MBB: Liberty League

[bucketsallday]

vassar and slu are both going to be loaded this year. vassar has alot of guys that cause matchup problems - larry avitable, joey davis and tyson brazell can all play four positions, and all are versatile offensive players. solid point guard combo of lenny holt and danny forcella that complement each others styles very well - forcella is a dead eye shooter, while holt is more of a play maker. butterworth is streaky, but when hes on could be the best shooter in the conference. matt nunn and jon swartz are both good role players, but kyle magnus is the x-factor of this years team. if he can rebound, block shots, and provide a presence in the paint on both ends, vassar could go a long way.

[with age comes?]

I'm really anxious to see Vassar this year.  Haven't seen them for years but I believe they could be the team to beat along with SLU.  Hamilton lost a lot to graduation so they may have trouble being the favorite this year.  Hobart beating St John Fisher tonight is also very interesting.  Love to hear about that game.  I always love to see the mighty Cardinals take a little tumble.

[shooters]

Weird how Hamilton is the only undefeated team in the LL right now, and what about STL with two losses already before we even get started with league play? I was concerned about depth and the ability to score with the Conts, but after putting up 85 and 92 I guess that wasn't a valid concern. It will be interesting to see how the Conts fair against Middlebury, that may be the game that sets the tone for the Conts this year, actually Utica should be a good game as well.

[buck1053]

Weird how Hamilton is the only undefeated team in the LL right now, and what about STL with two losses already before we even get started with league play? I was concerned about depth and the ability to score with the Conts, but after putting up 85 and 92 I guess that wasn't a valid concern. It will be interesting to see how the Conts fair against Middlebury, that may be the game that sets the tone for the Conts this year, actually Utica should be a good game as well.

Yes, it's true Hamilton is off to an undefeated start, now 3-0, but before you start trumpeting how good the Conts are, a closer inspection of the teams they beat shws a combined record of 2-6. Two of the teams Hamilton beat are winless (Medgar Evers, 85-62, and Emmanuel, 78-74), while Pitt-Bradford (a 92-76 win) is 2-1. Pitt-Bradford beat Morrisville (which is 1-1, with a win over Medgar Evers) and Westminster (Pa.), which is 0-3.

The four-point victory over Emmanuel, which also has lost to a 1-2 Moravian team (82-73) and a 2-1 MIT team (76-70).

I'm not saying Hamilton won't finish in the top 4 in the LL, but its 3-0 record isn't as impressive as it seems.

Just some food for thought.

[met_fan]

Middlebury will be the test.  They should be a strong team this year - probably a top four NESCAC team.  If Hamilton plays them even, it should be a pretty good indicator that they will have a solid season.  I agree though, that you can't tell anything from the teams they have played up to this point.

[with age comes?]

Clarkson loses 2 over the weekend.  Lost a well played squeeker to Hilbert in OT and got blown out by RIT. RIT looked very good with several freshman contributing.  Clarkson had trouble with the quickness of RIT in the early going and never really got into the game.  Also started slow against Hilbert but battled back from a 9 point half time deficit so send the game to OT but lost by 3.  They will have to take care of the ball better if they want to even contend with the best teams in the LL. Hopefull they can regroup against Caz.

[labart96]

Anybody seen Vassar or SLU play yet?  How about Hobart, RPI or Union?  Skidmore has a new coach any news from there?  Wondered who looks good? Saw Clarkson but no one else yet..

Haven't seen them, but Hobart (2-1) just upset E8 favorite SJF 84-80 other night. 

Sr Fwd John Grazioli was named RACA P.O.T.W. for posting his third straight 27-point effort on the Cardinal's home floor, and added a season-high nine rebounds.

[Caz Bombers]

Hobart by 9 at home over Alfred; Salzmann drops 29 for Hobart.

[met_fan]

The LL is looking very weak this year.  Not many (maybe not any) good wins so far.

[with age comes?]

Hobart win over SJF is a pretty good win if you ask me.  Fisher tonight beat a really good RIT team that I have seen.  And Hobart probably won't even make the ll tournament.  I suspect the frontrunners are Vassar, SLU, Hamilton and Union with Hobart and RPI potentiallly figuring in the mix. Clarkson and Skidmore will have to improve and both are young teams so that could happen too. I can also tell you without question the bottomdwellers of the E-8 (or E-9 with the addition of Stevens) are not as good as Clarkson or Skidmore.  Best of three upsate leagues will probably be SUNYAC. I've seen Potsdam and they were very good (beaten by Oswego tonight though) and I think they would defintely be a tournament team in LL.

[met_fan]

Fisher looks to be down this year, at least so far missing a player.  Supposed favorite St. Lawrence is 1-3, losing to a poor Bates team along the way.  Union has yet to impress.  Other contenders like Hamilton and Vassar have piled up wins against truly poor competition, so who knows with them.  Maybe I'll turn out to be wrong, but right now I don't get sense that the LL will be much of a force this year.

[FisherDynasty]

Agreed

[with age comes?]

We all have our opinions.  Bates was 18-7 last year with a 3-6 record in the toughest conference in the east. Vassar team virtually intact that beat a supposedly very talented Ithaca team last year in the championship game of the ECAC.  Ithaca (a team that beat Hartwick by about 40 points today). The SUNYAC will definitely be the cream but I'm not ready to count out the whole LL yet. Hamilton, Vassar and surprisingly Hobart have all been playing well.  SLU will have to be accounted for by the end of the season. Even last years' dog Skidmore is 3-3.  Worst seems to be Clarkson after a really ugly loss to Cazenovia today, but the team is young and has time to gel.  Not likely to happen vs Plattsburg on Tues though.  Certainly Alfred and Elmira don't look to be particularly strong in E-9 as both have yet to win. RPI has been playing a tough schedule and Union starts slow.  It is a little tough for the players down there now as the school is on break from before Thanksgiving until Jan.  I can't believe there's too much excitiment down there, but they tend to be a second half team and improve when the stiudent body returns.

[met_fan]

Bates is a totally different team from that one last year.  The non-conference schedule they play also contributes to their normal decent record.

[met_fan]

rough start for St. Lawrence - won't get much easier with a decent Ithaca team coming up and they get Brockport right out of the break