MBB: NESCAC

[MENESCACFAN]

Highlights from Bates v Welseyan and Conn over weekend.  I am hearing the game is on tonight;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5-qV6PQmk8

[MENESCACFAN]

To steal off another thread's idea.  What are people's thoughts on these categories?  My thoughts below.

Best Team:  Trinity (defensive work ethic is top end)

Best Coach:  James Cosgrove (the above can be tough to achieve with today's kids)

Best Player:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd)

Best Point Guard:  Graham Safford (Bates)

Best Low-Post Scorer:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd) or Hunter Sabety (Tufts)

Best Shooter:  Luke Westman (Colby)

Best Dunker:  Marcus Delpeche (Bates)

Best Defender:  Johnny McCarthy (Amherst)

[nescac1]

Best Team:  Trinity (defensive work ethic is top end) [agreed, although they are capable of losing to anyone, and indeed have lost to some very poor competition this year, they've earned this spot]

Best Coach:  James Cosgrove (the above can be tough to achieve with today's kids) [depends -- is he the best coach in the league?  I don't think so, that has to be Hixon, followed by Brown.  Is he the coach of year based on performance-to-date?  Yes]

Best Player:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd) [Wohl pretty much owned this match-up when they met, so I don't see how he can be ahead of Wohl.  I'd also put Hudnut ahead of Sinnickson, unless he remains injured]. 

Best Point Guard:  Graham Safford (Bates) [Close one between him and Jeremy Lin, right now, though, I'll take Lin]. 

Best Low-Post Scorer:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd) or Hunter Sabety (Tufts) [Not an area of great strength in NESCAC right now -- lots of good big men, but they tend to lack elite back-to-the-basket skill sets.  I'll go with Sabety or Hudnut]

Best Shooter:  Luke Westman (Colby) [Most efficient scorer?  Yes.  Best shooter?  Not even close -- you kind of have to shoot long jumpers on occasion to be considered.  The only two contenders here are Rooke-Ley and Green.  They are equally scary when they get it going from behind the three point arc, but Rooke-Ley gets the edge due to his free throw shooting proficiency].

Best Dunker:  Marcus Delpeche (Bates) [sounds right, although David George has also had some pretty nasty dunks]

Best Defender:  Johnny McCarthy (Amherst) [eventually, yes, but not quite yet, although incredibly good for a first-year.  There is no super-obvious candidate here, no one remotely like a Nolan Thompson in the league right now, but I'd put Wohl and Jake Brown above him, Sabety too if he wasn't injured.  McCarthy is the easy choice for best overall frosh, however].

I'll add a few:

Best array of offensive moves: Lucas Hausman

Deepest range: Connor Green

Most athletic: Ed Ogundeko

Most talent top-to-bottom: Amherst (any team that relies exclusively on frosh and sophomores in the backcourt is going to struggle at times.  They are going to be scary for the next two years, though, with that George-Conklin-Dawson-Racy-Nabatoff-Berman sophomore class backed by two frosh who each have the look of future all-NESCAC players, possibly all-American in McCarthy's case). 

[hoya73]

MENESCAC--no love for Daniel Wohl?  Somewhere NESCAC1 is clutching his chest.....Also--best blocker---David George.

.....or typing a reply.

[madzillagd]

DW  124 pts, 51 rebs, 16 asts, 15 tos, 8 stls, 4 blks  (6 games)
DS   98 pts, 64 rebs, 3 asts, 7 tos, 4 stls, 3 blks (6 games)
CH   109 pts, 50 rebs, 15 asts, 13 tos, 4 stls, 3 blks (5 games)

[Bucket]

To steal off another thread's idea.  What are people's thoughts on these categories?  My thoughts below.

Best Team:  Trinity (defensive work ethic is top end)

Best Coach:  James Cosgrove (the above can be tough to achieve with today's kids)

Best Player:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd)

Best Point Guard:  Graham Safford (Bates)

Best Low-Post Scorer:  Dylan Sinnickson (Midd) or Hunter Sabety (Tufts)

Best Shooter:  Luke Westman (Colby)

Best Dunker:  Marcus Delpeche (Bates)

Best Defender:  Johnny McCarthy (Amherst)

I have a hard time tapping Jamie Cosgrove as Best Coach because he behaves like a lunatic, but it's hard to argue with the success Trinity has enjoyed this year. And as a UVa diehard, I particularly admire the fact that Trinity has done it with defense. I just wish Cosgrove had a little more Tony Bennett (not the singer) in him.

I like your other picks, though one could certainly make an argument for Best Player being Dylan Sinnickson & Daniel Wohl.  And I would actually substitute Chris Hudnet for Sinnickson in joining Sabety as best low-post scorer.

Fun exercise.

[7express]

In case anyone cares, here's my write-ups on the LEC/NESCAC games tonight.  FWIW, I have the NESCAC finishing the night 3-2, and I have a pretty good prediction record this year:

Tufts/Dartmouth, Amherst/RIC and Keene/Middlebury are the 3 marquee games of the night in the LEC/NESCAC showdown.  Absolutely mandatory that the LEC get at least 2 of these games.

Bowdoin @ Plymouth.
Plymouth is coming off an upset win over nationally ranked Eastern, snapping the Warriors 27 game conference winning streak which dated back to January 26, 2013.  The Polar Bears are 4-3 in the NESCAC after getting swept through Trinity & Amherst over the weekend, and looking at the NESCAC board this is a team that has some injury issues and is not a very deep team at all.    In their overtime loss to Trinity, coach Gilbride only went with a rotation 8 deep, and 4 of 5 starters played 37 or more minutes.  The oddsmakers have the Polar Bears favored by 8.5.  Plymouth is tough to beat at home, have some momentum after getting the win over the Warriors, and Bowdoin is sliding, I think the Panthers get the win.  Plymouth 65-59

USM @ Colby.
I had high expectations for Colby this year, thought they would challenge for the NESCAC regular season title, but they have fallen flat on their face in conference play, coming into this matchup 3-4 in conference after getting swept through Amherst & Trinity like their state rivals Bowdoin did.  The Huskies have only 4 wins this year, but 3 of those 4 are against Maine schools (UNE, Farmington & St. Joseph's).  This is the start of a 4 game home stand to end the year for the White Mules, so they can still finish with a top 4 spot in the conference and get themselves a 5th straight game at home in the NESCAC quarterfinals.  Colby is favored by 10 and Colby gets the DD win; 78-60

Amherst @ RIC.
Today is exactly the 6 year anniversary of the last Anchormen win in this series which happened, also at the Murray Center, February 3 of 2009.  What were you doing on February 3, 2009??  This Amherst team isn't nearly as good as the Amherst teams of years past, but they seem to play a lot better on the road then they do at home.  The Jeffs have lost 4 games at home, the closest being a 16 point loss, and have only lost once on the road by a single point.  In coom results between these 2: RIC beat Brandeis at home by 6, Amherst lost to them at home by 20; RIC also beat Tufts on the road while Amherst lost to them at home by 17, but Amherst won @ Eastern, while RIC lost to the Warriors twice including getting blown out @ Eastern.  If the regular season ended tonight, both teams would be on thin ice if they didn't win their conference tournament, but the game gives the winner a great chance to get a quality win and after February 11 likely a WvRRO opponent since I see both teams being ranked in New England.  Oddsmakers have made the Anchormen a slight 1.5 point favorite, but I still don't trust the LEC to get a win like this.  if Eastern couldn't beat them, I don't think RIC is going to be able to beat them either.  Sorry Amh, but I really hope that predictions turns out to be false, Amherst 74-67.

Keene @ Middlebury.
2 teams that put up a lot of points, that's how the oddsmakers have set an over/under of 160 points for this contest.  The Panthers have cracked 70+ points 10 times in 18 games this year, while the Owls have cracked 70+ in 18 of 19 games they've played this year, the lone exception when they were held to 58 against the stout defense of Rhode Island College.  The Owls are averaging 88.5 ppg in their 15 wins, but only 73.8 ppg in their 4 losses, while the Panthers average 83.6 ppg in their 14 wins and only 60 points in their 4 losses.  Both teams have a questionable loss on their schedule: Mid lost at home to Maine-Fort Kent, while the Owls lost on the road to Boston.  No shame in their other 6 combined losses as even in a down year losses at Bates & @ Tufts aren't bad and @ Williams is a tough place to play while the other 3 Owls losses are to eastern & Plattsburgh (no shame there), as well as @ RIC (no shame there either).  Speaking of Plattsburgh: the Cardinals beat the Owls in Keene in Spaulding gymnasium and lost to the Panthers in Plattsburgh.  I have a feeling first to 75 wins, much like RIC/Amherst I don't trust an LEC team to win a game of this caliber, and IF this game comes down to needing a stop I am much more confident in the Panthers getting a defensive stop than the Owls who for the last 5 years have played virtually no defense whatsoever.  Oddsmakers have made the Owls a 1 point road favorite in this game.  Last time the Owls played @ Middlebury (2013) they lost by 28 points.  It's probably going to be much closer, but the Panthers still get the win 85-81.

Tufts @ Dartmouth.
Both teams started slow out of the gates before picking up steam once the calendar flipped to 2015.  The Corsairs started the season 5-6, but have won 6 of their last 8, all in 2015 to improve their record to 11-8.  The Jumbos meanwhile were 2-6 heading into their December 9 matchup @ Plymouth, won that game and have won 7 of 10 to improve to .500.  A potential big loss for the Jumbos is their big center Hunter Sabety who did not appear in either game for the Jumbos this weekend vs. Conn College & Wesleyan (a 1-1 split).  Wale Abraham from the Corsairs is a double-double machine this year, if Sabety is out do the Jumbos have any other bigs to match Abraham down low and make him a non factor??  Corsairs need Abraham to do work down low and get the outside game working with Jake Laga, & John Genkos firing from deep.  In the win over Western on Saturday, Abraham finished with 24 points & 19 rebounds and the Corsairs finished 8-14 from 3 (6-11 combined for Laga & Genkos).  Jumbos need to get Abraham out of the game and pressure the Corsairs.  When the Corsairs went up 20 on Western in the second half and Western started to press they didn't handle it very well, and it was one of the worst closeouts in a 20 point game I have ever seen.  Oddsmakers have made the Jumbos a 2 point road favorite, but after seeing Dartmouth in person Saturday I really like what they are doing, I think they pull out the win, 84-76

[amh63]

Really enjoyed the crisp movement of the ball in the UVA win in the Dean Dome.  The HOOs play TEAM ball on both sides...with unheralded players out of HS...compared to the
Prep All-Americans attracted to the likes of conf rivals Duke and UNC.  Speaks volumes for the HBC.  His team's remind me of Mid West Teams of Wisconsin and Indiana...of prior years.  In that respect,  Trinity's coach ability to mold a team of less herald players to top of the conf....should be respected.  Still, the regular season is not over and the post season awaits.
I am aware that I'm sounding like a party spoiler 
Good luck to all conference teams tonight.

[NEhoops]

Other non LEC matchups: Conn hosts Mitchell (7-9) and Bates hosts UMaine Farmington (4-14).

Best Team: Not sure what this means, won't we figure this out in a few weeks?

Best Coach: Based on this year it would have to be Cosgrove or Furbush, no one thought they would have their teams one and two in the conference at this point in the season.

Best Player: I defer to whoever watched the Wohl/Sinnickson matchup, Hudnut is the most valuable player to his teams success. 

Best Point Guard: nescac1, I respect you as much as anyone on this board, but we'll have to agree to disagree. I'd take Safford hand down.

Best Low-Post Scorer: Although Sinnickson and Sabety are effective down low, Hudnut is the most skilled and thus the best low post scorer.

Best Shooter:  At this point in the season, I'd take Rafferty from Wesleyan or Rooke-Ley. 

[P'bearfan]

Best Coach:  James Cosgrove (the above can be tough to achieve with today's kids) [depends -- is he the best coach in the league?  I don't think so, that has to be Hixon, followed by Brown.  Is he the coach of year based on performance-to-date?  Yes]

No love for HBC Gilbride???  Coming into the season Bowdoin didn't have a ton of depth; 2 starters are gone due to injury and somehow the P'bears lost to the conference leader by just 1 point in OT - and they lead Trinity most of the game.  I would argue he's is getting more out of his team than any other coach in the NESCAC.

[MENESCACFAN]

Is "no love" going to be the term about everyone not named?  To type every good player and coach would be a pretty exhaustive list 

[nescac1]

I'll withhold judgment on Safford v. Lin (which admittedly I'm basing primarily on stats) until I see Safford vs. the Ephs on Friday ....

Good point on Gilbride: given the guys he lost to graduation and then to injury, five critical players in total, and just how thin the roster was to begin with, his results to date have been incredible.  I do think he's gotten the most out of the talent on hand, and actually, he always does an impressive job preparing his teams on both ends.  Bowdoin always seems to bring in very small recruiting classes, usually 2-3 guys it seems like, which leaves little margin for error -- give him the rosters that some other schools have, and I think he would receive a lot more acclaim for his coaching accumen.  The D he used vs. Williams really flummoxed the Ephs, certainly. 

Rafferty as best shooter?  I'd say he's not even the best shooter on his own team (that would be Mackey).  I don't see how anyone besides Rooke-Ley or Green is even in the conversation.  Hayden all season, and Green since his hand injury healed, have been lights out from three, despite being high-volume shooters typically shooting difficult, contested attempts. 

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin @ Plymouth.
Plymouth is coming off an upset win over nationally ranked Eastern, snapping the Warriors 27 game conference winning streak which dated back to January 26, 2013.  The Polar Bears are 4-3 in the NESCAC after getting swept through Trinity & Amherst over the weekend, and looking at the NESCAC board this is a team that has some injury issues and is not a very deep team at all.    In their overtime loss to Trinity, coach Gilbride only went with a rotation 8 deep, and 4 of 5 starters played 37 or more minutes.  The oddsmakers have the Polar Bears favored by 8.5.  Plymouth is tough to beat at home, have some momentum after getting the win over the Warriors, and Bowdoin is sliding, I think the Panthers get the win.  Plymouth 65-59

Bowdoin defeats Plymouth State 79-66.

At halftime I thought 7express' pre-game assessment was going to come true as Bowdoin trailed by 15 points.  The P'bears simply didn't look sharp at all.  It didn't help that PSU was red hot shooting ~64% from the floor including more than 50% from behind the arc.

Bowdoin was a completely different team on both ends of the court in the second half.  The P'bears came alive on offense and were much more effective on defense.  A 28 point swing in one half is just the type of win that Bowdoin needed.

Congrats to the players and HBC Gilbride and his staff.

[P'bearfan]

Good point on Gilbride: given the guys he lost to graduation and then to injury, five critical players in total, and just how thin the roster was to begin with, his results to date have been incredible.  I do think he's gotten the most out of the talent on hand, and actually, he always does an impressive job preparing his teams on both ends.  Bowdoin always seems to bring in very small recruiting classes, usually 2-3 guys it seems like, which leaves little margin for error -- give him the rosters that some other schools have, and I think he would receive a lot more acclaim for his coaching accumen.  The D he used vs. Williams really flummoxed the Ephs, certainly. 

nescac1 - Exactly!!  +k to you

[amh63]

Nescac Teams sweep the LEC teams tonight.  Seems Bowdoin came back from large halftime deficit to win big!   Go CAC!
Oh yes, Conn loses by to to Mitchell in a delayed broadcast.
My report on Amherst on Wed....a predicted win with scoring spread around.  Trouble by the very uneven referee calls, in particular in the last 4 minutes with Amherst a double digit lead.  Fragrant foul called on RIC....George the person fouled....not the same afterward and played very little afterwards.  Hope nothing serious.   Berman, Conklin and Racy comes through.  Ben Pollack playing more minutes!