MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

A for the record report.  Amherst won its first road game of the season down the road at Westfield St.
The game but smaller opponent was overcome by the outside shooting of Amherst.  Conner Green found his grove early from outside and was joined by Racy.  Amherst made over 40 percent of its threes...hitting 16.  Whenever Westfield scored...mainly inside, Amherst countered with a three. Green led the team in points and rebounds...gathered 12 RB.  Four starters were in double figures and five players scored in double figures.  Everyone got minutes...89-65 wiin,
Four more road games before the Holidays...including Babson and Brandeis.  Two more road games in Jan., before coming home to meet ECSU.  This maybe the year when Amherst rotates a large number of players.  Still these early games are to evaluate combinations of players, IMO, whether at home or on the road. 

[Vandy74]

Midd falls at RPI, 68-66.

Panthers have a chance to tie or win at the buzzer, but fail to get a shot off in time. Off a missed free throw, Jake Brown drove the length of the court and had a lane to the hoop with the clock ticking down. It looked like he had a good look at the basket, albeit a contested one, tho he chooses to rifle a pass cross court to St. Amour wide open on the left wing. Problem is, there's not enough time. The buzzer sounds as St. Amour gathers the pass and before he can attempt what would have been the winning three.

Hate to fault Brown for anything; he was terrific tonight: 20 pts (9-16), 5 assists, 4 steals.

Matt Daley with another double-double: 15 points, 13 boards. St. Amour w/ 13, though he struggled to get anything to fall until late.

Zach Baines emerging as the sixth man, or a starter off the bench, getting close to starter minutes (23). He was on the floor at the end of the game. Eight points (an efficient 4-6) and a couple of blocks.

RPI was led by frosh Tom Horvat's 29. The kid is a player. He had 4 steals and 5 boards to go with his near-30 points. In fact, RPI's three most productive players were freshman. Young Mr. Gilbride appears to have things on the upswing at Rensselaer.

The video feed had no commentary and never showed the clock or scoreboard so those closing seconds were impossible to gauge but I agree, it's hard to blame Brown's decision making considering the great game he played.  Along with a healthy Matt Daley, he and St. Amour must carry this very inexperienced team while a half dozen players work their way productively into the system.   It will take time.  Panther hoop fans have gone from expecting very little to being quite spoiled over the past decade.  There's plenty of talent on this roster.  Middlebury finally has a couple of home games next week against Castleton and Plattsburgh.

It's good to see Baines playing quality minutes.  4-4 when he wasn't shooting the trey. 

[AmherstStudent05]

I caught the last minute or two of this game after the Amherst game wrapped up.  Maybe I just had the website set up incorrectly (would be far from the first time), but not only did I not see a clock or a scoreboard in the video, right above the video there was a live stats scoreboard that showed both the time and the score.  Only trouble was that the scoreboard was out in front of the action on my screen.  Made for an interesting and somewhat anti-climactic viewing experience, I must say.

Interesting to get your take on the overall talent level of this year's Midd squad.  I have hardly seen them play at all this season, but going by what I saw in previous years and this year's box scores to date (still a very early and small sample set to be sure), I would not have judged this year's Midd team to be particularly talented.  Leaving the freshmen out of it, to me MSA is the one all-conference potential guy on the roster although it seems to me that his shooting efficiency numbers continue to be all over the map on a game to game basis and have not been stellar when viewed in toto (although a lot of that could be chalked up to MSA being asked to shoulder more than his fair share of the offensive burden).  Daley and Brown certainly can be plus players on the right days but I don't see either of them as all-conference guys.  I don't know -- I am not trying to be critical at all, I am just saying that, in my view, it wouldn't surprise me if Midd continues to struggle a bit this year (relative to their recent past performance) as they do seem a bit down in terms of overall talent at the moment.  Of course, I am not at practice so there could well be some potential gems on the roster who I am overlooking (in addition to Baines and Dahleh who I just haven't seen enough of to form my own view).

Come to think of it, even at its peak, I never considered Midd to be a wildly talented team -- at least when compared to some of the great Amherst and Williams teams of the past.  To me, what made those teams was (i) one or two stud players (from Rudin to Sharry to Joey), (ii) a "supporting cast" that, to a man, played great team defense and refused to be outworked by anyone, and (iii) consistently clutch play in big moments.  In terms of total talent, I suppose the 13 team may have had the most as Kizel, Nolan, and Lynch all had all-conference ability (I don't believe Lynch ever made the all-conference team, but he had that kind of ability).  It was a shame that Sinnickson was hurt that year.

Anyway, just my two cents on Midd from an outsider's perspective.

As for Amherst, I got to see my first extended action of the Jeffs last night.  Hard to glean too much from that game and amh63 has beaten me to a recap of all the important points.  Still, it was a fun game to watch.  I don't think anyone can dispute that there is a ton of talent on the Amherst roster.  Green, Racy and JMac will shoot it from anywhere.  Will be interesting to see how it all comes together over the course of the season. 

[amh63]

Had a little viewing time before the Big Boys games....Big Ten/ACC Challenge...on TV..last night.  Watched a little....end of the Weslelan vs. MCLA game in Middletown.  The game intrigued me on various levels....more on that later.  First, the Cardinals won over the visitors.  The score and my take of the game was like the Williams win over the same opponent.  Yes, it is early in the season and comparative scores are NOT a reliable measure of teams.  However, it does give me a "feel" of the future Little Three opponents using a common measuring stick.  MCLA is the state's initial effort to create a college of liberal arts...a public funded version of the CAC schools.  I have been on its campus and visited and stayed in the town of North Adams....just a few miles from Willytown.  It is a railroad built town at the base of the Mohawk Trail with a most interesting history.  Anyway, the MBB program seems to becoming a competative program much like Southern Vermont.  The fine announcer noted that MCLA's top scorer to date was not playing but dressed and sitting on the bench..T- shirt on.
That remark was interesting when evaluating the final score.  However, I came to the game late and did not see the Cardinals' rotation of players.
I have watched many live games in Middletown....more in the old facility than in the new one.  The old one was a builiding like Amherst's Coolidge Cage.....in my days, Amherst had its basketball games in its Cage.  There is a similar building at UMass-Amherst, now being used by the Women's team of that fine school.  Memories..good and bad.  The new facility in Middletown has on its  bare walls two BB banners.  One to announce to all that the Cardinals won the Nescac Title last season; the other that Wesleyan reached the post- season!  Yes, I watched Amherst crush Wes last year in the new place...only to lose in OT to the Cardinals in Hartford.  I guess I should just sit back and watch the early games.  The CAC teams are still being molded and there will be injuries ahead for all prior to tournament time. I hope that all teams are spared injuries and I will still have some hair by then.
Oh yes...it seems to me that the two teams that produces their own webcasts...Tufts and Wesleyan..provide first class productions.  The announcers are most knowledgable, etc.  NSN should take note!

One last comment....the men's roster has been updated with new pics of players and does have a running value of the stats for the players....nice to put a face to the name and check out the latest haircut styles.

[toad22]

Since Nescac1 isn't here tonight, I should report that Williams beat Union 80-64. The first half was very close, with Union getting up by at least 5 at one point. The half ended with a tie at 32 each. The star of the game was once again Dan Aronowitz with 29 points,with the second star going to Ed Flynn with 15 points on 6-6 shooting, and 7 rebounds. Aronowitz shot the 3 ball well (5-8), and abused his defenders on powerful slashes to the basket and nifty low post moves. The team got in some foul trouble early, but guys of the bench filled in well, and the game was never in doubt in the last 5 minutes. Next up is Wesleyan on Saturday night at 7.

[amh63]

Toad22.....nice summary!  Plus K.  Should post your own take of games even when Nescac1 is around.
I did look in on the game when I saw the halftime score...but it was still halftime.  Surprised at the relative light turnout....it was a midweek game though.
Went back to the Amherst WBB game....first away game.

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin travels to Waterville, ME today to take on the Mules of Colby at 2 pm.   This matchup will be another important test for the improving Polar Bears.

After a disappointing 2 point loss to a hot shooting UNE team just days before Thanksgiving, Bowdoin bounced back with two impressive wins against Babson and Southern Maine.  While both wins are welcome they were very different.

Against Babson, the Polar Bears rode the backs of Lucas Hausman and Jack Simonds who combined for 62 of 88 points.  Babson was an interior scoring team and while Bowdoin did their best to slow them down they struggled a bit – e.g. Babson outrebounded them 54-32 and scored on second chance shots.  Two days later against USM, Bowdoin looked like a completely different team with 3 players scoring in double figures and another 3 had at least 7 points each.  Bowdoin's perimeter defense (and some cold USM shooting) limited the Huskies outside scoring which had been a hallmark of theirs coming into the game.  Bowdoin's size advantage allowed them control the boards as they outrebounded the Huskies  46-39.

Colby represents the significant challenge for this year's Bowdoin team.  Colby has a bigger front line led by Chris Hudnut.  It will be a challenge for Bowdoin to rebound effectively and to slow down Hudnut in the paint.  Hudnut is averaging 19 ppg on 56% shooting from the floor; he's also averaging 7.8 rpg.

Colby has also been shooting well from long range.  As a team they are averaging 40.4% from behind the arc and they make almost 8.5 treys per game.  Bowdoin will have to defend well at the perimeter and in the paint – something they haven't had to do yet this year.

Here's hoping for some balanced scoring and good overall defense.

GoUBears!!

[P'bearfan]

At the half Bowdoin trails Colby 35-44.

No live stats available but as feared Colby is scoring from both inside the paint and the perimeter.  Late in the half Patrick Stewart hit 3 treys in consecutive trips down the floor. Colby is also moving the ball extremely well around the perimeter to find the open man. 

Bowdoin appears to be holding its own on the defensive glass but is struggling to get offensive rebounds.  The Polar Bears will need some better outside shooting in the second half to pull this one out.

GoUBears!

[P'bearfan]

Also have to mention that the overall quality of the webcast is much better than in past years.  Colby has switched to NSN and the video feed is very clear.  Now if the camerman would follow the action we would be all set!

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin falls to Colby 81-86 in a tough loss that was much closer than even the score indicates.

Bowdoin came out in the second half and played much better on both ends of the floor.  They narrowed the gap and even led the game several times in the closing minutes of play.  With 25 seconds to go Colby held a 3 point lead.  Bowdoin brought the ball across half court and got the ball to Hausman when the Polar Bears were called for an offensive foul (either Hausman or Donnelly).  Really, really didn't like that call.  After that Colby was able to ice the game with free throws.

Surprisingly, Bowdoin missed a number of free throws today.  I'll be interested to see that stat when the box score is posted.

[Vandy74]

Middlebury up 35-29 over Skidmore at the half.  It's good to see this young Panther team playing well against a quality opponent. 

[GoWesYoungMan]

BJ Davis gets a buzzer beater to crawl over the rim with 0.9 secs left as Wesleyan goes on the road to steal one in Williamstown. Both teams looked good for periods but neither were sharp overall. The Ephs got off to a hot start and a 15 point lead twelve minutes into the game. Wes managed to pull within 9 at half 34-25. The first eight minutes of the second half were the best played by Wes this season. They nerves the ball, rebounded and played stout defense to eventually open an 8 point lead. Williams regrouped and took advantage of poor free throw shooting by Wes (12/26) to eventually tie the game with 30 sec left on an aronowitz drive and bonus. The last play was basically Davis dribbling out the clock until he drove right with about 5 sec left and threw up the game-winner. Not a pretty play but we'll take it.
Aronowitz was excellent for Williams, who were missing Greenman and Galvin. Both teams need to and will improve by January. For Wes though this was an important win on the road against a strong opponent.

[nescac24]

Middlebury up 35-29 over Skidmore at the half.  It's good to see this young Panther team playing well against a quality opponent.

A good effort by Middlebury. In fairness, Skidmore was playing its third consecutive game without 6-4 senior point guard Aldin Medunjanin, the reigning Liberty League Player of the Year and pre-season 4th team All-America.

[Vandy74]

Middlebury up 35-29 over Skidmore at the half.  It's good to see this young Panther team playing well against a quality opponent.

A good effort by Middlebury. In fairness, Skidmore was playing its third consecutive game without 6-4 senior point guard Aldin Medunjanin, the reigning Liberty League Player of the Year and pre-season 4th team All-America.

It was a very winnable game for Middlebury, although the addition of Medunjanin into Skidmore's lineup certainly could have changed that scenario.  It's interesting to note however, that Medunjanin's Liberty League POY season did include one 35 minute effort against Middlebury in which he was good for a modest 6 points, all from the FT line.  He did dish out 5 assists but he also turned the ball over half a dozen times.  You're right.  He could have been the difference maker.

[amh63]

Vandy74....did you have to pay to watch?   
After watching Amherst's surprising easy win over Emerson, I went CAC surfing a bit.  The Hamilton game at Vasser and the Midd game at Skidmore both gave me trouble...seems payment was required...or my ineptness. 
The Wesleyan win over Williams in Willytown surprised me since the Ephs seemed to have the game in hand when I peeked in.  Conn was having some trouble at home with UMPI.  The Colby vs Bowdoin game was close in the first half and appeared to be a competative one.  The homecourt advantage in the CAC is big...thus the surprise at the Cardinals road win.
Back to the Amherst win.  It was at Emerson in its new but "cracker box" environment...tighter than Bates' Alumni Gym.  Big name HC Murphy and a very tall team...though young.  Emerson started a broad 7' footer and had a more athletic but thin 6'11" center rotate in.  There was also a big 6'9"? starter.  Anyway, after a slow start with Emerson taking a 6-0 lead, Amherst led by Green...who did not start....with his RBs and 3's ...slowly took control of the game.  Racy started to hit from outside and with JMac showing his outside shooting skills, .Amherst built a large double digit lead. Almost everyone got into the game.  Amherst appeared to prefer to play man to man while adjusting well to the changing defenses of Emerson.  The announcers pointed out that Amherst lost to Emerson in 2013...the year Amherst won the National Title.  They also pointed out that HC Murphy was bringing in players and Emerson expected to be good...a star player was out.  They also was impressed with Amherst, especially after George threw down a two'handed dunk off a pass. The game ended with 3 freshmen and two Other non starters on the floor and Amherst still scored 99 points.