MBB: Liberty League

Ice Bear · January 08, 2022, 04:03:42 PM

Ice Bear is very happy with the Dutchmen's 20 pt W today over SUNY POLY out in Utica today. Ice thinks this is exactly what the Hooping Garnet needed to start the second half of the season. Next up looks to be Vassar at home this Tuesday.

Congrats Coach Murphy on your 100th win at the U!

stlawus · January 08, 2022, 05:41:47 PM

Extremely porous 2nd half defense and awful FT shooting earns SLU a loss at Vassar just as I thought would happen since SLU never matches up well with them. Just a brutal final 10 minutes that saw Vassar go 11-14 in one stretch that included all of those points coming directly under the basket. It is inexcusable to give up 44 points in the paint when you have that much length under the rim. Vassar now undefeated in the league at 5-0.

stlawus · January 10, 2022, 04:44:51 PM

So I'm sure pretty much nobody expected Vassar to be 9-2 and first place in the Liberty League with a 5-0 record with wins against Ithaca, Hobart and SLU. Shows you how much we knew (or didn't rather) after losing last year to covid. If they're healthy RPI is still the favorite, but there's some more competition this year at the least. I still think Ithaca is dangerous in the sense that they can beat anyone with their offense. SLU is having a decent year but their PG has hit a bit of a first year wall which is having a noticeable effect. Downs not being able to coach last weekend certainly didn't help.

The most disappointing season so far is without a doubt Hobart. The departures of Lescoe and Masino have really hurt the Statesmen. They have the coaching to right the ship, and I highly doubt they spend more than one season in the dregs of the LL.

I have said for the last 3 years that Union is also a dangerous team if they play to their potential and remain consistent. They have a history of getting hot in the end and wrecking everyone else's season.

Skidmore is also an interesting case. They have the biggest starting 5 in the league, and have lost a few games that they should have won. They played a very close game on the road against a very good Middlebury squad. I can definitely see the Liberty League cannibalizing itself the next 2 months which unfortunately will likely result in the league losing some bids.

Ice Bear · January 12, 2022, 10:52:44 AM

Ice Bear says huge ****ing win for the Dutchmen last night at the Viniar Athletic Center in Schenectady! Dutch went down 16 early and battled back to win the game 79-65. Huge win for the U and brings them to 3-1 in the LL. Ice isn't sure if Union is consistent enough to make a run here but they couldn't have started the second half of the season better. Ice looks forward to their game Friday at RIT.

stlawus · January 14, 2022, 09:16:29 PM

I don't really know what the thinking is behind SLU's offensive game plan, but they need to make changes ASAP or else they are going to start losing a lot of games. High volume low % shots early in the shot clock while committing careless turnovers is going to play you right out of the Liberty League tournament. The last 2 SLU opponents shot 23 more FG attempts combined. Defensively they are fine, but they have started the 2nd half of almost every game making only 1 or 2 field goals in the first 8 minutes.

Vassar are becoming the comeback kings, as the last 3 games they've played they were down by a decent margin in the 2nd half only to come back to win.

Ice Bear · January 15, 2022, 12:01:36 PM

Ice Bear says another nice win for the Dutchmen last night at RIT. Some very clutch plays down the stretch and a couple more when it really counted. This evening Union heads to Pumpkinland to face the 3-7 (O-3 LL) Statesmen. Ice is a bit worried about this game after his U has won a few in a row. The Bear's Garnet has to play some sound ball this evening to avoid handing the Pumpkinheads their first LL W. The Bear says...

Let's Go U

stlawus · January 15, 2022, 05:52:18 PM

Lots of upsets today. Clarkson finally gets something to show for their efforts with a win against Ithaca. It was not sustainable for Vassar to keep coming back late in the 2nd half and they finally go down to RIT. Hobart comes up clutch at the end defensively to get their first league win against Union.

And of course the only non-upset was SLU losing to RPI. SLU's offensive horror show continues with a pathetic 41 point performance. That's 81 total points on the weekend. Again, they are sound defensively but the turnovers are going to keep costing them. RPI with an astounding 30 points off turnovers today to only 7 for SLU. That's your game.

Ice Bear · January 18, 2022, 12:02:29 PM

Ice Bear sighs...tough loss at the hands of Hobart. Ice knows this team is a bit inconsistent but he loves their effort and play. Ice Hopes for a solid effort and outing at Bard this Friday.

stlawus · January 18, 2022, 08:59:42 PM

Skidmore gets back into the win column with a W against Hobart. They've had some bad luck and I think they can beat anyone if their starters all play consistently. They have the biggest starting 5 in the league by far.

RIT with a great effort against Ithaca to almost achieve the comeback but they fall short. They were down 13 with 2 and a half minutes left and got it to within 1.

SLU puts together their first real complete game of the season with a 78-52 win @ Clarkson. Clarkson was coming off a solid win against Ithaca but SLU's defense remained stalwart while the offense finally clicked. SLU shot 65% in the first half.

Ice Bear · January 20, 2022, 12:56:30 PM

Quote from: stlawus on January 18, 2022, 08:59:42 PM
Skidmore gets back into the win column with a W against Hobart. They've had some bad luck and I think they can beat anyone if their starters all play consistently. They have the biggest starting 5 in the league by far.

RIT with a great effort against Ithaca to almost achieve the comeback but they fall short. They were down 13 with 2 and a half minutes left and got it to within 1.

SLU puts together their first real complete game of the season with a 78-52 win @ Clarkson. Clarkson was coming off a solid win against Ithaca but SLU's defense remained stalwart while the offense finally clicked. SLU shot 65% in the first half.

Ice Bear says nice W for SLU stlawus, the Bear congratulates you and the Saints. Ice thinks that was just what the Saints needed.

stlawus · January 20, 2022, 06:09:12 PM

Thanks Ice Bear, another big weekend for the Saints and everyone else for that matter. If the Dutchmen play to their potential against Bard and Ithaca they can put some cushion on their league record. I say it every year, Union can be the most dangerous team if they play consistent. It's a big if, but we've seen countless times Union get hot in the 2nd half of the year to wreck the rest of the league's seasons.

Biggest matchup of the weekend is Vassar @ RPI. Are the Brewers for real? Or are they playing above their skis? Friday might tell us.

d3d3d3 · January 21, 2022, 10:41:15 AM

Hobart COVID issues - they are NOT going to Clarkson or St. Lawrence this weekend, website says. And the beat goes on ...

Ice Bear · January 21, 2022, 10:46:39 AM

Quote from: d3d3d3 on January 21, 2022, 10:41:15 AM
Hobart COVID issues - they are NOT going to Clarkson or St. Lawrence this weekend, website says. And the beat goes on ...

Ice Bear sighs with an...Ugh. Ice is sorry to hear this d3d3d3. Ice says it just keeps going...

d3d3d3 · January 21, 2022, 10:56:44 AM

Note also the Vassar-RPI game is being played at Siena with no spectators allowed.

stlawus · January 21, 2022, 09:58:59 PM

Crazy night in the Liberty League. RPI finally goes down. It's safe to say Vassar is legit. They put the screws to the Engineers from the opening tip.

Bard wins in 2 OT in a back and forth exciting game with Union. Thought for sure Bard was cooked when they missed 2 FTs at the end of the first OT.

RIT beats SLU with a shot with 1 second left. Really clutch shot that was contested. SLU lost that game because they got absolutely nothing out of the PG position. Wasted one of the best defensive performances of Trent Adamson's career, as he had 13 rebounds and 6 blocks. RIT went into a zone in the 2nd half which to their credit worked really well as SLU kept bricking the same shot at the high post which led to 8 or 10 straight points for RIT.

Only game that was somewhat expected was Ithaca winning at home against Skidmore. Skidmore actually led for most of the game but ran out of gas at the end.