MBB: NESCAC

[Pat Coleman]

And that's straight off the official NCAA mileage site.

[7express]

Virginia Wesleyan is within 500 miles of Williams, and so is Mary Washington. Va Wes has taken a bus to Williams 2 of the last 4 years for NCAA tourney games. I don't know if that means that Williams will host, but plane flights are not a problem.

It may say so according to Google or Bing maps, but the ONLY thing the NCAA uses when tracking milage is this: https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/miles

And that says the distance between Williams and Virginia Wesleyan is 532.0 miles.

[magicman]

Virginia Wesleyan is within 500 miles of Williams, and so is Mary Washington. Va Wes has taken a bus to Williams 2 of the last 4 years for NCAA tourney games. I don't know if that means that Williams will host, but plane flights are not a problem.

Maybe they flew in and rented a bus once they got there.

[Vandy74]

Williams is getting beat.  Midd beat them in two first halves this year.  I'm unimpressed although my friend nescac1 may be more concerned than I.  He needn't worry.
The Cabrini game is a barn burner, tied at the half with R. Stockton.  Pburgh St. is playing a couple points behind ECSU; anyone's game.
Great night for D3 hoops fans.
Vandy, you better be lurking.

I watched  both Bowdoin and Williams on Friday, Cuz.  Today was Chili-Fest and The Grift in the music tent afterward.  Are you still at the lake or up in Waitsfieild?

Richard Stockton beating Cabrini gives some credence to Bowdoin, IMO.  I still believe they played a very solid game against a team that simply got the early lead and didn't turn the ball over AT ALL, except once.  Add to that the fact they only sent the Polar Bears to the line for 3 shots and you have a very difficult game to play catch-up.  Bowdoin was still very much alive until they turned it over with 1:40 to go.  After that they needed more help than they were going to get with the way Richard Stockton was red hot from the line when it counted.

Amherst against Plattsburgh.  Bring it on Magicman!  I can't wait to hear what you have to say.  Amherst and Plattsburgh were the only two games that Panthers didn't for all intents and purposes beat themselves.  I give the Lord Jeffs the edge but I can see Plattsburgh pulling it off.  What's Green's status, btw.

No surprise to see that Williams handled Gordon Mitchell, or is the other way around.

[Vandy74]

Virginia Wesleyan is within 500 miles of Williams, and so is Mary Washington. Va Wes has taken a bus to Williams 2 of the last 4 years for NCAA tourney games. I don't know if that means that Williams will host, but plane flights are not a problem.

Maybe they flew in and rented a bus once they got there.

Magicman......What are doing up?  Normal people are horizontal at this hour.  Or so I've been told.

[nescac1]

A bit of recruiting news: Vincent Pace, who is the star of my high school alma mater in New Jersey, is supposedly headed to Tufts.  He is a big, talented wing in the Ben Ferris mold, can shoot, drive, and dish.  Bridgewater-Raritan produces a lot of good, hard-nosed players (most famously Eric Murdock, but also some solid lower-level players like former D3 all-American James McNally) and I'm sure he will do well at Tufts.  The Jumbos continue to accumulate a lot of talented players. 

I'll be curious to learn more about Albertus Magnus from the AMC posters.  On paper, looks like an intriguing match-up, as you'd expect in the Sweet 16.  AMC has only two losses, and one of those was a three-point loss to a D1 school.  They have one bad loss, to St. Joseph's of Maine, but I think we can chalk that up to just an off day since they pounded St. Joe's by 35 points last week in the conference championship.  They have played a weak schedule, but they've also destroyed most teams they have played.  They have three really strong players who seem to dominate the action in their more competitive games, two of whom were JUCO transfers this year: 6'8 Victor Ljuljdjuraj, who averages 16 points, 11 boards, and 3.6 blocks per game, and has three point range, and Eian Davis, who pours in 15.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, and 5 rpg, but turns it over a ton (4.5 topg).  Their returning star is Darius Watson, who averages 21.7 ppg and hits 44.6 percent of his three pointers.  Their other two starters look like solid role-player types, James Jennings, primarily a three point specialist who averages around 10 ppg, and Lemar Larson, a PF who averages 9.5 ppg and 6.5 rpb.  They have three bench guys who play, most notably a 6'6 back-up center who is fairly productive in limited minutes.  The Ephs have a bit more size across the board, but the difference is not dramatic. 

Jennings is a smaller two-guard, so I imagine that Greenman will start on him and Wohl will guard Davis, leaving Epley on Watson, though I figure they will switch that up a bit with Hayden guarding Davis and Wohl on Watson at times.  The center match-up should be really interesting, certainly.  Like the Ephs they put up a ton of points and shoot the ball well, but don't appear to be an elite defensive team, so I expect a very high-scoring game. 

[middhoops]

Can I get a pronunciation for "Ljuljdjuraj"?

[D3HoopJunkie]

Can I get a pronunciation for "Ljuljdjuraj"?

You sure can lol. It is pronounced Luh-shoe-die. (Its even hard to break down)

At least thats how every public address announcer has pronounced it over the season. Get used to hearing the name 

[D3HoopJunkie]

A bit of recruiting news: Vincent Pace, who is the star of my high school alma mater in New Jersey, is supposedly headed to Tufts.  He is a big, talented wing in the Ben Ferris mold, can shoot, drive, and dish.  Bridgewater-Raritan produces a lot of good, hard-nosed players (most famously Eric Murdock, but also some solid lower-level players like former D3 all-American James McNally) and I'm sure he will do well at Tufts.  The Jumbos continue to accumulate a lot of talented players. 

I'll be curious to learn more about Albertus Magnus from the AMC posters.  On paper, looks like an intriguing match-up, as you'd expect in the Sweet 16.  AMC has only two losses, and one of those was a three-point loss to a D1 school.  They have one bad loss, to St. Joseph's of Maine, but I think we can chalk that up to just an off day since they pounded St. Joe's by 35 points last week in the conference championship.  They have played a weak schedule, but they've also destroyed most teams they have played.  They have three really strong players who seem to dominate the action in their more competitive games, two of whom were JUCO transfers this year: 6'8 Victor Ljuljdjuraj, who averages 16 points, 11 boards, and 3.6 blocks per game, and has three point range, and Eian Davis, who pours in 15.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, and 5 rpg, but turns it over a ton (4.5 topg).  Their returning star is Darius Watson, who averages 21.7 ppg and hits 44.6 percent of his three pointers.  There other two starters look like solid role-player types, James Jennings, primarily a three point specialist who averages around 10 ppg, and Lemar Larson, a PF who averages 9.5 ppg and 6.5 rpb.  They have three bench guys who play, most notably a 6'6 back-up center who is fairly productive in limited minutes.  The Ephs have a bit more size across the board, but the difference is not dramatic. 

Jennings is a smaller two-guard, so I imagine that Greenman will start on him and Wohl will guard Davis, leaving Epley on Watson, though I figure they will switch that up a bit with Hayden guarding Davis and Wohl on Watson at times.  The center match-up should be really interesting, certainly.  Like the Ephs they put up a ton of points and shoot the ball well, but don't appear to be an elite defensive team, so I expect a very high-scoring game.

Great breakdown Nescac1. I'm not going to lie it's scary how spot on you are with your preview of Albertus. I have no doubts that this is going to be a great game! 2 extremely talented schools who share a similar style on offense. I will say however don't let Albertus defensive number fool you. When it is time to lock down in tight moments they are relentless. What a great coaching battle as well. Two outstanding coaches who each have about a week to prepare!! This just has the makings of a typical NCAA slugfest and I cant wait to watch.

Congrats to all NESCAC teams who are marching on. In New England your conference is the gold standard and it shows year in and year out in the NCAA tourney. The numbers speak for themselves.

[toad22]

Virginia Wesleyan is within 500 miles of Williams, and so is Mary Washington. Va Wes has taken a bus to Williams 2 of the last 4 years for NCAA tourney games. I don't know if that means that Williams will host, but plane flights are not a problem.

Maybe they flew in and rented a bus once they got there.

Ah, there were only single games last year, so the NCAA was more lenient with flights!

[GnacBballFan]

A bit of recruiting news: Vincent Pace, who is the star of my high school alma mater in New Jersey, is supposedly headed to Tufts.  He is a big, talented wing in the Ben Ferris mold, can shoot, drive, and dish.  Bridgewater-Raritan produces a lot of good, hard-nosed players (most famously Eric Murdock, but also some solid lower-level players like former D3 all-American James McNally) and I'm sure he will do well at Tufts.  The Jumbos continue to accumulate a lot of talented players. 

I'll be curious to learn more about Albertus Magnus from the AMC posters.  On paper, looks like an intriguing match-up, as you'd expect in the Sweet 16.  AMC has only two losses, and one of those was a three-point loss to a D1 school.  They have one bad loss, to St. Joseph's of Maine, but I think we can chalk that up to just an off day since they pounded St. Joe's by 35 points last week in the conference championship.  They have played a weak schedule, but they've also destroyed most teams they have played.  They have three really strong players who seem to dominate the action in their more competitive games, two of whom were JUCO transfers this year: 6'8 Victor Ljuljdjuraj, who averages 16 points, 11 boards, and 3.6 blocks per game, and has three point range, and Eian Davis, who pours in 15.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, and 5 rpg, but turns it over a ton (4.5 topg).  Their returning star is Darius Watson, who averages 21.7 ppg and hits 44.6 percent of his three pointers.  Their other two starters look like solid role-player types, James Jennings, primarily a three point specialist who averages around 10 ppg, and Lemar Larson, a PF who averages 9.5 ppg and 6.5 rpb.  They have three bench guys who play, most notably a 6'6 back-up center who is fairly productive in limited minutes.  The Ephs have a bit more size across the board, but the difference is not dramatic. 

Jennings is a smaller two-guard, so I imagine that Greenman will start on him and Wohl will guard Davis, leaving Epley on Watson, though I figure they will switch that up a bit with Hayden guarding Davis and Wohl on Watson at times.  The center match-up should be really interesting, certainly.  Like the Ephs they put up a ton of points and shoot the ball well, but don't appear to be an elite defensive team, so I expect a very high-scoring game.

NESCAC,

As junkie said, I was reading your analysis of albertus and said wow he is spot on. Davis does turn it over a bit, BUT he (I'm confident in saying this as is coach Oliver who said it on hoopsville) is the fastest guard with the ball in d3. He is simply a blur. Now this also creates some turnovers as he almost too fast for his and his teammates own good sometimes. But he is the singlets most important player on this team. Not the best, that's big Vic and Watson. But Davis is a dynamic Brooklyn point guard. I only heard of him before albertus bc I remember hearing about him in the famous Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park, in which he led his team to a title. The falcons have their hands fills with Williams. I hear nothing but great things about Duncan Robinson. Can't wait to see that kid play. Part of me hopes it's at Williams so I can go lol although that seems unlikely

[GnacBballFan]

Anyone know a time frame for the site determination today?

And as an albertus fan this is what we wanted, a heavyweight such as Williams. To be the best you gotta beat the best. Albertus received respect from the northeast posters, but the committee and others (cough Dave, you're still awesome Dave and I get why you were skeptical) have albertus no respect all yr. I said it a few weeks ago and I'll say it again, albertus being 8 in the region was simply a slap in the face. Anyhow that's over with and albertus has beaten the #14 team in the country and #15 team in the country on consecutive nights. So finally some respect. Gonna do my research on williams. The only thing I gathered from a few box scores is that they seem to shoot the three really well, and often

[AncientSonOfHixon]

Pressing pause here, gentlemen. On account of: SWEET SIXTEEN! Congrats to Ephs and my LJs for being among last 16 standing. Both clubs want more, of course--as do our Albertus M friends here, obviously--but it warrants mention that fully half the D3 Hoops top ten have already been swept out before getting this far (WashU, Cabrini, St. Norbert, Wooster, Wesley). In basketball, sh*t happens. Sweet Sixteen is an accomplishment.

But do we want more? Yes. What will we do to get it? Well. . .

[SCENE: AncientSon's kitchen, with Ms. AncientSon, approx 8:30 a.m.]

   "Baby, did I just see you throw something over your shoulder?"
   "Um, sorry, what? Music's loud."
   "Your left shoulder, you just threw something. What was that?"
   "I don't know what you're talking about, sweetie."
[Ms. AncientSon looks at floor.]
   "That was salt. You threw salt. What are you doing?"
[Dumb look from AncientSon. Well-practiced.]
   "And while I'm at it, what is that in your pocket. I don't think you're that happy to see me though it would certainly be understandable. Show me, c'mon."
[AncientSon withdraws right hand.]
   "A horse shoe???"
[Shrug.]
   "C'mon, other hand, too. What've you got there?"
[AncientSon withdraws left.]
   "Three rabbit's feet?!?! OK, any chance this is connected to that pile of printer paper I found in the study this morning—you know, the sheets with the four-leaf clovers drawn all over them? Drawn pretty badly, I might add. And you'd think that by the  thirtieth sheet you'd have improved."
   "It's Connor, sweetie."
[Look from Ms. AncientSon bordering between bewildered and incredulous. Again, well-practiced.]
   "He's down. He needs our help. We need to heal him. It's tournament time."
[Ms. AncientSon exits, stage right, fully recognizing that she will never get the previous five minutes of her life back.]

Point is, whatever it takes. And I know you guys know what I mean.

[toad22]

Now that I have my facts straight, it looks like it has to be Mary Washington. Albertus' gym is very small. I seems to be pretty easy to get to by air.

[nescac1]

Thanks to the Albertus fans for the comments.  Eian Davis sounds like a guy Williams will have a tough time matching up with.  There aren't a lot of particularly quick guards in NESCAC, and Williams has definitely had a difficult time dealing with quickness at that position (David Kalema of Amherst for example).  I think the Ephs' greatest advantage is balance, with six guys who are capable of scoring points in a hurry.  I have a feeling that it will be a very competitive game.

I found this video about Albertus, including just a few highlights of the star players: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4kN7m8j0ic