MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

Have been busy with family and planning the "trips" to visit family/friends in Florida, NY, Va., etc., etc. Have stuck my nose recently on the football board.  Been watching the Nescac games....both WBB and MBB...trying to get a feel of where Amherst might land up come CAC Tourny time.  Oh yes, working on my schedule...doctor visits eye and teeth...to see if I can get to see some live games in Le Frak.
Anyway, thanks for the team injury update Jayhawk!
Am encouraged to see some positive stats from Amherst's last game.  Key ones for me are the TOs came down...under 20 seen in the losses..and the assists went up.  The RBs continue to be good ones and the foul shooting has improved. Yipee!  Another good trend is that the younger players are showing that they too can hit from the outside, share in the assist totals and rebound.  In short....depth on the team when starters get into foul trouble and some rotation of players.  Always good to have the seniors in the lineup during crunch time in close game.   I expect a bunch of close Nescac games both home and away. 
Did Jumpshot make a negative remark?  Never read his posts now.  Early interest was trying to figure out his connection to Williams...no longer interested.

[PolarBearPA]

Realize I'm a bit late to the game with this but congratulations to Bowdoin's Jack Simonds for scoring his 1,000th career point against UM Presque Isle the other night.  Simonds became the 25th Bowdoin player to reach that milestone!

Congrats to Jack! He will be honored for this achievement before tonight's game vs Trinity.

[nescac1]

Bad loss for the Ephs, collapsing not once, but twice in the game.  Williams was up 16 and in total control early in the first, and then a combination of sloppy turnovers and poor transition D allowed Tufts to come all the way back.  Then Williams was up 11, with the ball, in the double-bonus, with about six minutes to go.  The Ephs took not one but two inexplicable quick shots on a possession, leading to a Tufts transition basket, and from that point on, it was the exact same thing -- cryptic turnovers by the Ephs, easy points in transition or on second-chances for the Jumbos, and Williams just couldn't buy a basket (including free throws) down the stretch. 

For the Ephs, the three-point shooting was very poor ... 4-26, ouch.  Williams couldn't stay hot forever, but it's hard to imagine how this team could shoot so poorly.  And while Tufts did force Williams into some deep contested threes, many were just open misses.  Williams also missed a few bunnies inside which hurt.  When Williams did get the ball inside, Tufts had no prayer of stopping them, especially Karp and Heskett.  The problem was, they didn't go to the well enough.  After hitting four early baskets, Karp barely got the ball close to the rim.  Heskett was driving to the hoop and scoring inside effectively, but in the last five minutes, those plays weren't happening at all. 

A gritty win for the Jumbos, they hung tough, twice, and did not quite, no doubt.  I can't say Tufts looked all that great -- they shot nearly as poorly as the Ephs.  But their competitive spirit, however, was tremendous.  The Ephs just couldn't buy a basket from outside, not much you can do about that, but also can definitely work on the turnovers and the transition defense (related issues, to be sure). 

Heskett and Karp were the stand-out guys for the Ephs, and Cole Teal had some nice moments too.  The rest of the team, it was a struggle. 

[middhoops]

Hmm.  Nothing from OG or Bucket, so I guess I'll dip my toe in.
Bates played smart and hit their open shots for 30+ minutes. 
Haven't checked the stats but I'm hard pressed to think Bates had any offensive boards because on every shot, five guys ran hard back on D.
Suppose by now you non-Midd fans are getting tired of Jack Daly stories.  So, I apologize in advance.
Check the stat line...26-9-8.  It tells you very little, actually.
Daly simply took over a close game at the end and refused to lose.
With seconds to go and up by two (I think) he wrestled a missed FT rebound away from a bigger guy, scored and got fouled.  Made his FT.  Midd won.

Bates is a gritty team that takes advantage of their opportunities.  Giving away a whole lotta size up front, they hung with Midd on the road for the whole game.  Fy forward James Mortimer is already a very tough player.  In a couple years he is going to be a serious stud.

[Bucket]

Hmm.  Nothing from OG or Bucket, so I guess I'll dip my toe in.
Bates played smart and hit their open shots for 30+ minutes. 
Haven't checked the stats but I'm hard pressed to think Bates had any offensive boards because on every shot, five guys ran hard back on D.
Suppose by now you non-Midd fans are getting tired of Jack Daly stories.  So, I apologize in advance.
Check the stat line...26-9-8.  It tells you very little, actually.
Daly simply took over a close game at the end and refused to lose.
With seconds to go and up by two (I think) he wrestled a missed FT rebound away from a bigger guy, scored and got fouled.  Made his FT.  Midd won.

Bates is a gritty team that takes advantage of their opportunities.  Giving away a whole lotta size up front, they hung with Midd on the road for the whole game.  Fy forward James Mortimer is already a very tough player.  In a couple years he is going to be a serious stud.

We were at the bar. Nothing to add to your recap, which is spot on, other than to say that Mortimer seemed to be a serious stud now, no need to wait a couple of years. Nice 1-2 backcourt punch with Spellman.

[frank uible]

nescac1, sounds as if the Ephs are playing with the unsteadiness of an inexperienced team.

[Cards Fan]

A loss to Hamilton makes Wesleyan's game today against Amherst that much more important. They looked very sloppy last night, but the real issue was closing the gap. The lead would get down to 2, and then we would allow a run to put them back out in front. This game proves Hamilton is a legit competitor, and we can start putting their name up in the top 4 in the NESCAC this year.

Amherst will be a close game no matter what, just as all little 3 games are. The key isn't for Wesleyan to be ahead and never look back, that will not happen, but to build up a lead big enough to cling onto for a long time. Jordan Bonner needs to get hot in order for us to have a chance.

Finally, Kevin O'Brien did not play yesterday. He was a crucial reason why we may have lost, but I hate to make excuses like that.

[Greek Tragedy]

Bad loss for the Ephs, collapsing not once, but twice in the game.  Williams was up 16 and in total control early in the first, and then a combination of sloppy turnovers and poor transition D allowed Tufts to come all the way back.  Then Williams was up 11, with the ball, in the double-bonus, with about six minutes to go.  The Ephs took not one but two inexplicable quick shots on a possession, leading to a Tufts transition basket, and from that point on, it was the exact same thing -- cryptic turnovers by the Ephs, easy points in transition or on second-chances for the Jumbos, and Williams just couldn't buy a basket (including free throws) down the stretch. 

For the Ephs, the three-point shooting was very poor ... 4-26, ouch.  Williams couldn't stay hot forever, but it's hard to imagine how this team could shoot so poorly.  And while Tufts did force Williams into some deep contested threes, many were just open misses.  Williams also missed a few bunnies inside which hurt.  When Williams did get the ball inside, Tufts had no prayer of stopping them, especially Karp and Heskett.  The problem was, they didn't go to the well enough.  After hitting four early baskets, Karp barely got the ball close to the rim.  Heskett was driving to the hoop and scoring inside effectively, but in the last five minutes, those plays weren't happening at all. 

A gritty win for the Jumbos, they hung tough, twice, and did not quite, no doubt.  I can't say Tufts looked all that great -- they shot nearly as poorly as the Ephs.  But their competitive spirit, however, was tremendous.  The Ephs just couldn't buy a basket from outside, not much you can do about that, but also can definitely work on the turnovers and the transition defense (related issues, to be sure). 

Heskett and Karp were the stand-out guys for the Ephs, and Cole Teal had some nice moments too.  The rest of the team, it was a struggle.

Man, I guess I should've read this review before I got all excited about "my" Tufts Jumbos and ran out and picked up Garrett to add to my Futures Tournament Draft League! I only say "my" because I have Savage in at least one fantasy league and also drafted him in the aforementioned league. I also wanted to see 1.) how they fared against arguably the preseason favorite and 2.) to see if Garrett would play. I saw the score but didn't bother reading the play by play. Well, obviously I'll really be pulling for them now!

[ContinentalDomer]

Hamilton-Wesleyan was a very physical game and was played at Wesleyan's pace.  Hamilton was missing one its best shooters off the bench and had three of its key players in deep foul trouble, but each of those three played a big role during the last 10 minutes. Wes seemed to struggle generating half court offense when it mattered most. 

A loss to Hamilton makes Wesleyan's game today against Amherst that much more important. They looked very sloppy last night, but the real issue was closing the gap. The lead would get down to 2, and then we would allow a run to put them back out in front. This game proves Hamilton is a legit competitor, and we can start putting their name up in the top 4 in the NESCAC this year.

Amherst will be a close game no matter what, just as all little 3 games are. The key isn't for Wesleyan to be ahead and never look back, that will not happen, but to build up a lead big enough to cling onto for a long time. Jordan Bonner needs to get hot in order for us to have a chance.

Finally, Kevin O'Brien did not play yesterday. He was a crucial reason why we may have lost, but I hate to make excuses like that.

[amh63]

Amherst won easily over a hard to understand Conn team with one fine star player warning the number 0.  The game was close in the first half...Amherst ahead by 9- 10...but Conn cutting the score to 2-3.  Then in the 2nd half the Amherst lead was well in double digits and growing with Amherst putting almost every player on the bench.  I would point to the key player in the blowout win...JMac.
Three areas...an assist, a shot and his defense.
First, the shot.  Amherst ahead by seven and the first half  to end with less than 4 seconds.  Amherst gets the ball and JMac takes a shot from around the half court line and the ball goes in with the buzzer lights goes off!
2nd point..assist. Two FY PGs play well but it is not easy for them to get the ball to the bigs inside.  Late in the game, JMac comes back into the game to run the show.  Top of the key he goes to his right and inside, drawing defenders to him.  JMac makes a quick pass to a big center who makes a easy two handed jam.  Crowd and bench pleased...Amherst fans.
3rd point, Defense.  JMac makes several steals on passes to player near the top of the key and easy baskets follow.  Example set for the younger players.  JMac takes on the task of guarding Conn's top player/scorer in the second half and Conn's offense stalls...period.
Amherst controlled the boards and again held down it's TOs.
Tough game today against a ranked Wes team in a game that counts in the standings.  Amherst needs this one .

[nescac1]

Greek Tragedy, Tufts is certainly solid team.  They played really hard vs. Williams and after some very porous defense in the first 12-15 minutes, really tightened up on that end.  And they probably missed some 3's they usually make too, it wasn't their sharpest shooting night, clearly.  But still, that is a game Williams wins easily just by making half of the open layups and 3's they missed.  That, plus some of the cryptic decision making I talked about down the stretch and just looking a bit dead-legged down the stretch, allowed the Jumbos to pull it out. 

Williams bounces back with a much better performance vs. Bates, winning by 11 in a game that wasn't really that close (Bates scored about 10 points in garbage time to narrow the gap).  Really, the biggest difference was simply shooting, with the Ephs hitting a more characteristic 11 of 26 from deep.  Bobby Casey, who had probably his roughest outing of the season vs. the Jumbos, played much more like himself, with a brilliant all-around game: 19 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and another one of his gorgeous blocks on a jump-shooter (he gets a surprising number of those for a guy who is not very tall and not a leaper).  He bounced back from a rough outside shooting night to go 5-8 from 3.  James Heskett was also stellar for Williams, with a 23-6-2 on 8-12 from the field.  Heskett was brilliant in both games this weekend, he has improved markedly even over the course of this season and his combination of length, touch, and athleticism is nearly impossible to defend.  He has been doing it from everywhere -- 3 point range, posting up, and some beautiful, difficult finishes both in transition and off back-door cuts.  He is a bona fide star right now, and a handful for anyone to deal with. 

Karp was once again the third amigo, putting up 10 points and 11 boards.  For the weekend, he put up 19 points, 21 boards, and 2 blocks in 40 total minutes of play.  He's still a young player, and makes his share of mistakes, but still, he can be a force to be reckoned with down low at times, and I really do hope by February he is getting more like 24-27 mpg (especially when the Ephs don't play back-to-back games).  The Ephs need his production badly especially on nights when the 3's aren't falling.  It would definitely help for him to get his FTA percentage up just a bit, as he gets fouled a heck of a lot and is mired at around 50 percent from the line.  Even getting up to the 60s would make teams think twice, but right now, it's an easy choice to just foul him when he's shooting over 70 percent from the field. 

For the Ephs to keep progressing, they will need some of the role players to really step up the way they did in the Wesleyan game.  The second five (counting Kempton in the second five) scored only 10 TOTAL points in both games over the weekend.  That puts a bit too much pressure on the starters, and in particular Casey and Heskett, to carry the Ephs every game.  Williams definitely needs that group of players, who are capable of doing a lot more, to get going in future NESCAC action. 

[Old Guy]

Big win for Middlebury over Tufts 78-63. The Jumbos looked terrific, unbeatable, in the first 15 minutes, running their offense, hitting the three. They jumped out to a ten point lead, but an 8-0 run at the end of the half gave Middlebury hope and life, and just a two point deficit, 38-36, at the break. Garrett was very active and effective inside and outside, but did miss a breakaway dunk, choosing a difficult backward slam and clanging it, much to the delight of the big crowd: big style points, but no points on the board.

Tufts couldn't miss in the first, couldn't hit in the second, significantly due to Midd's fierce defense. League scoring leader Vincent Pace was held to two points on 1-9 shooting. He was doubled in the lane and faced very close guarding overall. Frosh defensive specialist Will Ingram got 5 minutes harassing him while giving up 5-6 inches. Daly picked him up most of the time.

Middlebury had 70 rebounds, just one from the all-time single game record set nearly 30 years ago, for a 70-41 margin: 33 offensive rebounds (effort!), 11 by 6'7" junior Eric McCord, who had his best game as a Panther. Neither team shot well, every possession contested. Middlebury wore the Jumbos down. Daly didn't shoot well (4-15) but had 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He was 8-9 from the line, many importantly down the stretch. Folger had his 15 points with 8 rebounds and 2 beautiful blocks (Tarantino had three blocks).

One of the young alums back said, "we always play well on alumni weekend." It was fun to see 4/5ths of the starting five from the 2011 Final Four team back for the alumni game: Ryan Sharry, Nolan Thompson, Jake Wolfin, Ryan Wholey, all in great shape, still playing informally. Sharry played four years in Europe; Wholey is now a ref, doing high school and college games. Fun event after the game, dinner for alums, players, hangers-on (me!), parents, and an humorous and wise address by basketball alum, Greg Birsky '79, one of the three best pure point guards I've seen in four and half decades of watching Midd hoops, now and for some time a successful chiropractor. Great to see these players back on campus and in the gym.

Fun game. Two good teams, playing really hard. Big noisy crowd. Quite a day.

[Conts Fan]

Not to say that 70 rebounds isn't impressive, but good grief there were a lot of missed shots in that game.

[Cards Fan]

Hamilton-Wesleyan was a very physical game and was played at Wesleyan's pace.  Hamilton was missing one its best shooters off the bench and had three of its key players in deep foul trouble, but each of those three played a big role during the last 10 minutes. Wes seemed to struggle generating half court offense when it mattered most. 

A loss to Hamilton makes Wesleyan's game today against Amherst that much more important. They looked very sloppy last night, but the real issue was closing the gap. The lead would get down to 2, and then we would allow a run to put them back out in front. This game proves Hamilton is a legit competitor, and we can start putting their name up in the top 4 in the NESCAC this year.

Amherst will be a close game no matter what, just as all little 3 games are. The key isn't for Wesleyan to be ahead and never look back, that will not happen, but to build up a lead big enough to cling onto for a long time. Jordan Bonner needs to get hot in order for us to have a chance.

Finally, Kevin O'Brien did not play yesterday. He was a crucial reason why we may have lost, but I hate to make excuses like that.

Agreed. Hamilton played tight defense down the stretch instead of backing off, which clearly was unexpected to Wesleyan.

[amh63]

Amherst lost in LeFrak to Wesleyan 70-66 in a game that was a disappointment to me BUT was also very encouraging in several areas.
First, the Cardinals are a big athletic team that can match up well with any Nescac team...a legit top 25 team.  Not saying this to boost Amherst....it is to be noted that Amherst lost to Wes twice last season!.  Amherst was out rebounded by Wesleyan and had more TOs...due in part by the tough defense they faced.  Six early TOs in the first half had me much concerned.  Looking at the stats, the one that stands out is the 10-19 Long ball one.  Wes shot better from outside than overall!
Dixon, a lengthy 6'9" center wearing his glasses comes off the bench and hits two threes.  He also has a smooth inside game. 
A problem area in the game is that Riopel, a senior captain, gets into foul trouble early. 
The encouraging sighs....the younger players are contributing well in rebounds, points and playing better on the defensive side.  When they try too much on their own...not playing team offense..they are taken out of the game quickly.  Amherst's bigs are playing much better, especially on the defensive side.  Amherst likes to go inside first on offense.
Last point....Down 10 late in the game, Amherst goes into a full court defense and even fouls early to get the ball back..preventing Wes from running down the clock.  Wes starts missing foul shots and it became down to whether Amherst could make a Three in the last 20 seconds of the game. 
I want to believe that Amherst is developing into a team that can make a statement in the CAC Tourny...and make a long run in the post season. 
Big game in Willytown on Wed...a Little Three game.  Hope Amherst will be up and ready for the Big and talented EPHs.  First Showtime game, IMO.