MBB: NESCAC

[Bucket]

Williams supporter and lurker here, finally getting off my rear to post a question. 

Where has Wang gone this year?  If I recall correctly, he was a pre-season All American but I barely hear a peep about him on this board.  Injury?  Or did he totally fall off without the big guy to play the foil?

I believe that he had back surgery over the summer, and that it's been a long road to regain his complete health.

[walzy31]

Amherst handles Colby 82-64 behind another big day from the Toomey/Waller combo. Colby's perimeter defense was suspicious.
Toomey with 16pts, 9ast, 6stl, and 4 reb in 27 mins.
Waller going 7-10 (4-5 3pt) for 18.
Holmes with 15 and 8.

[amh63]

Thanks Walzy for the final score.  Did not know if Amherst's last second layup counted before the buzzer.  Amherst finished the game with  five bench players on the floor in the last 2-3 minutes with a double digit lead.  Amherst got ahead by 20 in the 2nd half and Colby actually brought the point spread to below 10 before Amherst built up the score to 20 plus points. 
With Waller and Toomey hitting 5 threes, Amherst jumped to a double digit lead quickly.  It seemed that the first 5 shots made by Amherst were 3's.  Colby went into a zone for a period of time....Barrise's shots were not going in, but Waller hit several more from outside.  Amherst started to work the ball inside and played tough defense.  Colby had a guard come off the bench and hit about 4 threes. The star of the Colby win last night...Foreman, I believe....was held in check by Amherst.  Colby's front court was not a factor in this game.  In reflection, it was a good Maine road trip for the men.  The Amherst WBB team had two scares, but two wins.

[Ashley Parker Angel]

not to single him out... but John Squires might have just shot the worst free throw of the year.  That thing came nowhere close to the rim, net, or backboard

Most suspicious thing about this was the webcaster comment: "well, technically it touched the net..."

Tough one for the Cardinals, who seemed to run out of steam entering the second half. Interesting FTA/FTM comparison for the game (two minutes left, Bates 28-42 and Wesleyan 13-18). Seemed to be a combination of ticky-tacky fouls called primarily on Wes and superior energy/toughness brought by the Bobcats.

Wes will have a week to regroup before facing instate rival Conn College.

[Old Guy]

Who is the 5th first team all-NESCAC player?
So far:
Ryan Sharry (POTY)
Shasha Brown
Will Hanley
Aaron Toomey

I would think that the last 1st team rep would be one of either Robertson, Wang or Orchowski. Walzy

Partisan that I am, I would suggest that Kizell is a candidate for that 5th spot: 13.6 points/game on 55% from the floor; 50% from three (20-40); 91% (59-65) from the line. He does his best work at the end of the game. I don't recall his missing a FT in the last minute. He and Jake Wolfin share point guard responsibilities, bringing the ball up against pressure. He's having a breakout year.

Nolan Thompson must be in the mix for DPOY, which is not an award that lends itself to a strict statistical evaluation. He picks up the opposition's best offensive player from the 1-4 positions on the floor, tricky point guard to post-up player on the blocks. I've not seen anyone better defensively, man to man, and that includes Tim Edwards who was terrific. 

[walzy31]

Saturday January 21st NESCAC Spreads

Amherst @ Colby
Amherst -19.5
O/U: 136.5

Bates @ Wesleyan
Wesleyan -6.0
O/U: 131.0

Tufts @ Conn College
Tufts -11.5
O/U: 136.0

Trinity @ Bowdoin
Bowdoin -2.5
O/U: 139.5

Amherst 82 @ Colby 64
Amherst -19.5 (Colby Covers +1.5)
O/U: 136.5 (Over +10.5)

Bates 77 @ Wesleyan 60
Wesleyan -6.0 (Bates Covers +23.0)
O/U: 131.0 (Over +6.0)

Tufts 83 @ Conn College 55
Tufts -11.5 (Tufts Covers +16.5)
O/U: 136.0 (Over +2.0)

Trinity 43 @ Bowdoin 55
Bowdoin -2.5 (Bowdoin Covers +9.5)
O/U: 139.5 (Under +41.5)

[walzy31]

Colby (+) and under (-)
Wes (-) and over (+)
Tufts (+) and under (-)
Bowdoin (+) and under (+)

5-3 or up 1.7 units. I'll call that a +1K.

I am not sure how the over hit in the Wesleyan/Bates game. It was 23-23 at the half and 60-45 with about 3 minutes left. It was one of those games where if actual money was being wagered on NESCAC games, I would be suspicious that Wesleyan players had their per-diem on the over. Luckily, D3 is pure (outside of the Kean women).

[walzy31]

Thanks Walzy for the final score.  Did not know if Amherst's last second layup counted before the buzzer.

The buzzer-beater for Amherst did count, which is unfortunate for the Lord Jeff who made it as there were All-Crazy team scouts who witnessed the possession.

[amh63]

A..N..Angel...Welcome to the board!  Always nice to read fresh insights.  Your "stats" on foul shots is of interest to me.  They were similar to the ones in the Amherst loss to Wes.  In that game, Wes. shot around 83% from the line with about 24 attempts.  Amherst shot only 12-18...66% from the foul line.  IF they had shot as well as they did this weekend in Maine.....but that is how it goes sometimes. The "Basketball Gods" have a way of balancing things out over the long season.  You are perceptive in that the same gods reward effort and toughness, etc.  It just seems that Wes. had a great run at home....and just seem to run out of gas today.  Five tough games in a row.
Yes it is ironic that Bates wins over Wes. with toughness and effort today as that was the signature type of teams the Wes. coach had up at Bates.

[Bucket]

All this talk--well deserved, I might add--about the rapid rise of Wesleyan and Tufts to challenge for a top spot (and seed) in the conference, and there is Bates sitting at 4-2, thanks to a 17-point thrashing of the Cardinals.

Interesting to note that the Bobcats essentially hold a two-game lead over Wes, thanks to a one-game advantage in the standings plus the tiebreaker if the two finish with the same record. That said, Bates still has to play Amherst (at home) and Tufts (on the road). If Bates wins in Medford, they have a great shot at that #4 (or better) seed.

[OchoLoko41]

Definitely a tough loss for the Cardinals as they fall into that virtual 2 game against Bates come playoff seeding.  This game really came down to a discombobulated start to the second half for Wesleyan who after ending the 1st tied at 23, quickly fell into a hole against Bates due to turnovers and forced shots.

This game from start to finish was extremely choppy, with 55 fouls being called between the two teams in a game that while certainly physical, did not seem to be in danger of getting out of hand at any time.  While this number is certainly inflated a little due to Wesleyan beginning to intentionally foul with 3 minutes remaining in an attempt to extend the game, both teams were in the double bonus very early in the 2nd half

[lefrakenstein]

David Waller looked great this weekend. It's good see him playing up to his capability again. He was dominant in last year's NCAA run and I had hoped he would be back in that form to begin the season. Better late than never though, I hope he can keep it up.

Little bit worried about the shooting on this year's team. It's hard to win big in the NESCAC without being an elite shooting team, and so far the Jeff's have not been there despite returning almost everyone from a team that shot lights-out last year. Toomey was 40% 3PT shooter last year, this year he's at 36%. Waller was a 47% shooter last year, this year he's at 35%. Workman was a 38% shooter last year, this year he's at 25%. Only Barrise's % has improved, from 44 to 45%. Overall, the team's 3PT% has dropped from an elite 40% a year ago to a good, but not exceptional 36% this year. Not sure what to attribute that to, except perhaps the departure of Meehan, not so much for his shooting % as his ability to get guys open looks with the drive and kick game. No reason Toomey can't do the same though. Hopefully Workman will find his groove, he's been exceptional this year in pretty much every other area. If he gets his deep shot back he'll go from being a border-line all-NESCAC 2nd-teamer to border-line 1st-teamer, mark my words.

Toomey's shooting alone in the NESCAC season might be enough to raise the team. 56%, 48%, 92% (FG, 3PT, FT). Insane. Also leads conference in A/g by an assist and a half and in steals/game by a full assist (just looking at in-conference stats). I propose "Just-a-sophomore, clap, clap, clapclapclap" as a new cheer in LeFrak for the rest of the season. Toomey has to be the best POY challenger to Sharry-with apologies to Will Hanley. (although I'm sure Sharry, by seniority, will win walking away)

It's too bad also that the established rotation guys haven't got a ton of help from new players, other than perhaps Kalema. Barry has been hurt, Killian has been hurt and hasn't had a meaningful showing during the time he has gotten, and Mussachia hasn't been able to crack the rotation (not surprising for a freshman, but still). Buckner has looked good, but is stuck behind Kaasila and Holmes. Williamson hasn't been the devastating scorer off the bench that he often was last season. Hopefully the second unit steps it up come time for the NESCAC and NCAA tourneys.

[amh63]

Nice objective thoughts on the Amherst team....Lefrakenstein.  I agree Waller's contribution lately is most welcome.  The coach has put in more players this year than his history would indicate (going to be in Hixon's dog house again...maybe I never left it.)  Would like to see the gunner from way up northern NY get more time(Conner Gach..Saranac Lake).  He is expected to be the next outside sharp shooter following Barrise and Wheeler. Good beer town..Saranac.
Williamson seems to hesitate when he is in to go inside offensively this year.  He often passes up opportunities and makes passes to others that end up becoming turnovers....as the passes arrive unexpected.  Still, one has to play defense to get time on the floor.  Colby, like Hamilton in an earlier game went to a zone defense.  That factor and more teams are playing the perimeter defense better this year...challenging Amherst's outside shooters.  Glad that Barrise is shooting better now...though he was off in the Colby game. I notice that other teams are preventing Willie Workman from driving in from along the back line.  He has gotten several charge fouls in several games.  Good scouting reports on him and bad calls, IMO.  Willie will adjust his game and contribute in other ways.  Becoming a great rebounder as has Barrise this year.

[walzy31]

Who is the 5th first team all-NESCAC player?
So far:
Ryan Sharry (POTY)
Shasha Brown
Will Hanley
Aaron Toomey

I would think that the last 1st team rep would be one of either Robertson, Wang or Orchowski. Walzy

For a second there I thought you were voting me in as a POTY candidate.

[amh63]

Walzy....Will you give us a spread on the Williams vs. Hamilton Game today at 4 PM.  Its at Clinton NY.  Maybe you did and I missed it.
I know you are quick enough and smart enough to dream about an all conference BB spot...but do you have the hops?