MBB: Liberty League

[stlawus]

Hobart doubles up Ithaca in a fast paced first half tonight 53-26 with hot shooting , good defense and rebounding. Game gets sloppy in the second half as Hobart wins 86-66 and moves to 7-2 on the season. The new coach at Ithaca does not seem to have the same chemistry with the team as last year's coach, so I think Ithaca is in for a long season. Hobart goes 2-1 in the LL and I think we should finish in the mix this year come playoff time. Monty Nedd plays with great speed but sometimes out of control finishes with 27 on 11-15 , leads the team with 9 rebounds but also has 7 turnovers. Alex Moesch with 20 and Dorian Paki with 17. I like this team because it is talented, plays good defense and its frequently wild fast play is exciting yet imperfect at times but should improve as the season progresses.

Ithaca was missing who I think is their best player, the transfers the coach brought with him but there are some perplexing coaching decisions.  They have the reigning rookie of the year and he's barely gotten in the games. Gives them scoring and physicality but he's relegated to the 2nd and 3rd option.

[Bartman]

Cabral is Ithaca's leading scorer, he played last night and scored 22, Zenker #2 scorer and 6'6" forward was missing, so that might have affected them to some extent as the big men for Hobart pretty much had the better of the play.

[UfanBill]

Union finishes off the first part of their season 7-2 with a 79-66 win over Stevens. Notable for the Garnet was the inside play led by 6'11" Scott Schmitt who continues to gain momentum. He had 9 pts. and 10 rebs, in only 14 minutes as Union dominated the Points in the Paint 50-20. Re-entering the rotation were last year's key reserves Will Yakoobian and Jaden Jauregui. Oft injured PF Aren Cummings also got on the floor. Last year's starting PF Brendan Reid was seen in uniform on the bench but with a large knee brace. He is yet to play...With all these pieces coming together Union looks to be quite formidable. 

[Bartman]

Hobart beats Utica 66-53 and moves to 8-2 in a game where both teams seemed to be looking towards holiday break.

[stlawus]

SLU drops a close one @ #16 WPI for the first game back after a long break. The result may be frustrating, as the game was there for the taking with SLU having a lead at various points and erasing a 9 point deficit late in the 2nd half to get it within 1 for the final minute, but the process is there.  When WPI extended the lead with about 6 minutes left Downs put in 4 freshmen and a senior that has played only a handful of minutes in 4 years. That unit held serve and chipped away getting it within 5. SLU starters got them right back in it making it a 1 point game with the ball in the last minute.  WPI's experience finished the game out, but this youthful SLU team is learning and seemingly buying in.

SLU has played a heavy road schedule too, so it's been baptism by fire for this squad.

Oswego- overcame 19 point deficit to get it within 3 late
Nazareth- overcame 17 point deficit to get it within 3 in the 2nd half
Union- overcame 19 point deficit to get it within 2 in the final minute
RPI- overcame 14 point deficit in the 2nd half to go up by 5 in the last 2 minutes
WPI- down 1 in the final minute with the ball

All of these games were played on the road.  Shows you how there is low margin for error and that experience matters a great deal, but with just a little more seasoning this SLU team can tool themselves for a strong Liberty League showing.

[stlawus]

SLU gets their first double digit sweep against Clarkson since 2007. Of all teams this was not the one I expected to do it, but their road heavy difficult schedule up until now has paid an early conference dividend. All SLU freshmen looked noticeably more poised and collected compared to the first 10 games, the team is growing up quick.  J'Lin Brown who I have talked about previously with regard to his recruiting profile is starting to play according to his pedigree. He had some bad luck with minor injuries to the start the season, but looks like a player with sky high potential. Didn't have a flashy box score but he was a menace on the defensive side of the court and under the rim, and could have had double digit assists if not for several missed layups.

[stlawus]

The UAA hype fest you see on social media is a bit quiet tonight with RIT beating Rochester.  The Tigers outrebounded UR 56-32 despite a height disadvantage at every position.

UR's obsession with having d1 size costs them again. Great win for RIT.