MBB: NESCAC

[Colby Hoops]

Tufts up 12 at the half.  Colby struggling with Rogers.

Colby getting mashed down low on and the boards. Tufts with some really smart high-low offense to get lobs to Rogers, forcing the Mules to a 3-2 zone.

The last month or so, Colby's offense has been stuck in the mud. Can't get as many back cuts to the rim as they were early in the year. Struggling to finish in the lane over to the taller Jumbos today. Looking a bit more like last year's offense where they just get pushed out into shooting deeper and deeper threes. Some will start to fall, but going to need to execute much better in the second half to have a chance.

Coast Guard winning is very bad for Amherst.

[maineman]

With that being said, if you are an Amherst fan and hoping to see them sneak into the tournament, you should be rooting for WPI, St. Joe's, Yeshiva, Centre, and RPI today, in hopes that the bubble doesn't get any smaller if any of those teams lose.

Coast Guard just defeated WPI 89-86 in OT.

Coast Guard catches fire!
How will this impact Pool C?

St Joes hung on to defeat Albertus Magnus 88-84.

[maineman]

Which team would be the least likely to be selected?  Tufts, Colby, Midd, Amherst, WPI, Babson, Springfield with Coast Guard already in via Pool A?  Probably Amherst meaning NEWMAC gets 4 teams and NESCAC 3.

[SpringSt7]

Which team would be the least likely to be selected?  Tufts, Colby, Midd, Amherst, WPI, Babson, Springfield with Coast Guard already in via Pool A?  Probably Amherst meaning NEWMAC gets 4 teams and NESCAC 3.

As a friendly reminder, these teams are evaluated on a nation wide basis, not regionally. Amherst's resume will be compared with Whitworth's just as much as WPI's.  With that being said, Ithaca and Berry winning would also be killer for bubble teams.

[Old Guy]

Watching the Championship game, without a strong rooting interest, though being a Maine guy growing up, wouldn't mind seeing the Mules cutting down the nets. Not likely though — down 12 at the half with Jefferson a shadow of his former self. Too bad.

I like listening to the excellent Bruce Bosley, a font of NESCAC hoop and general sports knowledge. https://addisonindependent.com/karl-lindholm-dont-call-bruce-bosley-voice-panthers
He asked rhetorically if there was a Dean Weiner (not Dean Wormer!) in any NESCAC administrative role. Leave it to Old Guy: for many years, the Dean of Students at Amherst, as I recall, was Dean (Ben) Weiner. In my role at Middlebury, we often found ourselves hanging out in the same places.

Back to the action!

[SpringSt7]

This is a carbon copy of the Amherst game last night.

[maineman]

Centre defeats Berry but Ithaca is all over RPI in OT by 11 with 30 seconds to go.  Now final, 80-69.

[Pat Coleman]

This has been a great game.

[JEFFFAN]

Awesome game!

[middhoops]

Jumbos show some serious grit in winning OT battle on their home court.  Must admit that I'm surprised it's their first NESCAC crown.
Congrats to Tufts.  Colby made them earn every bit of it.

[Colby Hoops]

Wow, Colby fans will be having nightmares about Eric Savage. That shot at the end of regulation was insane, chucking it up after nearly losing the ball and hitting nothing but net from 30+ feet with two seconds to go. He hit some tough, huge shots down the stretch (27/11/6). I'm usually a fan of fouling up three with under 8 seconds, but given Tufts huge rebounding advantage, I think I agree with not fouling in that situation.

Great effort from both teams today. Colby fought back from down 17 at one point (this team is relentless) and seemingly had the game won. The Mules put forth a massive defensive effort in the second half, flummoxing Tufts with a switch to the zone. Dean Weiner played the best game of his career, stuffing Luke Rogers at the rim a few times and pouring in 23 points. Weiner fouling out in the first overtime led to Rogers taking over in the second overtime (monster game with 25 and 19) . Colby didn't give the game away at all, just some massive shots by Tufts to win it. Although Colby will definitely rue a few very good three point looks and one point blank layup that didn't go in OT.

Sam Jefferson with a heroic effort. Playing on one leg, he played most of the second half and the overtimes, taking charges, hitting a huge three in regulation. Just a gutsy effort.

That one certainly stings -- so close to a conference title...

Congrats to the Jumbos -- cool to win it on the home floor. Looked like great crowds all weekend.

[SpringSt7]

Hard to believe, but this is the first time the regular season champion has won the conference tournament as well since Amherst did it in 2014. It was a heck of a weekend of games, not the highest quality in terms of shotmaking and what not (Eric Savage might like a word, I should add), but a lot of fight and heart on display. For Colby to have a chance to win today despite a hobbled Jefferson and an ice cold Dorion and Tucker, speaks a lot to their coaching staff, defensive efforts, and moxie of the younger guys as well as the rest of the supporting cast.

It is going to be a really interesting next couple of weeks in the NESCAC. The three presumed teams--Colby, Tufts, and Middlebury--all leave a lot to be desired, but there doesn't seem to be much around the region that is going to prevent a couple of teams from getting into the second weekend and having at least some what of a chance in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. St. Joe's is arguably the best team in the region right now, but I would never want to have to go up against Jake Ross in a one game playoff. Not to mention that a run to the Final Four from this side of the Mississippi is probably going to require beating at least 2 of Swarthmore, Johns Hopkins, and Randolph-Macon.

For any of the 3 teams to do that would require a healthy Sam Jefferson (although his lack of progress from game to game is concerning, and the first round is only 4 days away), the Eric Savage we saw today, and for Middlebury to string together a couple of performances that we all know they are capable of, despite their struggles they are probably still pound-for-pound the most talented team in New England. A little bracket luck wouldn't hurt--the Hoopsville show is on in about 45 minutes if anyone is looking for a better idea about potential matchups, hosting rights (I'll guess Tufts and Springfield are staying home), etc,.

Best of luck to the remaining teams! Some fresh faces in the tournament is exciting for everyone involved--coaches, fans, parents, and of course players. A lot of folks appearing in their first and maybe only NCAA tournament, it doesn't get much better than that.

[WPI89]

+1 Spring.  Well summarized.

[Colby Hoops]

Good stuff SpringSt7. Seems unlikely that Jefferson will be close to full health unless Colby makes a fairly deep run. A lot of heart and smarts this weekend for Colby, but the Colby team that was running teams off the floor early in the year isn't coming back anytime soon. Middlebury's defense has been suspect for most of the year, particularly since Sobel left. They have the experience and talent to make a run, but they have some big weaknesses on that side of the ball.

I like Tufts as the team with the best chance to make a run among the NESCAC teams. Rogers is a beast, Savage is one of the best players in New England. Not flashy, but just really a good, smart, effective player who contributes in a lot of ways. The other guys have a lot of talent and can make open shots -- they could use Aronson getting hot.

And I wouldn't count out Amherst. Titan Q still has them projected as the last Pool C team right now.  They've not looked like we expected for most of the season, but there's a lot of tested, talented players on that team. I certainly wouldn't look forward to facing them in the tourney.

[lumbercat]

Tufts up 12 at the half.  Colby struggling with Rogers.

The last month or so, Colby's offense has been stuck in the mud.

You have got to be kidding