WBB: NESCAC

senatorfrost · November 27, 2005, 09:01:51 PM

I am very glad Red
to hear your people are coming back. I am not a believer in injuries deciding a conference or any other kind of title. Middlebury is not and has never been at the bottom of the NESCAC pack- Seems like they had mild case of the 'Jitters'. They came back to demolish a decent team in the consolation.
However, something has me puzzled. How does one Match the Academics? What are Academics? Are they people/Profs involved in academia. Are Academics the course contents at the different schools?? Perhaps Academics means the number and quality of books assigned, as well as those read on one's own. (But then how would you measure that?) Would you measure Academics by the quality of students enrolled? How would you measure the quality of said Students.? SAT scores? Standing in class? Would you throw in 'Good Works" performed,as a factor in this determination?
Well I give up. I have decided to take Bearwatcher at his word. I think it likely that in his in depth analysis (I assume he performed some kind of study) that the UAA has better Academics than NESCAC. Congratulations to all those UAA fans out there on your well earned Victory. You should send Bearwatcher a note of 'Thanks' or something like that.
It should be noted that in all likelihood that certain UAA Basketball Rosters were excluded from Bearwatcher's study. I can think of One who should have been.

Snowman · November 30, 2005, 09:04:38 AM

Feces...wooops I mean Senator and everyone else, will the NESCAC win any games against quality competion this year? I mean outside of the NESCAC of course since the NESCAC has most of the quality teams in the country within it, hmmmm, basketball wise and academically.

Well as they say, tomorrow is another day, GO USM

nescac1 · November 30, 2005, 09:24:48 AM

Hmmm, Williams already beat Springfield, I would say that is a quality win. USM has had success against NESCAC this year, but of course, they have had a good deal of luck as well -- playing Williams without its best player who was injured, and Bates without its two top front court players who were likewise injured. Also, all three games (except the Williams game, which was a de facto home game up in Maine) came at home. Take away USM's star, or two stars, and play NESCAC teams on the road, the results would likely be very different. Not to say they weren't solid wins, but they hardly establish that NESCAC is no longer the regional power, especially when Bowdoin has beat up on everyone in recent years (including USM until last night) and Bates, Williams, and Wesleyan are all potential top 25 teams this year (in fact Williams should crack the top 25 soon the way they have been playing now that they are back at full strength).

Just don't get too cocky until later in the season when the results could be very different ...

feces monkey · November 30, 2005, 01:02:52 PM

Good win for USM on Tuesday night, but of course, we'll have to wait and see if the paperwork for this pay period is in line for the work-study students. Rumor has it, filling out time sheets is now a 200-level course in Gorham.

The improvement/confidence shown by Loonin will be a big boon for the Polar Bears in conference play. Not sure if it is a result of her getting better or just getting a chance, but she is taking advantage at this point.

Senator, while I certainly feel the 'good works' provision for academic ranking is a fine idea, USNews gives us a good indicator of academic prowess. Average rank for NESCAC schools: 15.7. UAA: 23.3. UAA backers should head over to the Centennial board; they're closer to the same reading level. And before the UAA savants join in the discussion, remember your own rules: no excuses.

And Bearswatcher, I take exception to your 'elitist' comment. We're not elitist. We're not snobby. We're not arrogant.

We're just better than you.

Red1 · November 30, 2005, 09:02:53 PM

What a difference a center makes! Bates defeated Husson College 88-49 in Lewiston this evening. For the first time this year the Bobcats played their style of basketball and dictated the play rather than allowing the game to be dictated by their oponents. They finally got an inside presence, took many more layups, and many fewer 3point shots, made quite a few blocks, and dominated the boards, all things that they hadn't been able to do so far this season. The reason for this is because Meg Coffin has returned to the floor. She wasn't expected until January, but the cornerstone of bates speedy play and excellent transition game was back on the court today and the difference showed. Not only was Meg dominant on both sides of the court in the paint, but her return allowed Annie Whiting to move back to the strong forward spot where she excells. I understand that the game was in Lewiston (a rare home game for Bates this year), and I understand that Husson is not an especially strong team, but it's a good stepping stone for Bates to get back on the right track. Bates looked like a new team with Coffin back. I look forward to seeing the further improvement that will come with return of Matia Kostakis.

Cheers,
Red1

Snowman · December 04, 2005, 02:16:11 PM

WOW you guys lose a few games and everuone goes silent

simon · December 04, 2005, 06:46:11 PM

Meg coffin is good but I saw her play in the first game of the Williams tourny and she didn't do so well. Although they won it wasn't because of her. Give credit to the rest of the team. She played better against Williams but they also had a bad day shooting.

Red1 · December 04, 2005, 07:57:53 PM

Oh, I think you always have to give credit to an entire team. Basketball is very much a team sport, and is rarely if ever won by individuals. I don't, however, consider 21 points and 10 rebounds on 9 or 12 shooting from the field and 3 of 4 from the charity stripe to be "not doing so well." I consider it very good. Against Williams Meg dropped to 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting and 3 of 4 from the line and only 7 rebounds.

While these stats are still pretty good the points and rebounds are not the only important aspects of Megs return. She controls the paint (Bates was getting almost no points from within the paint, nor were the Bobcats rebounding well), and by having her at Center it allows Annie Whiting to move out to the strong forward position. I think it's clear how much better this position is for the tournament MVP. Also, Meg draws defenders which helps the other shooters get open looks. This is a strong contributor to the elevated shooting percentage. Yes, Williams was off today, but give credit to the Bates defense for keeping it that way.

It's not just what Meg does when she's on the court, but what her presence allows her teamates to do. When a strong forward has to favor the help side in case she needs to double up on Meg that leaves Annie Whiting an open shot. If the defense shifts to cover Annie then that leaves one of the guards a good look at the basket. So you see, just having Meg back on the court with her ability to control the paint opens up numerous offensive avenues that wouldn't otherwise be open.

Of course, this only works when the rest of the team steps up, makes good decisions, and plays well. So the entire team really does deserves the credit for the way the bobcats are playing right now, but what Meg brings to the court to allow this to happen should not be overlooked. Watch out everyone, Bates is back. Now lets see what happens when Kostakis' injury is healed.

feces monkey · December 05, 2005, 01:16:21 AM

Great win for Bates. Beating the Ephs in Williamstown is always a great win, and they did it convincingly. Now that the Bobcats are getting everybody back it appears it returns to a coin-flip in the conference with Bates and Bowdoin. And I would agree that it's tough to argue against the numbers Coffin put up. She is a complete player.

Emmanuel is down from their usual spot (losing to EConn, a team Bowdoin beat by 40) but Colby played closer than I thought they would on the road. The new coach is obviously doing something right. Getting Emmanuel/USM/Bowdoin in an eight-day frame is a tough stretch for anyone.

Wasn't sure about Wesleyan (two OOR loses), but getting thumped by Salve Regina is not a good sign. Amherst is clearly worse than I suspected, especially considering that schedule. Despite getting waxed by Wash U, Middlebury is obviously better than year's past.

1. Bowdoin
2. Bates
3. Williams
4. Wesleyan
5. Middlebury
6. Colby
7. Tufts
8. Trinity

feces monkey · December 06, 2005, 09:18:07 PM

Ouch. UMF 62, Bates 59. Traditionally, UMF is no slouch, but this is certainly an eye-opening loss for Bates, and potentially costly if they don't win the conference. Bates now goes into two pretty decent tournaments barely affording another loss. Haven't seen a box, but would be curious to see how this happened...

Plymouth State isn't real strong, but another victory for Middlebury. Amherst is still awful.

senatorfrost · December 06, 2005, 10:23:42 PM

Williams only beat Keene by 3 AT Williams.

Snowman · December 06, 2005, 10:24:28 PM

I see Bates took another dump. Gotta question the quality of the NESCAC

feces monkey · December 07, 2005, 02:44:58 PM

Bates went 8-for-15 from the free throw line, including 5-for-11 in the second half. Bobcats led by nine with 4:00 to go and six with 2:35 left. Didn't score again from 2:35 in. With 22 seconds left and Bates trailing by one, it appears Sarah Barton was called for an offensive foul. Not good. Barton and Coffin combined for 15 TOs.

remsleep · December 11, 2005, 10:18:55 PM

After conducting exhaustive analysis I am able to report the following:
Cumulative Out of Conference Records through 12/10/05

UAA:

remsleep · December 11, 2005, 10:24:08 PM

After conducting exhaustive analysis I am able to report the following:
Cumulative Out of Conference Records through 12/10/05

UAA: 30-16
NESCAC: 48-27
Little East; 30-16
NEWMAC:43-27

My conclusion is that it doesn't really tell us very much about who's good and who isn't. Individual teams within conferences are what it's all about, because there are no Division III conferences in the country that have strong teams top to bottom. The scary teams appear to be Washington U. and USM. Bowdoin just a shade behind along with MAYBE Brandeis -- need to see more of the Judges..I'm not sold yet.