MBB: NEWMAC

[T990]

So, with that win, WPI falls to #77 in the Massey Ratings.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

MIT is #59, Wheaton is #154, but these will change daily.

[Hugenerd]

So, with that win, WPI falls to #77 in the Massey Ratings.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

MIT is #59, Wheaton is #154, but these will change daily.

I think NE appears to be down in general.  If you look at the rankings without MOV (the link above is with MOV, or margin of victory), the highest ranked NE team is Middlebury at 42.  With MOV, Middlebury is the highest at 25.  Amherst isnt even top 40 in either rankings and they are the highest ranked NE team in the d3hoops rankings.  The top NE conferences (NESCAC and NEWMAC) arent even ranked top 15 conferences in the country in either Massey Ratings.

[nescac1]

This is definitely the weakest NESCAC has been since I've been following the conference.  A combination of factors -- lots of coaching changes and new systems in place (Williams, Wesleyan, Bates, Trinity, 40 percent of the conference), the graduation of one of the best senior classes in conference history (Amherst, Bowdoin, Trinity, Conn College, and Tufts other than Pierce were basically senior-dominated teams last year, and all unsurprisingly are down or substantially down).  Midd and Colby are the only two outliers from one of these conditions -- Trinity, the team with both, has suffered the most -- and unsurprisingly,  are the only two teams who seem to be improved from last season. 

The good news is, the conference will bounce back next year.  Most of the best seniors in New England are, and this is unusual, from non-NESCAC squads (Bartolotta, Kathan, DeLucca, Johnson, etc.), the teams with the new coaches should be better after a full year to adapt to the new systems, and on paper, only Middlebury looks to be less talented overall next season.  Plus, there are a lot of strong frosh in the conference who are just now starting to make an impact.  Still, if there is ever going to be a year for a non-NESCAC new england team to snag a final four bid, this is that year.  (The last team to do so was Salem State back in 2000, another down year for the usual NESCAC contenders ...).  That being said, no one else in New England looks like a powerhouse either, so Amherst, Midd, or maybe even Williams or Colby could break through if they sneak into the NCAA's. 

[Hugenerd]

This is definitely the weakest NESCAC has been since I've been following the conference.  A combination of factors -- lots of coaching changes and new systems in place (Williams, Wesleyan, Bates, Trinity, 40 percent of the conference), the graduation of one of the best senior classes in conference history (Amherst, Bowdoin, Trinity, Conn College, and Tufts other than Pierce were basically senior-dominated teams last year, and all unsurprisingly are down or substantially down).  Midd and Colby are the only two outliers from one of these conditions -- Trinity, the team with both, has suffered the most -- and unsurprisingly,  are the only two teams who seem to be improved from last season. 

The good news is, the conference will bounce back next year.  Most of the best seniors in New England are, and this is unusual, from non-NESCAC squads (Bartolotta, Kathan, DeLucca, Johnson, etc.), the teams with the new coaches should be better after a full year to adapt to the new systems, and on paper, only Middlebury looks to be less talented overall next season.  Plus, there are a lot of strong frosh in the conference who are just now starting to make an impact.  Still, if there is ever going to be a year for a non-NESCAC new england team to snag a final four bid, this is that year.  (The last team to do so was Salem State back in 2000, another down year for the usual NESCAC contenders ...).  That being said, no one else in New England looks like a powerhouse either, so Amherst, Midd, or maybe even Williams or Colby could break through if they sneak into the NCAA's. 

Yeah, my comment was meant to be about NE in general, it just turns out that the highest ranked NE teams are from the NESCAC (Midd and Amherst) with Salem State, UMD, Brandeis, MIT, WPI, Elms, etc. following close behind.  Even the usually weak East has a top 20 team in the country (Ithaca, Rochester is also rated 26, St. John Fisher is 31) and the NE doesnt even have a team in the top 40 ( in the non-MOV ratings).

[Pat Coleman]

So, with that win, WPI falls to #77 in the Massey Ratings.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

MIT is #59, Wheaton is #154, but these will change daily.

I think NE appears to be down in general.  If you look at the rankings with MOV (the link above is with MOV, or margin of victory), the highest ranked NE team is Middlebury at 42.  With MOV, Middlebury is the highest at 25.  Amherst isnt even top 40 in either rankings and they are the highest ranked NE team in the d3hoops rankings. 

They probably won't be for long. As was mentioned, Massey changes every day. We just change once a week, so next Monday night we'll see what's what.

[Hugenerd]

So, with that win, WPI falls to #77 in the Massey Ratings.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

MIT is #59, Wheaton is #154, but these will change daily.

I think NE appears to be down in general.  If you look at the rankings with MOV (the link above is with MOV, or margin of victory), the highest ranked NE team is Middlebury at 42.  With MOV, Middlebury is the highest at 25.  Amherst isnt even top 40 in either rankings and they are the highest ranked NE team in the d3hoops rankings. 

They probably won't be for long. As was mentioned, Massey changes every day. We just change once a week, so next Monday night we'll see what's what.

I am not sure about everyday for D3, they still have Wheaton as 15-0 as of this morning and that loss occurred Wednesday night.  But I know what you are saying.

[T990]

Right, they don't actually change every day.  I see written at the top of the page today "Using games from Friday, November 7, 2008 to Tuesday, January 20, 2009".

[T990]

...Still, if there is ever going to be a year for a non-NESCAC new england team to snag a final four bid, this is that year. 

Just a reminder that last year's NEWMAC champion, Coast Guard (24-7), defeated the NESCAC champion in the NCAAs and was within an overtime loss on Ursinus' homecourt (Centennial Conference) of reaching the Final Four.  Meaning the strength of the NESCAC did not keep a New England team out of the F4.

If the NESCAC is down this year, it could mean additional Pool C bid(s) up for grabs to non-NESCAC teams.

[Hugenerd]

...Still, if there is ever going to be a year for a non-NESCAC new england team to snag a final four bid, this is that year. 

Just a reminder that last year's NEWMAC champion, Coast Guard (24-7), defeated the NESCAC champion in the NCAAs and was within an overtime loss on Ursinus' homecourt (Centennial Conference) of reaching the Final Four.  Meaning the strength of the NESCAC did not keep a New England team out of the F4.

If the NESCAC is down this year, it could mean additional Pool C bid(s) up for grabs to non-NESCAC teams.

Or additional Pool C's for non-NE teams.  There is no fixed number from each region that is selected.

[ephoops]

...Still, if there is ever going to be a year for a non-NESCAC new england team to snag a final four bid, this is that year. 

Just a reminder that last year's NEWMAC champion, Coast Guard (24-7), defeated the NESCAC champion in the NCAAs and was within an overtime loss on Ursinus' homecourt (Centennial Conference) of reaching the Final Four.  Meaning the strength of the NESCAC did not keep a New England team out of the F4.

If the NESCAC is down this year, it could mean additional Pool C bid(s) up for grabs to non-NESCAC teams.

Or additional Pool C's for non-NE teams.  There is no fixed number from each region that is selected.

I agree...it's likely that NE will see fewer Pool C bids than in the recent past

[Hugenerd]

MIT beats Clark today on the road to further their best ever NEWMAC start to 5-0 (with 4 of those wins on the road).  MIT was again led by Jimmy Bartolotta with 32 points on 12-21 shooting (3-6 from 3) and 6 boards.  Also playing well was Billy Johnson with 23 points (6-11 shooting) and 7 boards.  Bradley Gampel had 10 assists and 8 rebounds.  MIT was again lights out from the field, shooting 26-47 (55%) and 9-18 from 3 (50%)

MIT blew open what was a 3 point game at the half, with great play in the second half.  They lead by as many as 22 before coasting to an 11 point victory (Clark had an 16-5 run over the last 2:30 with the starters out to account for the final score).

WPI also won, beating Wheaton, to go to 5-0 in the NEWMAC.  WPI hosts MIT on Wednesday to see who will be the conference leader half way through the conference schedule.

[massd3fan]

hugenerd,

   I will say MIT wins this one at WPI.  With the way Johnson has adjusted to playing the 5, MIT has two definitive "go-to" players that both provide matchup difficulties for WPI.  Johnson presents a huge huge problem for WPI.  If WPI goes with their small lineup, he can take over inside, if they play their only big guy (big body, but slow) on him, he can go back outside or work him off the dribble.

  As this is JB,s last go round, and I can see him having a huge game.  I you have presented the case for him being the best player in the conference for the past few years, I can see him wanting to cement that with a major statement game.  This is MIT's opportunity to take control of the conference and give their nemesis a slap in the process.

I hope to get there to see this one, it should be a great atmosphere.

We have a couple of day's to talk this one up, besides its ore fun talking about this than the Super Bowl !

[Hugenerd]

hugenerd,

   I will say MIT wins this one at WPI.  With the way Johnson has adjusted to playing the 5, MIT has two definitive "go-to" players that both provide matchup difficulties for WPI.  Johnson presents a huge huge problem for WPI.  If WPI goes with their small lineup, he can take over inside, if they play their only big guy (big body, but slow) on him, he can go back outside or work him off the dribble.

  As this is JB,s last go round, and I can see him having a huge game.  I you have presented the case for him being the best player in the conference for the past few years, I can see him wanting to cement that with a major statement game.  This is MIT's opportunity to take control of the conference and give their nemesis a slap in the process.

I hope to get there to see this one, it should be a great atmosphere.

We have a couple of day's to talk this one up, besides its ore fun talking about this than the Super Bowl !

I wont be able to make it but I sure am looking forward to it. 

The team's are very different, considering WPI seems to have a very balanced attack with 9-10 players contributing every game, while MIT depends heavily on their starting 5 (Bartolotta and Johnson score 67.5% of MITs points in their NEWMAC games so far, with those two + Jamie Karrakar scoring 84% of the team's offense).  I think that MIT definitely has a good chance to win, they have been playing really well on the road lately (they led both the Springfield and Clark games by 20+ points in the second half in their last two road games).  However, it is always interesting on the road.  WPI is a strong home team and it will also depend on Jimmy B and Billy J staying out of foul trouble.  Bradley Gampel will also play a key role.  If he can handle WPI's defense and not commit too many turnovers, it will give MIT a much better chance to win.

In terms of Billy J, he has definitely caused a lot of mathcup problems at the 5.  He has been knocking down two to four 3's the last several games (which is hard for a true post to defend) and at 6'8" he can take smaller guys inside.  Considering that Jimmy B has been a constant this season, scoring near his average in every game (he hasnt scored less than 20 in any game this season), I think Billy J has played a very large role in MIT's emergence as a top team in the NEWMAC.  He his currently the second leading scorer in NEWMAC conference play (23 ppg, behind Bartolotta's 30 ppg) and has also been averageing 6.8 rpg (second on the team behind Bartolotta's 7.3 rpg).  (Note all stats are through last Wednesday's games, because NEWMAC hasnt updated their stats through Saturday's games yet).

Should be a fun one to follow online (for me) and even more fun for you to watch in person.

[T990]

Epic battle of unbeaten (5-0) NEWMAC giants this week!

WPI is a little hard to figure.  They had some trouble w/ Babson (0-5) at home, but had no trouble beating down Wheaton (3-2) in Norton.

Last year MIT had a great chance to beat WPI in Cambridge, missing the final shot in regulation, then losing in overtime.  But WPI won the game in Worcester going away.

Seems like the home team should be favored in both WPI-MIT matchups this year.  Right now, the W/L profiles of both teams are very similar this season.

Jimmy B is currently third in the nation in scoring, as well as up there in a bevy of other stats.  He will gain further well-deserved recognition if his team can accomplish something significant this season before he graduates, and at the moment, they are poised to do so. 

[Hugenerd]

Epic battle of unbeaten (5-0) NEWMAC giants this week!

WPI is a little hard to figure.  They had some trouble w/ Babson (0-5) at home, but had no trouble beating down Wheaton (3-2) in Norton.

Last year MIT had a great chance to beat WPI in Cambridge, missing the final shot in regulation, then losing in overtime.  But WPI won the game in Worcester going away.

Seems like the home team should be favored in both WPI-MIT matchups this year.  Right now, the W/L profiles of both teams are very similar this season.

Jimmy B is currently third in the nation in scoring, as well as up there in a bevy of other stats.  He will gain further well-deserved recognition if his team can accomplish something significant this season before he graduates, and at the moment, they are poised to do so. 

This MIT team looks a little different than years past.  They are still strong at home (unbeaten this season), but they have also won 4 of their 5 NEWMAC games on the road (only WPI and Babson remain on the road).