MBB: NESCAC

[mrmike88]

Trinity didn't make a single stop down the stretch or in overtime.  Brandeis scored on seemingly every OT possession...

[nescac1]

Ephs are good (either that, or your Jeffs are nothing special)... hard for them to win with the two stars both having below average games.  And Brockport sounds like they are for real, able to disrupt the Ephs' offensive rhythm with their athletic ability, and killed the Ephs inside.  While this game is disappointing, the young Ephs have memories of a great NESCAC title run on Amherst's home floor and some valuable tourney experience to get geared up for next year ... really, this team arrived a year early.  Next year, if Rose and Weisbrot start the season healthier and Rose returns to his Sophomore shooting form, and if the frosh develop as you would expect, the Ephs should be a force to be reckoned with.  Congrats, Williams, on a great year and a bright future with three more years of a stellar frosh group that is only going to get stronger and better.  Hopefully this group will use this loss as motivation to keep working hard.  With all five starters and four key reserves back, the Ephs should be right there with Amherst and Trinity at the top of the league next year.  

I'm sure the Jeffs will, per their usual practice, dominate in the early rounds until they hit a team of equal talent, then fall apart down the stretch.  Enjoy.  

Tough day for the NESCAC with Trinity going down.  With Trinity and WPI already out, that bracket is really clearing out for the Jeffs ...

[pg04]

Nice Game Williams, gave me a heart attack at the half.... Good luck next year!!  I was actually sold that the winner of this game would make the elite 8.  Hopefully that's true! 

Once again, good game and good luck next year! 

[diehardfan]

Heh... I had Trinity and Amherst meeting in the Elite Eight... there goes my bracket! 

[hoopjunkie]

i want to know what it means that Trinity & Williams lost in the first round of
the NCAA s . Does it mean it was a down year for the Nescac ? Even though
3 teams made it in but 2 are already out . Where as last year, Tufts made it to the sweet
16 but were 1 of only 2 teams fron the NESCAC in .

I think Amherst can really win this tournament !!

What a crazy year in the Nescac . Bates being the eighth seed .& beating Tufts by 30 .
Tufts beating Trinity & Williams both by over 15 taking Amherst to OT & losing to
Colby & Middlebury (Weitzen got hurt in the first half so that I understand ) .
Trinity beating Amherst but losing .... My point is the season was crazy .
Top 4 next year - Amherst , Williams, Tufts & Middlebury

[Bluesky]

nescac1-It was a great year for Williams. Next season will be very exciting. Watch out for those Frosh.

Sorry to see Trinity lose.

[nescac1]

I think it was a slightly down year for NESCAC, but not really b/c of the tourney losses.  Trinity and Williams both lost to very good teams on neutral courts, in Trinity's case in OT.  Amherst will almost definitely be in the sweet 16 and likely at least the elite 8.  Tufts had a good run last year but I'm not sure they beat anyone of the caliber of Brockport or Brandeis.  

Next year is hard to project with this year still going on and no idea about frosh or guys leaving programs, but on paper, the top four teams in the region are clearly Amherst (ridiculous senior class), Brandeis (ditto, plus everyone is back), Keene (everyone is back) and Williams (everyone is back), probably in that order.  (Of course, on paper this year Bates and Tufts looked great, so you know how iffy that can be).  After that I think it is pretty wide open and depends on frosh, transfers, etc.  You forgot Trinity, who has the potential to be right there with a huge and very experienced frontcourt, although losing Clarke and Martin leaves big holes at the guards.  Tufts has lots of offensive talent returning but wasn't very tough or inspired on defense, and they lose their three toughest guys in Kumf, Shepherd, and Fitzgerald -- and how are they going to compete inside against taller teams when they struggled to do so even WITH those guys?  Middlebury looks very solid next year, and Bowdoin looks OK.  As for the rest of NESCAC -- ugggh.  NEWMAC should be much tougher and more balanced next year as MIT, Coast Guard, and Babson all could be much improved.  LEC should be Keene's to lose.  

[mrmike88]

Hoop,

You can't make too much of a judgment on the quality of the NESCAC based on Trinity and Williams' first-round losses.  Both drew tough first-round opponents.  I've been sold on Brandeis as one of the top NE teams since watching them play Amherst earlier in the season.  I wouldn't be surprised to see those guys make a big run in the tournament.  Had Trinity played a different team in the first round, we'd probably see them playing tonight.

[senatorfrost]

 Amherst has a ridiculous senior class next year??? Once again people overestimate. I would agree that they have the best senior class. Will Goldsmith return healthy and improved? Will Coulibaly improve and come closer to his enormous POtential? If they do Amherst will have a ridiculous front line especially in terms of DEPTH. Jones, Walters, Coulibaly, Hopkins, Goldsmith. Thing is how many can play at the same time? Who besides Coulibaly can stay with a reasonably quick#3?
   With the loss of McLaughlin and Salerno who is going to guard the quick 1's, 2's and 3's?? Hopefully Steve Wheeler will be part of the answer. The question is not will they win a lot of games. The question is how will they do against Williams, Trinity, Middlebury, probably Brandeis and others like them.
   I view Amherst as a serious contender for NESCAC honors next year and I would not bet against them. At the same time I would hardly rate them a sure thing. Williams with everyone returning is at least co favorite. Trinity loses a relatively great backcourt but Hasiuk can probably do a reasonable job in replacing Clarke. Middlebury should be in the top 4 somewhere. I don't feel comfortable placing Tufts anywhere. The rest---
   Let's see how Amherst does today v Widener. On paper Widener looks like a .500 team but they took Kings apart. AT Kings. According to what I heard second or third hand, they are far more talented than Kings, even though Kings had a far better record. How that relates to a NESCAC team this year is something I don't know.
   

[formerbant10]

Trinity loses a relatively great backcourt but Hasiuk can probably do a reasonable job in replacing Clarke.

Hasiuk actually received a lot more playing time their freshman and sophomore years together.  With Hasiuk out last year with an injury Clarke stepped into the starting role and played great for his final 2 years.

[mrmike88]

WAMH has tonight's Amherst-Widener game.  7:00 tip-off, pre-game at 6:45ish.  http://wamh.amherst.edu/

[mrmike88]

I don't have too much on Widener, but here's what I know for those who care:

Widener is an undersized, perimiter-oriented team.  They have one guy over 6'4" in their rotation.  Amherst should have a size advantage at at least two positions at any time during the game.  Thier two leading scorers are seniors, Malcolm Thomas and Essein Ford, both guards who love to shoot the outside jumper.  Thomas is making 52% of his field goals.  Ford has taken more than half of his shots from three this season (32%).  Thomas has a lot of rebounds for a perimiter player, though, so he must crash the boards.  Terry Smith is their one big man in the rotation, listed at 6'8", and averaging in double-figures with Ford and Thomas.  Smith is a regular threat to foul out, with five expulsions this season.  That could be a huge factor tonight against Amherst's bigs.

One major weakness for Widener as a team and for Thomas and Ford in particular on the perimiter is a negative assists/turnovers ratio.  Thomas specifically has close to a 2:3 ratio!  However, these guys have logged a lot of steals over the course of the season (253 as a team).  It seems as if they play high-turnover games.

Amherst's Achilles' Heel has been free-throw shooting.  Well, Widener is no better.  They shoot 71% as a team.  Only Ford is above 80% among the starters.

The teams have no common opponents.  They are 2-4 (counting Thursday's win over King's) against teams in the NCAA tournament.

[toad22]

I watched the Williams-Brockport game. Brockport team is a tournament quality team, but not a top-tier one. Williams was just 1/2 step slower than last weekend. This meant that they were not getting good shots on a consistent basis. They also missed lots of bunnies. I just don't think they were able to carry over the fire from last weekend. That said, Brockport deserved the win & I wish them good luck. As for the Ephs, the game was a valuable learning experience that should pay dividends in the future. Their collective attitude seems to be that the 2007-08 season begins for them today. It would have been great fun to  keep the current season going a little longer, but the team is just too inexperienced. Their talented freshman class should be much more ready for tournament action next year. Also, Rose and Shalvoy and Weisbrot will be seniors, and very motivated to make the season a great one for the Ephs. It really was a great season to watch Eph basketball.

[frank uible]

The universal loser's refrain - "we'll get 'em next year".

[JeffRookie2]

Senator have you even seen Adolphe play? He can definitely guard the faster 2s and 3s. He might not be as lock-down as Salerno, but he can most certainly get the job done. Look for Coulibably to play the 2 next year, making Amherst even more enormous than they already are.