MBB: NESCAC

[uaapride]

Thankfully Amherst has the updated live stats page, I haven't heard a score update from the announcers at all in the second half.

I must say I'm pretty shocked by the Bates/Bowdoin halftime score. Bowdoin must have made some major adjustments following their last two contests against Bates. Both teams are very well coached, but it looks like Bowdoin's experience really paid off now that its playoff time.

[eclinchy]

Bowdoin has a huge lead at the half over Bates - 41-18 - with Hippert hot enough (21 pts) to have outscored the entire Bates team . .

83-50 final.

I knew Bowdoin would come out firing in this one, but... wow.

[All-around]

If Amherst wins...what teams are the most likely to get an At Large bid?

[fpc85]

the jeffs win and ugly game. the game was uneventful. they gradually increased the lead from a good colby team. colby ran good stuff but could have used another scorer. bring on bowdoin. btw, choice had a great game and is a very good player and deserves all the credit he gets.

[CCsalive]

Not sure how much more I will be chiming in....bummed that CC couldn't pull the upset...I would have liked the Camels vs either Midd or Williams, but Conn's loss last Friday at Williams cost them the #5 seed and getting stuck with Trinity is a huge difference.

I suppose Midd could beat Trinity. I think a lot of us will be rooting for the Panthers. No knock on Trinity, but we're desperate for some drama.

Could NESCAC get four teams into the Dance? If not, and presuming both Midd and Bowdoin lose, who might get the nod (if the league is to get a 3rd bid)?

[daoustian]

btw, choice had a great game and is a very good player and deserves all the credit he gets.

Clearly, but all of the stat based arguments for him go out the window if he's the only one getting to the basket and taking shots.  Colby didn't have another scorer in double figures until very late in the game.  I didn't watch the game so it's hard to say just looking at numbers what happened, but clearly they also had fewer assists than Amherst.  He may be a great scorer, but if the rest of the offense isn't getting involved, then it'd be a bit like Kobe Bryant and the Lakers from a couple of years ago when everyone was standing around watching him every time he had the ball.  In such a scenario, yeah, Kobe led the league in scoring but the Lakers had a lot of difficulty winning games. 

Alternately, I suppose Amherst could have gameplanned for something like this a la the Bill Russell/Wilt Chamberlain matchups of days of yore where Russell would let Chamberlain score at will early on as the rest of The Stilt's teammates watched, and then Russell would flip a switch and shut down Chamberlain, and the rest of Wilt's teammates were so cold from not having been involved in the game that the Celts would cruise at that point. 

For all of those Choice fans out there who think I'm hating on him, consider yourselves flattered by the last two analogies, even if they do reek of hyperbole. 

[toad22]

My hat is off to Middlebury. They easily played the best game I have seen any team play against Williams in a very long time. The shooting was beyond good, defense was tough, and the rebounding was the best I have seen from anyone all year. Middlebury appears to be peaking for tournament time. I was very disappointed with the play of the Ephs, but I don't mean to take anything away from Middlebury. I think I have become a fan of the Panthers for the rest of the season. Wow, what a performance.

[Old Guy]

I saw the game but can't believe it - Williams scores 5 points in the last eleven and a half minutes. A nightmare for the Ephs.

First half was terrific - two good teams going at it, playing well, in front of a lively crowd: 42-39. Second half started off the same way - and then the roof fell in. Astonishing game.

Williams has a good point guard, big guy underneath, versatile wing players (esp. Schultz) - what's not to like. Something's missing and it's not talent, as far as I can tell (admittedly seeing them just this once, and reading this message board).

Rose was the best player (with Farrell) that I saw last year at Middlebury, scored 30 against us in a close win for the Ephs. He hit his first shot today (Wms' first bucket) on a beautiful fadeaway jumper, then hit three foul shots, and I said "Oh no, not again." But it wasn't to be. He only took five shots the whole game.

Everything went Middlebury's way in the second half of the second half; nothing went right for Williams.

I go way back. The Middlebury teams I played on lost four times to the Ephs - and since then I have watched Williams win probably 80-90% of their games against us. They've had a terrific half-century.

So . . . this is a nice day for Panther hoops.

And I have a trip out of the country, long scheduled, for this next week. I'll miss the semis and the finals. Oh well, I'll be the American yahoo in an internet cafe in Rome wearing a Middlebury hat, gesticulating wildly and uttering strange noises.

Walzy: Oh ye of little faith.  

[La Verdad]

Choice proved all his doubters wrong tonight, he is an extremely good player.  He even knocked down a couple jumpers early, making the Amherst defenders respect that aspect of his game.  That being said, I don't think he was the best #32 on the court.  Goldsmith gave Hixon 18 awesome minutes off the bench...9pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 4 blocks and 1 steal.  Cutrone and Gaudet weren't as hot as last game (Colby made 0 3s), leaving Choice as their only option on offense.

Walzy,

I think you might need to consider an addition to the all crazy team.  Some random Colby student (one of the Amherst students told me his name was Tucker Norman?) created a facebook profile under the name Amherst Fan (or something like that) and then friended a large group of the basketball team.  Unfortunately, some of the guys had their cell phone #s posted on their facebook account.  I think you know where this is going... the Tucker kid calls most of the team this morning, leaving vulgar messages along the way.  He then shows up at the game in a bright pink shirt with printouts of everyone's facebook account.  By the end of the game the kid was ripping his precious printouts to pieces...priceless.  Anyways, this type of passion is certainly deserving of all crazy honors, don't you think?

[daoustian]

Some quick Facebook sleuthing of my own suggests that you're off by one letter of his last name (the first) but it otherwise rhymes with what you wrote, and there's a profile called "Amherst Super-Fan" that doesn't have many friends -- primarily men's and women's basketball players.  If this is true, this goes a bit beyond NESCAC All Crazy and is elevated to a disciplinary issue in my opinion.  I'm staying away from the rest of this one...

[CCsalive]

Old Guy,
Congrats to you and your Panthers! How did Rudin play? I like that kid. Does anyone know how he compares (as a high schooler) to the kid coming out of Scarsdale and headed to Amherst? What I am getting at is that it would be tough for anyone to have a more satisfying collegiate experience than Ben Rudin. I wonder how many splinters this kid will get at Amherst. I would argue that he could receive an equal education at another NESCAC and perhaps help a team like Rudin has helped Middlebury. Remember, selectivity does not equal quality...I am in no way disregarding an Amherst-quality education, but do know that Ben Rudin will be successful with his Middlebury degree...agreed?

[middguy]

Midd had a bunch of guys step up today for a huge team win. Listening to the game it seemed like in the first half they played better but Williams just hung around. By the 14 minute mark in the second half they put some distance (up by 8 I believe) and then came the knockout punch. It seems as though they wore Williams down for the first 30 minutes and then had the stamina and shooting ability to put them away.

I also watched the Bowdoin-Bates game, and Hippert was UNCONSCIOUS early on. That game was done halfway through the first half. Wow.

[La Verdad]

Some quick Facebook sleuthing of my own suggests that you're off by one letter of his last name (the first) but it otherwise rhymes with what you wrote, and there's a profile called "Amherst Super-Fan" that doesn't have many friends -- primarily men's and women's basketball players.  If this is true, this goes a bit beyond NESCAC All Crazy and is elevated to a disciplinary issue in my opinion.  I'm staying away from the rest of this one...

Amherst Super-Fan is the guy.  I was kind of surprised that he didn't block his number when he called all the guys.  It was easy for us to call back, listen to his voicemail, and figure out his name (or at least get close).  I don't mind the facebook stuff, might as well get creative with your heckling, but the phone calls were a little much.  He might have a full mailbox by the end of the night...

[NY Hoopster]

LaVerdad and All Amherst Posters

Congratulations on the impressive win. Amherst shot an amazing 58% from the field, and 53% from the 3.
With that kind of shooting and the # of blocks they got inside, there was no way for Colby to beat them, despite Choice's heroics (btw,thanks for the recognition of his talent). Colby shot 0% from 3, which of course cooked them as well, although their overall shooting at 46% wasn't terrible.

The first half was interesting and well fought on both sides, but Amherst pulled convincingly away in the second half.
The depth of their bench made a big difference. Colby lost Choice to a foul out with 6 minutes left, and lost Gaudet to a bad facial laceration and head injury at about 4 minutes? to go, but the game was already decided at that point.

Except for a few minutes of playing time, Colby played most of the game with Choice as its tallest player on the court at 6'5". That made things even more difficult, but and I think the Colby guys played tough to the end, and never gave up. Congratulations to them on a well fought season as well.

[FormerPolarBear]

Just got back from the Bowdoin/Bates game.  Bowdoin was unbelievable.  The best defensive performace I have seen from them in the last few years.  Every shot Bates attempted was contested.  Hippert was on fire in  the first half.  I played with him for three years and he is a great shooter but I have never seen him get this hot, he put on a shooting clinic.  The game was never in doubt about 10 mins into the game.  It was my first chance to see Bates play this year, and I was not impressed.  I do not know how they were the 5 seed or how they beat Bowdoin twice earlier in the year. I am a Wilson fan and respect Wholley's game, but Ellis was the only player on Bates who did anything today.  He is a good player and has a bright future.  Bowdoin has a tough match-up with Amherst next week, but if Bowdoin plays the way they played today they could beat Amherst.  Amherst is clearly the best team this year, but if anyone is going to beat them, I would put my money on Bowdoin.  Congrats to Bowdoin for winning their first NESCAC playoff game, breaking the school record for wins (20), and continuing their season and the careers of Hippert, Fligel, and Sargentson. 

BTW, does anyone think Bowdoin has a chance to get an atlarge bid if they loose to Amherst next week? I think they have an outside chance.  A win agaisnt Amherst would guarentee a tourney trip right??