MBB: NESCAC

[lumbercat]

Sorry- NESCAC1 not Nescacman

[amh63]

Watched a bit of a number of CAC games before switching to some big boys games...like the U of Michigan Game....could have used Robinson's offense in that game, though he may have been knocked about a little...more physical players.
Did watch the Williams game the longest...just when I thought Williams would get it under control, back comes MCLA.  It seems the CAC teams won in all their games except for the one that interested me the most....Tufts vs MIT in Cambridge.  I tried the webcast but it was one that cost to watch.  The recap....it was a physical game that MIT won in OT.  Actually spent some time watching the WPI home game against Worcester State...the tight first half.  According to WPI89, his team found an offense in the 2nd half.
May watch the Goucher versus Towson matchup tonight...if it does not cost!  Amherst plays Goucher in Baltimore...a game I plan to watch live...later in the year.  Towson University is a Div.1 school in sports!  Interesting scheduling.  Goucher has a bunch of local Md players of NO special size..has played Howard Un. In its opener and presently has not yet won a game.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Don't bother watching the Goucher-Towson game... I can tell you it will be a blow out. As will the Amherst-Goucher game in January... Gophers were not pretty against Covenant to start the season ... lost to Penn State-Altoona... though, had a game but still lost to Ferrum. It is going to be a very long season.

[P'bearfan]

nescac1 - thanks for the detailed analysis.  Your post begs the question: how will Bowdoin and Williams match up with each other?

While Bowdoin has been playing very good defense overall, they have not been that effective defending the long ball - 3 of the 4 teams they've played have been able to shoot better than 35%.  It's still a little too early to say definitively but that may be a relative soft spot.

Then again, assuming everyone is healthy, it's hard to imagine how Williams will even slow down Bowdoin's front four of Swords, Pieri, Fuller and Palecki.   While Swords has been playing at a very high level right out of the gate, the P'bears have also been able to extend leads against opponents when he's on the bench. 

If if comes down to foul shooting - well both teams have been excellent from the line.  Could be an interesting match up.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

[Vandy74]

Don't bother watching the Goucher-Towson game... I can tell you it will be a blow out. As will the Amherst-Goucher game in January... Gophers were not pretty against Covenant to start the season ... lost to Penn State-Altoona... though, had a game but still lost to Ferrum. It is going to be a very long season.

Middlebury's very successful field hockey HC Katharine DeLorenzo is Goucher '90.  She has a son playing prep school basketball.  He started for the local high school varsity as a freshman before being shipped off.  And speaking of NESCAC  field hockey, congratulations  to Bowdoin and Middlebury on their fine seasons.  Both lost in the Final Four to TCNJ by 2-0 scores.  Middlebury in the semis and the Polar Bears in the championship game.  Better luck to both teams next year.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Which prep school?

[Vandy74]

Which prep school?

Sorry, I don't know. 

[magicman]

Good to see my friends middhoops and Vandy74 tonight at the Skidmore-Plattsburgh game in Saratoga. Hope they made it home safely. I still think they were sent there by Coach Brown to scout both teams since they will host Skidmore on 12-6 and travel to Plattsburgh on 1-6. Pretty sure Vandy was secretly recording the game. I purposely told my Cardinals to play only as good as necessary to walk out of Williamson Center with a win. It was fitting then, that the Cardinals' Reggie Williams was the star for Plattsburgh in Williamson Center. Plattsburgh looked terrible in the first half and fell behind Skidmore by 13 points. We finally caught them with 33 seconds left to play and then won the game in OT. My plan succeeded I think. The boys from Middlebury now think that this year's version of the Cardinals really suck and will be easy pickings when they come over in January.

By the way the early line on this game has Plattsburgh favored by 8 points. It will be interesting to see if that changes in the weeks leading up to the contest.

Plus K to both of you for putting up with my yelling at the zebras.   

Magicman....It was good to see you last night.  I suspected it was all an act on Plattsburgh's part.  No team could be as bad as they looked in that 1st half.   I'm sure you and Coach Curle took the refs out for drinks following the game and had a good laugh over the clever charade.  A lot of those calls make sense now.   Since the whole thing was a put-up job I guess it doesn't matter that my secret recording features more of that cute little girl with the cornbraided hair sitting (sometimes) next to you eating popcorn than it does the play on the court.  I'll have to use a better camera angle on my next undercover assignment.  Middhoops and I look forward to seeing you and your friends in Plattsburgh  on 1-6.  We expect as pleasant a trip home as yours was last season.

Your cousin PM'd me and said you were driving him over to the Burgh in January.   Said something about goals, being devious, and revenge. Sounds like he's rambling already and the game is over a month away.

I gave him a plus K (he was at 199, I couldn't resist). I gave you one also, for your friendly banter up above. Just don't have your heart set on a pleasant trip home. I'm offering my home as a sanctuary in case the trip home that night is too daunting.  

[middhoops]

Which prep school?

Sorry, I don't know.

Phillips Exeter

[Vandy74]

Which prep school?

Sorry, I don't know.

Phillips Exeter

Thanks.  That's what I thought but wasn't sure.  There is Phillips Andover as well.  Wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers by confusing the two.  My brother did his PG year at Exeter before playing football at Amherst.

[Vandy74]

Good to see my friends middhoops and Vandy74 tonight at the Skidmore-Plattsburgh game in Saratoga. Hope they made it home safely. I still think they were sent there by Coach Brown to scout both teams since they will host Skidmore on 12-6 and travel to Plattsburgh on 1-6. Pretty sure Vandy was secretly recording the game. I purposely told my Cardinals to play only as good as necessary to walk out of Williamson Center with a win. It was fitting then, that the Cardinals' Reggie Williams was the star for Plattsburgh in Williamson Center. Plattsburgh looked terrible in the first half and fell behind Skidmore by 13 points. We finally caught them with 33 seconds left to play and then won the game in OT. My plan succeeded I think. The boys from Middlebury now think that this year's version of the Cardinals really suck and will be easy pickings when they come over in January.

By the way the early line on this game has Plattsburgh favored by 8 points. It will be interesting to see if that changes in the weeks leading up to the contest.

Plus K to both of you for putting up with my yelling at the zebras.   

Magicman....It was good to see you last night.  I suspected it was all an act on Plattsburgh's part.  No team could be as bad as they looked in that 1st half.   I'm sure you and Coach Curle took the refs out for drinks following the game and had a good laugh over the clever charade.  A lot of those calls make sense now.   Since the whole thing was a put-up job I guess it doesn't matter that my secret recording features more of that cute little girl with the cornbraided hair sitting (sometimes) next to you eating popcorn than it does the play on the court.  I'll have to use a better camera angle on my next undercover assignment.  Middhoops and I look forward to seeing you and your friends in Plattsburgh  on 1-6.  We expect as pleasant a trip home as yours was last season.

Your cousin PM'd me and said you were driving him over to the Burgh in January.   Said something about goals, being devious, and revenge. Sounds like he's rambling already and the game is over a month away.

I gave him a plus K (he was at 199, I couldn't resist). I gave you one also, for your friendly banter up above. Just don't have your heart set on a pleasant trip home. I'm offering my home as a sanctuary in case the trip home that night is too daunting.

I expect he's just a bit giddy as any Panther fan would be who witnessed Plattsburgh's play in the 1st half.   I'm inclined to put some stock in your claim that some talented thespians fill up the basketball roster.  As for the accommodations being offered, is it the guest rooms if you win and sleeping bags in pup tents on the front lawn if you lose? 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Which prep school?

Sorry, I don't know.

Phillips Exeter

Thanks.  That's what I thought but wasn't sure.  There is Phillips Andover as well.  Wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers by confusing the two.  My brother did his PG year at Exeter before playing football at Amherst.

As a Salisbury grad... I will bite my tongue LOL

[nescac1]

P'bearfan, very good question re: Bowdoin.  Williams has not played anyone with a star interior presence this year (Wesleyan was the closest, and those guys had their way with Williams for the most part on the interior).  The Ephs are just really, really small across the board after losing their entire starting frontcourt plus a top defensive sub from what was already not a particularly physical or interior-oriented team; I mean, their top rebounder and the guy playing the four right now played the TWO last year.  For Ephs, the really scary four-game stretch on the schedule is Trinity-Amherst-Bowdoin-Colby-Amherst.  Five straight games against teams with either elite individual centers and/or waves of interior guys they can throw at you.  The Ephs have not done anything in the way of junk defenses yet, but they might need to spend some time over the break figuring SOMETHING out (putting more pressure on perimeter ballhandlers, a 1-3-1 or 2-3, or at the very least, lots of guys sagging/helping on the interior) to mix it up a bit, because if they stick with a man defense given the current rotation, they would just get absolutely murdered on the inside vs. any of those squads, especially on the glass. 

The other alternative is to try to play a bigger lineup, with a bit more of Flynn at the five, and then some of Sime/Hayes at the four, so that Wohl can spend more time at the 2/3, but so far, if anything, App has been more inclined to go very small for offensive purposes. 

On the plus side for Williams, at least vs. Bowdoin and Colby, Wohl and Aronowitz will be touch match-ups, quickness-wise, for the Colby/Bowdoin forwards.  Those guys have been effective so far taking slower forwards to the basket and need to continue to do so. 

[magicman]

Good to see my friends middhoops and Vandy74 tonight at the Skidmore-Plattsburgh game in Saratoga. Hope they made it home safely. I still think they were sent there by Coach Brown to scout both teams since they will host Skidmore on 12-6 and travel to Plattsburgh on 1-6. Pretty sure Vandy was secretly recording the game. I purposely told my Cardinals to play only as good as necessary to walk out of Williamson Center with a win. It was fitting then, that the Cardinals' Reggie Williams was the star for Plattsburgh in Williamson Center. Plattsburgh looked terrible in the first half and fell behind Skidmore by 13 points. We finally caught them with 33 seconds left to play and then won the game in OT. My plan succeeded I think. The boys from Middlebury now think that this year's version of the Cardinals really suck and will be easy pickings when they come over in January.

By the way the early line on this game has Plattsburgh favored by 8 points. It will be interesting to see if that changes in the weeks leading up to the contest.

Plus K to both of you for putting up with my yelling at the zebras.   

Magicman....It was good to see you last night.  I suspected it was all an act on Plattsburgh's part.  No team could be as bad as they looked in that 1st half.   I'm sure you and Coach Curle took the refs out for drinks following the game and had a good laugh over the clever charade.  A lot of those calls make sense now.   Since the whole thing was a put-up job I guess it doesn't matter that my secret recording features more of that cute little girl with the cornbraided hair sitting (sometimes) next to you eating popcorn than it does the play on the court.  I'll have to use a better camera angle on my next undercover assignment.  Middhoops and I look forward to seeing you and your friends in Plattsburgh  on 1-6.  We expect as pleasant a trip home as yours was last season.

Your cousin PM'd me and said you were driving him over to the Burgh in January.   Said something about goals, being devious, and revenge. Sounds like he's rambling already and the game is over a month away.

I gave him a plus K (he was at 199, I couldn't resist). I gave you one also, for your friendly banter up above. Just don't have your heart set on a pleasant trip home. I'm offering my home as a sanctuary in case the trip home that night is too daunting.

I expect he's just a bit giddy as any Panther fan would be who witnessed Plattsburgh's play in the 1st half.   I'm inclined to put some stock in your claim that some talented thespians fill up the basketball roster.  As for the accommodations being offered, is it the guest rooms if you win and sleeping bags in pup tents on the front lawn if you lose? 

Always the guest rooms Vandy, regardless if you win or lose. One thing we know how to do here in Northern New York is treat our guests well, even if they are from the NESCAC.

[Buzzerbeater]

Did anyone catch the Colby/ENU game? Just wondering what happen as Colby was off to a pretty good start. According to he box score Colby shot percentage was at a higher rate than EN. Only discrepancy in the box score was the high number of steals EN had on Colby. Can anyone out there paint a picture of this game?    Thanks