MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Man, brutal, heartbreaking loss for Williams at home.  The Ephs were down 15 in the second half and came all the way back to take a one point lead, but Ross and Post made some big plays down the stretch for Springfield.  Ephs had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but it could not drop.  Really, a very impressive effort by Williams, which is still fairly depleted by injuries (Spivy out, Feinberg gave it a go before sitting, Taylor not yet back from injury either).  Just a bummer the young Ephs haven't been able to close out a few close games this semester.  I also felt like a lot of tough calls went against Williams in this one, which is especially tough in a one-possession game.  Had Williams played like this in its two other losses, both of those games would have been wins. 

For Williams, a career game for Matt Karpowicz, he was simply awesome today, and hopefully this is a catalyst for the rest of his senior season.  29 points, 20 boards, 2 assists.  In a (by a wide margin) career high 36 minutes, which is an especially good sign for Karp.  Cole Prowitt-Smith was electric in the second half, finishing with 18-3-2 and leading the Ephs' comeback with some great shooting.  I also felt like he played the best defense of his young career.  He's still a frosh, and will make the occasional frosh mental mistake (including shooting too early on the last play of the first half, as I'm sure App reminded him), but clearly he's one of the Ephs' top players and should continue to be a starter going forward.  He is really fun to watch on offense, a pure scorer.  If he can add some more interior passing to his game, he'll be that much tougher to contend with.

Mickey Babek had a very good game, making some good plays on both sides of the ball.  He did as good a job on Jake Ross as you could possibly ask.  Jovan Jones had a huge late tip in and also played very well against Heath Post, but Post's offense was simply too good.  Jovan has been very good at getting into the lane, and hopefully his finishing on the interior can improve a bit because he has the potential to create more offense once he does. 

Springfield is really tough.  They can be exploited inside, but Ross and Post are two of the best players in the country.  Post hit some absolutely brutally tough shots in this one.  And they have a lot of shooters around them so when you overplay them (as you kind of have to at times) guys are going to get, and today hit, open looks. 

[D3Sportlife]

Hello...I am new to these boards and really enjoy reading them during the basketball season.  Just a quick thought on NEC.  I think that they are very disciplined.  On defense even though they jump the lanes constantly opponents rarely have an open look because the other guys slide.    To keep up with their style of play they are probably short 1 or 2 more players off the bench. What they do is exhausting and I think in the 2nd half they get worn down.  I think they are also short on big men (no pun intended) as the rebounding numbers show.  If they had those two things they are probably un-defeated.   I think they play a similar style to Albertus Magnus.  Another team that is similar on a national level is Stephen F. Austin State which beat Duke with this this style of play about a week ago.   

[Colby Hoops]

Colby cruises past Colby-Sawyer 101-69. Watched the first half and it was an offensive clinic, backdoor cuts over and over for easy baskets. Noah Tyson had a big game with 29 and 9. Wallace Tucker added a very efficient 21. Will King had 13 assists and 8 rebounds. He now leads the conference in assists per game and is second in assist/to ratio -- crazy for a freshman. Colby's pace and shooting definitely lends itself to higher assist numbers, but King is an elite passer. Weiner had 7 blocks in just 14 minutes last and he leads the conference in blocked shots per game despite playing just 16 minutes per game. Now a long break for the Mules after a great first semester. Hopefully they can pick up where they left off after the holidays!

Tough loss for Hamilton last night, losing handily to a SUNY Purchase team that hasn't been particularly good. Just seemed like an off night all the way around -- poor shooting and poor defense.

Amherst and Tufts both bounced back with nice wins. Grant Robinson with a good game for the Mammoths, a positive sign as he's had a slow start to the year (by his standards).

Should be a couple really good games today with Midd-Stevens and Tufts-Babson.

[MiddWatcher]

Hopped in car and drove to New London yesterday ( NH version ) to watch the battle of the Colbys. Great fun. Colby-Sawyer is not a bad team at all and will win double figure games, am quite sure. The Mule Train was anything but a train, and certainly no Mules have ever gone that fast ! The real deal. In a word, " Wow ".  Plus, they are having a blast playing the game, the coaches have installed a very simple yet uniquely creative style - and they are letting the guys play. Beautiful to watch. Offensively, they are a synthesis of 4 or 5 of the very best teaching ideas from the past thirty years. They are Good ! Most unique aspect is having the ( almost ) 6'5 frosh " post ", Will King, be the primary handler getting to initial entries. The guards run out - and they are dangerous - early and often. And with Jefferson and Tyson running outside routes for threes, as well as diving for backdoor cuts ( they even run secondary backdoor cuts ! ) they are presenting a handful of very challenging defensive match-ups as soon as Colby gets the ball. It is beautiful to watch. How the NESCAC coaches match up with this thing will be very interesting - and well worth watching !  There is always an answer, and, it is " only " D3 for goodness sake; but this team can play. Yesterday, Hanna and Jefferson combined for 4 of 16 on threes .... not a very good shooting day for the teams' usually most reliable shooters .... and they only put up 101 with subs playing the final 8 minutes !!  Weiner gives them rebounding and defensive size they did not have a year ago and Dorion has to be one of the best shooters coming off the bench in the league.  Yes, the upcoming NESCAC season is really falling into place and the early prognosticators of imminent NESCAC doom ( for this year anyway ) may need to rethink. I will certainly put Colby in that upper echelon and big kudos to Coach Strahorn and his relatively new staff on Mayflower Hill.

[SpringSt7]

It feels like Williams is right where it needs to be, a couple of plays away from being 6-1. The talent level is there, they are obviously injured, but they need to grow up in a hurry because it doesn't get a whole lot easier going forward. Would've been nice to have had this year's non-conference schedule last year and vice versa. Hopefully it prepares them down the line, but you always have to worry about a young team's confidence after dropping a few early in the year.

Great to see Karp breakout and dominate like we all thought he was capable of. Will definitely need more of that going forward, and while the NESCAC surely offers more in the way of interior resistance than Springfield does, you have to like his chances matchup wise against the rest of the bigs in the league.

Once Spivy, Feinberg, and Taylor return, this team will suddenly look a whole lot deeper and hopefully more cohesive. But for right now, they look comfortable the 6th best team in the league.

[Colby Hoops]

Really nice win for Midd today against a good Stevens team. The Panthers controlled the game from the start.

Tufts has been a hard team to figure out. Couldn't score against WPI and couldn't get a stop against Babson (gave up 60 in the first half today). Losing to two good teams isn't the end of the world, but would've expected a more competitive effort in both from the Jumbos.

[Middfan]

Solid win for the Panthers today verses a good Stevens team on their home court.  Middlebury seemed to be in control the whole game though the Ducks worked very hard to keep it as close as possible.  Perry Delorenzo has continued to add offensive spark and played strong defense.  I think he's earned more minutes.  I'd like to see him given a try in the starting rotation as a true forward with Farrell (is there anyone faster in the NESCAC?) and Boscoe as guards and Folger and Sobel as bigs. 

[grabtherim]

Went to the Midd game yesterday, and was happy to run into some old friends and to chat with Jeff after the game.  The Panthers played a solid game versus a good team.  Farrell is as quick a player as I have seen Midd have over the past decade or so. Sobel making his precence felt big time, and I think that will be more so as he gets more experience. in my opinion, rankings at this point are a crap shoot, so let's see how the Panthers do against conference teams to get the real story on them.  That said, I think this could be a very special well balanced squad.   

[NEhoops]

Let the crapshooting continue - this is a look at what teams have done up to this point in the season. These are not projections and are not based on what teams are expected to do. Who else should be in the mix?

Babson (9-0) – beats Tufts on 12/8
Middlebury (9-0) – beat Stevens on 12/8
Colby (9-0) – I'm questioning what their signature out of conference win is. I guess if they stay undefeated it won't matter
Springfield (7-0)
Albertus Magnus (8-1) – beat WPI on 12/7
Hamilton (8-1) – lost to SUNY Purchase on 12/7
WPI (8-2) – lost to Albertus Magnus on 12/7
Tufts (6-2) – lost to Babson on 12/8
Nichols (6-1) – lost to Lasell on 12/7
RIC (8-1) 
Bates (5-1)

[SpringSt7]

Are these power rankings? Just teams you think are good? Regardless, outside of Babson I think it's still a little early to talk about signature wins, but for that reason I think I have the Beavers at the top of NE. If I had to give 5 it would look like this:

1. Babson (9-0). 4-0 against the NESCAC, two wins being against Amherst and Tufts, and the other two still impressive in traveling to Maine twice to win on the road big at both Bates and Bowdoin. Salem St. is not looking strong right now but if Sean Bryan returns at some point during the year they are still favorites to win the MASCAC and that win will only get better. A chance to see their 5th NESCAC team of the year on 12/31 as they head to Hartford for Trinity's holiday tournament.

2. Middlebury (9-0). It's been dicey at times for Midd but 9-0 is 9-0 and there is certainly no denying the talent on this team, arguably the most explosive offense in New England, at least on paper. It's always a challenge gelling early on in the season when so many of your top offense weapons return, everyone wants more shots but there are never enough shots to go around. Luckily, Middlebury has one of the best coaches around in Jeff Brown and should only continue to improve. A potential stab at Springfield shortly after New Year's looks to be their biggest and maybe only non-conference test before they open league play at Amherst on January 10th.

3. Colby (9-0). A lot of questions will persist about this team heading into NESCAC play--ability to defend, how to win when they evidently have an off night, being able to handle having a bigger target on their back--but if you're Coach Strahorn you couldn't have asked for your first 9 games to go any better. 96.6 points per game on 49-42-71 splits is as good as it gets offensively, and Sam Jefferson looks every bit of an All-American right now.

4. Amherst (4-2). Not the start the Mammoths envisioned, a shock upset on the road at Westfield St. and a loss to a really good Babson team in a year where you would've liked their chances to make it to 2020 undefeated if only for the sheer amount of talent they returned. Grant Robinson has been a shell of himself to begin the year, 10.5 ppg on tough 29-32-80 splits, but hopefully for him things will be back to normal following his most recent 22 point performance against Emerson. A huge test on Tuesday as Springfield comes to town.

5. Springfield (7-0). A number of teams could claim this 5th spot but it goes to the Pride on behalf of their star senior duo Jake Ross and Heath Post, who are combining to score just a shade under 52 points a game, with Ross leading the nation at 30.9 a night. Outside of the two of them, there has not been a ton to write home about, yet to really impress against a somewhat weak non-conference schedule, but they do boast wins against Trinity, Williams, Keene St., and Endicott. The defense seems like an issue and their offense is obviously ridiculously top heavy but they continue to win and with the talent of that duo on the court they have a chance to win every game. We will learn a lot more about them when they visit LeFrak on Tuesday, and all fans around New England should be hoping they have a chance to match up with Springfield shortly after New Year's.

[JEFFFAN]

Sort of a lose lose for Aaron Toomey at Amherst this year.  A ton of experience, good returning lineup, so one would expect them to win a bunch.  If they win, it is Hixon who recruited them and he would get all the credit.  If they lose, easy to blame the first year, interim coach.   Good for Hixon for taking a year off - hope that it refreshes his energy level - but feel badly for Toomey if it doesn't work out.

[jayhawk]

Aaron Toomey is doing a fine job
Some members of the team I believe had surgery in off season and are working their way back into game shape and reaching their  potential
Babson was on fire with three point shooting in the first half as any time I have seen
That Amherst came back and almost won is possibly a turning point and will help them in the future
the other loss was a "trap game" away  Amherst will be better than that
I would be patient with team

[Old Guy]

Sort of a lose lose for Aaron Toomey at Amherst this year.  A ton of experience, good returning lineup, so one would expect them to win a bunch.  If they win, it is Hixon who recruited them and he would get all the credit.  If they lose, easy to blame the first year, interim coach.   Good for Hixon for taking a year off - hope that it refreshes his energy level - but feel badly for Toomey if it doesn't work out.

A little bit of Mammoth history (from a distance): Ten years ago, Amherst legend Bill Thurston, baseball coach, retired after more than 40 years as head coach. His assistant Brian Hamm (Middlebury '02) was named "interim" head coach — and then got the job (without a search, I believe).

Not an exact precedent, but pretty close. Hamm had four years as the assistant, but didn't go to Amherst. Toomey has his brilliant four year career as an Amherst player, and another four as an assistant to Hixon, so it strikes me that he would have to do poorly indeed not to be the heir-apparent. 

(Incidentally, Hamm did really well: in nine years years he had a better winning % than Thurston and was NESCAC coach of the year twice. He left Amherst for the Eastern CT baseball job – his wife is a surgeon at Yale-New Haven Hospital.)

[SpringSt7]

I would be surprised if this year had all that big of an impact on Toomey's future as a coach. First of all, they're still a very good and talented team and it would be hard to see them finishing the season in a way that could be classified as a failure. He's 27 years old, and will have been a part of the Amherst program for 10 years by the season's end. He's probably learned a whole lot under Hixon and if he doesn't end up being Hixon's heir (which I still feel is possible but far from a certainty) he will have a plethora of options in a variety of positions at every level.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Are these power rankings? Just teams you think are good? Regardless, outside of Babson I think it's still a little early to talk about signature wins, but for that reason I think I have the Beavers at the top of NE. If I had to give 5 it would look like this:

1. Babson (9-0). 4-0 against the NESCAC, two wins being against Amherst and Tufts, and the other two still impressive in traveling to Maine twice to win on the road big at both Bates and Bowdoin. Salem St. is not looking strong right now but if Sean Bryan returns at some point during the year they are still favorites to win the MASCAC and that win will only get better. A chance to see their 5th NESCAC team of the year on 12/31 as they head to Hartford for Trinity's holiday tournament.

2. Middlebury (9-0). It's been dicey at times for Midd but 9-0 is 9-0 and there is certainly no denying the talent on this team, arguably the most explosive offense in New England, at least on paper. It's always a challenge gelling early on in the season when so many of your top offense weapons return, everyone wants more shots but there are never enough shots to go around. Luckily, Middlebury has one of the best coaches around in Jeff Brown and should only continue to improve. A potential stab at Springfield shortly after New Year's looks to be their biggest and maybe only non-conference test before they open league play at Amherst on January 10th.

3. Colby (9-0). A lot of questions will persist about this team heading into NESCAC play--ability to defend, how to win when they evidently have an off night, being able to handle having a bigger target on their back--but if you're Coach Strahorn you couldn't have asked for your first 9 games to go any better. 96.6 points per game on 49-42-71 splits is as good as it gets offensively, and Sam Jefferson looks every bit of an All-American right now.

4. Amherst (4-2). Not the start the Mammoths envisioned, a shock upset on the road at Westfield St. and a loss to a really good Babson team in a year where you would've liked their chances to make it to 2020 undefeated if only for the sheer amount of talent they returned. Grant Robinson has been a shell of himself to begin the year, 10.5 ppg on tough 29-32-80 splits, but hopefully for him things will be back to normal following his most recent 22 point performance against Emerson. A huge test on Tuesday as Springfield comes to town.

5. Springfield (7-0). A number of teams could claim this 5th spot but it goes to the Pride on behalf of their star senior duo Jake Ross and Heath Post, who are combining to score just a shade under 52 points a game, with Ross leading the nation at 30.9 a night. Outside of the two of them, there has not been a ton to write home about, yet to really impress against a somewhat weak non-conference schedule, but they do boast wins against Trinity, Williams, Keene St., and Endicott. The defense seems like an issue and their offense is obviously ridiculously top heavy but they continue to win and with the talent of that duo on the court they have a chance to win every game. We will learn a lot more about them when they visit LeFrak on Tuesday, and all fans around New England should be hoping they have a chance to match up with Springfield shortly after New Year's.

Respectfully, I think you might be overlooking my Albertus Magnus Falcons when referencing the Middlebury non conference schedule and lack of opponents before league play starts. We’ve had some really outstanding games against the Panthers these past 2 seasons. Losing in OT in 2017 and then at home by 10 a season ago. I know the Albertus players and Coach Oliver have this game circled on their calendars because of how well respected the Middlebury program is nationally and it would certainly go down as a HUGE resume victory being on the road against at the moment a top 5 nationally ranked team if we are fortunate enough to pull off the upset.

Again, just wanted to point that out. Middlebury is outstanding and I have always admired Coach Brown and the program since we first met in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in what I think was year 2011. We were eliminated by the Panthers and still to this day one of the best post players I have ever seen at the D3 level in Ryan Sharry torched us in the paint and sent us home packing!