MBB: NEWMAC

[deiscanton]

WPI is not a bad team, but they're not of the same level as the Wash U Bears  .    I think MIT will do fine in NEWMAC play.   MIT certainly would not be favored against Wash U if the two teams matched up, however.

At the same time, MIT has not faced a top level NESCAC team like Williams or Amherst, either.  It would be interesting to see how those matchups would turn out-- but those would not happen until the NCAA DIII tournament this season.

(Heck, I would even like to see Brandeis v MIT on the men's side-- MIT was a reguilar opponent of Brandeis when I was a student.)

[Emerson_fanatic]

remsleep i completley agree on your opinion of kates, saw him play once this year and he looks great and only a freshman. Carries himself with a lot of confidence, takes care of the ball an outstanding D3 point guard.

[Hugenerd]

I found out some good news out of MIT today.  Another recruit has committed (just to clarify, all 3 of the recruits I have mentioned have already been admitted to MIT early action).  Nick Davis is an athletic 6'5" wing player who can attack the basket and play above the rim.  He is a great defender (can defend mulitple positions) and plays well in the open court.  He is a starter on a state championship winning team from last season, and his team (Creighton Prep) is ranked #1 in the state this year again:

http://www.journalstar.com/sports/basketball/high-school-and-prep/article_b65ca7a5-d680-5c12-8746-b6e7b258e141.html

Davis was honorable-mention all-state last year:

http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1527103.html

I did a little research on him on the web, and he just seems to be a great athlete overall.  He was a member of the U-18  USA National Handball team:

http://usateamhandball.org/news/2009/08/12/u-18-national-team-rosters-announced-athletes-to-train-in-germany/15023

Also, as you would expect from an MIT admit, he is also the captain of the state-champion science bowl team:

http://www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov/partnerships/Sci_Bowl/2009results.html

Next year's MIT class is rounding out really well.

As for this season, I hope MIT can continue playing well against a d3 foe in Tufts.  Tufts can be dangerous and are much better than their record indicates.  I hope that MIT will come to play and be able to take care of business in their final non-conference game.

[Hugenerd]

MIT and WPI both picked up a few votes in the latest national poll released today.  MIT moves up one spot to 21 (144 points) and WPI moves up to ORV 30 (26 points).

[Hugenerd]

MIT picks up their 4th big-time commitment before the New Year (all four have been admitted early action).  Tim Donegan is a 6'7" 220lb lefty from the Pittsburgh area. He can play multiple positions, can play on the wing or on the post effectively and has a great basketball IQ. Just an all-around solid player out of Hampton High School.

You can find lots of articles on Donegan on the web, he averaged over 15 ppg and 8 rpg last season and he leads a team that is ranked third in the state and picked as the favorites in western Pennsylvania going into his senior year:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09345/1020053-361.stm

His team was also picked as a favorite in the Pittsburgh area, and Donegan was picked as one of the top players to watch in the area by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/highschool/s_656569.html

He had a great post-season last year as a junior:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09057/951606-361.stm

And he played on a national championship winning AAU team:

http://www.basketballstarsofamerica.com/BSA_17U_Wins_National_Championship.php

[BBallers]

I saw the MIT/Harvard game and I don't think MIT had its best game against Harvard.  The two primary reasons are: 1) the inactivity after the Christmas break and 2) the 4 or 5 hour hard practice MIT had on the Sunday before the Monday game.  Basically the MIT players' legs were gone and that affected their shooting, rebounding and transition defense.  However, I commend Coach Anderson for scheduling such a strong opponent.  I'm sure the players are disappointed, but I do not believe it will have any negative effects.  These are the types of teams I believe MIT can be competitive against to be a consistent top-20 ranked team.  I hope MIT rebounds from this loss and comes out strong against Tufts who does not have a good record, but has played good teams.

I appreciate the statistics posted and it confirms what we have seen in that MIT has dominated the majority of teams it has played.  MIT is a good team and a great team against weak competition.  IMHO, except for RPI, Gordon and Salem State (and Harvard, of course), the rest of the competition was weak.  I hope MIT keeps getting the great recruiting classes and plays better competition that will bring them to the level of the Amherst's and I think coach-of-the-year Anderson can pull it off.  BTW, do you have the link to the "Northeast rankings board" where someone commented on MIT's defense?  Is it on D3 Hoops?  Thanks again for the statistics and hope MIT takes out its frustration on Tufts in preparation for their conference games.

[Hugenerd]

The board is called "Ranking the Northeast Teams" and it is on the "Northeast Region" board. 

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=6646.30

[Hugenerd]

MIT wins tonight to improve 12-1 (11-0 in-region), by a final of 71-59 at Tufts.  Very balance attack for MIT with no one scoring over 16 points and 6 players at least scoring 8 points.  Noel Hollingsworth led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Mitch Kates had 13 points and 6 assists. Bill Johnson had 12 points on 4 3s.  Jimmy Burke and Bill Bender each had 11 points.  Wil Tashmen had 8 points and 6 rebounds.  MIT was missing a starter for the game, Eric Zuk.  MIT, as a whole, shot 50% from the field, 41% from 3, and 86% from the FT line. 

For Tufts, Pierce was held to 10 points and 2 rebounds.  Beyel led the team with 20 points, but had to take 17 shots to get his points.  Tufts had 17 turnovers and only 9 assists.

MIT travels to Babson this weekend for their first NEWMAC game.  Game is being webcast and livestats are available.

[toooldtoplay]

Nice to see MIT get back on track after their first loss of the season and the holiday break.  I heard it was a very physical affair and the refs just "let them play".  Tashman appears like the only player that can match the other team when it gets real rough.

Congrats on the number 15 ranking.

[Hugenerd]

Nice to see MIT get back on track after their first loss of the season and the holiday break.  I heard it was a very physical affair and the refs just "let them play".  Tashman appears like the only player that can match the other team when it gets real rough.

Congrats on the number 15 ranking.

I heard it was ugly also.  MIT put it away with a 15-3 run half way through the second half.  They led by double digits almost the rest of the game.

[Hugenerd]

As for the rankings, I forgot to mention it on this board, although I posted the NE rankings on that board.  In addition to MIT being ranked 15 (highest ever for MIT), WPI is also on the doorstep of cracking the polls with the 27th most votes in the land this week.

[toooldtoplay]

Hugenerd - how would you rank the Newmac teams after MIT and WPI?

[Hugenerd]

I would say, after MIT and WPI, I would tentatively rank the teams:

Clark (appear to be pretty solid this year, played Brandeis real close, but they have lost several close games, dangerous team)

Springfield (bad record, but look at who they have lost to, I think they will be competitive in conference)

Wheaton (have some good young talent, need to get it to mesh with Coppola and the other upper-classmen)

Babson (very inconsistent, lost to some bad teams)

Coast Guard (not playing too well lately, they dont really seem to have go-to players, although they have some pieces, they could make some upsets in conference, it is always tough to travel down to New London to play so they could pickup some conference wins at home)

That said, I could see how any of the top 4 teams on this list could finish 3-6, but as I see them right now, this is how I would rank them.  Things can change quickly though...

[toooldtoplay]

Looks like Springfield has played the toughest non conference schedule.  They didn't beat any real good teams but looks like they battled. Should be interesting.

[tball]

Massey Ratings place the league:

MIT                     .283
WPI                     .076
Clark                  -.336
Babson               -.630
Springfield           -.718
Wheaton             -.759
Coast Guard        -.856