MBB: NESCAC

[lefrakenstein]

Amherst by 7 at the half. Really nice half from Williamson and Workman, who each have 10 points.

The margin would be at least double digits if this game were being fairly officiated. Everything against Amherst is getting whistled... Nothing coming back the other way. Hixon lost it when Toomey was left laying under the basket and got up gingerly after a particularly hard foul. No whistle.

19 FTs for Williams in one half! 5 for Amherst.

[nescac1]

Unsurprisingly, I have a different take on the officiating.  Amherst has barely been touched by Williams on defense, way too many easy baskets, but with the zone, it's not like they are knocking into Amherst players.  Amherst had some pretty iffy touch fouls calls, but the Jeffs consistently fouled Williams players hard, including some (including a clear foul on a three by Epley) that were uncalled.  Williams players seemed to be knocked hard every time they went into the lane.  Now, Williams is not fouling, which is great, but Amherst has also had just way too many open looks at the basket.  Hixon really seemed to lose it twice, and each time a bogus call went the other way vs. the Ephs, so his histrionics have been effective, at least. 

Amherst just looks much quicker than Williams.  Even with Wohl in the last game (the Ephs' most athletic player) Amherst was just much quicker, generating steals and beating guys off the dribble.  This game, the athleticism difference is even more pronounced.  Williams has really focused on Toomey but that has opened up way too many easy looks, including two just wide open threes from Kalema, which unlike in previous years, he now seems to nail every time.  Meanwhile, for Williams, Nate Robertson has been awesome, penetrating regularly and drawing contact almost every time.  Mayer has been OK although has missed a few shots that he could make.  Epley has once again had a tough time on both ends with Workman, Workman (who Eph fans will be very happy to see gone after this year) just has more size and quickness but the Ephs need to find ways to get Epley some better looks.  Can't all be Nate and Mayer.  Ephs also really struggling from three and just CAN'T miss open threes in the second half if they hope to win.  They are playing well on offense, just missing way too many makeable shots.  On defense Amherst just has too many speed mismatches with Kalema, Toomey, Workman, and Williamson driving on guys who aren't as quick as them.

[Panthernation]

Have to agree with nescac1, based on the style each team was playing, the foul discrepancy makes sense.

[lefrakenstein]

Well, I admit my bias on the foul situation. But agree to disagree.

Both teams are executing the defensive game plans well. Williams is completely taking Big Pete out of the game on that end. They must have picked off at least 5 entry attempts so far.

[walzy31]

Amherst up 59-40 with 9 to play...

[grabtherim]

Turning into a blowout for Amherst. Williams cant buy a hoop and Amherst is playing really well.  Up 19 with 9 pr so to go.  Look for long Amherst possesions from here on.

[nescac1]

Looking pretty good for Amherst.   This half, the story has been shooting.  Toomey and Workman both hits threes from about 26 feet this half, and Klemm and Epley have combined to miss a host of fairly open threes that they absolutely have to hit.  There is literally nothing the Ephs can do on defense the way Amherst has been hitting, and the Ephs need to shoot a heck of a lot better to have a chance vs. the Lord Jeffs.  Williams can just not hit a shot this half, both from outside and from right next to the basket this half.  It's mystifying.  Although Amherst is clearly a stronger team right now, it would at least be a lot more competitive if the Ephs were hitting some of these very makeable shots.  Have to be very frustrated at this point. 

[nescac1]

Williams clearly just does not match up well with Amherst.  Ephs need to be firing on all cylinders and hope Amherst is not hitting deep threes t have a chance.  But the Ephs should bounce back.  At the very least, they can shoot much better.  Williams isn't going to beat anyone half-way decent, let alone Amherst, with Epley and Klemm combining to shoot 0-9 from three.  Right now, though, Amherst is clearly playing the best ball in NESCAC, and it isn't really close.  Midd might match up better than Williams vs. the Jeffs, but I have to think they will have a tough time, also, with Amherst's speed.  Kalema and Williamson are both MUCH improved since last year, so those two, Toomey, and Workman together present a very difficult match-up when on the floor together, all can beat defenders off the dribble and all create a lot of havoc on defense.  Jeffs will be tough to beat in NESCAC. 

[jayhawk]

nice defense by Amherst. Workman is well know to be a defensive stopper. Kalema is always a fine defender when he was inserted he slowed Robertson down in the first half. David is a nice ballplayer, able to hit the 3, can drive and pass and really annoying as a defender. He has come a long way since the beginning of his sophomore year. Williamson can be and is the X factor on offense.

[old_hooper]

Amherst has so many weapons and they seem to know their rolls.  Kalema has really become a major factor in his confidence and contributions. Give credit where it is due, the Jeff's defense took the Ephs out of the game.  Grant it they were not hitting shots but when you have a defense that changes the game like this it is hard to get back in it.  The daggers were the back to back threes of Workman and Toomey that pushed it from 10 to 16.  Nice effort on both sides for Amherst.  Big pete missed three easy layups that would have made the score even larger.

[lefrakenstein]

Some NESCAC seeding taking shape:

If Amherst beats Midd, it will be Amherst, Williams, Midd for the top 3. If Midd wins, those seeds will be decided by coin toss.

Tufts will be the 4 seed. Bowdoin will be the 5. (Even if they lose to CC, which it looks like might happen)

Thought I had the rest figured out. Turns out it's still too messy.

[amh63]

Amherst wins by 17 in Chandler.  Both coaches empties their benches with less than 2 minutes to go.  Williams' bench outscores Amherst 4-2.  IMO, Amherst's defense was again the difference between two talented teams.  Bad match ups?  Holding Williams in the second to under 20 points is a statement....15 points with the starters in!

[Old Guy]

Bowdoin (4-5 NESCAC) down eight to CC (0-8) at the half, 32-24, shooting as poorly today (Hurley 1-10, 28% as a team) as they did well last night against the Cardinals. May be that their play so far today is a result of the minutes their five ironmen played last night (three subs, 11 minutes total). Vadas has 13 at the half (3 threes).

Kalema played well against Midd last year. If Midd takes care of business tonight (I'm headed to the gym now), it's seyt for a nice rematch for Midd's two 2-point losses in LeFrak last year. It's what we wanted.

[walzy31]

Amherst's senior class (the same class that were freshman on a team that started 13-3 and finished 14-11) finally gets to a winning record against Williams at 5-4 with the last four in a row.

Workman's career line in those 9 games is 12.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.3 bpg, 0.9 topg

Toomey's junior class is 5-2 and the freshman and sophomores are 2-0 and 4-0 (although without contributing much to those records).

When was the last time Williams was held under 50 in Chandler?

[nescac1]

Oh, no doubt, Amherst's defense is great by any metric right now.  Very, very quick at four positions, difficult to beat off the dribble.  Williams could play a lot better (then again, the Ephs haven't really played a great all-around game for about three weeks now, notwithstanding the gritty wins over Midd and Bowdoin), but even if they played at their very best, with their full complement of starters, they would have a very tough time beating Amherst this year .. I'm just saying it's not impossible for the Ephs, and certain guys have shown the ability to do a lot more (but of course, since the same guys had the same problems in both Amherst games, you start to wonder if it will ever happen vs. the Jeffs, in the event of a third meeting). 

Amherst's defense caused a lot of problems for the Ephs, in both games they jumped a lot of passing lanes leading to turnovers and disrupted the Ephs' offensive sets.  Mayer is the only guy who really causes a mismatch for Amherst's D, he got a lot of great looks, some just didn't go in but still had a productive game overall for the second straight time vs. Amherst.  he has played big in big games but it's not enough.  Once you are flustered and out of rhythm it gets that much harder to hit J's.  But Klemm and Epley are guys who can both light it up.  If Toomey and Workman miss those NBA threes, and Klemm and Epley each nailed solid looks sandwiched around that, when the lead was ten, it could have at least been competitive.  Those were absolute daggers and the Ephs never recovered.  I think it's a combo of Amherst just being very good defensively, and also Amherst presenting a particularly tough match-up for Williams' style of play.  I'd still love to see these teams meet again and see what Maker can come up with, I don't think it's impossible.  I do think the Ephs will turn things around a bit vs. Amherst next year based on who the Jeffs lose this year (Workman especially is an Eph killer, and Williamson, the Ephs can't match up with at all) and who Williams has returning (particularly getting Rooke-Ley back from injury is huge next year) and the big incoming recruit.  But for this year, the best hope may be for Williams to eek out a win over Midd and for Tufts to stun Amherst  (assuming that is how the seeding goes). 

Amherst does seem substantially better than either Midd or Williams right now, to me, but if Thompson can come close to shutting down Toomey, and Jensen can handle Workman fairly well, plus Roberts matches up defensively with Kaasila, Midd should be able to slow Amherst down.  As for whether Midd can score on Amherst, on the other hand, I'm not so sure ... other than Kizell, Midd may have the same issues with Amherst's team speed as Williams did.