MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

In contrast to last year, Amherst beats Elms 93 to 60 this time.  It was an interesting game in that:
  Coach Hixon left his starters in longer and all the starters scored in double figures.
  Mr. Barrise was the high scorer with 27.  He broke out of his 3-point shooting slump.....going 7 for 7 in the game for awhile.
  In the first half, it seemed like Amherst was taking only outside shots.  Actually, Amherst was shooting better from 3 point range than overall for most of the first half..80 plus versus 70 plus overall.
  Both teams had few turnovers with Elms being more careful with the ball.
  Amherst's offense seems to be coming around.....at home.  Let us see if it will hold up on the road.
  It looks like the offense is helped along by finding the hot shooters....today it was Barrise as Toomey was cold.  Waller joined in along with Workman and of course Meehan.  Between Holmes and Kassila, you can also count on double figure points in a game.

[old_hooper]

Amherst is showing positive signs of being very good but Waller and Barrise must be consistent for them to be an elite team.  Hopefully today's game for Barrise is the lift that he needed for the rest of the season.  These guys have had the play time over the last couple years and they need to step it up a level and play like Meehan does every game.  In Hixon system you only get so many shots a game and if they can find a way to average in double figures every game and play good defense and stay out of foul trouble that is what they need to do.  When that happens the whole team will benefit because everyone else will all have to play better to get the minutes.  Toomey is a very solid player and you can already see that he has Hixon confidence with the minutes he is getting.  A little surprised that Holmes is not starting because he is very reliable and Kasilla will continue to improve.  The depth of this team and a lot of talented young guys that need to find where they fit in to be productive makes this an interesting team.

[Old Guy]

Midd beat Union by twelve, 64-52, shooting 50% despite going 2-16 from the arc. Locke had 17 pts on 8-12 shooting, 7 blocks; Sharry fouled out in just 15 minutes - 6 pts, 8 rebounds (4 offensive).

Middlebury's rebounding advantage was 45-31; Union shot 26% (defense comes every night). Union had a big edge from the line: 18/25 to 6/14.

Classes are over, final essays due. Exams next week. Student-athletes. I'll happily take a win on the road this weekend.

[Old Guy]

Jeff fans, help me:

Last year, the Jeffs were a ranked team - and then Meehan goes down and Amherst goes 3-6 in the league with tough losses at Bowdoin , Colby, and Tufts, but double digit losses against Bates (29 pts), Williams, and Middlebury, and a blowout loss at Colby in the NESCAC tourney, 67-49.

Now Meehan's back and the Jeffs again are a powerhouse, walloping opponents, with essentially the same guys (plus Toomey).

Meehan's that good?

[lefrakenstein]

Jeff fans, help me:

Last year, the Jeffs were a ranked team - and then Meehan goes down and Amherst goes 3-6 in the league with tough losses at Bowdoin , Colby, and Tufts, but double digit losses against Bates (29 pts), Williams, and Middlebury, and a blowout loss at Colby in the NESCAC tourney, 67-49.

Now Meehan's back and the Jeffs again are a powerhouse, walloping opponents, with essentially the same guys (plus Toomey).

Meehan's that good?

I think part of the issue was that there was no one else behind Meehan who was even remotely capable of handling the point. Noon was inexperienced, Carcieri was a senior but had basically never had any meaningful minutes, Barrise and other guards weren't that great at handling the ball. So I would say Meehan is very good, and the drop off between him and his replacements was especially huge.

Either that or the Jeffs really aren't that good and they're just blowing out lousy competition. Time will tell.

[nescac1]

Old Guy, Meehan's injury was definitely a big part of it, but sometimes bad karma can kind of snowball and undermine a talented team, and it is hard to keep the same level of confidence / intensity going after a few tough losses in a row (I can think of one Williams team from the past decade which had similarly cryptic results as things kind of snowballed).  Also, last year Amherst had a very inexperienced team.  The lumps they took then are now paying off, as guys like Workman (in particular), Waller, Holmes and Kaasila are benefiting from the experience they got as young players, and all seem to be improved.  That, plus a healthy Meehan and the addition of Toomey, and I'd be surprised if Amherst (or for that matter Midd or Williams) miss the NCAA again this year.   Of course, it's hard to know for sure until Amherst plays a half-way decent opponent.  If they blow out Babson, who usually at least puts up a fight vs. good teams, this week, I'll be duly impressed.  

As for Midd, Locke is now shooting 68 percent from the field and 34 percent from the line.  We may start seeing teams employing the hack-a-Locke in close games ...

Since its surprising loss Bates has bounced back nicely, including trouncing Bowdoin last night.  I still believe Bates is the only NESCAC team with a realistic shot at the conference title this year, other than the big three.  

Tufts has looked surprisingly feisty in the early going.  Although they lost a ton of offensive firepower, it seems based on stats that they actually play a tiny bit of defense this year.  The big addition is Junior transfer Alex Orchowski, who shores up the defensive play with a NESCAC-leading 11.4 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block per game in only 25 mpg.  They will still take their lumps in NESCAC play this year, but maybe righted the ship with some solid young players (sophs Goldfarb and Anderson in particular) after a few disappointing, underachieving seasons.

Williams gets another blow-out in the exhibition portion of its schedule.  Granted, it was against undersized / outmatched opponents, but good to see frosh big guy Mike Mayer put up some big numbers in limited minutes, averaging 12 points and 5 boards in 12 mpg over the last two games.  He is not shy about hoisting threes for a center, going 2-8 from deep (although he seems to have better success closer to the rim, as he shot 8-11 from two).   I wonder if later in the year he'll get a shot at some minutes in the regular rotation; perhaps not this year since Maker rarely plays two true big guys, but then again, 6'9 guys with touch don't grow on trees.  

Good to see Robertson back from injury, as Williams once again plays legitimate teams in its final two games before the break -- vs. 4-1 Hamilton, and on the road vs. a hot Springfield team that has won four straight, including at Keene.  Mickens and Rooke-Ley really upper their production in his absence, which should help Williams' guard depth down the line.  

[frank uible]

In the neighborhood of my youth there was a saying, "you don't build a reputation by beating up on drunks and old men".

[Colby Hoops]

The big addition is Junior transfer Alex Orchowski, who shores up the defensive play with a NESCAC-leading 11.4 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block per game in only 25 mpg.

Not sure where you're seeing the stats, but Russell's at 12.3 per game and I be surprised if he didn't lead the league in rebounding pretty much from start to finish this year.  I do agree with the overall point about Tufts being a lot better, and I believe Orchowski had 22 boards in a game recently.

As for Colby, they beat Maine Maritime yesterday by 10.  Colby was up 12-2 to start the game and basically held a a 10-15 point lead the whole way.  Apparently Russell was double-teamed and even tripled for much of the game so other players stepped up.  Ben Foreman poured in a career-high 18 including four threes.  Its great to see an outside threat for Colby as if he continues to shoot well he'll provide space for Russell to work inside.  Van Loenen was solid with 12 points 6 assists and 5 boards. 

While Colby still has losable games against Rivier today and Thomas this week, I'm excited to see them matchup against Bowdoin next weekend.  I was surprised to see Bowdoin dismantled by Bates, but I think Bowdoin and Colby are teams in similar positions so it should be a good game.

[toad22]

Williams is painfully thin on experience. They came in to the year with 4 experienced players. Additionally, Klemm has stepped in and performed well from the beginning. Dodson, however, is off to a really slow start, after having been injured most of the preseason. I would say that they are currently overrated because of the lack of experience. Middlebury and Amherst both have great talent and experience. Bates appears to be strong as well. All three teams may be better than Williams.

I see Williams as having three very reliable 15-20 point scorers in Wang, Klemm and Whittington. In addition, they have an exceptional point guard in Robertson. Whittington is now a much better defender, intimidator and rebounder than he has been in past seasons. Beyond that, everything is conjecture with Williams. We will get the first indications of the quality of the team on Tuesday, when Hamilton comes to town. I'm not trying to underplay William's obvious talents, just underscore the question marks surrounding the team. Overall, my judgement is that this year's Williams team is as talented as last year's team. They are, however, relying on a great deal of untested talent.

[amh63]

Was going to make a comment that based on results last night in NESCAC, that we have to keep an eye on Bates.  However, as usual, other posters are several steps ahead.
I remembered a number of years back when Bates did well in the year end conference tournament, pushing Amherst to the limit.
Are there any Bates' posters?
The only thing of interest outside of the conference is that D3 hoops number one and two lost last night!  There were other shake-ups also in the top 25.  It could be that the conference members will move up.....on the other hand, these early rankings and a dollar will get you a warm cup of coffee on a cold night.     Guess I starting to think like Frank U..  Do not know if that is good or bad!

[walzy31]

#20 Amherst @ Emmanuel

Amherst -34
Over/Under: 160.5

Congrats to Williams and Middlebury for being #2 and #5 in the most recent poll.

[amh63]

Nice to see your post Walzy!   Will admit that I do not fully understand your numbers...but that is me.  Guess you think it will be an Amherst blow out and high scoring game
Back here in the DC area after reading the Wash. Post there maybe several items of interest for this board. 
First, one of my favorite BB writers is leaving the Post and going to ESPN in CT.?  In his farewell column, Michael Wilbon, even cited an Amherst writer wrt to Michael Jordan.
Last Spring when posters in this area were speculating where the brother of Williams' starter Rubin, was going to college....Williams maybe, it seems the local player is now at Boston College....up north for sure......but playing in the ACC.

[nescac1]

Not only is Danny Rubin playing for B.C. (as a walk-on), he is actually starting as a true frosh, and playing well (7.6 ppg, 3 rpg, .46 % from 3).  Too bad he didn't end up as an Eph, but considering what he is doing at the ACC level, hard to blame him ... I imagine he will earn a scholarship soon at this rate. 

Speaking of once and potential Ephs from the DC area, Dan Divietri, who didn't play much as a frosh last year for Williams (and probably didn't figure in this year's regular rotation, either), has made a big impact at an undefeated Catholic team that is on the edge of the Top 25, where he is starting and among the team leaders in points and rebounds:

http://www.cuacardinals.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/teamcume.htm

That gives some sense of the depth of talent at top-tier NESCAC schools .... 

[Colby Hoops]

Interesting didn't know the Rubin connection.  Apparently Danny Rubin had committed to Cornell to play for Steve Donahue, but when Donahue took the BC job he moved with him.  He's certainly not overmatched in the ACC.

[amh63]

A good road win for Amherst tonight.  Amherst 79, Emmanual 52.   However, Amherst didn't play up to Walzy's expectaions.