MBB: NEWMAC

Hugenerd · February 11, 2010, 04:29:41 PM

There is a new "unofficial" blog following MIT Basketball, it can be found here:

mitbasketball.blogspot.com

It has a nice preview of tonight's game.

Hugenerd · February 11, 2010, 10:06:15 PM

Big Congrats to Coach Larry Anderson on his 200th win of his career tonight (and 20th on the season).

MIT pulls out a close one 59-52 against Clark. Noel Hollingsorth scored 20 on 8-10 shooting and added 11 rebounds, Jimmy Burke added 14, and Kates had 13, as the Engineers came from behind to win the second half.

Elsewhere, Springfield got a 3 with under 10 seconds to play to send the game to OT and then won in OT. WPI big over CGA, and Wheaton came back to beat Babson despite trailing by 9 at the half.

BBallers · February 12, 2010, 09:39:13 AM

Another great win for MIT. I do not believe they played their best game with too many turnovers, but the bigs really dominated the boards and Jimmy Burke hit some high percentage 3-pointers. Kates also played great. I believe Clark matches up well against MIT, so I'm especially glad for the win. I'm hoping MIT has an easy game against Coast Guard before going on the road for their final 2 important games against Sprigfield for the conference and hopefully some good revenge against Wheaton.

Does anyone know how the tiebreakers are handled, e.g., if MIT would lose to Springfield (hopefully not) and Springfiled/MIT win their remaining games? I don't believe this will occur because I think MIT matches up fairly well against Springfield. I think their games are similar, but MIT has better overall players. Also, Springfiled has won so many really close games that it will probably catch up with them when they play Clark and WPI.

Hugenerd · February 12, 2010, 11:50:07 AM

Quote from: BBallers on February 12, 2010, 09:39:13 AM
Another great win for MIT. I do not believe they played their best game with too many turnovers, but the bigs really dominated the boards and Jimmy Burke hit some high percentage 3-pointers. Kates also played great. I believe Clark matches up well against MIT, so I'm especially glad for the win. I'm hoping MIT has an easy game against Coast Guard before going on the road for their final 2 important games against Sprigfield for the conference and hopefully some good revenge against Wheaton.

Does anyone know how the tiebreakers are handled, e.g., if MIT would lose to Springfield (hopefully not) and Springfiled/MIT win their remaining games? I don't believe this will occur because I think MIT matches up fairly well against Springfield. I think their games are similar, but MIT has better overall players. Also, Springfiled has won so many really close games that it will probably catch up with them when they play Clark and WPI.

If both teams win out except MIT losing to Springfield (so both teams were 10-2) the next tiebreaker would be head-to-head against the next highest ranked team. Therefore, if WPI finishes higher in the rankings than Wheaton, MIT would have the tiebreaker because they are 2-0 against WPI and Springfield already lost to them (obviously the opposite is true if Wheaton finishes ahead of WPI, currently WPI has a 1.5 game lead on Wheaton in the standings, 2 ahead in the loss column with 3 to play). Remember, however, Springfield has probably the toughest 3 games stretch of anyone in the NEWMAC in their last 3 games, they have to play @Clark, @WPI, and then host MIT. They already lost to WPI at home by 18, so that game in Worcester is going to be a tough one for them to win. They also barely edged Clark at home, so that will be a tough game for them as well. Regardless, I hope MIT can take care of their own business so it doesn't come to tiebreakers or other teams' results.

Hugenerd · February 12, 2010, 04:09:09 PM

Preview of tomorrows game: MIT-CGA Preview

tball · February 13, 2010, 01:21:06 PM

For some reason, Cavalieri did not start for Springfield today. Big hit if he is not playing.

Hugenerd · February 13, 2010, 05:37:30 PM

MIT all but secures the NEWMAC regular-season crown after handling CGA and Spingfield falling at Clark. Look for WPI to beat Springfield on Wednesday to finish the regular season in the #2 spots as they would then hold the head-to-head (2-0).

MIT wins today 64-53, but the final score was a lot closer than the actual game. MIT steamrolled to a 25-4 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and never led by less than double-figures the rest of the way. MIT next tries to avenge their only d3 loss next Wednesday at Wheaton.

Hugenerd · February 17, 2010, 09:08:20 AM

Preview for the Wheaton/MIT Game: MIT Preview

deiscanton · February 17, 2010, 04:19:04 PM

I'm at the Wheaton College Library right now, getting ready to watch the MIT/Wheaton rematch at Emerson Gymnasium in about 75 minutes. I'll give you my reaction to the game probably later tonight or sometime tomorrow morning.

The Wheaton athletic community is really pumped up for this rematch-- They should be watching.

toooldtoplay · February 17, 2010, 07:28:54 PM

Congratulations to the Wheaton team for taking out MIT again. Great shooting and aggressive play were the difference. Should be a fun NEWMAC playoff. MIT needs to regroup Saturday vs. Springfield.

Hugenerd · February 17, 2010, 07:43:51 PM

Wheaton shot out of their mind, especially in the second half. They were 10-15 from 3 and 24-27 from the FT line. MIT still had it to a 2 point game in the final minute, but Wheaton made their FTs. Springfield also beat WPI to set up some interesting tie-breaking scenarios for hosting the conference tourney (if Springfield wins next weekend against MIT).

deiscanton · February 17, 2010, 07:44:35 PM

Tough one for MIT. Not only do they lose the game, but Billy Bender got injured in the second half and had to be wearing crutches after the game.

Update: The injury to Billy Bender happened with 8:36 left in regulation. To my eye, it looked like a leg muscle cramp or tear, but I can't be certain. Bender had to be helped to the bench by 2 MIT teammates. I don't know how long Bender will be out.

BBallers · February 17, 2010, 08:58:33 PM

Disappointing loss by MIT, again the culprit is defense. Getting beat off the dribble and then over-help defense creates wide open shots and Wheaton connected on a high percentage. Wheaton isolated many matchups and MIT should expect the same by other teams. Something is definitely wrong when a team can score 56 second half points. I'm nervous about Springfield with their big win over WPI. I was feeling pretty comfortable about an at large NCAA bid if MIT didn't win the tournament, but if MIT loses to Springfield and lose in the conference tournament, it is doubtful. Big game at Springfield...

Hugenerd · February 17, 2010, 09:23:14 PM

Quote from: BBallers on February 17, 2010, 08:58:33 PM
Disappointing loss by MIT, again the culprit is defense. Getting beat off the dribble and then over-help defense creates wide open shots and Wheaton connected on a high percentage. Wheaton isolated many matchups and MIT should expect the same by other teams. Something is definitely wrong when a team can score 56 second half points. I'm nervous about Springfield with their big win over WPI. I was feeling pretty comfortable about an at large NCAA bid if MIT didn't win the tournament, but if MIT loses to Springfield and lose in the conference tournament, it is doubtful. Big game at Springfield...

I wouldnt say doubtful, but less of a certainty. I cant see them falling lower than #5 in the region even if they lose 3 straight. They will not fall behind Bridgewater because for them to be in the Pool C talk they would have had to lose another game in the MASCAC tourney, giving them 5 in region losses and 7 overall. Additionally, Bridgewater has also lost to Wheaton, so MITs losses vs. Wheaton wont look as bad when compared to Bridgewaters losses. They may not even drop below Brandeis and Colby depending on their results. Either way, I would like to see MIT end the season on a high note and beat Springfield on the road. Springfied, however, has been real tough, Cavalieri played tonight and was pretty good (he was out vs. Clark on Saturday).

If, however, Springfield wins on Saturday, they and MIT would be tied for first in the NEWMAC. There is an analyses about the tiebreaking scenarios for hosting here: NEWMAC Tiebreakers

LyonFan · February 17, 2010, 10:34:48 PM

Got my first look at MIT this year after following them on this board, expecting to see a dominant team. I was not impressed. Liked the Kates kid a lot - very quick, good at both ends. And Tashman is tough on the glass. But I thought Hollingsworth was pretty ordinary. He got his 20 and 10, but it took 26 attempts, and half the rebounds were offensive recoveries of his own misses. He was guarded by an assortment of players much shorter than him and got bodied off the block regularly. I was also surprised at how sparingly Billy Johnson played; he has killed Wheaton in previous years. Certainly a great win for Wheaton, and worrisome for the Engineers.