MBB: NESCAC

[frank uible]

A perusal of the WashU website reveals that Colby, Hamilton, Wesleyan and Trinity as well as Amherst and Tufts have played in that annual tournament (The Lopata Classic) at one time or another.

[7express]

Thanks Frank Uible and Hoops Fan!

[pick and roll]

Midd fans will recall RIC ended the Panther's season in the tournament a couple of years ago too.

[amh63]

Amherst beats Elms away in a Springfield area tourney tonight.  Aaron T. goes for 32 tonight and Willy W. gets another double double to go along with his 3 blocks.  It was only a 4 point lead at the half for Amherst.....but grew to over 22 late in the 2nd half.  Amherst shot better % from the 3-point area than from the 2-point range.  Still to many turnovers and shooting only 67% from the foul lane.  Turnovers mainly from steals by Elms.
Went to the Wash. U. site in St. Louis.  Tufts was beating IWU, the highly rated midwest school with less than 2 minutes to go.....but got behind after a questionable flagrant foul called on Tufts' leading scorer that fouled the Tufts player out.  That led to 2 foul shots and possession for IWU.  With the score tied and then down by 2, Tufts young team had few scoring options and made rushed shots, etc.
Still Tufts played well against a bigger overall team...leading most of the 2nd half.
Forgot to add that my view of the flagrant foul call was also supported by one of the neutral announcers that was also puzzled.  The three refs spent some time talking among themselves afterward...on the floor before the foul shots were taken by IWU.

[Panthernation]

Went to the Wash. U. site in St. Louis.  Tufts was beating IWU, the highly rated midwest school with less than 2 minutes to go.....but got behind after a questionable flagrant foul called on Tufts' leading scorer that fouled the Tufts player out.  That led to 2 foul shots and possession for IWU.  With the score tied and then down by 2, Tufts young team had few scoring options and made rushed shots, etc.
Still Tufts played well against a bigger overall team...leading most of the 2nd half.
Forgot to add that my view of the flagrant foul call was also supported by one of the neutral announcers that was also puzzled.  The three refs spent some time talking among themselves afterward...on the floor before the foul shots were taken by IWU.

Amh63, the call the officials made was correct. From the NCAA rulebook: "Definitions. 4-29.2.c.6. In summary, contact with an elbow that occurs above the shoulders of an opponent when the elbows are not swung excessively per 4-36.7.a is a flagrant 1 personal foul and results in two free throws and the ball awarded to the offended team (2010-2011 rule change)."

[lumbercat]

Rumors of Tufts to the UAA still circulating at the Mo. Tournament venue this weekend...don't shoot the messenger on the logistics of the move but talk of it just doesnt go away. Are they convinced that a cure for the 23 game football losing streak can be corrected more easily in the UAA where they would have more latitude to impose needed measures improve their Football program? Also the desire to compete in a venue with larger universities with advanced cirriculum and masters programs is still rumored to be their destination.
The 2 sports that don't fit this scheme are Lacrosse and Hockey....There are a number of New England Hockey Conferences that would welcome the Jumbos but not sure where they may find a Lacrosse home.

[frank uible]

In my judgment the UAA football (WashU, Carnegie-Mellon, Chicago, Case Western Reserve) is stronger top to bottom than NESCAC. As well as hockey and lax the UAA does not have rowing, squash and field hockey. If Tufts moved to the UAA, how satisfactorily would Tufts fill its non-confernce schedule in football, assuming it would no longer play any NESCAC colleges in that sport?

[amh63]

Panthernation.....thanks for the details.  One of the announcers remarked that there was a "new" rule that the refs have been applying this season. The "questionable" part was not only the play but the timing of the call.  It was near the end of a tight game and Tufts had the lead (?) and the ball.  The Tufts player had his arms straight up and was looking to pass the ball in the front court.  The defender was closely guarding him.  The defender suddenly fell down.  He was not hurt....he made a good defensive play under the new rule.  The announcer's comments was more in line to not make the call due to the nature of the game.  However the defender fell down. A foul had to be called ?
I guess, us observers of the contests should be watching out for such future calls this season in the "CAC".  I admit that I did not want to see the game turn via such a call that I would not consider "fragrant" otherwise.   Guess it "falls" in the area of ....is it a charge or a block call....but with harsher results.
Lumbercat.....nice rumor.  With the sports news filled with schools changing conferences because of money, etc... now here is one that falls in line to the stories about the Big East where there are many schools with no football teams.  Recently, a fine national writer
suggested that the Big East return to its glory days and be a basketball only conference.
Frank U.....maybe Brandeis will take up football if neighbor Tufts goes to the UAA...or maybe Tufts will save money and drop football.

[frank uible]

Brandeis will resume football when Benny Friedman returns.

[madzillagd]

Amh63, I saw it similar to you on that call. I was not convinced that Ferris even made contact with the defender on the swim move yet the defender went flying backward. Unfortunate because it was the difference in the game, once Ferris was out the Tufts offense was dead in the water.

Something to ponder, will people come out of this thinking Tufts is better than they really are after two close losses to highly ranked teams or will the folks recognize those squads as being overrated?

[jaybird44]

As the play-by-announcer for yesterday's Tufts/Illinois Wesleyan game, our commentary was meant to illuminate a new point-of-emphasis for officials, regarding the contact made by swinging elbows.  It appears that any kind of real or perceived contact made by Player A on Opposing Player B around head level is going to be whistled for a flagrant foul.  In the incident involving Ferris, he was the unfortunate victim because (a) he didn't appear to have malicious intent, and (b) the amount or degree was not forceful enough IMOH to merit a falldown by Zimmer or a flagrant foul.  But, the POE prompted such a foul to be called, and Ferris had to leave the game with his 15 points.  A second flagrant foul a little bit later on Haladyna, with a similar questionable degree, resulted in Coach Sheldon getting 2 techs with 26 seconds left.  The first one on Ferris clearly and negatively affected Tufts' ability to hold onto its lead.

The quandary of "To be, or not to be, a flagrant foul" occurred in the 2nd game between Wash-U and Wilmington.  Wash-U's Chris Klimek took a very hard elbow to the face (not intentional by the Wilmington player), but a flagrant foul was NOT called in that instance.  My partner and I discussed the vexing problem that has now been tossed in the officials' laps by the NCAA rules committee.  Do officials call a flurry of flagrant fouls that will certainly have a direct effect on the outcome of games, or do they restrain themselves from making such calls--even if a flagrant foul should be called?  In the Klimek case, the non-call helped escalate tempers to the point where they nearly boiled over early in 2nd half.

I think officials have been put between a rock and a hard place.  Their abilities to evaluate each foul on its own merit have been taken away, with the unintended result of more inconsistency in calling such fouls.  Which, as I saw last night, outcomes of games could be unfairly determined, and potential injuries could develop due to an escalation of tempers.  The NCAA has overreacted with its POE, IMO.

[amh63]

Jaybird44.....thanks for your input....and interesting "handle".  I turned off the game when it became obvious that Tufts had no chance to win.  Your input about two technical fouls later and another call explains the final score.
I hope coaches will not tell their players to start falling all over the place, etc. this season....to help his or her player on the defensive side.  Do not want confusion to prevail like in the recent Celtics' incident/game.

[Mr. Ypsi]

For the record, so far as I know Brady Zimmer has no reputation as a 'flopper'.  It may be possible that he was caught off-balance with a relatively innocuous elbow - I didn't see the incident - but I doubt it was a flop.

[madzillagd]

Jaybird - That 2nd flagrant was interesting to me because I wasn't sure if they called an actual flagrant or if it was being called intentional.  I happened to be looking right at the play, the Tufts player clearly wrapped his right arm around the offensive player and essentially pulled him down on top of himself to try to make it look like a charge.  It was definitely a foul, I just don't understand the need to call that flagrant.  There was definitely intent but it wasn't excessive or maliscious in any way. 

Ypsi - whether you want to call it a flop or embellished, the amount of force delivered (if it was delivered at all) vs the result reminded me of the old Bruce Lee two finger punch, and despite his ability on the basketball court I don't think harnessing that type of energy is a power that Ben Ferris possesses. 

[Old Guy]

Brandeis will resume football when Benny Friedman returns.

I caddied for Benny Friedman when I was a kid. A character.