MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

I'll take Williams, no opinion on over-under as it looks pretty dead-on to me. 

[7express]

Watched a little of the Bowdoin and Colby games last night and it's nice to see the teams win against out-of conference opponents.  The Polar Bear game against Babson was of particular interest since it was against a team that beat Amherst.  Two areas in the contest caught my attention.  First, Swords, Bowdoin's 7 footer started and he impacted the players from Babson...since they have no front court player to counter.  It seems that the Bears two tall centers scored points...not many rebounds though.  Matt Mathias, the junior guard that torched Amherst went back to his low point output (Matt did score well against Trinity...after the Amherst game), go figure?
Babson did not shoot well...even at home...from the outside...a factor that contributed to their win against Amherst early in the season.
Shifted to the RIC game in RI for a bit.....Amherst will play them next week in a road game.  They gave Amherst a tough time in LeFrak last season...playing a physical in your face type game.  Though it was close against Western Conn.....RIC won and is in the driver's seat for the LEC title and a post season spot.  RIC is not a tall team, but a deep team as they rotate at least 10 players.
Enough said.....big contest tonight....Amherst's website has a nice writeup for both games to "market" the game....expect a good turnout since classes are starting and the students are back!

Sorry to do this Amh63, but I have to disagree with you there.  Both them and Eastern are 7-1 in conference HOWEVER Eastern beat RIC @ RIC in Decmber, and they play @ Eastern Saturday.  Whoever wins that game most likely wins the conference, and since Eastern already won on the road their my pick to win.  If RIC doesn't get 21 offensive rebounds they lose to Western last night, they looked awful for most of the game.

[amh63]

My bad....7Express....I guess.  The LEC does have a tourney?  If so, does the tourney winner get the automatic bid.?
In my roaming last night deed watch Eastern play against Keene....another up and down team this year like Western.  No specific impressions from that contest.
Anyway.....watch the game tonight to see if your pick is correct.

[7express]

I have class tonight 

Does Amherst make their broadcast availble for achived viewing??  If so, I'll watch when I get back/tomorrow??  In any case, I'll put the live stats on my phone for updates.

And I just said Eastern was the favorite for the regular season title.  I think it's going to be either them, RIC, or Keene winning the tournament, can't see anyone else winning it.  RIC is probably the only team that can afford to make the NCAAs without winning the LEC tournament. 

[nescac1]

Amherst up four at the half.  Williams was up 11 and looked in total control of the game and then Amherst made a huge run.  A combination of some tough, long threes by Amherst (especially Toomey), Williams getting sloppy and rushed on offense and losing composure, Amherst making some great steals, Williams' usually dead-eye Klemm missing some open threes.  Mayer was unstoppable for Williams but for some reasons the Ephs barely looked to him at all in the last five minutes.  Epley was also excellent and Nate Robertson was driving really aggressively and playing great ball.  Wohl made two spectacular blocks (one called for a bogus foul, but there were some bogus foul calls each way arguably), including one spectacular block on a Williamson jump shot (doubt that has happened before).  Workman was the best player on the floor for Amherst, stellar on both ends and hitting his shots.  Amherst got good outside shooting from guys you don't really mind seeing shooting (Killian, Kalema, Workman), so if that continues, they will likely hold on.  For Williams, it's all about going to Mayer more in the second half.  Ephs have three starters with two fouls each, which is also something to watch ... Toomey and Connor Green have no conscious shooting from WAY deep for Amherst but Toomey was nailing them, so what can you do? 

[ECSUalum]

Nice comeback from a 10 point deficit by the Lord Jeffs to lead Williams at half 42-38.  Williams running a 2-3 zone which had the LJs a bit off but they rumbled back on some 3 pointers by Workman et al.  Williamson also sparked the team late in 1st half.  EXCITING!!!!
This is going to be a barn burner

[ECSUalum]

Nice comeback from a 10 point deficit by the Lord Jeffs to lead Williams at half 42-38.  Williams running a 2-3 zone which had the LJs a bit off but they rumbled back on some 3 pointers by Workman et al.  Williamson also sparked the team late in 1st half.  EXCITING!!!!
This is going to be a barn burner

Alan Williamson has taken over this game on O and D and the LJs will win this game!!!!  Congrats.  Le Frak was hot and LOUD!!! Surprising that it didn't auto ignite with all that wood.  BYW, on examining Amherst roster, a majority from the tristate, area!! Nice that they can recruit the best close by. Williams roster looks like they had guys from all 50 states

[nescac1]

Amherst closing out the game in the last two minutes, with about a 15 point lead.  A well-earned win for Amherst.  Amherst beat Williams to a lot of loose balls and rebounds and played very very hard, the Ephs played hard as well, but Amherst was the more intense team.  I actually look forward to the next game in Williamstown when I expect Williams to make a much better showing, the Ephs can play (and in particular shoot) quite a bit better and I'm not sure Amherst can play any better than they did tonight, the whole team was just locked in for the last 25 minutes of the game.  Toomey, Workman, Williamson and Killian were all spectacular for Amherst, hitting many, many high degree of difficulty shots, several of the circus variety, as well as a lot of clutch threes.  Williamson and Workman were both tremendous on D as well.  Kalema also provided a big spark with his quickness and energy on both ends.  The younger players as you'd expect in a big rivalry game were not heard from much at all, for either team. 

For Williams, Mayer was spectacular and on fire, but the Ephs did not get him enough shots.  Epley got his points and made some tough shots, but as expected Workman played him extremely tough and forced him into many very difficult looks.   Daniel Wohl played well on both ends and will be a bigger factor in future years, he was the top underclassman on the court.  Sean Hoffmann provided a nice spark off the bench.  Nate Robertson was very aggressive which was great to see but he needed more help making plays on offense.  The Ephs need to hit more threes and defend the three point line a bit better than they did tonight, but that was honestly one of the best overall performances I've seen from an Amherst team, not only the stars but the supporting players all played extremely well.   Amherst will be very, very tough to beat if they can continue to play at that level.  It will be interesting to see how the Ephs bounce back from a dispiriting loss, and I expect they will be have (and will certainly need to) a big boost in energy from the fan base back in the friendly confines.   

Nice to hear Walzy's voice, and thanks for the shout-out to the board regulars.  Nice job also by the Amherst announcing crew. 

[grabtherim]

I just watched the 2nd half from Amherst and all I can say is WOW.  Amherst was nearly flawless in the 2nd half.  Every time Williams sniffed a run, Amherst shut them down on both ends.   

[frank uible]

walzy: It seems only fair for you to spot Williams 16 points when Amherst plays Williams the next time.

[Old Guy]

I got to watch the first half on-line, then had to leave (Young Guy had a home game at 7:00). Terrific basketball. Scary. Two really good teams going at it.

I can't make the short trek down to Wmstown this Saturday for the Midd-Ephs tilt as Young Guy has another home game. Part of me is relieved. I would probably spent much of the game pacing outside the gym.

[7express]

Wednesday January 23, 2013

Amherst Vs. Williams
Amherst -4.0
O/U: 151.0

Amherst and Under.

Ill take a break even.  Better then losing units.

Actually since my math sucks ill take 2-0 instead.  That seems a lot better then 1-1.

[amh63]

Will post my observations another day as I savor the two BIG wins by Amherst's teams against two ranked Williams teams in LeFrak.
First...since no previous poster put up the score....It was Amherst 83, Williams 67....therefore Amherst beat the Walzy spread but was one point under the 151 total points.   That must be the reason that two Amherst players missed 4....yes, FOUR foul shots....5 straight in the first half in a game that every possession was critical....in a game that Williams surged ahead by 10 or 11 and no stops on Mayer, etc.
The Amherst women kept its win streak alive in LeFrak.....the streak goes to 74!
Just wanted to describe how my wife was so nice to me tonight... for now.  Dinner/Supper was put off until after the men's game.  As pointed out, the announcers started to give shout-outs to posters on this board....and pointed out that the Amherst coaches DO follow our posts on this board.  One of the announcers is senior Spencer Noon, the 1st team soccer all-american, that played for two years on the basketball team........Anyway, I hear...Amh63 followed by old guys, I think.  I was going to give Mr. Noon a tweet (do not tweet very often) for his remark about my age....My wife surprisingly was keeping me company and correctly stated...he said OLD GUY.  So Old Guy you got a shout out from an Amherst student.

[lumbercat]

Didn't get to see the Purple clash tonight but stats are interesting.....Mayer looks like he may have schooled "Big Pete" which should bode well for the Purple and Gold going forward. However,  the Amherst team attack is so formidable they are hands down favorite to win the conference. Not sure what Walczy's odds may be at this point but you won't find me on the other side of any action against the Jeffs.
My heart is with Middlebury because they have a little Garnet dot on their unis..... (R.Reilly, Brown, Old Guy) but this Amherst team will be a tall order. Can't wait to see that matchup.
Big test for for the Snow Panthers against the Ephs before they get to their ultimate Purple challenge. Hope they don't look beyond that one.

[Panthernation]

Midd beats St. Joseph's 75-46, led by Peter Lynch's 22 points (9-11), will head to Williamstown undefeated.

Watched the first half of Amherst-Williams. Two great teams. Exciting that there are likely to be five more M/A/W match ups this season, assuming chalk in the conference tournament.