MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Been awhile since I tried, but here are lines I'd put on Saturday's games:

Amherst -10  O/U 158
Trinity -5  O/U 152
Tufts -5  O/U 150
Middlebury -3  O/U 137

[AmherstStudent05]

Been awhile since I tried, but here are lines I'd put on Saturday's games:

Amherst -10  O/U 158
Trinity -5  O/U 152
Tufts -5  O/U 150
Middlebury -3  O/U 137

I like Amherst and the over and I like Trinity as well.

[jumboshrimp]

New to the board, but give me Wesleyan and the points, and give me Tufts and the over...

Now there was some talk earlier about the ncaa tourney in here, but in my mind Amherst, Trinity, and Tufts are locks in the ncaa tourney right now. WPIfan - not sure I agree with you that it's a toss up between Tufts and WPI.  While Tufts lost to WPI, Tufts has the same number of losses, is in a better conference, and has better quality wins (Amherst, Whitman, Babson).  It is dangerous to just look at H2H, especially when that happened in the Fall.  Gotta look at the whole resume in my mind.  Anyways, can't wait for the games to begin today, good luck to all teams!

[ContinentalDomer]

Matt Hart career milestone 1000 points accomplished in a unique way. 881 at Hamilton, 124 and counting at GW.
11 points 3 boards 2 assists and a steal tonight vs Duquesne.

http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/021716aaa.html

Coulda woulda shoulda, but imagine where Hamilton would have been had he stayed. Congrats to Matt. He's a talented player and he pursued his dream.

[7express]

Been awhile since I tried, but here are lines I'd put on Saturday's games:

Amherst -10  O/U 158
Trinity -5  O/U 152
Tufts -5  O/U 150
Middlebury -3  O/U 137

Bowdoin over
Trinity under
Tufts over
Wesleyan over.

[grabtherim]

Been awhile since I tried, but here are lines I'd put on Saturday's games:

Amherst -10  O/U 158
Trinity -5  O/U 152
Tufts -5  O/U 150
Middlebury -3  O/U 137

Think your spreads are pretty darn good. So I'll go with a couple of 2 team teasers to try to gain a bit of an advantage. Keeping things simple,both favorites Trinity and Amherst in bet #1. In the 2nd bet I'll take the Ephs with the extra points along with the Cardinals hoping Midd wins but seeing it as a close game. Truth be told I see the Jumbos and the Panthers as shaky favorites. Unlike some others here if Tufts loses today I see them as far from a lock for the dance.

[nescac1]

Middlebury playing very well and totally in control of the game right now, led by St. Amour, who has been lights out from deep and also has been driving the ball effectively, with some very tricky finishes inside.  Play of the game so far was a beautiful coast-to-coast drive by Jake Brown who shed two defenders in the open court with nifty spin moves.  Middlebury has also been very good in transition beating Wesleyan down the floor for a number of easy scores.   Panthers getting a big boost from Connor Huff who is having the game (I would imagine) of his season including hitting a triple.  The veterans getting it done for Midd, the juniors and seniors outplaying Wesleyan's juniors and seniors. 

Harry Rafferty is playing tremendous for Wesleyan, making a lot of tough shots off the dribble, but Wesleyan is hurting themselves with lots of missed open jumpers.  Midd has done a much better job of finishing plays, both on the interior and via long range.  BJ Davis has been a total non-factor and needs to start making plays soon for Wesleyan if they hope to make a comeback. 

[ContinentalDomer]

Middlebury playing very well and totally in control of the game right now, led by St. Amour, who has been lights out from deep and also has been driving the ball effectively, with some very tricky finishes inside.  Play of the game so far was a beautiful coast-to-coast drive by Jake Brown who shed two defenders in the open court with nifty spin moves.  Middlebury has also been very good in transition beating Wesleyan down the floor for a number of easy scores.   Panthers getting a big boost from Connor Huff who is having the game (I would imagine) of his season including hitting a triple.  The veterans getting it done for Midd, the juniors and seniors outplaying Wesleyan's juniors and seniors. 

Harry Rafferty is playing tremendous for Wesleyan, making a lot of tough shots off the dribble, but Wesleyan is hurting themselves with lots of missed open jumpers.  Midd has done a much better job of finishing plays, both on the interior and via long range.  BJ Davis has been a total non-factor and needs to start making plays soon for Wesleyan if they hope to make a comeback.

Adisa Majors made a huge difference for Middlebury in place of Daley. He made just about every play he was asked to make.

[middhoops]

Others will more than adequately analyze Midd's home win over Wesleyan.
Some things just don't show up in stats.

Jack Daly.
Daly is a largely non-shooting gritty point guard.  His hustle, pinpoint passes and making the perfect pass before the pass was YUGE for Middlebury today.

Harry Rafferty was stellar for Wesleyan.  Nathan Krill was efficient off the bench, as well.
Jack Mackey should be required watching for any junior high basketball hopeful.  Not the most talented kid on the floor, but NO ONE out hustles Mackey.  He buried 3s from the next town over to stem Middlebury runs, ran balls down that others gave up on and continually rallied his team from deep deficits.

Now watching the other games.

[nescac1]

Frustrating half for Williams.  The Ephs did really what they had to do -- made Palleschi work for his points, avoided points in transition, did a very good job on the boards (especially the offensive boards), but Tufts hit a lot of tough jumpers (including one crazy banked three pointer by Tarik Smith) and other than Aronowitz and Teal, the Ephs couldn't buy a shot.  They missed a lot of very makeable shots in the lane and also a bunch of open threes (although the wrong guys were attempting some of those threes).  Williams just has to hit more shots in the second half to beat a team like Tufts which has a load of weapons, and someone besides Aronowitz and Teal needs to get hot from three. 

[nescac1]

Tufts absolutely dominating Williams in the second half.  The Ephs can't seem to figure out a way to get any sort of decent look.  Tufts has really picked up the defensive intensity and Williams has not responded at all -- they seem to have no plan and no idea how to attack this defense. 

[nescac1]

Huge individual effort by Aronowitz to make it at least interesting at the end, but Tufts did a good job taking care of the ball and hitting free throws.  Amazing last four games of the season by Aronowitz, who could be an all-American next season, but he needs a lot more help on offense ... hopefully help is on the way between the return of Greenman, the maturation of this year's talented frosh class, and three strong recruits coming in. 

Congrats to the Jumbos, who played very well on both ends. 

[JEFFFAN]

If I have ever doubted Connor Green, today is the day to receive my comeuppance.  (Although my doubt was early in the year!)  He was dominant from the outside, just thrashing Bowdoin with his three pointers.   George was dominant inside defensively and on the boards but his lack of an offensive game is why his minutes are limited each game, today being a good example.  Amherst won because of its depth - they simply wore Bowdoin done.  Today was the day that the depth won them a game.

I also think that Bowdoin made a mistake over the last ten minutes by not having Hausman touch the ball on every single possession.   He is as dominant a scorer as I have EVER seen in the NESCAC with that step-back jumper of his.   After starting out 0-8, he (and Simmonds) played terrific basketball.   It is my loss to have not seen Hausman play more as he is simply an outstanding, almost unstoppable scorer.  If I was a Bear fan, I would have wanted him touching it every single time and also would have liked to see Simmonds on the inside more.   They both wore down.

In the handshake line, Hixon and then Connor Green both stopped for 4-5 seconds and talked to Hausman with a good hug.    Kudos to him for a terrifc career, as good as you can have in the NESCAC.  One of the all-time greats.

[polbear73]

JEFFFAN'S comments are very gracious and I have to agree that Amherst's depth, size and talent wore down a game Polar Bear team.  Conor Green once again killed Bowdoin with his deep three point shooting as Amherst received strong contributions from just about the entire roster, while Bowdoin went about 9 deep. A fun and competitive game to watch and thanks to Lucas Hausman, Matt Pallecki, and Jake Donnelly for some great effort over the years. Congratulations to Amherst.

[Old Guy]

Great game at Middlebury. Big crowd, terrific atmosphere - large noisy student contingent: north bleachers (where students and the cognoscenti - parents, coaches, staff, me! sit) jampacked, SRO; south bleachers 70-80% full (where townspeople and others coming from other contests sit).

Middlebury is unusual in that, with the new field house, all indoor sports are in basically the same place, sharing a lobby. Today, there was the New England Women's D3 Track Championships, NESACAC tournament basketball, Men's ice hockey all going on literally right next door to one another. I wish my dad were alive to see it, as he would have thought he had died and gone to heaven, so deeply did he believe that sports were good for the soul. Some Saturdays this winter we have also had swimming and squash contests, right there, a carnival of sports.

Middlebury played great today, a spectacular first half, even though a number of players were battling illness (Tarantino out, street clothes - pneumonia; Majors tentative till game time, bronchitis; others in various states of health). Hardly unique to Midd this winter, I know. The Panthers came out with tremendous energy - St. Amour hit three early threes to get the crowd into it. The second half was a dogfight, with the Cardinals always appearing to be poised to make a run. This was a five point game late, never felt secure: Mackey and Davis hit long bombs (NBA+) to keep the Cardinals within reach. Harry Rafferty, off the bench, couldn't miss (where's he been? As a frosh he was much ballyhooed) - 19 points in 19 minutes, sharpshooting.

For the Panthers, Jake Brown had a wonderful game (11 pts, 7 assists, 2 TOs, 4 steals). He had one hoop that has to be on every highlight reel - baseline to baseline, through many defenders, cross-over, behind the back, finish at the rim. Brought the crowd to its feet. Doesn't he have to get some consideration for all-star teams? 5.0 assists per game, 1.7 turnovers - basically 3-1 A/TO. Is there a better point guard in the league?

Adisa Majors was again a huge factor down the stretch, hitting foul shots and being at the right place at the right time. 16 of his 18 points were in the second half. Great story - he has really come on strong in the past month. He has a nice touch around the hoop, is a pretty good foul shooter, and plays physically.

Zach Baines had four blocks, a couple of the spectacular variety at important points in the game. He's going to be fun to watch in the next three years (I suspect that's a sentiment I have expressed before).   

Middlebury is 15-10 and is unlikely to get much of a look by the NCAA tourney folks. The Panthers only had eight home games out of 24 regular season games - won 'em all, and added another home win today over a good team, our second win over Wesleyan this year (18-7). Midd fans have been well-served. We also have a win over Tufts (20-5).

This is a very likable team - great chemistry it appears, plays hard. Rotation of 11 players getting at least 7 minutes a game. Big test next week vs powerhouse Trinity. We can play better than we did last week.