MBB: NESCAC

[Gregory Sager]

Hate to go simple here, but when you play teams from the midwest, you really have to shoot the ball well.  CCIW teams aren't overly athletic but it seems that every guy on every team can shoot the 3 ball.

There are some CCIW teams that are very athletic (North Park in particular, but North Central and Carthage as well), but, yeah, for the most part Augustana's more of a wear-you-down-with-size-and-depth kind of outfit -- although Chrishawn Orange is obviously a serious athlete as well as a skilled basketball player. Augie was the best shooting team in the league this season at .485 coming into today's game, but the Rock Islanders were definitely middle of the pack in terms of shooting from downtown (fifth of nine at .366). It's all about when you get hot, though, and Augie's gotten hot at the right time.

The other big stat from this game was rebounding; Augie had half again as many boards as the Ephs, 36-24. It seemed like every miss by Williams resulted in a one-and-done, and that kept the Ephs from getting over the top in a second half that mostly consisted of very narrow Augustana leads. It wasn't until Brett Benning hit that big trey from the corner with two and a half minutes left that Augie really opened up any daylight, but the fact that the Grey Men even had that lead in the first place was as much about getting to all of those long rebounds out on the floor off of Williams misses as it did with their fine shooting from the field. It seemed like the Ephs kept hanging around because of their tremendous FT shooting; 21-24 for .875 is a fine day's work from the stripe.

I agree with middhoops in that I think that Babson's the clear favorite tomorrow, and with Mr. Ypsi that Augustana and Williams will definitely be set up for the next couple of seasons, as each program only loses one key senior apiece.

[ronk]

          Learned from Dave McHugh during the videostream that Williams' coach App graduated the same local school(Good Counsel,MD) that my son did. I don't remember App as a player but it looks like he was good enough to play at Cornell for 4 years.

[Cards Fan]

The Delpeches are seniors, correct?

[jumpshot]

Congratulations to the Ephs on their long and challenging journey to the Final Four! Unless you've been there as a player or coach, it is hard to appreciate how difficult it is. Lots of work, many ups and downs.

This year's team showed tremendous growth and determination with many fine wins against excellent teams, lots of key victories on the road, as well an outstanding NCAA Tournament weekend in Williamstown.

Good luck to the seniors. Special young men. To everyone else, next season's success depends in large part your level of effort and dedication in the off-season....

[ContinentalDomer]

Correct

The Delpeches are seniors, correct?

[ContinentalDomer]

Seconded ... well said

Congratulations to the Ephs on their long and challenging journey to the Final Four! Unless you've been there as a player or coach, it is hard to appreciate how difficult it is. Lots of work, many ups and downs.

This year's team showed tremendous growth and determination with many fine wins against excellent teams, lots of key victories on the road, as well an outstanding NCAA Tournament weekend in Williamstown.

Good luck to the seniors. Special young men. To everyone else, next season's success depends in large part your level of effort and dedication in the off-season....

[JEFFFAN]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/colleges/2017/03/18/babson-wins-div-national-title-men-basketball/1gqbW7V9C9WJXeRWcQrb1K/story.html

[P'bearfan]

Congrats to Williams on making the Final Four!  That team really came together and peaked when it counted.

[amh63]

Been busy elsewhere...on another Nescac board. 
Congrats to Babson for its Title...another local NE team. 
Congrats to Williams for its Final 4 run...again! . You represented the conference well.
I believe that the Nescac will have a number of teams go deep into the post season again next season.

[30 for 30]

The "dark"/sad view to the Hart story, from my viewpoint, is why a player after two years of play with conference recognition ...would make a move up a level or two.  To get offers, bites from Div 1 schools, one has to make it known that one wants to transfer...like a video of your highlights cited on this board earlier.  Unhappy with Hamilton?...Money matters to attend college in general?  Sad situation, IMO.  It is not based on any thoughts to go professional, considering his abilities presently.

The final chapter has been written on Matt Hart's transfer to George Washington University. It was neither a dark or sad story. Hart was in the George Washington rotation from the first game of his red shirt junior season, playing on scholarship his two eligible seasons. He played in all 73 games over 2 seasons, making 8 starts. GW won 48 of those games. Matt was team Co Captain his senior season. Hart played and scored in two Atlantic 10 Tournaments, The College Hall of Fame Tournament in Kansas City, scoring 17 points vs UGA, The College Basketball Invitational Tournament and The National Invitational Tournament. GW won the 2016 NIT with its' school record setting 28th victory. Matt contributed 5 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in the championship game, playing on the world's biggest basketball stage at Madison Square Garden. To commemorate the victory Matt has an NIT championship ring, an NIT watch and many ESPN highlights. Matt played 822 minutes over two seasons scoring 290 points. He also had 87 rebounds, 43 assists and 20 steals. Matt scored 55 three-point goals over two seasons shooting 42.3% on 130 attempts. Matt had a two-season EFG of 54% and TS of 57%. All of those shooting statistics were higher in A10 conference play. He led the team both seasons in free throw percentage, converting 88%. Matt scored his 1000th career point his junior season at Duquesne. Finally, in an added bonus, GW made a 10-day trip to Japan in August 2016 playing a four game tour of the country. Three of the four games were played against the Japanese national team. In a pre cursor of Matt's ability to compete professionally overseas he scored 40 points during the trip.

[WPI89]

Well said 30 for 30 +1

And thanks for the update - I had lost track off his progress.

[P'bearfan]

Michigan lost to Oregon tonight but it was great to see Duncan Robinson on the floor at the end of the game.  I was hoping he might get the last shot. Tremendous season for UM and great to see Robinson play an important role.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Michigan lost to Oregon tonight but it was great to see Duncan Robinson on the floor t the end of the game.  I was hoping he might get the last shot. Tremendous season for UM and great to see Robinson play an important role.

He had 8 points.  3-8 overall, and 2-5 from deep.  Not great, but decent.  No one ever worried about his shooting ability, and while he is still somewhat deficient at defending D1 players (which is why he isn't starting), he has vastly improved over the last few years.  And he and the Michigan strength coach have him looking totally different from the 'wispy' guy I saw at Salem in 2014.

Off-season discussion question: Duncan would have been a senior at Williams this year if he had not transferred.  Would Joey Flannery have won the national POY if he was up against DR?  (I'd say, D1 DR, no way, but presumably the Michigan strength coach is better than the Williams strength coach (if Williams even has such a specialized position), but D3 DR vs Flannery you guys are much better positioned than me to speculate.

[nescac1]

Article on Amherst recruit:

http://sportstown.post-gazette.com/avonworth/65027-durable-day-commits-to-amherst-college

[P'bearfan]

Michigan lost to Oregon tonight but it was great to see Duncan Robinson on the floor t the end of the game.  I was hoping he might get the last shot. Tremendous season for UM and great to see Robinson play an important role.

He had 8 points.  3-8 overall, and 2-5 from deep.  Not great, but decent.  No one ever worried about his shooting ability, and while he is still somewhat deficient at defending D1 players (which is why he isn't starting), he has vastly improved over the last few years.  And he and the Michigan strength coach have him looking totally different from the 'wispy' guy I saw at Salem in 2014.

Off-season discussion question: Duncan would have been a senior at Williams this year if he had not transferred.  Would Joey Flannery have won the national POY if he was up against DR?  (I'd say, D1 DR, no way, but presumably the Michigan strength coach is better than the Williams strength coach (if Williams even has such a specialized position), but D3 DR vs Flannery you guys are much better positioned than me to speculate.

Interesting thought experiment.  However, had DR stayed at Williams you have to remember that he would be a match-up nightmare for most teams.  There aren't too many D3 players even in the NESCAC who can effectively defend a 6'-8" shooting guard who will:  a) murder you if you leave him open outside the arc; b) simply shoot over you if you guard him tight; or c) drive to the basket and create his own shot b/c he has the ball handling and athleticism.  Even if he didn't have the body to post up down low, he would have been terribly hard to stop. 

IMHO one of the reasons Connor Green was so effective is that he was a tough match-up for D3 guards.  He was A 6'-4" shooting guard with a deadly outside shot and enough athleticism and bulk to over-power most of the guards who defended him.