MBB: NESCAC

[P'bearfan]

Polar Bear HBC should have preparad his team better for a solid opponent.

With all due respect - no amount of preparation by the HBC will overcome 28.8% shooting from the field and 22.2% shooting from behind the arc. 

This was definitely not Swords' best game but he still wound up with a double double. However, Babson's tough defense made him far less efficient as he only shot 5-11 (45%) from the floor vs 60 or 65%+ coming into the game.  The fact that no other Bowdoin player could buy a basket didn't help as Babson didn't have to try to double the Bowdoin shooters to stop them.

Babson had a great game plan - especially on defense - and executed it well.  They deserved the win.  Hopefully this was just an very off night for the P'bears and they'll bounce back (I doubt that we're going to see many nights where both Pieri and Hausman shoot under 30% for the night and Hurley only has 3 assists).

[madzillagd]

Saw the majority of the 2nd half last night and every time I watch Bowdoin play I come away with the same question: why doesn't Swords touch the ball on every single possession?  He doesn't need to shoot on every single possession, but he should be touching the ball every time when he is in the game.  Like PB said, Babson did not have any height although they did a good job getting underneath.  When you get it inside if forces the defense to collapse a bit and opens up better shots.  Passing it around the perimeter doesn't do that and even Hurley driving and kicking is good but not as good because with this lineup he needs to be the one shooting some of those 3s.  Swords is 32-47 so far on the year.  9 Shots a game is not nearly enough, he should be at double that amount. 

[madzillagd]

Although I don't mind if I jinx them  that wasn't my intention.  Midd has a lot more depth and talent this year than the folks coming up in the next few games on their schedule.  Like I mentioned before, Skidmore is a disciplined team that won't beat themselves but I think Midd has the talent to beat them especially at home.  Salve played Midd tough last year but I don't think this year's version is going to be as difficult for them.  I'm expecting them to head into that Plattsburgh game without a loss and we'll see who has a better night in a game that should be a very close matchup. 

[nescac1]

Of bigger long-term concern for Bowdoin: almost all of their scoring comes from four guys, three of whom are seniors.  Only one frosh or sophomore plays a meaningful role right now, and he only averages 6 ppg at that.  Bowdoin will need an absolutely massive (both in numbers and in talent) recruiting year this year, because it seems like only one major impact player has arrived in the past three years ...

D3hoops top 25 out has Amherst at number 2, and on one else from NESCAC ranked.  What is odd is that Williams, Bowdoin and Bates (!) are all receiving votes, but undefeated Middlebury is not receiving a single vote.  Considering Midd's recent run of success, undefeated record to date, and talent level, odd that they aren't getting more respect ... they seem like a squad that belongs in the 20-25 range, certainly.  I think Amherst is a bit overranked at 2, but then again, outside of maybe Augustana and Whitewater, there don't appear to be many powerhouse squads in D3 this year, and Amherst probably has as much talent (albeit young and largely untested) as anyone. 

Edit: I see now there has already been posting about Midd's curious omission, saw that after I drafted my post.  Obviously, I concur with the curious among us on that front ...

[Bucket]

How does Midd not even have a single vote in the "other" part of the top 25? I would think they go .500 at worst against the top 25.  Were they so far off the radar that the quick start means nothing?  Final 4 - 2 or 3 years ago, no?

Am I off on this?

Elite Eight two years ago. Final Four was 5 years back.

To echo what others have said: right now it doesn't matter. (In fact, it actually doesn't matter in February. This polling of SIDs, national coaches, etc. has no impact on the regional ranking which is the criteria for Pool C bids.) How much can the folks voting in this poll really know about all of the teams in the country after four or five games? The sample size is so ridiculously small and the exposure of the teams isn't quite what it is on the Division I level.

Everything will sort itself out appropriately come January when conference play begins. And if it doesn't and folks are still grumbling, it's healthy to keep in mind this Top 25 poll is little more than a parlor game—fun to play, little to no real impact.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

What is odd is that Williams, Bowdoin and Bates (!) are all receiving votes, but undefeated Middlebury is not receiving a single vote. 

Williams has the rep, Bowdoin was in the tourney last year and returns a giant, Bates beat Babson (who, I think, everyone overrated).  Middlebury may get some votes once they start playing better opponents, but I think it's more likely Bowdoin and Bates (and maybe Williams) just stop getting votes altogether.

[Bucket]

What is odd is that Williams, Bowdoin and Bates (!) are all receiving votes, but undefeated Middlebury is not receiving a single vote. 

Williams has the rep, Bowdoin was in the tourney last year and returns a giant, Bates beat Babson (who, I think, everyone overrated).  Middlebury may get some votes once they start playing better opponents, but I think it's more likely Bowdoin and Bates (and maybe Williams) just stop getting votes altogether.

And at the end of the day teams that get votes, teams that don't, teams that rise, teams that fall, matters not a whit.

[P'bearfan]

Did anyone else lose the Bates -Colby webcast early in the 2nd half?

[nescac1]

Hayden Rooke-Ley watch: 0 free throw attempts in the first half.  I doubt he cares, because all he did was put up 31 points including 9-11 from three.  That has to be the Eph record for points in a half, right?? 

[Bucket]

It appears that Hayden Rooke Ley has 31 points AT THE HALF against RPI. 9-11 from 3. Good gravy.

[AmherstStudent05]

Amherst returns from Thanksgiving break to best an always feisty/game Westfield St. squad, 78-67.

Unfortunately, the story of the game is a tough injury suffered by Amherst freshman Mike Riopel ("Rio").  Late in the game, Rio was fouled hard as he was completing a breakaway dunk.  He landed very hard and very awkwardly as the game was stopped for several minutes while he lay on the ground receiving medical attention.  He went straight to the locker room and did not return.  At the end of the webcast the announcers passed on word from the trainers that Rio was doing well but for privacy reasons could not disclose the precise nature or his injury or his prognosis.  Obviously here's hoping that the injury looked much worse that it actually was and that Rio makes a full and speedy recovery.

We have talked a lot here and on other boards about the fine line between competitive play and dirty play.  Always a tricky issue.  In retrospect, the foul seems overly harsh (and a flagrant was properly awarded), but I agree with the announcers that there was no indication of any dirty intent whatsoever.  Just an unfortunate situation.

Changing gears, I side with middhoops on the Top 25 discussion.  Not really an issue for me until mid January or so.  Bucket, I take your point that, at least in a strict sense, the poll is meaningless, but my (uniformed) view is that the poll can be useful either in (a) helping to, at the margins, shape/influence the views of the respective regional committees, or (b) at least possibly reflecting how other people view the D3 landscape.

I know a lot of the voters put a lot of time into these ballots and I am grateful for the work that Pat & Company do.  I remember that when Coach Hixon was interviewed down in Atlanta two years ago, he pointed out how accurate the d3hoops poll was in identifying the top teams in the country (save for Mary Hardin Baylor).  That said, I agree that polls this early have basically no foundation and aren't worth too much concern at all.

[P'bearfan]

Bates defeats Colby 76-70. 

Both teams shot ~44% from the field and Colby shot much better from downtown (35% vs 17.6% with both teams taking 17 attempts).  The big difference seems to be FT shooting.  Colby shot a respectable 70% but Bates shot 89% - that 20 percentage points higher than their season average (including this game).  That's incredible.

Bates held an 8 rebound advantage but the Bobcats didn't convert those into as many points as you might expect (second chance points were similar for both teams: 12 for Colby; 19 for Bates).

[amh63]

Could say that Amherst had the rust...playing in their  4th game after the holiday...but Westfield playing in their 7th game was a tough opponent.....quick and hitting their outside shots, etc.  Story line for Amherst in this game....freshmen guards can play and shoot!  With Racy and Conner Green hitting outside shots....not really worry at this point wrt to Amherst's outside game.  Inside game still needs work and some TOs by Amherst resulted from trying to get passes to the front court players,etc.
Boxscore will show that Ben Pollock did not play.  He has back muscle spasms..kept out and expected back this weekend.  Info from announcer who got it from...Ben.
Other point of interest was that Aaron Toomey tweeted....think it was a response to remarks by the announcers.  Amherst's transfers played better and seemed to be confused by some calls.  Yes, there were some questionable calls by the refs....on both teams.  Refs let the rough play go at times and called it tight at times.  It was an interesting game as both teams played good defense.  Westfield also played a form of full court press and even went into a zone for awhile.
Amherst was tested and learned from the game against an opponent that is now 5-2.
Back again...on the Westfield website...the Owls are now 6-2.  I miss heard the announcers when they stated 5-1 ...it was 6-1.   The Owls had just beaten both Union and Skidmore in a recent Tourny.  Only lost was at home to Bowdoin in their second game.

[nescac1]

Another nice road win for the Ephs ... now up to six in a row after the rough start.  The starting five continues to be extremely potent offensively.  Obviously, the story for Williams tonight was Hayden Rooke-Ley.  He let other guys share some of the load in the second half as RPI was, for good reason, paying him quite a bit of attention on the perimeter, but he still finishes with an absolutely monster game: 43 points on 16-22 from the field, including 10-14 from three.  Oh, and he hit his only FTA to keep that streak alive as well.  After a career plagued by injuries, he is making the best of his year in the spotlight and has established himself as one of the top players in NESCAC. 

The rest of the Ephs were fairly quiet, but Dan Aronowitz also had an excellent game, looking very smooth with his shot and finishing with 14 points on 5-7 shooting, including a pair of threes, while adding three assists. 

RPI is not exactly a defensive juggernaut but Williams continues to get better and better on offense; the team really moved the ball beautifully today and the high screening action was very effective.  The team defense started out a bit rocky but got better and better as the game went along.  Everyone played with high energy and forced RPI to take a lot of mid-range contested shots, many of which RPI hit.  The bench offensive production is still not a factor yet for the Ephs.  Hayden can't put up 10 threes EVERY game, so at some point, the bench will need to start scoring some points. 

Very tough game at Springfield coming up for Williams; hopefully the Ephs can finish the semester on a high note. 

[P'bearfan]

While I didn't see the game, I'm a little surprised that Amherst didn't dispatch Westfield State more handily given the LJ's size, athleticism and depth in their front court.  Westfield State is a decent team but they have limited size in their front court.  Also when Bowdoin played them earlier this year I kept thinking - they aren't the same caliber as a good NESCAC team.

Best wishes to Amherst FY Riopel - hope he isn't seriously injured.