MBB: NESCAC

[walzy31]

Amherst would have beated last years 26-0 St. John Fisher team by 20. This year I would like Amherst by about the same margin.
Since St. John Fisher has beaten Utica three times I will take Amherst over them as well. Amherst is really, really good. Brian Baskauskis.

[fisheralum03]

is that the same Amherst team that lost to Rochester in the Sweet 16 and I don't want to hear about how Amherst was on Spring Break. So was Fisher and they lost to a BETTER Potsdam team.

[nescac1]

Yeah, as an objective observer (actually, an Eph fan, so biased against Amherst) I have to admit they are very difficult to prepare for.  I'd say the only team with a chance is a team that has an all-american level post presence inside, like Rochester did this year, because Amherst's centers, while very tall and solid, aren't stars as either defenders or scorers.  But, Amherst has arguably the most talented backcourt in the nation -- Bedford would start for any Div III program and is very experienced, a clutch player, quick enough to beat big guards and strong and crafty enough to post up big guards, he scores 20 in the flow of the offense without anyone hardly even noticing.  A team with a stud perimeter defender would be well-served to focus on him, first and foremost, as he is by far their most dangerous one-on-one player.  Olsen is very crafty at point, doesn't look to score that much but seems to get baskets in key situations as he is very clutch shooter, and is a great distributor with unreal vision.  Not a stellar defender (not bad, just average and a bit small) so a fast, big talented point guard can take advantage of him and really hurt the Jeffs by forcing the bigs to help.  Amherst biggest obstacle for foes is depth and size at the 3 and 4 -- they have seemingly endless guys between 6'4 and 6'7 all of whom are very athletic, play defense, rebound, and for the most part are great shooters as well (especially their two starters who do not miss when open).  They all tend to be pretty perimeter oriented so, again, the best bet is for a team with lots of strong horses to pound them inside and try to wear them down on the glass.  Of course, the more athletic shooters on Amherst would then have an advantage by pulling bigger, slower guys outside -- after all, if you're 6'6 and a banger in Div III, you're not likely to be fast and athletic as well.   Tufts matches up decently against Amherst because they are just as big at the 3 and 4 and they have a great center who can really score from in close.  But Tufts' perimeter defense is way too porous to stop Amherst's guards from scoring at will.  I would be shocked if Amherst doesn't make the final four, at that point anything is possible as they'll finally play someone like Hope or Wittinberg who can match their talent level (but I don't see anyone who really exceeds it this year, in which there is no single team to beat but a lot of balance at the top).  

[formerbant10]

Fisheralum,

Are you saying that the Potsdam team that beat Fisher was better than the Rochester team that beat Amherst?  I beg to differ if that's what you are saying.  If I'm misreading what you're saying, could you kindly clear it up for me?

That Rochester team was big and caught Amherst on a bad shooting night.  I see Amherst coming out of this regional.  A nice way for Bedford, Casnocha, Zalaski and Corrigan to be sent off into the sunset.

[fisheralum03]

no, that is not what I was saying. I was saying Rochester was the best team in the entire NE/EAST last year. They deserved to get to the Final 4. Will Amherst be the best this year?? We will need to play the games on Friday and Saturday to find out.

[Dr E. Spengler]

CC, since my posts in paragraph form haven't helped you out at all, let me see if this will improve the quality of your posts:

1.  Bedford sweats...maybe not because of basketball...but throw on the soundtrack from Eddie and The Cruisers and it's a completely different story
2.  Cas is funny
  2a.  "That said, the scouting report has his man up his jock and THEN I believe he is a non-factor."
  2b.. What?
3.  Wheeler hasn't settled for the 3-ball.  In fact he has been very effective recently with the defensive mismatches he routinely receives in terms of his ability to post up.  Look for the Jeffs to continue on that path.  A little bird informed me Bedford had some pretty looking lobs to the inside in practice...look for that to continue this weekend.


If that little slice of brilliance doesn't help you...nothing will...

peace and love,
spengs

[formerbant10]

Fishalum,

Thanks for clearing that up. 

[fisheralum03]

no problem , hopefully everyone will get the game they want to see after Friday night. If that is the case, I'll have a 5.5 hr car ride ahead of me on Saturday afternoon from chilly ROCHESTER to chilly AMHERST, which is ironically about 30-45 min from my old home town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts. It would be nice to see my old stomping grounds this weekend. Go Fisher and Amherst.!!!

[cuse2003champs]

Hey everyone! Looking forward to this weekend had a couple of querstions I need some help with.  Any advice on which hotel to get that is close to campus the closer and cheaper the better.  thank You very much.

[fpc85]

cuse,
try the quality inn $85-$95 per night...its on route 9, 2 miles from campus. all the pthers in the area are 10 to 20 dollars more.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Amherst is the cream of the group.  They have been playing at a different level the last couple weeks.  Tufts did good to take them to overtime in the NESCAC final, but I'm not sure Tufts has enough to get it done; Amherst would have to struggle.

Those E8 teams are both solid and I think they'll make the final interesting, but either one would have to really play their absolute best game to get by Amherst, in my opinion.  I don't think this regional is as wide open as it was last year.

[gobombers15]

I'd be interested to see the matchup between Bedford and Fisher's star defender, Nick Bennett. Also, it sounds like a good matchup of PG's as Pre-Season All-American and E8 Player of the Year Sean O'Brien would take on Olsen.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It would be a worthy final eight match-up.  Although I think any permutation of regional final would provide some good entertainment and quality basketball.

[gobombers15]

Brief run-down of Fisher players so you guys can feel like you know them come this weekend. I'll hit Utica later.

Starters

PG-#24 Sean O'Brien: Pre-Season all-American, E8 Player of the Year. Well-rounded player that makes the Cards tick. As he goes the team goes. Could have had much better numbers this year but really deferred to many of the other Fisher players. I expect he'll assert himself at some point this weekend. Can beat you off the bounce or with the outside shot. Great FT shooter around 90%.

SG-#32 Mike McGee: As pure of a shooter as you'll see at this level. Leave him open and you'll see why. Has a knack for hitting 3's during big runs that often bury teams. The one knock on him is he doesn't play much defense.

SF-#22 Nick Bennett: I'd venture to say the best defender in the region and one of the tops in the nation. Great on and off the ball. Strong and physical player. Will guard other team's top option, so long as it isn't a center, and almost always gets the better of it. Good rebounder and can score, too.

PF-#15 Justin Beigel: Young player that worked his way into the starting lineup. Really got in the weight room during the off-season so that he could improve his strength for matchups against tough interior players. He started the season very well but has reached somewhat of a plateau. If he can step up this weekend, Fisher will be a tough out.

C-#33 Dan McSweeney: Inevitably, he'll throw down a pretty sweet dunk this weekend. Very athletic player. Good on the defensive end as he blocks shot and alters many more. However, that can lend itself to foul trouble at times. Going against bigger teams this weekend, Fisher needs him on the floor.

Key Reserves

G-#3 Raymie Auman: Instant offense off the bench. Loves the outside shot but isn't one-dimensional. He'll play 15-20 minutes a game and there isn't that much difference between him and McGee or Beigel. Nice player to have coming off the pine.

G-#5 Pete Gillett: The backup PG for the last four years behind O'Brien. Quick and crafty(he's left-handed so I hade to say it). Knows his role and gets others involved. Was a big scorer in high school and he can still score in quick spurts.

F-#41 Isiah Smalt: Really has come on of late. Brings a lot of energy off the bench. Very good rebounder that gets a lot of points off put-backs. For how much he plays, he gets to the line a lot.

[GPT]

Need to know which bar will be the best place to watch the big east tournament after the fisher game