MBB: NESCAC

[Old Guy]

Colby-Midd - never much of a game. Middlebury came out flat and committed a lot of turnovers and gave up offensive rebounds early. I said to my friend, "we're  not playing very well" and we were up 27-6! Colby couldn't hit a shot. After Van Loenen (23 points) and Russell (17 rebounds and every one of them earned - he really gets after the ball off the glass), Colby doesn't seem to have much. And both are seniors.

Strange game. One of the Middlebury players said afterwards that it was hard to get into the game because "it was so quiet." Under 100 people in the gym. The only noise was the Colby P.A. guy who is really noisy, has to be on the all-crazy team: all the speech mannerisms that you expect at a game at a full arena in the NBA. Weird.

On the defensive end, Middlebury's height disrupted the Mules. Locke (10 pts) had 4 blocks and altered or discouraged a number of shots. Sharry was 12 and 12 in 19 minutes, still wearing goggles. Wholey had 15 pts and continued his good shooting from the outside.

Polar Bears will be tougher tomorrow.

[lefrakenstein]

Is there an explicit rule that a freshman can't be on a NESCAC all-conference team? I went back and looked, it has never happened. Rhoten averaged 20 and 8 in his first year and was not named.

Toomey is playing like a first-teamer right now.

[nescac1]

Lefrakenstein, I've never heard of any such explicit rule, although coaches are probably reluctant to do so, especially if they can honor another senior.  But if there is ever a year when a frosh should make it, it's this year.  Other than Meehan, Wang, and Sha Brown, there is no other guard who has remotely approached Toomey's productivity / impact this year.  If Toomey is denied a spot in favor of some other guard, they might as well say, we aren't ever going to vote for a first year, even if deserving. 

This should be one of the easier years to pick the all-conference 10 ... the nine virtually everyone pegged pre-season (Sharry, Whittington, Locke, Russell, Ellis, Hanley, Brown, Meehan, Wang), plus Toomey.  For awhile I thought Workman might slide in there, but he has tailed off just a tiny bit (and now is apparently hurt) while Toomey keeps improving his production, plus Workman is another forward in all events.   

As for Colby, given how much they rely on Russell and Van Loenen, next year is looking really bleak.  But you never know -- Tufts was terrible last year, lost their two big guns, and yet have been much improved thanks to added talent and more of a defensive emphasis ... but without a doubt, Colby needs some impact recruits, and badly. 

Speaking of recruits, this article notes future Eph Daniel Wohl:

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_17300520

He sounds like an impressive all-around student-athlete who will be a nice fit in Maker's system, though who knows if he can play right away.  More on Wohl here:

http://btihoops.com/bti-news/294-great-write-up-on-daniel-wohl

Williams really needs to bring in a physical 4/5 who can rebound, and hopefully play right away next year, given that they lose Whittington, and Emerson will be a senior.  They have some other guys with height, but they are really more perimeter-oriented. 

[amh63]

Based on reports from nescac1, and Old Guy and my limited observations....the common thread among the top conference teams play was that they started out flat or were not focused.  Interesting to me since first impressions are often most revealing....could it be that it was the weather or players overlooking "weaker"opponents (in their minds).
Nice to hear that Sharry is adjusting to his eyewear.
nescac 1.......where do you find such info?  Seems that the new recruit from out West is doing what Danny Rubin did (from the article).....started working out and increasing his weight/strength right after the end of his BB season.  New generation of players.

[daoustian]

Gritty effort by the Jeffs today against a scrappy Bates team.  Probably Meehan's best game of the season, refusing to lose on Senior Day, though the slow start (one of many slow starts on recent Senior Days) was a reminder of how underclassman heavy this Amherst team is, and how much the Jeffs miss Workman -- hopefully he will be back soon.  Shooting 23 of 26 from the line (Toomey 11 from 11, most of which were down the stretch) didn't hurt either, esp. in contrast to the Bobcats' struggles from the charity stripe (56% -- preventing them from having a party bus on the long drive back to Lewiston).  Hopefully the Jeffs can pull it together before their toughest week of the season (home vs. a solid Brandeis team, then road games vs. Williams and Midd). 

[walzy31]

Saturday February 5th NESCAC Lines
All Tip-Offs Scheduled for 2pm

Williams @ Colby Willams 79 - Colby 50
Williams -30.5 (Colby Covers +1.5)
O/U: 135.0 (Under +6.0)

Bates @ Amherst Amherst 74 - Bates 68
Amherst -23.5 (Bates Covers +17.5)
O/U: 145.5 (Under +3.5)

Middlebury @ Bowdoin Middlebury 74 - Bowdoin 59
Middlebury -14.5 (Middlebury Covers +0.5)
O/U: 141.5 (Under +8.5)

Tufts @ Trinity Trinity 69 - Tufts 61
Trinity -5.5 (Trinity Covers +2.5)
O/U: 149.0 (Under +19.0)

Wesleyan @ Conn College Conn College 81 - Wesleyan 73
Wesleyan -4.0 (Conn College Covers +12.0)
O/U: 139.5 (Over +14.5)

Huge weekends for the big three, Conor Meehan, and Walzy.
Looking forward to next weekend's road trip!

[bobcats13]

Tough loss today (and a tough weekend) for Bates.  Bates just couldn't buy a free throw today, and that was probably the difference in the game.  Had they made five or more of their free throws, it could have changed the complexion of the game.  Last night's loss at Trinity combined with some other factors have now made it impossible for a home playoff game in the opening round.  Good news for me is that I'll be home in Connecticut during Bates' week off in February for a possible No. 5 vs. No. 4 opening round match up against Trinity. 

Bates played tough today against Amherst, but Amherst overcame the poor job by the referees and hit the shots when they needed them most.  Meehan played well with 21 points and Brian Ellis played big again for the Bobcats with 17.  Ellis is really the go-to guy for Bates and he is going to be sorely missed next year, especially with his supporting cast of Schmiemann, Deegan, and Gallant graduating.

Gallant and Deegan combined for 3-10 from the line today- if only they had each hit a few more... and it could have been one of the best wins in Bates basketball history.

[lefrakenstein]

Tough loss today (and a tough weekend) for Bates.  Bates just couldn't buy a free throw today, and that was probably the difference in the game.  Had they made five or more of their free throws, it could have changed the complexion of the game.  Last night's loss at Trinity combined with some other factors have now made it impossible for a home playoff game in the opening round.  Good news for me is that I'll be home in Connecticut during Bates' week off in February for a possible No. 5 vs. No. 4 opening round match up against Trinity.  

Bates played tough today against Amherst, but Amherst overcame the poor job by the referees and hit the shots when they needed them most.  Meehan played well with 21 points and Brian Ellis played big again for the Bobcats with 17.  Ellis is really the go-to guy for Bates and he is going to be sorely missed next year, especially with his supporting cast of Schmiemann, Deegan, and Gallant graduating.

Gallant and Deegan combined for 3-10 from the line today- if only they had each hit a few more... and it could have been one of the best wins in Bates basketball history.

Ellis has had at least one other gritty effort fall barely short in lefrak before thanks to a last second jumper by Brian Baskauskas. That was a great game, and one of the last that I got to see at Amherst as a student. I remember thinking at the time that Ellis might really be a pain in the ass down the line. It seems like if the Bobcats had recruited a few more players for the 'supporting cast' in the classes after him, he could have led them a long way.

Also, welcome to the board bobcats13, good to have a Bates poster.

[lefrakenstein]

A trinity win against Tufts tomorrow combined with a Conn win tomorrow against Wesleyan would earn the Bantams the 4th seed, assuming none of the big-3 fall to non-big 3 teams.

Trinity will be the 4th seed for the NESCAC tournament.

[Old Guy]

Very good game at Bowdoin today, exciting, well-played by both clubs. Middlebury had a solid first half (Wolfin had ten points, two 3s). Middlebury was up by a comfortable 12 points. Bowdoin came out in the second half and immediately wiped out that deficit - O'Connell was on fire, hit four quick hoops (two 3s). Nice-sized crowd, and they got into it. Bowdoin went up 39-37. Middlebury fought off that run and had a 4-10 point, tenuous lead for the rest o the second half, before pulling away at the end, hitting their foul shots. This was not a 15 point game. One of the high seeds is going to have to play Bowdoin and that will be no walk in the park. Jamal Davis came off the bench and was crucial on both ends. Nolan Thompson, too - hitting tough shots in traffic to regain the lead. He also shut off O'Connell for the rest of the game after his outburst.

Middlebury has such balance: Wolfin (14), Thompson (13), Locke (13), Davis (10), Sharry (9, with 12 boards), Kizell (5 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assists). Does anyone take fewer shots and have greater impact on an outcome of a game than Sharry, 4-8 today (okay, Whittington. Who else?). What a joy iit is for a basketball fan to watch this team play defense - man-to-man 90% of the time, fighting over the top of picks, with those two big goalies in the back, discouraging, altering, and blocking shots (Locke - 4 blocks today).

Hanley, Nowlin, and O'Connell - a nice core. Nowlin is very quick. In an interesting strategy, Locke guarded Hanley, who is tall, agile, hard-working, and creative, as we know. "Beat us from the outside" was the message: Hanley loves to go to the hoop. Locke did a good job. Hanley will get his points, 20 today, but he took 26 shots and made 9. Locke made him work very hard at the hoop and forced him to change his shot or pass the ball out.

We followed the Bates-Amherst game as best we could in the stands. Bates comes within four at 19-0 Amherst, 23.5 point favorites on the uncanny Walzy line, and Amherst gets credit for a "gritty effort"? Strikes me that the Bobcats earned that distinction. Got to give some credit, I think, to the young Bobcat coach: they play hard from the opening tap to the final buzzer. Senior leadership - so important. Who wants them in the quarterfinals?

I'll take everyone's word for the fact that Toomey's the ROY and an All-NESCAC player. I'll see him in person next week. We like Kizell at Middlebury but can't make the same claims. But Joey's got to be on the all-rookie team. He's so solid in all phases of the game. You will often see Kizell, Wolfin, and Thompson in the game at the same time, which allows the Panthers to really extend the defense.

Sorry for the long, partisan post. I had a good day today, saw a fine basketball game between two good teams, and my club came out on top. 

[amh63]

Old Guy.....no need to apologize....you earned it on this board.
Missed the Bates game....was on the road to warmer climate.....assumed it was in the bag since Walzy gave us a large spread. Bates has been hard to read all season...been up and down.  They seem to match up well with Amherst.  Workman was out again but that was no excuse.  Looked at the stats and Amherst was higher in all.....except for turnovers.   Bates appeared to play hard defense.  Writeup on Amherst website stated that Bates went inside the first half and took the lead and went outside the second half and had good luck there.
How did Midd play Bates?

[nescac1]

Lefrakenstein, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bowdoin capture the fourth seed.  I believe if they win two and Trinity loses two in the last weekend that will happen, and Trinity has the brutal Middlebury-Williams road double-header ahead, I don't see them coming out with a win unless Williams REALLY looks past them to Amherst, or Midd is deflated after what is sure to be a tough battle ... Bowdoin should be favored vs. Conn and Wesleyan, although I'll leave that to Walzy ... in fact I'll step on Walzy's turf and say 50-50 shot Bowdoin earns the fourth seed even though a lot has to happen. 

Speaking of rookies, another monster effort for Matt Vadas, with 30 boards, 4 boards, 3 assists, on 10-16 shooting, to lead Conn to the win.  He's be ROY in almost any year (among conference leaders in points, steals, etc.), and maybe the coaches will want to reward him and make him a co-ROY with Toomey, while also putting Toomey on an all-conference team.  If there was an all-rookie team, it would include those two, Kizel, Rooke-Ley, and Epley in my view.  Big guys take longer to develop, but even so, it seems like there is a paucity of impact inside players arriving in NESCAC this year.   

Nice win for Williams, even though Colby was clearly overmatched, the second game on those Maine road trips is never easy.  The Eph shooters definitely had dead legs in the first half and could not buy a bucket, keeping it reasonably close, before getting hot in the second to put it away.  Wang completed alley-oops to Dodson, Whittington, and Emerson, one of Troy's three dunks on the day.  Wang had one of his better games, in total control, no TO's, lots of pretty passes, and really could not be stopped offensively.  Brian Emerson also continued his fine play of late, he is a real luxury to have as a back-up center as he could easily be a good starter right now for most D-3 teams.  The Whittington-Emerson combo is now playing at about the same level overall as the Geoghegan-Whittington center combo last year, thanks to both big guys' improvement.  Russell was very good for Colby, really crafty and tough inside, but no one else did much to make plays other than a frosh guard, Orzingwa, who looked promising. 

Williams' team defense continues to be really stellar, leading NESCAC (in conference play) in points against, opponents' FG percentage, opponents' three point percentage, and defensive rebound percentage.  While Williams does not shoot the ball quite as well as last year, their defense is definitely improved, and keeps improving ... other than the Amherst game, in which many of the Jeffs' points were scored in OT, Williams hasn't given up more than 66 points since November, which is pretty amazing.  They will have a hard time keeping Amherst under 67 (especially if Workman is back), but if they do, I really like their chances.   

[lefrakenstein]

Lefrakenstein, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bowdoin capture the fourth seed.  I believe if they win two and Trinity loses two in the last weekend that will happen, and Trinity has the brutal Middlebury-Williams road double-header ahead, I don't see them coming out with a win unless Williams REALLY looks past them to Amherst, or Midd is deflated after what is sure to be a tough battle ... Bowdoin should be favored vs. Conn and Wesleyan, although I'll leave that to Walzy ... in fact I'll step on Walzy's turf and say 50-50 shot Bowdoin earns the fourth seed even though a lot has to happen. 

I'm pretty sure even if that happens, Trinity wins the tie-breaker.

Trinity, Bowdoin and winner Tufts/Bates would all tie with 4 wins and would be 1-1 against one another.

Since all three teams will be 0-3 against the top teams, the tiebreaker would be who has the best record against teams with 3 wins. That would include loser Tufts/Bates and potentially either Conn or Colby. Trinity has beaten all of those teams. Bowdoin will have lost to loser Tufts/Bates, but would have a win against either Conn or Colby. Depending on whether Conn or Colby is tied at 3, winner Tufts/Bates will either be 1-1 or 2-0.

Bowdoin is thus behind Trinity and possibly also winner T/B and falls out of contention. If winner Tufts/Bates is 1-1, Trinity advances by virtue of being 2-0 against teams with 3 wins. If winner Tufts/Bates is 2-0, Trinity advances by virtue of having beaten winner Tufts/Bates.

So I'm pretty sure Trinity has clinched. 

[nescac1]

Ahh, my bad Lefrankenstein, thanks, I was just thinking of the head-to-head tiebreaker, didn't factor in the third team. 

With Augustana, Wooster, and St. Thomas all losing, NESCAC should have the number two and three teams, and three of the top five or six, heading into the weekend.  And it should be an epic weekend indeed, with the top four going head to head in back to back games. 

[leelowlang]

Curious of the posters thoughts of who is the league's best:

Best Team:

Best Coach:

Best Player:

Best Point Guard:

Best Low-Post Scorer:

Best Shooter:

Best Dunker:

Best Defender: