MBB: NESCAC

[auerbach]

I'm sure amherst fans thank you for the plug. Always nice to see conference rivals backing each other. from here on out try and limit your praising williams for past accomplishments. makes you look like a heartbroke school boy and cheapens the great year amherst had.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Wittenberg is going to be a tough out.  I think Amherst comes in as serious underdogs.  That will be to their advantage as they have really improved as the season has progressed.  They will get the tape from the Tufts match-up though, which is a great way to be able to game plan, seeing them against a team Witt played already, even if it was in November.

Witt will play ten guys, all of whom are very good.  Not a lot of height, but the two big guys they have are very good.  I don't think Amherst can do it, but they've been suprising me all year.

[auerbach]

Hoops, Have you seen Witt play ? I thought Tufts had a bad start to the season,but after taking a look they were fine. I wonder if Witt has big athletes like Tufts ? I have very much enjoyed the past two weeks having fun with you fellas. I attended Amherst - Tufts Friday. Wonderful game,good play on both ends by both teams. My hat is off to Amherst , they sucked it up when they had to. Tufts had more than one chance to seal it at the foul line and came up short...never leave the door open! I was a little bewildered with Tufts bench,led by Coach,high fiving a bit early. Saw Utica-Fisher and realized there was no need to watch Saturday. If the Utica coach subbed even a little bit it would have helped. Those boys were gassed. It was a good game 1ST half. Utica was more athletic but Fisher better coached.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Wittenberg didn't start the season off all that well either.  It just seems as though they are deeper than Amherst and have more talent in the post.

Amherst is goign to have to work hard for a win because they depend on Olson and Bedford having good games.  Witt can win, even if their two best players struggle because of the team depth.  To me that gives them an edge; it doesn't mean they will win, but it should be easier for them to win than for Amherst.

[walzy31]

Amherst Vs. Wittenberg Pick Em    131.5

[auerbach]

hoops, olson and bedford will have their kind of games . witt has to think about this boy wheeler he is a presence. From what I read he played a wonderful game Saturday. He was / is a perfect complement to John Bedford . He was a good power force on both ends against tufts. Another amherst player emerged on Friday. O' shea was very capable against a top caliber player in Martin. That is why i was wondering in earlier posts about Martins performance vs witt.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

131.5?  I'll take Witt and the over.

[Dr E. Spengler]

BooBalls, I saw Wheeler do the exact same thing today, but it was from the campus center.  Is it possible that he was in two places at the same time?

Most likely.

If Amherst plays their pace on offense like they did against Fisher, I don't see why this team can't cut down the nets in Salem.  OShea is going to have to have the game of his life as far as I can tell on Friday.  But I wouldn't put it past him to keep stepping up as he has had carreer games as of late on both sides of the ball.

See you in Salem...then look for me back here...in the handicapped spot...sitting next to the guy with the net around his neck.

Spengs ONE TIME.

[BooBallsCasRay]

131.5?  I'll take Witt and the over.

1 for 2, but good try...

amherst and the over no doubt.

amherst 3-pointer over-under? i put it at about 26.5......they may have a slow first half

[Hoops35]

I got the chance to see both Amherst games this past weekend.  Haven't seen the Jeffs much this season but I think it's pretty clear what they'll need to do to have success in Salem. Their biggest asset is their ability to get out on the break and get layups/pullups or kicking it out for easy 3s. Olsen was at his best when they got up and down the floor and because they typically have at least 3 guys that can hit the open J this is when they can hurt you. This is what you saw throughout the Fisher game. Conversely, in the Tufts game, the Jumbos were able to slow things down, pound it inside (crash the offensive boards) and then get back in transition defense. You could tell Amherst was getting frustrated, having to run their offensive sets versus playing more naturally in transition. Seems this Wittenberg team has some size, so Amherst needs to do whatever they can (even after Wittenberg makes) to get the ball up the floor quickly. Forcing the action is only going to be their advantage. The higher scoring the game, the better Amherst has a shot at winning......

[thunder32]

Hey guys this is Dan Martin from Tufts Ive been following this board this whole year.  First off I want to congradulate Amherst for some great wins.  You guys pulled it off when it counted.

Secondly Wittenberg has a really big team.  Well two extremely good post players.  Dan Russ is very athletic and long.  Also stronger than he looks.  He is very good back to the basket just dont let him get position.  The other player I didnt guard but he uses alot of up fakes to get you off your feet and draw the foul.  Be carefull with him becuase I am not sure if he can shoot over a defender.  Both averaged around 14 and 7 last year but im not sure about this year.  They are a very disiplined defencive team.  They have the number one scoring defence in the nation.  THey are also third in rebound margin.  With that being said I think that if Amherst can get out and impose their running game on Wittenberg they can take the game. 

Good luck to Amherst this weekend do the conference proud and bring home a national title.

[diehardfan]

Well, NESCAC fans are practically pros at getting final four tickets by now I'm sure, but snce I already wrote all this for fans of another board, I thought I'd post the info on the other school boards as well. Here's the scoop on the ticket info here, in cause anyone was wondering. Hope to see many of you there!

Does anyone know when tickets for Friday nights IWU game will go on sale at IWU?

You can just call the Salem Civic Center directly and order them,and then pick them up at Will Call...at least that has been the case in the past.

They won't be available at IWU, as far as I know. You can order tickets in one of two ways:

1) Order them from www.Ticketmaster.com, and pay all sorts of rediculous services charges.
2) Order them from the Box office at the Civic Center. The phone number is one of the many bizarre d3sports numbers programmed into my phone  and it is 540-894-6022. You will still pay a service charge ($2) but it is much less than through Ticketmaster (which is $6-$7).

The second option is better, even if it wasn't less expensive. because the Civic Center knows where each school's designated fans section is, and you can request to be put in the IWU section.

You will then just need to pick up the tickets the day of the game from the will call window. The line has never been very long.

I have also picked up tickets the day of the game from the ticket booth, and gotten a great seat by requesting that the put me as close to the floor and the middle as possible. Heck, I've even gotten a good sized block of tickets just for the second day and gotten great seats that were all together when my sis and a group of friends from home decided to come down at the last second for the championship two years ago.

The Final Four, as far as I can tell, has never gotten that close to selling out. It may get closer than normal this year, with VaWes and IWU there, but I wouldn't worry too much about the tickets.

[walzy31]

I know that Amherst Athletics received a Fed Ex shipment of what looked like a couple hundred tickets for the game. They are on sale in the Athletics office daily from 10-12 and 2-4.

It would be nice to win two, finish a pretty 30-2 with a national championship and the school's longest win streak.

Final Four
ONE TIME

[BooBallsCasRay]

So here is the official scouting report:

Wittenberg :F'ed overall

Guards: witt has no guards... they average about 7 points per game total. ha. i piss 7 points........it isnt all about points? well who cares? olson- 10 apples aka assists, 1 turnover, eat it

everyone else: a couple trees with no athletic ability, 6'8", 6'9" boys are pretty big and maybe even talented.... kevin hopkins might have to step up for amherst.. or fletcher walters...or brandon jones...or baskauskas...oh shoot! amherst has about 17 guys that can touch the ceiling with their heads..and did i mention mike salerno!?

wittenberg D: no one can stop bedford....bennett? pleeeeeeease son... bedford had 15 points, and spent the other half of the game wondering how many girls would propose to him saturday night...( i think it turned out to be about 14-15)

wittenberg Offense: hopefully they dont choke like other teams against the herst... john casnocha = the golden gate bridge = the great wall of china...he plays good D Yo...i understand that some big boys will try to bang inside...they will get caught up on offense and the amherst transition will catch them sleeping all night..

really wish i could make the game, but i hear there is a strong amherst contingent makin a JOURNEY TO THE TOURNEY!

Keith Zalaski! clap-clap CLAPCLAPCLAP!


p.s - DAN MARTIN - i respect your post and support of nescac rival amherst. good luck in the future!

[auerbach]

Dan Martin, How were Fitzgerald and Krumpf against the big boys at Witt? Did they pull down some rebounds?Were they able to get position like they did against Amherst? Was your backcourt a factor ? The box looks like everybody participated. Do you think you could have beat them later in the year? O'Shea had his best game of the year against you Friday night. Did you sense it and have you noticed he is maturing? Can he do anything against the witt guys?