WBB: NEWMAC

[deiscanton]

Andy Y. + Emmanuel prevail over Babson

Emmanuel probably beats Babson by 4 points-- this game will be close.   Emmanuel will be ready-- they have a lot of respect for Babson and their toughness.

I favor Colby to take the regional-- Colby will go to the sweet 16.

[pureshooter]

Andy Y. + Emmanuel prevail over Babson

I sure can pick em.  Babson shot 67% in the 1st half, 61% for the game, while Emm. shoots 27% for the game, with 8 less turnovers than Bab and 22 more shots, 0-14 from beyond the arc. OUCH!!
They must not of liked Colby's gym
Anyone there? Deis? did Davis get hurt?

[smsudi]

Yes, unfortunately Davis got hurt in the first 3 minutes of the game, and never returned.  From there it seemed as if Emmanuel was a little stunned and Babson took a huge lead and never looked back.  Should be a good one tomorrow, Babson vs. Colby, looking forward to it.

--
Scott Sudikoff
D3hoops.com Play-by-Play Announcer

[LORENZO123]

Unfortunately Davis got hurt early but Babson led from the start and never looked back. They had their game on tonight and will bring it tomorrow night against Colby. Emmanuel may have been "stunned" but Babson had the game from the tipoff.

[deiscanton]

Andy Y. + Emmanuel prevail over Babson

I sure can pick em.  Babson shot 67% in the 1st half, 61% for the game, while Emm. shoots 27% for the game, with 8 less turnovers than Bab and 22 more shots, 0-14 from beyond the arc. OUCH!!
They must not of liked Colby's gym
Anyone there? Deis? did Davis get hurt?

I was following all of the games on-line-- just like I'm planning to do for the rest of this weekend due to my financial situation. 

I did not know when I was watching the first half of the Emmanuel/Babson game that Iman Davis was not playing due to her injury early in the game-- had I known that Iman Davis would not be playing, my analysis of the game would have been changed to reflect that situation.  Without Davis, Babson would have been the favorite to defeat Emmanuel, but not to win by that big of a victory margin.

Babson did make a statement in last night's game, however.  Babson has improved since their early season losses to Salem State, Eastern Connecticut, and Brandeis and the Beavers should give Colby a great game tonight-- no matter who ultimately prevails in that one.

I will still be amazed, though, if WPI actually blows out Keene State in today's ECAC semfinal. 

[deiscanton]

Congrats to Babson on advancing to the Sweet 16.  I felt going into the tournament that Babson was still about a year away from accomplishing that goal given the early season losses to Brandeis, Eastern Connecticut, and Salem State-- but the Beavers made a statement this weekend with the victories over Emmanuel and Colby that they finally belong in the Top 25-- Babson had received 1 preseason top 25 vote going into the season, but lost that vote with the 10 point loss to Brandeis in the opener.

I won't be surprised if Babson beats Gettysburg on Friday to advance to the Elite 8-- (and Babson will be in the Elite 8 1 year earlier than initially predicted if that happens)-- but Amherst may be the end of the line for Babson this season given that Amherst has only lost 1 game at home in the current GP Gromacki era.

[Maine 1]

was very impressed with Babson, particularly their post-play.  They dominated Colby's interior players, as second chance points were the difference in the game.

However, Amherst has the size and depth, and plays outstanding interior defense.  Assuming they meat up, Amherst should win easily

[PostPlay]

Hi Everyone!

Well, the new season has arrived and no surprise, Babson looks like a clear repeat in the NEWMAC. 

How good are they and can they go further in the NCAA's than last year?  Their size is impressive but can their guard play improve?
Who will play for 2nd place:  Springfield?  Wheaton?

[sumfun]

They'll have to go through Williams and/or Amherst to get farther.  Without consistently playing tough competition in the NEWMAC, that's hard to prepare for those battles.

[deiscanton]

I agree with Sumfun on this point, based on my personal observation of Amherst and Williams when those two teams visited Boston to play Emmanuel, as well as my catching Babson on the video streams this week in the Las Vegas Hoopla.    Babson does not have the consistent 3 point shooting from the guards to get past a Williams or an Amherst at this point, and NEWMAC does not provide the same type of competition that an Amherst, Williams, or an Eastern Connecticut would bring to the table.

That being said,  Babson deserves credit for the victories over Brandeis and Western Connecticut this season as well as their 2 wins in Las Vegas this week over Roanoke and Oneonta State.  I happened to watch the video streams of those 2 Las Vegas games.  In those 2 wins, Babson was able to hit clutch 3's when they counted, but Roanoke and Oneonta State are not of the same caliber as Amherst or Williams when it comes to defending against perimeter play.  That being said, the wins in Las Vegas prove that Babson should at least be able to make it back to the Sweet 16 in the NCAAs if they don't run into Williams or Amherst as a second round NCAA opponent.

Babson center Sarah Collins did get banged up 5 minutes into the game vs Oneonta State, but hopefully her injury is not too serious and she will be able to recover in time for significant action in NEWMAC play.

Going into NEWMAC play,  I believe that WPI and Wellesley will finish second and third at the end of the season, but unless they upset Babson in the NEWMAC tournament, it won't matter who finishes second or third in NEWMAC as far as NCAA postseason play is concerned.

Massey's current rankings on the top 3 NEWMAC teams as of this moment:

Babson-- 12th
WPI-- 121st
Wellesley-- 136th

No other NEWMAC teams are currently in the top 200 of DIII according to the Massey ratings.

[PostPlay]

Great report on Babson.  I saw the Emmanuel - Williams game as well and while Babson's guard play is not as solid as Williams, the 3 big kids present all sorts of problems for D3 teams. They get so many close-in, high % shots and second-chance points.

But I agree -- the NEWMAC is a much weaker conference than the NESCAC and you are right, Babson will not get many games where they will be pushed.  They should run the table in the conference.  It is amazing how much better they are than the rest of the teams -- doesn't happen often in conferences to have one team far and away better than the rest.

And what happened to Wheaton?  Really slipped.  Used to always be strong...

[deiscanton]

Postplay--

This year's Wheaton team is mostly composed of underclassmen--  first years and sophomores.     As the Wheaton coach said in her pre-season statement, her team will mostly be a "work in progress" this season.    That being said, the Lyons were able to pull off an upset over the Univ. of New England a few weeks ago, so I am not counting them out of a top 4 finish in NEWMAC just yet.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

[mass_d3fan]

MAJOR congratulations to Lauren Hannmann of WPI for being named to the Co-SIDA Academic All-District 1 Women's first team.  She will now be on the ballot for the Academic All-American team.  Extremely impressive GPA (in my mind anyway), since she is a Chemical Engineering major with a 3.82.

Good Luck to her in the All-American voting.