MBB: NESCAC

theBroadcaster · March 15, 2008, 11:41:51 PM

Congrats to Amherst on making it back to the final four. As someone whose seen almost all of Brandeis' games this yr, they just lost to a better team tonight. Not going to lie, playing Plattsburgh last night certainly took a lot out of the Judges (Hixon basically even called the Cardinals their sixth man in the press conference), but when Amherst puts it all together, they're absolutely the most talented, biggest, and toughest team i've seen all year. Also, the game back in December wasn't a factor at all, Amherst definitely was the more confident team and had the mental edge in the second half.

La Verdad · March 16, 2008, 04:50:38 AM

Wow! What a weekend. a 4 hour drive up (plus a speeding ticket

), but it was totally worth it. My boys came to play...I think we might have been up 17-0 to start the game? RS was a pretty darn good team(cut a 20 pt lead to 4, I think), but the coaching wasn't too impressive. Their offense seemed to be iso #34 and let him go to work...Jones and co. locked him up. And zone pressure is not the way to attack the Jeffs; pestering Olson from end to end is the way to go...tires him out and keeps the Jeffs out of their offense. Tons of respect to RS. They fought back with serious passion when a lesser team would have just given up.

Great game vs Brandeis. Much love to the Judges and the jury. Robeson got in early foul trouble and was essentially a nonfactor. Olson has one of the prettiest shots I've ever seen. Hollins didn't have a great game...looked like he might have been a little banged up? Amherst played their best game of the year. The defense and rebounding was stellar. I haven't seen the stats, but there is no way we shot 40% in the first half (probably 15% from 3), and we were only down 5! I don't know what Hix said at the half, but it worked. We came out ready to go. Olson sets a pick for Khop, who drives the lane and crams it...and then a stop...then Jones crams it (see: d3hoops.com)...then a stop...then Hopkins crams it again. The jury was silent, the nation was rowdy, the game was pretty much over. Brandeis really is a great team. I can't imagine how good they could've been if deluca wasn't hurt (I heard he'll be back next year).

Plattsburgh was awesome. The people were really friendly (most of the pburgh fans were rooting for the jeffs tonight) and the accommodations/food were great. Big shout out to Mike from 99 and Ted from the Lake Placid brewery (started by a Williams grad!). We gave both of them a ton of business. Seriously, if you ever come across a beer made by Lake Placid craft brewing, try it...great stuff, the official beer of tonight's afterparty...which is still going on.

PS...Mike Holsey was an absolute monster tonight. Only three blocks in the official stats, but anyone who was there will tell you he had at least 7. DPOY next year, no doubt. The Amherst fans were great; too bad all the students are on spring break. I probably forgot something, but I'm missing the fun.

See you in Salem

nescac1 · March 16, 2008, 06:47:09 AM

Congrats to Amherst ...

they will beat Ursinus with ease, simply not in the same class, talent wise. Ursinus has one great player who Hixon will be able to neutralize with a week's prep time. Only one big guy and he is not as good as any of Amherst's three starting bigs. Huge advantage having Hope and Wash U face off against one another in a brutal semifinal. Walters really developed into a monster this year, shows just how talented Amherst has been that he and Jones weren't able to crack the starting line-up until senior year. The rest of New England will be very, very, very happy to see this senior class graduate ...

Route9_Cassie · March 16, 2008, 09:50:16 AM

Anyone know when it's determined if Amherst will play first or second next friday - gotta figure out when I need to hit the road and have someone else cover my shifts at the diner.

Also, Richard Stockton...? Ask La Verdad why it was never in doubt - sandwiches.

eclinchy · March 16, 2008, 10:44:24 AM

Quote from: Route9_Cassie on March 16, 2008, 09:50:16 AMAnyone know when it's determined if Amherst will play first or second next friday - gotta figure out when I need to hit the road and have someone else cover my shifts at the diner.

Amherst-Ursinus is at 5, Hope-WashU is at 7.

Friar T · March 16, 2008, 11:56:52 AM

Three straight Final Fours, and four of the last five?

Damn...

dman · March 16, 2008, 12:49:25 PM

congrats to amherst on another great run....

eclinchy · March 16, 2008, 01:51:47 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on March 16, 2008, 06:47:09 AMThe rest of New England will be very, very, very happy to see this senior class graduate ...

Speaking as a Tufts fan that can't wait to see Pierce and Beyel back with another year of experience, I can tell you: You couldn't possibly be more right.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 16, 2008, 06:47:09 AMthey will beat Ursinus with ease, simply not in the same class, talent wise. Ursinus has one great player who Hixon will be able to neutralize with a week's prep time. Only one big guy and he is not as good as any of Amherst's three starting bigs.

I assume the one great player would be Shattuck...

Glad to see someone on the NESCAC board with some knowledge of Ursinus... how do you think Amherst will handle the rest of the Bears? Their four starters other than the big man Shema are all listed as guards, but a couple of them are 6'5" and are high-percentage shooters and good rebounders. I'd be interested to hear how you think Jones/Baskauskas/Wheeler/etc will match up with Ursinus' forwards/swingmen. On paper this looks like a really solid team.

Marty Peretz · March 16, 2008, 03:38:03 PM

Early, early lines (will have to confer more with Walzy based on where the money goes)...

Hope -3
Amherst -9

Pat Coleman · March 16, 2008, 03:45:38 PM

Ahem ... just a reminder that no actual gambling should be performed with any fan line. These are absolutely for entertainment purposes only.

walzy31 · March 16, 2008, 04:33:24 PM

Quote from: Marty Peretz on March 16, 2008, 03:38:03 PM
Early, early lines (will have to confer more with Walzy based on where the money goes)...

Hope -3
Amherst -9

Quote from: Pat Coleman on March 16, 2008, 03:45:38 PM
Ahem ... just a reminder that no actual gambling should be performed with any fan line. These are absolutely for entertainment purposes only.

Pat is right. Marty and I use gambling terms to make it appear more realistic, but no one actually bets on these spreads. My lines are not ready yet.

See you in Salem

La Verdad · March 16, 2008, 06:01:05 PM

Quote from: Friar T on March 16, 2008, 11:56:52 AM
Three straight Final Fours, and four of the last five?

Damn...

Yeah, it's pretty silly when you think about it.

nescac1 · March 16, 2008, 06:28:25 PM

Hixon should have plenty of help scouting Ursinus, since they beat Trin and Midd and lost to Williams earlier this year ... hard to believe the Ephs blew them out in the first game of the season, but of course that was early in the year before Ursinus hit its stride and Williams fell apart.

Shattuck is a superstar, and they have lots of mid-sized athletes who can shoot, 6'4 - 6'5 range, but of course Amherst has even better and bigger athletes at the same positions, Walters and Jones will be a VERY tough match-up for the Ursinus forwards. They have a small Div-I transfer, Hilton, who is a deadly shooter from anywhere. Shema seems to have developed over the course of the year as his production has really gone up. He is 6'10, but that is the only significant guy over 6'5 for Ursinus, and he is no match for the avalanche of bigs the Jeffs can throw out. Ursinus had a pretty easy path to the final four, catching a break with UR's loss, I think Amherst will handle them with ease, setting up a titanic battle with the winner of Hope / Wash U.

deputy dog · March 16, 2008, 06:32:03 PM

Amherst may be bigger than a lot of teams, but I thought Richard Stockton was quicker to the ball. Stockton grabbed a bunch of rebounds. I think quickness has a big affect on rebounding. Thus if you are quick to the ball you can out rebound a bigger team? Rebounding stats for game 33-29 Amherst. Amherst big #44 is not that quick to the ball!?

deputy dog · March 16, 2008, 06:36:12 PM

Quote from: deputy dog on March 16, 2008, 06:32:03 PM
Amherst may be bigger than a lot of teams, but I thought Richard Stockton was quicker to the ball. Stockton grabbed a bunch of rebounds. I think quickness has a big affect on rebounding. Thus if you are quick to the ball you can out rebound a bigger team? Rebounding stats for game 33-29 Amherst. Amherst big #44 is not that quick to the ball!?

I saw Ruth's play at the Gym Rat Challenge (AAU Tourney) in Albany New York several years ago. He was a member of the Houston Lynx We had him on our all tournament team and thought possibly that he would be a low level Division I player?

Went to the Plattsburgh sectional. I was extremely impressed by Amherst perimeter shooting!!! Especially in the opening minutes of the Richard Stockton game. They were all "Big" shooting guards. After being down 17-0 Stockton did an incredible job getting back in to the game.

Brandeis two big three's after Plattsburgh had tied the game at 56-56 seemed to be the difference. Everyone said, including coaches, that the Cardinals probably took some of the wind out of Brandeis sails with a tough game on Friday evening. Brandeis seemed to be a little tired against Amherst.