Congratulations to WPI's Sam Longwell for being named to the D3Hoops.com Northeast All-Region 2nd Team.

Congratulations also to Babson's Joey Flannery for being named to the 1st team and also being named the region's Rookie of the Year.

Nice Article on WPI's Sam Longwell and the team on the front page of D3hoops.com.

http://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2014/wpi-sam-longwell-survive-stress

Best of Luck tonight to the Engineers.

WPI89

"the 3 ball gives us a punchers chance but I am not confident"

I agree.  This team always has the ability to light it up from beyond the arc.  The problem is when they don't do that, they struggle.  It has been worse lately as well due to the injuries to Kolb & Davis.  It has had a very large impact on the team's play.

Remember it was Kolb who had a huge run last year in the post season, including the NEWMAC tournament MVP.  Kolb did not look good in that season finale at Clark and went 4 of 13 with only 3 rebounds vs. MIT.  I hope that this week has allowed him & Davis to heal up enough to play at their normal levels.  If the recent trend of offensive output continues, I can't see how they win this game. 

As you stated, they are going to need to shoot extremely well from the perimeter.  They are going to have to get something in the paint as well.  From what I have read out here, it appears that the AM center could pose some serious problems for the Engineers.  Along with being their 2nd leading scorer at 16 ppg, he has had double-digit rebounds in 17 games this year (10.7 rpg). WPI needs to balance that with some inside offense and perhaps get him into foul difficulty.

I hope every is healthy and the team can give its best possible effort.

Congratulations to MIT, Babson, Springfield & WPI for getting into the tournament.  Great for the NEWMAC.

NCAA Matchups :

MIT vs Plattsburgh St
Babson vs Gordon
Springfield vs Mary Washington
WPI vs Albertus Magnus

This looks to be a bad matchup for WPI, especially with the injury issues.  They have not scored 70 or more points since Feb. 1 and AM's lowest ouput in that same time frame has been 84 points.  AM was beating up on the weakers teams they play, WPI was struggling to handle the teams at the bottom of the NEWMAC.  You have to believe that (besides the obvious importance of this being an NCAA tourney game)AM is looking to make a statement in this one about where they feel they belong in the Northeast pecking order.  I seem to remember someone saying that these two scrimmaged at the beginning of the season.  Anyone lend some insight on how that went?  I know neither team is what they were way back then, but it’s still nice fodder for the forum. 

The Engineers must tighten up their interior defense.  In the team’s 4 losses, they have lost the PIP battle each time. 3 times being doubled up on.  They have to contend with a very potent inside outside combo in Watson( 21.9ppg/4.9rpg) & Ljulidjuraj(16 ppg/10.7 rpg/3.7 bpg).

Babson/Gordon could be a very good game with some talented big men matching up.  This will be a big game for Flannery and Kenny Ross MUST stay out of foul trouble.  The Beavers struggled after he fouled out of the NEWMAC semis, even on simple inbound plays down the stretch of regulation play.

MIT/Plattsburgh St – I do not know much about Plattsburgh, but MIT is currently playing its best ball of the season.  If Redfield and crew can stay out of foul trouble, MIT stands a good chance.

Springfield/Mary Washington – Another team I know little to nothing about at the moment.  The pride are a streaky team and will battle the entire 40 minutes.  If their opponent offers up a chance for them to take the game, they usually capitalize on it.

Dave

Thanks for the quick reply.  Occassionaly, I like being wrong

This is article in the Worcester paper highlight to local players on the WPI team.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140225/COLUMN11/302269952/1009/SPORTS

The article also reveals a couple of disturbing pieces of information for WPI fans.  Both Ryan Kolb and Aaron Davis are injured.  The article says Davis is questionable for the NEWMC tournament.

This not the same team as last year and is not even the same team that was playing better earlier this season.

If they were to lose to MIT tomorrow, I wonder how much these injuries might impact their final seeding position in the regional rankings.  I beleive the NCAA takes injuries into account, but how much weight would it carry?  Or am I incorrect about injuries playing a role in the seedings and selection process at the D3 level?

Nice article on Chad Labove and Matt Harrington of WPI.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140225/COLUMN11/302269952/1009/SPORTS

The article also reveals a couple of disturbing pieces of information for WPI fans.  Both Ryan Kolb and Aaron Davis are injured.  This explains recent subpar games for Kolb as well as the absence of Davis over the past few games. Hopefully this week of rest has helped both.  Kolb has only scored 12 pts in the last 3 games on 4 of 21 from the field.  The article says Davis is questionable for the NEWMC tournament.

This team has struggled to win recently. I watched the Clark game last weekend online and came away very unimpressed.  In a game that should have been an easy victory,  they surrendered an early 20-5 lead and Clark had the ball with under 2 minutes to go with a chance to tie the game.  Big performances by Longwell and Mastacusa brought home the win for the Engineers.

I think they win tomorrow, but I think they lose to Babson on Sunday if the Beavers defeat Springfield .

"Remember the National Selection Committee can and often does overrule a regional committee's ranking if they feel it's inappropriate."

They may be able to, but "often"?  Do we have any info on exactly how often?  I am sure every year there could be cases made.  Perhaps if you are correct this is the biggest reason that last set of regional rankings are not made public.

WPI89

I would not worry.  In 2002-03 Clark beat WPI twice, since then they have only won 4 other times.  The last time was the 2009-10 NEWMAC Championship game.  I expect WPI to win walking away.

Any predictions on All-conference and the other awards?

1st Team
J. Flannery (Babson)
S. Longwell (WPI)
J. Wickey (Babson)
R. Burke (Springfield)
M. Thorpe (Emerson)

2nd team
R. Kolb (WPI)
M. RedField (MIT)
N. Deprato (Clark)
A. Gregory (Wheaton)
A. Musler (Clark)

POY – J. Flanney (Babson)
COY – S. Brennan (Babson)
ROY - J. Flanney (Babson)

Congratulations to WPI for winning 20 or more games for the 11th consecutive season with their 56-45 win over Coast Guard.  The team is still struggling though. Hopefully with senior day and the regular season wrap up with Clark this week, they can get thing back on track. I did not see the game online, but curious if anyone did.  I was very curious to see Kolb's stat line.  Only 3 minutes in the 2nd half of a contested game.  Hopefully is was nothing more that something like the flu that limited his playing time. 

Upon further review, my original assessment has been overturned.

The Engineers will NOT have to face Springfield & Babson in the NEWMAC tournament.  If the current standings hold, WPI will play the winner of the MIT-Emerson 1st round game and Springfield & Babson will face each other in the semis.

The best thing for the team now is to focus on winning out and build toward the post-season.  Win the Automatic bid and things will take care of themselves - most likely in  the form of another hosting on the opening weekend.

The regional rankings may or may not be an issue if they lose in the semis of the NEWMAC tournment though.  IF things hold true to form the remiander of the season, it is likely they will have to go through Springfield & Babson to get that Pool A slot.  They really need to tighten things up and blow out the opposition in the these last 3 regular season games and be hitting on all cylinders going into that tournament.  The last few games it has looked like they are just doing enough to get by - and that has bitten them twice already.

Very tough week for Engineers - WPI falls down to #12 in the latest D3hoops poll.  They should be able to make some of that back up as they have MIT, Coast Guard, Wheaton & Clark remaining on the schedule.  I do not believe MIT can beat them and they should dispatch the other 3 easily.  They should finish with the #1 seed for the conference tournament, but there are three teams in Emerson, Springfield and Babson who can defeat them in that opening game (Semi-final round).  Some good news for the team though – I believe both Ryan Kolb & Sam Longwell are closing in on 1,000 career points.

The question now is how far they fell in the regional rankings that come out on Wednesday.

Nice Win for WPI on Sat. against Springfield.  Great game from Dom Mastascusa - 19pts, 3 blks.  The Engineers have a huge lead in the conference now.  Also with the Amherst loss to Colby, WPI should be sitting atop the regional rankings (I think those come out this week).

If you are a Pride supporter though you have to be asking yourself ... In a game where we shot 36% as a team - Why does the conference leader in FG% get only 4 FGAs?  WPI's defense can account for some that, but certainly not all of it.  Huge blown opportunity for the Pride.

Congratulations to Sam Longwell for being named NEWMAC Player of the Week.  He is the first WPI player to garner the award this season.

WPI89

I did not mean to raise the ire of the group, I was just trying to be fair since I got on MIT a couple of years back where outside the conference they were not scheduling much different than the years when they were doormats.  You know I support the Engineers wholeheartedly, but it is time for them to push forward and take that next step.  I want to see them break through the second round barrier and go even further.  The experience of playing teams that have been consistently getting to the Sweet 16 and beyond can only help.  To be honest, how would losing to one of the big 3 or 4 of the NESCAC hurt (as opposed to losing to Castleton)?
While winning 20+ and then bowing out in the 2nd round is still a very good year, the goal now should be to compete for the national title (Bartley has even stated this on the Hoopsville show a couple of times over the past few years), especially when you are being looked at from the eyes of the poll voters as a team that is now in that discussion again.  Why would you settle for losing your 2nd game in the tournament?

"What incentive is there for a good WPI team to schedule up?"

The experience of playing these high-caliber programs can only help a team in that is looking to go deep into March. I would say over the last few years that Williams, Amherst & Middlebury have definitely benefited from playing each other.

So I guess my question would be, what is the harm that would come from WPI playing an Amherst,Williams...etc.  Williams lost to Amherst the first time and dropped from 5th to 10th, after the second loss they fell from 9th to 11th. These losses have not destroyed the Ephs season.  If you fear that losing to another top club in your region is going to damage your chances at getting an at large bid, then I would say you are certainly not serious about contending for a national title.

Even in D1, we see more and of the best teams playing each other.  I do realize that the single biggest driving factor is money at that level, but be honest, would you sit down and watch Duke, Kansas, or Michigan St. play Florida Atlantic or Towson?  Or would you rather see Duke Vs Michigan St or Kansas Vs Kentucky? 

Also before I forget, Congratulations to Sam Longwell for being named NEWMAC Player of the Week.  He is the first WPI player to garner the award this season.  Sam is having a fantastic season and should be POY if he keeps this up.