MBB: NESCAC

[Old Guy]

Middlebury: Sharry had 28 points (10-12) and 13 rebounds and four blocks. Sinnickson (ROY?) had 15, Lynch 13. The guards beat the press, handled the pressure - the big guys finished. Terrific guard play: Wolfin had 8 assists, Kizell had 18 points, Thompson played his usual solid all-round game.

Castleton averages 94 points/game, 71 tonight. They play a good non-conference schedule - Wms, Midd, Springfield, WPI, Skidmore, all losses. Then they clean up in their league (7-1).

[Card + Bear Fan]

Just returned home from M-Town.  Getting too old for these late nite drives.

What a great game for the Cardinals.  Callahan was unstoppable in the first half, even giving up several inches to the Amherst bigs.   Coming back from down 10 in the first half then going up 10 in the 2nd stanza, made it really feel like Wes was in charge.   Amherst kept coming back as you would expect, but never could build a lead, even with their 11-6 edge in 3-pt.

83% for the line is what sealed the deal.   Too bad it was not the league game, but sweet win none the less.   Two wins over top 15 teams and a 3 pt loss to #1 all in one week.   Waltzy – what odds would you have put on that back in October?

[with age came?]

New to this board.  Congrats to the Cards for a stunning week.  Do people think they will get noticed in the top 25 poll with 4 losses after beating two top teams and giving number one all they could handle?  Don't really know too much about specifics about teams (except a little about Hamilton as I was a Liberty League fan and like the new coach there alot) except that this conference consistently is one of the best in the nation as far as d-3 hoops goes. That being said I would hope that 4 losses would be at least not too frowned upon due to the brutal schedule and that the Cards get noticed?!  Interesting game against Tufts this weekend too.

[nescac1]

Lots of Wesleyan supporters coming out of the woodwork ... good to see the Little Three competitive once again, and Wesleyan's future is bright with only one senior as a major contributor.  I wouldn't look past Tufts this weekend if I was Wesleyan, however, the Jumbos have been playing very well and are getting great play from leading NESCAC ROY contender Ben Ferris, and play great team defense.  I think the winner of that game certainly warrants top 25 consideration, and will have the inside track for a top-three seed in the NESCAC tourney. 

I'd say Midd at this point is head and shoulders above the rest of the league.  Williams I still believe has the potential to get back on track and I think will start shooting the ball better, so long as Robertson stays healthy Ephs will still be a contender, and they could be really dangerous down the stretch if they start to gell as a unit.  Williams is behind the eight ball due to the losses to Tufts and Wesleyan, so they will need at least a split (perhaps a sweep) in the conference games with Amherst and Midd and need to win out in the other conference games if they hope to earn a top-three NESCAC seed.  Amherst played its top three guys a TON of minutes vs. Wesleyan, if they continue to do so in this very tough and densely-packed stretch of games, they really risk wearing them down, but they have the advantage of having a home conference game vs. Williams and already have the conference win vs. Wesleyan.  I think in the end Amherst/Wesleyan/Tufts/Williams will be very closely grouped, all with around 2-4 conference losses. 

Overall, it's good to see more competitive balance in NESCAC, I just hope the teams don't beat each other up to the point where only 1-2 make the NCAA's. 

Nice article celebrating Chandler Gym's 25th anniversary.  My personal favorite games that I personally attended were definitely the 1997 Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games vs. Richard Stockton / Rowan and the 2004 NESCAC championship game vs. Amherst.  Wish I had been at the Tucker Kain game and last year's Elite 8 game ...

http://athletics.williams.edu/sports/General_News_Items/The_Chandler_Athletic_Center_is_25_Years_Young-_But_Already_Home_to_a_Lot_of_History

[walzy31]

Lots of Wesleyan supporters coming out of the woodwork ... good to see the Little Three competitive once again, and Wesleyan's future is bright with only one senior as a major contributor.  I wouldn't look past Tufts this weekend if I was Wesleyan, however, the Jumbos have been playing very well and are getting great play from leading NESCAC ROY contender Ben Ferris, and play great team defense.  I think the winner of that game certainly warrants top 25 consideration, and will have the inside track for a top-three seed in the NESCAC tourney. 

I'd say Midd at this point is head and shoulders above the rest of the league.  Williams I still believe has the potential to get back on track and I think will start shooting the ball better, so long as Robertson stays healthy Ephs will still be a contender, and they could be really dangerous down the stretch if they start to gell as a unit.  Williams is behind the eight ball due to the losses to Tufts and Wesleyan, so they will need at least a split (perhaps a sweep) in the conference games with Amherst and Midd and need to win out in the other conference games if they hope to earn a top-three NESCAC seed.  Amherst played its top three guys a TON of minutes vs. Wesleyan, if they continue to do so in this very tough and densely-packed stretch of games, they really risk wearing them down, but they have the advantage of having a home conference game vs. Williams and already have the conference win vs. Wesleyan.  I think in the end Amherst/Wesleyan/Tufts/Williams will be very closely grouped, all with around 2-4 conference losses. 

Overall, it's good to see more competitive balance in NESCAC, I just hope the teams don't beat each other up to the point where only 1-2 make the NCAA's. 

Nice article celebrating Chandler Gym's 25th anniversary.  My personal favorite games that I personally attended were definitely the 1997 Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games vs. Richard Stockton / Rowan and the 2004 NESCAC championship game vs. Amherst.  Wish I had been at the Tucker Kain game and last year's Elite 8 game ...

http://athletics.williams.edu/sports/General_News_Items/The_Chandler_Athletic_Center_is_25_Years_Young-_But_Already_Home_to_a_Lot_of_History

Agree with everything nescac1 said...good insights.
Of course I don't love the Chandler article at all. I was at both Elite 8 games and the Tucker Kain game. I hate that place but keep coming back for more (see you all Jan 25th).

[Bucket]

from leading NESCAC ROY contender Ben Ferris,

Is he really? I don't mean this to be snide or snarky at all, but he was a gigantic no-show against Midd: 4 points (0-4 from the field), 0 assists, 2 turnovers in 22 minutes of action.

[walzy31]

Two wins over top 15 teams and a 3 pt loss to #1 all in one week.   Waltzy – what odds would you have put on that back in October?

That's a tough line to come up with (considering it factors in a loss that covered the spread and a win that didn't cover the spread at the time of the lines being produced), however, I will give you an estimate:

In October, a parlay of beating Williams and Amherst outright in the same week would payout in the +2700 range (assuming a 12 pt spread on the Williams game and a 7 point spread on the Amherst game--smaller margin for Amherst because Wes would have just beaten Williams). Add in the factor of covering the spread against Middlebury (-110 bet price on a standalone basis), and it becomes a +5240 ticket or 524:1. That's pretty good but also not very realistic of a betting option.

Parlaying the current odds of upsetting Williams as a 6 point dog, beating Amherst straight up as a 2 pt favorite, and covering a 5pt spread against Middlebury, the 3 team parlay ticket would have paid +980...or almost 10:1 odds. This is still not a possible bet to place since it involves the same team playing in multiple games, but it is a more fair approximation of what Cardinals fans could have won from Ephs, Jeffs and Panthers fans.

Thanks for the question.

[nescac1]

That was Ferris's only no-show, and his stat line is pretty stellar:

9.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, over a steal and an assist per game, shooting 47 percent from three, in only 17.6 minutes per game.  He's averaged about 15 ppg since that Midd game, so he seems to be heating up, and he was last week's NESCAC player of the week.  Also of note is that he and fellow frosh CJ Moss have made a huge impact on Tufts' performance as a team, as the Jumbos appear to be dramatically improved from last season (not saying they are the only reason, but certainly a big part of it).   Sinneckson certainly seems like a strong contender as well, but in NESCAC play so far, Ferris is the leading scorer among frosh by a huge margin, and particularly impressive for a perimeter player coming in off the bench,  he is second among frosh and among the conference leaders in rebounding.  As impressive as Midd's frosh group has been, I imagine they could have found a place for the Vermont POY in their rotation, given his performance to date!   

All the other frosh (other than Sinneckson) who started strong seemed to have cooled down quite a bit; Trinity's guys will put up numbers by default since there are so few upper-classmen on the team, but will likely cancel one another out. 

[Colby Hoops]

To add to Nescac1's point Ferris is averaging 14.5 and 4.5 on 64 percent shooting in NESCAC play.   

[frank uible]

Past-posting is a piece of cake.

[amh63]

Chandler article brings back times when I sat in the stands quietly since any Amherst fans were greatly outnumbered by the fans of Williams.  Had to pay a fee to get into the game....with NO discounts for an Amherst grad!
Still it is a place that is a gigantic improvement over the gym it replaced.  When Amherst and Wes. played games in Cages on playing floors installed over dirt/gravel and fans sat in football type stands....the old days....when opponents included Harvard, Brown, Holy Cross and even AIC (when the present MBB coach of UCONN playing)...Williams gym had an undersized gym that had posts/pillars lining the sides....a danger to visiting players.  Correct me if I am wrong Frank U. (I often get my facts confused and live in a time warp at times).

[Old Guy]

I played in that gym at Williams before Chandler. What a nightmare, with a track running overhead, inhibiting shots from the corner, and crazy Eph fans within a few feet from the paying surface: ardent fans and good teams. Terrible place to play (for opponents).

ROY: No question Ferris and Wohl have played more important roles, so far, on their teams than Sinnickson. Not sure they're better players. Ferris made a good choice to go to Tufts where he could play right away and be part of their resurgence. Hard to lose a good player from Vermont to Tufts, but then, Vermont is a Boston suburb.

Sinnickson has found his way into the rotation and his minutes are increasing. He's a very different player from Ferris/Wohl. He's a high flyer, fun to watch, athletic in the extreme. 

Sinnickson is playing 12 minutes a game, averaging 6.7 points. He is playing more of late and has had some nice performances (15 pts in 15 mins vs Castleton; 10 in 13 vs Tufts; 13 in 14 vs Bates; 15 in 18 vs RPI; 13 in 14 vs Johnson & Wales).

Wohl is averaging 5.3 points in nearly 17 minutes a game. Ferris is averaging 9.6 points in 17.6 minutes per game.

Sinnickson is getting good production in a third less playing time. He's in the discussion for ROY at least.  Let's see what happens the rest of the way.

[jayhawk]

Nice article on Amherst recruit Ben Pollack and his coach. Pollack is from same school as Spencer Noon, soccer star who played B-Ball for two years
http://farmington.patch.com/articles/winning-seasons-and-polished-graduates-are-fhs-hoop-legacy

[Card + Bear Fan]

Here is some footage of the end of the Wes / Amherst game.   My Cardinal bias is visible in the editing.

http://youtu.be/2AEV5yviN1E

[nescac1]

Great video from Wesleyan!  Sha Brown is so quick / difficult to guard, he is headed for a first team all-NESCAC nod this year barring something unexpected. 

Old Guy, I wouldn't put Wohl ahead of Sinnickson at this point, he has cooled off quite a bit since a hot early start.  I do think he has a bright future as he is also very long and has had a few very athletic dunks in traffic / blocks / steals / drives this year, his shooting has been off the last few weeks but once he regains his shooting touch he will be a dynamic offensive player.  We may not really see what he can do until next year, as another Eph frosh, Parker Semin, seems to be getting more minutes as of late, and Wohl is behind some more experienced players at the swing positions.  Semin has shown an impressive skill set and I would like to see him get more PT going forward, as, although not very tall (generously listed at 6'5), he gives the Ephs some added physicality up front.  Ferris, however, has really been lighting it up of late, and Tufts relies on him a lot more than Midd relies on Sinnickson.  All of those guys, along with Brierly, will certainly be key players on their respective squads once they gain more experience.  Tuft's CJ Moss also has to be in the conversation, as he is the only frosh starting for a NESCAC contender. 

Speaking of swingmen, Trinity snagged an impressive recruit from Maine: 

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/2337/Langaas-Makes-Pick.php

He is ranked by that site as the sixth-ranked prospect in Maine.  The previous three years, the top six Maine prospects all went D-1 (of course, this could be an off year for talent in Maine, but he might be a steal).   I note that the tenth-ranked player in Maine appears to be the brother of a current Trinity player, so the Bantams may have the inside track on recruiting him as well. 

Big game for Williams vs. a tough Skidmore team tonight.  The Ephs really need to build some momentum heading into a huge week ahead: Hamilton, Amherst, at Midd.  A brutal four game stretch, but a chance for Williams to put itself back in the national conversation with a strong showing.