MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

Middhoops....yep, beer is for sure.    It is snowing again here in MD.  Will post on Wednesday if I will make the effort.  Travel method depends on weather conditions up North...train/ rental car; plane/ rental car...whatever.  Hope to check in before dinner time...so food at the White Horse before the game is offered.  If I'm not there by 6PM proceed and I will catch up with you'll later.  After last weekend, the games could be delayed....Matt Daley may shatter the backboard in warm ups.!
LeFrak has lots of spare boards behind the curtain end...actually another court.
JEFFFAN...thanks for the video.  Posters should note the space behind the backboard at the game.  Did not see any cushions on the walls.  Remember OG remarking about the court awhile back.  Been in the gym/ building.  Un of Rochester has plans to build a new facility, I believe.  Maybe a reason they charge for online viewing of games!   I know, be considerate.

Oops...it is the High Horse!   Keep thinking White Horse....Lone Ranger or Lord Jeff thing .
Just read about another place...craft beer called the Moan and Dove....sounds interesting.

[P'bearfan]

The guys over at NbN just posted their stock report and Bowdoin's rebounding was part of their "Stock down" group. Unfortunately that's a pretty fair assessment of what hurt them in the Midd game.  Hopefully the Polar Bear's can regroup tonight as they host Bates.

The last time these two team met, Bates out rebounded Bowdoin 47-40.  What that stat masks is that Bates was able to grab 18 O-rebounds compared to just 10 for Bowdoin.  The Polar Bears may need to be more effective on the boards if they want to be in the hunt for this one.

It will also be interesting to see if Coach Furbush changes his defensive scheme against Lucas Hausman.  He torched them for 42 and 44 points respectively in the last two times they met (dating back to last year).


GoUBears!!

[polbear73]

The Polar Bears have gone 1-6 since their overtime win at home over Colby.  Certainly the schedule had something to do with it, but it was mostly due to the failings mentioned on this board.  It is very difficult to win in this league dependent on two scorers plus being outrebounded.  Unfortunately, unless someone else steps up as a scoring threat and Bowdoin does a better job of blocking out, it's hard to see this trend reversing this weekend.  As P'bearfan has said, the pieces are there, but those pieces must execute. 

[polbear73]

Sorry, I meant 1-6 since the win at Bates. 

[polbear73]

As it turned out, Bowdoin did get the rebounds in last night's 22 point non conference win over Bates.  Jack Simonds was spectacular in scoring 27 points and grabbing 9 rebounds (Hausman 17 and 7).  Marcus Delpeche showed flashes of brilliance in a 12 point, 7 rebound effort for Bates, which shot just 30% from the field.  Although I was only streaming, the game felt like an exhibition as Bates used unfamiliar rotations-i.e. the Delpeche brothers were not in the starting lineup.  Nevertheless, a good and needed win for the Polar Bears. 

[amh63]

Maybe, I am watching too much basketball these days.  Started out catching the Bates vs Bowdoin game.  Bates put themselves in a hole missing foul shots and simple put back baskets after rebounds.  I felt Bowdoin's young guard, Ahn, to be the key that broke an otherwise tight game.  Comes in and starts to hit long shots and drives inside for points.  Bates still leaves him open.  Bates ,imo, does not play defense well....even though Hausman was blocked several times going inside. Hausman's best move,imo, is getting to the foul line.  He gets about a third of his points on the foul line.
He also falls down a great deal.  On one 3-point shot, he was open and falls back and down.  This time no foul was called since he was not guarded closely.  Getting cynical here.
Got bored with the play and went to another D3 game.  Johnson and Wales was playing Lasell.  J&W, the RI campus is highly ranked in NE and was playing at home.  They have a quick bunch of players but no big front court players.  Lasell was playing them even for over a half....even though they lost to J&W nif earlier in the season.  Bottom line, J&W is over ranked and rated.  Half of the CAC would beat J&W.  Yes, I am getting cynical.  Went to some D1 games.  Watched Purdue upset MSU....both highly ranked.  A MSU player....pre-season candidate for POY in the Big 10...made a bad defensive play in the last 5 seconds that led to a foul shot that won the game.  Head coaches have a tough job!
A little understated when UNC's head coach collapsed/fainted last night in a game.  Saw the collapse.  Reported that the HC has vertigo.  The HC also has a limp..... adjusting to having both his knees replaced recently.  Then there is the overhanging cloud of possible NCAA sanctions on the UNC program.  Yes, head coaches have tough jobs and I am becoming a cynic.

Made my room reservations....planning to attend the weekend games in Amherst.  Looked online and saw a new snow cover on the Amherst campus....ugh!  Hope all the road constructions north of Springfield are ahead of schedule   Fat chance.

[P'bearfan]

As it turned out, Bowdoin did get the rebounds in last night's 22 point non conference win over Bates.  Jack Simonds was spectacular in scoring 27 points and grabbing 9 rebounds (Hausman 17 and 7).  Marcus Delpeche showed flashes of brilliance in a 12 point, 7 rebound effort for Bates, which shot just 30% from the field.  Although I was only streaming, the game felt like an exhibition as Bates used unfamiliar rotations-i.e. the Delpeche brothers were not in the starting lineup.  Nevertheless, a good and needed win for the Polar Bears.

Yes it was a good win for the Polar Bears!  They looked much sharper overall.  Agree with everything polarbear73 wrote.  A few additional thoughts.

-Bowdoin really worked on the backdoor cuts last night and there were generally effective.  Blake Gordon in particular had a great one.  Great to see a real focus on this as it helped create interior scoring.

-Tim Ahn had probably his best game all season last night.  Not only did he provide an offensive spark off the bench, his decision making on offense was much improved.  Also, this was the best defense I've seen him play all year.  He kept his man in front of him and prevented penetration into the lane.

-Neil Fuller didn't have remarkable stats but his pick and roll defense was simply great.  Having someone who can reliably cover the guard off a screen at the top of the key and then fly back to the lane to cover the big is critical.

Hopefully, Bowdoin can build on the good play last night as they prepare to host Wesleyan on Friday and Conn College on Saturday.  I'm very excited for these games as I'll be traveling up to Brunswick to catch them live.

GoUBears!!

[polbear73]

Great comments, P'bearfan and safe travels to Brunswick.  Let's hope that these weekend games are NOT the last collegiate games for Messrs. Hausman, Donnelly, and Palecki! 

[P'bearfan]

....Let's hope that these weekend games are NOT the last collegiate games for Messrs. Hausman, Donnelly, and Palecki!

As we say in the south,"Can I get an AMEN?!"

GoUBears!!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2016/02/10/first-2016-regional-rankings-released-today/

[nescac1]

Wow.  See rankings below.  This is the weakest year for non-NESCAC teams in New England I can recall.  Accordingly, the top four NESCAC teams are very, very likely to all be in the NCAA tourney, barring an absolute collapse by any of them over the next two weeks.  I'd say Amherst is in and the other three are all but in with two more wins each.   

1 Amherst 18-4 18-4
2 Trinity (Conn.) 15-6 16-6
3 Tufts 17-5 17-5
4 Babson 15-5 15-5
5 Wesleyan  18-4 18-4
6 WPI 16-5 16-5
7 Eastern Connecticut 14-7 14-7
8 MIT 16-4 16-4
9 Johnson & Wales  19-1 20-1
10 Southern Vermont 18-3 18-3
11 Nichols 18-3 18-3

[Bucket]

Wow.  See rankings below.  This is the weakest year for non-NESCAC teams in New England I can recall.  Accordingly, the top four NESCAC teams are very, very likely to all be in the NCAA tourney, barring an absolute collapse by any of them over the next two weeks.  I'd say Amherst is in and the other three are all but in with two more wins each.   

1 Amherst 18-4 18-4
2 Trinity (Conn.) 15-6 16-6
3 Tufts 17-5 17-5
4 Babson 15-5 15-5
5 Wesleyan  18-4 18-4
6 WPI 16-5 16-5
7 Eastern Connecticut 14-7 14-7
8 MIT 16-4 16-4
9 Johnson & Wales  19-1 20-1
10 Southern Vermont 18-3 18-3
11 Nichols 18-3 18-3

Also shows how damaging some of those early season losses can be for a team with NCAA hopes. If Midd doesn't drop two or three of those early games, they'd surely be ranked, considering the Panthers are 3-0 against ranked NorthEast teams (Tufts, Wesleyan, Southern Vermont), with two still to play (Amherst, Trinity). And even with those losses, if Midd were able to knock off #1 and #2 this weekend (a tall order, obviously), earning the top seed in the conference in the process, I can see Midd making an appearance in next week's ranking.

Amending this to say that Middlebury is actually 4-1 against ranked opponents in all regions, as Plattsburgh is the top-rated team in the East and Oswego is 4th.

[Old Guy]

Tough weekend coming up for the Panthers. We always finish with Amherst and Trinity, such good teams year after year. After our 5-5 start (losses to Baldwin-Wallace, St. Lawrence, Oswego St., RPI, Skidmore - wins over Johnson State twice, SUNY New Paltz, Castleton, Plattsburgh State), how many of you thought that Midd would be a player in the final weekend with a 6-2 NESCAC record, with its two losses to Conn College and Hamilton, neither of which (like us) made the NESCAC Tourney last year, by two point each.  If you raised your hand, you're lying. I know I was guilty of some pessimism. Young Guy, with the optimism (innocence?) of youth, reassured me and told me to focus on the last game before the break, a blowout of Plattsburgh.

I think we have to give credit to the quiet one, Coach Jeff Brown. I don't go to practice and I'm years away from having played seriously or coached, but my sense is that he has done a terrific job, building on the experience of that killer early schedule (eight or ten games on the road, far away), just as the players have learned from those early setbacks. Middlebury has 10 players making significant contributions, playing in every game (unless hurt or sick): that's some skillful prestidigitation. He incorporated the three freshmen (Baines, Dahleh, McCord) into the rotation in effective roles. He increased the playing time of Adisa Majors, who gives the Panthers some needed bulk and aggression (and has a nice touch around the hoop and the line): Majors wasn't even in the rotation at the beginning of the year.

Most important is how hard the Midd players are playing. Credit to them, of course, but also to Coach Brown. Everybody on the team seems to play with confidence - I was shocked at how un-tentative the frosh were, indeed all the players: Dahleh misses a shot or two but goes right back to the basket hard; McCord or Majors turn the ball over, but go for the steal at the other end or get a big rebound - neither mind bumping into people; Bryan Jones takes off his warm-up and shoots a three. Players know if they miss a shot or make a mistake, they won't be yelled at or yanked.

I guess Jeff Brown can take credit for recruiting his outstanding backcourt, Jake Brown (his nephew) and Vermonter Matt St. Amour. They play so hard, put such pressure on the defense. Jake takes the ball into the teeth of the defense, always challenging without turning it over (3-1 TO%). Matt moves so well and aggressively with and without the ball, always now with a defender in his shirt. I think it's safe to consider them in the company of the great backcourt players at Middlebury in the last ten years - Rudin, Harris, Dudley, Edwards, Wolfin, Thompson, Kizel.

Good luck to the Panthers in this stern test this weekend.

[nescac1]

It's very conceivable that FIVE NESCAC teams could get in the tourney if one of the ranked teams fails to win the tourney.  If Amherst, Trinity and Tufts each win at least 1-2 more games, and If Wesleyan makes it to the semis or finals and a non-ranked team pulls an upset, five NESCAC teams looks not just possible but probable, especially if Babson wins the NEWMAC. 

And to show how much things turn on a dime, Williams is three end-of-game possessions (vs. Wesleyan twice, and Trinity) from being in the top three, most likely, instead of being entirely unranked. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First off remember these rankings will go through a shake-up because Results Versus Regionally Ranked Opponents (vRRO) is not factored into this week. So what you are seeing here really can't be bought into very much until all the criteria is being used.

Secondly, anything from about 7 or 8 down is bubble or worse territory. The idea of five teams from the NESCAC I think is a bit of a stretch since four teams from a conference is a very, very rare thing (NESCAC has done it, but once?).