Quote from: nescac1 on January 11, 2025, 08:12:46 PMThree straight Trinity - Williams games - all great games - in which no one scored 60.  Those two teams aren't always pretty, but they do get after it on defense.  Awesome, gritty win for the Ephs.  Great to see Declan Porter making some huge shots, his first buckets in nearly two years - and the Ephs sure did need them! And Yates with a huge weekend looks very much for real and will only get better.  Also great to see Ben McGraw work his way back into the lineup after a tough knee injury last year.   

Wesleyan - sadly lacking a hype man on this board - is definitely looking like the big dog in NESCAC this year.  Regan just finds ways to score and the team is very deep and stifling defensively. The schedule leaves something to be desired for sure, but the way they crush most teams they play can't be ignored. A brutal four game stretch ahead will show if they are a legit national contender.

Tufts might be right there but Wesleyan has been by far the most consistent this season.  Williams (looking better with each game), Trinity and Hamilton are right there too.

We'll jump in N1...it's the year of the Cardinal in the NESCAC. Roll Cards!

It looks like Williams is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They have eight conference games left and six of them are at home including Tufts at home next week. They are getting healthy with their offensive guys returning from long layoffs and they play great defense. You heard it here first...from a WIAC guy who knows nothing about the NESCAC!

As much as I'd love that to be true Greek, with the tie breaker, Wesleyan already has a two-game lead over Williams; they are pretty clearly in the driver's seat.  And Tufts is also 2-0 and has proven to be a difficult matchup for Williams over the past three seasons, and the big duo inside will provide matchup issues once again.

I'm just happy as an Eph fan to be in the mix for a first round home game, which looked as recently as late December like it might be a stretch this season.  These late December tournaments coming off huge layoffs often seem like a low point for the season for Williams.  It certainly was last season!

Agree until Wesleyan loses they are in the drivers seat. They get tufts at home and while Trinity is away it's a 25 minute ride.
Next weekend on the road against Amherst and Hamilton. Will be interesting.
Could end up with 2/3 teams with 2 losses by end on conference play.
Williams plays it next 7 conference games at home, huge advantage.
Anything can happen.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 12, 2025, 07:25:47 AMIt looks like Williams is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They have eight conference games left and six of them are at home including Tufts at home next week. They are getting healthy with their offensive guys returning from long layoffs and they play great defense. You heard it here first...from a WIAC guy who knows nothing about the NESCAC!

Tufts went into Williams crib and won by 21 in 2023 and by 15 in 2022. Beat em last year too. Stick to the WIAC. Williams is 4th in Cac at best

An epic character win by Ephs over Trinity, made more challenging by 16 turnovers. Sammy Cooley's 9 rebounds a key to win. Puzzled by Trinity's taking 39 three-pointers, hitting only 6. Perhaps not the best game plan ... even while getting 20 more shots than Ephs.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on January 12, 2025, 11:02:04 AM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 12, 2025, 07:25:47 AMIt looks like Williams is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They have eight conference games left and six of them are at home including Tufts at home next week. They are getting healthy with their offensive guys returning from long layoffs and they play great defense. You heard it here first...from a WIAC guy who knows nothing about the NESCAC!

Tufts went into Williams crib and won by 21 in 2023 and by 15 in 2022. Beat em last year too. Stick to the WIAC. Williams is 4th in Cac at best

Maybe not the week to be puffing the chest out on here, but to each their own. Williams schedule certainly opens up now and in my opinion the league record will come down to Tufts at home, and Amherst/Hamilton on the road. If they can go 2-1 in those 3 games then 7-3 is on the cards. That and a win over Amherst in the little three game would put them squarely in the Pool C mix. Not that Bates, Colby, Bowdoin, Conn, or Midd can not beat them but it is pretty hard to imagine them losing 2 of those 5 games at home.

If you really squint, there is a 5 bid NESCAC possibility right now but that would certainly be a stretch.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on January 12, 2025, 11:02:04 AM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 12, 2025, 07:25:47 AMIt looks like Williams is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They have eight conference games left and six of them are at home including Tufts at home next week. They are getting healthy with their offensive guys returning from long layoffs and they play great defense. You heard it here first...from a WIAC guy who knows nothing about the NESCAC!

Tufts went into Williams crib and won by 21 in 2023 and by 15 in 2022. Beat em last year too. Stick to the WIAC. Williams is 4th in Cac at best

That's no fun. I'm going to politely decline your suggestion. I don't get the WIAC right much either, so may as well make it two conferences wrong.

Quote from: SpringSt7 on January 12, 2025, 01:29:13 PM

Quote from: jumbomumbo on January 12, 2025, 11:02:04 AM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 12, 2025, 07:25:47 AMIt looks like Williams is in the driver's seat for the conference title. They have eight conference games left and six of them are at home including Tufts at home next week. They are getting healthy with their offensive guys returning from long layoffs and they play great defense. You heard it here first...from a WIAC guy who knows nothing about the NESCAC!

Tufts went into Williams crib and won by 21 in 2023 and by 15 in 2022. Beat em last year too. Stick to the WIAC. Williams is 4th in Cac at best

Maybe not the week to be puffing the chest out on here, but to each their own. Williams schedule certainly opens up now and in my opinion the league record will come down to Tufts at home, and Amherst/Hamilton on the road. If they can go 2-1 in those 3 games then 7-3 is on the cards. That and a win over Amherst in the little three game would put them squarely in the Pool C mix. Not that Bates, Colby, Bowdoin, Conn, or Midd can not beat them but it is pretty hard to imagine them losing 2 of those 5 games at home.

If you really squint, there is a 5 bid NESCAC possibility right now but that would certainly be a stretch.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/

You don't have to squint too much. Williams sits at Pool C #25. Obviously a lot of work to do and a lot of moving parts, but it's not totally out of the question.

Not totally out of the question but the top 5 will cannibalize each other in some form or fashion, especially the Tufts/Hamilton/Williams range. The first two seem like locks already but the other 3 will have to take care of business against the rest of the teams in the league. Plus, one of those 5 is going to lose in the NESCAC quarterfinals at a minimum

I just don't see how anybody is a lock for the NCAAs yet. Way too many games to be played. Every team in the league is capable of winning against anybody else. I recognize that the majority of games will play out as expected, but not all of them. There will likely be 3 or  more upsets that will throw this year out of the expected. Expect it.

Quote from: SpringSt7 on January 12, 2025, 02:45:47 PMNot totally out of the question but the top 5 will cannibalize each other in some form or fashion, especially the Tufts/Hamilton/Williams range. The first two seem like locks already but the other 3 will have to take care of business against the rest of the teams in the league. Plus, one of those 5 is going to lose in the NESCAC quarterfinals at a minimum

Last year absolutely. However, with the NPI format, the bigger question is does the NESCAC get a 6th?

With a huge weekend of league play ahead, especially among the Wes/Hamilton/Trinity/Amherst quartet (4 of the league's top six in NPI) and Tufts v Williams (the other two), I'd say in terms of Pool C implications for anyone who can go 2-0:

Wesleyan - NCAA tourney lock, in driver's seat for a top seed

Hamilton - essentially a tourney lock, could afford several losses, in great position to host at least a pod

Tufts - near tourney lock, could afford several losses

Williams - in great position, but a good amount more work to do

Amherst - in great position, but a good amount more work to do

Odds are things end up a lot more muddled, of course! 

Quote from: nescac1 on January 13, 2025, 07:40:58 AMWith a huge weekend of league play ahead, especially among the Wes/Hamilton/Trinity/Amherst quartet (4 of the league's top six in NPI) and Tufts v Williams (the other two), I'd say in terms of Pool C implications for anyone who can go 2-0:

Wesleyan - NCAA tourney lock, in driver's seat for a top seed

Hamilton - essentially a tourney lock, could afford several losses, in great position to host at least a pod

Tufts - near tourney lock, could afford several losses

Williams - in great position, but a good amount more work to do

Amherst - in great position, but a good amount more work to do

Odds are things end up a lot more muddled, of course! 

If Hamilton's weak strength of schedule gets rewarded with a home pod in the NCAA tournament, that will be the day I stop paying attention to anything anyone says about the tournament. They got it handed to them by Stockton this year, who if anyone remembers, was a highly controversial tournament pick last year. And that was the one good non-conference team they scheduled.

I was at the Hamilton-Stockton game and Hamilton looked so bad, I was ready to write them off completely for the year as a national contender.  I did tune into the tournament last weekend at Stevens, though, and they looked completely different.  Not sure they're at contender status, but they're definitely competitive for the Top 25.  Much improved play, especially in the post.

I expect NESCAC play to really prove whether that's a temporary improvement or a more permanent thing.  I'm quite grateful, actually, that they're in a strong conference with a lot of size.  Very helpful for evaluation.