MBB: NEWMAC

[Hugenerd]

#3 from WPI did a good job on Kates all three games, I wouldnt say they dont have anyone to match up with him.

He is talking about next year, Robinson, Nadeau, Etten, and Stock are all seniors and wont be around.  They also did a good job on him by doubling in most situations (not to mention holding him, #3).

The kid played good defense (without holding) and I understand what he is saying about the seniors leaving but they do have guys that can guard Kates as they showed yesterday seeing as how he had 7 turnovers and 5 the first game they played as well.

He was holding and they were called that way in the 2nd half.  Harkins was doing the same thing on Kates in the semis and he fouled out doing so. Either way, I am happy, they won, no need to argue.  I thought for the game, the refs were very very good.  I actually liked the way #3 played defense, he was playing really hard, but from my perspective as an MIT fan, its holding.

Regardless of what you say, WPI is graduating a lot of minutes at the guard position, so even if they have suitable replacements, we definitely have not seen it.  MIT will have a very deep, experienced team.  The core of their team is all sophomores, so they are in good shape for the next few years.  Also, regardless of who WPIs guards are, I think we all agree the team will be built around Carr.  He is a great player when healthy.

Good luck to both MIT and WPI, I hope its an all NEWMAC championship game!

[mass_d3fan]

newmacbball

My point was not just about who could defend Kates.  Matchup means both offensively & defensively. Kates plays 32 minutes a game, averages 15 pts, 5 assists and 2 steals per game. To be honest, no one currently on the WPI roster is going to put up those kind of numbers next year.  It is not a knock on those players, its just a fact.  If that kind of player was there now, they would be putting up numbers to that effect.

You are right, Kates did have 7 TOs, but he also had 13 points (more than anyone on WPI put up) and 5 assists.  WPI as a team only had 6.

[Hugenerd]

In tournament news, I really like WPI's draw.  If they can lock down 2 wins at home (Amherst will obviously be a challenge, but they are capable of beating them), they have a great chance of making it to the Elite 8.

With regards to MIT, I think they are peaking at the right time.  They just won two games away from home this past weekend, so they know what they need to do this weekend at Ithaca.

Looking at Ithaca's stats, they look pretty balanced, 5 players scoring double-digits per game and another scoring about 8-9 ppg.  They play only one guy over 6'3" more than 6 minutes per game (the other is 6'6" and their leading scorer at 17 ppg) and average 28 3s a game.  So they seem to really like to heave it from deep.  However, they also dont seem to be a really high-pressure team, as they only turn opponents over about 10 times a game (they also only turn it over themselves about 10 times a game).  

I like Tashman's chances guarding their leading scorer, although I have never seen him play.  Therefore, it is going to come down to: a) Kates limiting their point guard, who has a 4:1 A/TO ratio (253 vs. 74); if he can limit him setting up the rest of the team for 3s, that will clearly limit what they like to do, 2) guarding perimeter shooting, if MIT can close out and force Ithaca into guarded 3s, they will greatly increase their chances of winning, 3) rebounding, plain and simple, with that many 3s, guards and everyone else needs to hit the boards; MIT should have the advantage with size so no excuses on boxing out, 4) dominating the interior, I would go right at their one big man with Tashman and Dickson, see if he is used to guarding big, physical post men (maybe get him in foul trouble), and 5) limiting turnovers, they cant hand the ball over like they did yesterday and expect to shoot 70% in the second half to win every game.  I think MIT is fully capable of winning this pod, they just need to play their game.  I fully expect two NEWMAC teams in the sweet 16.

[amh63]

Nice positive thinking Hugenerd.  Rochester should be a challenge for MIT.  WPI will have it's hands full with Amherst, even at home and with Carr starting.  Carr has to block out Kassia and be able to run with him.  Then he has to also keep up with and board with Holmes.  It will be a long night down low for the WPI front court.   Then WPI will have to contend with Amherst guards that can take WPI's guards to the block and shoot over them from outside ...as well as rebound with WPI's forwards.    But we are ahead of our selfs, I think.  Amherst must focus first on Skidmore.  Carr will have an extra day to recover.  Oh yes, did I mention Amherst quickness in the front court and back court and their experience guarding quick guards?

[Hugenerd]

Nice positive thinking Hugenerd.  Rochester should be a challenge for MIT.  WPI will have it's hands full with Amherst, even at home and with Carr starting.  Carr has to block out Kassia and be able to run with him.  Then he has to also keep up with and board with Holmes.  It will be a long night dow low for the WPI front court.   Then WPI will have to contend with Amherst guards that can take WPI's guards to the block and shoot over them outside and rebound with WPI's forwards.    But we are ahead of our selfs, I think.  Amherst must focus first on Husson.

Amherst will need to guard Carr and Robinson also.  Both are very good players and WPI plays very good team defense.  WPI has very quick guards (Shannon, Brown, etc.) who are good defenders and they tend to be a tough team to beat at home.  I think they will hold their own.  I hope Carr is at 100% so they can represent the NEWMAC well.  I am sure they wont overlook Bridgewater and focus their efforts there first.

[mass_d3fan]

amh63

I do think HN is being a bit optimistic, but thats a good thing.  Amherst is indeed loaded with talent.  I think it may be more important to win the first round game first

I am pretty sure Skidmore will be very happy if Amherst wants to focus on Husson.

[amh63]

Nice retort Hugenerd.  Must point out that I have made some corrections to my initial post.  Several in fact.  Amherst's first opponent is Skidmore.  Other corrections was in spelling and the points wrt quickness.  I do respect quick guards such as S. Brown of Conn. and Wang of Williams and Amherst has made adjustments.  However, as you know, size does matter.  Amherst has both size and quickness with skill at the 3, 4 and 5 positions plus depth.  There are also talent and depth at the 1 and 2 positions.

[Hugenerd]

Nice retort Hugenerd.  Must point out that I have made some corrections to my initial post.  Several in fact.  Amherst's first opponent is Skidmore.  Other corrections was in spelling and the points wrt quickness.  I do respect quick guards such as S. Brown of Conn. and Wang of Williams and Amherst has made adjustments.  However, as you know, size does matter.  Amherst has both size and quickness with skill at the 3, 4 and 5 positions plus depth.  There are also talent and depth at the 1 and 2 positions.

I'm surprised they haven't won every game then.

[toooldtoplay]

I expect Carr to be at almost full strength a week after the ankle sprain.  He was pretty good the day after which is a good sign.   Love to see the WPI vs. Amherst matchup.  We don't see enough crossover of the Newmac and Nescac. I am not sure why.  I would hope that next year they would match up in early season action a bit. 

Williams looks like they have a pretty smooth road to the elite 8. 

[nescac1]

Toooldtoplay, I wish that was the case, but Williams, if they make the Sweet 16, would have to play either Franklin & Marshall (a pre-season top 5 team who has a lot of size and veteran talent), or Virginia Wesleyan (a very athletic, very talented, top 10 caliber team that has some very impressive wins on its resume).  They should be at home, which does help.  But either would give the Ephs a very tough game, and I am particularly fearful of VWU, who while not huge has more athleticism than anyone Williams has played this year ... and a coach who knows what it takes to win in the NCAAs (much lik F&M's coach).  Despite being on the road, I think that Amherst has a much easier path, although WPI could certainly give them a game at home.  But then again, WPI is a team that always seems to flame out in the NCAA tournament, despite gaudy regular season records. 

[WPI89]

A fun read all.  If I had to place a dime on which NEWMAC team could win 2 games this weekend - I would put it on MIT.

If Carr is Carr - I repeat WPI needs to beat Bridgewater - no excuses and the score does not matter - just win.  They are gaining a rep as a tourney paper tiger (my nephew plays for Dickinson - who lost to F&M in their conference finals_ and he even commented to me last night - something about the regular season is over - I see WPI lost to MIT etc..........)

Will talk about Amherst when the time comes - the only sliver of hope I have is that they do seem to be a monster at home and maybe (maybe) vulnerable on the road?

[amh63]

mass_d3fan.......nice dig on my Skidmore and Husson mixup.  Amherst WBB team is hosting Husson on Friday.  The men's Husson team has the pleasure of meeting Williams.   Just too much info as I scanned the brackets and make projections, etc. in my mind.  The games will be played by teams with players that often do not play up to our "fantasy" standards.  That is what makes this time of the year exciting and tense.  
To hugenerd...I will wave the white flag.  We both are passionate about our teams and to our conferences and try to be cool and clear in our outlook at the games ahead.  For me, too often it is not easy to be objective with respect to a sport that has too many variables.

[mass_d3fan]

amh63

Glad to see you took it in the jestful mood it was intended!  It is very easy to get information overload this time of year.

It is all good when we understand we all want to support the teams we like.  

WPI89's point is well taken.  I am less worried about any round 2 matchup as I am seeing the team get back to playing the game the way they were a couple of weeks back.  I try to marry what I see with my eyes on the court with the numbers that result from those performances.  We will never know if they would have won on Sunday if they had worked it inside more.  We do know they didn't and they did not shoot well at all from the perimeter.  Part of that gets credited to MIT's defense.

For better or worse, WPI does have the rep for fading out this time of year. They need to win Friday and getting to the Sweet 16 would go a long, long way to changing that rep. I do think they will be an underdog in a mathchup with Amherst, but they can't get caught up in looking to that game. 100% of their focus must be placed on a playing a full 40 minutes of solid ball against Bridgewater St.  If they do that Friday, then they can look to continuing that on Sat.  If they repeat this past Sunday's performance, the rep will only grow.

[Hugenerd]

All-Conference teams announced:

http://newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/news/awards11

Robinson POY

Bartley COY

Sowers ROY

In a surprise move, only one guard was selected to the First Team, bumping Kates to the 2nd.

[WPI89]

HN - that is suprising.  I really only know Kates from his numbers and your reports.  Seems deserving - they should not have,  but maybe they considered that he has more years to come? 

Curious - who would you bump off the first team if they went with him as the second guard?