MBB: NESCAC

[Colby Hoops]

Wow, Amherst goes down to Westfield State. Did not see that coming.

[nescac1]

Wow, that Amherst score is indeed a shocker.  Weird things can happen in those pre-Thanksgiving games, but still.

Ephs cruise as expected over MCLA.  Would be nice if the cross-town rival could pose a real challenge one of these years.

For the Ephs, great to see Spencer Spivy finally break out.  After missing his first four triples, he hit six in a row, and finished with 22 points and 7 boards.   Williams really needs him to keep shooting like that, and it was clear App was going to stick with him until the shots started falling. 

The Ephs' other shooting specialist, frosh Alex Stoddard, continues to play very well.  He had an excellent all-around game, with 12 points (all from downtown), 4 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal.  He has been playing better and better, and to me, needs to stick in the rotation.  With his length, sweet release and wiry build, he reminds me of former Eph sniper Matt Hunt.  He has a good sense of where to be on the court to find openings for his hair-trigger shot, and is also a solid ball-handler and defender, despite his skinny frame. 

Frosh Brandon Arnold also looked very good in limited minutes.  He has a nice inside-outside game.  The Eph frosh class, as a whole, is really good.  They will I'm sure continue to be a bit up and down (Cole Prowitt Smith had a very quiet game today), but as a group, they should do really big things as they mature. 

[middhoops]

Recently returned from north central Vermont where Middlebury played to the level of their opposition, again.  NVU Johnson played great in a ten point loss.  Matt Folger, still in the boot but not limping. 
This team heads to Endicott on Sunday where they'll face a more challenging opponent than they probably have so far.  Lots of room for improvement and way more than enough talent to step up.

Could have been flabbergasted by the Amherst loss, but talented teams lay eggs in November and December all the time.  By March those games are all forgotten.  Amherst is a great team and we should all be happy we're not next on their schedule.

[jumpshot]

amh63 and jefffan ....

You must have neglected to tell Westfield State that their big upset tonight was supposed to be a scrimmage ....

[JEFFFAN]

Haven't gotten into hoops mode yet but sounds like a shocker!  Not sure about the rest of you but it's still November so it's hard to be too revved up for early season hoops.  I guess the best I can offer is that an early season loss can serve as a wake up call to stop reading the absurd early season prognosticators.  Honestly - I have no clue about this team!  I will say that it's nice to see McCarthy play.  Hixon thought that he'd be a better player than his brother coming in, but the injuries have obliterated that notion.  I hope he gets something meaningful out of his playing career.

Tough job for Toomey - it will be interesting to see if he takes the rap if they don't succeed.  Interim jobs are tough.

[Canvas Hightops]

amh63 and jefffan ....

You must have neglected to tell Westfield State that their big upset tonight was supposed to be a scrimmage ....

Did the Amherst guys troll you when SUNY Oneonta got their only win of the season against what will be an excellent Ephs squad?

[amh63]

Watched the game online during dinner!  My take of the game and the Amherst team follows.
First, Congrats to Westfield's coach for his 300th win! 
Amherst was behind at the half but stormed back to hold a lead for most of the 2nd half...by double digits even.  Sellew got 2 fouls early and had no points in the first half.  He helped lead the rally in the 2nd half.
The stats for the game is most revealing.  Westfield had more rebounds and shot more foul shots and scored more inside. Amherst shot more outside and had trouble scoring inside.  It was a physical game played by Westfield.
Toomey, IMO, allowed this game to be a learning experience.  No cupcakes ahead..even before Thanksgiving...and after the break. 
Amherst rotated more players into the game.  However, IMO, Amherst needs to play with a lineup with two "bigs" in the front court.  Tough Nescac teams ahead.

[nescac1]

It's still early, but there is a solid group of frosh-to-watch emerging in NESCAC; here are guys who seem to be playing the most significant roles to date:

Ben McPherron, Conn College - averaging 14-6.2-1.4, second on the team with 33 mpg

Omar Sarr, Bates - 6'8 forward from Senegal, moved into the starting lineup last night for Bates' win last night, put up 6 pts, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 1 block in only 17 minutes of action.  Had 9 boards in 13  minutes vs. Babson. 

Cole Prowitt-Smith, Williams - averaging 10-4-1 as the first guard off the bench

Alex Stoddard, Williams - averaging 5.8 points and 1.8 boards, PT seems to be increasing, leads the Ephs in three-pointers made

Will King, Colby - started all five games, averaging 5.4-4.4-3.6, 3rd in boards and 2nd in assists on the team

Xander Workman, Bowdoin - started all five games at center, averaging 6.4-7.4-1

Nkosi Cooper, Hamilton - current starting point guard (will he remain if/when Denloye returns?), averaging 6.8-4.8-4.3

Patrick Mogan, Hamilton - averaging 8.3-5.3-1.8 plus a bpg in limited minutes

Preston Maccoux, Wesleyan - seems to be the Cards' top guy off the bench, averaging 3 ppg and 5 rpg

Steven Lora, Trinity - 6.5 ppg in 17.8 mpg

Dylan Thoerner and Casey McClaren, Tufts - both 6'6 wings making a nearly identical impact as bench rotation guys, combining for 8.6-2.8-2.0

Tufts' starting guard Justin Kouyoumdjian suffered what may have been a season-ending non-contact injury (looked like an achilles to me) in the first game of the season.  Tough break for him, as he is one of the league's toughest competitors, and the Jumbos if so.  If he does not return, I expect Thoerner and/or McClaren to play a big role off the bench for Tufts this season. 

A VERY early handicap of the ROY race:

1. Cole Prowitt-Smith, 2. Nkosi Cooper, 3. Ben McPherron, 4. Will King, 5. Patrick Mogan

The POY race is off to an ... unexpected early start.  Kena Gilmour, Grant Robinson, Matt Folger and Jack Farrell haven't really jumped out (in part because two of them have been banged up) to POY-level starts.  Right now, Sam Jefferson is lapping the field.  But I expect that he has to come down to earth at some point, and Kena will really get going ...

[SpringSt7]

amh63 and jefffan ....

You must have neglected to tell Westfield State that their big upset tonight was supposed to be a scrimmage ....

Did the Amherst guys troll you when SUNY Oneonta got their only win of the season against what will be an excellent Ephs squad?

Oneonta who was receiving more preseason votes than the Ephs and won in OT vs. Westfield St. is a pretty big difference.

[MiddWatcher]

Recently returned from north central Vermont where Middlebury played to the level of their opposition, again.  NVU Johnson played great in a ten point loss.  Matt Folger, still in the boot but not limping. 
This team heads to Endicott on Sunday where they'll face a more challenging opponent than they probably have so far.  Lots of room for improvement and way more than enough talent to step up.

Could have been flabbergasted by the Amherst loss, but talented teams lay eggs in November and December all the time.  By March those games are all forgotten.  Amherst is a great team and we should all be happy we're not next on their schedule.

Thanks to Old Guy and Middhoops for updates on Midd team. Passed on the Johnson trip with a sick dog and the reliance upon webcast : )  Good stuff from the Midd followers.  Am not a huge believer in the oft-used adage about " playing to the level of .... " Always seems a bit high-handed to me. The coaches who say " you are what you are " ring more true to me. That being said, Midd is giving up made FG's at a 43% clip so far this year. ( against what has been suggested as pretty average competition. I would tend to agree with that assessment. But people are shooting the ball better these days ..... ) Last year, Midd gave up 40.3 %. Obviously, a drop off. It's pretty simple, gang. There are three point guards out there, all about 6 feet tall. They give up shots, makeable ones. It is not to say there are necessarily better options lurking on the bench; but the numbers do not lie. They are giving up a lot of points on made FG's.  Thankfully, the offense is good. Shooting 48% versus the competition. But there are red flags: in last night's game, for example, the three point guards ( all playing at once ) had 8 assists and 12 turnovers combined.  Versus Johnson State, not to be confused with a NESCAC team.  A year ago, Midd's best defenders versus the oppositon ( based on strictly Field Goal Percentage defense ) were Dahleh ( 21.5% - best in NESCAC - by far ), DeLorenzo ( 32.5 % ), Leighton ( 34.3 % ) and Folger ( 36.3 % ).  Of those four, one has graduated, one is injured and will not play this year for Middlebury, one is injured currently and the fourth guy plays less than 12 minutes per game.

So, just a thought or two about what you are viewing when looking at a team's overrall strengths and weaknesses. Midd has a unique blend going right now, IMO.  The three guards all playing together are really fun to watch.  They can't help being the size that they are ( and they definitely work very hard at all aspects of their game ).  But all of the other guys listed are ( were ) 6'3, or better.  Longer reach, better shot affectors.  Ultimately, what you give up in Field Goal Percentage goes a long way towards winning and losing. All the Midd Fans will certainly hope that the opponents' FG % will come down, regardless of who is doing the affecting.

[Bucket]

amh63 and jefffan ....

You must have neglected to tell Westfield State that their big upset tonight was supposed to be a scrimmage ....

Did the Amherst guys troll you when SUNY Oneonta got their only win of the season against what will be an excellent Ephs squad?

Oneonta who was receiving more preseason votes than the Ephs and won in OT vs. Westfield St. is a pretty big difference.

Not so sure about that. Williams is their only win. They've lost to Alvernia, Wesley, and Hartwick in their other games.

[amh63]

Hope everyone had a fine Thanksgiving! 
Watched a bit of MBB games....D1 games at varies holiday tourneys.  Read an article in the WSJ wrt to no. 1 Duke losing to an unranked opponent via a last second layup.  The player received a gift of 133k dollars for the layup/win.  I'm posted it here since it was a layup in the last sec. by a Westfield player that won the game over Amherst.  No report of a large gift to the player..yet .
See Hamilton is out in California for games.  Amherst should be traveling to Naples, Florida for a tourny.  The venue is not clear.  Up the road in Fort Myers is a D1 Tourny as well as in Disneyworld, Fl.  Been to both venues in the past for other types of events....one a Quit show!...family/friends in the area.

[middhoops]

With all due respect, amh63, people had previously set up a Go FundMe site for the family of the player.  The purpose was to help his family, and his father's church, rebuild after a devastating hurricane.
Although, that lay up didn't hurt the cause.

[amh63]

Middhoops....thanks for the "clarification".  My bad!
Still, both Underdogs won on a last second layup.

[Colby Hoops]

Really nice effort from Colby today to beat a good New Jersey City team 81-67. On a day when the shots weren't falling quite like they have been, Colby put together its best defensive effort of the year. Giving up size at nearly every position and with Dean Weiner in foul trouble, Colby forced 18 turnovers and limited NJCU to 37% shooting.

Colby led by 8+ for most of the game, but there were a few times in the second half it looked like NJCU would close the gap even further. NJCU went to a press in the second half that worked well and slowed Colby down quite a bit. Second half was definitely not played at Colby's preferred pace. Matt Hanna was excellent, hitting some huge baskets, both deep threes and a few gritty drives to the hoop -- tallying 26 pts to go with 5 assists. Sam Jefferson started very slow, but had two huge And 1s to close out the game and finished with 20 pts. Noah Tyson was stellar defensively and on the boards (15 pts, 12 boards) -- he plays so much bigger than his size, which allows Colby to play so small and not get killed, even against teams like NJCU (who start a 6'9" center transfer from Cincinnati).

In past seasons, when athletic teams pressured out on shooters, Colby often got pushed into shooting threes from further and further away. This year, they've been so much better at attacking the basket. They got a lot of free throws and good looks around the rim (shooting a scorching 15/21 from 2-point land today).

A really good win, that I don't think Colby manages last year. About as impressive a start to the year as you could possibly hope for as a Colby fan. They finish off the road trip tomorrow with a Kean team that hasn't looked great. Assuming they take care of that one, the Mules will probably jump into the Top 25.