MBB: NESCAC

[ContinentalDomer]

Hamilton highlights from Trinity game:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BsYLKR0ngTX/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=y7t5r2c10cc0

[jumpshot]

amH63 ----

Here's an insight for you regarding rebounding: Brandesis has no height; its tallest player at 6'8 did not play; the next two tallest at 6'6'  had 2 rebounds total;

amHerst's two top rebounders at 6'7 each had 9 and 8 rebounds, respectively. Also not a challenge to garner rebound margin playing teams with 0 and 12 records, etc.

[NEhoops]

The SOS could be a benefit to Wesleyan in regard to their post season hopes.

And a detriment to Amherst (extra games against WES/WIL will help) and others in the league. 

[nescac1]

NEhoops, agree, although I note that the Massey SOS metric is (I believe) different from the one employed by the NCAA.  Presumably they are correlated to some degree, but I think that New England teams generally do a bit better in the non-Massey SOS calculation. 

Amherst's schedule in particular is crazy back-loaded this year.  The Mammoths have Wesleyan x2, Williams x2, Eastern Conn, Hamilton, Middlebury, Colby and Bowdoin remaining -- all of those games will help their SOS, the question is, to what degree those games hurt their W-L percentage!  The upcoming brutal at Wesleyan, Williams, at Hamilton, at Eastern Conn stretch will tell us all we need to know about just how good Amherst is.  Last year, Amherst benefited from a very favorable home-away split in league games.  This year, the situation is reversed, as Amherst plays 4/5 league road games vs. the rest of the upper echelon (Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Middlebury).  Of course, so far this season, the home court advantage in league play hasn't really manifested, so who knows ... 

At this point, it would take a major collapse for Williams or Hamilton to miss the NCAA tourney this year.  Everyone else in NESCAC has a LOT of work to do still ...

[amh63]

It is noted that Brandeis record is 8-4 vice 8-5...after the loss to Amherst.  Brandeis remaining games are only UAA ones.  It is also noted that Brandeis lost to Wesleyan earlier by less than double digits and its win over Babson was over 20 points...by 24.  This in spite of a limited bench and a "short" lineup.  Thanks Jumpshot for your post....looked at the Judges athletic website.  Top rebounder for Amherst in the game was Sellew.  The next three top Amherst rebounders were guards, two under 6'3"...like Robinson.  Che had 6, a FY guard had 5 like Robinson....Sellew was tops with 9 RB...around his average.  The announcer was the provider of the rebounding margin..to date.

[NEhoops]

Good points nescac1. In addition to WIL/HAM, I think they'll be room in the NCAA tourney for two more NESCAC teams.

AMH/WES/MID/COL/BOW/TRI all have a shot based on how conference wins can be such a huge boost to their respective resumes and the fact that the Northeast isn't dominate across the other conferences. I see the following teams currently being in the mix from a regional rankings standpoint.

NEWMAC - MIT (clearly in the top tier of the region along with WIL/HAM) WPI/Babson

LEC - ECSU

CCC - Nichols/Gordon/Endicott

Any other teams and/or conferences that I'm missing?

[WUPHF]

So, if a student athlete qualifies for a 50% discount from the tuition based on FAFSA application, most D3 schools (even well endowed NESCAC schools) will offer a grant plus federal financial aid loans. 

If Williams is being honest about their financial aid policies, students with a high-level of need are taking on minimal student loan debt.

The high need students are borrowing $1,000-2,500 according to their cost estimators, though it is likely that is a first-year estimate and the the loan amount increases in years 2-4.

https://admission.williams.edu/affordability/sample-awards/#sample5

[WUPHF]

Brandeis remaining games are only UAA ones.  It is also noted that Brandeis lost to Wesleyan earlier by less than double digits and its win over Babson was over 20 points...by 24.  This in spite of a limited bench and a "short" lineup. 

Brandeis should be happy with that win and every win this season, but I watched that game and to be honest, Babson did not play well enough to use the Brandeis win as a yard stick in which to judge the Amherst win last night.

[middhoops]

Middlebury takes another long bus ride.
After a slow start, the Panthers' size wore down Widener.
Then Max Bosco (27) put on a scoring clinic for a few minutes in the 2nd half and it was (as Nick Tarantino's dad would say) OVA.
Matt Folger had a stat line of 20 pts., 8 boards and 4 blocks.

Sure do miss games with RPI, Norwich, Castleton, SoVT and Colby-Sawyer.  We old fans drive to those.  Not Widener.

Now a six hour ride home, then a weekend on the road of conference games.
Hopefully the Ephs do a better job of softening up the competition than they did with Wesleyan last week.  I'm thinkin' that equation works in reverse, anyway.

[MiddWatcher]

Nice win for Midd. On the road, left at 7:30 am this morning in a snowstorm. Drove 7 hours. Good win; similar to Hilbert - the opponent played over their head for awhile until reality set in. And Midd's up tempo intensity and depth having a big impact. May be easy to " pooh-pooh" these teams ( "they are not NESCAC " ) but, I give them credit. Widener could have won. They did not. Farrell's push every single possession does impact, and, for sure, Bosco went off tonight. Crazy.  Here is a curious by product of when Middlebury is successful :  Bosco, Leighton and DeLorenzo combined on 18 of 30 shooting. Off the bench. Bosco was tremendous !

Remember last year when Midd handled Williams easily at Pepin. Leighton off the bench for 17.  Skidmore, earlier this year, same deal. It's curious, but several guys way down the ladder actually have a big impact on end result for Midd. Wesleyan the other night ?  Not a great night for Leighton and DeLo ( shooting ).  Lost by 3.

And won't over dwell on Lineups at Middlebury men's basketball: the lineup is set by the head coach on November 1 - and it does not change. Not his style. Great for some guys; not so good for others. Sure, I would consider some of the options Mountain Man suggested .... some zone, etc.   How about Kornaker backing up Farrell, Leighton backing up Bosco and Dahleh and DeLorenzo ( the 6'4 guys ) guarding the opponents wing slashers.  Not perfect, those high quality opponents are problems for everyone.  But something about Dahleh and DeLo.  Both affect right hand shooters with their left hand. The optimum. This old coach is old enough to know what every New England old time Celtic fan knows: affect shots with the hand opposite the shooter's hand.(  The Bill Russell factor ) Try it sometime.  It's a no - brainer that not many people know nowadays.  Dahleh already is a lefty; DeLo is the son of two coaches. ( ugh.... poor kid ! ) Always uses his left hand on righties. Makes it a LOT tougher to score !

But one thing M. Man missed:  Farrell has been assigned to those big time scorers coming in. Not Dahleh. Dahleh's shots against was a very, very respectable 10-38 ( 26 % ) coming in to tonight's game.  Almost all against opponent's weakest front line player. I will agree that it is a lot for Farrell to be asked to play the best opponent along with being a scorer AND an assister.  Too much !  Tonight was a good breather for Farrell. He needed it.

Time will tell on M. Man's prognostications for Midd defense vs. Gilmore and Scadlock.  No matter who guards 'em, they are tough. But so are lots of other guys.  And don't forget the shooting of the four primary Midd bench guys in those games ... I will go way out on a limb and suggest that it is an important factor in the eventual Midd outcome ( s ).  On to Lewiston !

[nescac1]

NESCAC fares a bit better in these efficiency ratings than in the Massey ratings:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/division-iii-mens-basketball-efficiency.html

Williams 2, Amherst 9, Hamilton 16, Wesleyan 23, Midd 25, Colby 34, and then a biggggg drop off.  Still, six of the top 34 nationally is very impressive.  It's telling that of the 9 total losses the top five have suffered, 3 have been to each other. 

Williams leads the entire nation in defensive efficiency, and Amherst and Wesleyan are not that far behind.  Three teams whose "eye test" defensive performance seems to match their metrics.  Kyle Scadlock and James Heskett have both been awesome on defense for the Ephs, as have Soto and Kempton coming off the bench, but really no one in the rotation is a defensive liability - Casey and Feinberg are both plus defenders as well, and Karp is a good shot-blocker who has improved a lot in terms of defensive awareness.  I've been really impressed with frosh Devonn Allen of Amherst on that end of the floor.  It seems like Hixon has found four guys he is comfortable relying on for big minutes, Robinson, Sellew, Che and Allen, and Allen I think has earned the time primarily with his relentless defensive energy and quickness, he is gonna make life miserable for a lot of NESCAC guards as he matures.  Wesleyan has some physically imposing dudes with some serious strength and athleticism, especially Bonner, Jordan James, and frosh Dezonie, and Hutcherson of course is an elite two-way player. 

[amh63]

Nothing scheduled today in Nescac...both men and women games.  Lots of interesting games in D3 however.  There is a MIT game later....may get a report of the status of an injured stater.  Dropped in to take an "early bird" special in the NEWMAC.....Springfield vs Clark U. In Worcester.  Seems the majority of fans were elementary school kids!  Hence the Noontime start for the game....kids seem to enjoy the action on the floor....me too
Both opponents had similar loosing records...but Springfield was 1-1 in conference play and Clark was 0-2.  Mr Ross had 22 pts in the first half and tried to take over near the end of the game....a Lost to Clark.  High scoring game.  Springfield will need to run the table in conference play now to get a post season bid, IMO. The Nescac teams that beat Springfield to date May have their SOS numbers drop if Springfield continues to struggle/lose.

[NEhoops]

Here are the most recent (unofficial) regional rankings - http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/division-iii-mens-regional-rankings.html

The NE region is the first section and about half way down the page it shows end of season projections by region.

Interesting to see Amherst potentially jumping to #5 by the end of the year and Wesleyan continues to benefit from its strong strength of schedule.

[cacfan11]

Nescac playoff seed predictions:
1. Williams
2. Wesleyan
3. Middlebury
4. Hamilton
5. Amherst
6. Colby
7. Bowdoin
8. Conn College

[JEFFFAN]

Nescac playoff seed predictions:
1. Williams
2. Wesleyan
3. Middlebury
4. Hamilton
5. Amherst
6. Colby
7. Bowdoin
8. Conn College

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuFSWcNe8hY