MBB: NESCAC

[el_jefe_90]

Something of note for Tufts last night, maybe a Jumbo fan has some info as to why. James Morakis wasn't in the starting lineup. He's gotten off to a bit of a slow start shooting, though he's scored 30 points over the last two games. He was also coming off a game where he turned it over 6 times. Perhaps this was coach Linton trying to switch things up and give the team a spark? We'll see if it's for one game or see it become the norm.

[rdanie03]

Something of note for Tufts last night, maybe a Jumbo fan has some info as to why. James Morakis wasn't in the starting lineup. He's gotten off to a bit of a slow start shooting, though he's scored 30 points over the last two games. He was also coming off a game where he turned it over 6 times. Perhaps this was coach Linton trying to switch things up and give the team a spark? We'll see if it's for one game or see it become the norm.

As a jumbos fan, I can hazard a guess. In the Yeshiva game at the weekend, while Morakis was sensational offensively, his defense was a liablity. Yeshiva was running back picks for backdoor cuts where he was a step late for 10 minutes straight at the end of the first half. At the end of the half, Linton switched to the zone, which worked, but can't be done with Morakis because he isn't tall enough to play down low or truly athletic enough to be in the 3 man press up top. This is where the jumbos are continuing to miss Liam Kennelly's defense, which was a difference maker in years past.

[jumbomumbo]

Something of note for Tufts last night, maybe a Jumbo fan has some info as to why. James Morakis wasn't in the starting lineup. He's gotten off to a bit of a slow start shooting, though he's scored 30 points over the last two games. He was also coming off a game where he turned it over 6 times. Perhaps this was coach Linton trying to switch things up and give the team a spark? We'll see if it's for one game or see it become the norm.

I think he will find his way back into the lineup. But right now, tufts looks real comfortable in their full court press and that lineup is always going to have Zion Watt on the court, along with Jon medley and either Sidney Wooten or Nieves. I can't express how impressed I am with Nieves early on. The kid plays with fire and works his ass off on both ends of the ball. He's a wing that can take his man to the rim and finish, which we've been lacking for years. It also seems like Wooten and Watt have made a big jump early on. Offensively, when we want to run actions, I think we trust Wooten more right now to get us into our offense.  Morakis will break off and try and get a bucket often. Bernstein also has been getting less playing time of late. There will certainly be games where a lot is asked of him but there will also be games we win on the press and he will have less of a role in those games

[nescac1]

2030 recruiting update:

Amherst:
Hunter Stoll, 6'7 F, Choate (CT #44)
Dempsey Gonya, 6'4 G, St. Ann's (NY)
Grant Moses, 6'2 G, Meadows School (NV)

Bates:
Alexander Gordon, 6'0 G, Brewster Academy (N.H. #19)

Bowdoin:
Zach Baum, 6'8 C, Noble and Greenough
Corey Baylor, Jr, 6'0 PG, Phelps (PA)

Colby:
Riley Clarke, 6'6 F, Brooks School (MA #29)
Max Vogel, 6'4 W, New Trier (IL)
Ty Lander, 6'8 C, St. Ignatius (CA)

Connecticut College:
Sam Clachko, 5'11 G, Staples (CT #33)
Finn Brennan, 6'4 W, Holderness (N.H. #27)

Hamilton:
Cyrus Hutchinson, 6'6 W, Brewster Academy (N.H. #25)

Middlebury:
Pharoahe Dixon, 6'3 G, Northern Highlands (NJ)
Foster Kettering, 6'6 W, Summit H.S. (OR)

Trinity:
Rowan Introzzi, 6'5 G, Greenwich CDS (CT #24)

Wesleyan:
Packy Doherty, 6'2 G, Scranton Prep (PA)
Nolan Weathers, 6'1 PG, Riverdale Country School (NY)

Williams:
Joseph Terreri, 6'7 F, Hill School (PA)
Gavin Dodge, 6'5 G, Acalanes H.S. (CA)
Elijah Webb, 6'9 F, Deerfield (MA #40)
Alec Roumph, 6'4 G, Perkiomen (PA)

[SpringSt7]

Williams drops first game of the season at Rhode Island College. I would've expected them to win this game on the road but first one back after Thanksgiving is always tough. Also it was on FloSports so no one actually got to watch since the fans seem to be the lowest priority in college sports now. They made it close at the end but then they lost, Shepard missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 37 seconds left down 4 and that was essentially it. No one shot it well. That's all I got

[jumbomumbo]

Tufts squeaks by Keane State. Trailed pretty much the entire way, but freshman POTY Ricardo Nieves came in clutch. Fast break dunk to take the lead, then he back taps keane point guard and gets fouled on a fast break, makes both. 7-9 from the field and 18 points on 30 mins.

[redbirds]

A tough weekend for the Cardinals, who once again found themselves struggling against Farmingdale State—a foe that has given them trouble nearly every season since the post-Thanksgiving series began. Edelman's lights-out shooting kept the Cardinals within striking distance, but when the moment called for a decisive stop or a timely basket, they fell short. Turnovers piled up, each one chipping away at any chance of a late surge. A significant test this weekend with Williams on Saturday, fresh off their first loss of the season and certain to be eager for revenge against the Cards.

[D3BBALL]

Post Thanksgiving NESCAC rankings

1) Trinity 5-0 - While they have played a weak schedule, with only 1 good team in Yeshiva, they have pretty much destroyed everyone by halftime. They have by far the best depth in the league and I don't think anyone competes with their top 7. Berry and McDonald would start for anyone, and Berry would be a lock for all league on any other team. The team locks everyone down defensively. David Ayles looks like the perfect replacement for Will Dorion. 3 additional sophomores have all played meaning full minutes. Not sure that any freshman get a chance to play with all the talent in from of them.
2) Wesleyan 3-2 - Maybe a not so great loss to Farmingdale, but it was on the road. They have played 2 top 25 teams, beating one and losing to the other in o/t and both on the road or neutral sites. Seems like a different person is stepping up every game, they have some depth and looks like they are shooting the ball well and very well coached.
3) Colby - They are 6-0 and Max Poulton has not been a huge factor. Their schedule has not been great, but they did beat Endicott, although at home. Civello has been playing great and is averaging 18 points, 9 rebounds and shooting over 50% from 3, taking 5 threes a game. Team seems to be playing defense at a much higher level than in the past. They seem to be playing a lot of players, when the settle into a consistent rotation, this team could do some damage at the top of the league.
4) Tufts - They are 5-2, have 1 dominating win and could easily be 1-7. Every game, but 1, has been a fight for them. Maybe this helps them in the long run. Gyimesi has been very solid, Medley shooting it ok, but defense has been an issue and their outside shooting has been inconsistent. Just seems like the team is out of synch, and recent lineup changes. Couple of easy games coming up, then they play Clark and WPI. Will be interesting to see where they stand before NESCAC play.
5) Bates - 6-0, not a great schedule, but they seem to be taking care of business. Coyne shooting the ball well and  Pouye is averaging a double double, shooting it over 62% and playing like a player of the year candidate. Bowdoin and Emory coming up in the next 5 games, will tell us more. This team is going to make NESCAC playoffs and could make a run at a NCAA spot.
6) Williams, 5-1, not a great schedule. This team I had trouble slotting 3-10, I think they could end up at any of those spots. Will be interesting to see what happens this Saturday against Wesleyan. Lee out is a big loss, does anyone know if serious or for how long. Agree with a number here, that Rein looks great so far, has size, skill, smarts, scores and rebounds. Easily their best player and maybe a 1st team all league player as well. I am still not sold on their defense or rebounding. 12 turnovers per game against the teams they are playing is not great. But they have some young players with talent so it may take another 5-10 games before it all comes together and then maybe top 4 in league.
7) Conn - 4-1, with their loss at Eastern Connecticut, some would say bad loss, but Eastern can shoot the 3 and they did shoot it well against Conn in that game. Looks like the transfer players are more than solid and Espinosa is the 4th leading scorer on the team and not shooting it great, when he comes around they should be better. Hate their zone defense but it does cause issues and they are well coached.
8-10 not in any particular order.
8) Amherst - 5-1, not a great schedule, but with the exception of their loss to Springfield on the road, they have pretty much handled everyone easily. Hammond and Geraud leading the way. They lack size and that may be their downfall. But they are playing with passion, which is how they finished last year.
9) Middlebury - 4-1, not a great schedule. To compare, Middlebury beat Union by 1 at home, Trinity beat Union by 40+ at Union. Just so many holes for them along with a new coach. Looks like McKersie is finally healthy. But still too early to know. I like Ducree, chance for Freshman of year. Can Murray and Cwalina keep up with they way they are scoring.
10) Bowdoin - 5-1, another team not playing a great schedule. The best team they have played is Brandeis and they lost, but it was very competitive. Cuevas picking up where he left off last year, but not sold on the rest of this team.
11) Hamilton 2-4, not a surprise, they lost a ton and so far it has really showed. They will need a couple of players to step up and they could be looking at 0-10 in the NESCAC.

Hamilton most likely not going to make Playoffs, 5 teams fighting for 3 spots. Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Conn, Bowdoin. Trinity, Wesleyan, Tufts, Bates and Colby IMO are locks.

All League - So far I think there are 5 locks for the first team, Gyimesi, Pouye, Vetter, Lazarre and Okorougo. Yes 3 Trinity for top team, easier to do now with 7 players, but not sure who knocks any of these 3 off.

The balance of 9 players, just too early, but there are at least 20+ players that could take these 9 spots.

POY, looks like it will come down to Vetter and Pouye. Toss up right now. If Bates could get to the top 4 in the league, my vote would be for Pouye. The talent level difference on both teams would give Pouye the nod.

[Greek Tragedy]

So basically no one has played a good schedule. LOL

[D3BBALL]

So basically no one has played a good schedule. LOL

Wesleyan has, Tufts looks like the next best. But yes not a lot of teams that anyone would consider ncaa teams. Trinity always seems to play a weak pre January 1st schedule although last year and this year they have tried to improve the schedule but hasn't worked out.

[nescac1]

I think Middlebury's schedule has been solid as well, no elite opponents but all at worst credible teams, they've played better than I would have expected given the guys they lost and with a coaching transition to deal with.  And they play two UAA teams coming up.

In general, NESCAC schedules are about to get more instructive with a lot of solid over the next two weeks: St. Joseph Ct. x2, Vassar, Carnegie Mellon x2, Rochester x2, St. Joseph's ME (which has had terrible injury luck so it depends who is available for them), Keene State, WNEC, and the Bates-Bowdoin and Wesleyan-Williams games all coming up before the break, a chance to get a better sense where many NESCAC teams stand.  One and eleven in the rankings are very clear right now, but as D3bball notes, you could put all the rest in just about any order at this point. 

As for Williams, tough loss last night and shooting below 50 percent from the line on the road is never going to get the job done.  64 percent on the season from the line (with the guards faring much worse) is an area that Williams can't live with as a team who relies on attacking the paint and doesn't have high-level three point shooting.  Alex Lee is most definitely a huge absence, and Williams needs to figure out the two-guard position, a lot of guys have rotated in and out and no one is averaging more than 5.3 ppg.  The frontcourt has played well overall, but there is pressure to produce even more going forward given what the guard situation is at this point.   

One thing that is coming into focus early are the top ROY contenders will be Ducree on Middlebury, Nieves on Tufts, and Dawkins on Bowdoin.  Those three guys are all making huge impacts for their teams already. 

[SpringSt7]

Notable strenghts of schedule per D3Datacast

Wesleyan - 14th
Middlebury - 24th
Tufts - 45th
Williams - 247th
Amherst - 306th

Also of note - Amherst is 7th in the country in adjusted efficiency.

[jumbomumbo]

Notable strenghts of schedule per D3Datacast

Wesleyan - 14th
Middlebury - 24th
Tufts - 45th
Williams - 247th
Amherst - 306th

Also of note - Amherst is 7th in the country in adjusted efficiency.

Wait til that Amherst ranking gets efficiently adjusted after NESCAC play

[redbirds]

Wesleyan has, by all accounts, been tasked with a demanding schedule to start this season. The opening weekend set them against a ranked TCNJ team, which they took to OT, and then a long road trip to Maryland to face a top-ten opponent on Saturday and, the very next day, the same team they eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen the year prior - both of which they defeated. The loss against Farmingdale may seem like a bad hit to their record, but any long-standing follower of the Cardinals knows well that Farmingdale has long been a tough game in years prior.

Tonight is the season's first home contest, and it will be interesting to see whether the crowd rises to the occasion with the same numbers as last year, where Wesleyan easily had the best home court advantage in the country.

[JEFFFAN]

What a joke schedule for my alma mater!   I guess this fits into the "lets have a good overall record even if we stink in the NESCAC so we can keep our jobs" category.  Embarrassing.