MBB: NESCAC

[JeffRookie2]

Another interesting note, this graduating class (Bedford, Casnocha, Zalaski, not sure how it works with Corrigan) has won more games over the last four years than any other graduating class from Amherst. Last year, the seniors lost what would have been their 100th win against Rochester, but this year's class has already surpassed the triple digit mark with 103 wins. (26-2, 26-2, 27-5, 24-5)

[auerbach]

Where will the Tufts-Amherst game be played ? Will the whole bracket play at the same gym ? I hope #31 from Tufts can repeat his last performance against Amherst. Tufts will need it to stay close.

[nescachoopsfan]

okeefe makes me look pretty smart as he goes for 18 against endicott and 21 against cortland.  that is one of the main reasons why tufts is able to compete with everyone.  martin only had 8, but okeefe stepped up with 21 and weitzen and shepherd both had 14.  I cant wait for tufts amherst 3, i agree that is sucks the nescac teams have to play eachother because i feel that both teams could make it a little further and make the league look as good it really is.  oh well should be a good one

[auerbach]

Glad to hear about okeeefe. he had a tough time when i saw him against amherst. # 14 did it again..... poised player

[nescachoopsfan]

also, congrats to the tufts team on being the first team in school history to make it to the sweet 16.  along with that they broke the schools record for most wins, so this is arguably the best team at  tufts ever.

[mrmike88]

NCAA made it official - Amherst will host for the second year in a row.

The Jumbos will meet the Jeffs for the third time this year, and all three meetings have been at LeFrak.

[walzy31]

Friday March 10th
6pm:
Utica Vs. St. John Fisher @ Amherst
8pm:
Tufts @ Amherst

Saturday the winners of the two games will play with a trip to Salem at stake. I don't know the time of that game yet.

[bed]

Can someone size up the Tufts-Amherst matchup?

Curious to know the summary of the first 2 games.  Were they close?  What are the teams' respective strengths and weaknesses?

[qbsfinest]

In the first game against Amherst, a night after playing an overtime thriller against Trinity, Tufts was ice cold for the majority of the game and Amherst was able to compile alot of fastbreak points in winning a lopsided affair 99-76. In the second game, Tufts came out with a lot of fire after another thrilling overtime win against Trinity the night before.  Weitzen, Black, and O'keefe were draining jumpshots from all over the court and Dan Martin was a force inside for much of the game. Amherst had no answer for him. They led by as many as 11 but Amherst was able to force some turnovers and came back to tie it at halftime.
Second half of game two was pretty even with Tufts Ryan O'keefe hitting a layup with 2 seconds left to force overtime. In overtime, Amherst was able to score some quick baskets and win by 8. Now both teams have some time to prepare for each other and lets see which team this will favor. They say it is extremely difficult to beat a team three times in a season and I'm sure the Jumbos will come out firing again on Friday. Cant wait. Its gonna be a battle.

[Mike T]

qbs must not have been at the games given his last post. o'keefe was a non factor. weitzen was lights out, and shepard and black both played well in the backcourt, and martin was decent in the post. dont post if you dont know.  is it true that ray from bates is leavin college next yr to play in europe? a great player, but it seems like a bad decision. get a degree.
  rhoten and bedford are the only players good enough to do anything over in europe. maybe newton, the most underrated player in nescac.  its a shame that st. john fishers is hosting, woulda liked to attend the game, good luck to all the nescac teams

[qbsfinest]

The whole Tufts team played well. I dont think decent would be a word used in this instance. Amherst did not have an answer for Dan Martin inside. If you were at the game then that would  have been very obvious.

[nescachoopsfan]

first of all, st john fisher is not hosting, amherst is.  second off all, i completley disagree that newton is the most underrated player in the league, and that he would be able to play in europe.  petrie would be able to play before newton.  if you are a senior and you arent the first option on your team, i find it hard to believe you deserve to be able to play professional basketball.  i also agree that it isnt a good idea to leave a school like bates early to go play basketball professionally.  especially since bates isnt really a school that breads pro ballers, and also, if you go to bates for 3 years, it makes no sense to leave a school like that early especially if your paying around 40 thousand a year, and dont get a diploma.  i dont know if i really think mike T knows what he is talking about.

[gobombers15]

Fisher should have hosted last year but I agree with the decision to put it in Amherst this season.

[auerbach]

 gbfinest , you must have seen a different game than the i saw when tufts lost to amherst a second time. wietzen was hot , and was the game mvp. as far as o'keefe and black drining jumpers,i think you embellish. okeefe had 4 pts. and 2 forced ot,hardly a big night. black was good . much better in second half. early he was doing the herky jerky aau thing. he could have used a mirror on the court he was so impressed with himself. he settled down and showed his talent as the game went on . he had alot of put backs( which are huge in close games,especially from guards). i think he only hit 1 ,3 pt. shot, so draining is hardly apt. most impressive was his 8 rebounds and 8 assists.he is a point guard and a good one when his head is focused on the game. if okeefe and weitzen play close to season norm,and black can repeat(not pts. but assists and long rebounds) tufts can win. i challenge anybody who thinks weitzen will get close to what he got in the last game. he's going into this knowing he did it once and has to do it again

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It would have been nice if they switched Utica and Tufts in the bracket so there was a possibility one conference could prove itself dominant. I am not a fan of these match-ups.  It really owuld have been better if they were swiched, but what can you do?