MBB: NESCAC

walzy31 · February 01, 2006, 06:03:13 PM

Cohen is really good at basketball.
Deiscanton is really good at reading box scores.

Formerbant,

I know that the typical tiebreaker for NESCAC seeding in the case of three teams having the same conference record and all beating eachother so no head to head champion, is to take all teams in the tie and seed them based on their record against all the teams that are seeded above them (this would help a tie in the 4-5-6 seed area because usually one of those teams has beaten one of the top 3 teams). This method is not useful if the scenario arises that Bates, Amherst and Trinity are all tied at 8-1 in NESCAC play because they are the top seeded teams. I can't think of any fair way (I dont think Points For, Points Against, or Total Point Margin would be fair) to assign seeds other than a coin flip (think Friday Night Lights).

PS: To all D3 basketball fans who want to see an exciting hoops game, in a packed gym, where there are many awful pee-colored yellow and purple propaganda banners...come see Amherst give it to Williams on Friday night at 8.

senatorfrost · February 01, 2006, 08:53:05 PM

Ooops my mistake. When I said The Leaning Tower of Waterville was a 'Pretty Good' shot blocker I thought it would be interpreted as much more than pretty good, since 'Pretty Good' could be interpreted as 'Very Good' or even Gooder (Better)
Anyway let me rephrase which I did not think I would have to do, this being the NESCAC Board and all- So since my consituency desires superlatives feel free to do the following:
Take out the words 'Pretty Good' and put in one of these other choices as you see fit. Personally I am perfectly comfortable with any of the choices including the original.

a. Really Awesome
b. Really Amazing
c. Truly Great
I feel a little better now and I hope those who feel comfortable with Superlatives do also.

Red1 · February 01, 2006, 10:08:48 PM

Formerbant,

Here are the Nescac championship tiebreaker rules copied directly from the NESCAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Manual.

Tie Breakers
The following tie-breaking procedure (listed in priority order) will be used to determine participants and seeding.
2-way tie:
1. Head-to-head result (if teams play each other more than once during the regular season, the game that appears on the
league schedule will be the game that is counted).
3-way or more tie:
1. Best record among tying teams, against one another (head-to-head).
2. Most conference wins (in games that are part of the conference schedule and count toward league standings).
3. Comparison of results of conference games played against top 4 teams (including all teams at the 4th spot).
4. Comparison of results of conference games played against top 8 teams (including all teams at the 8th spot).
5. Comparison of results of conference games played against conference teams in rank order. Comparisons shall be
made one team at a time starting with the highest ranked team.
6. If the tie remains after comparing results against the highest ranked team, the results against the next team in rank
order shall be used. This process is continued until a winner is determined.
7. Coin flip (or similar random action involving all tied teams).

If "Comparison of results" means whether a team won or lost then it appears then Amhert, Bates, and Trinity would be destined for a "random action involving all tied teams" to break their tie. This would likely be drawing out of a hat. (Hey, I didn't say coin flip

Cheers,
Red1

formerbant10 · February 01, 2006, 10:40:24 PM

Well let's just hope the Bants win out so the tourney is in somewhat of a not so terrible place (Bate's little tiny gym). Can Bates even host the final four, do they have enough space?

senatorfrost · February 01, 2006, 11:22:31 PM

I couldn't go to Lewiston. Hartford is a little further away from me than Amherst but I"ve always found parking on campus so it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I've resigned myself that the playoffs will be in Hartford this year. I think the gym there is Amazing.

formerbant10 · February 01, 2006, 11:43:03 PM

Oosting certainly has a lot of space to fit the fans. And they put in new lights, so there is no longer a yellow hue to the court. The final four hasn't been there for four years, so now's as good a time as any. And it was quite a weekend the last time it was in Hartford.

walzy31 · February 02, 2006, 12:02:16 PM

Well if it is in the Heartbeat then you should be prepared to see Amherst leave there with the Champions plaque. The Jeffs have won it the last two times that the conference tournament has been there.

formerbant10 · February 02, 2006, 01:35:48 PM

I'm well aware of that Walzy. Not to be picky, but to correct your statement the Jeffs have come away with the Championship the ONLY two times Trinity has hosted. As a matter of fact Amherst has come away from the final weekend with more plaques than anyone.

This year could be different, but who knows. That's why they play the games.

But on another note, none of the current Bantams were around for either of those tournaments. This would be the first time this particular group would do so. The only player in the entire conference that played in a tourney at Trin would be none other than Mr. Poly Prep himself, Ray Corrigan. So it would be new to pretty much everyone. And change is a good thing sometimes.

GinoFelino · February 02, 2006, 03:39:57 PM

Been away for a while (due to 'the man's' egregious attempts at keeping me busy) but it's great to see that Amherst is still getting it done. They're stringing together a lot of nice wins lately, with big time NESCAC basketball games coming up this weekend at Williams and Middlebury. My gut feeling is that they will get both this weekend, even on the road, in close, well-played games and then destroy Lasell on Tuesday. Everything seems to be shaping up for a great final weekend of play at Amherst.

Couple of other notes...

- sitting here wondering how Brandeis could let Bedford embarass them like that...The kid is nothing more than a poor man's Lee Melchioni with awful chest hair (has anyone seen that roster picture?)...Boo-man get an undershirt, please!

- RC = glue that holds this team together...Ballz = oil that keeps 'em runing

and finally...

- nothing I enjoy more than watching Matsui come back to earth...nice run kid, I guess even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and again..BUUUURNNNNN!!!!

Red1 · February 02, 2006, 09:00:24 PM

Bates 78, Plymouth St. 55. Bates opened up a 12 point lead midway through the first half, but went ice cold over the last few minutes of the half as Plymouth used solid defense and consistent, high percentage offense, to cut the lead to 5 (31-26) going in to the locker room.

Bates opened up the second half on FIRE, especially Brian Wholey who hit on 3 straight attempts from behind the arc as they went on an 11-2 run to open up a 14 pt lead just 2 minutes into the half. Then the Bobcat defense took over and held the lead the rest of the way. A small 8-1 run for the Bobcats at the end increased the lead to 23 resulting in the 78-55 final score.

Congratulations to Sean Cahill and Matt Chudomel for great careers, and excellent performances in their final regular season home games. The win was the 16th straight for the bobcats as they move to 19-2 (6-0) on the year. Look for Bates to have at least one more homegame this year, and if they keep playing the way they have for the past 16 games, maybe more.

Cheers,
Red1

rufus · February 03, 2006, 07:59:54 AM

Red1 - nice overview of the game last night. I would add that Plymouth State is a fine team with a very tough defense - very quick in transition. Also that Stockwell sat most of the game with fouls. Indeed, Wholey was on fire! Emotional evening for the 2 seniors.

It would appear that Formerbant and Senatorfrost have already decided not only the location of the playoffs, but who will win. Keep in mind, that after this Saturday's game with Bates, Tufts will also be coming to Hartford and Amherst. That's a pretty good double header. Might be better to wait a week and see who is left standing.

Senatorfrost - I'll be happy to pick you up on my way to Lewiston and save you the driving.

Formerbant - could it be that Alumni was not hospitable to you when you were playing? I promise that we will provide a nice WARM environment in Alumni if you come up north. Just wondering, does your last name begin with H?

formerbant10 · February 03, 2006, 09:45:08 AM

Rufus, I have not decided where the tourney will be hosted and who will win......but I may have stated what my preference is.
And Alumni gym has not been the most hospitable place for the Bants the past 2 trips up, losing on last second shots both times. So hopefully they won't have to play up there anymore.
And yes my last name begins with H.

mrmike88 · February 03, 2006, 10:16:16 AM

WAMH is broadcasting tonight's basketball doubleheader vs. Williams. Women's game tips at 6:00, with the men to follow. To listen, visit http://wamh.amherst.edu/.

rufus · February 03, 2006, 11:34:33 AM

Formerbant - I understand completely your reluctance to want to have the tourney at Alumni, I just don't agree. But that's all conjecture, and it will be decided in the next week or so.

I was certain about the answer to the "H" question, and I now understand your earlier responses, esp about Coach Reilly. Thanks for being honest.

Mr Mike - thanks for that "heads-up" I might have missed it.

formerbant10 · February 03, 2006, 11:57:29 AM

Rufus, I'm sure that pretty much everyone outside of Lewiston would like to see the final four held somewhere else....but that might just be me.

Isn't it great that the final two weekends of the regular season will pretty much decide the entire playoff look. Two years in a row, great scheduling.

I'm hoping Trinity doesn't overlook an improved Middlebury team and a very dangerous Williams team this weekend. If they don't win these games, next week won't matter nearly as much. And not just from a conference tourney standpoint, but their QOWI is lower than a lot of teams, so they can't afford to lose any more.