MBB: NESCAC

[SpringSt7]

Williams leads Keene St. 34-32 at half in what has been an awesome game so far, neither team leading by more than 5. Williams trailed 32-27 and scored the last 7 of the half to take a 2 point lead.

Octavio Brito (16 pts) has been as advertised but Alex Lee has played him largely to a draw with 14 points of his own. Keene St's zone has flummoxed the Ephs at times but Hansen and Roughley have 7 each, it has just been a matter of getting them the ball where they need it.

Williams will have to continue to make Brito work and do a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half if they want to see this one out. 7 turnovers is not the end of the world but many of them have been avoidable and have led to transition looks for Keene St. If it can be a halfcourt game where they settle and execute, they should have enough to get it done.

[SpringSt7]

Williams falls to Keene St 75-71 for their first loss of the season.

It was largely back and forth for most of the second half but Keene led just about the whole way and put the throttle down with about 6 minutes left and once they got it to 5-7, Brito took care of the rest, keeping Williams at arm's length with his terrific ability to create space and knock down jumpers off the dribble. You could feel the relative youth/tightness as well as the inherent struggles of the Williams offensive personnel as they had to work so hard to create looks and match Brito at a rate that was unsustainable in the end. There was a nice effort late with some full court press that gave them a chance late but ultimately the better team won.

Brito was great but the Owls got some huge shot making from Aronson and Baptiste throughout the second half that clearly affected Williams and limited their ability to focus so much of their attention on Brito. Credit to the Owl defensive effort as well, there were very few possessions in which Williams looked settled in the halfcourt for the duration of the second half. And lastly, there were some backbreaking offensive rebounds on tipped balls and poor box outs that will eat away at the Ephs tomorrow in film if I had to guess.

For Williams, this game highlighted their flaws - limited ability to create at the guard spot in particular. Justin Belcher showed some flashes in the second half that you hope will build his confidence and growth because they really need someone with his dynamicism in the lineup. Hansen and Roughley played well but not well enough given where the team is at the moment and they really need some help from everyone else. Those two and Alex Lee are also their most relied on defenders and you could see in the second half that they just don't have the bandwidth to do it all. Aidan Yates had another good game off the bench, you can pencil him in as another guy that they will need to grow into a bigger role in the second semester.

The hope is that the experience of this game makes them a better team, and it will, especially the younger players, but this was a great opportunity early for a key Pool C win that slipped away.

[nescac1]

Valiant effort for the Ephs against a very very tough Keene State team.  I thought other than one brutal five minute stretch where the game got away from Williams, they played very well, but that five minutes killed them.  Still, a young Ephs team will grow from this one, and they showed a lot of grit and promise.

For Williams, Alex Lee had a stellar day with 20 points, four boards, and only two turnovers against a lot of pressure from the Keene State guards.  I thought his backcourt make Sammy Cooley was also excellent - he gets better and better each year and is more confident attacking the rim.  He had a solid 10-5-2 with zero turnovers and played strong defense.  Hudson Hansen had another nice two-way game but wasn't as dominant as he's been in other games.  He drew the tough assignment as the primary defender on Brito and did an excellent job; a lot of Brito's points were off screens or when other guys were guarding him.  Brito was as good as advertised and he dominated the game at times, just a complete player who controls the game entirely. 

The Eph frosh were a huge story today and are now firmly entrenched in the rotation.  Yates is very comfortable shooting with defenders draped all over him and is also a solid defensive rebounder - he finished with 10 and 4.  And Justin Belcher adds a ton of excitement to the Ephs on both sides of the ball.  He is hyper aggressive and while he's going to make some mistakes (and did today) he certainly brings a lot more to the table than he takes off, even as a very young player with a lot to learn.  Today he had 7-4-2 plus two steals, although he did struggle to convert inside the paint. Like a lot of young guards he can work on taking his foot off the gas and gathering for a calmer finish. 

Tough not to pull out a very winnable game against a legit top-15 caliber team, but the Ephs are looking better than I would have expected at this point in the season for a team still down a ton of guys (Glatzer, Devine, Porter, McGraw) and relying heavily on first year players. 

P.S. just read Spring St.'s post and agree that some of the tips and lost balls on offensive rebounds were a huge factor in the second half.  Keene went hard after loose balls and wore the Ephs down a bit with their relentlessness. 

[ItsATuftSituation]

Nice start for Tufts, and a strong win yesterday against a good Endicott team. Wasn't able to get to the game, but watched it on Jumbocast.

Few things stood out to me:

1. Morakis is a sometimes maddening, but often entertaining watch. He's a guy that uses his body well in the paint, is a little funky but effective shooter and has gotten better with his decision making. He also has improved his defense, and his cool demeanor seems to rub off on his teammates.

2. Gyimesi is so, so good and he's now shooting more and making more threes. He's a total weapon, and while his scoring volume isn't really there it's because he isn't a volume shooter. He takes everything he get, is so tough on the glass and is an elite passer.

3. Jon Medley is so tough. He took a brutal fall in an and-1, was down and stayed in and made the shot too. He also gets hands on so many passes, and is a very confident attacking offensive player.

4. Bernstein kind of what he is, but that is such a huge asset. Big body, affects so many shots, good feet on the block and is much more comfortable passing out of doubles now too.

5. We'll see about depth of this team, as Wooten, Watt and Kennelly play hard and bring great defensive intensity. If either of them can help offensively, along with Gettings coming back soon, could be a big help.

Big week ahead, MIT is better and WPI is big and will be looking for payback from last year.

[toad22]

I was quite pleased with William's play in the Keene State loss. Since NESCAC gets no scrimmages before the regular season, this was comparatively our first game. The Ephs rotation features mostly new players, or guys in new roles. The first three games this year were light years better than last year. We have already found three FYs who can really help. Yates and Belcher are a bit ahead of Rein, but all three will only get better throughout the season as they get regular minutes. The "Big Three" of Lee, Roughly, and Hansen all playing pretty well, even Roughly, who is a bit banged up. I should also mention Sammy Cooley, a player as solid and reliable as a fifth or sixth offensive option can be in this league. I think it is highly likely that Williams will improve a whole lot in the next couple of months. This is a much better group than I was hoping at the beginning of practice.

Keene State is very good and Brito was great. They deserved to win.

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin has started 4-0 this season and while I'm not sure they have faced the stiffest competition, it's still nice to see the Polar Bears start strong.  Haven't had an opportunity to watch any of the games but they seem to have a fairly balanced offense and a number of their bench players have seen the floor.

Their 3 pt shooting has been solid, but not spectacular and this could be an area of concern as they head into conference play.  Also, FY Chris Simonds didn't play in the most recent game against Emmanuel.  Hope all is well with him.

[maineman]

Midd defeated Plattsburgh State tonight 90-60, but Tristan Joseph is not listed in the box score.  Does anyone know if he is injured?

[Bucket]

Midd defeated Plattsburgh State tonight 90-60, but Tristan Joseph is not listed in the box score.  Does anyone know if he is injured?

What is your obsession with injuries?! It's a majority of your posts.

[jumbomumbo]

Midd defeated Plattsburgh State tonight 90-60, but Tristan Joseph is not listed in the box score.  Does anyone know if he is injured?

What is your obsession with injuries?! It's a majority of your posts.

probably a coach tryna get the inside scoop

[Bucket]

Midd defeated Plattsburgh State tonight 90-60, but Tristan Joseph is not listed in the box score.  Does anyone know if he is injured?

What is your obsession with injuries?! It's a majority of your posts.

probably a coach tryna get the inside scoop

  Must also coach soccer and football. The obsession plagues all boards!

[P'bearfan]

Congrats to Bowdoin for defeating Maine Maritime 78-33 and moving to 5-0 before the Thanksgiving break.

Was able to watch this game and the most striking impression was how well coached this team is.  Just terrific ball movement by all the Polar Bears against a fairly disciplined MMA zone defense.  Bowdoin also employed a full court press early in both halves to good effect.

Finally, Bowdoin shot the long ball very well, 45.2% for the game.

If Bowdoin can maintain this level of play throughout the season they will surprise some teams.

[el_jefe_90]

Some former NESCAC players are producing for their new teams:

David Murray [Conn to D1 Merrimack] averaging 4.2ppg and 4.7rpg on 60% shooting in 13mpg as a reserve.

Ben Rice [Conn to D2 Johnson University] averaging 4.7ppg and 5.7rpg in 7 games with 2 starts.

Ben Callahan-Gold [Trinity to D1 Binghamton] might be tops among former NESCAC players, averaging 13.1ppg and shooting 39% from three. Started first three games but has since come off the bench.

Jarron Flynn [Conn to Springfield] averaging 13.6ppg, 4.8rpg and 2spg. 8/25 from FT's though (yikes)

Christian McDaniel [Hamilton to Case Western Reserve] averaging 3.2ppg 2.2 rpg and nearly 2spg as a reserve.

Alex Stoddard [Williams to Babson] will hopefully find his shooting touch soon. 2.5ppg and 2.5rpg on 20% FG and 12.5% 3FG in 4 games off the bench.

Let me know if I'm missing anyone!

[jumbomumbo]

Midd defeated Plattsburgh State tonight 90-60, but Tristan Joseph is not listed in the box score.  Does anyone know if he is injured?

What is your obsession with injuries?! It's a majority of your posts.

probably a coach tryna get the inside scoop

  Must also coach soccer and football. The obsession plagues all boards!

student reporter possibly

[nescac1]

The first chunk of the season is complete, and NESCAC has generally performed well, with a sterling combined record of 44-12 - albeit against mostly weak competition, as I believe Keene State and WPI are the only top 25 opponents that a NESCAC team has faced so far.  NESCAC does have some solid wins against strong teams from the New England region, like St. Joe's, WNEC, Clark, and Endicott, but no team has a signature win just yet, although St. Joe's might end up as one for Midd.  Opportunities to earn one will come in the form of the upcoming NESCAC-UAA challenge, as well as big games ahead for Tufts against WPI and Keene State.  Some VERY early reads on the shape of the league so far:

1. Trinity, 2. Tufts, 3. Wesleyan, 4. Middlebury, 5. Williams, 6. Bowdoin, 7. Colby, 8. Hamilton, 9. Amherst, 10. Conn, 11. Bates. 

This mostly matches up with Massey ratings (which currently has seven NESCAC teams in its top 55), with Bowdoin a bit higher here due to being easily undefeated and Amherst being knocked down due to blowing out bad teams, helping its Massey rating, but losing twice to the better teams it has faced:

https://masseyratings.com/cb2025/12903

This is not meant to be predictive, but rather primarily reflects results to date.  I think the order from 3-9 will shift quite a bit - but I also think, right now, those teams are probably grouped fairly closely.  Other than Trinity and Tufts towards the top and Bates at the bottom, there is a lot of room for teams to move up and down.  Conn slipping so far emphasizes just how dominant David Murray was, on both ends, last season.  Ben Rice is also sneakily missed as he was an absolute terror defensively in the zone. 

POTY to date: Sam Stevens
ROTY: Ray Cuevas
COTY: Jeff Brown
Most improved player: Ben Lyttle and Hudson Hansen

Again, not meant to be predictive.

Other rookies to watch: Justin Belcher and Aidan Yates, Williams; Nate Kwiecinski and Dan Civello, Colby; Zach Wolinski and Oscar Edelman, Wesleyan; Sawyer Ramey, Midd; Elias Chin, Amherst; Garret Clar, Conn; and Liam McBride, Bowdoin. 

[jumbomumbo]

#8 Tufts against #20 WPI tomorrow... I suspect a Tufts win against WPI and Keene in a few weeks would propel Tufts to it's highest ranking in program history, which was achieved in 2016 when Tufts was ranked 4th. Last year they got as high as #5. Rankings don't matter much at this point as im sure half the top 25 will be replaced in just a few months, but still a sign of a strong Jumbos squad