MBB: NESCAC

[D3HforLyfe]

I'm glad this topic was brought up again. My favorite idea is creating two divisions (similar to how NESCAC baseball does it), and you play a home and away with everyone in your division and alternate with the conference opponents out of division. For instance, the two divisions I think would look like this:

North:
Bates
Bowdoin
Colby
Middlebury
Hamilton

South:
Amherst
Conn College
Trinity 
Tufts
Wesleyan
Williams

The obvious problem is that with 11 teams, the south obviously has one more game. There are few different ways to fix that problem, my favorite being adding a 12th NESCAC team from the Boston area who becomes an easier travel partner for Tufts. Bump Hamilton down to the south, and then add Tufts and the new Boston member to the north. 6 in each... I think the positives are plentiful - (1) It gets us to a 15 game conference slate, with 9 OOCs (which I think is a good number); (2) It makes sense travel wise. Obviously NESCAC sports run on a tight budget. With divisions, most of the added games will be locationally convenient and will avoid expensive overnight trips. (3) It keeps in tact the Little 3 and BBC while eliminating the goofy rivalry games that aren't conference games.

Obviously many other factors to consider, particularly when adding a whole new school to the conference. With that said, at least at face value, I think this is a fun idea that could help the league. In terms of playoffs, you keep it how it is - 8 teams, ranked 1-8 without disruption from the divisions.

What do people think? About to dial in to Midd-Wes, enjoy the day!

[nescac1]

Very even first half in Williamstown, with the Ephs up by one.  Something you don't see very often in a Williams-Trinity match-up, a high scoring, offensive-oriented affair, with neither team either to really slow the other down for very long.  Something else you also don't see that much -- Trinity is scorching from outside.  Joe Bell hit a brutally tough three to bring Trinity within one at the halftime buzzer.  And Jeremy Arthur has also been on fire from outside with several deep step-back jumpers, not easy makes at all.  Gendron and Christian P. have also been tough, both excellent in the open court.   When Trinity shoots it like that, they can compete with anyone.  Trinity has scored too many points in transition and the Ephs have to do a MUCH better job getting back on defense in the second half (and also with few guys in foul trouble ,foul a bit more aggressively when Trinity has a numbers advantage in the open court).

On the other end, Williams had been led as usual by Heskett and Casey, both of whom have been on fire from everywhere.  The Ephs are playing well offensively and have scored most of their points off of pretty open 3's and layups either in the post or off cutters.  That is a bit of a concern because the Ephs have definitely had the better of the shot opportunities, I'd say, but Trinity's tough-shot making has kept the game dead-even.  Cole Teal has totally remade himself into a driver from the three point oriented game that used to characterize his play, and he's been pretty effective at getting to the rim and converting. 

[nescac1]

Phew!  Now that second half was much more characteristic of Trinity-Williams, every possession felt like a war, brutally physical and intense defense and board battles by both teams.  Williams seemed to have the game in hand a few times but Trinity would not quit.   Eric Gendron hit an absolutely crazy double-clutch three to bring Trinity within one with about 10 seconds left, but the Ephs (barely) held on despite struggling to salt the game at the foul line.

For Williams, Heskett and Casey were both stellar as always.  Trinity beat the living hell out of Heskett as reflected by his many free throw attempts (which could have been more).  It worked to some extent as even though he went for 25 he was clearly tired down the stretch missing a few interior shots that he normally makes.  Still, he had a brilliant game, finishing with 25 points and 4 boards.  Casey, 18 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 4-7 from three several of them from VERY deep range, basically his usual game at this point.  Casey and Heskett combined for only one turnover which is amazing from your two leading playmakers against a tough, scrappy defensive squad.

The other two key players for Williams were in my view Cole Teal and Michael Kempton.  Teal did a tremendous job penetrating all game including a beautiful dish to Kempton late in the game.  While his three point shot is not the weapon it once was, he hit an absolutely critical 3 down the stretch as well.  12 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, no fouls or turnovers, some really gritty makes inside.  Kempton's stats were modest, 7 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, but I thought his poise, defense, and overall presence were key in the second half.  He does all the little things you need to win and continues to play very, very well.  Karpowicz also had a strong impact on both ends with a 9-5-4 plus four huge blocks, but despite his superior stats I thought Kempton had the stronger game overall tonight.  Having both of them rotate in and out is a huge luxury. 

For Trinity, for the second straight game against Williams, Eric Gendron was stellar all night.  Ephs did a good job on him I thought and it did take him a lot of shots to get his 24 points, but he hit a lot of very tough ones down the stretch.  His season stats overall are modest but he seems to find a way to light the Ephs up.  Trinity will miss him next year.  Frosh big guy Donald Jorden was also VERY impressive.  He's only 6'4 but strong and relentless with long arms and massive hops (sound familiar, Eph fans?) and he is a keeper.  8 points, 10 boards, 1 block, but it sure felt like more than one to me.  He did a solid job battling two big men who are bigger, stronger, and more experienced.  Porydyz also made some big shots for the Bantams, but the Ephs shut down Jeremy Arthur in the second half.

Classic Williams-Trinity battle as these games are always physical, fiercely contested, and go down to the wire.  Go Ephs!  And now, go Bowdoin!!  Would be fun to host, for sure -- the crowd in Chandler was lit today. 

[nescac1]

Jordan Sears had EIGHT blocks against Middlebury?  Wow.  I'd say that is a nice resume enhancer for the DPOY debate!  Nobody wants to play Wesleyan right now, certainly ...

[Cards Fan]

Jordan Sears had EIGHT blocks against Middlebury?  Wow.  I'd say that is a nice resume enhancer for the DPOY debate!  Nobody wants to play Wesleyan right now, certainly ...

3 blocks over the likely POY in the final 2 minutes. Unbelievable!

[JEFFFAN]

Jeffs hold on for a one point victory over Bowdoin in a game that was as exciting as any game I have watched for years.  Bowdoin kept building pretty big leads with Amherst coming back on - surprise, surprise - Johnny McCarthy three point shots from downtown.   Simmonds (sp?) was outstanding in the first half, ending up with I believe 25 points.   And with Bowdoin ahead, who takes the shot to win the game?  Unheralded sophomore Josh Cherry takes it to the hoop for the win.

Overall, just a terrific, terrific game to watch.  So much fun.

[amh63]

JEFFFAN...agreed wrt exciting game as Bowdoin likes LeFrak gym!  I am toooo old for another game like this one.
Believe Amherst will play Wesleyan next week....with Hamilton and Williams in the other matchup in  LeFrak.
Amherst lost a close one to the Cardinals last time in Amherst.  Need to check the match ups of players.  " Bench " players stepping up big today...yes, again.

[AllStar]

[toad22]

I am so happy to get that win over Trinity today. For a finesse team like Williams, playing Trinity just isn't any fun. It is really hard to run anything on offense. So, these games usually are tough, tight affairs. Williams played just well enough to win, but not much more. Gendron was really good for the Bantams, Heskett had his usual 25 on 14 shots for Williams. On to Amherst, and a second meeting against Hamilton.

[lumbercat]

For a finesse team like Williams, playing Trinity just isn't any fun.

Toad
What exactly do you mean- playing some teams is "fun" because they are they are less competitive than a grinding team like Trinity??

[toad22]

For a finesse team like Williams, playing Trinity just isn't any fun.

Toad
What exactly do you mean- playing some teams is "fun" because they are they are less competitive than a grinding team like Trinity??

Basketball gets played in a lot of ways. The current style of Williams is lots of cutting, back doors, spreading the floor to create space. That style requires that there be some significant amount of freedom of movement. The NCAA claims they are instructing officials to promote freedom of movement. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Trinity is very good at denying freedom of movement, particularly when the referees decide to call very few fouls, and "let the boys play". It just isn't a lot of fun to try to cut through the lane, when you get held every time you try. Since the loss of Scadlock, Williams is in the difficult position of having two plays who score a majority of the points, so the other team can really try to impede their movement. It all depends on how the officials call he game. If the "tough" team gets called for 20 fouls, the game is close. If they get called for 30 fouls, it becomes a foul shooting contest, but favors the team trying to move more. Competitiveness has nothing to do with it. It is style of play, particularly how much clutching, grabbing, bumping etc. that is allowed by the refs.

[Conts Fan]

Hard to imagine a NESCAC final four that is more even 1 through 4. I'm not breaking any new ground in saying each team really has a good shot at winning.

[nescac1]

Agree, Conts Fan!  Williams, Wesleyan, Amherst and Hamilton are all very hot teams ... each has only one loss in its last 5-8 games (5 for Amherst, 7 for Hamilton, 8 for Williams and Wesleyan).  In recent weeks, Williams beat Wesleyan, split with Amherst, and beat Hamilton.  Wesleyan beat Amherst twice but lost to Hamilton.  Amherst destroyed Hamilton.  In other words, what happens next weekend is a total crapshoot ... should be fun!

[amh63]

Am in Florida visiting family and friends....soaking in the nice weather and fine food.  Will be seeing daughter later in Disney World...her family spoils grandchild.
Meanwhile, some comments for the upcoming games next weekend...hope to be back in time to catch a few games on Sat?
The games will be in LeFrak.  Amherst played the remaining teams best at Home.  Hope some injured players on all teams will be available.  Also hope the refs will be as neutral as possible.  Question....how are the refs selected?  Is there a process?
The schedule should be interesting....since the Lady Jeffs' should be hosting in LeFrak.  Three top ten teams in the WBB Tourny!
Had time to read local papers and drop in on some D1 games.  As in D3, the D1 MBB games have been most competitive with numerous upsets and close games between ranked and unranked teams.
An example is the recent win by Vand74's school over a team that had beat them earlier.  Then there is the upset of St. John in NYC over Duke and UNC over Duke at home.

[PolarBear16]

I really did think that Bowdoin was going to pull off the upset Saturday, and they came about as close as possible to doing it. Amherst is Bowdoin basketball's kryptonite. The Mammoths have now bounced Bowdoin from the NESCAC tournament the last three times Bowdoin has made the tournament. Yesterday makes it now 11 straight wins for Amherst with a 69-68 Bowdoin win in January of 2010 the last time the Polar Bears won.

Even crazier, directly before that win, Amherst won another 11 straight games against Bowdoin. So in their past 23 games, Bowdoin has beaten Amherst only one time. Bowdoin has only beaten Amherst one time since Bill Clinton was President. That's insane.

I can't remember the details about Wesleyan's futility against Middlebury, but I think that this rivals it.