NE Region General Questions

[Hugenerd]

It also doesnt hurt when teams in your conference start beating good opponents.  For example, MITs win over Babson may have just looked like any other blowout, when MIT beat them by 27 on the road with Babson playing their full squad.  Two days later, same gym, except Babson is playing without their starting point guard (Amherst's starting point guard was also out), they beat a team that was ranked top 10 nationally the weak prior. I know the transitive property isn't as well defined in basktball as it is in mathematics, but things like that help somewhat (obviously not as much as beating someone yourself).

They have their chance tomorrow night.  Go MIT!

[nescac1]

It's looking already like no league in New England other than NESCAC has much of a shot of more than one NCAA bid this year, unless MIT fails to win the NEWMAC.  MASCAC and LEC both seem way down.  The top of New England is now fairly easy to rank:

Williams, MIT, Middlebury, Amherst, Brandeis, Colby, Eastern Conn I'd say.  After that, no one has really distinguished themselves, and it seems like, already, outside of that group, not anyone with a chance for a Pool C. 

Bowdoin has managed to lose four games by a total of eight points, including three losses at home by a total of four points -- sounds like a bit of a tough luck squad there. 

[ECSUalum]

ECSU is playing well, best start in 40 years, but they also have a young team, with just 1 senior Edwin Ortiz, their top scorer.  Starters are Sophomores and Jr's next to EO, who rotates out. Freshmen Joe Ives and Mike Garrow, will be very good players in the comming years and are getting substantial playing time.  ECSU may not get into NCAA's this year, or go far if they do, however, next year looks to maybe be a year where they can be ranked and be competitive from a national standpoint.

RIC, WConn and UMD seem to have faltered a bit as we entered LEC Conference play.  ECSU have found a way to win a lot of close games, which last year they lost.  Mostly due to better defense, much better FT shooting, and maturation of their relatively young team.

As hugenerd commented earlier, Conference play can result in upsets of strong teams, so it ain't over till the Conference Tournaments are completed!!

NESCAC teams are perennial powerhouses and should, (hope), do well in the National Tourney.

MIT will be a tough team to get by early in the Regionals NCAA

I pick Williams over Amherst this year to advance deep into the NCAA tourney!!!  Good luck to all for rest of season

[Hugenerd]

According to the national top 25, here is how the northeast looks, same format as last week:

1. Williams (5, 508, +70)
2. MIT (8, 428, +99)
3. Middlebury (10, 412, +84)
4. Brandeis (15, 272, +122)
5. Amherst (20, 165, -137)
6. WPI (ORV 39, 3, -4)

Number of teams receiving votes in the NE goes down by 1, with West Conn dropping off the list.  The top 4 NE teams all made big jumps in points this week (not necessarily in position).  MIT about +100 for the second week in a row, although they only move up 1 spot in the polls, it seems like more voters are putting them near the top of their ballot.  Williams jumped into the top 5, gaining 70 points and Middlebury remained at 10, despite gaining 84 points.  Brandeis was the big winner this week, gaining 122 points and 5 poll positions (while they WashU team they beat hardly took any hit, only dropping 1 spot in the polls).  Big loser was Amherst, droppong 7 spots and 137 points.

Brandeis has a test this week, playing Rochester at home.
MIT plays Springfield on Wednesday for the outright lead in the NEWMAC (both are 3-0 currently).
All 3 NESCAC schools dont play any real big games.

[Hugenerd]

According to the national top 25, here is how the northeast looks, same format as last week:

1. Williams (4, 532, +24)
2. Middlebury (8, 432, +20)
3. MIT (14, 303, -125)
4. Amherst (18, 183,  +18)
5. Brandeis (20, 141, -131)
6. WPI (ORV 34, 2, -1)

A couple teams flip-flopped (Middlebury, MIT and Amherst, Brandeis), but not much else changed.  Still the same 6 teams receiving votes and the same 5 teams in the rankings.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Williams @ Middlebury this week will tell the voters a lot about both teams, I think.

[nescac1]

Not to mention, Amherst at Colby ... this ranking looks pretty good, other than, I might slip Colby between Brandeis and WPI.  It's looking more and more like, unless MIT fails to win NEWMAC, no northeast teams outside of NESCAC and maybe Brandeis will have a shot at Pool C ... NESCAC will likely end up with at least two Pool C's I would think, unless Colby, Amherst, Williams and Midd all beat each other up a bit in more or less equal doses ...

[toooldtoplay]

The remaining league games look like they will tell the story. Home court and final score will be important. Looks like Brandeis has the most to gain (or lose) as they have been very inconsistent even though talented.

[Hugenerd]

According to the national top 25, here is how the northeast looks, same format as last week:

1. Williams (2, 586, +15)
2. Middlebury (7, 432, +41)
3. MIT (11, 370, +22)
4. Brandeis (21, 98, -98)
5. Colby (ORV 32, 6, -38)
6. Bridgewater (ORV 37, 3,  +3)
7. Gordon (ORV 38, 2, +2)
    West Conn (ORV 38, 2, +2)

Late posting this update this week.  All 3 new NE ORV teams have already lost this week.  Colby is almost out after their two losses by large margins to the top two NESCAC teams.  MIT and Middlebury each move up a spot, while Brandeis loses half their points with their loss to CWRU last week.

[scout]

Per the release by the NCAA, the regional rankings for the Northeast are as follows:




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Team	In-Region Record	Overall Record
Williams	17-0	19-1
MIT	17-1	18-2
Colby	13-1	15-2
Middlebury	13-2	17-2
Brandeis	14-3	14-3
Bridgewater State	12-3	13-5
Gordon	14-3	15-3
West Conn. State	12-4	13-4
Mass-Dartmouth	13-6	13-6
RIC	13-6	13-6
East Conn. State	13-6	13-6

[ECSUalum]

Does MIT get penalized in the polls for their loss to Harvard??  If so, should they?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Does MIT get penalized in the polls for their loss to Harvard??  If so, should they?

I doubt it - especially with the season Harvard is having.  Voters would not expect even d3's #1 team to beat Harvard this year.

[ECSUalum]

Thanks Ypsi,

I seem to remember, last year or the year before, one of the UW teams playing U of Wisconsin Madison and it wasn't included in their record, obviously the Harvard game was included for MIT. Curious.

Maybe I am mistaken.

[Mr. Ypsi]

The Wisconsin 'game' was an exhibition.  MIT/Harvard was a regular season game.

For MIT, the game essentially doesn't exist for NCAA selection purposes, and IMO would be virtually ignored by poll voters (unless they had pulled the upset, of course! )

[Hugenerd]

The Wisconsin 'game' was an exhibition.  MIT/Harvard was a regular season game.

For MIT, the game essentially doesn't exist for NCAA selection purposes, and IMO would be virtually ignored by poll voters (unless they had pulled the upset, of course! )

I agree and it wasnt even as big a blowout as it appears in the final stats.  MIT was down 15 with 3 minutes to go and then cleared their bench.  The end of Harvards bench was clearly a lot better than MIT's, as they were outscored 12-0 in that span to make the final margin 27.