MBB: NEWMAC

[BaboNation]

Halftime @ Coast Guard with Babson up by 1, but the real story is no Bradanese or Dorney (top 2 scorers and 2 of the top 3 in rebounds).  Looks like only half the team and coaches made the trip, so I assume this is Covid-related.
It's going to take huge games from the rest of the team to overcome the loss in production.

I also see Lowther is out for WPI too, though they are beating Wheaton handily.  If this is a season-ending injury it changes WPI's ability to go deep in the NCAA tournament.

[BaboNation]

Babson grinds out another road win (5 in a row now) with a depleted roster @ Coast Guard.

Basically a 7 man rotation (cup of coffee for Cross), calling on guys that don't usually play as many minutes.

Kirsch was again tremendous; 16 points, 4/7 from 3 with daggers down the stretch, and 5 assists, including a beautiful feed to Beau Smith out of a double-team for a layup +1 to put the game away.
Welch had a team high 19 and shot the 3 like he did most of the abbreviated season last year.
Gao battled and battled oversized forwards, set picks, didn't force things, and provided 4 boards in 16 meaningful minutes.
Beau Smith did a fine job filling in for Bradanese.
And FY Amado, who is already the team leader in RPG had 17/16, seemingly finding his way to every board near him.

For CG, Cameron Brown had 16/12 and continues to impress as a FY.  He'll be key to his team's future.

Hopefully Babson gets back to full strength quickly.  It's one thing to steal one shorthanded here and there, but they need all their starters back to do damage in the postseason.

[BaboNation]

Babson @ MIT canceled today.  The game wouldn't have changed postseason seeding.  I assume this is Covid-related on Babson's side since Babson played Wednesday with a depleted roster and MIT played with its full complement.

Admittedly I haven't paid a lot of attention to whether Covid testing will continue past Selection Sunday.  If it does we may see more depleted rosters and 'upsets'.  I hope I'm wrong.

[WPI89]

Congrats WPI on a great regular season and NEWMAC championship. No Lowther today, but would never have expected it. I have no info if resting/rehabbing or out? 

[BaboNation]

Congrats WPI on a great regular season and NEWMAC championship. No Lowther today, but would never have expected it. I have no info if resting/rehabbing or out?

Congrats on the regular season title.  You want to hear a sick stat?  WPI (which is shooting 47.8 FG% for the year) has shot over 50% from the field against the #2, #3, and #4 NEWMAC teams in 5 of the 6 games played.  In the 6th game they shot only 47.2% with some late misses in a rout over Clark.  Otherwise it would have been 6 for 6.

Adams & Lowther are 1st team NEWMAC locks in my book, and McNamara and Downing 2nd team.  Hopefully Adams gets accolades beyond the NEWMAC too.  He's so disciplined and fundamentally sound for a sophomore (but really just his first season).

As for Lowther, I hope I'm wrong but I think he's injured as I mentioned in the Coast Guard recap.

Frankly I don't see Emerson, Babson, or Clark/MIT being able to hang with WPI in the NEWMAC postseason, even though it's hard to beat a good conference foe 3 times in one season.

I'll be rooting for your guys in the NCAA.

[SpringSt7]

Is Houston going to be POY, and if he isn't, who will? Adams or Lowther or someone else?

[BaboNation]

Is Houston going to be POY, and if he isn't, who will? Adams or Lowther or someone else?

I'd have Houston as POY.  The NEWMAC tends to give awards based on conference games, which I think is the only fair way to compare apples to apples.  Houston has 18/15 per game in conference.  I'd have Adams next 14.1/10.4.  The NEWMAC also awards DPOY and based on Houston's huge lead in rebounding and 3.7 blocks/game he's a clear choice; a rare double-winner if it comes to pass.  I think Houston's awards beyond the NEWMAC may be limited if you were to say 'well, but Emerson went 0-4 against the top 2 conference teams with a senior-laden roster, so ...'

Adams may own the POY for the next 2 years.  I do think he could benefit by playing more out of conference games against teams with size.  WPI will be loaded again next year ... maybe even better, so maybe they're thinking on adding an opponent like Amherst if scheduling works out.

I don't put much emphasis on 2 guards, 2 forwards, etc. when considering a 1st team.  Right now I'd have Houston, Adams, Lowther, Hinkley and another spot determined by the postseason tournament.

[BaboNation]

MIT wins big @ Clark in the 4/5 play-in game 88-71.

Let's start by saying it's never easy to win 3 games in a season against a conference foe, which is what Clark was trying to do.  But while Clark had won the first 2, there's no doubt in my mind that at full strength (not common for this MIT edition) the Engineers are the better team.  Both Hinkley and Chatziveroglou missed the first game between the two and it seemed to set the tone for this crazy MIT season (5-8 in league play).

For this game Hinkley 26/6 in 39 minutes showed why he is a 1st team NEWMAC on my unofficial ballot.  Inch for inch he does as much as anyone in the league, usually the main rim protector for his team at 6'4".  Chatziveroglou had a big game 22/3/7 but went down with an injury halfway through the 2nd half and didn't return.  They can't catch a break.  Just guessing, but I'd say he's very unlikely to play against WPI on Thursday.  He's had an up and down year, but his 33/16 game @ UM-Dartmouth is an indication of what he can do. 

MIT shot 62.2/61.1/80.8 for the game.  Those numbers will win you most times.

For Clark, a promising season that started out 12-0 showed weaknesses once league play began.  By the end of the season it looked a lot like Clark circa 2015-2020, with fewer touches on offense, a lack of focus on defense, and relying on athleticism and steals to generate production.  18-8 is a positive step, but here are some other stats that suggest maybe not a lot has changed:  0-6 against the NEWMAC top 3;  7th in FG pct; 8th in 3PT pct; 6th in rebounding; 6th in 3PT defense.
Taylor had 20 and 5 steals and probably solidified his ROY credentials.  But his gaudy numbers look a lot like Gayman's as a FY, and now Gayman is moving on, as is Davern, who was their best, consistent inside-outside threat.  They'll need a strong incoming class and strides from others to make up for what they're losing.

As good as MIT looked tonight facing WPI is a daunting challenge, with or without Chatziveroglou.  WPI will be feeding Adams low early and often.  He's too strong for anyone on MIT to handle one-on-one and he's a willing passer if you try to send help.  And WPI won't be conceding open looks like they got tonight.  In the prior 2 meetings MIT didn't crack 50.

[BaboNation]

Just my opinion on the top 10 NEWMAC Most Indispensable Players for the 21-22 regular season.  By my thinking, if your team didn't make the 5-team playoffs in an 8-team league you may well be good, but not indispensable.
Most of these players will find their way onto the official postseason teams (1 & 2), but because they tend to force a F/G mixture I think it tends to distort things a bit.  To illustrate, none of my top 5 would be considered guards, though Hinkley is listed that way.

1. Houston (Emerson)
2. Adams ((WPI)
3. Hinkley (MIT)
4. Lowther (WPI)
5. Dorney (Babson)
6. McNamara (WPI)
7. Saintilus (Clark)
8. Kirsch (Babson)
9. Waterhouse (Emerson)
10. Cho (MIT)

[SpringSt7]

What a finish to regulation in Wellesley

[BaboNation]

Emerson wins @ Babson for the first time in 12 years in OT 85-77.

Not to be a broken record, but it's never easy to win 3 conference games against the same team in a season, even when you have a 16 point lead with 15 minutes left;  or even when you have a 5 point lead with 20 seconds left while shooting FTs in the double-bonus and inexplicably foul on an offensive rebound stopping the clock and awarding FTs at the other end;  or even when you have a 3 point lead and throw away an inbound pass with 13 seconds left;  and when seldom used Trevor Arico hits a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation the point is never clearer.

For the longest time in this game it was only Houston and Waterhouse for Emerson (36 of their first 40 points).  But once others started heating up, especially Arico (14 points - all after halftime), whose previous NEWMAC high was 4, the momentum shifted.

It looked like Babson was running on fumes at the end.  Maybe the 8 days between games (and Covid issues) was a factor, but the mental mistakes down the stretch were uncharacteristic.  I will also note some absences of key players:  Amado for Babson;  McLean and Davis for Emerson.  While Amado would have helped out with his length as a wing defender and is the top Babson rebounder, Emerson was losing a lot more production.  Davis is the guy I feared most off the bench as the 6th man who scores on drives and with his quick release from the arc. 

Waterhouse (28) and Houston (25/10) were the full-game stars for Emerson, playing 89 of 90 minutes combined, but they needed everything Arico provided to get the W.

Dorney (17/16) was gutsy in 42 minutes, but he needed help after Bradanese fouled out late and it wasn't forthcoming.

I've seen mocks that say Babson would still be on the bubble with a loss.  I'm dubious about that.  Even if it's the case they would now be firmly seeded 4th in a pod against the host team in the first round.
I've also seen that the winner of this game is probably getting invited.  I think that's likely.

Good luck to Emerson & WPI.

[7express]

Emerson wins @ Babson for the first time in 12 years in OT 85-77.

Not to be a broken record, but it's never easy to win 3 conference games against the same team in a season, even when you have a 16 point lead with 15 minutes left;  or even when you have a 5 point lead with 20 seconds left while shooting FTs in the double-bonus and inexplicably foul on an offensive rebound stopping the clock and awarding FTs at the other end;  or even when you have a 3 point lead and throw away an inbound pass with 13 seconds left;  and when seldom used Trevor Arico hits a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation the point is never clearer.

For the longest time in this game it was only Houston and Waterhouse for Emerson (36 of their first 40 points).  But once others started heating up, especially Arico (14 points - all after halftime), whose previous NEWMAC high was 4, the momentum shifted.

It looked like Babson was running on fumes at the end.  Maybe the 8 days between games (and Covid issues) was a factor, but the mental mistakes down the stretch were uncharacteristic.  I will also note some absences of key players:  Amado for Babson;  McLean and Davis for Emerson.  While Amado would have helped out with his length as a wing defender and is the top Babson rebounder, Emerson was losing a lot more production.  Davis is the guy I feared most off the bench as the 6th man who scores on drives and with his quick release from the arc. 

Waterhouse (28) and Houston (25/10) were the full-game stars for Emerson, playing 89 of 90 minutes combined, but they needed everything Arico provided to get the W.

Dorney (17/16) was gutsy in 42 minutes, but he needed help after Bradanese fouled out late and it wasn't forthcoming.

I've seen mocks that say Babson would still be on the bubble with a loss.  I'm dubious about that.  Even if it's the case they would now be firmly seeded 4th in a pod against the host team in the first round.
I've also seen that the winner of this game is probably getting invited.  I think that's likely.

Good luck to Emerson & WPI.

I can one up you here!  Down here in Connecticut I think it was 4 or 5 years ago either in 2017 or 2018 I believe it was a state quarterfinal game; a team is up 4 points with 7 seconds to play and they lost!  How??  The opponent took and made a 3 and got fouled.  Now in Connecticut, the clock continues to run on a made basket in the 4th quarter, so the ball went through the net at about 5 and change, so really the opponent can hold the ball for 4.5 seconds until theres about 1.5 left and chuck one down court or up in the air and hopefully the clock runs out.  The kid made the free throw to tie the game to force OT and they ended up winning in OT.  Sad thing is, the team that was winning at that 8 second point had been leading the entire way, and outside of 0-0 I don't even think the game had even been tied again, so in actually it would have been more beneficial to them if they put all 5 defenders out of bounds and not even played defense.

[WPI89]

Congratulations WPI!!!  What a season. Emerson was great in the first half and then went cold.   Lowther great. Extra-long and extra special hugs from coach B with O'Donnell, Downing, and McNamara!  Boy, this has to feel great, especially for them!

Gotta believe they get to host a pod next weekend!  Unless there is some dynamic I do not know about?

[BaboNation]

Congratulations WPI!!!  What a season. Emerson was great in first half and then went cold.   Lowther great. Extra long and extra special hugs from coach B with Downing and Macnamara!  Boy this has to feel great for both of them!

Gotta believe they get to host a pod next weekend!  Unless there is some dynamic I do not know about?

Congrats.

WPI will definitely host the 1st 2 rounds.  Depending how the rest of the weekend plays out and how the first 2 rounds go they may even host the round of 16 pod.

Lowther is a man of steel.  Misses 3 games and comes back to be tourney MVP.  And Adams went toe-to-toe with Houston for 3 games and more than held his own.

I'm hoping at least one more bid comes to the NEWMAC.  Emerson would get a bid before Babson.  Hoping for a deep postseason run by WPI.  Success helps the whole conference.

[nescac1]

Given how few upsets there have been, Emerson and Babson are almost surely locks to make the tourney at this point. 

I think WPI, Williams, Wesleyan, and St. Joe's are all going to host pods.  RMC, Marietta and Oshkosh are all going to be top seeds I expect which leaves room for one New England team to potentially be a top seed in a quadrant.  I think if Wesleyan wins tomorrow, they will very clearly be the top seed among those four teams, and most definitely will be a top seed overall in a quadrant.  If Wesleyan loses tomorrow, those four teams are very close -- any of the four of them, or Christopher Newport, could conceivably be the last top quadrant seed.  My guess is it would be Christopher Newport, unless they keep them in RMC's quarter of the bracket for geographic reasons, in which case it would likely be Williams edging out WPI and St. Joe's.  But all of those teams have an argument, they are all going to end up REALLY close in the ratings if Williams and St. Joe's win out.  Wesleyan is the only one from that group that, with another win, would have separated itself from the pack a bit.