MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

DWCarter.....welcome to this partisan board.  Your link to your team's highlights allowed me to see a clip of Amherst's '07 celebration at Salem.   Brought back good thoughts for me.  Maybe Amherst will meet VWC on the court again.  I'm sure the coaches will say hi in any case up in the northwest corner of MA.

[amh63]

I guess the sparing begins in the posting on BB matters.  Good diversion.  Last week, I made a posting on the Little East board wrt Amherst meeting RIC....in response to a RIC poster who "complained" somewhat about RIC not getting respect.  Anyway, it was like not getting enough attention when there is a party going on....or a child in a large family at certain times....enough of this.    Where are the RIC posters to share the info?  
Walzy.....another spread?  I realize that the spreads are based on data that changes as the event approaches, etc. etc.  I am sure it was not due to Williams posters putting down big bets?    Talking about big bucks....saw on another website that the fees to attend the sectionals are up to 7 big ones and there is even a charge for little kids!  Really....I guess the NCAA must pay for better people in stripes and to recovery all the transportation costs.  The shirts are not going fast at those prices and in these economic times......even for our conference supporters.
Oh yes, this modification is for Old Guy and Midd. supporters.   Had a chat with my daughter in Ithaca who informed me that there has been 157 inches of snow so far in Syracuse this "season".  My daughter's husband had to shovel 8 plus inches of snow yesterday.  My Amherst grad. daughter is tired of the cold and is coming down to D.C. before taking the family to Florida and the beach!  She, however, thinks that it will be warmer weather up in NY for the weekend.

[hoya73]

"I watched some of the Bucknell game last night as well -- Walzy would have been happy, as at one point the refs went over to talk to Paulsen and he had a cup of water in-hand.  Interesting angle with the Lafayette game, btw, Lafayette's starting PG was, I believe, in Paulsen's last recruiting class, and then ditched Williams for Lafayette when Paulsen took the Bucknell job.  I am not sure he would have ended up starting at Williams over Wang, anyway .."


As to NESCAC 1's observation above, it seems odd to say a starting PG on a team playing in a D1 conference championship game wouldn't haven't have played in front of Wang, but based on my personal observations, I have to agree with him.  Again, a fine and blurry line between the NESCAC and the Patriot League a lot of the time.

[Argylebballer]

I can post some RIC Info. They want to push the tempo but still play pretty good defense, they are a top ten in the nation team in Opp. Field Goal %. Also they are a smaller team but still somehow seem to get on the boards and have been around +7 on the boards all year which has always keep them in top 25 in that stat. For more on the main players...

PG: Antone Gray
Senior
5-9, 165lbs
13 ppg and 6.5 apg
He is lighting quick and runs a tight ship. Pretty good jump shot.  Can sometimes play too fast. Undersized but pretty strong for his size.

SG: Nick Manson
Senior
6-1, 165
9.6 ppg and 69 made threes on the season
A pure shooter.  Has the deepest range on the team.  Can be real streaky, hot/cold.  When he is on he can be deadly. Also has greatly improved his def to become a very good defender this season.

SF: Mason Choice
Junior
6-4, 205
12 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg, 1.2 spg
I would say the teams MVP this season.  Numbers don't always stick out but he can do a little bit of everything.  Good at attacking the rim, although he can get out of control on the attack.  Also has been know to sometimes add up the fouls. Can also take the big shot if needed, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-AGBgfhvO4&feature=related.

PF: Carl Lee
Senior
6-4, 205
11 ppg, and 5 rpg
Undersized but a freak athlete. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuHQD-6PPXQ. Loves to run the floor and score in transition.  Can be a real spark plug during runs.  Rebounds well for his size.  Not a great handle or passing, but they have improved.

C: Mike Akinrola
Junior
6-6, 230
14 ppg, 5.3 rpg
A banger down low. Not super tall but loves contact.  Has developed into the teams corner piece on the block. Can score with both hands down low.  Also can get in foul trouble.

Key Bench Players:
PG: Tah Carter
PF: Steve Roberts
PF: Darius Debnam
C: Ashton Watkins

[eph partisan]

Looks like a really tough matchup for RIC, much to my chagrin, though Amherst will probably have trouble with Gray's quickness on the perimeter. The athleticism the Jeffs have on the wings is exceptional, and they have some big bodies that they can throw at the fairly small RIC front line. 

[Argylebballer]

That is true.  Although ric has been alright, somehow it makes no sence, but that makes me think somehow they do it again.  Oswego was much bigger, and several teams this year have been bigger but the speed ric plays and rough play down low has been able to keep them alive.

[DeWayneCarter]

Building off of nescac1...

To be honest, DeWayne, I think it is a little bit difficult to pigeonhole the Ephs' style at the moment. They've been consistently excellent defensively - Husson was the first team to score more than 70 on the team since early January, and they have held their opponents to 37 percent shooting on the season, and held Midd and Amherst to 40 percent shooting the last times we played each - because of excellent rotations and Whittington in the middle.

We run one of the many variations of he read-and-react motion offense, and we, too, rely heavily on three point shooting. We'll get out and run if the opportunities are there, but it is not really something we'll force too much. The way the flow of the offense works varies game to game, but you can trust that Wang will get his points. Whittington has been a bit less of a factor offensively in the last several games because teams have been collapsing on him, but it is very difficult to predict when either he or Wang will just explode offensively.

You are right that Klemm is the third option, but he is probably our number two scorer from outside behind Wang, and if you want to talk about guys that make our team go, you look at Nate Robertson. He and James share PG duties, and he is capable of doing damage offensively, but his role on the team is really as a glue guy. We have several other guys that can knock it down from deep as well - Emerson, our back up center, and Epley have been good all year, and Rooke-Ley appears to have found his shot. We definitely don't go 10 deep, though.

Any other important facts about VW? Do you have someone that can lock down Wang? Do you think that Vaughn matches up well with Troy?

They may not have anyone that will lock him down because he is a great player, but they have a PG in Tre Ford who can match up with him defensively. He is pretty quick and has good hands so he'll get some steals, but he's only a soph. so he's still learning. And I think that Vaughn could match up with Troy because he is very athletic, very long, and really plays hard. I agree with you what Vaughn isn't as polished as Whittington, but he has come a long way since his freshman year and his skills are finally catching up to his athleticism, so I think that will be a good matchup. Some other key players for VWC are Chris Teasely, a guard, Chris Astorga, a 4 man, and DJ Woodmore, another starting guard and the conference FOY. All three of those guys can score from outside and put the ball on the floor, but like I said sometimes VWC tends to live and die by the 3. When those guys are on they are tough to beat, but during the season they hit a stretch where they lost a couple games, and during that stretch they shot horribly from the 3 point line.  They aren't a team where one player carries them, any player can have a big night on that team. I think what makes them special is the fact that there are no seniors on that roster, so there are some guys who are starting for the first time or are getting big minutes for the first time and are really contributing to VWC's success. I think that they're youth can also be a problem, and I hope it doesn't show up there at Williamstown.

[amh63]

Since I seem to be agitating people.....I will now make my last post until after the Fri. game.  More serious post for others, I hope.
First, I truly wish the best for the NESCAC teams this Fri.  I also wish for two conference teams advancing to the Final 4, of course, Amherst being one of the two.
Weather aside, I feel that Midd. will prevail against U. of Rochester and that the spread will be much larger than Walzy's line (as was the case last weekend).  My rational is that Rochester's home court advantage is a paper tiger.  Midd.'s toughness this year, as seen in it's last game against Amherst is key.  Rochester's comeback against MIT last weekend was due to inside play.  I do not think it will work against the likes of Midd.'s front court.  I also believe that Midd. has the players to shut down Rochester's star guard/player.  Not so much his scoring, but his control of Rochester's offensive flow.  If Midd. can hit from the outside, I think the game can become a blow out.
With respect to the Williams "pod"/section, the conference schools will need less time to prepare for the weekend games than their opponents.....since Williams and Amherst have met twice this year.  In the case of Amherst vs. RIC, many of the Amherst players played in last year's win over RIC.  However, RIC seems bigger and deeper this year.  The RIC poster did not mention that one of RIC  key contributer this year is a FY front line player.  Even though the iconic Walzy line has dropped for this game, I still think/believe Amherst will win.  I just hope, Amherst will test RIC early inside and not rely on the outside shot in the early part of the game.
The VWC versus Williams game should be the most interesting game on Friday, IMO.  VWC plays a style much like RIC....dictated much by their players.  However, VWC has played in a conference that is tougher than the Little East(at least this year).  I guess Williams needs to stop the outside shots of VWC early....in short play good perimeter defense.  If Williams starts hitting its outside shots and stop VWC's transition game, I think this game can also become a blow-out.

[Argylebballer]

If people want to hear more about all the Northeast games tune in to Sports Flash on WXIN in Providence Thursday from 4-6pm.  The Head Coaches from Williams, RIC, Amherst, Middlebury, and Pat Coleman will all be on.  With a few other guest as well.  You can listen online at www.ricradio.org. And call in at 401-456-8787 if you want to talk basketball.

[walzy31]

Walzy.....another spread?  I realize that the spreads are based on data that changes as the event approaches, etc. etc.  I am sure it was not due to Williams posters putting down big bets?

I set the spreads for what my system predicts/projects and then adjust for new information and/or betting action.

All three updated line moves that were posted last night reflected the heavy action on Midd & Williams. Some bettors locked in the Pick'em and -1.5 point spreads already, but the new lines are for anyone who desires action today. There may be a third/final set of lines before Friday. Lines move in real life like this too.

[Argylebballer]

How do I get in on that action?

[toad22]

I would rate the chances of each of the four teams making it to Salem as follows:
Amherst  35%
Williams  30%
Va Wes   25%
RIC         10%

Amherst's chances of advancing are better because their first game is against a slightly less tough oppenent, Williams gets a nod over Va Wes because we have the home court. In terms of Walzy's lines, I think he is dead on. In the technical engineering terms at my old company, this weekend's games are a "cluster fu**".

[nescac1]

Whittington highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7h-5bIP0Hg

Only one or two more home games left for Williams fans to watch Troy, kinda a bummer. 

He needs more touches on offense this weekend!

[The Voice]

Speaking of highlights... anyone have video of Locke's alley-oop from Saturday night? One of the best dunks he's had in Pepin, for sure.

Agreed on Whittington needing more touches, too. I was shocked he only had 7 FGAs in the NESCAC final.

[walzy31]

Whittington highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7h-5bIP0Hg

Only one or two more home games left for Williams fans to watch Troy, kinda a bummer.  

He needs more touches on offense this weekend!

My scouting report on Troy would simply say: "Just like Derek Zoolander, he only goes left."