MBB: NESCAC

[jumbomumbo]

Wesleyan 61 - Trinity 54
Midd 55 - Williams 57
Ahmerst 60 - Hamilton 69
Bowdoin 62 - Colby 85
Conn 56 - Tufts 68

Will get Sunday predictions soon...

I regress, no Sunday games this weekend it seems?

Here's an Amherst - Williams prediction:

57-47 Amherst.

[SpringSt7]

Williams 30 Amherst 22 at half. Awesome, awesome atmosphere. Williams led 25-22 with 45 seconds left and Evan Glatzer scored the last 5 points of the stanza, including a one foot buzzer beating prayer from just inside halfcourt.

Would argue these teams combined to hit the first half over given their offensive abilities and the history of this matchup but it's still been a rock fight. Amherst unsurprisingly struggled to protect the paint with Scherer (also unsurprisingly) in foul trouble but neither team has gotten anything easy.

[jumbomumbo]

Williams 30 Amherst 22 at half. Awesome, awesome atmosphere. Williams led 25-22 with 45 seconds left and Evan Glatzer scored the last 5 points of the stanza, including a one foot buzzer beating prayer from just inside halfcourt.

Would argue these teams combined to hit the first half over given their offensive abilities and the history of this matchup but it's still been a rock fight. Amherst unsurprisingly struggled to protect the paint with Scherer (also unsurprisingly) in foul trouble but neither team has gotten anything easy.

I'm tuned in too, that shot was crazy! Good to see Chandler packed!

[SpringSt7]

Woof.

[stlawus]

Amherst is a very poorly coached team.

[SpringSt7]

Williams defeats Amherst 69-65 in OT.

Full thoughts tomorrow but Chandler was rocking and there is no such thing as a bad Amherst win! Go Ephs!

[stlawus]

I have 0 skin in the game but even I was frustrated watching Amherst play.  They have a few significantly talented players but they very clearly (at least to me) are being held back by coaching. 

[jmh21]

Even as Williams built a seemingly comfortable second half lead I had a feeling it would go down to the final possession like these games always do. Amherst hit some big shots and forced a few key turnovers while Williams went cold for awhile down the stretch and struggled from the free throw line. Elias Chin had a great game, he looks like a future star for sure. Great for the Ephs to pull that one out though, I agree that they seem to have a big coaching advantage in these games.

[nescac1]

Phew.  Ephs cough up a 13 point lead in regulation but to their credit they stayed mentally tough and hang on to survive in OT.  Williams-Amherst games are always hard-fought and rarely pretty and this was no exception. 

Best player on the court today was FY Elias Chin, who had a career game for Amherst.  He's going to be a very good player, he's big, physical, heady, and can get into the paint and finish.  Certainly the best guard Amherst has brought in under Sears (an area of complaint for the Amherst fans, I know).  He had 21-4-2 plus two big steals.  He did not however receive a ton of help on offense, other than Garraud, who hit some really tough shots.  The Amherst veterans who usually lead them had a very quiet game.  Scherer picked up 5 fouls in 14 minutes and it could have been 8.  Ephs did a very good job giving Mitchell and Hammond zero clean looks from outside. 

For Williams, I thought Evan Glatzer was the POTG.  His numbers were modest - 7-6-2 plus two blocks and a steal, but he looked fully like the pre-injury Glatzer, and that end-of-first-half mini-run was huge.  The team seemed more composed with him on the floor, he made big plays in key situations, and played stellar defense all game long.  Alex Lee had his best game in a few weeks and was absolutely ice from the free throw line in overtime (after the team had really struggled in regulation).  I'd still like to see him force the issue a bit more on offense especially when the team gets into one of its trademark five-minute funks; it feels like a while since he's stepped into a mid-range jumper which is his bread-and-butter. 

Aidan Yates was way off with his outside shot but then nailed an absolutely clutch heavily contested three in OT which was probably the key shot of the game.  HE also added 8 boards and 2 blocks; pretty solid for his first Little 3 game.  Jackson Rein also played well in his first Amherst-Williams game, and it's certainly never boring when Justin Belcher is out there. 

Hopefully this one gets the Ephs going a bit, but they need to find a few go-to offensive plays for when they get into these long offensive slogs that seem to hit at least once each game. Easier said than done as they don't have that one physically dominant guy who can just will a bucket out of nothing. 

[nescac1]

stlawus, I'm curious what you saw in terms of the Amherst coaching.  I didn't really notice any particularly bad decisions or substitutions, Amherst seemed to do an OK job running its offense, and their defense is usually pretty sound.  They just couldn't make a 3 to save their life, largely due to the Williams defense, but they definitely missed a few which easily could have gone is as well. 

[stlawus]

I saw quite a bit of bad shot selection and several bad fouls 40 feet from the rim.  To me that reflects on the coaching.

[nescac1]

Thanks stlawus.  Fair point on the fouls, although a few were in situations where they were looking for a steal down late and were being super aggressive.  But for sure, there were a few that were not necessary. 

[SpringSt7]

The foul diving for the loose ball with 40 seconds left was basically the game.

[stlawus]

The foul diving for the loose ball with 40 seconds left was basically the game.

It was only a 2 point game, that was just completely unnecessary. 

[SpringSt7]

The foul diving for the loose ball with 40 seconds left was basically the game.

It was only a 2 point game, that was just completely unnecessary. 

With 1 second left on the shot clock I meant to add.

I will say Amherst's offense looks a lot more coherent this year than in the past and they seem to have given up on the two bigs thing, the right move in my opinion. The rotation can be weird - see Drew Martin not getting in the first 30 minutes and then playing 11 of the last 15 - but it has certainly improved since what it first was, which was a disaster.

But the biggest problem for Amherst clearly seems to me that none of their players are getting any better