MBB: NESCAC

[middhoops]

Middlebury is poised to pick up a recently rare road win at Wesleyan.  All three first year players (McCord, Baines and Dahleh) contributed to a hard fought win.  Good start to the NESCAC season for the Panthers.

[AmherstStudent05]

Great win for Amherst as they prevail over Williams 78-66!  My numbers could be wrong but I believe that this is our 8th straight win over Williams at home (I don't think Williams has won at LeFrak since 2010).  God bless you, Coach Hixon!

I think nescac1's halftime analysis captured the full game nicely.  In many respects it was a very sloppy game.  Amherst committed 20 fouls but generally took very good care of the ball whereas Williams had 13 turnovers.  The key to the game was that Amherst has regained its 3-point touch, going 12-28 from distance.  As has been the story this whole season, Amherst got very balanced scoring with 4 guys in double figures.  As nescac1 said, this was a classic game from Connor Green -- several spectacular plays with a few ugly ones sprinkled in as well.  Luckily, on balance, he had another very nice night for us and just has a knack for making high impact plays.  Conklin was his efficient self in the post and Racy, as usual, made Williams pay when they left him unchecked in transition (which the Ephs tightened up in the second half).  As nescac1 predicted, Conklin really helped us break down Williams' half court D.  Our defense was marked by fouls, blocked shots (9!, including 4 by George), and some sloppy Williams passing.

For Williams, Flynn was absolutely outstanding.  If this wasn't his best game in an Eph uniform I would like to know what was.  A key moment in the game took place when Flynn picked up his 4th foul midway thru the second half.  Williams was down 9 at the time and while Flynn only missed a few minutes, they really needed him on the court.

Coming into the game I thought Williams needed a big night from their star player (Aronowitz) to pull off the upset, and that just didn't happen.  Even with Flynn's solid effort, I don't think Williams has enough experience/horses at this stage to beat good competition without a strong result from Aronowitz.

I am biased, of course, but I think it is ordinarily safe to say that whenever Williams and Amherst meet it will be the top story in the NESCAC, but not tonight.  What a result by Tufts over Bowdoin!  And then what about Midd over Wesleyan?!! Not just the fact of the win (which, alone was important as the Panthers desperately needed to start conference play on the right foot), but the fact that the freshmen class played such a seemingly prominent role in securing the result.

It is looking like another great year of NESCAC hoops.

[ECSUalum]

amh63
Nice win over Williams tonight!  Were all the students back...maybe a little early I guess.  Did not see the game but looked like a relatively comfortable win!

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin loses to Tufts 69 - 102.

Not much to say about this one.  Tufts is a very good team that shot exceptionally well (52% from the floor and 50% from long range).  Bowdoin played very poorly in the first half.   Bowdoin only shot 25% from the floor; 10% from behind the arc and 50% from the foul line to start the game.  In contrast Tufts almost couldn't miss in the first half going 61.7% from the floor, 57% from long range and 100% from the line. 

What was most concerning in the first half was Bowdoin's defense - it was simply porous as the Jumbos drove the lane at will or shot un-contested threes.

Bowdoin looked better in the second half as they essentially played even with Tufts until the benches came in with 5 minutes left in the game.   Unfortunately when you dig yourself into a 38 point hole by half time there isn't much you can do.

Hopefully the Polar Bears can rebound tomorrow and play much better at Bates.

GoUBears!!

[jumpshot]

The differences at the moment between the moose and the Ephs tonight are quite clear ----

1. The moose has talented players with strength and bulk highly skilled in shooting from long-range, also able to get into the lane and to the rim, plus some inside offensive game, also with the ability to protect the basket and rebound well. The moose's physical play on defense also disrupts opponents, especially on the perimeter, and tonight their fouling didn't hurt them much. amHerst should go far this year, especially if the chemistry among the talent is unselfish and willing to obey the coach.

2. The Ephs this year are obviously younger, not as large, and rely much more on a system dependent on skillful passing, cutting, three-pointers, lots of assists, good foul shooting, and few turnovers. Defense has to be well-executed as a team since there may not be as many  exceptional individual defenders. The Ephs during Coach Maker's six years had all these ingredients, lots of finese, and most nights simply outscored opponents by shooting the lights out.

The Ephs showed me tonight that the transition/rebuilding is about on track, and, if some players with bulk are added that fit into the system, the Ephs will be fully competitive in a year or two. (Of course, all players have to be capable academically and young men with character!)

At the moment, the moose's formula aligns with the changing nature of  basketball generally and top-notch D3 play, and is a junior version of what it takes to be successful at the D1 and professional levels.

[Old Guy]

Middlebury is poised to pick up a recently rare road win at Wesleyan.  All three first year players (McCord, Baines and Dahleh) contributed to a hard fought win.  Good start to the NESCAC season for the Panthers.

"Good start"? you on tranquilizers, Midd Hoops?

Who had this outcome? On the road? Wes with 11 wins in a row coming in, Midd barely over .500, a question mark at best.

Wes was ahead by a bucket with three and a half minutes to go. The Panthers just played great, both ends. Ended the game with a 16-5 run, missing just one free throw and one floor attempt, 11/12 from the line in the last three minutes. St Amour with two big hoops down the stretch, 3-4 from the line (Midd was 22-25 for the game, 88%, way over their average). Hilal Dahleh had 16 points (6-9 fg, 6-6 ft, 2-3 from three), 4-4 from the line in crunch time (ice water). Jake Brown - terrific (14 pts, 7 assists, 6 boards, 2 turnovers).

Coming out party for the frosh? All played 22 minutes. McCord had 14 pts (6-9) and worked hard against the Wes veteran front court (Kuo, Epps). 

Wow.

Watched the end of the CC- Hamilton game, a tight win for the Camels at home; caught some of the Bates-Colby game too, a very nice win for the Bobcats, How to explain Bowdoin-Tufts? Some nights are just like that (cf Midd's 37 point win against ultimate conference champs Wesleyan last year).

Interesting first night, to say the least.

[Vandy74]

Middlebury is poised to pick up a recently rare road win at Wesleyan.  All three first year players (McCord, Baines and Dahleh) contributed to a hard fought win.  Good start to the NESCAC season for the Panthers.

"Good start"? you on tranquilizers, Midd Hoops?

Who had this outcome? On the road? Wes with 11 wins in a row coming in, Midd barely over .500, a question mark at best.

Wes was ahead by a bucket with three and a half minutes to go. The Panthers just played great, both ends. Ended the game with a 16-5 run, missing just one free throw and one floor attempt, 11/12 from the line in the last three minutes. St Amour with two big hoops down the stretch, 3-4 from the line (Midd was 22-25 for the game, 88%, way over their average). Hilal Dahleh had 16 points (6-9 fg, 6-6 ft, 2-3 from three), 4-4 from the line in crunch time (ice water). Jake Brown - terrific (14 pts, 7 assists, 6 boards, 2 turnovers).

Coming out party for the frosh? All played 22 minutes. McCord had 14 pts (6-9) and worked hard against the Wes veteran front court (Kuo, Epps). 

Wow.

I'm not surprised Old Guy.  I think I've been saying all along that when the frosh had some game experience under their belts along with everyone staying healthy this team could play.  You've given due mention to St. Amour (add 5 steals), Brown, Dahleh and McCord so I'll just add Jack Daly's 12 points, 5 assists and 3 steals to the ledger.  Now consider that Matt Daley and Zach Baines were held to just 4 points apiece.  Game value doesn't always show up in the box score and Daley pulled down a team high 8 boards, 7 defensive, AND he stayed out of foul trouble.  In fact the whole team did.  They shot very well, 88%, from the FT line as you pointed out.  Their inability to do either has been a major factor in most of their losses this season. 

But let's point out exactly what Dahleh and McCord did.  The Panthers were down 14-2 just 4 and a half minutes into the game.  Dahleh scored 12 of his 16 points and McCord scored 8 of his 14, leading a comeback that tied the game at 30 each before a letdown in the final 90 seconds allowed Wesleyan to take a seven point lead into intermission.  In the second half the starters played like starters.  All of Brown's and Daly's 26 points came in the final 20 minutes as did 12 of St. Amour's 18.  Of their 30 1st half points Middlebury got 22 of them from the frosh off the bench.  In their 56 point 2nd half the starters contributed 44.   The 12 bench points include 8-8 from the line.  A lot of players stepped up as needed for Middlebury tonight and no, it didn't surprise me.

[pinseeking1]

Big win at home last night for Bates as they broke Colby's 10 game winning streak. For Bates, Josh Britten shot 6 for 11 in threes for a career high 18 points and Shawn Strickland went 4 for 5 from three point range, including a huge contested three with seconds left to make it a two possession game. Overall, the Bobcats shot 45% on three pointers, which is well above their norm. 

Mike Newton came off the bench to provide some needed scoring inside, but the strong outside shooting made up for a lack of inside firepower tonight. However, while the inside scoring wasn't there last night, the Bobcat rebounding was strong as usual, with Bates maintaining a 6 rebound edge.

Today, the Bobcats get Bowdoin, who are no doubt out for blood after last night's punishment administered by Tufts...

[P'bearfan]

Today, the Bobcats get Bowdoin, who are no doubt out for blood after last night's punishment administered by Tufts...

I hope you're right!

GoUBears!!

[amh63]

Thanks posters for the observations/views of the games around the conference.  Me, I was too close to my large flat screen, trying to pretend I was in the crowd sitting on the bench seats.  Boy, I miss live CAC games; especially Williams vs Amherst ones when students are there and yelling across from each other AND at each other with clever insults.  Ah, youth.
ECSUalum....no the student body is not back!  Many of the student fans were at other events.  The WBB team was up playing at Williams....wish for the past years when both men and women teams played at one location.  Midd and Amherst were battling in the hockey rink on campus...men's team, while the women's team was away.  Still there were a number of students around.
One plus watching online is the pleasure of a good announcer that has some opinions and running analyses...good ones.  For example, that Conklin seemed to be perfect...until he missed a foul shot...that Amherst had few TOs vice Williams high numbers....the running numbers of Amherst 3-point shots made, etc.  Oh Yes, the announcer is a new one...the other professional one was at his normal hockey game position.  He did point out that the father of EPH freshman Galvin was in the house.
I did see several Amherst parents and Alex Levine'15 in the crowd...when they wandered past the camera lens.  Saw a number of tall young men.....wondered if they were future recruits and/or prospects.  It is not uncommon to see in this arch rival game groups of HS players from nearby schools like Deerfield in attendance.
I thought that Midd would have a chance against Wes, even when the Cardinals were playing at home.
Wesleyan had to go into OT to win at RIC...a young team with a 1-11 record.  Never thought the FY players would play such a prominent role....basically because , I have NOT seen them play.  I believe that St Amour will have a year like Hausman did last year.
No comment here wrt to the Tufts win.  More head scratching when one looks at the stats....especially the minutes played by the players.
Last comment for now......Thought Amherst's coaches did a nice rotation of its 9 "starters"....keep them fresh and out of foul problems.  Do wish that Amherst's FY players could have gotten some meaningful time.  Amherst's big FY center looked impressive flushing down one handed dunks with ease during second half warm ups...hardly rising off the floor.

[Bucket]

A lot has been written about Middlebury's 10-point road win at Wesleyan, so I have only a few things to add that I hope are not redundant. The 10-point margin is misleading, as the contest was far closer, with Midd going on a 16-5 run over the game's final 3:30 to win by a comfortable 10 points.

The only thing that wasn't misleading about the run is that the entire first half was a series of runs. Wes jumps out to a 14-2 lead. Midd closes to within 2. Wes goes back up by 12. Midd evens it at 30. Wes closes the half by scoring the final 7 points.

The second half, however, was back and forth. Midd taking its first lead at around the 11:00 mark, and then the teams trading leads until Midd took the lead for good with around 3:00 left.

As Vandy astutely points out, the freshman kept the Panthers in the contest in the first half. Their stellar play continued at points in the second stanza, though Brown, Daly, and St Amour definitely carried the scoring load in the game's final 20:00.

Love the balanced scoring—5 players in double figures. St. Amour (18), Dahleh (16), Brown and McCord (14 each), and Daly (12). Brown a particularly impressive all-around game: 14 pts, 7 assists, 6 boards, and only 2 turnovers, while being the Panthers' primary ballhandler for 3/4 of the game.  Matt St. Amour: 5 steals to go with his 18 pts and 7 boards.

But the story of the game was the freshmen, if you ask me. Welcome to the NESCAC fellas.

For the Cards: Joe Edmonds was very impressive, very smooth, contributing 17 points (on 6-10 shooting) off the bench. BJ Davis (18 pts) was a stud, but he struggled from long range (2-7). Joseph Kuo was a monster on the boards (12 rebounds) but he couldn't find the bucket (2-13). There was one sequence where he shot, rebounded, shot, rebounded, shot, rebounded, shot, and finally the Panthers pulled down the ball.

It will be very interesting to see how teams play today. Middlebury was the only road team to win yesterday. What does today hold?

[AmherstStudent05]

Tufts seems to be in the midst of a rather fine weekend. 

[middhoops]

Piling on, here.
Tufts looks so confident on offense that no shot appears forced or inadvisable. 
Hudnut's early foul trouble isn't helping Colby but given the potency of the Tuft's attack; it may not be a serious factor.
These guys are on fire!

[OldCardinal]

Been watching Tufts this weekend.  They really move the ball well and find the open man and, at least this weekend, they seem to have a number of very able three point shooters.  Everyone already knows that Palleschi is outstanding but I have been extremely impressed with Pace.  He can score inside and out and also passes really well.  It will be interesting to see if Colby can pull back into the game in the second half.

[Old Guy]

Wow, again. Midd awful so far in the first half - turnovers, porous defense, missed foul shots. Middhoops' circumspection last night well-placed. CC with 44 points with 3 minutes left in the first half