MBB: NESCAC

[old_hooper]

Congratulations to Colby Coach Whitmore on his 600th win over rival Bowdoin today!  A remarkable acheivement!  Amherst coach Hixon is just 10 games away from his 600th.  Wonder if that has ever been done in the same conference and the same year before?

[ephoops]

Ephs bounced back nicely from a dispiriting loss to Hamilton -- team had to be reeling from an Amherst game they probably should have won (you just can't get outrebounded / outhustled like that at home, plus the bounces just weren't going their way), and it sounded from Maker's comments like the Hamilton game was not their strongest effort.  Nice to get two easy wins to start the NESCAC season.  Rubin, Wang, and Whittington are all getting more PT and giving the Ephs spark -- those guys are athletic, bring energy, and can score, and I imagine their playing time will only increase.  Geoghegan seems to be rounding into form and is poised to dominate in conference play.  Ephs really need to spread the ball around so that they don't depend too much on shooting from Snyder and Schultz, but it sounds like they are starting to do that. 

NESCAC1:

Is Dodson hurt again? sick?

Kearney doesn't seem to give the Ephs much if you look at the stats in the box score.  Could Wang see even more minutes?

What's happening with Whittington?  There's no questions he's the most athletically gifted player on the team.  I know he was hurt earlier in the year.  He didn't play at all against Tufts (I assume he was either sick or injured for the game because everyone else played in the blowout) and only played 11 minutes against Bates (his season average).  He appears to be productive when he's on the court if you look at the box score -- does he deserve more minutes??

[ephoops]

Amherst 74 Connecticut 49

To reiterate others' sentiments: Jeffscast is wonderful.

The 'Herst looked impressive. Offensively they seem to have an advantage at every position. Everyone knows how to create easy shots for themselves. When they defend the way they did this weekend, they are top tier.

They are the beast of the Northeast at this point until someone knocks them off the pedestal.  Perhaps Midd?

[Pat Coleman]

Congratulations to Colby Coach Whitmore on his 600th win over rival Bowdoin today!  A remarkable acheivement!  Amherst coach Hixon is just 10 games away from his 600th.  Wonder if that has ever been done in the same conference and the same year before?

Odds are no, if only because there are only seven 600-win MBB D-III coaches. But I don't have the list handy.

[nescac1]

As for Whittington, he has a pretty bad injury in preseason which I imagine limited his opportunities to get in hoops shape and get acclimated to the system, and recently he was sick.  In addition, I get the sense Maker likes to have four shooters / perimeter players on the floor and only one true interior player, and with Geoghegan around, that may limit Whittington's opportunities for court time.  Still, if he keeps shooting over 70 percent and averaging 2 blocks per game in very limited minutes, I'd imagine Maker will have to try to find a way for him to see more time.  Not sure about Dodson, seems like he can't catch a break this year. 

Wang I think will continue to see a lot more time.  He is much quicker than the other point guards on the roster, brings a real spark, and is not a typical frosh as he did a PG year and is a little older ... I'm guessing when Dodson returns, the final rotation will end up with Rubin (putting up the best shooting numbers by far on the team, prob. needs more shots) as the sixth man backing up Schultz and Snyder with the three of them playing together on occasion, Timmins as back-up center, Whittington and Dodson splitting time at the 4, and Wang and Kearney splitting the point guard duties. 

Ephs already finished the non-conference schedule so they will have a lot of practice time between games now.  Hopefully that will give them a chance to rest up from the injuries and illness and finally a lot of time to gell as a team and be a little more consistent.  They have blown out almost all their opponents when they win, but they have had trouble in the close games; they could be a a year away still, but they definitely have a shot to make a run this season based on the performance this weekend. 

[ephoops]

NESCAC1

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree that this team may be a year away.  Snyder is the only senior who makes a major contribution.

Also, my hope is that Maker can attract at least one impact freshman to join the team next year.

[ephoops]

Congratulations to Colby Coach Whitmore on his 600th win over rival Bowdoin today!  A remarkable acheivement!  Amherst coach Hixon is just 10 games away from his 600th.  Wonder if that has ever been done in the same conference and the same year before?

Odds are no, if only because there are only seven 600-win MBB D-III coaches. But I don't have the list handy.

I believe the list is:

Glenn Robinson -- Franklin & Marshall
Jim Smith -- St. John's
Dennie Bridges -- Illinois Wesleyan 
Tom Murphy -- Hamilton and New York Institute of Technology
Dick Reynolds -- Otterbein
Glen Van Wieren -- Hope

[CCsalive]

FormerBant- Nice to see you back in the NESCAC room! I'm not playing in the league, but I am at the gym and could be coaxed into playing. Nice to meet your friend from both Hack and Trinity.

Conn is 0-2. I'd have rather played Trinity on Saturday, but nothing one can do about that. Conn's schedule is imposing as it will take a big effort to avoid 0-4 with Midd and Williams this weekend. The goal for the Camels is to make the NESCAC tourney and 0-4 (with 3 of the 4 losses to the top teams) would not be impossible to overcome. So, in my book, one win this weekend would put the Camels right where they need to be. A winless weekend still does not warrant panic.

[topoftheworld]

now that week 1 of conference play is over, anyone have some all nescac/ mvp, roy predictions?  i know the most important games are still to come, but there hasn't been any of that stuff yet.

also regarding tufts, I was at the games this weekend (although i wish i wasn't) and they were really hurt with the injury to starting pg matt galvin.  i don't think there is much depth at that position for tufts because they started a freshman there this weekend and he showed his inexperience.  0-10 from the field including 0-5 from 3 for the weekend, as well as 1 assist and 6 turnovers.  a rough weekend combined with a bad injury is probably the reason for a horrendous weekend.  in addition they ran into some really hot shooting/great offense overall.  against williams it's not even like they got killed inside.  everyone knows that williams likes the 3ball, but 7-7 in the first half is pretty rare.

[ephoops]

now that week 1 of conference play is over, anyone have some all nescac/ mvp, roy predictions?  i know the most important games are still to come, but there hasn't been any of that stuff yet.

also regarding tufts, I was at the games this weekend (although i wish i wasn't) and they were really hurt with the injury to starting pg matt galvin.  i don't think there is much depth at that position for tufts because they started a freshman there this weekend and he showed his inexperience.  0-10 from the field including 0-5 from 3 for the weekend, as well as 1 assist and 6 turnovers.  a rough weekend combined with a bad injury is probably the reason for a horrendous weekend.  in addition they ran into some really hot shooting/great offense overall.  against williams it's not even like they got killed inside.  everyone knows that williams likes the 3ball, but 7-7 in the first half is pretty rare.

What happened to Galvin?  How long is he out?

[lefrakenstein]

sAnybody else pumped for tonight's matchup between the Jeffs and the Judges. Thank goodness for Jeffscast! I hope the Amherst interior players are up for the challenge of DeLuca/Hollins. Predicting a narrow Jeffs win. Walzy, line?

As for All-Conference predictions, I would say my list right now looks like:

1st:
Baskauskas -AMH
Schultz -WIL
Rudin -MID
Pierce -TUF
Smith -MID

2nd:
Choice -COL
Geoghegan -WIL
Wheeler -AMH
Russell -COL
Phillips -BOW

Hon mention: Kyle Jackson, Chris Wilson, Artie Cutrone, Demetrius Porter, Shane Bernier, Ian Fels, Jeremy Kaminer, Kevin Snyder

This year is really hard. Tough to leave Kevin Snyder off, but it's hard to see 3 williams guys if they're not the top team in the league. 2 colby guys seems high, but they both have great stats. Feels like more than 6 teams should be represented, but who from Conn, Trin, Wes and Bates?

POY:Baskauskas
ROY:Holmes
COY:Hixon

(Thats right, I said it, an Amherst sweep. Can't deny Basky, Holmes is pouring it on, and Hixon is going to win the conference despite losing one of the best classes ever.)

[frank uible]

You forgot - College of the Century: Amherst

[walzy31]

Anybody else pumped for tonight's matchup between the Jeffs and the Judges. Thank goodness for Jeffscast! I hope the Amherst interior players are up for the challenge of DeLuca/Hollins. Predicting a narrow Jeffs win. Walzy, line?

Brandeis -2.5 @ Amherst
I am looking forward to watching this one. I also hope that I am not right about the spread.

[walzy31]

Halftime
Amherst 31
Brandeis 29

Both teams 50% from the floor. Brandeis a little hotter from deep and Amherst rebounding a bit better. Balanced scoring for both teams. Baskauskas, Wheeler, Kenny Small and Kevin Olson hit some difficult, contested shots).

2nd half should be a battle.

[magicman]

#9 Amherst falls to visiting Brandeis 73-58. Tied at 44 at the 10:20 mark, the Judges go on a 19-6 run to grab a 13 pt lead at 63-50 with 3:24 to play. The foul parade started soon after to account for the final score.
S. Deluca leads the Judges with 23 pts and 12 rebounds. K. Small has 12 pts and K.Olson chips in with 11.  B. Baskauskas with 14 and S.Wheeler with 10 were the top scorers for Amherst.