MBB: NESCAC

[jumbomumbo]

Refs are ruining the game for both teams atrocious reffing by all 3.

The refs weren't impressive in the tufts Trinity game either

[Bucket]

Lazarre: ONIONS.

[Bucket]

I do worry about Wesleyan coming off the really tough double OT but they have a slightly longer turnaround than Trinity and the home crowd should give an energy boost.  I like Wes in a close game.

I agree that Regan (or Morgan) are tougher to stop one-on-one than Vetter. And Josh Cameron is a secret weapon, he's been playing more and does a lot of what Dana Smith did last year for Trinity (minus the shooting) as an offensive rebounder and major disrupter on D.  If he can add any sort of outside shot he will be an a tough guy to deal with down the line.  With him and Cormier, Wes matches up as well defensively as anyone on the wing with Vetter and Jarrel. I also think Oscar Edelman will be big for Wesleyan playing bigger minutes as a stretch 5 - without a huge post presence on Trinity, Wes can afford to play him and his spacing can really help the Regan and Johnson drives, when he launches it in rhythm I always feel like it's money. 

If Trinity does win I think it means Lazarre has a big game.  He had a big game vs Wesleyan earlier in the year and he's a guy who needs to score as the Trinity wings will be hounded all game. 

Bowing down to NESCAC1

[jumbomumbo]

Lazzare was absolutely insane! Trinity back to back NESCAC champs!

Wesleyan should have taken the mulligan to Bates or Tufts in the regular season. 2 national title contenders right there. Will not be surprised to see them again on a bigger stage. Can't wait to see this bracket. Mumbo is going to predict every single game correctly

[maineman]

Was anybody at the Final today that can explain what prompted several Trinity players to leave their side of the court and engage with some Wesleyan fans?  Fortunately, they were quickly returned to their side.

[jumbomumbo]

Was anybody at the Final today that can explain what prompted several Trinity players to leave their side of the court and engage with some Wesleyan fans?  Fortunately, they were quickly returned to their side.

I wasn't there. I think they wanted to take a pic in front of the opposing fans lol. Honestly, I never felt like Trinity were "good winners" about things when they'd win games against us. But win back and to back NESCACs and you prob think you can do whatever   

[D3BBALL]

Was anybody at the Final today that can explain what prompted several Trinity players to leave their side of the court and engage with some Wesleyan fans?  Fortunately, they were quickly returned to their side.

It was nothing but some good natured banter with Wesleyan student body.

[D3BBALL]

Lazzare was absolutely insane! Trinity back to back NESCAC champs!

Wesleyan should have taken the mulligan to Bates or Tufts in the regular season. 2 national title contenders right there. Will not be surprised to see them again on a bigger stage. Can't wait to see this bracket. Mumbo is going to predict every single game correctly

I do worry about Wesleyan coming off the really tough double OT but they have a slightly longer turnaround than Trinity and the home crowd should give an energy boost.  I like Wes in a close game.

I agree that Regan (or Morgan) are tougher to stop one-on-one than Vetter. And Josh Cameron is a secret weapon, he's been playing more and does a lot of what Dana Smith did last year for Trinity (minus the shooting) as an offensive rebounder and major disrupter on D.  If he can add any sort of outside shot he will be an a tough guy to deal with down the line.  With him and Cormier, Wes matches up as well defensively as anyone on the wing with Vetter and Jarrel. I also think Oscar Edelman will be big for Wesleyan playing bigger minutes as a stretch 5 - without a huge post presence on Trinity, Wes can afford to play him and his spacing can really help the Regan and Johnson drives, when he launches it in rhythm I always feel like it's money. 

If Trinity does win I think it means Lazarre has a big game.  He had a big game vs Wesleyan earlier in the year and he's a guy who needs to score as the Trinity wings will be hounded all game. 

Bowing down to NESCAC1

Lazarre has been very good all season.

[D3BBALL]

Lazzare was absolutely insane! Trinity back to back NESCAC champs!

Wesleyan should have taken the mulligan to Bates or Tufts in the regular season. 2 national title contenders right there. Will not be surprised to see them again on a bigger stage. Can't wait to see this bracket. Mumbo is going to predict every single game correctly

I do worry about Wesleyan coming off the really tough double OT but they have a slightly longer turnaround than Trinity and the home crowd should give an energy boost.  I like Wes in a close game.

I agree that Regan (or Morgan) are tougher to stop one-on-one than Vetter. And Josh Cameron is a secret weapon, he's been playing more and does a lot of what Dana Smith did last year for Trinity (minus the shooting) as an offensive rebounder and major disrupter on D.  If he can add any sort of outside shot he will be an a tough guy to deal with down the line.  With him and Cormier, Wes matches up as well defensively as anyone on the wing with Vetter and Jarrel. I also think Oscar Edelman will be big for Wesleyan playing bigger minutes as a stretch 5 - without a huge post presence on Trinity, Wes can afford to play him and his spacing can really help the Regan and Johnson drives, when he launches it in rhythm I always feel like it's money. 

If Trinity does win I think it means Lazarre has a big game.  He had a big game vs Wesleyan earlier in the year and he's a guy who needs to score as the Trinity wings will be hounded all game. 

Bowing down to NESCAC1

Lazarre has been very good all season. And best player on both ends the last 5 minutes today

[D3BBALL]

Congrats to Tufts getting the 8th spot and Hamilton getting the 16th. Pretty good to have four NESCAC teams in the top 16. No one in the top 8 can play each other until the elite 8. Hopefully they put Wesleyan, Trinity and Tufts in different quads.

[nescac1]

What a two-year run for Trinity:  54-5 (so far) with two NESCAC titles, one Final Four, and one TBD.  Depending on how this post-season goes (it would take a chip), they could be up in the storied two-year NESCAC pantheon with 03-04 Williams, 07-08 Amherst and 13-14 Amherst.  And with only Dorian graduating among the top 7 and Berry and Ayles ready for bigger backcourt roles, they ain't done yet after this year.  Good luck to all four NESCAC teams in the tourney!  The team who I'd most want to avoid if I was any of them are RMC, Platteville, CNU, and NYU. 

Thanks for the props Bucket! ... while I'm riding semi-high (I did pick Wesleyan so can't say I totally nailed it) I feel pretty good about how my pre-season picks (see below) turned out. I was slightly too high on Williams and Amherst (before the news of Randall leaving the program, which was a big blow) and Conn's resilience surprised me, but I ended up getting the top three right as well as the three who missed the league tourney.  Next year, the very top of the league looks absolutely stacked again but a ton of question marks from either 3-11, or 4-11 if Regan uses his redshirt year at Wes. With Hamilton almost certain to drop back there is at least one spot that will be up for grabs ...

1. Trinity - hard to go against a Final Four team with 7 of its top 9 back plus a big incoming class that is loaded with highly-regarded players.  Yeah, they lose two  very key players, but Dorion/Vetter/Okorougo is as tough a two-way perimeter trio as you will see anywhere and there is elite depth behind them, some guards who would start almost anywhere else.  Plus, there are 4-5 big men in the mix to replace Callahan-Gold's minutes, and Trinity should be OK there even though surely will have less scoring from that spot.

2. Wesleyan - this is the team more than Hamilton I see making the big jump.  Johnson and Regan might be the best backcourt in the country and their group of young, long wings who are already high-level defenders have a ton of potential to grow as complementary scorers.  They have a lot of experienced size as well and Edelman should help with depth at center. A lot of pressure on them to do well with such a stellar senior class.

3. Tufts - Gyemisi, Medley, Bernstein and Morakis are an elite quartet, but the depth outside of the back-up big guys is untested and Tufts doesn't seem to have a lot of shooting. Still, they will physically just wear teams down with so much size and strength at every position and they've proven they can win big games. Another team with some impressive FYs who could help on the perimeter in particular. 

4. Williams - the Ephs are very difficult to predict this year.  Williams has good depth and team speed and should be elite defensively especially on the perimeter - more lock-down defenders than I've seen on maybe any Eph team.  But the Ephs have big question marks in terms of rebounding and especially outside shooting.  I expect this team to have some rocky moments in the first semester but will like last year look very different during league play, as some absent/injured players potentially return to help and the talented FY class begins to make a bigger impact. 

5. Hamilton - this feels about right for Hamilton, again, elite top-level talent but very questionable depth.

6. Amherst - another team that I could see anywhere from 2 through 7.  With basically everyone back this absolutely massive team will continue to punish smaller teams on the interior, but needs much better play from its guards to compete for the NESCAC title.  Garraud had some good moments as a FY and incoming frosh Elias Chen could help at lead guard as well.  The talent is absolutely there to make the NCAA tourney, but we've yet to see a Sears team live up to its talent. 

7. Conn College - no team suffered bigger losses in the off-season.  The program is in a solid enough place that it's no longer at risk of being a bottom-feeder in the league, but Murray did EVERYTHING on both ends of the court for Conn and Ben Rice's length and athleticism was also key to the zone defense. It's unclear who replaces all that Conn lost on the inside. 

8. Colby - these guys will both win and lose some games in surprising fashion this year, as they are always a high-variance team due to the reliance on threes.  Poulton could be an all-American before he's done but they need to find a consistent second option. Finally brought in real size in the FY class, but will any of those guys be ready to help?

9. Bowdoin - I could see Bowdoin rising to as high as seventh but want to see if McGowan is truly back to the guy he was pre-injury.  If so, he and Reeves are a nice one-two punch and there are enough solid role players around them. Always a well-coached team. 

10. Middlebury - feels blasphemous to put a Jeff Brown team 10th but man, who puts the ball in the basket for these guys?  Tristan Joseph is solid, albeit ideally a number two option, but after that it could be a real struggle unless Sam Stevens returns to his all-league form.  If Stevens is the guy he was as a FY, then I'd put Middlebury up a spot or two.  But two straight years of being severely limited by injuries is not a great sign. Not sure what happened to Midd's recruiting but it seems like Midd hasn't brought in a very hyped recruit in awhile. 

11. Bates - they will at least double their win total and be a lot more competitive, but these guys are a year away from even being in the league tourney picture.  Still, there should be some signs of hope this year, at least, with a nice sophomore class ...

[D3BBALL]

NESCAC1, very well done, Jumbo should take some lessons from you,😂.

I got 3 out of top 4 correct, tufts/Trinity in correct order. Totally wrong on Williams and had Wesleyan 4th, after that my picks fell apart.

Did get the weekend correct!

[jumbomumbo]

NESCAC1, very well done, Jumbo should take some lessons from you,😂.

I got 3 out of top 4 correct, tufts/Trinity in correct order. Totally wrong on Williams and had Wesleyan 4th, after that my picks fell apart.

Did get the weekend correct!

Mumbo was low on Williams all year because I've played against them and have my own thoughts on that team. It was simply outrageous to see so many high on them at the beginning of the year!

Maybe we can learn from each other!

[jumbomumbo]

Looks like absolutely nothing has changed at NCAA HQ as the selection show has been delayed for the 5th straight year

[jumbomumbo]

Keene and Clark are in Trinity's pod.

Hamilton WNE is a tough draw for Hamilton.