The rest of the 4-8 battle looks like this:

Bates finishes #5 with a win, or a loss by Williams (have the head-to-head over Bowdoin); finishes #6 with a loss and a Williams win.

Bowdoin finishes #6 with a win, or a loss by Williams; finishes #7 with a loss and a Williams win

Hamilton gets #8 with a win or a Trinity loss

Trinity gets in at #8 with a win and a Hamilton loss

Tufts has locked down the #4 seed

Williams can finish as high as 5 and as low as 7.

The team finishes fifth with a win, a Bates loss, and a Bowdoin loss; finishes sixth, with a win and a Bowdoin loss;  if Bates and Bowdoin and Williams all win, Williams finishes seventh (all three would be 5-5, tiebreaker is record vs. top 4 teams and head-to-head; Bates would 1-3, Williams and Bowdoin would be 0-4, Bowdoin wins head-to-head), and Williams finishes seventh if they lose.

I am (surprise) prone to agree with nescac1. Maker has said all season that the Ephs will get to where they need to once they get to practice enough. Right now, they STILL aren't there. Rehab and rest for Wang, fitness workouts for Robertson and Rooke-Ley, and the Ephs will be formidable.

I think Robertson is actually the Ephs' MVP for the season right now. Maker says it all the time, and I agree with him – they are a COMPLETELY different team with him on the floor, more than with any other player.

I do have to disagree with you, nescac1, on one point:

Quote from: nescac1 on December 11, 2011, 05:45:54 PM
second team: Alex Orchowski, Will Workman, James Klemm, James Wang, Nate Robertson

I think we need to put Epley in over Wang, here. As you've been saying, he's been getting it done for Williams all year. James has the worst shooting percentage he's had in his career, overall (44 percent) or from outside the arc (40 percent). He's drawing the other team's best defenders, true – but Epley has had a better year so far, particularly when we take defense into account. Epley is scoring the same amount with significantly better efficiency, guarding guys that have 4-6 inches on him VERY well, while Wang is getting beaten on that end of the floor way too often right now.

To the team of Amherst posters: Somewhat to my chagrin, I think the loss, and playing without Toomey, will actually be good for you – just like playing without Robertson was good for the Ephs.

Looks like Amherst and Middlebury are on a real roll.

I am just hoping that the early-season trials for the Ephs will lead to success later.

Quote from: nescac1 on November 30, 2011, 10:01:23 AM
I expect that the Ephs will come out with a lot more passion in their next few games, and hopefully more cohesiveness, after finally getting a few days of practice together as a healthy unit.   Williams under Maker has always been very adept at defending the three, but not this year to-date.  Look for that to change in a hurry ...

Although the quote was not ultimately published, Maker also said that he was excited to get a few practices with the whole squad under the team's belt. This will be the first week where everyone is on the floor at the same time for an entire string of practices. So, Maker agrees with you, nescac1.

Some more analysis of the Ephs' game last night:

Although the team is hypothetically "healthy," it is really clear (at least to me) that healthy only means all the guys are on the court, nothing more.

The biggest piece that's missing is James Wang at his most explosive self. He's not making shots he has made in his sleep the past two seasons, both open threes and drives in the lane in crowds. He dug deep and turned it on for a stretch in the second half, making two key buckets, but on the whole he looks a little off. I think his play is going to ultimately determine how well the Ephs can do this year. As crucial as Robertson is for the Ephs, and as good as Klemm and Wohl are looking right now (and Wohl will only improve), I don't think Williams is going to reach its potential unless Wang plays at his best.

Wohl is going to be crucial for the Ephs this year. He made some rookie mistakes (5 TOs and several passes that should have been assists but weren't because of the quality of pass), but he singlehandedly turned the game around in the second half, going on a 7-0 run by himself; he also has great athleticism, as he threw down on one Engineer in authoritative fashion and made several other very athletic plays.

Robertson is ... so good. Clutch bucket in the final minute and great defense – we don't keep deflections officially, but I counted eight for him. Rooke-Ley looks like he's been hurt – which, obviously, he has. Epley made some big plays. He's going to be crucial.

Emerson and Mayer have to rebound better. But we knew that.

Here's hoping Maker gets the crew together and gets them to where they need to be.

Quote from: OchoLoko41 on November 30, 2011, 09:05:02 AM
Nice record setting win for the Cardinals last night.  Shasha Brown reached 1,000 points in record time for a mens basketball player.

Sasha Brown is very good. It's fun to watch him play. Congrats to him.

Just a few thoughts after watching Williams' opening weekend:

Quote from: walzy31 on November 21, 2011, 02:20:20 PM
On a side note, injuries are a big part of sports and they affect the majority of teams every year.

Very true. Hoping the the Ephs' early season injuries actually help in the long run, similar to what Old Guy says about Sharry's injury w/ Midd. The result is that some kids that wouldn't have gotten time are going to. That should be useful later in the season, as long as the team isn't too far back as a result.

Wang is clearly not back to normal yet. Not even close.

Klemm's knee appears to be affecting his shot. That, or he's cold. Or both.

Freshman guard Wohl can play. He's already in the running for 2nd best perimeter defender on the team at this point (behind Robertson, in competition with Rooke-Ley and Eply), and he rebounds like a freak for his position (6'6" PG!). Look out for him as the year progresses - I don't think he has completely settled into the offense yet, but he will.

Weinheimer (6'6" sophomore wing player) clearly put in some work this summer. He looks really good when he goes to the basket. He's got a chance to be an offensive focal point next year.

Walzy, are we getting a spread on Williams-Wesleyan?

That game just killed me. We had it, and we let them take it away. Seeing Troy fall to his knees when Epley's layup rimmed out was a punch in the stomach.

Nevertheless, great season, great team. Congrats to Midd, as well - they, too, had a great season, and were a great team.

Another loaded top of the nescac next year, with some teams looking like they'll come on strong. Got a long wait till then, though!

Also, congrats to Meehan, Sharry, and Wang on making NABC's first team All-NE, and to Whittington for winning another POY award.

http://www.nabc.org/genrel/031511aab.html

Go Ephs. Go Panthers.

Quote from: amh63 on March 16, 2011, 11:44:10 AM
I see that Conor Meehan is on the all-star team that will play on the Sat. pre-game.  More reason for me to go to Salem.   Was thinking not to go down with all the Williams crowd, etc.
I was puzzled that Meehan only made the D3hoops regional 3rd team!  It is to be noted that he was selected on the regional first team by the basketball coaches.   Who votes on the D3hoops' selection?

Meehan's stats probably got in his way, to some extent. He led a pretty balanced Amherst team - but his ability to lead doesn't show up in the numbers other than victories, and if you don't follow the team, you may not realize how good he really is.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 15, 2011, 08:12:48 PM

Quote from: eph partisan on March 15, 2011, 08:06:26 PM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on March 15, 2011, 08:01:15 PM
The Final Four will be streamed online -- there's a link on our scoreboard already -- but it is NOT on television this year.

Thanks, Pat. Do you know if the streaming will be available outside the US?

Sorry for the wisecrack, but my first thought was whether the central government in your area has censured your browser under the guise of net-neutrality.

If I were able to give karma, I would. No apology necessary. Sadly, the concern is that CBS often does not broadcast anything outside the US. It's under the guise of patriotism, rather than net-neutrality.

Quote from: Pat Coleman on March 15, 2011, 08:01:15 PM
The Final Four will be streamed online -- there's a link on our scoreboard already -- but it is NOT on television this year.

Thanks, Pat. Do you know if the streaming will be available outside the US?

Quote from: JustAFan on March 15, 2011, 07:16:14 PM
Will the games in Salem be available to watch on-line or will we only be able to follow the scores via GameTracker? I haven't been able to find anything that confirms their availability on-line, and if so, whether a fee will be charged.

JustAFan, I believe that the games will be broadcast on cbs.com's online website. They were last year. They are also available on one of their cable tv packages, but I am not sure which.

Quote from: The Voice on March 15, 2011, 01:34:03 AM
Couldn't avoid the siren's call... Just bought my tickets. Planning on making the 714-mile trek by car on Friday starting early enough to hopefully catch the Williams-Wooster game. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Well done, Voice. I took a road-trip with my friends last year to Salem, and it was a great time.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 15, 2011, 05:06:30 AM
I imagine James Klemm, an underrated defensive player, will get the tough assignment, and hopefully Mickens can give some gritty minutes off the bench to help wear Franks down.  I expect that Robertson and Wang will do a good job on the Wooster guards.   On the other end, I'd make Franks work on D by trying to run Klemm off some screens. 

Wooster seems to me like the team most similar to Williams in this year's tourney.  The two teams are pretty close in both fg percent, 3 pt fg pct, scoring, threes made per game, and opponent fg percentage.  Both start an athletic 6'5 center, a 6'7-6'8 four with deep range, and three guards who can drive and shoot.  Like Williams, other than one post guy, Wooster seems to generate its offense from off the ball movement, penetration, and kick-outs to open shooters.  The one real advantage Williams has is a truly dominant inside scorer, IF Troy can play, and play to close to his usual ability level.  Otherwise, I'd say these teams are likely dead-even.

I bet they throw Rooke-Ley and Epley at Franks rather than Mickens. Both are excellent defenders - Rooke-Ley looks simply annoying to play against. You have to imagine that they will run those double screens for Klemm all day.

What bodes well for the Ephs is that they have success against teams that play like they do - it's when teams like VW and Middlebury throw variation out that they have some trouble.

If Troy can't go, Williams will not have one post scorer. Emerson is a pick-and-pop player, Dodson is many things but not a big in the classic sense of the word, and none of their guards can so much as play out of the high-post except maybe the freshmen, who won't exactly be the focal point of the offense this year. They'll have to hope that Wang, Robertson, and Klemm can carry them. What will be interesting to see is who gets Troy's minutes if he can't go. Obviously, Emerson is the safe bet for the lion's share, but the two frosh are both excellent defenders and rebounders.

On the other hand, we've already covered Troy's left handed tendencies. As long as he can catch the ball, he'll be effective.

Quote from: centfan on March 13, 2011, 10:27:12 PM
eph partisan
i agree with you about maker...great coach with great ethics....a true example.
i think it is awesome and motivating to tell his players before a game that he loves them.
then i read how you "detest" amherst players. i am well aware of the amherst/williams rivalry, but i believe in you...i think you can do better than that, and i guess coach maker would agree.

centfan, I don't actually detest Amherst players - I had hoped it was clear, from the tone of the rest of the post, that I was making a joke. I am sorry it was not! I have modified my earlier post to make it more clear. Life is too short to detest people for any reason, let alone people that you don't know simply because they wear a different shade of purple.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 12, 2011, 10:09:59 PM
... gotta give a shout out to Coach Maker.  He is a D-1 coach coaching D-3 ball...

Quote from: Old Guy on March 13, 2011, 10:28:44 AM
Coach Brown goes undiscussed:  I find the pretense of evaluating coaches problematic, but it strikes me that Jeff pushes all the right buttons.

I, also, want to sing both of these coaches praises. I'll start with Coach Brown, since I do not know him other than through watching his teams - but, he does a lot more than push the right buttons. Every single one of his players plays like they want it, each and every night, and Midd is the best defensive team I can imagine at this level. That starts and ends with the coach - with his system, his philosophy, and his ability to make the team want to play for him and for one another. Credit where credit is due: that man knows what he is doing.

As for Coach Maker, I cannot say enough good things about him. He is tactically very good, as a rule - take a look at his offense's efficiency, and his smart decision to leave Robertson and Wang to play the last 5 minutes of the last 2 games with 4 fouls each. nescac1 mentioned that he has faith in his players - but there is more to it than that. He goes about coaching the right way: winning is great, but it's honestly about the love for the game and for his team. He is 100% about playing it the right way. I wrote about this last year on the Williams website after last year's run to the national final. Last year, his pre-game speech to his players in the national title game finished like this: "I am proud of you; I love you; now let's play." He emphasizes passion, togetherness, and making the Williams community proud every time you talk to him. He genuinely means it, in my opinion, and that is what makes him special. He may get snapped up by a D1 program - but the process of leaving is going to be a hard one, if and when it happens.

Quote from: Major Hoople on March 13, 2011, 07:08:45 PM
Wolfin's NINE assists, plus 16 points were worthy of some comment from the Big Two loyalists, looked at in a vacuum or otherwise.  There is no team in the NESCAC, in my opinion, that plays better as a team than Middlebury, a tribute to Coach Brown and the players themselves

MH! I thought we were past this big two loyalist thing! Let's be clear: I am strictly an Eph loyalist. Definitely no loyalties toward the Jeffs, whose talents as basketball players I respect but thoroughly detest thoroughly wish did not play for Amherst. With that in mind, congrats on a great career to Conor Meehan; I am rather pleased that we won't have to try to keep him in check next year.

MH, you are right that a shoutout to Wolfin's passing seems to be in order. Even more of a shoutout, though, as you say, to Midd as team, though I think others have already given it better than I can. And I agree with your praise of Coach Brown.

Quote from: jayhawk on March 13, 2011, 07:25:49 PM
Middlebury versus Williams is an exciting match-up. I think Middlebury has the best balance of any team in NESCAC with a very steady coach. If neither Locke nor Sharry get into foul trouble then they can play together which is a very difficult inside matchup. Williams has the more spectacular players with Whittington and Wang with excellent supporting cast.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves - not to say you were, jayhawk. But I think it is easy for us to get excited about the possibility of an All-NESCAC final. Both teams still have serious hurdles. Wooster and St. Thomas are very good. For the Ephs, Whittington's injury is particularly daunting, though they proved this weekend that the supporting cast can step up, and I bet he'll play. I'll have to think a little bit about what Middlebury's (and Williams' other) question marks are, but I am sure I can find some or others will throw a few out there. That said, I am hoping that we get to see the matchup you are describing play out!

Right, time to give another go at escaping insomnia.