MBB: NESCAC

[walzy31]

2/28/2010 - NESCAC Spreads

Williams 64 - Middlebury 56
#2 Middlebury +12.5 @ #1 Williams (Middlebury Covers +4.5)
Over/Under: 128.0 (Under +8.0)

Proposition Bets

2010 NESCAC Champion
Williams      -290 (Winner)
Middlebury  +100
Colby         +420
Bates         +800

How Many Does Wang Go Off For?
(Saturday & Sunday Total Ponts)

0-9     +800
10-14  +600
15-19  +490
20-24  +250
25-29  +200
30-34  +160
35-39  +140 (Winner)
40-44  +130
45-49  +120
50-54  +180
55-60  +280
60-64  +550
65+     +770

Nice parlay MagicMan...halfway there. For your betting efforts, you win a round of golf with a handicap +30 golfer.

[nescac1]

Congrats to Ephs, NESCAC champions!  Gritty, gritty second half by Midd.  Ephs couldn't find any offensive rhythm and the game slowed to a crawl, Middlebury's pace for sure.  Sharry had a big second half for Midd.  Williams played very tough D which helped overcome the offensive ineptitude in the second half.  

Wang only Eph in double figures with 19.  Edwards vs. Wang was a TOUGH match-up in second half, best defensive player in conference vs. best offensive player, Edwards made Wang work for every point.  Rubin had a huge sequence in the second half with a big hustle play, a runner in the lane, and a huge three to give the Ephs the breathing room to hold on.  Nice to see the Ephs win despite a rare off game from Schultz.  Ephs should be playing at home until the Final Four, and after this weekend, they've earned it.  

Great battle inside won just barely by the Ephs, as Joe/Troy combined for 17 points and 20 boards.  Kudos to Dodson for working hard on defense, playing physical and getting three big blocks ... he is night and day as a defender from early in the year.  

Midd is legit.  Their struggles from the free throw line and from deep will always hurt them a bit, but their defense is insanely tough and disruptive.  Play with seemingly limitless energy on that end.  Edwards and Locke are both DPOY caliber guys and the frosh are even very tough defenders, which is amazing.  Everyone has bought in there and I hope Williams does not have to see them again anytime soon in the tourney.  

[senatorfrost]

 Just another opinion-Wang POY. I know he's a soph and I know Schultz exudes that classic basketball image in many ways, but I think Wang is an easy choice. Just an opinion-not a fact.

[eph partisan]

If the vote is based on the tournament, Wang wins - he carried the Ephs, particularly this afternoon, when Schultz went 2-12. 23 points, 4 boards, 3.75 assists per game for Wang in the tournament.

[toad22]

A very entertaining NESCAC final. Middlebury got off to a very slow start, but as the game progressed they got more and more effective. Midd's offense keys off big blocks or steals. Edwards and Locke did great jobs of creating those opportunities. Edwards really was the irreplaceable man -- he seemed to be everywhere. They have a good chance to advance deep into the tourneyment. I thought that our big guys played well today, especially Geohegan with 15 rebounds and 4-5 shooting. Wang also played well, under intense pressure from Edwards. It was a very entertaining game to watch, and I wish Middlebury well in the NCAAs.

[Bucket]

Back home in Vermont, though I may have left my voice in Williamstown.

I don't have much more to add--nescac1, toad22, eph partisan, and senatorfrost have done a nice job with the recap.

I'll just toss out my two cents...in a hail of bullets:

*The hospitality of the Williams folks was much appreciated. I enjoyed meeting several folks who took up my offer of calling out to Bucket. They were welcoming all weekend and gracious in victory. I also had a nice running chat over the weekend with the family of an Eph standout. It was fun to talk hoops and family--NESCAC, DC (my old coaching stomping grounds), and our respective kids.

*The heart of the Panthers. Hard to put into words. The team easily could have folded at the outset, down 10-0 and then 17 deep into the 1st half. I'd like to think that the way the Ephs came out like a house on fire they would have run 90 percent of all of DIII right out of the gym. Didn't happen. Midd battled back, and the second half was as intense and as hard-fought as any I've seen in many years. Two heavyweights slugging it out.

*Speaking of heavyweights--Wang v. Edwards. Wow. What a battle. Timmy Edwards made James Wang work for every single point, and he still had the energy to drop clutch threes and keep the Panthers in the game on the other end of the floor (and this a day after he and Jamal Davis combined to shut down Adam Choice).

*I love the way Blake Schultz plays--he's all over the court, he has great defensive instincts, he can shoot and slash--but James Wang is my NESCAC POY. He sets the tone for the Ephs. That said, Schultz is a unanimous first-teamer in Bucket's book. Who else makes my first team? Timmy Edwards. Basketball is played at both ends--and for what Timmy does on both ends of the floor, he deserves a spot. I'll put Adam Choice on the 1st team. My 5th slot is up in the air. I know all about Jon Pierce's numbers, but I have never seen him play a meaningful game or have a meaningful impact on a game. Brian Ellis is the best player on a Bates team that overachieved. Normally, Conor Meehan would have a slot locked up, but he battled injuries all year and didn't log enough time on the court. Process of elimination leaves me with either Mike Russell, Ryan Sharry, or Troy Whittington. Take your pick.

*Wolfin and Thompson--two freshmen getting a play-off baptism by fire.They did really well in my book, playing solid D, knocking down some big buckets, controlling the tempo in the 2nd half.

* Did I mention Edwards and Wang? Just can't say enough. It was Appollo Creed-Rocky Balboa stuff. Wang running off double screens and hitting from NBA range. But what about Edwards, getting a 5 second call on Wang with the clock dipping under 1 minute and the Panthers down 4?

*Andrew Locke changes the game when he's on the floor; it's not often that you see Troy Whittington getting his shot blocked. And he and Edwards got Middlebury back into the game when it could have gotten out of hand.

*(Relatively) unsung hero: Alex Rubin. On a team full of offensive weapons, the kid often gets overshadowed, but he played like a champion today. Nescac1 pointed it out earlier--Rubin had a couple of huge buckets late in the game, the kind of points that kept the game from being tied with a minute left instead of the Panther's desperately trying to claw back in the waning minute(s). So many plays could be pointed to as the play or plays of the day, but I'd put Rubin's late baskets right up there with any of them.

*Last note--anyone who sat near me knows how badly I wanted Midd to win. But I found solace in knowing that if it was going to be any team, it was going to be the one led by my good friend Mike Maker. As disappointed as I was when the buzzer sounded, I couldn't have been happier for Makes. A fantastic coach and one of the all-time great people on this planet.

*On we go......

[nescac1]

Bucket, excellent analysis.  Looks like Midd and Williams may meet in the elite eight -- a prospect I don't relish! 

First the Ephs have to beat Bridgewater State, who of course stunned Midd last year, and likely Plattsburgh.  Magicman, can you give a breakdown on Plattsburgh?  Seems like they gave Midd a very good game earlier in the year.  And Williams has struggled with the two SUNYAC teams they've played, so I expect that will be a tough game. 

Midd-Brandeis would be an interesting Sweet 16 match-up, size vs. quickness.  Midd can't look past Gordon in round one but should be able to handle them.

Tough luck for Colby, but really, with a poor schedule, no quality wins and getting spanked three times by Midd and Williams (the only two tourney teams they played, I believe), plus a bad loss to Conn, they can't really complain too much. 

[jesseowenssmoked]

Colby killed RIC and UMFK who are both tourney teams. I'm just stunned that after all the projections that we were safely but not guaranteed in that we were passed by Anderson and more importantly Wesley (?). I would think beating those two teams along with going 6-7 against Bates Bowdoin Amherst and Trinity would have been enough. If its a mathematical formula based primarily on winning pct. and SOS how did Wesley with a worse winning pct. and I'm guessing much worse SOS beat us out?

[Rick Vaughn]

Jesse you want love for beating UMFK?  Not saying you shouldn't have some beef, but most people don't even know what UMFK stands for.  I know who they are - quite possibly the worst team in the whole tournament.   

[Pat Coleman]

UMF and UMFK are different schools.

[Rick Vaughn]

Ouch...UMFK, or UMaine Fort Kent, isn't even in the tourney.  They are a NAIA DII team that Colby also beat.  UMF, or UMaine Farmington, is the team we are talking about.  Either way, neither team is a win that impresses the tournament committee.

Saw that right after my last post.  Thanks Pat.

[wbbhoopsfan]

17-6 record (two NAIA - UMFK and UMA - wins not countable), a lack of a 24th game, which would have given the perception of a 20-win season, a bad late-seasno loss to Conn and a SOS in the 80's probably worked against them.  Is Colby one of the best 61 teams in the country?  Without a doubt.   Schedule and numbers games squeezed them, which is too bad because it is a team with 4 senior starters including one of the country's top players in Choice.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Williams cruises to the final 8 - they should have no problem with Plattsburgh.  Middlebury has a tougher road.  Fisher or Brandeis will be tough, heck even RIC could give them a game on the right night.

Still it seems like both NESCAC teams will be the favorites to advance.

[Old Guy]

Bucket from Middlebury feeling happy for Maker of Williams: bipartisanship lives!

I missed the games this weekend. My dad died on Saturday. First things first. He taught me everything I believe and feel about sports, not by instruction but by example. He was too busy at work to coach my teams, but we had lots of catch and pepper in the back yard and went to innumerable games - he tried hard to get to my games in high school and college. "How 'bout those Sox" passed for "I love you" in my family.

If your dad is the source of your love of sports, even if he has other flaws, give him a call, tell him you're glad, greet him with "How 'bout those Sox?"

Proud of the Midd boys. They gave it their all.

[FISHERMAN]

What a f**king sham. Hopefully the NCAA committee gave Colby a kiss before they f**ked them. Two NESCAC teams? With this strong of a third team? Really NCAA? Really? What planet am I on?

Midd certainly got a tough draw. First they have to play the Anchormen, which is going to be bloody. Then they have to either play Fisher (final four sleeper) or Brandeis (home of the incomparable Bill Lynch).