MBB: NESCAC

[nescac hoops]

Pretty sure that with 20 wins, including the Amherst win.  Only 3 losses and a top 10 QOW, the Bants are pretty much in regardless of what happens this weekend.  But that's just me.

formerbant,
admittingly, i don't have a great grasp on the QOWI and how it much it determines at-large selections - tufts has some great wins (high QOWI) but some REALLY bad losses....does that factor in? anyways, i think that trinity has moreorless secured themselves a spot next weekend. if they were to lose next weekend, i still think they have a VERY strong shot but would still want to pull for teams like WPI, RIC and even amherst. if those three teams lose in the finals (conceivable mostly for RIC and WPI) they might be taken over the bants. if amherst were to lose as well, which i think would be possible only if they played the jumbos or trinity, the committee might be troubled by taking 4 pool c's from the northeast and 2 of them coming from the same conference. needless to say, the bants are in great position but i think they would really put themselves in the driverseat by getting to the nescac semifinals.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

QOWI assigns a point value to every game (win or loss) based on the opponent's in-region record.  So every game is factored in, however, QOWI is not the only determiner and no matter how good their number is, there' no way Tufts will get a Pool C bid with 10 in-region losses, which is where they'll be if they don't win the conference tournament, so it's really not an issue.

[formerbant10]

Trinity wants those teams to win regardless of whether or not they win this next Saturday.  Even if they make it to the finals and lose, they'd still want the rest of the top teams to win their Pool A's. 

Trinity's QOW went up with the win against the Jeffs, they're now 6th overall (or something around there) and I think still the 2nd as far as Pool C's.  So yes they are in very good position, but if there are too many upsets they'll be sweating to get in.

Hoops is right, QOW isn't the only factor.  But the Bants do have a very good in region record, 20 wins, a win against a #1 team and a good record against the regionally ranked teams to go along with their high QOW ranking. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I have no doubts, Trinity and Amherst are both in.  Trinity now has a better shot than a bunch of conference leaders across the country.  Remember no one can be up for poll C consideration without losing another game.  The only question now will be whether or not Bates can put a nice run together and get in.

[Friar T]

With all the haters crying for a return of the Amherst faithful, I'll take a step back into the arena. I can't speak for others, but my absense was due to work and not a fear of those who would take pleasure in the Jeffs' first loss.

It does pain me to say the the Jeffs are not indestructable... However, I can say that my fear of Trinity was well justified. I did sleep a little easier on Saturday knowing that it took a last second shot to lose. Like most Amherst fans, I'd rather see that loss come now than in a few weeks.

Congrats to Trinity on stepping up in a big game for them and protecting home court.

Side notes: The Amherst fans have always sang along with the national anthem. They have dreadful voices and pride themselves on volume rather than pitch...

Comparing players on boxscore lines from one game is foolish and incredibly inaccurate. Those arguments hold about as much water as Geronimo's pregnancy this weekend (I'm guess she went into labor to explain her absense...).

[nescac1]

I think Bates is out unless they beat Amherst on the road, very, very unlikely the way Bates has been playing lately, although not out of the question if their shooters somehow find their stroke.  

Bates fans, what happened?  How did a seemingly healthy team with so many solid seniors collapse at home, losing two must-win games to teams they already beat on the road, not to mention getting blown out by Conn College, the worst team in the league?  A split this weekend might have been enough to get them into the tourney, a sweep would have almost locked it up, now they need to beat Amherst on the road to even have a chance.  With the two stars and five of the top eight guys in the rotation graduating, the future looks pretty questionable for a program that seemed to be on the rise, unless some of the frosh really emerge quickly.  

Colby seems scary right now -- they may be a dark horse to win the conference title.  No one has an answer to Cohen down low, Farrell can get hot and take over a game, and Choice seems to be providing a viable third option on offense.  If I were Midd I would go hard at Cohen early and often to try to get him in foul trouble.  

Thanks for the Pierce / Black update.  Looks like the Ephs will have to face the Jumbos at full strength.  The key for the Ephs -- rebounding.  The Ephs can proven they can score on Tufts (for 5 of the last 6 halves they have played them, at least), and the Ephs have been playing solid defense for the most part (Tufts is hard to defend for anyone with so many guys who can beat their man one-on-one), but what has killed the Ephs in the last few games is guys like Kumf and Fitzgerald cleaning up garbage inside.  The Ephs have to keep the second chance points down because Tufts' is too dangerous to give them easy inside chances.  If the rebounding is even, the game is a toss up.  

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have singled Bates out.  Anyone in the tournament can get in if they run it.

[geronimo]

Hmm -- kinda sounded mocking to me, but what do I know? Much like Amherst students were mocking the photographer on the baseline.

I did have the baby on Friday evening.  Nine pounds, 11 ounces.  Unlike mrmike's play-by-play, it was a very smooth delivery.

I named her "Impartial Pat is a Closet Amherst Hater." 

We're going to call her Ipcah for short.

[booyakasha]

Alright Friar, answer me this. If Kevin Hopkins is so good, what is he doing at Amherst. He is 6'10". There obviously has to be some glaring defects to his game, otherwise he wouldn't be at Amherst. And spare me the "he values a good education". If you're 6'10" and "a beast", then you go play for Duke. If you're 6'10" and good, then you go get a scholarship at a mid major. If you're 6'10" and mediocre, then you pull down 1 rebound in 19 mins during the biggest game of the year thus far.

As far as comparing box scores go, why is it foolish? From the looks of the box score, I would guess Cohen significantly ouplayed Hopkins, and everyone else in the league for that matter, which he did. Nothing foolish about it.

[BooBallsCasRay]

Top 10 Reasons Amherst Lost on Purpose:

10 - Didn't want to be giving as many points in the NESCAC tourney
9 - They were embarrassed by their 3 or 4 toolbox fans who give a bad name to the amherst faithful
8 - Not wanting to lose their starting spots to recruit Dave Litt, who was rumored to be in attendance, they blew the game on purpose to try to convince him to re-neg on his commitment
7 - Emmanuel Lewis
6 - They were confused by Dr. Spengler's obscure references on Posting Up and wanted him to stop
5 - Amherst was protesting the absence of Salerno and Anthony in the original NBA All-Star lineup
4 - Nobody wants to enter the tourney with no losses
3 - Jeffs were sending a message to Geronimo, telling him to back off MrMike or else
2 - It was time for them to admit that Bedford, Zalaski, Cas and Corrigan were the heart and soul of last year's team, and decided to prove this by losing to the only decent team in a weak NESCAC field
1 - The Jeffs thought that losing would earn them sympathy and give them a better shot with the Trinity girls

to be honest, I am glad to get the one loss of the year out of the way...playoffs here we come

[fpc85]

As far as comparing box scores go, why is it foolish? From the looks of the box score, I would guess Cohen significantly ouplayed Hopkins, and everyone else in the league for that matter, which he did. Nothing foolish about it.

I don't think player comparison should be based on one game. If you do, I think head to head competition is a better indicator. Here are the stats for both Hopkins and Cohen when Amerst and Colby played.
                                       fg      3fg    FT    REB   TP    A   TO   BLK  MIN
44 Kevin Hopkins.......    4-4    0-0    2-3      5    10    1     1      0   17
00 Drew Cohen..........    4-12  0-5    0-2      7     8     2     1      2   32

seems like a wash.....at least for that game.

[Trin9-0]

1 - The Jeffs thought that losing would earn them sympathy and give them a better shot with the Trinity girls

Now that's funny.

Not much of a NESCAC hoops poster (usually stick to football) and admittedly don't know all that much basketball in the league. Though I have been reading the posts here for a few weeks (especially leading up to the Trin-'Herst game) and I was lucky enough to be at the game Saturday. I missed the national anthem fiasco, and was seated about as far as possible from the Lord Jeff Nation section, but I didn't think they were disruptive to the game itself. It was a very passionate scene, as fans from both sides were very into the game.

Credit the Trinity security for removing the more innapropriate spectators and eliminating any "extra-curricluar" activities amongst the Trin-'Herst student sections that were sitting(standing) dangerously close to each other.

Though the game was very exciting, especially the ending, I can't say I was all that impressed with either team. There were many bad shots taken by Trin, especially in the first half, and Amherst folded late. I think the intensity of the environment was a factor in the poor play for both sides. The Bants and Jeffs seemed to be a little too "jacked-up". I would imagine a that a rematch would be played at a much higher level... hopefully with the same result!

I loved seeing the Bantam faithful pouring out onto the court after the game. HOWEVER, it was not as memorable as the scene in 2002 when formerbant10 nailed a full court shot at the buzzer to beat Wesleyan in the NESCAC semifinals.

Should be a very exciting tournament. I'm hoping Bates pulls the upset and the Bants advance so that I can watch some more NESCAC rivalry games from the comfort of Oosting Gymnasium.

[geronimo]

Top 10 Reasons Amherst Lost on Purpose:

10 - Didn't want to be giving as many points in the NESCAC tourney
9 - They were embarrassed by their 3 or 4 toolbox fans who give a bad name to the amherst faithful
8 - Not wanting to lose their starting spots to recruit Dave Litt, who was rumored to be in attendance, they blew the game on purpose to try to convince him to re-neg on his commitment
7 - Emmanuel Lewis
6 - They were confused by Dr. Spengler's obscure references on Posting Up and wanted him to stop
5 - Amherst was protesting the absence of Salerno and Anthony in the original NBA All-Star lineup
4 - Nobody wants to enter the tourney with no losses
3 - Jeffs were sending a message to Geronimo, telling him to back off MrMike or else
2 - It was time for them to admit that Bedford, Zalaski, Cas and Corrigan were the heart and soul of last year's team, and decided to prove this by losing to the only decent team in a weak NESCAC field
1 - The Jeffs thought that losing would earn them sympathy and give them a better shot with the Trinity girls

to be honest, I am glad to get the one loss of the year out of the way...playoffs here we come

Actual Top 10 Reasons...

• Walzy's line on the game ignited a betting frenzy (that's all I'm allowed to say about that)...
• Dr. Hoops (er, alcoholic, er, ballaholic) kept calling three seconds (and he had all Amherst's towels, tape and sneakers)...
• Still trying to replace Harper's mustache at point guard...
• Several Jeffs slipped on Formerbant's $500/month contract with the Muscogee Riverbandits (or it may have been the wet spot from when my water broke)...
• Old Guy slipped one of Amherst's reserves a mickey just before gametime and used a mission impossible disguise to take his place on the court...
• Chucky P. instructed the Bantams that hindsight is 50/50...
• Friar T. inadvertently prayed for the wrong team...
• NESCAC hoops rhymes with poops...
• Amherst was finna drop in the polls with a win anyway...
• Monkey off the back, just in time for the postseason...
• Baby Ipcah!!!

[lemonjello]

Alright Friar, answer me this. If Kevin Hopkins is so good, what is he doing at Amherst. He is 6'10". There obviously has to be some glaring defects to his game, otherwise he wouldn't be at Amherst. And spare me the "he values a good education". If you're 6'10" and "a beast", then you go play for Duke. If you're 6'10" and good, then you go get a scholarship at a mid major. If you're 6'10" and mediocre, then you pull down 1 rebound in 19 mins during the biggest game of the year thus far.

Hopkins is a very good dIII center, but he does have flaws.  I can't comment on his academic priorities, so I don't know how much that influenced him to choose Amherst.  From what I've seen, one flaw could be stamina.  I could be wrong, but he doesn't seem to be playing enough minutes given how dominant he has proven to be on offense and defense.  On the other hand, it could be that Hixon is giving O'Shea, a senior, more playing time.  Another flaw that I've seen with Hopkins is that at 6'10", he's not the most coordinated of fellows.  I have seen him let some well-placed Olson passes bounce off his hands, and he also travels a fair amount.  One moment that exemplifies that is in the Wesleyan game, when he caught the ball with his back to the basket, and nobody behind him.  In trying to turn himself around and go to the hoop, he travelled and turned over what would have been an easy basket.  Aside from these minor flaws, Hopkins is a great center, and should in my opinion be getting more minutes.

[walzy31]

OK, both of those top 10's are hilarious.

The prop bets are starting to come out of the woodwork now that it is playoff time. Five lines that just came out:

Aggregate score Amh/Trin men AND women.
Line: Amherst -14

Total steals by Zak Ray AND Jenny Muller.
Over/Under: 5.5

Combined FG Percentage of Rob Stockwell AND Stefanie Reiff.
Over/Under: 46.5%

DJ Carcieri enters game.
Yes: +220
No: -300

Olson breaks single season assist record.
Yes: -450
No: +320