MBB: Liberty League

[UfanBill]

stlawus (Larriesguy)... as a long ago RPI player and Asst Coach... I appreciate your writeups... Keep them coming!!!

Note, when I played 69-71   conference was ICAC (Independent Collegiente Athletic Conference)... 6 teams RPI, Union, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Hobart, Alfred....  We won the Conference my Soph year, winning at Union in decisive game... after that Tedesco came along, Union probably won it my junior, Senior years
Of Course Skidmore, Bard, Vassar were women's schools back then... RIT, Ithaca joined us later to make an 8 team conference in the 70's
D3 didn't exist until 3 years after I graduated (1974)...we were "college division" when I played

Good to hear from you hopefan. We've exchanged pleasantries before. Stlawus is the only current regular contributor to this LL basketball page and I too thank him for that. I read this thread once or twice weekly and contribute infrequently as I'm primarily a football guy never missing a home game and traveling a couple of times a season. I do follow ALL Union sports and usually show up at a hoop or hockey game or two as well as a few baseball and lacrosse games each spring. It's a function of whether I get my old body moving that day. The convenience of streaming has contributed to my laziness. 

[hopefan]

Bard was never a women's college. Vassar began enrolling men in 1969 and Skidmore in 1971.

Good point Caz... my mistake.... Let's just say Bard wasn't on the college basketball NCAA map back then....
Caz, would you be able to research when each of those schools started playing D3hoops, and when they joined the current LL teams in conference?

[d3d3d3]

Bard joined the NCAA in 1992 and the Liberty League in 2011-12

[Caz Bombers]

Vassar joined NCAA Division III in 1980 and the LL (UCAA at the time) in 2000. Skidmore doesn't have this kind of history info easily accessible on their website, but based on their "championship history" page they have been in the conference since at least the mid-90s.

[stlawus]

Pretty crazy day in the Liberty League.  Hobart beats Union on a buzzer beater identical to the one that knocked them out of the league playoffs last year against Vassar.  I wonder what the odds are of a league having 2 games in 2 seasons that feature a 3/4 court baseball pass from the baseline, catch turn and shoot bank shot at the buzzer, featuring the same team in both.  I imagine they are low.

Skidmore follows up a great road win against Vassar by losing to Bard.  Really great win for the Raptors, they were in control for pretty much the entire game.  They had a significant size disadvantage and were without who I think is their best player.   It would be great for the league for Bard to continue to improve like they have.

Vassar found a way to get it done against another much improved LL squad in the RIT Tigers.  Zach Johnson is still clearly struggling with his injury but he is still making a difference in the post.

Ithaca is now finding their groove notching their 6th straight win in another dominant offensive performance.  The veteran presence of the Bomber squad is paying off.  They have 4 fifth year graduate students who are putting their experience to good use. 


I could write a very long paragraph describing my elation of SLU beating RPI for the first time since 2018, but I'll keep it short.   After a disastrous 2nd half against Ithaca last night, the Scarlet and Brown follow up with a dominant defensive performance earning them a crucial road victory, against a ranked opponent no less.  Trent Adamson is playing his way into the DPOY conversation with a 5 block effort today.  According to Massey SLU had a 12% chance of winning today.  Never tell me the odds!!!

[Greek Tragedy]

Any video of the buzzer beater?

[Caz Bombers]

Any video of the buzzer beater?

https://twitter.com/HWSAthletics/status/1614427781219160067?t=06zCkcL9ctwC0gdZCuwmog&s=19

[hopefan]

That one is ESPN worthy!!!!

[d3d3d3]

It was No. 9 on ESPN's Top 10 Plays this morning ... but they referred to the player as "Meshanic Jackson," lol

[stlawus]

As it looks like IC's coach is starting to settle in, I'm reminded of Sean Burton's brief tenure as head coach.  He never got a chance to coach a game and I think most Bomber fans would agree he's on the Mount Rushmore of Ithaca basketball.   A big "what if".

[stlawus]

Another great performance by Bard tonight despite the end result.  As I mentioned before the league will greatly benefit from a competitive Raptor squad. They also have a lot of players returning next year so they might be building something here.

Becoming very apparent that Mason Memmelaar was RPI's anchor over the past few seasons.   In my opinion their offensive woes are directly attributed to his graduation.  Aside from being a great scorer and rebounder he was an excellent passer.  RPI still has a great team and of course should not be underestimated.  Even with an inconsistent offense their suffocating pack line defense is going to give them a chance to win pretty much every game. 

We'll probably start to get a good sense of how the league will sort out after this weekend's slate of games.   RPI will be at Vassar and Skidmore, and Skidmore will have a chance to showcase their flashy offense against the league's top offense in Ithaca.   SLU will have a tough road test @ RIT and Hobart. 

Interesting dynamics are currently at play.  Half the league is very strong offensively and then there are teams like SLU and RPI who are in the top 5% nationally when it comes to defensive statistics.   The ole unstoppable force meets and unmovable object adage.    Ithaca is probably the most consistent offense, but similar to Skidmore I wonder about the sustainability of their shot selection.  It worked out for them in 2020 when Riley Thompson was bombing 35 foot threes all the way to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney.  They're still shooting at a high clip right now, but several games I've noticed that they're making step backs, fade aways and desperation heaves with the shot clock expiring.  So far they've made most of them, but it's something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.   All of this applies to Skidmore as well, and we're already seeing them get bit with losses to Union and Bard. 

[stlawus]

I know the midwest leagues and NESCAC/UAA get all of the attention in d3hoops, but man the Liberty League is insane this year.  Another great night of hoops.  Vassar and RPI battle to 2 overtimes with Vassar prevailing.  Skidmore point guard gets fouled 30 feet from the basket with 0.1 seconds left down 2 and proceeds to make all 3 free throws to knock off league leader Ithaca.   SLU and RIT featured 10 lead changes and 15 ties with the Scarlet and Brown prevailing with clutch 3 point shooting down the stretch.   Clarkson stormed back against Hobart after being down 15 and almost nicked the Statesmen in a very entertaining offensive game.   Even Bard got in on the action with a big come back win against Union.   

Best part is we get to do it again tomorrow!

[Pat Coleman]

I wish the LL schools were more active in posting box scores and game stories so we could have these details to work with. We have been pushing harder with the LL and E8 and MAC this year to get more content and we have been getting some, but not RPI-Vassar, not SLU-RIT ...

[stlawus]

Nice 4 win home streak for Hobart.  Good win for them today against SLU.  SLU is offensively challenged but Hobart played really good defense. SLU is still a year away from putting it all together. So goes Jackson Meshanic, so goes Hobart.  Don't even think Rupkus was as dominant a player as Meshanic is.  He's a machine in the paint.  Hobart needs to take advantage of his last slate of games here, he'll leave a big hole in that program for a while much like Rupkus did at Skidmore. 

No surprises today after a wild Friday.  RPI and Ithaca both get much needed bounce back wins.  Bard hung around with Vassar in the first half who were without Zach Johnson again, but Vassar continues to take care of home court. 

[UfanBill]

It happened...Just as most thought it inevitable, the struggling Union Dutchmen seniors got their feel good win of the year tonight with a 68-57 upset of arch rival RPI. It's been a tough season for the Dutchmen but tonight they put all the pieces together. Nice to see.