MBB: NESCAC

[Old Guy]

And if that wasn't enough reading for one morning, here is our preview of today's Wesleyan-Middlebury game. Just 2,000 more words. http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2013/02/16/nescac-quarterfinal-wesleyan-revisited/ PantherNation

When do you guys do your homework?

If I were a Panther fan I would be very worried. Wes will not go down without a fight Toad 22

We're worried. Three 1000 point scorers in one class - I'm sure they will be motivated to keep their careers going. We beat them by one in OT in our place. Midd will not be overconfident. Winter Carnival weekend here - don't know if that means students will be at the SnowBowl, or at the game. It's a beautiful day, so outdoor options appeal. I do expect a big crowd after Tuesday's game.

[lefrakenstein]

Another statistical Toomey/Thompson look:

Per 40 minutes:

Toomey: 21.5 pts; 5.4 rebounds; 6.2 assists; 2.1 steals; .3 blocks
Thompson: 14.6 pts; 5.3 rebounds; 2.1 assists; 1.0 steals; .1 blocks

Thompson played more minutes in conference than Toomey b/c Toomey left that one game (hamilton?) early, but Toomey clearly owns the per minute stats.

Thompson's defense is amazing and makes it close, but in my mind, tie goes to the player who led his team to an undefeated conference season (and hit the game winning 3 in triple OT against the other player's team).

It's fun that there is a healthy three or four way debate this year, and not every candidate was an obvious one at the start of the season. That's pretty unusual.

[walzy31]

Amherst up 39-25 at the half. Toomey with 20 pts on 6-9 from three. How's Thompson looking against Wesleyan?

[Panthernation]

Just holding Shasha Brown, the leading in-conference scorer, to 0 points on 0-6 shooting.

[lefrakenstein]

Williams is up 5 at the half despite missing Wohl. Robertson has 11.

Toomey has 23 points and is 7-9 from behind the arc.

Update: 8 threes for Toomey. Daoustian is sweating.

[walzy31]

Just holding Shasha Brown, the leading in-conference scorer, to 0 points on 0-6 shooting.

With five points, no assists, no steals, and one rebound.
Was Shane Battier your MVP in the NBA for a bunch of years too?

[walzy31]

Amherst wins in a blow out 83-52.

Toomey's line:

29 minutes
28 points 9-16 (8-12 3pt) 2-2 ft, with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 0 turnovers.

[lefrakenstein]

Im not sure on this - when do coaches vote? have they already voted, or is it after the tournament?

[lefrakenstein]

Holding Sha to 2 points on 0-10 shooting is very impressive though.

It's all tied in Medford w/ 5 to play

update ... looks like all the top seeds advance to next weekend.

[nescac1]

Looks like the top four all will advance to set up an epic NESCAC semifinal in Lefrak.  Williams has its best overall offensive game in many weeks.  The Ephs moved the ball really well, exploiting mismatches when offered and not really forcing things that weren't there.  All five starters played very well.  Weinheimer was outstanding, all over the floor on both ends and slashing to the hoops for easy buckets.  He gets the game ball with a Workman-like line of 9 points (on only 6 fga's), 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. 

Nate Robertson used his size advantage and took advantage of gambling play by Bates guards to also garner a slew of barely contested lay-ups.  James Klemm played very well and looked very healthy, nailing four threes and leading the Ephs in scoring.  Great to have him back.  A personal 10-0 run by Taylor Epley (who otherwise was fairly quiet), mostly working on the inside, pretty much put the game away.  A late Bates run thanks to some threes and a four point play by Boornazian kept the score respectable. 

Williams does have a few things to work on.  The Bates guards were very quick and really penetrated too easily, especially vs. the zone.  Midd and Amherst are also led by quick perimeter players so the Ephs will have to work hard to stay in front of their man.  Williams also allowed a few offensive boards by undersized Bobcats when they fell asleep and failed to box out.  But offensively, this is exactly the type of effort Williams needs to beat Midd next week, unselfish play, a lot of great ball movement and cutting, and avoiding careless turnovers (only seven turnovers despite a heavy dose of ball pressure from Bates).  If Wohl can come back by next weekend, it would be huge for the Ephs.  Weinheimer has shown he can play well in starter minutes as he has really stepped up his game in Wohl's absence, so he should be an excellent sixth man.  With Weinheimer and Hoffmann playing well, the Ephs go a legit seven deep.  Without Wohl, however, the Ephs are still perilously thin.

For Bates, Boornazian, mohawk and all, is certainly a future star in NESCAC.  Bogdonovich played great in his late NESCAC game, basically played Mayer to a draw after getting dominated in the first match-up.  Bates has a nice core returning in Boornazian, Safford, and Matarazzo, but the Bobcats desperately need to bring in some size inside with their sole interior player graduating.  The Ephs, despite not shooting particularly well from deep, just ate Bates alive inside all day.  And that was despite barely going to Mayer, since Robertson and Epley were able to exploit their size advantage and they made a conscious choice to keep Mayer out of the paint. 

[walzy31]

Saturday February 16, 2013 NESCAC Quarter-Final Spreads & Props

#8 Colby @ #1 Amherst
Amherst -20.0
O/U: 148.0

#7 Bates @ #2 Williams
Williams -8.5
O/U: 128.5

#6 Wesleyan @ #3 Middlebury
Middlebury -11.5
O/U: 133.0

#5 Bowdoin @ #4 Tufts
Tufts -6.0
O/U: 152.5

Will a home team and top 4 seed lose?
Yes +120
No -140

#8 Colby 52 @ #1 Amherst 83
Amherst -20.0 (Amherst Covers +11.0)
O/U: 148.0 (Under +13.0)

#7 Bates 79 @ #2 Williams 88
Williams -8.5 (Williams Covers +0.5)
O/U: 128.5 (Over +38.5)

#6 Wesleyan 49 @ #3 Middlebury 61
Middlebury -11.5 (Middlebury Covers +0.5)
O/U: 133.0 (Under +23.0)

#5 Bowdoin 71 @ #4 Tufts 82
Tufts -6.0 (Tufts Covers +5.0)
O/U: 152.5 (Over +0.5)

Will a home team and top 4 seed lose? No
Yes +120
No -140 (Win)

[Panthernation]

Thompson's defense is amazing and makes it close, but in my mind, tie goes to the player who led his team to an undefeated conference season (and hit the game winning 3 in triple OT against the other player's team).

If you're using head-to-head, it's not even close. Aaron Toomey went 5-24 in that game, which is beyond horrendous. Yeah, he hit the game winning shot, on his third try, against a defender who hadn't played all game. Measuring value of a player based on wins and game-winning shots is extremely outdated.

Shasha finished with 6 points on 1-11 shooting. Only 4 were against Thompson, who played all but 4 seconds of the game until Coach Brown brought him out to an ovation with the game in hand and a minute to play. Shasha had been averaging 18.9 ppg in conference. How many points per game does Nolan have to save before he is the most valuable player in the league?

[nescac1]

re: Thompson vs. Toomey (or whomever), I think that defense is generally undervalued, but I also think that a guy who can make an entire offense run (like Toomey) and who can put a team on his back offensively is more valuable than even a historically good (for D-3) wing defender.  After all, Thompson can only guard one guy ... I don't think anyone would prefer on their team the best wing defender in the NBA (over the years, Bruce Bowen, Tony Allen, Shane Battier as mentioned, etc.) over an elite scorer.  Now, if you are one of the best at offense and defense (think Scottie Pippin), that is a different story, and Workman is sort of the Pippin of NESCAC.  That is why I'd also take him over Thompson.  If I had to face Midd, even, and had to pick one player to sit out, it would be Kizell, not Thompson. 

[lefrakenstein]

Thompson's defense is amazing and makes it close, but in my mind, tie goes to the player who led his team to an undefeated conference season (and hit the game winning 3 in triple OT against the other player's team).

If you're using head-to-head, it's not even close. Aaron Toomey went 5-24 in that game, which is beyond horrendous. Yeah, he hit the game winning shot, on his third try, against a defender who hadn't played all game. Measuring value of a player based on wins and game-winning shots is extremely outdated.

Shasha finished with 6 points on 1-11 shooting. Only 4 were against Thompson, who played all but 4 seconds of the game until Coach Brown brought him out to an ovation with the game in hand and a minute to play. Shasha had been averaging 18.9 ppg in conference. How many points per game does Nolan have to save before he is the most valuable player in the league?

you're kind of forgetting the 'tie goes to'... part. Toomey is very defensible on stats alone. His efficiency rating is well above Thompson's, and while that doesn't adequately capture defense, it also doesn't adequately capture the value of being a primary ball handler and directing the league's most potent offense.

Thompson did do a great job on Toomey, but measuring relative value of players based on a single game isn't even outdated; no one has ever thought that was a good idea.

And look, I'm not saying Thompson didn't play a great game today, but one rebound and one assist in 39 minutes? Thompson would be a better candidate if he didn't get out-rebounded on a per minute basis by the diminutive Toomey, not to mention having about half as many assist/steals/blocks.

Toomey just finds more ways to contribute. When was the last time Thompson had 6 assists (as Toomey did in under 30 minutes today)? Hint: better hit the 'archives' button.

I'm surprised Williams fans aren't more actively supporting Mayer. Not everyday you see a 59/44/77 guy who leads his team in rebounding and blocked shots. Also the league-leader in EWA, narrowly edging Toomey.

[mainehoops]

Re: THE All Crazy Team selections - there is not a single player in the 'Nescac that wouldn't/doesn't feel honored to be recognized.  Sha is a baller and in reading that there are just as many nods to his achievements on the court as there are to his antics.  Everyone messes with recruits - sometimes it works out great (Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game comes to mind) and some don't.  It comes with the territory.  All Crazy is a great read

But dammmm did Sha get locked up today by Thompson today.  Yikes...

I was busy watching Toomey nail what could easily have been 12 3's had the game been closer or he played longer.  Also deferred to his teammates towards the end when the game was out of hand (he had 8 EARLY in the second half) where he could've just jacked up any number of 3's to secure the record.  POY in my book for sure.  No disrespect to NT or the others.

Colby has a good future despite the blowout loss.  I like Patrick Stewart's game a lot to go along with big Hud and some other pretty solid young guys.  Amherst announcers did a good job today.