MBB: NESCAC

[walzy31]

NESCAC Spreads - 2/20/2010 (NESCAC Quarterfinals)

#8 Wesleyan +24.0 @ #1 Williams
Over/Under: OFF

#7 Trinity +9.5 @ #2 Middlebury
Over/Under: 129.5

#6 Amherst -5.0 @ #3 Colby
Over/Under: 148.5

#5 Bates +3.0 @ #4 Bowdoin
Over/Under: 129.0

Prop Bets
"The Brown Wang Bet"
Who scores more points: Sha Brown or James Wang?

Sha Brown -5.5     (-110)
James Wang +5.5  (-110)

"The BLocke Bet"
Who has more blocks: Andrew Locke or the Trinity Team?

Andrew Locke -2.0    (-115)
Trinity Team +2.0     (-105)

"The Crazy Team Bet"
Which totals more in the box score: Chas Woodward's Rebounds or the combined total of Allen Williamson's Personal Fouls AND DJ Carcieri's Minutes Played?

Chas Woodward REBs -1.5                 (+250)
Williamson PF's + Carcieri MIN +1.5   (-290)

"The Maine Turnover Event"
Which team has the better Assist to Turnover (A:TO) Ratio: Bowdoin or Bates?

Bowdoin   (-400)
Bates       (+280)

[Academic Cyclist]

Good morning everyone –

Walzy – Your all-crazy team is legendary.  And being the Colby observer I am, you hit the nail on the head with your #4 pick, Chaz (or Chas?) Woodward.  An old teammate of mine sent me the YouTube link this morning.  I was at this game, but seeing this again has me in constant disbelief.  Also, your all-crazy team is referenced in the video's description.  You have quite the following. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78-mxa4wYrk     

Thank God this didn't cost Colby the game.  Wins against Amherst are hard enough to come by.  Stay cool this Saturday CHAZ!

I believe it's pronounced Chad Woodard...

Congrats on the All-Crazy selection, Chad!

[fanfromct]

What's the #5 Bowdoin @ #4 Bates line?

[division3]

I want to thank my dog and all the little people who helped me along the way.

thanks frank for you insightful and humble post...very pleasing, in fact.

[frank uible]

When do I receive the cash that presumably accompanies the award?

[Mr. Ypsi]

When do I receive the cash that presumably accompanies the award?

Proof of his worthiness for the all-Crazy award!

[walzy31]

What's the #5 Bowdoin @ #4 Bates line?

NESCAC Spreads - 2/20/2010 (NESCAC Quarterfinals)

#8 Wesleyan +24.0 @ #1 Williams
Over/Under: OFF

#7 Trinity +9.5 @ #2 Middlebury
Over/Under: 129.5

#6 Amherst -5.0 @ #3 Colby
Over/Under: 148.5

#5 Bates +3.0 @ #4 Bowdoin
Over/Under: 129.0

[Marty Peretz]

Williams won't cover. Amherst won't cover. Two line parlay.

[Marty Peretz]

Amherst down 5 in second half, Williams up only 4 at halftime. I'm liking my odds right now...

[nescac1]

Congrats to Colby, probably one win away from heading to the dance, and may not even be needed.  Not sure what odds Walzy would have given on Colby beating Amherst by 9 more points than Choice scored ... wow.  I am not sure anyone saw a year like this coming for Amherst, but no doubt Hixon will have a very young and very talented team back in contention next year.  Still, nice to see that even the Amherst program is human and is capable of an off year -- the first time in a decade they'll miss the NCAA's, what a run.  

Leading contender for NESCAC dunk of the year by Whittington.  Hard to see well exactly what happened on the small screen, but it was at worst a high-D-I level play.  Basically, Whittington ended up with the ball just past the foul line after a scramble.  He took 1-2 dribbles through traffic, jumped from what looked like about eight feet away (even with his dunk pedigree, no way I thought he'd be able to put one down from that far away), got fouled, and dunked so powerfully that the ball popped out, went up in the air, and then went into the basket.  The bench went wild as did the crowd.  Simply insane, I look forward to the highlight on the Eph basketball show.  Whittington also had several great passes, his vision is an underappreciated aspect of his game. 

Williams, as they have all year, struggled a bit with Wesleyan's quickness.  Ephs came out a bit tight in the first half and were uncharacteristically cold from outside for most of the half.  Dodson (strong game overall) hit two huge back-to-back threes to give the Ephs some badly needed momentum heading into the half.  Wang took over the game in the second half, to put the Ephs up 21, but the Ephs relaxed WAY too early and the lead was cut to 10, before the Ephs put them away for good.  As usual, if guards have a little early success against Wang, it only seems to push him to play even more aggressively.

Wesleyan is going to be VERY good in about two years.  What a frosh class.  Brown is nasty, even if Wang is just a touch better right now, those two and Meehan are clearly the cream of the returning backcourt talent in NESCAC next year, by a WIDE margin.  Wang and Brown are going to have some battles the next few years; Brown is a tiny bit quicker, Wang a bit bigger and stronger, and both can really shoot.  Beresford (very quick and can shoot, but so small and made some frosh mistakes), Fogel (crafty), Callaghan, St. Jean (good glue guy, good court vision) all had their moments as well.  They need a big guy, as basically their only recourse inside was to foul or double team (although Whittington and Geoghegan had quiet games, they opened things up for shooters and drew a TON of fouls), but what team speed.  They improved their defense a lot from earlier in the year. They will be an NCAA team within two years, and Brown will be an all-american by the time he graduates ... I'd bank on both of those propositions.  

This game has been all about the future for the Ephs.  The seniors had, collectively, a relatively quiet game by their high standards, and the underclassmen, Wang, Dodson, Whittington, all really stepped up.  Whittington altered at least 3-4 shots in addition to several big blocks.  Wang struggled early with Sha Brown's speed but his shooting and strength proved too much in the second half.  Dodson had several clutch plays at key moments.  Robertson also played well in stretches.  But the Ephs will need more from the seniors to win the next two games.  I expect that they'll get it.  

[walzy31]

NESCAC Spreads - 2/20/2010 (NESCAC Quarterfinals)

#8 Wesleyan +24.0 @ #1 Williams
Over/Under: OFF

#7 Trinity +9.5 @ #2 Middlebury
Over/Under: 129.5

#6 Amherst -5.0 @ #3 Colby
Over/Under: 148.5

#5 Bates +3.0 @ #4 Bowdoin
Over/Under: 129.0

Prop Bets
"The Brown Wang Bet"
Who scores more points: Sha Brown or James Wang?

Sha Brown -5.5     (-110)
James Wang +5.5  (-110)

"The BLocke Bet"
Who has more blocks: Andrew Locke or the Trinity Team?

Andrew Locke -2.0    (-115)
Trinity Team +2.0     (-105)

"The Crazy Team Bet"
Which totals more in the box score: Chas Woodward's Rebounds or the combined total of Allen Williamson's Personal Fouls AND DJ Carcieri's Minutes Played?

Chas Woodward REBs -1.5                 (+250)
Williamson PF's + Carcieri MIN +1.5   (-290)

"The Maine Turnover Event"
Which team has the better Assist to Turnover (A:TO) Ratio: Bowdoin or Bates?

Bowdoin   (-400)
Bates       (+280)

NESCAC Spreads - 2/20/2010 (NESCAC Quarterfinals)

Williams 77 - Wesleyan 62
#8 Wesleyan +24.0 @ #1 Williams (Wesleyan Covers +9.0)
Over/Under: OFF

Middlebury 56 - Trinity 52
#7 Trinity +9.5 @ #2 Middlebury (Trinity Covers +5.5)
Over/Under: 129.5 (Under +21.5)

Colby 67 - Amherst 49
#6 Amherst -5.0 @ #3 Colby (Colby Covers +23.0)
Over/Under: 148.5 (Under +32.5)

Bates 80 - Bowdoin 64
#5 Bates +3.0 @ #4 Bowdoin (Bates Covers +19.0)
Over/Under: 129.0 (Over +15.0)

Prop Bets
"The Brown Wang Bet"
Who scores more points: Sha Brown or James Wang?

Sha Brown -5.5     (-110) (21)
James Wang +5.5  (-110) (30 = Covers +14.5)

"The BLocke Bet"
Who has more blocks: Andrew Locke or the Trinity Team?

Andrew Locke -2.0    (-115) (Locke: 6 = Covers +1.0)
Trinity Team +2.0     (-105) (Trinity: 3)

"The Crazy Team Bet"
Which totals more in the box score: Chas Woodward's Rebounds or the combined total of Allen Williamson's Personal Fouls AND DJ Carcieri's Minutes Played?

Chas Woodward REBs -1.5                 (+250) (5 = Covers +1.5)
Williamson PF's + Carcieri MIN +1.5   (-290) (2 + 0)

"The Maine Turnover Event"
Which team has the better Assist to Turnover (A:TO) Ratio: Bowdoin or Bates?

Bowdoin   (-400) (22:12 or 1.83:1)
Bates       (+280) (16:13 or 1.23:1)


Not my best work. Underdogs sweep. Prop bets were decent.
Nice parlay Marty. Williams probably gave you a scare when they were up 21 with 10 minutes left and up 20 with 6 minutes left.

[FISHERMAN]

Great win by the mules today. Looks like they are going to be dancing now. Amherst obviously had a tough year. They lacked the leadership necessary to compete in the league night in and night out(see DJ Carcieri). According to the legendary Jack Yamins (Amherst '36), "Kaasila responded well to intensive coaching by coach Hixon[.] He should star next year."

[Old Guy]

Responsibility requires that I be in Maine frequently - I grew up in Lewiston, so I caught the Bates-Bowdoin game today (glad I wasn't home for the Midd-Trinity tilt - I would have died 1000 deaths. I'm told Trinity took the air out of the ball, played their hearts out, and almost came up with a shocker. Bucket?).

Bates was terrific in their gym, got out to a big (18) point half time lead, and played the Polar Bears even in the second half. Bowdoin played with real urgency in the second half but couldn't get it closer than 12. This frosh pg for Bates, Brust, is really playing well, very creative going to the hoop with a variety of moves and shots on the run (think Rondo). He's a skinny little sh--, but he's gaining confidence every game, a good one. Ellis, Gallant, O'Keefe, are relentless. The Bobcats played hard.

I sat with some Bowdoin students who told me at the beginning of the second half that Phillips needed 9 points for 1000, so that became the subplot. He was double-teamed the whole game when the ball went low - he kicked it out in the first half and Bowdoin missed from the outside (Bates shut off O'Connell), then he took it to the hoop effectively in the second. He got 1000-1001 (if his friends' math was right) on a short jumper from the foul line with less than a minute left. Good for you - you're a good player. Hanley is so talented, but he doesn't call his own number enough, I think, passes up too many opportunities to score. I get the sense he could take a game over, but doesn't.

Not a single "Bowdoin sucks" chant from the Bates partisans, unlike the last game a couple weeks ago in the Bates gym. Bates is on break (they have a 4-4-1 calendar) but a lot of students were there, mostly varsity spring athletes. Maybe somebody from the Administration lay down the law (not easy to do), or the big lead reduced the normal rancor, or maybe other athletes treat opponents better than non-athlete fans (which I have not found to be the case at our place). Bates-Bowdoin ill feeling goes way back to when Bowdoin was all men and the self-proclaimed Dartmouth of Maine, whereupon they treated Bates and Colby with preening condescension which solicited a predictable response. Bates loves to beat Bowdoin. Bowdoin hates to lose to Bates.

[nescac1]

Entertaining report, Old Guy.  Plus one. 

Even though the Ephs killed Bates the last time they played, Bates is on a major roll, and they are deep, physical, and hitting their stride at the right time thanks to several young players (especially Brust) emerging.  Williams is far more talented than Bates, but I don't foresee another 30 plus point victory on Saturday.  The Ephs definitely can't look past that game (that temptation will be there for both Midd and Williams, certainly). 

With no seniors on the roster, perhaps Trinity has served notice that they will return to contention next season?  They played well for much of the game vs. Williams as well (would have been much closer had Williams not been scorching-hot that game).  Fels, in addition to being all-crazy, is a crafty player.   

[Old Guy]

Some pretty ugly numbers at Middlebury: 2-17 from three; 30% shooting from the floor for the game. Nice too get a win with those numbers.

Certainly worthy of mention: Soph Ryan Weston for Bates had 16 boards, played tough D underneath against Phillips - a couple of 260 lb guys goin' at it.