MBB: NEWMAC

[mass_d3fan]

As a side bar, this one will probably have a lot to do with determining POY as well.

[Hugenerd]

WPI led 35-31 at the half, but MIT opened the 2nd half on a 21-1 run to take a commanding lead that they would not relinquish.  WPI did makes some runs, but MIT was able to hold each one off and made their free throws down the stretch.  HUGE games for MITs bigs as Hollingsworth had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Tashman had 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Carr was held to 12 points on 4-15 shooting, with 2 rebounds, although he did play well defensively with 6 blocks.

MIT finishes the regular season 23-1, breaking the school record for wins.

[toooldtoplay]

Actually 1,2 and 3 get byes so the only play in game is the 4-5 game.  Tonight an minute defensive stand was the difference.  MIT opened up the game by getting stops and actually showing some transition and early offense to break it open.  An interesting game note is that neither team doubled the post and let the bigs go at it one on one.   It was a great atmosphere during the game.  This win should position MIT for a respectable seed in the NCAA tournament.

Will they be in line for a one?

[Hugenerd]

Just looked at the NEWMAC bracket and I am wrong - they do not have that extra "play-in game" - both 1 and 2 get byes - sorry.  So WPI would have to win tonight and Sat and then likely beat Springfield to get to 20. 

http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/championships/2011-12/2012mbkbbracket.pdf

The bracket is the same as last year, only #4 and #5 have a 'play-in' to get to the semifinals of the tournament.  #1, #2, and #3 all go straight to the semis.  I believe last year was the first year they had the new tournament format.

[Hugenerd]

MIT featured in the Boston Globe today:

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2012/02/16/mit_caps_best_season_in_win/

[Pat Coleman]

Clark's game-winning buzzer beater from last night on our Buzzer Beaters page.

http://www.d3hoops.com/buzzerbeaters/2011-12/index

[NEWMACJACK]

Awesome...thanks for posting it Pat....

[mass_d3fan]

Congratulations to MIT for setting a school record for wins and to Noel Hollingsworth for (in my opinion) sealing up his 2nd POY in 3 years.

I had a very nice post all written up last night and lost my connection to the site when I went to post it.  Hate it when that happens.  Anyway .....

I am not so sure that MIT 'held' Carr to 12 pts in as much as Carr held himself to that.  He played very tentative right from the outset.  It was as if he were waiting for double teams that were not coming.  Even some of the good looks he did get, he appeared to off-balance and did not finish well. He needed to be much more aggressive in his moves to the basket, especially on a night where the officials were letting the teams play.  He did have a couple of nice inside moves in the second half, but he really needed to be that aggressive right from tip-off as he was in Cambridge. Both he and Shannon shot the ball very poorly and Shannon never seemed to get a feel for what to do besides forcing shots in the lane.  Coppola played his best game since coming back from a knee issue, scoring 16.  WPI best performance was turned in by senior David Brown with 13 points and a big defensive game, including forcing a Hollingsworth miss late in the game.

I think the single biggest difference in this game though was Will Tashman.  WPI played him very well in Cambridge, but the Engineers had no answer for him last night.  He dominated the boards (by the way, I have no idea how they came up with only 2 boards for Carr, I know he more than that, but no offensive boards) and got very good looks at the basket all night.

I am still quite puzzled by that final 40 some seconds though.  Down by 4, WPI wasted half of that time dribbling the ball on the perimeter at a time when they needed a quick bucket.  Then they would have to go for a steal, and foul if they didn't get it to extend the game.  Poor grasp of the situation from the players on the court and the coaching staff.

Even as a WPI supporter, I would have to say it was enjoyable to watch how MIT exploited any advantage they got on the court.  They never pulled the ball out when Hollingsworth or Tashman established themselves in good position as they arrived in the offensive end.  Kates, Bender & Karraker  did a great job with quick, accurate entry passes.  As you all know I love the interior game and how it should be the foundation for an offense, and MIT showed just how you do it last night. It was good basketball, plain & simple.

Not a good performance by WPI, but even with that, they made a good run late and only lost by 5. As has been the case this season of the Engineers, they need to play very well to win.  Anytime their level drops, they can be beaten – look at the 2 Wheaton games for all the evidence you need.  I would love to see round 3, but both teams will face stiff competition in the conference semis. I still think the AQ can be won by anyone who gets to next Saturday – History has shown this & MIT has had some issues in conference games, so I am not ready to say it will be a walk in the park for them to take home the AQ.  One thing is certain though, If MIT does take the tournament title, they will be the only NEWMAC team in the dance.
WPI backed into the #2 seed when Clark bounced Springfield last night on Travis Curley's buzzer beaters.

Springfield is locked into the #3.

Babson defeated Wheaton behind a big night from Alex Rudolph with 18 points and 15 boards.  The Beavers sit in 4th at the moment. If they win their final game or Clark loses to WPI, then they are in.

From reading the athletic websites, Clark needs to beat WPI and have Springfield beat Wheaton to get in.

[Hugenerd]

Good coverage, mass.  I watched the game online and MIT had a pretty good second half, especially the first 7 minutes.  They still had too many turnovers, a lot of which were the guards trying to make passes to big men on the break or over the top in the half court, and the ball just being a bit out of reach and ending up out of bounds.

The top 5 make the tourney, #4/#5 game is next Wednesday.

[mass_d3fan]

HN

Yes, MIT did commit a few turnovers on those kinds of passes, but they also scored on some as well.  I liked the fact they pushed it.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

WOW - yes - clicked on the wrong link... terribly sorry!!!

[Hugenerd]

So Wheaton is able to nab the tiebreaker, and last NEWMAC tourney spot, from Clark, thanks to their two wins vs. WPI this year.  Winner of Babson/Wheaton, at Babson, gets MIT in one semifinal. WPI and Springfield meet in the other semifinal.

Who do you guys think takes player of the week this week?  I think Tashman's performance vs. WPI gets it.

I'm not going to predict all yearly honors, because I would put three players on first team from MIT, and probably 1-2 more on 2nd team. Thats probably not going to happen, so I at least hope MIT's deserving 3 make first team. They each led, or were top 4, in the conference in statistical categories they were expected to, and I don't expect seeing snubs  this year.  They should be chosen along with Carr and probably Berthiaume.

[Hugenerd]

Article from ESPN's True Hoop by former MIT assistant and current Caltech coach, Oliver Eslinger, on MIT's recruitment of Lin:

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/37066/development-in-lin-years

This, coincidentally, was the year I was a grad assistant with the team.

[mass_d3fan]

Congratulations To Babson's Alex Rudolph for being named the NEWMAC Player of the Week

http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW022012

[WPI89]

First time on the computer since Worcester on Saturday.  Really very little to report.  Clark looked like the team with nothing to play for.  There were down something like 12-4 and never really made it a game.  Carr played less than half the game (or at least it felt that way) as Bartley had the luxury of resting players.  Not much of a senior day crowd either. 

Biggest impression for me was the freshman look good for the future.  I was most impressed with Sam Longwell - think he only had around 10 but has a great court presence.

Should be fun next weekend.