MBB: NESCAC

[P'bearfan]

Not sure why, but Southern Vermont gets more space on this board than just about any other non-NESCAC team.  Just an observation - I don't have a view on them one way or another.  However we seem to get our collective knickers in a twist over them every year.

[Bucket]

Speaking of SVT, I don't think it's fair to imply that Williams is somehow "dodging" them just because they didn't play them this year.  While they may no longer schedule them in the very first game of the season (probably a smart move) I'm sure they will appear on the Williams schedule again in the near future.  Other than NESCAC teams, I don't think there is any team that Williams plays every single season, although they do typically play at least several of their near-neighbors like SVT, MCLA, RPI and Springfield most years. 

Yeah, I was just having some fun with jumpshot's line about how the Ephs will play "anyone, anywhere, anytime."

All in good fun. As you know, i have the utmost respect for Kevin and the Williams program.

[nescac1]

P'bearfan, I think I was partially responsible as I sung their praises (as it turned out a bit prematurely and in too-overboard of a fashion, but also not ENTIRELY inaccurately) when they rebounded from several TERRIBLE years to stun a loaded Williams team two years ago.  As it turned out, that was an aberrantly bad performance for what I think ended up as the most talented (not the best, the most talented -- I'll take my chances with Mayer, Robinson, Epley, Wohl, and Rooke-Ley at their best vs. any five guys who ever played together on any NESCAC squad, at their best, though) team we've ever seen in NESCAC. 

SVT is also unusual for D3, and certainly for New England, in terms of their recruiting approach and the types of players they attract.  Similar to Albertus Magnus (although not quite as talented) and the good Cabrini teams (and Rowan, back in the day), teams like SVT tend to attract a lot of attention, generally, as outliers to the more typical D3 approach.   

Fair enough, Bucket!

[AmherstStudent05]

As it turned out, that was an aberrantly bad performance for what I think ended up as the most talented (not the best, the most talented -- I'll take my chances with Mayer, Robinson, Epley, Wohl, and Rooke-Ley at their best vs. any five guys who ever played together on any NESCAC squad, at their best, though) team we've ever seen in NESCAC. 

Nescac1, I am sure it will not surprise you that I am not sure I agree with your statement above.  Of course, that Williams team lost 3 out of 4 games (each one by double digits no less) to an Amherst team that, once Ben Pollack got hurt, essentially went only 5 deep.  Again, you guys laughed last and laughed hardest that year -- no doubt about that and I have no interest in reliving that -- but I do think that over a fairly reasonable sample size our 5 that year (Toomey, Killian, Green, Kalema, and George) managed to do pretty well against the 5 you have listed.

Obviously, a lot here hinges on what you mean by "at their best."  If you mean, at their best in any stage of their lives, then you may well have a very strong argument after all as DR alone could end up tipping the scales on that one (not to mention how Wohl and HRL improved over the following year).  If, on the other hand "at their best" means as best as they played in the season in question, then I am not so sure.  Again, I think Toomey, Killian, Green, Kalema and George played alright as a quartet in 2014.  And, of course, I think the 13 lineup of Toomey, Workman, Kaasila, Williamson and Killian could be pretty tough to beat.  A national player of the year, another all-American, a third all-nescac guy and a fourth guy who was MOP of the NCAA Tournament is an awful lot of talent in one place.

I am sure there could be other schools I am missing. But it is fun to think about. 

[jumpshot]

Big news ----the amherst board will consider retention or dismissal of the lord jeff mascot at their meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2016. The moose could be on the loose ....

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin will host Bridgewater State tonight at 7 pm in their last game before conference play begins.

BSU has been struggling so far this year and their record stands at 3-7.  Since I don't follow them closely it's hard for me to pin down what their challenge has been.  A few things jump out from their stat sheet:

-They allow almost 80 ppg

-They have been out rebounded 38.3 - 42 per game which is surprising as they seem to have good size on their roster

-They shoot 35% from behind the arc but only take 16 3PT attempts per game (vs 22 per game for Bowdoin)

Looking forward to watching the game tonight.

GoUBears!!

[Academic Cyclist]

Colby is getting some votes in the Top 25 poll after their big time win vs. Mount Union on a neutral floor. HUGE weekend coming up for the Mules as they play @ Bates on Friday night and then @ Tufts on Saturday. Both games should be really competitive. A 2-0 start in NESCAC play would set a great tone for the remainder of the season...

[amh63]

Some interesting posts!
Academic Cyclist.....welcome to the board.  Interesting handle...never would guess you are a Colby fan .  Glad you are excited about the polls.  Put it in perspective, SVT...sorry P'BearFan ...got more points...8....than Williams this time around. Makes the Midd win even more impressive and will alert the CAC coaches, IMO.  Plattsburgh's solid win over a strong Trinity team last night illustrates the home and away factor on teams....as well as matchups, etc.
I watched the Warriors and Batams game last night.  Plattsburgh young team beat a veteran and deep Trinity team with three key starters returning......without its best player dressed.  Details of the game by poster Magicman on the SUNY board.
Trinity faded in the last few minutes due to a press by Plattsburgh.  Having said that,Trinity is  a legit contender for the title.
Something on Amherst BB.  Tonight Amherst plays a tough ECSU that was a favorite in the pre season for their conference.  The Warriors had a slew of injuries of late and the status of impact players is unknown.  What is known is that the Warriors' front court can become HUGH with a legit 7 footer and a 6'10"plus player as well as the top rebounder and shot blocker in the Little East.
Pluses for Amherst is the game is in Le Frak and Amherst's 6'8" player from NC..Nabatoff...is back from injury and in the 9 player starting rotation.  Hope the players are ready to play some defense tonight.
FYI...Tufts Is back in the top 25 and and both Wes and Trinity got points in the polls.

After tonight, I expect the critical conference games will give me more white hair and prove challenging.

[7express]

NESCAC teams will slaughter the LEC teams tonight.  Wes will smoke RIC, Tufts will smoke Boston, Eastern may hang with Amherst for a while, but Amherst should win by double digits.

[booyakasha]

I'm thrilled for the upcoming weekend. In the Bates/Tufts vs Colby/Bowdoin tilts, nothing would surprise me, though I think the safest bet might be Bates over Bowdoin on Saturday. Second day on the road is always tough, and I think Bates' athleticism really presents a problem for Bowdoin. Here is hoping that Colby comes out 2-0, though a tall order against a pair of solid (and peaking) teams on the road.

[booyakasha]

Bowdoin will host Bridgewater State tonight at 7 pm in their last game before conference play begins.

BSU has been struggling so far this year and their record stands at 3-7.  Since I don't follow them closely it's hard for me to pin down what their challenge has been.  A few things jump out from their stat sheet:

-They allow almost 80 ppg

-They have been out rebounded 38.3 - 42 per game which is surprising as they seem to have good size on their roster

-They shoot 35% from behind the arc but only take 16 3PT attempts per game (vs 22 per game for Bowdoin)

Looking forward to watching the game tonight.

GoUBears!!

Hey PBearfan. The BW State game is at 730 not 700 I think (according to Nescac.com and Bowdoin athletics). Just fyi

[P'bearfan]

Hey PBearfan. The BW State game is at 730 not 700 I think (according to Nescac.com and Bowdoin athletics). Just fyi

Thanks, you're right.

[nescac24]

As it turned out, that was an aberrantly bad performance for what I think ended up as the most talented (not the best, the most talented -- I'll take my chances with Mayer, Robinson, Epley, Wohl, and Rooke-Ley at their best vs. any five guys who ever played together on any NESCAC squad, at their best, though) team we've ever seen in NESCAC. 

Nescac1, I am sure it will not surprise you that I am not sure I agree with your statement above.  Of course, that Williams team lost 3 out of 4 games (each one by double digits no less) to an Amherst team that, once Ben Pollack got hurt, essentially went only 5 deep.  Again, you guys laughed last and laughed hardest that year -- no doubt about that and I have no interest in reliving that -- but I do think that over a fairly reasonable sample size our 5 that year (Toomey, Killian, Green, Kalema, and George) managed to do pretty well against the 5 you have listed.

Obviously, a lot here hinges on what you mean by "at their best."  If you mean, at their best in any stage of their lives, then you may well have a very strong argument after all as DR alone could end up tipping the scales on that one (not to mention how Wohl and HRL improved over the following year).  If, on the other hand "at their best" means as best as they played in the season in question, then I am not so sure.  Again, I think Toomey, Killian, Green, Kalema and George played alright as a quartet in 2014.  And, of course, I think the 13 lineup of Toomey, Workman, Kaasila, Williamson and Killian could be pretty tough to beat.  A national player of the year, another all-American, a third all-nescac guy and a fourth guy who was MOP of the NCAA Tournament is an awful lot of talent in one place.

I am sure there could be other schools I am missing. But it is fun to think about. 

AmherstStudent/Nescac1

As I recall that Williams 14 team, the challenging part in establishing its overall bona fides comes with the difference in that team between December and March. Duncan Robinson, while now a deserving NESCAC legend and high-level D1 contributor, was nowhere near a dominant player in the first half of the season or even well into January, whether because of deferring to older players or still improving on that late-bloomer arc that is now such a significant part of his story, going all the way back to Governor's Academy. Also, if memory serves, Michael Mayer had an ankle injury that sidelined him in December and kept him from top form until deep into January. Wohl, also, as a junior, was improving rapidly throughout the season. So, the Williams team that starched Amherst in Salem was very different from the team that lost three times -- decisively -- to Amherst during the season. This is what teams do. They get better, they get worse, they get tired. In Salem that year, Amherst looked like a tired team, for whatever reason. (And missing Pollack by then?? Can't remember when that happened. George was an inconsistent freshman). Williams certainly contributed to that appearance, but Amherst also contributed to its own demise that night. Guessing that in 14, Williams and Amherst never played each when both teams were ``at their best.''

[P'bearfan]

....though I think the safest bet might be Bates over Bowdoin on Saturday. Second day on the road is always tough, and I think Bates' athleticism really presents a problem for Bowdoin.

You make some very good points. Both Tufts and Bates will be tough match ups for Bowdoin.  Tufts, like Colby, will be tough to contain in the paint though they are not shooting the long ball particularly well (31%).   Bates will be challenging especially b/c of their athleticism.  However, I'm not sure how to handicap the travel issue since Bates is "only" 45 minutes away.  Bates isn't likely to have a big crowd on hand since the students will still be on break. 

More importantly I'm not sure I can figure out this year's Bates' team.  They have lost some real head-scratchers (e.g. USM & UNE where they gave up 100 points in each game).  Perhaps those were just early season games and Coach Furbush has the pieces working better this year.

[booyakasha]

....though I think the safest bet might be Bates over Bowdoin on Saturday. Second day on the road is always tough, and I think Bates' athleticism really presents a problem for Bowdoin.

You make some very good points. Both Tufts and Bates will be tough match ups for Bowdoin.  Tufts, like Colby, will be tough to contain in the paint though they are not shooting the long ball particularly well (31%).   Bates will be challenging especially b/c of their athleticism.  However, I'm not sure how to handicap the travel issue since Bates is "only" 45 minutes away.  Bates isn't likely to have a big crowd on hand since the students will still be on break. 

More importantly I'm not sure I can figure out this year's Bates' team.  They have lost some real head-scratchers (e.g. USM & UNE where they gave up 100 points in each game).  Perhaps those were just early season games and Coach Furbush has the pieces working better this year.

Yeah you are probably right. Bates/Bow/Colby games are always a toss up anyhow.

It is really a lame to schedule the CBB weekend when Bates is on winter break.