MBB: NESCAC

Bucket · March 06, 2011, 12:44:47 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on March 06, 2011, 12:25:21 PM
Just a total shaft for Middlebury. It's not like Midd is THAT much further away for St. Mary's than than Rochester ... I understand they've gotta fly one team, but why set up a regional to totally screw probably the top overall seed coming into the tourney, especially when this is their first ever chance to host a round of 16 game? An utter travesty. And it's not a situation like Whitworth where no matter what three teams have to fly. And unlike Rochester, Wooster at least put up a record that makes them worth to host a section. The Midd fans, who have been great all year, deserve to see these games in person.

Yeah, I feel sick about it for our kids; they earned the right to play in front of our fans. Now, I have no doubt they'll be ready to play, that Coach Brown and his staff will have them totally prepared, but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Why set the pod up this way, if you weren't going to allow the top seed to stay home? And to give home court advantage to a team that doesn't remotely deserve it is even more galling.

I have the utmost confidence that Midd will got to Rochester and will get two wins. This isn't a team that will bend because of a little adversity. I just feel bad for all the Middlebury fans who have been robbed of seeing their Panthers for one more weekend.

The Bucket family will be making the trip to Rochester; we hope to carry the voice of 1,200 plus with us.

Argylebballer · March 06, 2011, 12:51:03 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on March 06, 2011, 12:25:21 PM
Although Williams is at home, Midd can take some solace in not having to face Virginia Wesleyan and, likely, Amherst in back-to-back games to make it to the Final Four.

More hate of what RIC has been and continues to be. This is their 3rd Sweet 16 in 5 years and are overall 10-4 in the NCAA Tournament in that time.

Looking at RICs record for the whole year is also rather misleading, as RIC was without its key PG for the whole first semester, and had several other injuries the whole first half of the season. Once every has gotten back and healthy they are 12-1 and have won 10 straight.

All I am saying is last year everyone said RIC would lose to Middlebury, then this year they would lose to Penn State, Then they would lose to Oswego. RIC won all three...

7express · March 06, 2011, 12:51:54 PM

St. Mary's to Rochester is 436 miles, St. Mary's to Middlebury is 534 miles. I think St. Mary's would rather fly then take a 9 hour bus ride anyways.

amh63 · March 06, 2011, 12:53:08 PM

Soon as I read that the sectional sites were out...I tried to log in to beat out everyone else but the server being down didn't allow it. Interesting.....seems everyone wanted to put their two bits in. Well here are my comments.
The Williams site is even more in the woods than Middlebury VT. I guess, not everyone sees Old Guy's special place as being better. The positive side is that there are more rooms in the Rochester area and the BB facility is nice and large. There are good hospitals there and even Kodak. A river runs by the school, etc..... All kidding aside, the locations are picked to minimize the number of flights. Virginia Wes. will have to fly up to Hartford or Albany to reach Williams. A champion needs to win on the road as all the Final 4 teams will do.....though Virginia Wes., being in the ODAC, has the most games played in the Salem site. The ODAC sometimes use the site for their conference tournament.

It is interesting to note that the Williams hosted sectional has three teams that all have won a national championship and been a runner up in this century. When Amherst won in '07 against Virginia Wes., they were the defending champions. Amherst was the runner up in '08 as was Williams last year....with their championship in '04?

7express · March 06, 2011, 12:55:52 PM

The thing that allowed Williams to host was that Virginia Wesleyan was more then 500 miles from the other 3 teams so they would've had to fly regardless of where the sectional was. if they put the sectional @ VWC, the NCAA would've had to fly 3 teams down there, so Williams was an obvious choice to host that.

nescac1 · March 06, 2011, 01:00:37 PM

For the record, Argylebballer, I picked RIC to make the Sweet 16 ... and I don't think ANYONE picked them to lose to Penn State Behrend.

But the fact is, RIC is the odd man out in that quarter. Three of the four have been top 12 teams all season, while RIC is not in the top 25. RIC has seven losses, those three have nine losses COMBINED, and all of those nine are to other top-notch teams. RIC lost (with their PG) by eleven to Colby, a team Amherst and Williams both dominated. As noted before, VWU, Amherst, and Williams have combined for three titles and four second place finishes in the past eight years, while RIC has yet to make a Final Four.

RIC is playing well and Amherst can't look past them, but I'd be stunned if they beat the Jeffs. Embrace the underdog label, but a dog they deserve to be.

walzy31 · March 06, 2011, 01:28:43 PM

Wow that is tough for Middlebury. I wouldn't punch their ticket to Salem yet, but the winner of the Sweet 16 game on Rochester's home court will most likely make it to Salem.

Amherst gets to play basketball in state and within a one-hour radius of campus until the Final Four. How often does that happen to a non-hosting team?

RIC is a double-digit dog in the preliminary unpublished spreads.

walzy31 · March 06, 2011, 01:31:33 PM

(in my sarcastic tone) Maybe if the NCAA were to release another set of Regional Standings, Amherst would be able to move past Becker and WPI. Heck, with the 1.4x away game multiplier from yesterday's WPI game and Williams and Middlebury both only winning at home, Amherst is now probably #1.

In all seriousness, I hope they keep that absurd multiplier in play for one more season to let lopsided schedules even out. Amherst will be on the road in 17 of their 24 games next year which should amount to a lofty multiplier and SOS.

eph partisan · March 06, 2011, 01:38:45 PM

The fact that Midd. isn't hosting is a joke. You deserve to be bitter, Bucket. Panthers had the best resume in the country (One loss, to one of the top five teams in the country, without their best player). Someone should organize a bus and literally fill Rochester's gym with Midd. students. Forget assigned sections.

I would like to know why they organized the bracket such that Williams would either get F&M or VW... VW scares me. A week of practice should do the Ephs A LOT of good. The fact that they are on their home floor is also a huge plus.

Argyleballer, to say people are hating on RIC is a little bit of a stretch... Just because a team is an underdog doesn't mean that people are 'hating' on them... That's like saying people are 'hating' on Kobe when they say that Lebron is better. Objective analysis does not equate to an insult.

That said, your point is well taken: RIC has done well in the underdog role before. And, as Williams fan, it would not be a bad thing if RIC won. Amherst looks like they are on a roll, and it is a part of my nature not to root for the Jeffs. My positive sentiments in their general direction are limited to praising their ability to play basketball (or any other sport) and to wishing them luck.

eph partisan · March 06, 2011, 01:42:04 PM

Quote from: walzy31 on March 06, 2011, 01:31:33 PM
In all seriousness, I hope they keep that absurd multiplier in play for one more season to let lopsided schedules even out. Amherst will be on the road in 17 of their 24 games next year which should amount to a lofty multiplier and SOS.

Walzy, don't take this the wrong way. Since Amherst is probably going to be talented enough next year not to need any help, I hope they take a more rational approach. This may or may not be motivated by my bias toward Williams....

Major Hoople · March 06, 2011, 02:02:36 PM

Bucket, best secure your tickets before you take the trip. I dont think U of R has much of a gym. Agree with your comments 100% but nothing to do but complain about an obvious blunder by NCAA which lacks the courage or integrity to correct the situation, let alone issue some statement explaining their thinking. Talk about motivation, Midd should not have ant problem getting up for this one. Is Midd Athletic Dept making any seating plans for those who might attend the game?

Aside to Amh63. Alas, stick it!

Bucket · March 06, 2011, 02:08:02 PM

I know that a number of tickets (100, 200?) are usually allocated to traveling schools, which then put them on sale the week of the game.

walzy31 · March 06, 2011, 02:11:33 PM

Quote from: eph partisan on March 06, 2011, 01:38:45 PM
The fact that Midd. isn't hosting is a joke. You deserve to be bitter, Bucket. Panthers had the best resume in the country (One loss, to one of the top five teams in the country, without their best player). Someone should organize a bus and literally fill Rochester's gym with Midd. students. Forget assigned sections.

I would like to know why they organized the bracket such that Williams would either get F&M or VW... VW scares me. A week of practice should do the Ephs A LOT of good. The fact that they are on their home floor is also a huge plus.

Argyleballer, to say people are hating on RIC is a little bit of a stretch... Just because a team is an underdog doesn't mean that people are 'hating' on them... That's like saying people are 'hating' on Kobe when they say that Lebron is better. Objective analysis does not equate to an insult.

That said, your point is well taken: RIC has done well in the underdog role before. And, as Williams fan, it would not be a bad thing if RIC won. Amherst looks like they are on a roll, and it is a part of my nature not to root for the Jeffs. My positive sentiments in their general direction are limited to praising their ability to play basketball (or any other sport) and to wishing them luck.

Two Western NY teams in Midd's pod makes it attractive to the NCAA to give one of them the nod.

You want to know who organized the brackets, but did you expect to play a bad team in the Sweet 16? How many bad teams are left at this stage of the tourney?

Argylebballer · March 06, 2011, 02:15:05 PM

I also agree that going to Roch is a tough break for Middlebury, but I feel Middlebury still rolls those teams, a much weaker four than the Williams one.

amh63 · March 06, 2011, 02:15:22 PM

To project Walzy's remarks more into the fantasy world......if the NCAA had put out another regional....and the numbers for away games being 2.7 plus higher, etc....and Amherst became +l in the region or at least higher than Williams, Amherst could have hosted!
Forgot to mention....Across from the Rochester site is U. of Rochester student center/food court. One can get some goodies there before/during/after the games. Otherwise, eat before games somewhere. Parking maybe a problem somewhat. Maybe special arrangements will be made for the sectionals.
It is surprising here that there is no mention of fellow ODAC school R-Macon after their 2nd round lost. Like Williams, R-M had a close first round win but did not prevail in the 2nd game. Here was a school that D3Hoops made a "stink" somewhat about losing a chance to host. There was even talk about a R-M and Midd switch at one time. Never mind....just some loose ends in my mind...other than screws.