MBB: NESCAC

[toad22]

I was very impressed with Whitman last night. They were the best team we've played this year, and that in not meant to be a slap at any other team, especially those who beat us. It is hard to even describe how difficult it is to play Whitman. They were relentless for every second of the 40 minute game. Williams was able to counter their pressure with some good offense against their press, leading to gaudy shooting percentages. Whitman also turned us over 29 times, so they achieved a lot of their goals too. I thought that the thing that won the game for Williams was their transition defense. Rarely did Whitman go rim to rim for layups, something they have consistently done all year. To me, that was the biggest key to keeping them well below their season average of 104 points.

[old_hooper]

Whitman Coach Bridgeland's team have always played like that.  When he was at Puget Sound his teams did the same thing and they dominated the league when he was there.  I can not help but feel that there is huge disappointment at Whitman after the results the last 3 years now on the national stage.  Making to the final four in 2017 and many of these players on that team and not returning with presumably an even better team this year.  Hats off to Coach App and the Ephs especially the bench who really stepped up last night.  As far as style this was by far the most unique that Williams faced but the best team, when you are defeated 3 times by one team I think they have a good argument.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Don't feel too bad for Whitman - seven of their fifteen man rotation still has eligibility left.  Two of them are listed as seniors, so they may choose to be done playing, but it's a solid core coming back either way, plus some real talent on that bench who rarely, if ever, saw the floor this year.  They'll have plenty more chances going forward.

[old_hooper]

The bigger concern in Walla Walla in the off season probably is Bridgeland on the move?  If memory serves me right D3 Hoops had him in the thick of things for the Wash U job.  He has done well and made the leap before as assistant at Pepperdine which was short lived and then to Whitman.  I would think he would be a serious candidate for a good job at any level.

[amh63]

I'm back to chat a little more wrt MBB. .  Over lunch, saw a WSJ sport's article about another matchup between UNC and Duke...this time in The Dean Dome!  It's at 7PM.  The first one in Cameron Stadium on Feb.20 when Duke was ranked no.1 and full of non students willing to pay over 2000 bucks for a ticket, was the one where a FY player named Zion Williamson blew out his sneakers in the first 30 seconds...went out with an injury and never returned and UNC won.  That game or parts of it was watched by an audience of 4.5 million...tuned in.  Maybe I should not mention it on this D3 board?   Oh well....have a lot of connections to both UNC and Duke.  My grand nephew was a walk on to the UNC football team. My god daughter got her PHD from UNC....went to her graduation in the Dean Dome.  Attended a special Duke's Business school program, etc.   Maybe I will watch a bit of the Williams game to root for the last Nescac MBB team....you think.

[Old Guy]

Wow, Amherst goes down in a huge upset.  I don't think many folks saw Williams beating Whitman, and Amherst losing to Nichols.  Did Echeverria pass the concussion protocol?  We'll never know.  But damn, what a heroic performance from him.

S'cuse me? "Huge upset." Au contraire, mon ami. Comparative scores: Midd loses to Amherst by four and loses to Nichols by three. Nichols plays five NESCAC teams and licks 'em all (as someone else pointed out). Huge upset?

Midd lost to Swarthmore by two, 82-80. Pretty even tonight, I would say. Nichols has a bit of that Cinderella look.

Lots of "what if's" in Midd's season, 18-8 with losses against mighty good teams. We're proud of the boys! Midd defeated two of the other NCAA Tourney entries (Williams and Hamilton) — beat Williams by 14, the last NESCAC team standing. Rooting for the Ephs to represent the league in the Final Four.

[Gregory Sager]

Wow, Amherst goes down in a huge upset.  I don't think many folks saw Williams beating Whitman, and Amherst losing to Nichols.  Did Echeverria pass the concussion protocol?  We'll never know.  But damn, what a heroic performance from him.

S'cuse me? "Huge upset." Au contraire, mon ami. Comparative scores: Midd loses to Amherst by four and loses to Nichols by three. Nichols plays five NESCAC teams and licks 'em all (as someone else pointed out). Huge upset?

Massey had Amherst winning by five. I'll leave it to you and nescac1 to decide how huge is "huge".

[nescac1]

Congrats to CNU on a well-earned win.   Just a tough night for the Ephs, a lot more needed to go right against a team that was the polar opposite of last night's game.  More thoughts to come but it was a great season and an amazing four year run for these seniors.

[nescac1]

Marcus Carter was an absolute beast for CNU, his all-American rep is definitely deserved.  But burly Savonte Chappell working inside is what really killed the Ephs on that end of the floor.  Just physically so strong.   

For Williams, James Heskett could never get going and barely seemed to touch the ball at all.  CNU did a great job denying him the ball and he did not seem to get the benefit of calls with some tough offensive fouls called against him including when guys were draped on him tightly.  Bobby Casey had a tremendous second half, gutting out some really tough makes inside, but he needed just a bit more help.  He finished his career with over 1500 points, a tremendous achievement which puts him in exalted company among Eph all-time greats.  Kyle Scadlock also had a great weekend and finished his tremendous career in style. 

This is the first time in nine trips to the Elite 8 that Williams has lost, and it definitely stings to come SO close, but the Ephs had a great run in the tourney.  That Whitman win was epic but clearly took a lot out of the team and they did seem a step slower than they needed to be tonight.  But credit to CNU which plays hard-nosed, physical, error-free defense.  I'm not sure the Ephs had one uncontested look tonight, CNU takes no risks and is always in the right position, such a contrast from the chaotic, risk-taking style of Whitman.  Could not work the usually-effective back-door plays at all.

A big silver living for the weekend for the Ephs is just how good frosh Jovan Jones and Spencer Spivy looked in key minutes, after barely playing all season.  Both those guys are going to be big factors for the Ephs over the rest of their careers. 

[Old Guy]

Wow, Amherst goes down in a huge upset.  I don't think many folks saw Williams beating Whitman, and Amherst losing to Nichols.  Did Echeverria pass the concussion protocol?  We'll never know.  But damn, what a heroic performance from him.

S'cuse me? "Huge upset." Au contraire, mon ami. Comparative scores: Midd loses to Amherst by four and loses to Nichols by three. Nichols plays five NESCAC teams and licks 'em all (as someone else pointed out). Huge upset?

Massey had Amherst winning by five. I'll leave it to you and nescac1 to decide how huge is "huge".

Five is not "Huge" and Massey is a guy, right?

[Gregory Sager]

Wow, Amherst goes down in a huge upset.  I don't think many folks saw Williams beating Whitman, and Amherst losing to Nichols.  Did Echeverria pass the concussion protocol?  We'll never know.  But damn, what a heroic performance from him.

S'cuse me? "Huge upset." Au contraire, mon ami. Comparative scores: Midd loses to Amherst by four and loses to Nichols by three. Nichols plays five NESCAC teams and licks 'em all (as someone else pointed out). Huge upset?

Massey had Amherst winning by five. I'll leave it to you and nescac1 to decide how huge is "huge".

Five is not "Huge" and Massey is a guy, right?

A guy with a very formidable computer.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

So glad we use Massey to determine what are upsets and such.

Nichols/Amherst was going to be a close game no matter how I looked at it. I am impressed Nichols got the win. That was a tremendous accomplishment for that program.

Hats off to the NESCAC this season. No one in the final four isn't the worst thing. It was a tough year. Maybe a change in how things are in the balance of things overall across the country.

I am sure all three programs this weekend are kicking themselves, but Williams impressed with their win over Whitman, Hamilton did well against a really tough defensive team, and Amherst ran into a buzz-saw in Echevarria ... who brought friends.

Look forward to seeing what the conference looks like next season.

[Pat Coleman]

No. 14 winning at No. 7 is perhaps a mild surprise, but totally indicative of how this season has gone.

[frank uible]

If "huge" doesn't do it, then how about "not insubstantial"?

[jayhawk]

went to Amherst nichols game and first half of Swarthmore Nichols
Amherst played great defense foor Nichols a dyanmic duo of guards --
a few shots that Amherst normally makes just did not drop in
Echevarria caught fire from deep 3 ball land and made it tough in secon half
Joe Schneier played excellent defense which was nice to see for the senior

Amherst had a great year and very young, in Nichols game frehman Devonn Allen was 4 for 5 for 3 pointer , he definitely got better as the year went on

In Swarthmore game, mid firsthalf  Echevarria went down iwith a very bad leg injury. While he came back, he was visibly hobbling, which was a big loss for Nichols. Interesting that Swarthmore got the lead initialliy by attacking the big men of Nichols down low with very patient moves