MBB: NESCAC

[jumpshot]

The Williams defensive play against RPI tonight and thus far this season has made a huge difference ... truly the hard work of basketball, along with rebounding, that has always been the keys for success in the NESCAC ... keep working hard EPHS ....

[amh63]

Back again...in this post holiday period...checking around for Nescac games to watch.  Trinity men's team has an interesting player....a transfer post player from Tulane Un.  In this early time when Nescac teams are playing non conference teams, the tallest Trinity player is the top scorer and rebounder, etc.  In Nescac, we often point out key players transferring to D1.  Seems now, Trinity has a former D1 player becoming a key player.

[SpringSt7]

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.

Understand the sentiment but disagree that it will be a problem because most of their depth are underclassmen who are either new to playing at all---i.e. the freshmen class of Lee, Hanson, and McGraw (who will probably be phased out of the rotation as conference play approaches) or are seeing new roles with an uptick in playing time and shots (Glatzer, Roughley, Porter). The only guy on the team who isn't a returning starter that is either going to have the same or even a lesser role is Brandon Arnold at back up center, who I would imagine can understand why he is not playing more over his All-American classmate. Everyone else---Spivy, Prowitt-Smith, Porter, etc, is getting starters' minutes and shots.

So yes, they have a lot of mouths to feed, but there is still enough to go around because they are still so young. Next year and the year after I can maybe see that begin to be an issue, like it was for Amherst when they returned Day/Robinson/Che/Sellew/etc in 2019-20 and there weren't any more shots to go around.

[Bucket]

Back again...in this post holiday period...checking around for Nescac games to watch.  Trinity men's team has an interesting player....a transfer post player from Tulane Un.  In this early time when Nescac teams are playing non conference teams, the tallest Trinity player is the top scorer and rebounder, etc.  In Nescac, we often point out key players transferring to D1.  Seems now, Trinity has a former D1 player becoming a key player.

He was a key player for them last year, too. And has been talked about on this board a lot.

[Colby Hoops]

Comfortable win for Colby last night over Bowdoin with a balanced scoring attack. Lucas Green continues to shoot it well -- if he can cut down on turnovers a bit, he has a chance to be a very nice player. While Bowdoin missed some makeable shots early in the game, it was clearly Colby's best defensive performance of the year. The Mules haven't looked dominant but are winning games that they lost last year, even when perimeter shots aren't falling. This weekend will be a big barometer with games against Brandeis and Emory.

Bowdoin plays hard and has some decent younger players, but they are small and don't have anyone who can create reliable offense.

[nescac1]

Early-season POTY watch in NESCAC:

The runaway favorite is certainly Alex Sobel: 23-12-2 plus 4 bpg on 57/67/87 splits, leading the league in most statistical categories (or very close to doing so), just an utterly dominant start to the year.

Sobel may be a virtual POY lock if healthy, so here are some players to watch for possible all-league consideration based on performance to date:

Ben Callahan-Gold (18-7-2 on 44/42/83); Nicky Johnson (13-8-7 plus 3 spg, but he will have to shoot it better, and Wesleyan win more, to be in the first-team mix); Declan Porter (Ephs are too balanced to have an individual winner but he's been really impressive - 14-4-2, 45 percent from 3 on high volume, only two total turnovers on the year vs. eight steals); Nate Karren (same comment applies - 12-6-3 on 58/40/100, plus the defensive anchor inside); Steph Baxter (18-4-3 on 43/32/75); Hank Morgan (18-3-2 on 54/42/73); Dylan Thoerner (16-5-3 on 53/39/88); and James McGowan (Bowdoin not good as a team, but still, he is off to an impressive start - 21/7/2 on 49/36/71). 

Early-season ROTY watch:

The runaway favorite is Max Poulton, who would be Colby's third ROY in four seasons ... 13/5/1 on 43/30/82

Other players to watch, although really, very few frosh are playing very significant roles on NESCAC teams to date:

Alex Lee (8-2-1 in only 18 mpg on 50/42/73 shooting), and after that, a bunch of well-regarded rotation guys with modest numbers but who may play bigger roles as the season goes along, including Pohlman and Hauser for Wesleyan, Flaks and McKersie at Midd, Hansen at Williams, Randle and Tam at Amherst, Casey at Conn, Morakis at Tufts, and Vetter and Okurogo at Trinity. 

[deiscanton]

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

Here are the records of the participating teams in the UAA-NESCAC Challenge coming into the weekend--

NESCAC teams:

Middlebury-- 4-0

Colby 7-0 (includes a victory over Bowdoin in Brunswick, ME in a CBB game)-- Colby is 6-0 vs non-NESCAC teams

Bowdoin 3-3 (includes a loss vs Colby in Brunswick, ME in a CBB game)-- Bowdoin is 3-2 vs non-NESCAC teams

Bates 3-3

NESCAC group is 17-6 overall (16-5 vs non-NESCAC teams).

UAA teams;

Rochester-- 5-1

Carnegie Mellon-- 5-0

Brandeis-- 6-0

Emory-- 4-1

UAA group is 20-2 overall coming into this weekend's Challenge.

[SpringSt7]

The team I'm most interested in seeing from the NESCAC side is Colby. They are 7-0 and only 1 of those wins came at home. They've proven they can go on the road and win 2 games in 2 days as they already did in Chicago but Brandeis and Emory will be by far the two best teams they've played. If they find the right balance of efficiency between Will King, Noah Tyson, and Max Poulton they have a really good recipe for success although they will need to start getting more from Jack Lawson. But the middle class of the NESCAC looks down right now and there's no reason they can't be in the mix for a home playoff game.

[nescac1]

I wish more of the NESCAC upper tier was involved in the NESCAC-UAA challenge, but maybe in future years.  Still should a lot of fun.  I do think we will find out a lot about NESCAC teams this weekend between that, Wesleyan at Williams, Hamilton hosting WPI, and Tufts going to Harvard (well, the latter may not say much but is still a lot of fun). 

It's still very early but interesting to see where NESCAC teams stand in these efficiency ratings so far:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/division-iii-mens-basketball-efficiency.html

Williams is 5th nationally, consistent with its ranking.

Then there is the contending tier in the league, fairly closely grouped together ... Trinity 34, Tufts 43, Midd 60, Colby 63.  I agree with SpringSt that Colby as a very veteran team is definitely right in that mix.  Midd and Colby have a chance to dramatically rise this weekend if they perform well in the UAA challenge, and I think Midd, at least, is going to end up well above 60.  Midd is a top-heavy team and Stevens is just too good a player to keep struggling with his shooting the way he has, especially with all the attention Sobel is going to be drawing.  This weekend sure would be a good time to start.  Still, the order of these four teams is not at all clear at this point and Trinity has looked the best to date.  Too bad Trinity's remaining non-league schedule is so ridiculously weak and we probably won't have a great sense of just how good they are until league play begins. 

Hamilton is next at 92, and everyone else is below 100.  Obviously Wesleyan is far below preseason expectations (which were probably a bit lofty based on what they lost to graduation), and they will be desperate for a win (or at least a strong showing) over a favored Williams team this weekend.  Both Williams and Wesleyan are a lot healthier than they were early in the season, so it should be a fun game. 

Amherst keeps dropping and yesterday was a bad day for the Mammoths.  I don't think any Amherst team has lost (let alone by double digits) to a team as bad as Colby Sawyer for many, many years.  Colby Sawyer has been blown out by some pretty mediocre teams this year.  And then Yeshiva, who just beat Amherst, lost by 40 to a good-but-probably-not-great NYU team last night.  It seems like Amherst may have some sort of team illness or something since Randle, Mitchell, Phelan, and Vance did not play and Tam only played two minutes, on top of preexisting injuries.  So certain guys were forced into much bigger roles than usual.  Still, limited roster or no, it's still a very bad loss.  I wish Amherst's website would give ANY sort of information about the team, but the recaps are basically just long form box scores.  Never any quotes from coaches, highlights, or commentary beyond what can be gleaned from statistics.  Seems like it continues to be a bare-bones Sports Information operation there.   

[midrangepullup]

I wish more of the NESCAC upper tier was involved in the NESCAC-UAA challenge, but maybe in future years.  Still should a lot of fun.  I do think we will find out a lot about NESCAC teams this weekend between that, Wesleyan at Williams, Hamilton hosting WPI, and Tufts going to Harvard (well, the latter may not say much but is still a lot of fun). 

It's still very early but interesting to see where NESCAC teams stand in these efficiency ratings so far:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/division-iii-mens-basketball-efficiency.html

Williams is 5th nationally, consistent with its ranking.

Then there is the contending tier in the league, fairly closely grouped together ... Trinity 34, Tufts 43, Midd 60, Colby 63.  I agree with SpringSt that Colby as a very veteran team is definitely right in that mix.  Midd and Colby have a chance to dramatically rise this weekend if they perform well in the UAA challenge, and I think Midd, at least, is going to end up well above 60.  Midd is a top-heavy team and Stevens is just too good a player to keep struggling with his shooting the way he has, especially with all the attention Sobel is going to be drawing.  This weekend sure would be a good time to start.  Still, the order of these four teams is not at all clear at this point and Trinity has looked the best to date.  Too bad Trinity's remaining non-league schedule is so ridiculously weak and we probably won't have a great sense of just how good they are until league play begins. 

Hamilton is next at 92, and everyone else is below 100.  Obviously Wesleyan is far below preseason expectations (which were probably a bit lofty based on what they lost to graduation), and they will be desperate for a win (or at least a strong showing) over a favored Williams team this weekend.  Both Williams and Wesleyan are a lot healthier than they were early in the season, so it should be a fun game. 

Amherst keeps dropping and yesterday was a bad day for the Mammoths.  I don't think any Amherst team has lost (let alone by double digits) to a team as bad as Colby Sawyer for many, many years.  Colby Sawyer has been blown out by some pretty mediocre teams this year.  And then Yeshiva, who just beat Amherst, lost by 40 to a good-but-probably-not-great NYU team last night.  It seems like Amherst may have some sort of team illness or something since Randle, Mitchell, Phelan, and Vance did not play and Tam only played two minutes, on top of preexisting injuries.  So certain guys were forced into much bigger roles than usual.  Still, limited roster or no, it's still a very bad loss.  I wish Amherst's website would give ANY sort of information about the team, but the recaps are basically just long form box scores.  Never any quotes from coaches, highlights, or commentary beyond what can be gleaned from statistics.  Seems like it continues to be a bare-bones Sports Information operation there.   

Conn at 70 too

[nescac1]

Whoops, my bad on Conn, thanks.  They seem to be in the mix as well and have been clearly playing well. 

[deiscanton]

The first game of the 2022 UAA/NESCAC Challenge is underway.

Carnegie Mellon is the designated home team for the match vs Middlebury.

JC DeLass is on the PBP call for all of the UAA/NESCAC Challenge games being played at the Louis Alexander Palestra in Rochester, NY.

[deiscanton]

First game in the 2022 UAA/NESCAC Challenge is a final--

Middlebury 74, Carnegie Mellon 68

NESCAC takes a 1-0 lead in the Challenge, with Colby next hosting Brandeis at 3 PM Eastern.

Bowdoin will tip at Rochester at 4 PM Eastern, followed by Bates playing Emory in Waterville, ME at 5 PM Eastern.

[middhoops]

Hamilton pulls an upset at home over #6 WPI.  Solid game by the Continentals at both ends.  They caught WPI on a cold shooting day, making 7 more threes in a 86-77 victory.
Big time win.  Kudos.

[SpringSt7]

Big day for the league so far, Middlebury and Tufts take care of business against two good teams and Hamilton and Colby pull off some quasi-upsets at home. Trinity struggled to make shots @ Wheaton but hung on for the win. A good showing for depth in the league that has not really showed its mettle yet.