Every game tonight (except Tri/Mid) is a one possession game per the D3 Datacast score predictions. 

I think they will be close, with a few plays either way making a difference, along with home court. 

Also impressive to see that 5 of the 6 highest "game scores" (explanation below) are from the NESCAC matchups. 

Game score is an approximation of the game's 'excitement factor' given (1) the quality of the two teams, (2) how close the game is projected to be, and (3) the game's overall impact on NCAA tournament odds.

I'm most intrigued by the Bow/Col/Con matchups.

One of those teams has the potential for an at-large bid.

The Wes/Wil game on Fri should be a good one. Wes won (in CT) 65-54 in their first matchup in early Dec. They will be hungry coming of the uninspiring showing at Amh. 

Wil will be hosting this time (and vs Tri on Sat) and is riding a four-game win streak.

Every league win is huge, especially on the road.   

Very likely getting a NCAA at large bid if they don't win the league:

Trinity

Very likely not making the NCAA tournament unless they win the league:

Middlebury
Hamilton

Still a chance for an at large bid (finish top four in the league and at or close to 20 wins):

Bates - Maryville (today)   
Colby - Endicott    
Tufts - ?    
Conn - RIC
Williams - Vassar    
Wesleyan - Roanoke
Amherst   - ?
Bowdoin   - Rochester

Best win to date is listed and this is open to debate. Also interested in the best upcoming (non-conference) resume boosting games.

What is the difference between the Massey Ratings and Datacast Rankings? I thought the Datacast Rankings were a primary tool for at large selections. Datacast Rankings (https://d3datacast.com/conference-ratings/nescac/) as of today for the NESCAC are listed below:

Trinity - 1 (2)
Bates - 10 (41)
Colby - 24 (60)
Wesleyan - 25 (17)
CT College - 33 (49)
Tufts - 35 (27)
Bowdoin - 55 (89)
Amherst - 57 (75)
Williams - 62 (66)   
Middlebury - 74 (108) 
Hamilton - 363 (228)

Current Massey Rating is listed in parentheses. Large discrepancy between the two rankings for Colby and Bates. Colby will likely be 9-1 when they head to Bates on 1/4. Bates could come in with a similar win total pending their two games before the break and their tournament at Emory.

There is a discrepancy in men's basketball assistant coaching salaries (or compensation packages) across the NESCAC. The same can be said across the northeast at the DIII level in general.   

What would Notre Dame and the other independents do?

This conversation is two fold - is there a enough money to fund the respective team and is it safe enough to actually have a season.

Some schools are cutting sports that might not even play this year. Doesn't make the decision any easier. Budget is one thing, but the pandemic related shut down is somewhat our of their hands.

The Ivy League shutdown doesn't look promising for the rest of DI. They were ahead of the curve in the spring when they decided to cancel their men's and women's basketball tournaments. Within 48 hours, the NBA suspended its season and all NCAA sports were halted.

All higher education institutions, assuming they will be providing less services than normal during this upcoming academic year, should reduce or defer tuition related expenses.

As mentioned, Williams has some financial flexibility, but at the end of the day what they are doing is just good business.   

Best of luck to Coach Sears. I hope he keeps the Amherst program at a high level and does the NESCAC proud. Since when do we criticize coaching hires before they've even made it through the first game?

I can't quite follow the cryptic posts about Coach Anderson. He would have been a great hire for Amherst. I'm sure he's in a good situation at MIT, and in some similar cases, not necessarily this one, the sole reason for applying for another job is to have leverage in future negotiations.

I'm assuming the only offer that was made was to Coach Sears and he accepted. Hard to believe since you won't see many athletic directors pass on Coach Maker when they get to his resume. Hoping to see him back on the sidelines soon. While his run at Marist wasn't a memorable one, he was certainly compensated appropriately.

Is it confirmed that Maker applied?

Titan Q - great list.

If we have to start trimming it down I would cut out Semling. After that who knows.

Ryan, I can see where you are coming from, but for this subject - the Mount Rushmore of D3 Coaches -  we're suggesting coaches that are worthy based on quantitative data – wins/W%/national championships/etc. And frankly that's all we really have to go off of when looking at the group as a whole.

I understand that wins & losses don't entirely define how good a coach is, but for all-time discussions coaches need to achieve some of those things mentioned above to the be in the conversation. At the same time, Roy Williams, a member of Dick Vitale's DI coaching Mount Rushmore, just went 14-19. The first losing season of his career. Anyone that was around the team or attended practice probably isn't going to state that Roy forgot how to coach. 

SpringSt7, regarding active coaches, Bob Semling (Wis.-Stevens Point) and Pat Miller (Wis.-Whitewater) are currently 2nd and 4th in all-time winning percentage respectively and have both won two national championships. I think that firmly puts them in the conversation for future consideration. 

I can definitely support the Ryan/Hixon/Edwards nominations.

*** Below was posted to the NESCAC board earlier this week***

Steve Moore (Muhlenberg/Wooster) – 1st in winning percentage and 2nd in wins

Glenn Van Wieren (Hope) – 7th in winning percentage and 11th in wins

Glenn Robinson (Franklin & Marshall) – 13th in winning percentage and 1st in wins

David Hixon (Amherst) – 10th in winning percentage and 3rd in wins

These are the only four coaches to be in the Top 20 in both categories. Hixon is the only national championship winner (2) of the group. Mark Edwards (WashU) who has won two national championships just missed the cut. Active coaches, Bob Semling (Wis.-Stevens Point) and Pat Miller (Wis.-Whitewater) are currently 2nd and 4th in all-time winning percentage respectively and have both won two national championships. The NCAA record book has Bo Ryan listed as 3rd all-time in winning percentage on the D3 list, but it is including his entire coaching career. If they just included his winning percentage for his 15 seasons at Wis.-Platteville (.823) he would be in the top spot and it wouldn't even be close – Moore is currently listed first (.775).   

Dave, thanks for sharing. From an all-time D3 standpoint:

Steve Moore (Muhlenberg/Wooster) – 1st in winning percentage and 2nd in wins

Glenn Van Wieren (Hope) – 7th in winning percentage and 11th in wins

Glenn Robinson (Franklin & Marshall) – 13th in winning percentage and 1st in wins

David Hixon (Amherst) – 10th in winning percentage and 3rd in wins

These are the only four coaches to be in the Top 20 in both categories. Hixon is the only national championship winner (2) of the group. Mark Edwards (WashU) who has won two national championships just missed the cut. Active coaches, Bob Semling (Wis.-Stevens Point) and Pat Miller (Wis.-Whitewater) are currently 2nd and 4th in all-time winning percentage respectively and have both won two national championships. The NCAA record book has Bo Ryan listed as 3rd all-time in winning percentage on the D3 list, but it is including his entire coaching career. If they just included his winning percentage for his 15 seasons at Wis.-Platteville (.823) he would be in the top spot and it wouldn’t even be close – Moore is currently listed first (.775).