MBB: NEWMAC

Started by nehoops4life, March 03, 2005, 10:39:13 AM

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Hugenerd

Looks like they didnt foul.  Although the player who made the 3 had only taken 7 three=pointers all season.

T990

There was only 1.8 sec left.  No, MIT did not try to foul. 

As far as Coach Barry's ejection:  after his first Technical, Barry was yelling at the Ref (who called the T) that he was not even talking to him (maybe he was talking to his own player?).  What was weird in my mind, why doesn't the Ref who T'd him walk away.  He didn't, he walked up to Barry to let him continue his tirade than T's him again.  Barry was on the court and did not seem to be ready to stop anytime soon.

As for the game result, it largely came down to: (1) MIT shot 25% from 3-PT range; they are averaging 42.6% for the season.  (2) Bill Johnson shot 1-7 for 7 pts, 4 rebs; in the previous meeting he shot 8-12 for 25 pts, 6 rebs.  MIT was also in foul trouble among all their front court players (at game's end: 5, 5, 5, 4 fouls).   

Lastly, I cannot believe that Craig Johnson collared Jimmy Bartolotta *again* on a breakaway layup in this game, violently sending him the floor.  He was called for an Intentional Foul, but not ejected.  In last year's NEWMAC tournament, Johnson did the same thing, and Bartolotta had to be taken out on a stretcher wearing a neck brace and spent the night in the hospital.  It is difficult to respect Craig Johnson as a player or the CGA basketball program for this nonsense. 

massd3fan

Ah, that word ... assumption...  It is indeed a killer.

I "assumed" MIT would handle them on their home court.  I saw the score and boxscore on yesterday and was truly amazed. (Did not follow the game, due to a date with a hammer & chisel and about 6" of ice on the roof and some patches around the driveway & walkways).  It was a Saturday for the lower part of the conference, as Springfield beat Clark & Babson upset Wheaton.

It does sound like it was an exciting game though.  Seriously bad loss for MIT in their quest to win the regular season & host the tournament, but like WPI's loss a lack of good outside shooting and the disappearance of an inside game leads to disaster.

As we wind down the final two seeks, the lower half of the conference will have a lot to say about who is going to host the post-season.  Both of the top two teams got a serious slap across the face to not take anyone for granted.  Let's see if the message got through!

MIT - (7-2) 3 Games Left

   at Babson, WPI, Clark


WPI - (7-1) 4 Games Left

   at Springfield, at MIT, Wheaton, at Babson
   

nescac1

Wonder if MIT would have fouled it its coach hadn't been tossed -- that is the intelligent play and MIT is nothing if not intelligent ... 1.8 seconds left, you HAVE to foul -- even a less than stellar shooter at the college level probably has at least a 1/4 chance of hitting a 3, I figure the odds of making a free throw, corraling a rebound on the second, then hitting a shot to tie are maybe, what, 1/15, 1/20? 

In case MIT fans missed it, nice article on the Heritage trio:

http://williams.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2008-09/news/0210_Kevin_Snyder_profiled_with_two_HS_teammates

T990


golflax99

Huge win for Babson tonight. They grabbed an 11 point lead going into halftime and watched it slowly slip away. Then came the most exciting last minute of Basketball I've seen all year.

Norm De Silva hit two big free throws on a 1 and 1 with about 45 seconds left to put Babson up 66-64. MIT came down the court and couldn't find an open look until Bartolotta pulled up from the top of key, ATLEAST 25 feet out. With MIT up 67-66, Babson called a timeout... everyone seemed to know it would go to Zach Etten like it has all year. Babson set a double screen from him at the foul line and he popped out and hit one of the biggest three's all year for them. There were still 9 seconds left, but Etten played great D and popped it out of Bartolotta's hands. They got it back to him, but it wasn't a decent look as time expired.

Great game as Babson has won 4 out of 5 and improves to 4-5 in the NEWMAC. MIT falls to 7-3 in NEWMAC with the tough loss.

massd3fan

golflax99,

   Yes, a crushing defeat for MIT in regards to their hopes for the regular season title.  It would seem like they are opening the door and holding it open for WPI to take the crown & host the tournament.

   On the other hand, when i looked at the results of the WPI/Springfield game, it seems like WPI is not sure if they want to walk through that door!  They won a tight back & forth game, but this is the second game in a row against a sub .500 team that they hace really struggled to take control of the game.

   Springfield had their chances, many chances, to win the game.  Six turnovers in the final 4 plus minutes, with four of them on potential game tying possesions, killed them!

   WPI can now seal the #1 seed with a win at MIT on Saturday, but even a loss still leaves them with a game lead.  I'm guessing that MIT's only route now to the NCAA's is to win the tournament.  Their chances at an at large bid would seem very slim now.

Hugenerd

#922
Quote from: massd3fan on February 12, 2009, 09:47:52 AM
I'm guessing that MIT's only route now to the NCAA's is to win the tournament.  Their chances at an at large bid would seem very slim now.

I would agree.  MIT needs to win the tourney now (because if they dont they will have at least one more loss in the tourney which will leave them with 8 overall and 6 in-region, which is very borderline) and they have a much better chance of winning the tourney if they host.  They first need to take care of business and beat WPI and then hope that WPI loses one of their two games next week (Wheaton at home or at Babson). 

If MIT wins on Saturday (and against Clark next week), it opens up some interesting tiebreaking scenarios. Obviously if WPI wins out or only loses to MIT, they get to host.

Case 1: If WPI loses to Wheaton and MIT (and MIT wins out)
MIT would host because the first pertinent tiebreaker is who did best against the best teams.  MIT beat Wheaton twice and WPI will have split with them if they lose next week.  Since Wheaton is currently the 3rd ranked team in the NEWMAC (behind WPI and MIT), the tiebreaker would go to MIT with their 2-0 series advantage against them. 

Case 2: WPI loses to Babson and MIT (and MIT wins out)
This would again depend on the final in conference rankings, but since WPI and MIT would then have idential records against Wheaton and Babson (teams 3 and 4 in conference).  If Clark is 5th (as they are currently), MIT would win the tiebreaker, because they would again be 2-0 and WPI would be 1-1 against Clark.  If CGA is ranked higher than Clark, WPI would win the tiebreaker because WPI is 2-0 against CGA and MIT is 1-1.

Case 3: WPI loses all 3 games (MIT loses to Clark)
In this case, if Wheaton wins all of their remaining games, they could also tie for first.  If Wheaton, MIT and WPI were all tied at 8-4, MIT would win the tiebreaker because WPI would have split with Wheaton but MIT is 2-0 against Wheaton.  If only WPI and MIT are tied, MIT would again win the tiebreaker, because MIT is 2-0 against Wheaton and WPI would be 1-1.

So in summary, MIT seems to be in better shape in terms of tiebreakers, but it is going to take a major slip-up by WPI to get to a tie.  MIT is going to have to win on Saturday and then hope that Wheaton or Babson can come up with an upset next week.  MIT wants Clark and Wheaton to do well and CGA and Babson to lose (with the exception of the Babson-WPI game, MIT wants Babson to win that one), to increase their chance in terms of tiebreakers.  WPI, on the other hand, just needs to win their games (they would be pulling for CGA and Babson, in terms of tiebreakers).

massd3fan

Hugenerd,

   Lots & Lots of possibilities, no doubt.

   For the teams below WPI & MIT though, hope is growing into confidence.  Neither WPI or MIT is moving towards the post-seasom playing their best ball.  Given what we have seen in the past couple of weeks, would it really surprise anyone if someone other than WPI/MIT wins the tournament?

   Home court advantage did not help WPI in the past two years.  Mt bet is it's going to be and exciting set of games no matter who wins it.

Hugenerd

I wonder why Jimmy Bartolotta didnt play today against WPI?  MIT loses at home 72-55 without their All-American.

deiscanton

I attended the WPI/MIT game today, and I was disappointed that Jimmy Bartolotta was not able to play today-- I was looking forward to seeing him.

I asked a few MIT fans at the game what happened, and from what I heard and as I understand it, Jimmy Bartolotta injured his foot/ankle in a late week practice.  Bartolotta was not in uniform as a precautionary result today-- but I hear that it is a minor injury and should not affect his ability to compete in the NEWMAC tournament.

I tried to look for you, Hugenerd, but I couldn't find you-- even though I asked around.  If you were at the game, I was wearing a red striped shirt with a pink ribbon pinned as part of the WBCA Pink Zone promotion and was carrying a blue Shaw's shopping bag with me.  I sat in the middle-- there were a lot of WPI fans who made the trip to MIT to make sure that the WPI Engineers could clinch the top seed in the NEWMAC tournament today.

massd3fan

Hugenerd,

   I got to see the WPI/MIT game today.  My wife & I went to see a nephew of ours swim at the MIAA sectionals that took place at MT today and managed to talk her onto attending the basketball game as well.

   I was very disappointed not to see Barolotta play.  It was a tpugh go for MIT with olny 8 players in uniform.  They played hard, but fatigue got to them  in the second half.  Also it was obvious that without JB on the court, this team seriously struggles to make plays.  Billy Johnson had a huge advantage inside most of the game, but my observations were that MIT has not worked much at all on the thier low post entry passes (orthey are just not that good at making it).  There were a large number of turnovers/forced shots that occured as a result of not being able to get Johnson the ball in aposition he could be effective with it.

  WPI had control of the game but didnt really put it away until about 11 or 12 minutes to go the 2nd half.  Adam Lirette had a very good game for WPI along with Kirkland.  They got up early, but still seem to struggle with consistency on offense.  Just when it seemed like WPI would take the lead for 10 and bump it up, they would have a couple of bad possesions and MIT would cut the lead back to single diigits.

  Kudos to Billy Johnson & Jamie Karraker for hard-nosed effort today.  Karraker played the whole 40 minutes and put up 15 points.   Johnson held his poise very very well.  He worked hard at getting good position to take advantage of the mismatches (WPI's Lessard was in foul trouble and only played 4 minutes), and never seemed to get upset that his teammates could not get him the ball at the right time & spot.  Even with that, he had game hishs with 20 pts & 9 rbs.

   One thing is very clear, MIT is in serious trouble next year if some of the players who at the school do not come to the program, or they do not have an outstanding recruiting class.

   Well, WPI wil host the tournament and now the question is can they win it after letting it get away to CGA the past two years.  I still think MIT with a healthy JB can give a great game, and I like said in an earlier post, the lower seeds in the conference are playing better and gaining confidence.

Hugenerd

Quote from: deiscanton on February 14, 2009, 09:33:25 PM
I attended the WPI/MIT game today, and I was disappointed that Jimmy Bartolotta was not able to play today-- I was looking forward to seeing him.

I asked a few MIT fans at the game what happened, and from what I heard and as I understand it, Jimmy Bartolotta injured his foot/ankle in a late week practice.  Bartolotta was not in uniform as a precautionary result today-- but I hear that it is a minor injury and should not affect his ability to compete in the NEWMAC tournament.

I tried to look for you, Hugenerd, but I couldn't find you-- even though I asked around.  If you were at the game, I was wearing a red striped shirt with a pink ribbon pinned as part of the WBCA Pink Zone promotion and was carrying a blue Shaw's shopping bag with me.  I sat in the middle-- there were a lot of WPI fans who made the trip to MIT to make sure that the WPI Engineers could clinch the top seed in the NEWMAC tournament today.

Deis,

I wasnt at the game and I havent been at the last 3 games including the last 2 at home (which happen to be 3 losses for MIT, I was at 7 of the first 9 home games - all wins). I like to think of myself as a good luck charm ;)  I actually havent seen MIT lose this season in person and I have been to, I think, 9 or 10 games in all.

If I were there, I would be pretty easy to find, I am usually one of the most vocal supporters (and I sometimes wear some CMU basketball gear).  My wife is in a really difficult rotation in med school right now so I am basically taking care of our daughter by myself, so I had to prioritize and watching basketball games in person didnt make the cut.

It is good to hear that Jimmy isnt badly hurt, I have been out of the loop pretty much this whole month because I havent had any real free time other than to get onto this site for a few minutes here and there.  Even before the WPI game on Saturday, MIT had a pretty long shot at hosting so it is better that he is well rested for the tourney. I think MIT has clinched the #2 seed because the only other team that can get 7 wins is Wheaton and they are 2-0 against them.

By the way, it is too bad we didnt get to formally meet, but I know who you are (I played at Brandeis 4 times in my career and have seen you at games since I moved to Boston and I think you even made the trip to Pittsburgh a time or two when I was playing).  You may even recognize me if you saw me, but, alas, it wasnt meant to be.  Maybe we will see eachother next time. 

Hugenerd

Quote from: massd3fan on February 14, 2009, 11:19:06 PM
Hugenerd,

   I got to see the WPI/MIT game today.  My wife & I went to see a nephew of ours swim at the MIAA sectionals that took place at MT today and managed to talk her onto attending the basketball game as well.

   I was very disappointed not to see Barolotta play.  It was a tpugh go for MIT with olny 8 players in uniform.  They played hard, but fatigue got to them  in the second half.  Also it was obvious that without JB on the court, this team seriously struggles to make plays.  Billy Johnson had a huge advantage inside most of the game, but my observations were that MIT has not worked much at all on the thier low post entry passes (orthey are just not that good at making it).  There were a large number of turnovers/forced shots that occured as a result of not being able to get Johnson the ball in aposition he could be effective with it.

  WPI had control of the game but didnt really put it away until about 11 or 12 minutes to go the 2nd half.  Adam Lirette had a very good game for WPI along with Kirkland.  They got up early, but still seem to struggle with consistency on offense.  Just when it seemed like WPI would take the lead for 10 and bump it up, they would have a couple of bad possesions and MIT would cut the lead back to single diigits.

  Kudos to Billy Johnson & Jamie Karraker for hard-nosed effort today.  Karraker played the whole 40 minutes and put up 15 points.   Johnson held his poise very very well.  He worked hard at getting good position to take advantage of the mismatches (WPI's Lessard was in foul trouble and only played 4 minutes), and never seemed to get upset that his teammates could not get him the ball at the right time & spot.  Even with that, he had game hishs with 20 pts & 9 rbs.

   One thing is very clear, MIT is in serious trouble next year if some of the players who at the school do not come to the program, or they do not have an outstanding recruiting class.

   Well, WPI wil host the tournament and now the question is can they win it after letting it get away to CGA the past two years.  I still think MIT with a healthy JB can give a great game, and I like said in an earlier post, the lower seeds in the conference are playing better and gaining confidence.

I am glad you could make it out for the game, I couldnt make it to the game for reasons outlined in my previous post. 

MIT is a different team without Bartolotta.  Even though Gampel is the point guard, and handles the ball most of the time, Bartolotta has the ball in his hands a lot and is a calming influence on the team.  He is really the only player on the team that rarely gets rattled.

In terms of post entry, I think it is a combination of two things.  First, since MIT has no real big men (anymore), I am sure there is some lack of practice with post entry.  Players may see something they think is open during the course of the game, but because they dont do that very often, things can go wrong.  Also, the players currently playing in the post have a different skill set than their starting 5 at the beginning of the season.  A pass that Dou could have jumped and caught is different than what the current players can handle, but they should be adjsuted to that by now.  Secondly, since none of their post players are true post players, in my opinion, they are not as comfortable coming to passing and catching the ball with their backs to the basket, which can also lead to turnovers.

In terms of the team next year,  Billy Johnson will be back for a 5th year due to medical redshirt.  They will also get back Daniel McCue, who was one of their top players last year, who has been out this year due to injury and surgery.  I also hear they have some talented kids coming in, but we will have to wait and see which of them end up still playing.  The biggest need for MIT will be another point guard (and they always need big men). With Gampel graduating, they only have Patrick Sissman and no one else that can really bring the ball up (with Bartolotta gone as well).  McCue will fill in for Bartolotta at the 3, Karraker will start at the 2 and Johnson will start at the 4 or 5.  The spots up for grabs will be the other 4/5 spot (likely starter from this years team is Erik Zuk) and the point guard position (with the likely starter there being Sissman). 

Pat Coleman

Jimmy Bartolotta will be a guest on Hoopsville tonight. Expect to hear him in the 6 p.m. ET hour:

http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/tunein.php
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.