MBB: NESCAC

[tuftsalumni]

Final Line for the Brandeis@Tufts Game.

(Brandeis -11 @Tufts)

(Over/Under 143)


Final Score Prediction - (77-66)

No-Jumbo

       Unless the Jumbos can find a way to get Jake Weitzen eligible for the game today I don't see how Jon Pierce will get his points today against a guy like Hollins. I look for the Jumbos to go down big early and struggle to find their flow for the rest of the game. Piercey will feel like he has to do it all and most likely will pick up some early fouls side-lining him for most of the 1st half.


Pro-Jumbo

       It will be a good challenge for the Jumbos and I think a big key for the team will be taking care of the ball. Galvin needs to hold onto the ball and not allow the Brandeis guards to break his spirit early. If the Jumbos can limit turnovers, points in the paint, and have guys like Danny cook, Sam Mason, and some of the younger Bigs step up and complement Beyel and Pierce the Bo's may have a chance.

[lefrakenstein]

Elms shoutout of the game for Amherst goes to Williamson/Meehan. Meehan for keeping it close, scoring a team high 21 with 9 dimes. Williamson for his aforementioned breakout game with 10 points, and a VERY impressive 8 boards for a smaller guard.

Elms callout of the game goes to my current favorite player Jeff Holmes. Not his usual self with only 2 boards.

Springfield shoutout of the game goes to the collective team for getting after it on the boards, particularly Meehan and Wheeler, who grabbed 9 and 7 boards respectively. In general out offensive-rebounding a team 26-13 when you also out-shot them 47% to 35% is pretty impressive. Needs to be a more consistent strength for the team.

Springfield callout is kind of hard to choose with the whole team playing well, but I guess I'll go with Barrise for being off from behind the arc. Even the deadliest of snipers can have their off days though. Keep shooting...

Hope Waller is better soon...

[tuftsalumni]

             Jumbos down 29-23 @ Half against a Brandeis team that doesn't look all that strong to me. Pierce has been well defended so far not getting any easy shots. However when will the Jumbos start to understand the idea of spacing a floor to allow Pierce to operate 1 on 1, or set plays up to counter the fact that it's inevitable he is going to get doubled. It's truly amazing to me that you can't get open three point shots when you have a guy who draws so much attention in the post. Limit the turnovers and don't allow a more athletic Brandeis team to get on the break and score easy buckets and the Bo's could force the upset in the 2nd Half.

[tuftsalumni]

Jumbos go down 54-41.....

Brandeis Covers the -11 by +2.....

The game stays under 143 by -48......

Did not expect to have a Big Ten grind em' out match up here at Cousens!


              Time to go back to the drawing board with only 41 points out of the Jumbos. Like I said in my earlier post the Jumbos only half court set should be a 4 out (Cook, Mason, Beyel, Galvin) out 1 in (Pierce) to not allow opposing teams bigs' to cheat off the likes of Selby, Long, and Anderson (even though I do believe Anderson does deserve solid minutes out there) onto Pierce. If Sheldon would adopt this style of a half-court game then it would make teams choose to either let Peirce try and beat you inside or let the 3 point bomb squad try to beat you. As for now the offense looks completely discombobulated with no flow, spacing, or rhythm. If not I believe the team will continue to struggle offensively.

Plymouth State next and it's never easy going up to their gym on a weekday to get a WIN.


Go Jumbos

[amh63]

A number of observations early in the season; after Amherst split games against smaller, quicker(?) teams in the Pioneer Valley Classics at Elms.
In the Elms game, one wonders where the defense went.  Amherst was out rebounded, had more turnovers, etc.  Need to find some defensive players to stop quick guards.
In the Springfield game without Waller, Amherst dominated the boards.  Everybody went to the boards it seems.  The coach got the message to his team.  Without Waller, Holmes started at the 4 position. 
It is interesting to go through the play by play listing to see the rotation of players.  Workman and Williamson had more minutes than Holmes and Bennett.  Workman who is now listed at 6'6" had 7 boards, 9 pts. in his 23 minutes.  Williamson had 5 boards (all offensive), 10 points in his 25 minutes.  T. Barrisse. Wheeler, Connors, Williamson rotated in and out.  They are all about the same size and can play the 2 and 3 position.  Meehan played the longest.  It is hard to deduce who can back him up.
DJ Carcieri so far this season has been a disappointment.  I had hoped him to be the backup point guard, like Bradley last year, for Meehan.  I had hoped him to be the defensive player that Amherst needs...like so many other senior guards in past years.
For those that may have missed the line-up, S. Noon is now on the team!  Maybe he will be the quick, defensive backup point guard.
Oh yes, P. Crean of Springfield had a monster game.  Great senior player.  At 6'4", 200 lbs he had 32 points and 10 rebounds!.  Williamson of Amherst is the same size and seems to be the dame type of player...and just a freshman.

[muletrain]

Colby improved to 6-0 tonight with an easy win over emmanuel. Choice was unstoppable as usual and everyone else played a solid game.

I am really excited about the development of our big man rotation. Last year the Colby teams best lineup was really small (Russell at 5 and choice at 4). This lineup was hard to guard and still will be utilized in crunch time but really hurt Colby against the bigger teams (Williams, Bowdoin, Midd). This years team, however, should be able to play big on big with almost anyone. Russell has taken the next step developmentally and has to be considered in all-nescac discussions. He might be undersized (6"4) but he has really long arms and great footwork. He also has incredible rebounding instincts and really effective crafty moves. The difference in this years team though has been the development of Chas Woodward and Erick Beaulieu. Woodward provides the team with a true big man (6"8) and has really blossomed as a player. At the beginning of the season most people thought he would be used primarily to protect Russell and Choice from foul trouble and to rebound but so far, he has been able score in high volume (all tournament team this weekend). Best of all, Woodward has scored in a variety of way (finishing, low post scoring, and mid-range jumpers).

Of course my optimism will need to be tested. Next Saturday's game against Bowdoin should be really indicative of how good the Colby Front court had gotten. If they due beat Bowdoin though Colby looks like it will probably be 11-0 by the time that they enter NESCAC play. . My question for others on this board is that if Colby ends up coming into NESCAC play with an untarnished record will it be in the top 25 (or at least getting some votes)?   

[topoftheworld]

tuftsalum,

41 pts?!  that is unlike any tufts teams of the last half decade.  i see from the box score pierce goes 1-11 from the field.  what did brandies do to shut him down?  he is also shooting 13% from downtown this season.  any word on whats up?

[division3]

seems to me that tufts has been relying on one player for too long now...not good for the team.  the jumbos are playing under-manned and hoping pierce can bail them out. it's a tough way to play. i wonder about the team chemistry in situations that are top heavy like that. go jumbos!!

[nescac1]

Seems like Amherst, Williams, Midd, Colby, and Bowdoin should all contend for the NESCAC crown, and could all be in the running for the NCAA this year.  Bates could be a sleeper although it seems like, over the course of two years, the Bates coach switches the starting line-up and rotation virtually every game ... hard to get a lot of continuity like that.  

Wesleyan and Trinity are in the wait-till-next-year category ... Trinity's lack of any seniors and Wesleyan's heavy reliance on frosh are going to lead to bumps in the road; Wes in particular has slowed down after a promising start, but next year, both of those squads could return to NESCAC contenders.

And then comes Conn and Tufts, who once again look like back-of-the-pack teams, and after this year, things look even bleaker for both ... unless they get just massive infusions of talented players the way Wesleyan did this season.  

In terms of impact frosh, almost all the guys getting pre-season hype have lived up to it: Kaasila, Workman and Williamson for Amherst gives them two straight years of a great trio of impact frosh; Robertson has looked good for Williams (although Klemm has yet to play much on a deep roster); Wesleyan's frosh, especially Sha Brown, have been as good as advertised.  Middlebury's frosh class didn't get much hype pre-season, but the all-frosh backcourt has been really impressive replacing the three graduated seniors.  Midd is another team that, as good as they look this year, are probably a year away from peaking.  Bowdoin's big guys are playing a little, but it always takes longer for frontcourt players to develop.  Trinity's two highly-acclaimed perimeter players seem to be making an impact as well.  Basically, looks like a case of the rich getting richer in NESCAC. 

[duffer]

Believe it or not. Tufts Team chemistry is good. The guys still believe in each other and are not critical of each other. They make mistakes; they know it; They insist they can recover. It didn't help matters last night that Mason didn't play much and was in a boot after the game. Not sure exactly what the injury is, but that can't be good. He brings a real spark to the team when he is in there. I agree they have depended on one guy for far too long.

[tuftsalumni]

Topoftheworld

tuftsalum,

41 pts?!  that is unlike any tufts teams of the last half decade.  i see from the box score pierce goes 1-11 from the field.  what did brandies do to shut him down?  he is also shooting 13% from downtown this season.  any word on whats up?

Hold a team to 53 Points and we lose?

          If a team in the last 5 years could  have held a team like Brandeis to 54 points at Cousens Gym (Where I remind you it's like shooting a ball into an ocean with those forgiving rims) then we would be talking about a 20 point win for the Jumbos. Instead we are stuck with a 13 point loss due to stagnant offense that does't allow any of the Jumbo's best players to succeed.


Is Jon Pierce to Blame?

         Blaming Jon Pierce would be taking the easy way on this one I believe. Yes he took some horrible shots with double teams being thrown at him, but I have yet to see coach Shelly Belly allow Pierce to operate with some space. I think once the Jumbo's understand how to utilize a guy who can score 30 points on any given night --- which if you look at my earlier post i suggest a 4 out 1 in scenario "going small with Jonny as the only big" it will force teams to play him honest with guys like Cook, Beyel, Galvin, and Mason who can knock down the Trey Ball. All this being said - if they adopt this style for a portion of the game it will be up to Jon to make the right decision in the post, which is what I would want if my Senior Captain who is a potential POY to be able to decide. Actually to make a point of it I would sit the 4 guys on the floor if the ball did not enter the post at least once during any given possesion witholding transisitional baskets

Jon Pierce's 3 point %


        It seems Jon's wild three point attempts in warm up's is finally catching up to him. As for his 3 point shot I like to label him as streaky. He may be at 13% right now for the season, if he is that is I am just taking your word for ir, but I certainly would not allow him to shoot that shot. He has too much talent and he can make that shot in his sleep. I look for him to come out of that funk sooner than later, just too good of a shooter in my opinion. I put him behind Cook as the Jumbo's 2nd best 3 point shooter.

[walzy31]

The Buzzer Beater Watch on the front page is the best thing to come to D3hoops.com since the ability to add sportsbook pictures and taglines underneath usernames. Keep the YouTube clips coming.

Amherst -29 Vs. Emmanuel
Over/Under: 151

Props:

"The Con Bet"
Conor Meehan's (AMH) Points -2.5 Connor Morgan (EMM) & Connor Johnson's (AMH) Minutes Played

[tuftsalumni]

               Tufts visits Plymouth State tonight - as it will be a battle of the forgotten Jumbos and the revived Panthers. I am very interested in the match-up tonight between Pierce and Chergey. Both are very good at what they do on the floor and really is the catalyst for making each of their teams' go. Whoever gets into a rhythm first will most likely be the one celebrating after the game.

               Traveling during a weekday to a place like Plymouth, NH can spell trouble for the Jumbos. I would really like to see this team find itself offensively because I really do believe they have talent on that side of the ball. However with this being said, I don't see them pulling this one off tonight. With only one day of practice to prepare for this team I am preidicting another offensive struggle (of course unless they try a small line up around Jonny-which I don't see happening since it's Groundhogs Day always at Tufts).

The Line for tonights game will be set at :

(Plymouth State -7.5 vs Tufts)

(Over/Under 133)

Final Score Prediction : 70-63


Since Walzy had a prop bet tonight I will too have a Prop Bet:

(Dan Cook Over/Under 3 Point FG Made - 2.5)


Thanks Guys & How About A Win Tonight Jumbos......

Go Jumbos

[tuftsalumni]

The Buzzer Beater Watch on the front page is the best thing to come to D3hoops.com since the ability to add sportsbook pictures and taglines underneath usernames. Keep the YouTube clips coming.

Amherst -29 Vs. Emmanuel
Over/Under: 151

Props:

"The Con Bet"
Conor Meehan's (AMH) Points -2.5 Connor Morgan (EMM) & Connor Johnson's (AMH) Minutes Played


That is a good line Walzy - it's tough to take Amherst giving 29 since Hixon will most likely only be playing reserves in the 2nd half. However with that being said, a struggling Emmanuel team at 1-4 comming into Amherst's gym will not be able to even compete with the bench players of the Lord Jeffs. Therefore I see Amherst covering 29 points. As for the over under I will take the over since I see Amherst putting up triple digits on these guys.

Final Score Prediction - 104-62


Not sure about what the Prop Bet actually means therefore I'll refrain from playing.... thanks Walzy for the fake action!

[Hugenerd]

The Buzzer Beater Watch on the front page is the best thing to come to D3hoops.com since the ability to add sportsbook pictures and taglines underneath usernames. Keep the YouTube clips coming.

Amherst -29 Vs. Emmanuel
Over/Under: 151

Props:

"The Con Bet"
Conor Meehan's (AMH) Points -2.5 Connor Morgan (EMM) & Connor Johnson's (AMH) Minutes Played


That is a good line Walzy - it's tough to take Amherst giving 29 since Hixon will most likely only be playing reserves in the 2nd half. However with that being said, a struggling Emmanuel team at 1-4 comming into Amherst's gym will not be able to even compete with the bench players of the Lord Jeffs. Therefore I see Amherst covering 29 points. As for the over under I will take the over since I see Amherst putting up triple digits on these guys.

Final Score Prediction - 104-62


Not sure about what the Prop Bet actually means therefore I'll refrain from playing.... thanks Walzy for the fake action!

I think you are being a bit ambitious with your prediction.  I am sure they are going to win but 42 points seems a bit much. I guess its at Amherst so that could widen the margin a bit, but I like the original 29 point line by Walzy.