MBB: Liberty League

[ucaafan]

My compliments on your thorough analysis. You are a very welcome addition to this board!

[d3d3d3]

Whoa. Vassar just beat Skidmore.

[Caz Bombers]

Whoa. Vassar just beat Skidmore.

That is an absolute stunner, and combined with wins tonight by Hobart over RPI and Ithaca over RIT we have a 3-way tie at the top of the LL nearly one third of the way through the conference season.

[stlawus]

With the loss tonight against Clarkson SLU has now given up 132 threes in 12 games.  By all means, continue to play zone.   Nice win for the Brewers, I thought for sure they were going to blow us out.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Whoa. Vassar just beat Skidmore.

That is an absolute stunner, and combined with wins tonight by Hobart over RPI and Ithaca over RIT we have a 3-way tie at the top of the LL nearly one third of the way through the conference season.

It looks like they pulled a late-career Kobe on the Thoroughbreds.  Rupkus took every shot he wanted - 32 points in a loss.

[VCFan05]

Hello all, first time poster on this board, been reading for years...

About the Liberty League, I find the parity in the League this year to be quite stunning. Many probably didn't see Ithaca being where they are tied for the conference lead, but here we are. Having seen every team play this season except for RIT, I do think that the overall depth of the conference is the best it's ever been despite the possible absence of a lead dog.

It's pretty obvious also that a team like Vassar is better than their 3-9 record, having played a tough non-league schedule. Their metrics actually have them around a .500 team in expected win percentage, teams just can't continue to shoot the percentages they were against them early in the year. I'd except them to continue to compete for a spot in the conference tournament, especially with three freshmen getting more and more minutes.

The team though I find the most interesting is Bard. Like Vassar, they didn't mess around out of conference play, losing to Trinity big, but losing close games to TCNJ and Hamilton. This team is fast, they play a fun style of basketball and they are very young. If the Raptors can shoot the ball consistently going forward (just .398 right now as a team), they will be tough because they defend the perimeter well and that leads to run outs, and as Sportscenter saw last week, momentum changing dunks.

I still think things will be end up Skid-Hobart at the top, but the next four spots are very much up for grabs. The thing I find weird also, what is with the scheduling? Skidmore is currently on a seven-game conference road trip? What is that about? Guess it evens out with a equally-nice homestand.

Enjoy the weekend of games, looking forward to seeing that Bard-Hobart game, and Ithaca's first trip to North Country.

[Greek Tragedy]

Welcome to the boards, sort of. I'm sure the regulars here would love your continuing input.

[VCFan05]

Thanks Greek! Kinda missed on the Bard game, huh?

This League never ceases to amaze, just never know what you're going to get. Skidmore and Hobart today in Geneva, where visiting jump shots go to die. We'll see if the T-Breds can pull out of this slump, using their overtime win last night to get them going into today's huge game.

Ithaca just continues to roll on, and Union gutted out a win at Clarkson. Weckworth was always a nice complementary piece for Murphy at Union, but he's showing he can be a serious lead guard. He's fun to watch, and even tougher to play against.

And Vassar...down 15 at RPI with less than 7 to play and pulled it out on a late three from Tebay. Allowed just three points over the last 7 minutes, primarily thanks to head coach BJ Dunne switching to a zone. It totally threw the Engineers out of whack, allowing for a comeback. Freshmen are coming along, and if they win today at RIT you'll be in the top four.

Bard-RPI, who knows at this point, right?

Excited about another day of Liberty League hoops.

[Caz Bombers]

I don't know what's going on with the Liberty League website tonight, they have the Vassar-RIT winner wrong with a wrong score and the Skidmore-Hobart score wrong. Those were actually the scores from the women's games.

[Bartman]

Hobart dominated Skidmore at home last night 89-74, with epic 30 point game from Jamal Lucas. Hobart offense was also well balanced with solid efforts from Dougherty,Dan M and Lescoe. Skidmore is very talented but Hobart was relentless and pushed the ball all night. With Ithaca loss Statesmen in sole possession of first. Long way to go in the season, so celebration should be brief.

[d3d3d3]

Liberty League provides the definition of parity in 2017-18. Who the stronger teams are is obvious, but clearly anyone can beat anyone this season.
(Conference records)
Hobart (6-1) with a loss to Union (3-3)
Skidmore (5-2) with losses to Vassar (3-4) and Hobart
Ithaca (5-2) with losses to Hobart and Clarkson (2-5)
RIT (4-3) with losses only to the top 3 (Hobart, Skidmore, Ithaca)
Union (3-3) with a win over Hobart
RPI (3-4) with wins only vs. bottom three
Vassar (3-4) with wins over Skidmore and RPI
Bard (2-4) with wins over Clarkson and SLU
Clarkson (2-5) with wins over Ithaca and SLU
SLU (1-6) with a win over Vassar

The eye test says Hobart is playing better than anyone right now, but nobody would want to sign up to play Skidmore or Ithaca in the playoffs.

[Libertatem Foederis]

Liberty League Power Ranking (Week 3)
1. Hobart (11-3 Overall , 6-1 in League, Movement +1) : 3-0 this week and crushed everyone, average margin of victory this week was 22 pts! 
2. Ithaca (10-4 Overall , 5-2 in League, Movement +1) : A bad lose to Clarkson, but I still have them moving up going 2-1 this week and Skidmore dropping.
3. Skidmore (9-4 Overall , 5-2 in League, Movement -2) : Skidmore is in a funk, going 1-2 this week barely. easily could have been 0-3
4. Union (7-5 Overall, 3-3 in League, Movement +1) : 2-0 in the north country this week. has not played a game @ home since Dec. 11th & won't until Jan. 19th.  having said that they are 3-2 on this road trip and trending upward.
5. RIT (6-8 Overall, 4-3 in League, Movement -1) : 1-2 this week, playing some tough teams & nearly going 3-0 for the week with a 1 point lose to Skidmore.  leads the league with Overtime games (3), I feel this experience could really pay off later in the year.
6. Vassar (4-10 Overall , 3-4 in League , Movement: +3) : 2-1 with a huge win over Skidmore and following that up with a W over RPI, the biggest mover of the league. The hardest team for me to gauge where they should be on this list.
7. RPI (8-6 Overall , 3-4 in League , Movement: -1) : snapped a 5 game skid with a W of Bard this weekend. a really tough lose to Vassar @ home this weekend.  Up 15 points with 6 & 1/2 to go in the game and lost by 3.  Vassar goes on a 21-3 run to win the game.
8. Clarkson (6-8 Overall, 2-5 in League, Movement: +2) : Clarkson got back home & went 2-1 this week, nearly 3-0 w/ the OT lose to Union. They are home for the rest of the month so they could be a out for Jan.
9. Bard (4-9 Overall, 2-4 in League, Movement: -2) : dropped 2 games this week. They are last in the league shooting the ball (36.1%) & this weekend they shot 34% vs RPI & 33% vs Hobart
10. St. Lawrence (3-11 Overall, 1-6 in League, Movement: -2) : 0-3 this week, & wasn't very competitive any of the games with exception to the Union game.

Really tough power ranking to handicap this week, a lot of movement.  If it happens to continue like this it will be a fun next 2 months! I see the league in 3 tiers , #1 : 1-3 (Hobart, Ithaca, Skidmore) @ the moment I think they are in a group by themselves.  #2 4-6 (Union, RIT , Vassar) not a lot separating them & Vassar is on the move we'll see if they can maintain it.  #3 7-10 (RPI, Clarkson, Bard , SLU) I think RPI is the best of this group, I think Vassar is the key for them to either move up or stay.

[VCFan05]

Great rankings!!

After this weekend, it would appear that Hobart is the best team in the conference right now. Their ability to score in so many different ways, and the length that they have on the wings allow them to pretty much dictate a lot during games.

There are so many teams in this conference that I'm just not sure about. RPI gives up a 15-point lead with seven minutes to go at home to Vassar, and then RIT comes back from down seven with six to play to beat Vassar at home. To be honest, I watched some of that second half, and Vassar looked tired at the end of the game. Having to play at RPI, and then travel to RIT the next day? Yikes.

Ithaca going 1-1 in North Country isn't bad for their first trip there, it's a tough one. Union though, not a problem for them, who continue to fend off the "They lost everyone" argument coming into the year. Clarkson, I'm a big fan of Higgins. He is a very good player, and can score a ton of ways. When they have him and Canary on the floor together, they can be tough to stop.

Big weekend coming up around the middle of the standings, and things are sure to shake up after Friday.

[Bartman]

Libertatem,
     Thanks for your rankings and perspective. This should be an interesting race and very interesting tournament at the end of the season. As a Hobart fan , I am very happy with Coach Sweeney and the team chemistry this year....we will see if they can maintain the current pace. Having seen both Skidmore and Ithaca live, these are talented D3 squads and grouping them as the top LL tier makes sense.

[Bartman]

I thought Hobart might get some points in the Top25 poll, but not even a sniff. However Rochester is No. 25 with the same 11-3 record and Hobart beat them h2h...oh well, winning the LL should really be the focus for now.