MBB: NESCAC

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Babson and Endicott are going to end up being "good" losses.  Obviously you'd like to have those wins, but I suspect both of those teams will be 20 game winners or very close to it.

[JEFFFAN]

ThumannsOwn -

It is burdensome to respond to super long strings so let me offer a few thoughts on Amherst hoops.

Yes, it is difficult watching Sears take an elite program down the tubes.  While I am sure he is a fine man, his hire never made sense ... one of those "hey look he coached at the D1 level so he will be great in D3" hires.  To this day he hasn't figured out that D3 basketball is a guard's game and not a big man's game, so his recruits continue to be mediocre (generously) big men who weren't getting recruited by the Ivies.  It is a formula for failure.

He was also part of a crew that included the since-terminated men's lacrosse coach, the squash coach, and the women's volleyball coach, all hired under the DEI umbrella that Amherst more than maybe every other school in the NESCAC lived under with the prior regime. None of these hires have worked, to say the least.   The current president is trying to reverse the remnants of the latter years of the prior administration's heavy-handed rule, but it takes time especially when the faculty is as deeply entrenched in the DEI culture as the president was.

Bottom line is that the basketball natives, the ones that matter, are VERY restless, as were the football natives. So Sears is probably safe for now but not for long.

[jumbomumbo]

D3Bball, Zene did not play, maybe still recovering from injury? 

ThumannsOwn, pretty crazy re: Rein - Williams is certainly delighted to have him as he looks like he's primed for a great career for the Ephs.  Of course, to be fair that 10th place prediction was only an uneducated guess - after seeing the impact of their newcomers, I'd probably have pegged Amherst a few spots higher than 10th, they probably have more talent right now than Midd or Hamilton.  But certainly not in the top half of the league.  Amherst has not made the NCAA tourney since 2019, and if they don't this year - and I'd be very surprised if they did - we are talking about a 7-year run with no NCAA appearances.  From 2000 to 2019, they missed the NCAAs two times TOTAL.  So yeah, not exactly the level Amherst fans are accustomed to. 

A few other random early-season NESCAC thoughts:

Wesleyan seems pegged about right as a bottom-of-the-top-25 kind of team, playing TCNJ, which is also in that range, dead even after a game one blowout over an outmatched opponent.  Wesleyan has a lot of capable players but no clear star who is going to carry them every game, I'd say.  They do however have one of the top ROTY contenders in Jaalan Watson, an all-state player in H.S. who clearly is utterly unafraid to shoot it and is an elite athlete.  At a VERY generous listing of 5'10 155, he's putting up 13-5.5 in only 16 mpg and definitely is going to be a fun player to watch. 

Tufts, others have already made good points about, somehow this team loaded with talent has managed to lose four of its last five games going back to last season.  I agree with others that the early season schedule has certainly not helped.  I assume Tufts rights the ship and still ends up as an NCAA tourney team, but they've given themselves very little margin for error going forward if they want to end up as a high NCAA seed.  There is no way James Morakis stays on a 7 ppg pace and a return to his expected all-American level would by itself right the ship.  I note that Liam Kennelly has not played through two games, I assume injured, and he is someone who I suspect they really miss - one of my favorite guys to watch in the league, he really raises the energy level for the entire team. 

On another NESCAC note, Trinity's national title run is paying dividends in recruiting, they received a commitment from Rowan Introzzi, a highly ranked, physical wing/guard who looks like he has potential to give them a lot of what they will lose when Vetter graduates, similar profile of player at least. 

I believe Liam Kennelly is out for the year, unfortunately. Definitely a big loss and think he would have positively impacted tufts on both sides of the ball in both of those losses.

[ChickenHoops]

Will Tufts win a game in the NESCAC this year?   

[rdanie03]

Will Tufts win a game in the NESCAC this year?   

They will do what they have done each of the last couple years. Win 8-9 games and then get blown out by Trinity

[nescac1]

Nice, scrappy win for Williams despite being ice cold (2-20) from three.  This version of the Ephs is very different from past versions.  They play with a lot more pace, go after offensive rebounds a lot more aggressively, and are just generally pests around the ball, but they lack the polish and shooting of a more typical Eph team.  Even if it's not always elegant I think it's fun to watch. 

Alex Lee out with an injury is such a huge loss to the backcourt, which now lacks a guy who is capable of really going off as a scorer and also misses his steadying influence as a ball-handler.  But the quartet of Belcher, O, Shepherd, and Devine, while lacking an elite offensive player, are good athletes who grab a lot of loose balls and can make things happen going to the rim when they have an opening, they combined for 5 steals and 15 boards today.  Shepherd had a particularly important stretch in the second half. 

Hansen and Rein owned the interior today, both having excellent games.  Rein is so much smoother and more confident this year in terms of getting his own shot, while still excelling at making plays off the ball. Those two and Yates did a great job on the glass up front.  Winning the battle of the boards 51-36 was key in a game Williams was badly outshot, and a change from the usual Oneonta game, which in the past usually featured the opposite sort of ratio.  FY Sommers also makes big contributions in light minutes and I imagine he will keep seeing more time. 

Williams can play better as it cleans up some of the sloppy turnovers, hopefully shoot it much better, and do a better job sticking with three point shooters as the competition gets tougher. 

[el_jefe_90]

Another thing to add to the Williams vs. Oneonta game last night, there were 22 ties and a ridiculous 48 lead changes! That's not something you see everyday. Through the first 37-38 minutes, neither team led by more than 5. It was a fun game to watch.

[SpringSt7]

Colby ekes out a 1 point win against a frisky Suffolk team. Something to note - Max Poulton has played 21 minutes in each game under Coach Rutgliano so far and has scored just 12 points on 14 shots. Doesn't appear to be much of a focal point for what the Mules are trying to do

[CWM_42]

Uneven game from the Mules, but they knock off previously undefeated Endicott, 93-89.

[D3BBALL]

Yeshiva has had to of played the toughest schedule in the country. Randolph Macon, Mary Washington, Trinity and Tufts all ranked along with Chapman.
They had Tufts beat at Tufts but completely fell apart today. 20 point lead with less than 10 minutes to go. Lost in ot. Good comeback for Tufts

[nescac1]

Overall, a very solid start to the season for NESCAC teams.  After a shaky 11-6 collective first weekend (typical for the conference with a late start to practice), the league has since gone 23-2, for a total collective record of 34-8.  While extremely early, NESCAC has four teams in the top 25 of the NPI rankings, and all I think can fairly be called surprising: Colby at 8, Conn at 15, Middlebury at 18, Bates at 21. The conference may be deeper than anticipated, with two new coaches off to strong starts and Conn in particular benefiting from a big infusion of talent.  Really, now that Tufts seems to have kind-of righted the ship after a huge comeback win against Yeshiva, only Hamilton is off to a very rough start (the only NESCAC team outside the top 100 in NPI, at a brutal 308). 

Again it's early, and this is mostly based on a combo of stats and pedigree, but a few sophomore leap guys and a bunch of newcomers to watch in NESCAC this year:

Sophomores taking a leap:

Dan Civello, Colby
Ray Cuevas, Bowdoin
Elias Chin, Amherst
Jackson Rein, Williams
David Ayles, Trinity
Zach Wolinski, Wesleyan

(Cuevas and Civello were great as FYs of course but so far are putting up first-team all-conference type stats, and Rein, Chin and Wolinski have emerged from bench roles as FYs to become the top options on their teams.  As for Ayles, he seems to have slid right into Will Dorion's role for Trinity, which was expected, but still answers the biggest question facing Trinity heading into this season). 

Newcomers to watch:

Dominick Ducree, Middlebury
Jackson Bleeker, Bowdoin (missed last year with injury)
Mason Dawkins, Bowdoin
EJ Sommers, Williams
Jamari Robinson, Bates
Ricardo Nieves, Tufts
James LaFrance, Conn College (sophomore transfer)
Greg Cantwell, Conn College (junior transfer)
Cole Craffey, Conn College
Sherron Woodberry, Amherst
Ian Plankey, Wesleyan
David Melson, Hamilton

Bowdoin has faced a very weak schedule, but still encouraging for them to see Bleeker and Dawkins emerging to help out Cuevas on the perimeter.  Conn seems to have massively benefited from the transfer portal.  Assuming the transfers aren't eligible, Ducree is an early name to watch for ROTY, with an absolutely money game-winning shot already under his belt and strong early stats for Midd. 

Some big games coming up before the December break:

Vassar (25 NPI) at Williams, December 2
Bates at Bowdoin, December 2
Babson (23 NPI) at Trinity, December 6
Williams at Wesleyan, December 6
CMU (52 NPI) at Bowdoin, December 6
Rochester (7 NPI) v. Midd, December 6
Midd v. CMU, December 7
Rochester at Bowdoin, December 7
WNEC (19 NPI) at Wesleyan, December 13

Lots of chances for early NPI boosts for NESCAC teams in these games, with December 6/7 an especially big weekend, or of course tougher competition could bring some teams with strong early records down to earth ...

[maineman]

Midd's last couple of games featured a 17-2 run to close out a come from behind one point victory over Union where they trailed virtually the whole game.  Decree was excellent, especially from 3.  Then against Stevens they led for most of the game and fought off any chance of a Stevens comeback with 3 pt shooting from Cwalina and Ducree.  If the latter is legit and I believe he is, the re-emergence of Jackson McKersie and role playing of Flaks, Ramey, Murray, Witherinton and Murray could make them competitive again.  We will get an indication Tuesday night at Plattsburgh and Sunday against RPI.

[redbirds]

I'm new to the board here, though it feels long overdue for a Wesleyan Cardinal supporter to finally join the discussion. I've been reading these boards for the better part of 10–15 years, and I've now decided it's time for Wesleyan to have another steady, reasonable voice in the mix.

And what better time to speak up than after such a tremendous weekend for the Cards, sweeping the tournament down in Maryland? Defeating a top-10 Roanoke team after trailing by more than twenty points is no small accomplishment. Wolinski and Pohlman turned in outstanding performances and have shown they're more than capable of filling the void left by Regan and Johnson. And, I should add, it's good to see Johnson providing strong knowledge and experience on that coaching staff.

It's exciting to see the Cardinals back in form, and I'm looking forward to what the rest of the season holds.