MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Thanks stlawus!  St Lawrence played a heck of a defensive game. The Ephs had made it look easy in their first four games but today just could not solve that aggressive 2-3.  St Lawrence seemed really tireless moving quickly and keeping their arms raised the entire game plus getting some opportunistic steals in transition.  Fought hard on every possession.  Well coached team for sure, just some bad luck at the line today.  I'm quite confident that will be the Ephs' lowest scoring output of the year.  And Adamson was very tough down low, a real physical presence.  Nate tends to step it up for Williams when the rest of the team is struggling to finish, and today was no exception.  Williams plays a lot of Liberty League powers this year so will be interesting to compare ... starting on Tuesday!

[Old Guy]

I dunno, some of you may check box scores — If you looked at the Middlebury-Endicott box, you perhaps thought it was a misprint: Sobel had 26-10, okay, but was 4-5 from three! Indeed so! He obviously spent time in the off-season working on his shot. In the Panther offense he comes to the top of the key, and his defender today laid off, daring him to shoot. So he did: hit 4 threes in a row, swishes too, no iron. 86% from the line so far, 18-21. He's better this year, discernably so, and looks like he's having a good time. 34 minutes today, two fouls (just one foul in the last game vs NoVT).

Strange game. Middlebury played great, up to their ranking, for 30 minutes, and was ahead 60-35 at the halfway point in the second half: a blowout, a laugher. They took their foot off the pedal, the car stalled, and they almost couldn't get it started again. The Gulls went on a 24-4 run, got as close as 5 with a minute an a half to go, but they missed some shots and we made some free throws (Osher), and came away a 73-64 win. Stevens is still not hitting, 0-3 from three, and appears tentative, passing up shots in traffic (that nice fadeaway in the paint) that he made last year. One good game and he'll be back (we trust). He does a lot of other good things when he's on the floor — defends, rebounds, handles the ball.

Middlebury again had a huge rebounding edge, 48-29 (the ever-dependable Brennan had 11), but had 17 turnovers. First-year Flaks was a help against pressure in the last five minutes. Middlebury has depth in the backcourt they lacked last year. Bobbett had a nice game — 8 points, 8 boards, 4 assists.

Off till next weekend and the UAA-NESCAC challenge in Rochester against CWRU and Rochester. That will be a test. 

[PoppersMacsLive]

Appreciate that nescac1. It was a fun game to broadcast!

Yeshiva's online broadcast is the best I've seen in D3.  Awesome video quality, great replays, and stellar announcers.  Top, top flight.

[JEFFFAN]

Mostly good day for NESCAC with Williams, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Colby, Conn, Midd and Bates all pulling out wins.  Sobel went 4-5 from 3?  GULP.  He's been an absolute monster this year, putting up national POY stats, and seems to have added range, which is scary, keeping Midd undefeated despite Stevens' slow start.  Also, only eight fouls through four games, eliminating his only weakness from last year ...

Midd, Trinity, Tufts, Colby, Williams give NESCAC five early-season undefeated teams.  HUGE night ahead for NESCAC on Tuesday with Tufts hosting St. Joseph's and Williams hosting RPI.  St. Joe's is going to be a top five team and RPI likely a top 15 team in this week's poll, I expect, so those are two of the biggest non-league games remaining.  Tufts may squeeze into the top 25 as well this week (and with a win over St. Joe's would certainly skyrocket high into the poll), and Williams will certainly stay somewhere in the top eight. 

Meanwhile, Amherst is the lone exception, losing in a close game to Yeshiva.  I certainly did not have Amherst and Wesleyan, even despite big losses from last year's teams, a combined 3-7 so far this year.  Amherst continues to have a huge size advantage over its opponents and even shot the ball very well vs. Yeshiva, but was done in by 26 (gulp) turnovers including several very costly turnovers down the stretch. 

Yeshiva's online broadcast is the best I've seen in D3.  Awesome video quality, great replays, and stellar announcers.  Top, top flight.

The new Amherst coaching staff still thinks it is coaching at a Division 1 program where height matters.  At the D3 level, the taller they are the more ineffective they are as players.  If they were tall and good they would be playing in the Ivies or Patriot League, right??!!  It is a shooter's division followed by mid-sized athletes next.   My guess is that Hixon knew this already in his third year as a coach.

[nescac1]

Speaking of Amherst, don't sleep on the Northern Vermont Johnson game. Tough turnaround from playing a tiring game in in NYC yesterday, and as Midd can tell you, they are feisty.  Not deep but their starters can play especially Yaskin-Williams and Semega.  They hired a new coach who in two years has brought in guys from all over the country to a previously atrocious program in the middle of nowhere.  A team to watch if he keeps that sort of recruiting going.  He's clearly not afraid to play anyone (Dartmouth next!).

I'm very curious to see this week's D3 top 25.  It's going to be as New England heavy as any in recent memory, with so many of the top regional teams undefeated and several with some big time wins.  I expect St. Joe's, Keene St, Williams and WPI to all be in the top 12, with Midd possibly joining them or close behind.  Tufts could squeeze into the top 25 as well and I think we likely see Trinity, which has a very favorable remaining schedule (they get Tufts, Midd and Williams at home) there at some point this season.  Other than Tufts - St Joe's none from that group match up until Dec 30, so they all have a chance to put up some gaudy records for a bit.  St. Joe's-WPI and Keene-Midd are the big non league games to watch down the road ...

[D3Parent1]

I would add in that the UAA NESCAC Challenge this coming weekend features some big matchups as 4 of the teams are undefeated, two more have only 1 loss,  and Bowdoin is coming off a strong showing

[Bucket]

I dunno, some of you may check box scores — If you looked at the Middlebury-Endicott box, you perhaps thought it was a misprint: Sobel had 26-10, okay, but was 4-5 from three! Indeed so! He obviously spent time in the off-season working on his shot. In the Panther offense he comes to the top of the key, and his defender today laid off, daring him to shoot. So he did: hit 4 threes in a row, swishes too, no iron. 86% from the line so far, 18-21. He's better this year, discernably so, and looks like he's having a good time. 34 minutes today, two fouls (just one foul in the last game vs NoVT).

Strange game. Middlebury played great, up to their ranking, for 30 minutes, and was ahead 60-35 at the halfway point in the second half: a blowout, a laugher. They took their foot off the pedal, the car stalled, and they almost couldn't get it started again. The Gulls went on a 24-4 run, got as close as 5 with a minute an a half to go, but they missed some shots and we made some free throws (Osher), and came away a 73-64 win. Stevens is still not hitting, 0-3 from three, and appears tentative, passing up shots in traffic (that nice fadeaway in the paint) that he made last year. One good game and he'll be back (we trust). He does a lot of other good things when he's on the floor — defends, rebounds, handles the ball.

Middlebury again had a huge rebounding edge, 48-29 (the ever-dependable Brennan had 11), but had 17 turnovers. First-year Flaks was a help against pressure in the last five minutes. Middlebury has depth in the backcourt they lacked last year. Bobbett had a nice game — 8 points, 8 boards, 4 assists.

Off till next weekend and the UAA-NESCAC challenge in Rochester against CWRU and Rochester. That will be a test.

FYI...Middlebury is playing Carnegie Mellon in the first game next weekend, not Case Western.

[amh63]

Watched the Amherst game in NYC last night...with Yeshiva last night, with a big smile on my face.  Fond memories.  My room-mate in my first grad school was from Yeshiva...took awhile to understand all the orthodox things...lights, etc.  Spent one Thanksgiving dinner with his family, etc.  Had a haircut at a barber at Yeshiva, who asked me if he could use a straight edge for my shave.  Good times and life-long friend.  Worried much when he was thinking of joining his brother in Israel during the fighting in the 60's.  Still have my Yeshiva "skull" cap.  Back to the game....seems that the head coach was evaluating his younger players...different combinations.  His seven feet freshman was shooting and making 3-point shots. Appeared to me that some of his more experienced players were "hurt" and being rested.  Will see tonight...another game.

[Old Guy]

I dunno, some of you may check box scores — If you looked at the Middlebury-Endicott box, you perhaps thought it was a misprint: Sobel had 26-10, okay, but was 4-5 from three! Indeed so! He obviously spent time in the off-season working on his shot. In the Panther offense he comes to the top of the key, and his defender today laid off, daring him to shoot. So he did: hit 4 threes in a row, swishes too, no iron. 86% from the line so far, 18-21. He's better this year, discernably so, and looks like he's having a good time. 34 minutes today, two fouls (just one foul in the last game vs NoVT).

Strange game. Middlebury played great, up to their ranking, for 30 minutes, and was ahead 60-35 at the halfway point in the second half: a blowout, a laugher. They took their foot off the pedal, the car stalled, and they almost couldn't get it started again. The Gulls went on a 24-4 run, got as close as 5 with a minute an a half to go, but they missed some shots and we made some free throws (Osher), and came away a 73-64 win. Stevens is still not hitting, 0-3 from three, and appears tentative, passing up shots in traffic (that nice fadeaway in the paint) that he made last year. One good game and he'll be back (we trust). He does a lot of other good things when he's on the floor — defends, rebounds, handles the ball.

Middlebury again had a huge rebounding edge, 48-29 (the ever-dependable Brennan had 11), but had 17 turnovers. First-year Flaks was a help against pressure in the last five minutes. Middlebury has depth in the backcourt they lacked last year. Bobbett had a nice game — 8 points, 8 boards, 4 assists.

Off till next weekend and the UAA-NESCAC challenge in Rochester against CWRU and Rochester. That will be a test.

FYI...Middlebury is playing Carnegie Mellon in the first game next weekend, not Case Western.

Thanks, Bucket. Always as you know in need of a skilled proofreader and fact-checker. Cleveland. Pittsburgh. I get those eastern steel mill towns mixed up (shouldn't, as I lived in Cleveland for six years!). Those games should be fun. I like the idea of conferences playing these matches, like the big boys do.

[amh63]

Aww...homecourt advantage... Thanks for the warning Nescac1 wrt Northern Vermont.  After playing teams away and mixing and matching line-ups, etc., Amherst played it's first home game and beat Northern Vermont...by 30 points or more...cannot recall.  Amherst hit the 3's and scored inside and outside.  Northern Vermont that gave Middlebury a challenge could not against Amherst.  Amherst continue to mix and match it's lineup.  The team from up North could not close the point spread against Amherst.

[nescac1]

Good performance from Amherst ... although I will note when comparing the Middlebury results, in addition to the Midd game being on the road, Northern Vermont was missing its best player against Amherst, Yeskin Walker Williams, who is their leading scorer and rebounder and put up 24-12 plus three steals and a block vs. Midd.  So, hard to really compare results ... especially when Northern Vermont relies so heavily on its top five players. 

Sears "only" played 11 guys until garbage time and gave most of his minutes to his guys who can hit outside shots (benching two non-shooters and playing three of his big men who don't shoot 3's a grant total of 25 combined minutes), so I'm not shocked that the offense was a lot more productive and cohesive than it has been.  Ultimately, I just think you won't see Amherst playing two guys from the Schretter/Vance/Tam/Scherrer/Schlakman group together.  Those guys all are most comfortable close to the basket, don't space the floor, aren't really ideal to guard guards or wings, and don't do much if any ball-handling.  Play 2-3 from that group in a center rotation (with maybe Vance occasionally playing a few minutes at the 4 since he can at least guard smaller guys), with some combo of Randle, Martin, Helmke and Hammond on the wing and Reynolds, Mitchell, and Sommers at guard, and you actually have four guys capable of doing stuff on the perimeter at any given time on the floor.  That is a lineup that makes sense. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Driving to Johnson and playing in that gym with a typically decent crowd is not the easiest experience, either - at least compared to hosting them.

[amh63]

Sorry guys....disagree with both last posters replies..  Amherst at Yeshiva had a seven footer shooting and hitting threes...check the scorecard.  At Amherst, the coaches from both teams were both  mixing and matching players to find the best combo in the game being played.  Early in the season, coaches want to see how players adjust to the situation at hand...like a key player getting injured.  Where was the key player for NVermont.  Amherst was running a fast-pace/tempo game.  Amherst's big front court players were challenging opponents going inside, etc.  The 30 point difference was there for most of the second half.  Seems Amherst has some  injuries too.  Mine point is that there is always a HOME court advantage with "friendly" nets.  Coaches and players want to win games at home and away...with and without friendly nets and crowds.  The Nescac only season is approaching fast. Both coaches and players want to play in post-season games.

[nescac1]

Williams cruises 58-40 in one of the most dominant defensive performances I've seen from an Eph team.  RPI plays at a deliberate pace, and Williams was just ice cold from the perimeter in this one, accounting for the low scoring output, but they got great looks all game long and just took it to the paint continuously in the second half.  RPI is not quick nor especially big and that's a bad combination against a locked-in Eph defense that seemed to have a hand on or near just about every RPI shot attempt. 

Cole Prowitt-Smith, Brandon Roughley (looking MUCH sharper in his second game back from injury) and Declan Porter all had strong games for the Ephs offensively, and everyone played great defensively.  After two straight cold shooting games the Ephs will need to get into a shooting groove vs. Wesleyan -- even though Wesleyan has struggled, Little Three games are always a battle and I suspect this one will be as well, especially now that Wesleyan seems to have its full roster back and playing. 

If I'm handicapping the Liberty League, I'd put St. Lawrence over RPI.  St. Lawrence has more of an inside presence and its defense is very tough to crack.  But maybe it's just a matter of something the Ephs could not figure out seeing only once. 

[Painter66]

Having watched and reviewed many of the NESCAC games so far, a few things seems to emerge. Williams looks to be the early season class of the field, based on talent and depth. Depth, of course, can prove tricky for App, as he has some pressure to feed a lot of minutes to many players. But, they are good. No team is shooting particularly well, likely due to early season rust. This will change, and a few teams will gain an advantage as the season moves toward January. Most of the winning teams are winning the rebound edge, but only Middlebury, with Sobel and Brennan, is really dominating. If this continues, it could be good for Midd. Also, Midd has no issues with excessive depth, as their top 8/9 players have well defined roles. This also seems true with Trinity, which has surpassed expectations. Finally, St. Joe's win over Tufts is a bit of a jolt. Not only are they good but they beat a good NESCAC team easily. They will be a big problem in the region. But, the fun is just beginning.