MBB: NESCAC

[ECSUalum]

amh63,
Best of luck in Salem and congrats to men and women Lord/Lady Jeffs on getting to final 4!!!

[amh63]

FYI....those going to Salem to see the Amherst game.  The Friday game has a start of 4:00PM.
This struck me as an EARLY start time.  I talked to my wife about the time.....yes, she has made the trip...once.  We both remember getting a bite to eat before the first game...6:PM start.  Last time down was in '14.   Second game start time is an hour earlier than I remember at 7:30Pm.
Make your trip plans accordingly...you hear!

[amh63]

ECSUalum....thanks for your thoughts!  Plus K.
You like your college Prez are a classy person .

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

FYI....those going to Salem to see the Amherst game.  The Friday game has a start of 4:00PM.
This struck me as an EARLY start time.  I talked to my wife about the time.....yes, she has made the trip...once.  We both remember getting a bite to eat before the first game...6:PM start.  Last time down was in '14.   Second game start time is an hour earlier than I remember at 7:30Pm.
Make your trip plans accordingly...you hear!

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/basketball-men/d3

Official NCAA site has 5:00 and 7:30 - this is what I heard as well.  Perhaps you saw the time the doors open?  Are you going to be there?

[amh63]

Hoops Fan....thanks for the update.  Saw the time on the Amherst website.
Yes...I made my room reservation for Fri and Sat.  Need to get a ticket yet.  Planning my arrival in Salem around 3pm via car.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Hoops Fan....thanks for the update.  Saw the time on the Amherst website.
Yes...I made my room reservation for Fri and Sat.  Need to get a ticket yet.  Planning my arrival in Salem around 3pm via car.

Cool.  See you there.  Maybe we'll even get a Walzy sighting for Salem?

[amh63]

Just checked the Amherst website...again.  The game time is 5:30 PM. As listed.
Must have my eyes checked...again

With respect to Walzy sighting....he does show up for these games in the past.  Hear he is in Florida these days.

The delayed launching of the New Amherst website is now posted for March 16!
A totally different approach to reach out to the world in this new age of social media and technology.
Afraid it is going to leave behind the older generations like me.  Yes a little sarcasm here.

[P'bearfan]

Michigan is in the tournament and will face Tulsa as the 11th seed.  That means Duncan Robinson may become the first player in history to play in (and presumably score in) a D3 and D1 national tournament game.  Pretty cool stuff.  Good luck to DR.

[lefrakenstein]

Anyone able to provide a scouting report on Benedictine? Obviously, at 30-0, they look to be a handful. When Connor Green and Co. are on, though, they can play with anybody.

The high-variance style of play has led to some frustrating losses the past couple of years, but if they're on their game next weekend, that would certainly more than make up for them.

[JEFFFAN]

Per the interviews being taped... this is Division III and sometimes there simply isn't any media present... so why even tape them in the first place? Nothing like answering questions to no one or to an SID for no reason.

Some more schools and hosts are starting to tape the post-game pressers, but it is a bit of a new thing. They have short shelf lives and again if there isn't any media at a game (I was one of several on Friday night at one place; and the only one at a site on Saturday night), they aren't going to drag coaches and players out to get in front of a camera for the heck of it.

It is a nice touch, but it is a little more laid back in Division III and thus not always something that can be done.

Per injuries... yes, Flannery is hurt and did not play on Saturday after spending the previous, nearly, 24 hours in a walking boot. He thought he would play... apparently others felt differently. Nothing against Babson, but if Flannery is not 100% I am not sure they can beat Amherst. I suspect Amherst will be a tougher match-up than Susquehanna and that will expose Babson without Flannery. If he is available and 100%, than I really don't know anyone on Amherst's squad who can stop him.

Dave - your comment about Flannery was spot on - it was only an injury that stopped Flannery from ripping Amherst up.

Will you post any scouting reports on the four teams?   We really do not know much about the other teams in the Final Four.

[bbfan44]

Anyone able to provide a scouting report on Benedictine? Obviously, at 30-0, they look to be a handful. When Connor Green and Co. are on, though, they can play with anybody.

The high-variance style of play has led to some frustrating losses the past couple of years, but if they're on the game next weekend, that would certainly more than make up for them.

Having a 1st night bye and playing 3 teams including D3 Hoops #10 and # 13, Benedictine outscored their opponents by an average of 18 points and out rebounded them by an average of 19 boards.  How's that for a scouting report.  They're pretty good.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

They're bigger, deeper, and more consistent than Amherst, but ultimately the two teams are pretty similar, so I think the winner will be the team that comes with the most intensity.  Also, I think this is one of Hixon's better coaching performances and I don't think his tactical abilities should be underestimated, especially with a week of film study.  It's much easier to sort of understand what Benedictine can and will do that is to figure out which variation of this Amherst squad will show up in Salem.  That sounds like a dig, but it could be an advantage for the Lord Jeffs.

[lefrakenstein]

Anyone able to provide a scouting report on Benedictine? Obviously, at 30-0, they look to be a handful. When Connor Green and Co. are on, though, they can play with anybody.

The high-variance style of play has led to some frustrating losses the past couple of years, but if they're on the game next weekend, that would certainly more than make up for them.

Having a 1st night bye and playing 3 teams including D3 Hoops #10 and # 13, Benedictine outscored their opponents by an average of 18 points and out rebounded them by an average of 19 boards.  How's that for a scouting report.  They're pretty good.

Haha, I gathered that from their record and the margin of their victories. Could you drop any knowledge on their style of play or their individual players?

[amh63]

I will take a shot.  The Saints from the Midwest have a Midwest heavy roster.  They seem to have perimeter outside scorers.  They won on Sat by shooting 70 percent from outside !
They have played few games outside of the region and may not be familiar with NE teams.
I will use the example of the J&W vs Tufts game to point out the playing style clash notion.  J&W plays a run and gun style that feature two high octane scorers.  They do not have an inside outside game so to speak.  Tufts' coach stated that he might have his team run with them....note without Pace.  Well Tufts defense and their inspired players ran with J& W and won.....check the score.  Tufts scored over 100 points.
The next day, Tufts met Amherst for the THIRD time.  The first time, Amherst lost at Tufts with Pace scoring well.  The second time, Amherst won at Trinity with Pace scoring 33 points.  The 3rd time it was back in Cousens Gym and Tufts playing well...Tank Smith, IMO, the star of the Win over
J&W was playing a key part. The game was a battle and it was tied at 73 all with just over 3 minutes to go.  Amherst had made several bad decisions that resulted in TOs.  Time out for Amherst.  Coming out, for whatever reason you can state, Amherst's players played focused and won going away...a 13-0 run.  The Tufts players on the floor played hard and well. 
Now with the over analyses by "pundits" wrt to the injuries of key players.  Tufts'  coach did not use that excuse in any of his interviews.  Neither did the Babson coach.  They know that injuries are part of he game whenever they occur. 
Now to the Babson team.  First, Babson is a very good team that went to the Final 4 last year and has a star in Flannery that scores 24 plus points per game  and rebounds well and has the ball in crunch time.
Well Babson lost  to 4 Nescac teams in close games, all OT games, I believe.  In the often noted double overtime win by Amherst over Babson at their place, Conner Green scored 39 points.  In the win over Babson in Medford, Green scored just 4 points and was not in the game when it ended.
Oh yes, Babson's star played in the first half and scored 12 points.  He returned midway in the 2nd half with Babson behind and scored 2 points.  I believe he was used as a decoy. A team that has a game plan built around a single player will be in trouble if the player is injured during the game...IMO.  On the other hand, I believe, Tufts let other players step up after their lost of Pace.  Remember, team depth is important.  Amherst has team depth and hopefully the players will improve on their foul shots.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I will take a shot.  The Saints from the Midwest have a Midwest heavy roster.  They seem to have perimeter outside scorers.  They won on Sat by shooting 70 percent from outside !
They have played few games outside of the region and may not be familiar with NE teams.
I will use the example of the J&W vs Tufts game to point out the playing style clash notion.  J&W plays a run and gun style that feature two high octane scorers.  They do not have an inside outside game so to speak.  Tufts' coach stated that he might have his team run with them....note without Pace.  Well Tufts defense and their inspired players ran with J& W and won.....check the score.  Tufts scored over 100 points.
The next day, Tufts met Amherst for the THIRD time.  The first time, Amherst lost at Tufts with Pace scoring well.  The second time, Amherst won at Trinity with Pace scoring 33 points.  The 3rd time it was back in Cousens Gym and Tufts playing well...Tank Smith, IMO, the star of the Win over
J&W. Was playing a key part. The game was a battle and it was a tied at 73 all with just over 3 minutes to go.  Amherst had made several bad decisions that resulted in TOs.  Time out for Amherst.  Coming out, for whatever reason you can state, Amherst' players played focused and won going away...a 13-0 run.  The Tufts players on the floor played hard and well. 
Now with this over analyses by "pundits" wrt to the injuries of key players.  Tufts coach did not use that excuse in any of his interviews.  Neither did the Babson coach.  They know that injuries are part of he game whenever they occur. 
Now to the Babson team.  First,Babson is a very good team that went to the Final 4 last year and has a star in Flannary that scores 24 plus points per game  and rebounds well and has the ball in crunch time.
Well Babson had lost  to 4 Nescac teams in close games, all OT games I believe.  In the often noted double overtime win by Amherst over Babson at their place, Conner Green scored 39 points.  In the win over Babson in Medford, Green scored just 4 points and was not in the game when it ended.
Oh yes, Babson's star played in the first half and scored 12 points.  He returned midway in the 2nd half with Babson behind and scored 2 points.  I believe he was used as a decoy. A team that has a game plan built around a single player will be in trouble if the player is injured during the game...IMO.  On the other hand, I believe, Tufts let other players step up after their lost of Pace.  Remember, team depth is important.  Amherst has team depth and hopefully the players will improve on their foul shots.

It's funny - I was going to use the Tufts/JWU game as an example as well.  I still think JWU had the better team, but Tufts just outhustled them and after about 15 minutes of getting out-hustled on offense and defense, JWU just sort of quit (except Garrick).  When the second half revealed that Tufts wasn't going to back down, they ran away to a big win.

I could see Amherst beating Benedictine, but they're not going to do it without a kind of intensity they haven't consistently showed this season.  That's the big question for me.