MBB: NESCAC

[Colby Hoops]

Colby cruised again -- pounding New England College 103-67. Wallace Tucker poured in 28 including a few deep threes early in the game. Sam Jefferson scored 13 points on just 5 shots, including 3/3 from deep and Dean Weiner had his best game of the year with 10 pts, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Looking forward to what should be a good matchup next weekend against a solid New Jersey City team.

Other thoughts:

• Hope Folger injury isn't too bad, he's been off to a great start for Midd and is obviously a critical piece. Sobel was back today to answer Ryan Scott's question.
• Good bounce back win for Williams, put the clamps down defensively in the second half (also some rough shooting from Wesleyan). They've been better defensively than I expected and much worse offensively (they need Spivy to break out of his shooting slump in a big way).
• Nice win for Hamilton, particularly with a rough outing from Gilmour. Hamilton's supporting cast looks good, continue to think they'll be near the top of the league.
• Watched a bit of the Tufts game and they look very good. Rogers is much improved from last year (when he was already good).
• Amherst is playing much smaller this year with Sellew at the 5. Despite a poor shooting today from Robinson and Day, I think this will open up more space for those guys to score. Fru Che also looks improved offensively -- and giving him more room without two bigs is also a benefit.mThe big question is how dominant they can still be defensively without Schneider.
• No David Reynolds for Bowdoin today, worth monitoring that.

[middhoops]

Folger has an ankle sprain.  Not a high ankle sprain.
No prediction on his return.
Cahill filled in capably for him at Skidmore today. 

[nescacfaninbos]

Watched most of Colby-Gordon (Fri), some of Hamilton-Keene and most of Williams-Wesleyan. Any coach who plays zone against Colby this year should have his job questioned! Gordon played zone until 17 mins left in the game. Made a little spurt until Colby adjusted with drive and kicks - they are so quick that they will be tough to handle in man but they are deadly against the zone. Freshman King looked solid in the middle of the zone offense.

Hamilton looks deep - Kendall and Tirbaso stepped up while Gilmour struggled, looks like he missed last game so maybe he was still dealing with a nagging injury. Starting big guy McEneney hit a couple of threes as well. Some depth for this year and the future.

Williams looked solid as well, Karpowicz proved he is going to be tough to handle in the post, even had a nice drive. Rest of the team played well even though Spivey had a rough shooting night. Wesleyan looked like it may struggle this year. Hard to know if it was just an off shooting night.

[Colby Hoops]

Nescac so far is looking like expected. Midd and amherst look very very good. Colby and hamilton seem to be in the next tier and tufts and williams probably round out the top 6.

Middlebury when healthy has elite starting 5 and bench scoring. Sobel looks to be the efficient, skilled offensive center that middlebury hasnt had, and if he can stay out of foul trouble, be an elite two way five Sobel, Karp and Rogers will all have intriguing matchups with each other this season.  Folger has been the MVP so far, he is rebounding and defending well, as well as shooting at a very high clip. As expected the trio of farell bosco and kornoker has been very solid. Eastman and cahill have played at the 3,4 and 5 and provided an offensive boost.

Amherst looks very good, although will defintiley rely on robinson and selew for their scoring.

Colby and hamilton have both been winning and winning by a lot.

Tufts looks like they can contend in the league williams looks solid, although the oneonta loss is not great

I'd put Tufts in the Colby/Hamilton tier. And I think the gap between Amherst/Midd and the next tier might not be that large.

[SpringSt7]

Big bounce back win for Williams last night. Don't think they've beaten Wesleyan by that much (25) in quite some time, definitely not under App. What was arguably the best rivalry in recent years has now belonged to Williams 5 times in a row, didn't look like a typical Williams-Wesleyan game last night. For the Ephs, Karpowicz and Jones continue to be their best players, 1st and 2nd in scoring, rebounding, and assists. Feinberg played great and CPS continues to show flashes, but they really need Spivy to step up soon. The shots just have to start falling plain and simple.

Wesleyan is in for a tough year. They don't have any of the typical toughness of a Joe Reilly team and their offensive pieces don't make a ton of sense together. They can't continue to play James and DeLollo at the same time, like ever. I think they will struggle to make the NESCAC tournament but ultimately get in as a 7 or 8 seed.

The league forecast is starting to take shape. Some big games coming up soon that will tell us a lot more about some of these teams--Amherst/Williams/Trinity all have Springfield, will definitely keep an eye on those.

[JustAFan]

Minor side note to Saturday's Skidmore/Middlebury game: Skidmore's best player from last year, 6-5 sophomore guard Noah Meren, transferred to Brown this fall and is sitting out the year. It is unlikely it would have changed the result of the Middlebury game but it's a big loss for Skidmore nonetheless. Meren led the Liberty league in scoring last year while shooting 49% for the year, was a first team Liberty league selection (and also a D3Hoops second team all-East region selection) and one of the smoothest and effortlessly talented D3 players I've seen in quite a while.  His mother graduated from Brown and he graduated from Moses Brown but was lightly recruited at the D1 level coming out of high school until his performance at Skidmore opened some eyes. Add him to the growing list of D3 players making the more to D1. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Minor side note to Saturday's Skidmore/Middlebury game: Skidmore's best player from last year, 6-5 sophomore guard Noah Meren, transferred to Brown this fall and is sitting out the year. It is unlikely it would have changed the result of the Middlebury game but it's a big loss for Skidmore nonetheless. Meren led the Liberty league in scoring last year while shooting 49% for the year, was a first team Liberty league selection (and also a D3Hoops second team all-East region selection) and one of the smoothest and effortlessly talented D3 players I've seen in quite a while.  His mother graduated from Brown and he graduated from Moses Brown but was lightly recruited at the D1 level coming out of high school until his performance at Skidmore opened some eyes. Add him to the growing list of D3 players making the more to D1.

That and he grew four inches and gained 25 pounds between freshman and sophomore year.  The guy went from a skinny point guard to a linebacker.  Definitely grew into a D1 body.  I'm glad he's getting a chance at a higher level.

[JustAFan]

Ryan, Meren was 6-5 as a freshman at Skidmore, (I saw him play in person), and listed as such in the Skid program. Maybe he went thru the growth spurt between high school and his freshman year at Skidmore? FWIW he was listed as 6-3 his senior year in HS but those stats are notoriously off. But his physique certainly got much bigger between frosh and sophomore year at Skid, as you noted. He was dominating games as a sophomore at the D3 level and at times looked a bit bored. Can't blame him for seizing the opportunity when it presented itself and still be able to attend a high academic college as well. He will have got compete hard to earn time at Brown--I wish him success.

[nescac1]

Here's an early shot at the top teams in New England.  While early, 11 seem to have separated themselves from the pack so far:

1. Amherst -- hard to say just how good they are until they play someone capable, but it's clear that this may end up being one of the best defensive teams New England has ever seen.  Chery, Allen, Che, Robinson is an absolutely brutal quartet to find breathing room against on the perimeter, and Sellew seems rock solid in the center as a senior, as he has improved each year.  Offensively, not quite as scary, but still very capable. 

2. Babson -- brought all but one guy back from a solid team that was a bit banged up last year, and blowing out weak competition to start the year.  Very balanced, very deep, and new PG Crew Ainge is off to a solid start (11-5-5, 2 spg, only 1 TOPG) running the show.  Jaworski-Oftring-Coolahan are a solid trio of tested vets.  Brutal schedule ahead (at Bowdoin, Amherst, at Salem, likely Tufts, vs. Eastern Conn) should really show who they are.

3. Tufts -- slotting them here above Midd because they beat Midd twice last year and have been scoring at a ridiculous pace to start the season (95 ppg on 50/44/78 shooting).  And they've played solid competition, with wins over Emerson, UMass-Dartmouth, and St. Joe's. 

4. Middlebury -- the talent is clearly there to be in the top two regionally, but a few concerns early as they've been a bit banged up and have been allowing lesser teams to hang around.  Will need those big guys back and healthy when things get tougher.  Other than MAYBE at Endicott, should not really have a competitive game until 2020. 

5. Nichols -- yes, they are 4-0, but barely beating Anna Maria is not a great sign.  Putting them here out of respect for the last few years but honestly feel they will drop if big man Jerome Cunningham (who played one minute of the opener and has not returned) does not come back from whatever ails him.  Non-league games vs. Trinity, Hamilton and Tufts will be an interesting barometer. 

6. Colby -- I was a believer pre-season and I'm more of a believer now.  This team should be an NCAA team this year.  Sam Jefferson is beyond unconscious (26 ppg on 69/63/93 splits, sheesh!).  He gets better each year, and is clearly the best shooter in the region (over 40 percent career shooter from 3 on high volume, 82 percent career free throw shooter). The schedule has been respectable at least so far, and their next game (Jersey City) is likely their toughest non-league test.  If they survive that, I predict a 14-0 start before an absolutely brutal 8-game stretch that will test just how high their upside is. 

7. Hamilton -- lots of other folks have spoken about them at length.  Two straight great recruiting classes, it seems, and Hamilton has done a great job filling in for the four departed seniors.

8. Springfield -- Jake Ross is simply unfair (check out his stats) now that he is back healthy for his senior year.  Having the best guy on the court in any given game is a huge advantage.  Heath Post would be the best player on virtually any other team in the region.  But the depth behind them is, to put it mildly, questionable.  Those two guys account for as astounding 62 percent of Springfield's rebounding total, and 59 percent of Springfield's scoring.  Any injury, illness, and foul trouble to the big two, and the Pride is in trouble.  Like last year, a three-game stretch of Trinity-Williams-Amherst back-to-back-to-back will give a sense of just how far the HUGE two can carry them ...

9. Williams -- I think we are already out of undefeated teams from the region.  The Ephs are going to be up and down this semester, and maybe into next.  Talent and depth are clearly there, but until there is a set rotation of guys comfortable and clear in their roles, which figures to take at least a few more weeks of games, the team will continue to have great and not-so-great moments, often within the same games.  Williams could easily stay in the 9-11 range of this list, but could just as easily rise into the top 5.  Time will tell.     

10. WPI -- seems like a typical WPI team, tough, balanced, deep, will defend like crazy, probably squeeze into the NCAAs, but lacking that one guy on offense who can consistently put them over the top against a very good team. 

11. UMass Dartmouth -- 4-1 vs. a solid early schedule, only loss so far to Tufts.  Appear to be the class of a depleted Little East.  Eastern Conn sure seems to miss its injured point guard (0-3 with three blow out losses)...

Also worth keeping an eye on: Albertus Magnus, Rhode Island College ...

Seems like one of those years where NESCAC and NEWMAC are very likely to cannibalize all of the New England Pool C bids.  I predict, ultimately, between 4-5 Pool C bids total between those two leagues, both of which are very strong at the top this year. 

[Colby Hoops]

Good stuff Nescac1. Looking at Nichols results to date, it's hard to even put them in the top 8-9 here. Obviously, their preseason ranking and success last year should still be factored in this early, but I'd be nervous if I were a Nichols supporter.

[Old Guy]

show who they are.
4. Middlebury -- the talent is clearly there to be in the top two regionally, but a few concerns early as they've been a bit banged up and have been allowing lesser teams to hang around.  Will need those big guys back and healthy when things get tougher.  Other than MAYBE at Endicott, should not really have a competitive game until 2020. 

Yes, "lesser teams," but really not that lesser: Keene State is 1-3 with losses to Springfield in OT, Middlebury, and Hamilton; Wentworth is 5-1). Skidmore is down this year, but might not be too bad when it's all said and done: they're tall & talented. Middlebury's struggles the first weekend (they did win!) has some relationship perhaps to the significantly shorter practice time tthey had han their opponents. I think we'll see that the strength of the Middlebury schedule overall will be as formidable as has been the case in recent years.

This Middlebury team is really fun, and I am somewhat reassured. I was worried about expectations with that high preseason ranking. There's strength across the board in NESCAC — on a given day, anyone can beat anyone else, more or less (remember Colby last year going on the road and knocking off Amherst and Hamilton?). I went to the Skidmore game — and I imagined what their fans might have been thinking when Midd was introduced and the first three players were point guard size — Farrell, Bosco, Kornaker, whereas the Thoroughbreds sent out 6'10, '6'8", 6'5". But those short Middlebury guys can play! Against Skidmore, arguably our best player, Matt Folger, was in street clothes in a boot, walking with a crutch  — and Alex Sobel, our other front court starter, was compromised physically, after sitting out the previous game (SUNY Canton).

Here's where the fun comes in – in the form of the replacements. Tommy Eastman and Ryan Cahill are crucial elements on this his year's team. I'm not sure any other NESCAC team has two new players of similar consequence. Our "new" players are juniors, talented and mature. I asked a Midd coach before I ever saw Eastman play what his position was  and he said "2, 3, or 4." He's 6'4" versatile, rugged, and skilled. His minutes have increased game by game.

Cahill has been injured the last two years. He belongs, looks very comfortable on the floor. He's 6'6" and often plays bigger guys and holds his own. Cahill had 15 points with 6 boards (with four threes!) against SUNY Canton starting for Sobel, and had 11 points in 17 minutes against Keene. He can shoot! What a lift he gives us. I hope he holds up physically the whole year — he deserves it.Cahill and Eastman make us a different team than the one we anticipated coming into the season.
                                   
Middlebury backcourt is year older, juniors now, battle-tested and confident: Farrell is electric, Bosco has many different ways to put the ball in the hoop, Kornaker organizes the whole thing. Will Ingrim, another six-footer, a strong on the ball defender, is getting significant time. Local guy Perry Delorenzo, a senior, is in the rotation, and comes in and plays hard, with confidence (by the way, congratulations to his mom, Katharine, for winning the national championship in field hockey last Saturday, the third in the row for her and fourth in the past five years).

This is an exciting team, always pushing the ball and playing hard. Eastman and Cahill shore up the area where we had the greatest concern, giving us some balance and depth. The league is so strong — who knows what will happen in NESCAC play, but Midd sure is fun to watch. As Russ Reilly would say, it's a great time to be a Panther.

[amh63]

Enjoyed your post Old Guy.
The first week D3 top25 is out.  Seems Midd and Amherst are the only CAC teams to get some love .  The season has only started and my spotty D3 games watched to date point out several things....team defense is critical as more teams are shooting the long ball.  Teams/players are are moving the ball up the floor at a quicker pace...to beat the defense?...to score and fewer set plays to the "big man".  Yes, it's early and tougher opponents are ahead.
Oh, the first season's women's top 25 poll is out and the Nescac  dominates the upper half of the polls.

[NEhoops]

nescac1, I stole your rankings and added in W/L records. I also included upcoming signature match-ups (mostly within the region) to look forward to.

1. Amherst (#3 | 3-0): At Babson on 12/4 
2. Babson (RV | 5-0): Host Amherst on 12/4
3. Tufts (RV | 4-0): at WPI on 12/3
4. Middlebury (#5 | 5-0): At Endicott on 12/1 (they are down slightly but it's always a competitive game) and at Stevens on 12/8
5. Nichols (#6 | 4-0): At Trinity on 12/1 and at Hamilton on 12/14
6. Colby (RV | 5-0): At New Jersey City on 11/30
7. Hamilton (RV | 4-0): At Hartwick on 12/4 and hosting Nichols on 12/14
8. Springfield (RV | 5-0): Host Trinity on 12/4; at Williams on 12/7; at Amherst on 12/10
9. Williams (RV | 3-1): At Albertus Magnus on 12/1
10. WPI (#25 | 5-1): Host Tufts on 12/3
11. UMass Dartmouth (5-1): At RIC on 12/4. It's a conference game, but still a good indicator
12. Albertus Magnus (3-1): Host Williams on 12/1

[nescac1]

Good stuff NEhoops!  Lots of intriguing match-ups between now and December 14 ... I'm sure things will move around quite a bit.  By then, there will be likely only around 4 undefeated New England teams still standing.  Babson-Amherst, Tufts-WPI, Nichols-Hamilton, Springfield-Williams, Springfield-Amherst all are especially intriguing matchups.   

[Bucket]

Good stuff NEhoops!  Lots of intriguing match-ups between now and December 14 ... I'm sure things will move around quite a bit.  By then, there will be likely only around 4 undefeated New England teams still standing.  Babson-Amherst, Tufts-WPI, Nichols-Hamilton, Springfield-Williams, Springfield-Amherst all are especially intriguing matchups.

And then Middlebury will face Springfield, in all likelihood, just after the 1st of the year in the Springfield/Naissmith Classic.

Further, while some report that Endicott is slightly "down" this year, I'm not discounting any team that can still put Keith Brown on the court!