's way, nothing went Bates' way.  Bates was ice cold from the floor.  The Bobcats had plenty of open shots, but just couldn't make them fall.  By contrast Hamilton was red hot.   They were nailing fadeaway jumpers from where the 3pt. arc used to be with 3 sets of hands in their faces.

Hamilton is a quick team with a trough press.  They have a big time offense and are used to scoring a lot of points.  While they have a decent half court defense they give up holes to the lane, and a lot of open mid-range and 3pt. shots.  They have a lot of size and hight to complent their quickness and they pack the paint to prevent the easy layups and pull down rebounds (which they do extremely well).  You're not going to play a low scoring game against the Continentals, but you can beat them in a high scoring game with decent mid-range shooting because you'll get plenty of chances.  Unfortunately for Bates they couldn't capitalize on the chances.

Hopefully Bates can have some success against USM on Tuesday.  USM has had success against Bates of late, but this time the Huskies are traveling to Lewiston, and Bates is looking to get back to winning ways quickly.

Cheers,
Red1

Bates 58-Rhode Island College 39.  Does anyone know anything about this game beyond the score?  It appeared that neither team could hit a shot to save their lives.  Was this a product of good defense all around or just poor shooting?  Any analysis would be appreciated if someone out there saw it.

Thanks,
Red1

Bates 80-Wells 63  (Sorry, but I don't know anything about Trinity this year

9 players had 10 or more minutes for Bates who pretty much played 11 players deep for the game.  Brian Ellis and Chris Wilson are clearly the strongest players on the team, but there isn't really any major star.  Bates depth allows them to run a lot, and wear down teams that aren't as deep.  With no clear cut stars, and 5 solid players on the court all them time (with 4-6 more solid players coming off the bench) it gives Bates lots of options, and prevents teams from focusing on shutting down 1 or 2 specific players.

Wells is in their first year of full participation in NCAA DIII, but don't be too quick to judge.  They are speedy and scrappy.  They hung tough for a little while (pretty much until Bates decided to put it away).  Their full-court press for the entire game definitely game Bates some trouble early on, but it didn't take long for Bates to figure it out and start burning Wells regularly.

Bates may not be flashy, and they may not be full of those perennial names that float around this board almost daily, but look for the bobcats to get some big wins in Nescac.  Coach Furbush has definitely given this team more variety, improved the offense, and has a hard working well oiled machine on the court.

Hamilton 107-Mt. St. Vincent 93.  Why did I put this here?  Just because Bates plays the winner of that game in the Hamilton tip-off tournament championship game.  Although Hamilton won it appeared that neither team had ever heard the word defense in their lives.  Tomorrow's game will certainly be interesting.

Cheers,
Red1