MBB: NESCAC

[AO]

AO, I think you would lose that bet. Williams turned the ball over prodigiously.

I meant I would bet the opposite side of your bet.

Good game.  Williams made some nice cuts and certainly was more capable of scoring on the Tommies than 98% of D3.

[madzillagd]

Where to begin.  Great game by the Ephs but got a little sloppy in the 2nd half and couldn't hang on.  Too bad Mayer was fouled out on some really bad calls.  The 5th foul was ridiculous, he was set and the ref reacted to the player going down so hard.  The blocked shot where he palmed the ball easily was another that stands out.  The offense was running smoothly when he was in the game so having him out late was tough. 

Credit to the Tommies for making their 3s.  That has been the biggest problem for the Ephs all year.  Usually it was the zone that gave up so many 3s but today it was just way too much sagging into the paint.  I would have loved to force them into scoring in the lane.  We never made the adjustment and they just kept hitting open looks.  ST shot 47% from 2 and 60% from 3 - basically the difference was the 2s were contested and the 3s were open all game. 

[lefrakenstein]

Where to begin.  Great game by the Ephs but got a little sloppy in the 2nd half and couldn't hang on.  Too bad Mayer was fouled out on some really bad calls.  The 5th foul was ridiculous, he was set and the ref reacted to the player going down so hard.  The blocked shot where he palmed the ball easily was another that stands out.  The offense was running smoothly when he was in the game so having him out late was tough. 

Credit to the Tommies for making their 3s.  That has been the biggest problem for the Ephs all year.  Usually it was the zone that gave up so many 3s but today it was just way too much sagging into the paint.  I would have loved to force them into scoring in the lane.  We never made the adjustment and they just kept hitting open looks.  ST shot 47% from 2 and 60% from 3 - basically the difference was the 2s were contested and the 3s were open all game.

Some of DeBerg's threes though were from easily NBA range. I thought that for the most part the Eph's defense actually did a pretty nice job.

Totally agree on the last foul on Mayer. Didn't see the one on the blocked shot.

[madzillagd]

Some of DeBerg's threes though were from easily NBA range. I thought that for the most part the Eph's defense actually did a pretty nice job.

Totally agree on the last foul on Mayer. Didn't see the one on the blocked shot.

Of the 25 3s they put up, I'd say 5 of them were from really deep.  80% of them were right within a foot or two from the line and wide open.  I just didn't understand why the Ephs collapsed every time Nance got into the paint.  He ended up 2-8 from 2 and one of those was the layup at the end so 1-7 before that.  He was getting to the paint easily but he wasn't scoring easily, but he drove in, spun and looked for which shooter was open and hit them.  He had 6 assists and I'm sure most if not all of those were for open 3s.  I just wish Williams would have forced ST to beat them from 2. 

[old_hooper]

Nice effort by the Ephs but the ST depth wore them down.  I think that the Ephs playing man to man most of the game had a lot to do with it.  You could see as the game went on things became more difficult, could not defend the three, TOs, struggled on offense, etc.  tough calls on Mayer...but the Tommie's are a team you will have to match up with the full game.  Don't know a lot about the next two opponents playing but if they have depth could be an interesting game.  Would like to see Amherst and St. Thomas match up if they are fortunate to advance.  Nice run by Williams and a year they can be proud of.  Great come back effort!

[Charles]

Where to begin.  Great game by the Ephs but got a little sloppy in the 2nd half and couldn't hang on.  Too bad Mayer was fouled out on some really bad calls.  The 5th foul was ridiculous, he was set and the ref reacted to the player going down so hard.  The blocked shot where he palmed the ball easily was another that stands out.  The offense was running smoothly when he was in the game so having him out late was tough. 

Credit to the Tommies for making their 3s.  That has been the biggest problem for the Ephs all year.  Usually it was the zone that gave up so many 3s but today it was just way too much sagging into the paint.  I would have loved to force them into scoring in the lane.  We never made the adjustment and they just kept hitting open looks.  ST shot 47% from 2 and 60% from 3 - basically the difference was the 2s were contested and the 3s were open all game.

Shouldn't have raised his arms, looked like he shoved him.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

From 20 feet from the play... he didn't look that set and raising his arms did not help his case.

[daoustian]

Nice first half from Amherst, despite Toomey sitting out the final 9 minutes in foul trouble.  Cabrini's only real outside threat was also in foul trouble early -- it'll be interesting to see whether his return early in the second half makes a meaningful difference.  Walton-Moss is as good as advertised and the Cabrini team is very athletic, but they are gambling too much in the backcourt, allowing Amherst to break the press and break with numbers a few times.  Every time I see Ben Pollack in a game, I like what he brings, no exception in the first half with a couple of timely boards and easy looks inside. 

[lefrakenstein]

Well another strong first half for the "knee-scac" as the announcers are calling it. Walton-Moss is as good as advertised. But amherst just has too many weapons to be slowed down by a one-man show. Impressive that amherst is up by 14 despite Toomey and Kaasila having to sit for much of the first half with foul trouble.

[nescac1]

Congrats to St. Thomas, another tough one for the Ephs in Salem.  They will break though in one of these close games one of these days!  Ephs played, not their best game of the season, but very well, the Tommies were just about one shot better today. 

I couldn't bear to stick around after that one ... a golden opportunity by the Ephs, just fell a tiny bit short.  One key to me was the very end of the first half ... they were in total control of the game but at the end of the half, they could have held for one but Epley had a wide-open three which he had to take, it uncharecteristically missed, then St. Thomas gets the ball back, shot blocked, falls right into the hands of a Tommie for an easy two (happened a few times after blocks, agghh) essentially at the buzzer.  Five point turnaround, and an 8 point game at half instead of potentially 13.  You knew St. Thomas would make their run, and they really picked up the defensive pressure in the second half, their ball pressure is very, very good, causing quite a few turnovers with the press, and the Ephs had a few more sloppy avoidable turnovers as well as they wore down from the constant ball pressure, meanwhile St. Thomas was smoking-hot from three all game.  Kind of know how it feels to be another team's fans because I've seen the Ephs do that to plenty of teams. 

St. Thomas did get a few too many good looks than would be ideal, but they also hit, I'd estimate, five very, very tough threes with either a man in the face and shot clock winding down, or from NBA range, and that was the difference.  No team has shot it as well vs. Williams this year.  Two of those five shots miss, or the Tommies miss a few of the open threes they consistently nailed, and the Ephs take it, because they really were able to exploit the St. Thomas half-court defense ... when they didn't turn it over, at least ... and keep St. Thomas from getting much inside.  And as the Ephs wore down late in the game, the Tommies' pressure was a bit too much.  It wasn't the Ephs losing the game, it was St. Thomas winning it with shooting and tireless defensive effort, and the Ephs should be proud of their effort.  Would have loved to see Williams get the ball down low a bit more to Epley and Mayer, but then again, they were getting a lot of effective back-door cuts and keeping guys out of the post enabled that. 

The Mayer call late was absolutely ridiculous, two of his five calls on him were tough.  IN the context of the game especially, when St. Thomas played very physical with tons of borderline-moving high screens (you can call a foul on tons of screens, it is the ultimate judgement sort of call).  Not that any of them should be called, but if you are not calling those plays (and refs usually aren't) you simply can't foul a guy out on that kind of b.s. call. It wasn't ultimately dispositive of the game, but still, completely bogus. 

The last three times in Salem Williams has had pretty solid leads which they lost in the second half.  Each time, it was partially a product of playing starters huge minutes against deeper teams, and visibly wearing down just a tiny bit.  That has been the Ephs' achilles heel during the Maker era, depth.  I think next year things will be different.  Mayer, Epley, Wohl, Weinheimer all back, Rooke-Ley returning from injury, a very strong recruiting class, and a lot of young players with the opportunity to step up.  Williams should be loaded.  Still, they easily could have won that St. Thomas game and I'm sure right now it's a tough pill to swallow, regardless of how bright the future looks and how amazing a run this team made, really a year ahead of schedule.

Looking at the season as a whole, it was a pretty unbelievable year for Williams.  Remember, this is a team which didn't come close to making the NCAA tourney last year, was unranked pre-season, graduated a (hobbled, but still) two-time all-American, didn't add any frosh who played this season, and lost one of the best perimeter players and a likely starter before the year even began in Rooke-Ley, played only seven guys throughout the tourney.  Yet somehow, they lose only five games, four of them to the two best teams in the country, and make the Elite 8.  While I'm sure it's painful to lose a game which very easily could have been a victory, it's been a remarkable season and the team has grown by leaps and bounds.  Mayer went from solid player to all-American (that full court drive and layup was incredible and a sign of even bigger things to come this year) and Taylor Epley is not far behind and I also expect will be an all-American caliber player next year.  Daniel Wohl showed that he is capable of huge things, just needs to get a bit more consistent (similar to Epley as a sophomore).  Weinheimer has turned into a very solid role player.  Those four, plus promising young players Kilcullen and Flynn and recruit Duncan Robinson, will give Williams the best and deepest front court in the nation by a wide margin next season. 

Of course, the losses in the backcourt are huge.  James Klemm played TREMENDOUS basketball since come back from a late season injury, he was lights out in both the NESCAC and NCAA tourney.  He had a huge game, one of his best all-around games, vs. St. Thomas, and went out on a high note.  Sean Hoffmann turned from a deep bench guy into a valuable reserve who also played very well today, including a monster dunk.  And finally, what can  you say about what Nate Robertson has provided to the program?  Playing practically every minute of every big game this year, leading the team to three trips to Salem, running the show with panache and savvy, just an incredibly fun player for any hoops purist to watch, and always played his best in the biggest games.  He is going to be hugely missed, and how the Ephs fill his shoes at the point will determine whether they are once again a solid contender, or one of the truly elite one or two teams nationally next year.  Hopefully Rooke-Ley will be back to 100 percent, and at least one of McCreary, Thoreson, Harrell or incoming frosh Greenman will have to step up to be the other primary ball-handler. 

I hate to say it as an Eph fan but I'd be stunned if Amherst did not win the title.  St. Thomas is a very, very good team, deep, well-coached, great defensively, obviously can shoot (although of course they won't be that hot every game), but they don't have the kind of dynamic individual offensive talents that Amherst has, and they are smallish.  After watching North Central vs. Midd (ugly game between two grinding teams) my view has not changed.  North Central is very tough and physical and well-organized, but not nearly as athletic or skilled as Amherst.  If the game opens up and is high-scoring, Amherst could coast.   Midd was outplayed, but also shot the ball terribly and missed some pretty open looks which could have made the game a lot closer.  Not Midd's best day, for sure.  Amherst really seems to have no weaknesses right now.   I thought Cabrini probably had the best chance to beat Amherst, so much for that, impressive to paste a team which has been on such a roll.  I am sort of resigned to a reloaded Williams squad having to chase after Amherst's second title ... but of course anything can happen, lots of great teams left in the tourney!  Still, my guess is Amherst-St. Thomas for the title, as most expected. 

[Old Guy]

Rats. We (Midd) can play better than that. They couldn't miss; we couldn't hit. I'd like to play them again. Hard to watch. Proud of the boys.

[Vandy74]

Rats. We (Midd) can play better than that. They couldn't miss; we couldn't hit. I'd like to play them again. Hard to watch. Proud of the boys.

Agreed on all counts Old Guy.  Especially the hard to watch part.  Congratulations to North Central.  Tonight they were the better team on the floor.  Kmiec was in the zone.  Nothing you can do about a guy like that (legally, anyway).  There is something about sports that is cyclical.  The Middlebury seniors had only once lost a game that could not have been won if perhaps one more break had gone their way.  That was the season ender of their freshman year to R.I.C. 75-59.  One could almost see the writing on the wall when with just over 4 minutes remaining and Middlebury on an 8-2 run that had narrowed North Central's lead to 10, Wolfin's pass to a wide open Kizell in the far left corner was intercepted by the official.  That was the only momentum the Panthers had generated the entire second half and it died right there.  A trey at that point would have made it a 7 point game with plenty of time left.  Personally I don't think Middlebury's defense could have stopped North Central's offense enough to have won the game.  It would have been closer, more respectable, but I feel it was the other team's night regardless of that unfortunate incident.  My real problem is with the announcers who never once addressed it as anything but a piece of slapstick comedy.  Never did they say one word concerning how it had affected the flow of the game at that moment and possibly the outcome of the game as well.  Instead, after chuckling over it as it happened, they brought it up at least three more times always in a humorous vein.  The Williams student announcers would have handled it better. 

But I do not in any way mean that as an excuse for the Panthers' defeat.  Middhoops had emailed me privately yesterday expressing concerns that the two teams did not match up in ways favorable to us.  When I checked out North Central  for myself I agreed.  They are a team that can beat you in a number of ways and tonight I tip my cap to them.

Amherst.  Whip their ass tomorrow!

[middhoops]

Cabrini stayed relatively close to Amherst because they exploited the LJ's weakness of keeping stocky, acrobatic guards from getting to the hoop and scoring (or taking futile free throws).  North Central doesn't play that game.
A healthy Amherst is nearly impossible to guard; too many solid weapons. 
My one concern is that Landon Gamble could get Big Pete in foul trouble.   However, after Pollack's game against Cabrini, that concern is diminished.
If Toomey steps up his scoring and BP gets more touches, Amherst could well maintain their scoring average.
Don't know about you folks, but I really enjoy watching St. Thomas, no matter how hard I was rooting against them.  DeBerg is a deadly weapon.
St. Thomas is a great team.  Talented, deep and they play well, very well, together.  But they don't appear to have the requisite pieces to defend Amherst.  They can score 80.  DeBerg can hit ten treys, and the LJs may still win by 15 or more.  (Yes, I know I'm counting NCC and UMHB out.  I think St. Thomas and Amherst are destined to play in Atlanta.)
Go Amherst!

[pick and roll]

Great great season for the Panthers and awesome career for the seniors - over 100 wins and two trips to Salem!  Jeff Brown has created a great winning tradition at Middlebury and I am confident the team will be right back fighting for the top spot next year.  Tough way  to end the season last night, but nothing to be ashamed of - hundreds of DIII teams would kill to be in this position (and please no more mention of the the referee interference play!).

[pick and roll]

Some of the other Midd posters have said go Amherst - really hard for me to cheer them on - maybe that will change by the time they get to Atlanta - sorry but not yet.