MBB: NESCAC

amh63 · December 03, 2016, 10:17:15 AM

Full slate of games for CAC schools today. Very interesting match up between Tufts and Babson in the Tourny at Brandeis today. Watched parts of yesterday's Tufts and Babson's games when the scores showed competitive games against Southern Maine and Brandeis. Turns out that Babson was playing with a lineup without their big gun..the all-American. In the Tufts vs. Brandeis game there was a new mix of players for Tufts throughout the game which ended in a 74-72 win for Tufts. Rarely did Pace play with his SR center star in the game. Thought it was to save the big man for today's game. Turns out that Brandeis took Tuft's big man out with good defense,IMO. Pace was shooting the lights out from outside and getting points inside whenever the Judges made a run. It took the Jumbo's PG Smith making 4 foul shots to win. May have to watch the game today.

Vandy74 · December 03, 2016, 05:17:49 PM

Quote from: amh63 on December 03, 2016, 10:17:15 AM
Full slate of games for CAC schools today. Very interesting match up between Tufts and Babson in the Tourny at Brandeis today. Watched parts of yesterday's Tufts and Babson's games when the scores showed competitive games against Southern Maine and Brandeis. Turns out that Babson was playing with a lineup without their big gun..the all-American. In the Tufts vs. Brandeis game there was a new mix of players for Tufts throughout the game which ended in a 74-72 win for Tufts. Rarely did Pace play with his SR center star in the game. Thought it was to save the big man for today's game. Turns out that Brandeis took Tuft's big man out with good defense,IMO. Pace was shooting the lights out from outside and getting points inside whenever the Judges made a run. It took the Jumbo's PG Smith making 4 foul shots to win. May have to watch the game today.

The Babson-Tufts game is a good one. Too bad Brandeis doesn't supply a video. I guess if they can't play in the game themselves they take their ball and go home.

ContinentalDomer · December 03, 2016, 05:26:29 PM

Hamilton dropped a close game at Eastern University in Philadelphia. The Continentals led by 12 with about 12 minutes to play. After a few starters went to the bench, Eastern began a 17-0 run. Hamilton fought back to tie with 34 seconds left. A potential game-winning three rimmed out with 11 seconds to play. All 5 Hamilton starters were in double figures. PG Jack Dwyer had 17 pts, 7 assists. Michael Grassey had 25 points, 9 rebounds. Andrew Groll had 10 points, 15 rebounds. Hamilton plays in NJ on Sunday against Centenary.

Quote from: amh63 on December 03, 2016, 10:17:15 AM
Full slate of games for CAC schools today. Very interesting match up between Tufts and Babson in the Tourny at Brandeis today. Watched parts of yesterday's Tufts and Babson's games when the scores showed competitive games against Southern Maine and Brandeis. Turns out that Babson was playing with a lineup without their big gun..the all-American. In the Tufts vs. Brandeis game there was a new mix of players for Tufts throughout the game which ended in a 74-72 win for Tufts. Rarely did Pace play with his SR center star in the game. Thought it was to save the big man for today's game. Turns out that Brandeis took Tuft's big man out with good defense,IMO. Pace was shooting the lights out from outside and getting points inside whenever the Judges made a run. It took the Jumbo's PG Smith making 4 foul shots to win. May have to watch the game today.

lumbercat · December 03, 2016, 07:14:46 PM

The Babson-Tufts game is a good one. Too bad Brandeis doesn't supply a video. I guess if they can't play in the game themselves they take their ball and go home.
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No question Vandy- typically the tournament host provides the video--too bad that was the case because that game was one of the best matchups so far this year in New England D3 hoops.

nescac1 · December 03, 2016, 07:45:35 PM

Wesleyan up by nine on Williams at the half. Ephs not sharp, seem to be moving in slow motion at times on offense, getting very few good looks inside off of cuts or drives. Credit to Wesleyan's defense which has really crowded the lane. For the second straight game, Aronowitz seems to be lacking his usual explosiveness and aggression -- hopefully not a physical ailment, but something is definitely up. Refs doing Williams no favors, calling a combined eight fouls on Aronowitz/Scadlock/Heskett, some of them very iffy, but all three just need to be more careful in light of how the game is being called.

Salim Green has been dominant for Wesleyan, just blowing by guys guarding him with ease. His combination of speed, strength, and shooting reminds me of James Wang -- he is gonna be a handful for NESCAC teams for the next three years. Wesleyan has done little on offense besides two VERY difficult deep threes from Rafferty and Green, but has not needed to due to Williams' offensive woes. Williams will need a lot more out of Aronowitz and Teal in the second half to come back from the deficit. Also hopefully Scadlock and Heskett can avoid picking up quick fouls so they can get something going on offense, Heskett played very well but only saw limited minutes.

amh63 · December 03, 2016, 07:47:19 PM

Seems Flannery had a 40 plus game today as Babson win over Tufts.
On another board, it seems he took the day off against the opponent in the first game yesterday due to a foot problem/issue.
Pace was not up to his standards in the Babson game...back to back games can do that.

jumpshot · December 03, 2016, 07:50:06 PM

Ephs down by 9 at Wesleyan at the half after giving up 9 layups, committing 11 fouls, and being out-rebounded 17 to 7. Hard to improve without doing the "hard work" of playing defense and rebounding. A "pretty style " of offense not sufficient to win the day at most levels ....

nescac1 · December 03, 2016, 08:47:50 PM

Wesleyan wins comfortably. The Ephs played better defensively in the second half, especially on Salim Green, and Wesleyan didn't play especially well on offense in that half. Jordan Sears had several really tough finishes inside and played great overall on both ends, a very athletic player. PJ Reed hit two big threes to stretch the Wesleyan lead in critical situations. Joe Kuo rebounded from first half foul trouble with his usual physical, effective play down low.

Williams' offense was absolutely brutal all game. Credit to Wesleyan which played physical, tough, aggressive defense. Aronowitz is clearly not himself, and hopefully whatever is ailing him (none of his usual explosion in finishing at the rim for two straight games, missed finishes that he always makes) is a short-term deal. Wesleyan also collapsed on him continuously, but that is nothing new for him. Without him to carry the offense, Williams really bogged down at times. One especially brutal stretch featured 3-4 forced passes in the lane in the row, leading to multiple turnovers and fast breaks for Wesleyan. The team needs much better movement and spacing rather than trying to force the ball into incredibly tight alleys. The Ephs aren't going to be beat anyone with quickness so precise motion and movement are key. Easier said than done!

Also, Williams keeps missing front end of one-and-ones. They missed two in the second half which could have made the game very close if they hit 3-4 of those free throws.

Really, the only bright spot for the Ephs today was James Heskett, who finished with 17-7 in only 16 minutes. I feel like a broken record but he needs more time, more touches and more shots (didn't help today that he was in serious foul trouble all game, of course). Everyone else had a tough time out there vs. Wesleyan's defense, which is far tougher than any the Ephs have faced all year.

amh63 · December 04, 2016, 10:45:46 AM

Watched the Wes vs Williams game a bit, especially in the second half. A lot of substitution by both coaches in the last 10 minutes. First time getting a look at two Little Three. teams closely this season. Not familiar with the players going in and out, etc. The announcer comment that surprised me was that the Cardinals have been winning the last FiVE games...now six...over the Ephs. With all the new faces on both teams, how can that be? Wes's coach understands how to defend against a Williams team that prefer to go with an outside first offense?

NEhoops · December 04, 2016, 11:28:34 AM

It seems as though Coach Reilly at Wesleyan has an effective game plan against Williams. His teams always play hard and disciplined, and have enough pieces to compete with anyone this year.

Babson is definitely making its case for the top team in the region - but I'm sure Amherst will have something to say about that (mark your calendars for 12/8) - taking down a strong Tufts team and an undermanned Bates squad. For the Bobcats, if Strickland is out for an extended period of time that will be a huge blow. Spellman's return will be a big addition, but he is still somewhat of an unknown.

Bowdoin takes the early lead in the CBB with a win over Colby - they'll both play in Lewiston on Wed and Sat.

I think the league will be tighter than most might have initially envisioned. Home court come January will be huge.

P'bearfan · December 04, 2016, 10:26:28 PM

My wife and I traveled to Brunswick for the Bowdoin v Colby game on Saturday. There was a decent crowd for a December game which was nice to see and the fans certainly go their money's worth as the P'bears defeated the White Mules 76-67 in a a game that was much closer than the final score might indicate.

Bowdoin started the game very strong - great ball movement and shooting. This combination allowed Bowdoin to build a double digit lead by the 13:20 mark. They lead by 13 with about just more than 5:30 to go in the first half. After that point, Bowdoin's shooting cooled a bit and Colby fought back to narrow the deficit to 4 at intermission. Still Bowdoin looked to be in control of the game.

As pretty as Bowdoin looked in the first half, they looked that ragged in the second stanza. The P'bears offense was simply off track (Colby's defense deserves some credit here). Sometimes you need to gut out games and win ugly and that's what Bowdoin did in the second period. Colby built a small lead in the second half but couldn't pull away. Bowdoin kept coming at them and eventually re-discovered their offense late in the second half.

A couple of observations:

-Colby has a number of FY's that are quite talented. This team lost quite a bit of talent with the departure of last year's seniors but they are on track to be scary good in a couple of seasons.

-Colby was pretty aggressive in double teaming Jack Simonds in order to limit the effectiveness of his fall away jumper. At points they were fairly effective though it also appeared that they got away with quite a bit of contact.

-While Bowdoin's offense seems to cool occasionally, it's really their defense that they need to work on. Colby ran several offensive sets with multiple screens and hand offs. Bowdoin was either slow in rotating or didn't show on the screens which allowed Colby wide open drives down the lane or open looks from behind the arc

-Bowdoin had 3 players score in double digits: Jack Simonds (21); David Reynolds (14); Liam Farley (13). This was the fewest number of players in double figures so far this season.

-Tim Ahn dished out 10 assists while only turning the ball over twice. Ahn is very difficult to guard one-on-one as he simply runs by his defender.

-Unsung hero award to Neil Fuller who marked Patrick Stewart most of the game including nearly the entire first half. Stewart finished with 7 points (0 in the first half). Fuller finished with 3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal.

magicman · December 05, 2016, 08:02:44 AM

Quote from: Vandy74 on December 03, 2016, 05:17:49 PM
Quote from: amh63 on December 03, 2016, 10:17:15 AM
Full slate of games for CAC schools today. Very interesting match up between Tufts and Babson in the Tourny at Brandeis today. Watched parts of yesterday's Tufts and Babson's games when the scores showed competitive games against Southern Maine and Brandeis. Turns out that Babson was playing with a lineup without their big gun..the all-American. In the Tufts vs. Brandeis game there was a new mix of players for Tufts throughout the game which ended in a 74-72 win for Tufts. Rarely did Pace play with his SR center star in the game. Thought it was to save the big man for today's game. Turns out that Brandeis took Tuft's big man out with good defense,IMO. Pace was shooting the lights out from outside and getting points inside whenever the Judges made a run. It took the Jumbo's PG Smith making 4 foul shots to win. May have to watch the game today.

The Babson-Tufts game is a good one. Too bad Brandeis doesn't supply a video. I guess if they can't play in the game themselves they take their ball and go home.

I was really disappointed when I finished watching the Plattsburgh State game that was a 2 PM start and switched over to the 4PM start of the Babson-Tufts game. I saw the video link but when I clicked on it, it stated something like ...the boxcast is not available for this game. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong because they just had to have a videocast of this game, what with it being a tournament and the great matchup.

But after trying numerous ways to find a link I came to the same conclusion that you did: We're not in it... so it doesn't matter.

I will forever root against Brandeis from this moment on, even when they play one of those midwest schools from the CCIW.

amh63 · December 05, 2016, 10:56:31 AM

Amherst plays Brandeis on Tuesday in LeFrak. Since the game with Babson is on Thursday, it should make the Tuesday game more interesting to me. Sort of a comparative game with a common recent opponent....Brandeis lost to Babson in a game that Flannery sat out with a "foot issue" as it is now called. Flannery played 39 minutes in the win over Tufts the next day.
My hope is that Amherst does not look ahead but obtain a sufficient lead to evaluate more combo lineups. Seems that Berman has been starting at PG with Dawson coming off the bench. Also, Racy has not been hitting well from outside. In fact, a number of starters on the Amherst team have had slow starts. Good news is that defense has been playing well, inside game is improving and the "bench players" have played well. Bench players are in quotes since Amherst is now developing a rotation of players that keeps the offense rolling along without giving up little on defense.

middhoops · December 05, 2016, 02:46:14 PM

amh63, Flannery took a day off and went off for 42 against the astronomically highly rated Tufts. McCarthy may be in for the individual challenge of his career thus far against Babson. Nelsen and Jacks are going to give the Amherst bigs all they can handle. Comenale is lighting it up from 3 for the Beavers, too.
This is the time for the Amherst point guards to really shine. Expect Jayde and Berman to play well.
Racy and Riopel need to step up and answer Flannery's potential barrage.
Should be one of the best games of the year. Like last year.
We Midd fans know what it's like to go into LeFrak with a good team and a good record. 'taint easy, McGee.

JEFFFAN · December 05, 2016, 03:46:10 PM

Quote from: middhoops on December 05, 2016, 02:46:14 PM
amh63, Flannery took a day off and went off for 42 against the astronomically highly rated Tufts. McCarthy may be in for the individual challenge of his career thus far against Babson. Nelsen and Jacks are going to give the Amherst bigs all they can handle. Comenale is lighting it up from 3 for the Beavers, too.
This is the time for the Amherst point guards to really shine. Expect Jayde and Berman to play well.
Racy and Riopel need to step up and answer Flannery's potential barrage.
Should be one of the best games of the year. Like last year.
We Midd fans know what it's like to go into LeFrak with a good team and a good record. 'taint easy, McGee.

Aint nobody crying for the Jeffs, but it is interesting that Hixon has not been able to find a Toomey / Olsen type point guard over the past few years. I know that is a huge chore since we are taking multiple first team AA awards for those two, but Hixon loves the traditional model over what Jayde and Berman have been able to bring to the table. One is shot first, the other is never shoot!