Quote from: grabtherim on February 10, 2013, 10:38:11 AM

Quote from: nescac1 on February 10, 2013, 10:18:12 AM
Still flummoxed re: what happened with Wesleyan.  I think they just never developed enough depth beyond the current senior class, all of whom have been playing at the same level, roughly, as a year or so ago (but also, that group plateaued without developing from stars into superstars).  Usually teams gets a boost from the development of rising sophomores, but Wesleyan's current sophomore class seems to have no above-average-starter caliber guys.  Julian Harris came in with a ton of hype, and showed a lot of talent at times, but never seemed to be a good fit and now has apparently left the program.  He was supposed to be the missing piece.  Still, though, the Cards over the years have showed that playing their best, they can hang with anyone in the league, but at their worst, can lose to anyone in the league.  Really inconsistent and perplexing.  Next year, after losing three 1000 point scorers, could be REALLY rough for Wesleyan.  OR maybe it will be a mega-Ewing theory and they will surprise everyone. 

Bowdoin, meanwhile, seems to be going the other direction.  The key for the future is Swords.  They have a great table-setting point guard in Hurley (who I think may end up setting a single-season NESCAC record for assist average, but so far as i know, no NESCAC record book is maintained online), two solid and very experienced wing shooters in Madlinger and Mattias, and one of the better all-around talents in the league in Pieiri all coming back next year.  Swords though will be the only returning big guy, and if he can develop into a consistent force for 30 mpg on both ends (he's shown flashes but yet to do it over long stretches of multiple games, he can look fantastic or disappear) as he has the potential to do, Bowdoin will have a very, very strong starting five.  They also could use one or two more guys in the incoming recruiting class to help with depth, as they only have one bench guy right now (other than Swords) who contributes much.

I cannot figure the Cardinals out either.  Assuming they make the tournament, I still see them as a dangerous team but would not be surprised if they get beat badly either.  Strange. Agree with you on Bowdoin. The pieces are in place for an up tick which can start this post season,  but should definitely take place next year. If they bring in or develop a big forward, watch out.

Good win by Bowdoin last night, but the truth is Wesleyan's poor play definitely helped! Stagier had a career night - wish he would have played this way all year - as Wesleyan couldn't stop Bowdoin's inside attack. Hopefully Bowdoin will keep things rolling, as they will play an improving Tufts team in the first round of the NESCAC tournament.  I agree next year could be interesting, albeit seems like I find myself saying that every year. Starting core of the team is intact, but bench will be weak and Bowdoin has yet to show it can win a game against the top half of the league.   

Quote from: SE_D3_fan on February 03, 2013, 11:10:00 AM
Yes, two tough back to back losses for the Polar Bears but I'm optimistic.  While they didn't threaten Midd the game was never out of reach. And they went toe-to-toe with Williams the entire game.  The play of their bigs is improving and I'll keep my fingers crossed that they put together a strong run during the last few games and into the conference tournament.

Unfortunately Bowdoin has a habit over the years of playing good teams close then losing in the end! Not convinced that Gilbride is as good of a coach - especially in tight games - as people make him out to be.  I hope you are right about the polar bears putting together a strong run. I am a bit more pessimistic, - Wesleyan is desperate and needs a sweep this coming weekend. If past history is an indicator it is more likely that Bowdoin will split their two games and lose in the first round of the conference tournament.

Quote from: madzillagd on February 02, 2013, 04:22:24 PM
Williams somehow manages to win 2 in Maine this weekend but I'm still not 100% sure how.  For the second day (week?) in a row the Ephs struggled to score points and nearly let the win slip away.  Total bench points for Williams today: 1.  Overall bench scoring vs their opponents this weekend:  11-46.  Outscored by 35 points off the bench in two games yet they managed to pull it out.  Nice to get the wins but doesn't leave me with much confidence going into the Amherst matchup on Friday. 

Probably more than any other team this year Bowdoin really took advantage of the Ephs zone.  They seemed to get whatever shots they wanted against it in the first half.  Despite, Epley's 19 first half points, none of the other Ephs were hitting shots consistently and they couldn't build any type of lead.  In the 2nd half, Williams came out and play man to man exclusively for the first 8 minutes and it worked.  Bowdoin began to get frustrated, force shots and Williams was able to build a 9 point lead.  Then around the 12 minute mark, Williams brought in the subs and switched to the zone.  Poof! In just over a minute the lead was down to 1 and Maker was forced to put the starters back in with just over 10 minutes to go - they never came out again.  Back and forth until the end of regulation with Bowdoin getting the last shot, but a deep 3 wasn't close.

In OT, experience really took over and Williams took control of the game in about a minute.  Bowdoin hit a 3 but after that Williams put the clamps down on defense, rebounded and pushed the ball up the floor.  Once Bowdoin was down by 4, they started taking bad shots and it was over quickly.  Sort of a let down after the hard fought game. 

As for individual performances, as mentioned Epley had a big first half with 19 but was shut down the rest of the game and finished with 21.  Maker dominated the post most of the game and finished with 22 pts, 11 rbs, 3 asts.  I know there was a lot of hope that Swords would give him trouble but he just couldn't keep up, fouling out in 7 mins with 2 pts, 3 rbs.  Hurley was fantastic and ended the game with 14 assists but the Ephs did a great job of getting in his face so he didn't score too.  2-12 on the day for Hurley, 2-8 from 3.  Interesting thing to see was Epley spent a good portion of the day guarding Hurley as did Wohl occasionally which was an interesting choice.  I'm assuming it was to allow the Ephs to have a desired rotation on the pick and roll but the added height helped prevent Hurley from getting open shots.

It was Senior day at Bowdoin and the game had the makings of a major upset. However, typical Bowdoin, they got out scored 15-3 in overtime and lost another winnable game. Bowdoin has some talent, but can't seem to get it done when it counts again the top-tier teams in the league. Sitting at 3-5 in the conference the upcoming game against Wesleyan will be key and go a long way in determining whether the polar bears are for real, or just paper bears!

After starting the season 8-2 Bowdoin currently sit at 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the NESCAC following a disappointing 69-67 loss to Trinity today. With Williams, Middlebury and Wesleyan coming up on their schedule the Polar Bears will be fighting for their lives to capture one of the bottom playoff spots. 

Hate to admit it, but playing lower-tier non-conference foes didn't get the team ready for the night in/night out competition in the NESCAC!

Good win by Amherst tonight. Typical game for Bowdoin when they play against top-tier teams as they kept it within 10 pts, but still lose. The truth is Amherst was in control of the game from start to finish and you never got a sense that Bowdin was capable of beating them.

The University of Maine-Farmington men's basketball team knocked off Bowdoin for the first time since 1999 with a 66-62 win tonight. Tough weekend ahead as Bowdoin travels to Amherst and Trinity.

Quote from: pick and roll on January 07, 2013, 06:27:18 PM
Maine-man - any idea how Hanley is doing playing overseas.  I always liked him - nice lefty shot with good size and quickness.

Pick and roll - Hanley is having a nice season playing in Spain. He is averaging 18pts and 11rbs a game. Good chance of moving to a higher level European league next year.

Quote from: nescac1 on January 06, 2013, 08:05:03 PM
Regarding Bowdoin, my impression, over the years, is that they are always very well-coached.  They rarely have a ton of talent ... usually between two and four good players who might start on Williams, Amherst or Midd, and then all the rest role players ... but they rarely beat themselves on either end, and tend to get some easy baskets out of running the offense and good teamwork.  They've certainly had a few wins / narrow losses vs. more-talented Williams squads.  The Bowdoin coach would be more appreciated if he was able to recruit just a few more stud players.  This year seems to fit the typical formula of relying on three solid players (Pieri, Madlinger, Hurley) without much help.

Bowdoin is a great academic institution that should definitely be able to attract top talent, like Williams, Amherst and Midd. (Bowdoin's women's program has historically been successful in getting a lot of top talent, but not the men's program.)  My belief is Gilbride's style of play does not convince top-tier student-athletes to come to Bowdoin and is a deterrent to getting more stud players. Bowdoin is competitive, but they play conservative and rarely win the big games when they count. Don't see that changing this year.

toad22 - I have seen Bowdoin play a couple of times this year and unfortunately have to agree with Bucket. Beating low level Maine schools, is a lot different than winning in the NESCAC, not withstanding their wins over Bates, Colby and Hamilton. Bowdoin will have a tough time against the upper tier of the NESCAC and will I predict will finish 6/7th in the league. As you say we'll see!

Congratulations to Amherst, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Bates on their wins yesterday!  It sounds as if the Williams/Middlebury game was as good as advertised.  I watched the Wesleyan/Bowdoin game and it was a blow out.  Wesleyan played an all-around solid game, while Bowdoin looked lost on the court, and was in disarray.  Good luck to everyone this week.

I respect "Old Guy's" comments and opinion.  This year on a given night any team in the NESCAC could feasibily beat another.  However, I stand by my earlier post.  There is a difference, albeit slight, among the teams in the league.  For the sake of a good debate, heading into this final weekend I would stack the teams as follows:  1st tier - Middlebury and Amherst, 2nd tier - Wesleyan and Tufts, 3rd tier - Williams, Bates, Bowdoin, 4th tier - All the rest.  Hopefully a few of my lower tier picks will prove me wrong :-)!

Nice win by Bowdoin.  Had to laugh reading some of the posts, as you would think Bowdoin beat a great Williams team for the championship.  Keeping things in perspective Williams has lost to Tufts, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Amherst this year.  So they are definitively not as good as prior years.  Both teams have tough games this coming week, Williams/Amherst and Bowdoin/Wesleyan. With a lost either Williams or Bowdoin will end up as 6/7 seed in NESCAC.  Game last night was really between two mid-tier teams as opposed to two of the top teams in the league!

Amh63 I watched the Bowdoin/Amherst game.  Good game for first 30 minutes then Amherst took over.  You are correct in saying the Bowdoin offense revolves almost entirely around Hanley.  Balance of the Bowdoin offense is the guards taking 3 pt shots, with little pentration to the basket. Also, it was apparent that Amherst was the more physical and athletic team. That led to the number of fouls called on Bowdoin.  Interesting fact is Hanley played 39 minutes last night.  Will be watching to see how he holds up playing big minutes in back to back games.

BTW...  Any Bowdoin followers know why Justin Nowell who was a part of the Hanley/McConnell/Nowell core last year, is not starting and/or playing much for Bowdoin?  When he was in the game today he brought energy and monentum, which Bowdoin desperately needed.

Bates beats Bowdoin 81-60.  Great win for Bates and an embrassing lost by Bowdoin!!!  Looks like Bates is the best team in Maine, while Bowdoin will be fighting to get one of the last spots in the NESCAC tournament.