MBB: NESCAC

[walzy31]

Just to keep some of the Amherst stats frmot his weekend in perspective, walzy qualifies Southern Vermont as a "cupcake". I didn't say it, Walzy did...but perhaps before he realized they were on Amherst's schedule too.

And if I can't make it up to Amherst til mid-season, I can always comment about the Williams College Bake Sale they got going this season.
Have you seen how many cupcakes they have on their schedule? It has to be one of the softest non-conference schedules in New England.

Drew
Ursinus/W&L
RPI
Framingham State
Southern Vermont
Springfield
Lehman
CCNY
Keene St.
Mitchell
Souhtern Vermont/Nichols
Lasell


Hey. At least they have a shot at playing So. Vermont twice. That's something.
Williams will go 20-4 regular season (finish 3rd in nescac). Lose in NESCAC semis or finals. Host the opening round of NCAAs and get upset in Round of 32 or smoked in sweet 16.

d3walzy.com has not been rolled out yet nescac hoops. Sorry to disappoint.

Williams still doesn't have Brandeis, Babson, Elms or Florida Memorial on its schedule and the schedule is still full of cupcakes.

The senior class at Williams is an impressive 1-6 against Amherst and it takes their PG shooting 78% from 3 to win against the Lord Jeffs.

The below prediction still stands:

Williams will go 20-4 regular season (finish 3rd in nescac). Lose in NESCAC semis or finals. Host the opening round of NCAAs and get upset in Round of 32 or smoked in sweet 16.

[nescac hoops]

Williams still doesn't have Brandeis, Babson, Elms or Florida Memorial on its schedule and the schedule is still full of cupcakes.

HAHAHAHHA. Elms! Elms college, who I think only started taking males in the last 5 yrs. or so, only beat Bowdoin by 5! Either people need to include Bowdoin as a top 4 NESCAC team or Elms can't be mentioned in this conversation! Florida Memorial...D2 for an NAIA team. NOT an NCAA  team. Let it be known that NAIA teams are not as good as NCAA teams due to regulations,etc. That being said, I bet they will be very athletic and will test the lord jeffs in that regard but i bet amherst, as would any other top 10 team in NCAA d3, will win relatively easily. Babson...hahahah, another laugher. They lost to Conn College this weekend and put up only 50 pts against the camels. Again, unless people include Conn College as a top NESCAC team, Babson shouldn't be included in this conversation. Most would argue that Brandeis and Keene (toughest out of conference game for the ephs this year) are pretty on par, that is if deluca plays (injury) in the game against the Herst. I'm not trying to argue the ephs schedule is that great, but I also know better than to slam williams for having a weak schedule and for playing SVU when they are on your schedule too. Besides, I was just talking about stats from this weekend and how amherst fans might not want to be too amped up over some of the stats from this past weekend against a team you yourself deemed as a "cupcake". That was all.

hahahahhahaha, still laughing about babson and elms.

[whoarewebobcats]

I don't know anything about Elms, but Babson really isn't very good. They killed Bates this weekend, but they let Conn. Coll. come from behind on the road in the first game. Babson pretty much had one good kid (the PG), but he definitely thought he was better than he actually was. They had a kid underneath (no. 44) who was a pretty good shotblocker and had a reasonable mid-range jumper, but he wasn't really a dominant low-post presence. Other than that, they looked average at best.

[fpc85]

All this talk about the schedule is irrelevant. The Jeffs have proven they take care of business REGARDLESS of who they play. So if people want to criticize them, fine, and whether they are S. Vermont or a top school in the region we treat them equally...with a healthy dose of superior basketball.  Bring them all on they look forward to the challenge.

[nescac hoops]

All this talk about the schedule is irrelevant. The Jeffs have proven they take care of business REGARDLESS of who they play. So if people want to criticize them, fine, and whether they are S. Vermont or a top school in the region we treat them equally...with a healthy dose of superior basketball.  Bring them all on they look forward to the challenge.

I have no doubt that Amherst will run through the region this year.

Just to keep some of the Amherst stats from this weekend in perspective, walzy qualifies Southern Vermont as a "cupcake". I didn't say it, Walzy did...but perhaps before he realized they were on Amherst's schedule too.

I was just saying that I think that some of the stats, such as lil Wheeler having the best FG% in the NESCAC after this weekend, will not stand for the entire season given that this weekend's opponents were particularly weak. To erase any doubt that these opponents were weak, I was merely pointing out that Walzy himself said that Southern Vermont was a "cupcake" game...though said so in reference to them being on the Williams schedule perhaps not realizing they were on the Amherst schedule as well. Then he pointed out.....HAHAHAHHAHAHAH (still laughing)...that the Williams schedule was inferior because it didn't inlcude Babson! or Elms!

[walzy31]

and then I ate lunch. and then I drove home from work. and then walzy even watched monday night football.

[Friar T]

Hilarious walzy, you just made my morning...

Let me say sorry for any confusion I produced about my statements regarding Amherst's stats. I called them "notes from the box score" for a reason. Yes, both Amhest opponents were "cupcakes." They are every year for this tournament, and as long as the Jeffs remain a DIII powerhouse it will remain this way. These games are just a solid warm-up, with a chance to get lots of kids some burn who won't get much the rest of the way.

All this being said, some stat lines are impressive regardless of opponent. Shooting 10-for-12 in two games IS impressive, as is 13 rebounds in 25 minutes, no matter who you're playing. The reaction I was going for was, "Wow, 10-for-12, that's pretty solid." Not, "OH, MY GOD, STEVE WHEELER IS GOING TO THE NBA AFTER THIS YEAR!"

Sorry for the confusion.

Also, until Amherst and Williams approval a serious travel budget for their programs, their schedules will always consist of cupcakes...

[nescac hoops]

Also, until Amherst and Williams approval a serious travel budget for their programs, their schedules will always consist of cupcakes...

if only williams could afford the bus trip to boston to play the babson college beavers....or a trip to springfield to play elms.

[nescac1]

A few interesting games tonight.  First Nescac match-up, Williams at Wesleyan, even on the road in a rivalry game, the Ephs are a heavy favorite (and they should have plenty of motivation from the bitter taste in their mouths after an early season loss last year to the Cardinals), and Midd tries to bounce back against a tough St. Lawrence team.  Considering Conn already beat St. Lawrence, that will serve as a good barometer for how good Midd is looking this year.  

On another note, info on Deluca's injuries:

http://media.www.thejusticeonline.com/media/storage/paper573/news/2007/11/20/Sports/Mbball.Notebook.Back.And.Hamstring.Injuries.Limited.Deluca.Last.Weekend-3111159.shtml

Back, hamstring, and plantar fascitis are tough and all can linger .... without Deluca, Brandeis is very beatable, and they will have a hard time staying with Amherst in a few weeks unless he is healthy.  Tufts better hope he is not, because with Brandeis and at Keene on the horizon, Tufts could otherwise be looking at three early losses ...  

[hoopjunkie]

Tufts can beat either team . They are still coming together & without Deluca I agree brandeis is beatable . I have`nt scouting Keene yet & the Jumbos have MIT before Keene .

[NY hoopster]

Da Mules! In the "cupcake wars", 84-58 over Thomas College, 95-70 over U of Maine (Fort Kent).

[nescac1]

Very, very ugly 10 point win for Williams, who was lethargic on offense, sloppy with passes, and could not hit a shot to save their lives.  Played similar to the Ephs of early season last year.   I don't know what they shot from 3 or from the line, but neither can be pretty, I don't recall ever seeing a Williams team shoot so horribly from 3.  They also missed about 10 wide open shots within ten feet of the basket.  Wesleyan, although they play hard and seem pretty well coached, just do not have the talent or height to compete in NESCAC ... Williams really could not possibly play any worse, if they played this way against Amherst they would lose by about 35.  Shalvoy and Rose were way off and just appeared to be out of synch, Schultz, Snyder and especially Geoghegan all played decently which saved Williams.  No one from the bench really stood out except Meyer who provided a spark, but then again Paulsen played about 15 guys off the bench.  Hardy made a few nice plays as well off the bench.  But all the subbing seemed to throw the team's rhythm off. 

The only good thing is that Paulsen will be able to teach from a win.  Any more efforts such as this will surely end up in a loss. 

Impressive win for Middlebury beating St. Lawrence with easy.  Midd again appears to be very deep with plenty of shooters.  May be the third best team in the conference at this point, or higher unless Williams forgets this game very, very fast. 

[CCsalive]

Hello Boys,
Sorry for my long lay-off, not sure about the rest of you cyber geeks, but I enjoy golf, women, the beach, getting outside, etc. All the Turkey in me has me finally hunkered down and loading up on NESCAC hoops info. What did I miss from May-September? Some amazing Amherst literature I imagine...maybe a little Williams revival chatter? And my favorite: in-depth profiles on each Bates player.

Some of you have had the brains to point out Conn's trophy at the Babson tourney. Lucky for Bates they'll only see the Camels once this year. Rebuilding or not, CC waxed Bates last year w/ the heralded Bobcat duo.

Conn is 3-0, talented, and experienced. Last year was an anomoly. A better representation of the Camels was two seasons ago, when Stone, Young, and Mosely were sophomores. Stone is a first-teamer, Young also has all-nescac potential.

[whoarewebobcats]

Hello Boys,
Sorry for my long lay-off, not sure about the rest of you cyber geeks, but I enjoy golf, women, the beach, getting outside, etc. All the Turkey in me has me finally hunkered down and loading up on NESCAC hoops info. What did I miss from May-September? Some amazing Amherst literature I imagine...maybe a little Williams revival chatter? And my favorite: in-depth profiles on each Bates player.

Some of you have had the brains to point out Conn's trophy at the Babson tourney. Lucky for Bates they'll only see the Camels once this year. Rebuilding or not, CC waxed Bates last year w/ the heralded Bobcat duo.

Conn is 3-0, talented, and experienced. Last year was an anomoly. A better representation of the Camels was two seasons ago, when Stone, Young, and Mosely were sophomores. Stone is a first-teamer, Young also has all-nescac potential.

Glad to see I'm so predictable (that sounds so negative...let's say reliable)

I thought CC looked OK at Babson, but nothing to get excited about. As I remember, they came back with a flurry of threes. Babson wasn't very good at all. I liked one of CC's low-post players, though, don't remember which one. Didn't see the championship game, but St. Lawrence was a pretty decent team based on their performance against Bates, so I imagine CC is on the rise.

...and yes, it is good that Bates will only see them once. It would be best if Bates could play an entirely non-conference schedule, this year (ugh).

(...and I'm still not over how depressing last year's Bates team was...)

[eclinchy]

CC could be quite the feel-good story in the nescac this year... with all that talent in their senior class, this is the year you can't help but root for them a little bit.  Go Camels.

Flying into town just in time for Tufts-Brandeis tomorrow.  Hope it'll be a good one...