As a first year student it seems fitting that my first article for the site is the top five freshmen in NESCAC Men’s Basketball. The ‘CAC this year is home to some seriously prolific upperclassmen hoopers, but in a matter of months many of their careers will be over. Who is to fill their shoes?
That is unfortunately a question for another day. There is no doubt that some of the names in this article have the potential to be among the conference’s next great players, but you will not be reading about Kena, Matt, David, Sean, and Eric because of what they may do in the future. They are the subject of this writer’s first piece, because of the impact they have on the court today and into the postseason.
Kena Gilmour ’20 (Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics)
Kena Gilmore – Hamilton – An early rookie of the year pick by many, the 6’3 guard is averaging 10.7 points in just 16.3 minutes per game. This high volume scoring has him ranked 3rd in the entire conference in points per 40 minutes. He seems to have found his role coming off the bench, as his ability to score and do so quickly make him a perfect sparkplug for the Continentals offense. He showed the ability to find the net early in the season with a 26 point showing against Clarkson, but he seems to be hitting his stride right as we move into the heart of conference play. He’s put up double figures in all of Hamilton’s last four games, including a win over then ninth-ranked Wesleyan.
Matt Folger ’20 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Matt Folger – Middlebury – Most 6’8 forwards who can shoot are just that; forwards who can also shoot (i.e. Lebron James.) Though the Lebron comparison is of course a reflection of my Cleveland-ness – and maybe of my concerns following a 2 point game from Kyle Korver – Folger is a shooter who is also a forward. Though his minutes thus far are not outstanding, and his scoring average of 5.7 PPG is tempered by time on the bench early in the season, the freshman is establishing himself as a reliable shooter and quick scorer coming off the bench. Just last week his 5 consecutive points solidified a Middlebury lead which would eventually become a victory over Conn. Folger is trending upward in terms of minutes, attempts, points, and thus confidence. He can become a real asset for the Panthers as the season continues to creep onward, especially if he continues to shoots 52% from the field.
David Reynolds ’20 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Basketball)
David Reynolds – Bowdoin – As I’m sure you’ve read on this website time and time again, it seems like there’s always a league-leading scorer in Brunswick. David Reynolds may very soon be that man. He is an aggressive scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game, a league high among freshmen, but what’s really telling is his average of ten shot attempts per game. Jacking up shots at such a rate – though it’s far from Melo-like, which is a good thing – shows confidence beyond any freshmen trying to find his identity at the college level. Reynolds played his way into a starting spot against UMaine Preque Isle. Though the Owls may not be the Jumbos or the Panthers, getting the nod from Tim Gilbride shows that the confidence the 6’5 guard/forward has had in himself seemingly all season is matched by those around him.
Sean Gilmore ’20 (Couretsy of Colby Atheltics)
Sean Gilmore – Colby – David Reynolds gets a lot of credit for earning a starting spot for Bowdoin, and this isn’t to take away from the accomplishment, heck, I rode the bench all fall (coach if you’re reading that wasn’t a complaint) but Gilmore, a 6’7 forward from San Francisco, has been the lone freshman in the league to consistently see the floor from tip-off this season. He’s started 10 of 13 games. Though he’s only averaging 16.5 minutes a game, a result of inconsistent scoring, Gilmore has shown the ability to come up big in close games. He scored 18 in a four point loss to Oswego St. and dropped 17 in a season-opening 97-96 win over Pine Manor. Not bad for a Golden State fan. The Mules will certainly need some more big performances from Gilmore in upcoming conference play.
Eric Savage ’20 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)
Eric Savage – Tufts – The 6’3 guard is averaging just below 8 points in 17.5 minutes a game. Yet both averages are misleading, as Bob Sheldon has been using the Jumbo in an off and on manner. He’s had some weaker games (not scoring against Framingham State), but when Savage is playing in the manner that his last name would indicate, he can be a streaky hot scorer from the wing. He put in 18 pts against FDU-Florham early this winter. Though his minutes have been inconsistent, he’s been earning more and more of them as the season has progressed, even when he hasn’t been scoring much, which points to his solid perimeter defense. I’ll try to resist the urge to make any more last name puns, but if the freshmen keeps playing hard and finds his stride, an already formidable Tufts squad can become even more Savage. Oops.
Andrew Groll ’19 and the Continentals posted a pair of strong performances in the opening weekend of NESCAC play (Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics).
I swear every January the number of people in the gym triples, perfectly suffocating me as I workout in preparation for the upcoming baseball season. While I’m sure Hamilton and Bates hit the weight room before January 1st, 2016, their resolutions might have been to work a little harder. The two fish at the bottom of the food chain in 2016 now find themselves atop the NESCAC standings? How could that be? Well we have only played two games so I’ll try not to get over-excited, although I do love a good underdog story. Each squad shows clear improvement with Bates’ Delpeche twins holding it down at the rim, leading the Bobcats in nearly all relevant statistical categories (27.5 PPG; 18.7 REB/G; 4.3 BLK/G combined) and Hamilton’s maturity after a rebuilding year with a young team in 2016. I’ll go into why I think the Continentals’ success is more sustainable, and what else is going on as we enter another pivotal weekend of conference play.
Top Dogs still on top
I’m not really going to give Amherst and Tufts a whole lot of attention here, just because they are performing exactly how everyone thought they would. The top two teams in the league (based on national ranking at 5 and 6, respectively) haven’t slipped up much and should have telling weekends ahead as Amherst should beat Wesleyan based on the Cardinals’ past couple of games and Tufts should be slightly favored against Middlebury at home but in a near push. Tufts doesn’t really have one superstar emerging, but really puts up a team effort with all starters between 6.9 and 12.9 PPG and nobody over 7 REB/G or 4 AST/G. Tufts’ only real flawed performance came during a two point loss to UMass Boston while the other was against #1 ranked Babson. Amherst, like Tufts, has had a couple tough games coming in a loss to Eastern Connecticut state and a one point loss to Springfield, however they bested Babson in 2OT to show that they are the real deal. While Middlebury (ranked #15) has less losses than the Jumbos and Purple & White, it seems like the polls are pretty accurate at this point with little disparity between the top NESCAC teams.
Wesleyan’s fallout
Can you believe that in the last national poll Wesleyan was ranked #9 in the country and now they are out of the top 25? Two bad losses to Middlebury and Hamilton, both by over 15 points, have taken them out of early championship discussions. Their overall record is still 11-3 but a three game losing streak is not the note that they wanted to start the NESCAC season on (note: the first game of that streak was against Rhode Island College, not a NESCAC opponent). This is happening because of a number of factors, one being that Jordan Bonner ’19 hasn’t played since Nov. 27. But since they continued to win without Bonner, clearly that isn’t the root cause. In their loss to Rhode Island College, Salim Green ‘18, Harry Rafferty ‘17, and Kevin O’Brien ‘18, usually reliable starters, went just 3-19 for six points. In the next game against Middlebury, they turned the ball over 21 times and shot just 34.4% from the field. Against Hamilton, the last place finisher in the ‘CAC in 2016, the Cardinals shot just 35.3% from the field while Green, Rafferty, and Joseph Kuo shot 4-27. There are quite a few things going on in Connecticut, and Wesleyan needs to figure them out quickly because Amherst will eat the Cardinals alive on Friday if they don’t.
Ogundeko’s surprising dominance
It might come across as peculiar why I used described Ed’s dominance as surprising. Yeah, he is the best rebounder in the ‘Cac and up there with D3’s best. But 23 rebounds in one game? I don’t care who it is, that is a surprising number. He was like a skeeball machine swallowing up boards against the Williams Ephs, who recently dropped out of D3hoops’ top 25. Nobody else had more than five rebounds for the Bantams and without him it’s safe to say it would’ve been a blowout favoring the Williamstown squad. Trinity also showed in the first game that they don’t need to rebuild (as I expected) as they narrowly edged Williams 65-63, another strong team that is 11-3. The Bantams should continue to perform so long as Ogundeko carries the team, but they will be tested against Conn College on Friday and Wesleyan on Saturday.
Zach Baines and the NESCAC have a breakup
The Panthers have hit another bump in their road to a second consecutive league title. Zach Baines is no longer ‘out indefinitely’ as Pete put it. He is definitely out. Baines transferred to Occidental College in the SCIAC conference in sunny Southern California after eight games this season, all of which he started. The high flying sophomore forward averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.8 REB/G in the early season and he will be sorely missed down the stretch run, giving Nick Tarantino ’18 a lot of weight to carry after taking over in the starting lineup. Vermont is cold and dark, and it won’t be shorts weather until April. I have no idea why he would leave such a place. Good luck to Baines and the Tigers, they got a good one.
Hamilton is ready to make their move
Hamilton continued their hot start against Wesleyan last weekend, winning by a score of 92-76 to improve to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in conference. Jack Dwyer continues to shine as a distributing point guard that doesn’t like to shoot. He is third in the NESCAC with 5.8 AST/G but only averages 7.5 PPG. The Continentals recently got guard Tim Doyle ’19 back from injury and the double-digit performances that he and Kena Gilmour’s ’20 contributed off the bench against Wesleyan highlights their depth and how ready they are to take on the league after a tough campaign a season ago. Their matchup against Bates should show that they are closer to championship caliber than the Maine squad, and playing Tufts should be at the least a growing experience in what has the appearance of a trap game for the Jumbos in their home gym.
Joseph Kuo ’17 has a been a force for Wesleyan so far, and he will be needed big time this weekend (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics/Lianne Yun).
Being a Tufts student, I think it’s important that my first order of business is to address the elephant in the room. Pete definitely hates Tufts, no matter how much he denied it yesterday in his preview of today’s games. To be honest, I don’t blame him, it’s just his Middlebury inferiority complex kicking in. Take it easy on him, guys, Middlebury Athletics is all he has. That being said, whoever made this comparison between Pete and Skip Bayless in the comment section: bravo.
More importantly, let’s take a look at the Saturday/Sunday games. Overall, the contests appear to be a bit less interesting than Friday’s games, but it’s the opening weekend of NESCAC play – anything can happen.
Saturday Games
GAME OF THE DAY: #9 Wesleyan @ Hamilton, 3:00 PM, Clinton, NY
Overview:
I would guess that most Cardinals fans looked past this game on their schedule due to Hamilton’s performance in recent years. For Wesleyan’s sake, I hope the players are not looking past this game. Obviously, they’ve got a battle on Friday night against Middlebury, but this new and improved Hamilton squad can definitely take advantage of that. Hamilton has been led by a cast of youngsters thus far, and this early season matchup is vital if these pups want to prove they can hang with the big dogs. Last year, the Continentals took Wesleyan to overtime before losing 82-76, and it actually took some clutch free throws by Wesleyan’s Joseph Kuo ‘17 down the stretch to avoid losing in regular time. Impressive performances will surely attract more attention to Michael Grassey ‘19 and Jack Dwyer ‘18 from the Wesleyan defense on Saturday, who had 16 a piece last year. It was the seniors that led the way for the Cardinals, as BJ Davis, Jack Mackey, and Joe Edmonds combined for 42 of Wesleyan’s 82 points. While this Wesleyan team has certainly figured things out so far this year on their way to a #9 national ranking, they will need someone besides Kuo to embrace the moment and put the ball in the bucket on Saturday if they want to keep up with high-scoring Continentals.
X-factors:
It has been Wesleyan’s depth and balance that has proven quite effective so far this year, but against this young Hamilton team, senior leader Harry Rafferty is going to need to take the reigns. Throughout his career, Rafferty has been a threat whenever he throws on the black and red jersey, and one main reason for that is because of his outside shooting. Take a second and digest this: Rafferty has shot 106 times this season, and while he is shooting 39.6% from the field, this number is somewhat skewed. Of those 106 shots, Rafferty has attempted 77 three-pointers. The senior shoots 37.7% from the field (29-77), which means he has hit as many threes as he has taken twos. That’s a bit ridiculous. If that’s the way Wesleyan’s offense works, great, but this clearly gives Hamilton an idea of how to play Rafferty: run him off the three-point line. Rafferty’s production is very important in this game, so if he is unwilling to move off the arc, Wesleyan could be in trouble.
For the home team, success is going to be dependent on the ability (or inability) to stop Kuo down low. That’s where Andrew Groll ‘19 steps in. Groll is a 6’7” forward that dominates the boards, pulling down 7.4 REB/G, which is right on pace with Kuo’s 7.3 REB/G. They both average over 2 offensive rebounds, so the key for Groll on the boards is making sure that Kuo is unable to provide his team with these extra opportunities. Defensively, Groll faces a tall task due to the innate ability of getting to the hoop that Wesleyan’s perimeter players possess. Wesleyan’s quartet of sophomore guards (Salim Green ‘18, Jordan Bonner ‘18, Kevin O’Brien ‘18, and Andrew Gardiner ‘18) can all drive the ball to the rim, which will force Groll to decide whether he is going to help off of Kuo or stay at home. It’s Groll’s decision-making and execution in these situations that will determine whether or not the Cardinals eat Hamilton alive in the paint.
Final Thoughts:
One of the most interesting dynamics of this game is the difference in offensive pace. Hamilton averages about eight points more per game than Wesleyan, and though they have played two less games than Wes, the Continentals shoot a higher percentage from the field and from deep. The biggest offensive advantage that I see for Wesleyan is their knack for getting to the foul line. Wesleyan shoots more free throws than any other team in the league, with about 26 per game, as opposed to Hamilton’s 23. They both shoot just about 70% from the strike, so in a close game (as I expect this to be), those 3 extra free throws could be crucial. Both teams are pretty deep, but Hamilton’s scoring is much more top-heavy than Wesleyan’s. If one of their big-time scorers like Peter Hoffmann ‘19 or Michael Grassey ‘19 gets in foul trouble, Wesleyan may be able to pull away. This will be a tough and physical game that depends highly on execution down the stretch. For this reason, I’m giving Wesleyan the advantage. They have simply had more experience in these types of games.
Writer’s Pick: Wesleyan
#8 Tufts @ Colby, 3:00 PM, Waterville, ME
This game could go one of two ways, and it’s all about which Tufts team shows up. Throughout this season, it has been a tale of two teams. The Tufts that walked into the gym against MIT and WPI was legit. They shot well, they had 32 and 35 points off the bench respectively, and they forced their opponents into difficult shots. Then there is the Tufts team that made an appearance against UMass Boston. They were outrebounded by a significantly smaller team, they had more turnovers than their opponents (albeit by just 1 turnover), and they allowed UMB’s center to dominate them. This Jumbos team is good because they are deep, but when they don’t get production from their bench, they simply aren’t as good a team. Now, it’s definitely worth noting that Vinny Pace ‘18, Tufts’ best scorer, was coming off the bench until the UMB game, but overall, they just need more consistency. Colby may be able to capitalize on this, but their margin of error is slim. Colby ranks last in the conference in scoring with just 70.7 PPG, a product of their league-worst shooting percentage and shot attempt numbers. Patrick Stewart ‘17 is currently the only double-digit point-getter on the Mules’ side of the ball, and that will be an issue against Tufts who has pretty favorable match-ups on their own offensive end. I don’t see Colby slowing down the Tufts offense too much, but you never know. Maybe the Mules will take down the #8 Jumbos. I’m not banking on that.
Writer’s Pick: Tufts
Bates @ Bowdoin, 3:00 PM, Brunswick, ME
Every year, I wait for NESCAC play before judging Bates because every year, their out of conference schedule is filled with teams that I know little to nothing about. However, I was impressed by Bates’ win against Brandeis recently, and before that they blew out Framingham State like they were supposed to. Maybe Bates is better than I predicted? Though both were non-conference games, Bates has fared 1-1 against NESCAC opponents this season with a buzzer-beater loss to Colby and a 14-point win against Bowdoin. Bowdoin will certainly be looking for revenge this time around, and so will Jack Simonds ‘19, who was held to just 12 points the first time these two met. Simonds, as anyone reading this blog knows, is Bowdoin’s leading scorer, and also the NESCAC’s leading scorer, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into success for the Polar Bears. I knew at the beginning of the season that Bowdoin would struggle if they didn’t diversify their scoring, and it looks like that’s exactly what’s going to happen in league-play unless they get some other guys involved in the offense. This is partly because Bowdoin’s defense is pretty porous. They allow the second-most PPG in the ‘CAC, and against Bates, they allowed the Bobcats’ starting lineup to tally 62 of their 74 points. The key for Bowdoin this time around is forcing the Bates bench to score. However, the Bobcats are in luck, as newly found offensive weapon Jeff Spellman ‘20 has been playing very well recently. Per usual, it’s up to the twin towers of Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche to anchor the load offensively. If these two dominate like last time (combined for 37 points), then Bates is in good shape. If not, then Simonds might just will Bowdoin to the promised land in this in-state rivalry.
Writer’s Pick: Bowdoin
Conn College @ #22 Middlebury, 3:00 PM, Middlebury, VT
Unlike Pete, I’m able to write about Middlebury in less than twelve lengthy paragraphs, so enjoy this conciseness for a change. Conn-Midd is another subtle yet intriguing game, one which strongly resembles the Wesleyan-Hamilton matchup. Conn College has been gaining steam the last couple years, and they hope that this is finally the year they get over the hump (lol, camels). Middlebury, on the other hand, is looking to once again get off to a hot start in conference play just a year after I called them a rebuilding team and one without playoff hopes. This, of course, propelled the Panthers not only into the playoffs but also the the NCAA tournament after winning the NESCAC championship. En garde, Middlebury. In any event, I see one clear problem for Conn, and that is their defense. Middlebury has offensive weapons – namely, Matt St. Amour. The Panthers have compiled some nice wins against Southern Vermont and Skidmore already, but they did so with Zach Baines ‘17 in the lineup. As Pete mentioned, Midd is likely without Baines and Hilal Dahleh ‘19 this weekend, which makes their bench much thinner. This bodes well for Conn, a team that will either be thirsty for a win after a tough loss to Hamilton, or thirsty to continue their win streak after a solid win against Hamilton. Either way, they will be THIRSTY, and it is up to Middlebury’s guards to stave off the likes of Tyler Rowe ‘19 and David Labossiere ‘19, two of Conn’s top weapons. Meanwhile, Adisa Majors ‘18 and Nick Tarantino ‘18 will be tasked with stopping Conn’s rock, Zuri Pavlin ‘17, who leads the Camels in scoring and is 3rd in the league in offensive rebounding (2nd in overall rebounding). This should be a good one, and we will see how real Conn is on Saturday. I think the thirst is real, and Conn sneaks out of Vermont with a W.
Writer’s Pick: Conn College
Sunday Game
Trinity @ #25 Williams, 2:00 PM, Williamstown, MA
Ed Ogundeko ’17 hits a runner (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics).
Looking at these two teams’ overall performances thus far, this game shouldn’t be too close. Trinity has been unimpressive, and Williams has been pretty damn impressive. But basketball is a game of matchups, and the fact is, Trinity matches up well against Williams. Williams’ strength is in their guards. They shoot A LOT of threes, the most in the league actually, but they haven’t exactly shot well from beyond the arc so far. The Ephs hit just 33.5% of their threes, but they have some great shooters (see: Cole Teal ‘18), so these shots are going to start dropping sooner rather than later. Where the Ephs are somewhat lacking is down low, but Kyle Scadlock ‘19 has been a formidable big so far in his sophomore campaign, and he ranks second in scoring on the Williams roster behind POY candidate Dan Aronowitz ‘17. Trinity, on the other hand, is weaker on the perimeter and stronger inside. Ed Ogundeko ‘17 has been the primary source of consistency for the Bantams, and he should beat up on Williams’ rotation of centers. If the Bants pound the ball down to Ogundeko and get him to the free throw line, it will force Williams to sag in off of Trinity’s shooters, which could be deadly. Expect senior Chris Turnbull to have a day for Trinity on the offensive end. All in all, however, I think Aronowitz will feast on Trin – he should have a field day on pretty much any matchup that gets thrown at him, kind of like he’s done all year. The potent Williams attack will be too much for the Bantams.
Lauren Dillon ’18 has been a spark plug for the #1 Jumbos all season with her relentless hustle (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)
While much has been said in the last week about NESCAC men’s basketball (5 teams in the top 25 as of the writing of this piece), the women’s branch of the NESCAC has been gearing up for the beginning of their own conference schedule. With 10 of the 11 teams boasting winning records going into conference play this weekend the next couple weeks are sure to be filled with exciting games and action. But, before the games start, I need to make some predictions as I am prone to do. I’m choosing to write this article in a power ranking format where each team will be positioned based on where I project them to finish in the final standings.
#1 Tufts (Record: 10-0)
Tufts is currently ranked number 1 in the D3 hoops most recent women’s top 25 poll, so thusly they will occupy the top spot here. While Tufts doesn’t score at the rate of their NESCAC competition, averaging 64.5 points a game, their real strength lies in their defense. They are notoriously stingy allowing only 42.5 points a game. The Tufts anchor right now has to be senior center Michela North ’17. She is averaging 10.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg leading her team in both categories. Until someone unseats the Jumbos, who have been blowing people out by an average margin of victory of 21.9 PPG, they will remain at the top of this list.
#2 Amherst (10-0)
Amherst is right on Tufts’ tail in both the D3 Hoops rankings and in these ranking where they occupy the same position: number two. Amherst’s offense has been flat out dominant this year. They are second in the NESCAC in ppg with 78.2 and in field goal percentage where they shoot a blistering 45.2 percent from the field. They also lead the NESCAC in 3pt percentage bombing away with a 37.3 percent success rate. Don’t knock the other aspects of Amherst’s game though. They lead the NESCAC in rebounding margin and are second in points allowed per game. The standout right now is junior guard/forward Hannah Hackley ’18. The Westford, Massachusetts product is averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. The only knock right now on Amherst is a slight worry about their lack of depth. They only have one senior on the team and rely heavily on their first 6 players. Of course, benches will shorten during the NESCAC season anyway and Amherst has proven in the past to be able to win with almost any collection of players, so they’re certainly looking forward to this season.
#17 Bowdoin (10-1)
Following numerous post-season honors last winter, Kate Kerrigan is leading the Polar Bears again this year (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics).
Bowdoin, in many ways has been the best team in the NESCAC this year, but they have a loss so for now we’re dropping them below Tufts and Amherst. Even their loss though, a 70-62 overtime defeat to Claremont, can be excused at least partially as it was their first game after their Christmas break. Bowdoin leads the NESCAC in scoring so far averaging a stunning 80.7 points per game. They aren’t sacrificing efficiency though as they also lead the league in field goal percentage at 46.3 percent and surrender the fewest turnovers per game, only 13.7. Kate Kerrigan ’18 has been key to Bowdoin’s explosive early season play. The 5’7” guard leads her team in points a game with 10.5, and she is second in rebounding and third in assists. She’s also tied for the team lead in steals with 1.5 a game. However, it’s Kerrigan’s shooting prowess that really shines through. She’s shooting over 55 percent from both the field and the three point line while also leading her team in field goals attempted per game. Bowdoin will certainly challenge Amherst and Tufts this year and seems poised to threaten either team come NESCAC championship time. Their Friday night tilt at Tufts should be a wild one.
Trinity (9-2)
After the top three teams, the league becomes much tighter. Four teams have two losses and all have also won at least 8 games. Trinity gets the nod here though as they combine a top four scoring offense with a top 5 defense. They have also been particularly dominant on the boards averaging a rebounding margin of 11.8 good for second in the league. After losing their season opener Trinity rattled off 8 straight wins and have displayed a potent offense, averaging 15.6 assists a game and shooting over 40 percent from the field. There are some concerns regarding their average of 17.2 turnovers per game, a number the coaching staff will surely hope to limit moving forward. Trinity relies heavily on sophomore center Courtney Erickson ’19 who is the only Bantam averaging double digits in points per game with 13.3. Her rebounding has also been excellent where she averages 7.4 per game. Trinity will have a chance to secure the number four spot this weekend when they play the next team on this list.
Williams (10-2)
Williams is hot on Trinity’s heels for the fourth spot in the conference through the first 12 games of the season. Williams has proven that they can win both tight, ugly games (44-40 over Smith College) and in blowouts (66-46 over Springfield College). They also already have a quality win against a NESCAC opponent defeating Wesleyan in their Little 3 rivalry game 64-59. To maintain this position Williams will have to rely on a stingy defense that only allows 52.9 point per game. They are also third in the conference in field goal percentage defense forcing teams into shooting only 32 percent from the field. Much of Williams’ success will rely on Devon Caveney ’17. The 5’7 guard leads her team in scoring and stealing and is second on her team in assists per game with 2.7. Her coaches and teammates surely hope her three point shooting will improve (only 24.5 percent through 11 games) as NESCAC play begins and defenses tighten up.
Conn College (9-2)
Payton Ouimette has been a leader for the Camels so far this season (Courtesy of Conn College Athletics).
Conn College has leapt out to an excellent start. One of their two losses came against Babson, a fringe top 25 team, and the loss was only by 9 points. Conn College has relied heavily on their offense, averaging 71.9 points per game, good for third in the league. Unfortunately their defense has been porous at times. They surrender 57.5 points a game, the second worst tally in the league, but this might be due to their high octane style of play. The Camels are second in the league in total field goals attempted and the gap between themselves and the third place team in nearly 50 shots. Conn relies heavily on two players Mairead Hynes ‘18 and Payton Ouimette ’19. Combined, the two are averaging 24.1 points per game and 16.7 rebounds. Hynes has also added 1.6 steals and nearly a block a game for good measure. The Camels’ hopes rest on the shoulders of these two and the rest of their starting five who have started all 11 games so far and are the only players averaging more than 20 minutes per game.
Middlebury (8-2)
Middlebury has jumped out to a fast start and is looking to assert themselves as one of the better teams in the league. Much like several other teams on this list, Middlebury will live and die on the back of their defense. The Panthers currently allow a measly 47.5 points per game, good for third in the league, boast the fourth best rebounding margin in the league with 10.0, and only allow their opponents to shoot 33.7 percent from the field, good for fourth in the league. While the team’s defense has been commendable, their offense has struggled to consistently generate points. They rank in the bottom 4th of the league in points per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage. In their only two losses of the year the Panthers have failed to reach 50 points and struggled significantly from the field. A great deal of Middlebury’s offense comes from only 3 players, Colleen Caveney ’19, Catherine Harrison ’19, and Sarah Kaufman ’18, who are averaging 13.1, 10.0, and 9.7 points per game respectively. Caveney has been particularly impressive this year, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game, 1.4 steals, and shooting more than 44 percent from three on the season. Middlebury will have to step up their game on the offensive side of the ball to challenge for a spot at the top of the conference.
Hamilton (5-4)
Hamilton started the season slowly, losing their first three games, but rebounded quickly and have gone 5-1 in the interim, hoping to continue that string of success in NESCAC play. Hamilton is a middling team in the conference on both offense and defense. They rank sixth in points scored per game and eighth in points allowed, but are the 5th best rebounding team in the conference based on rebounding margin with 8.3. Hamilton has also held their opponents to only 33.9 percent from the field and have also pressured opposing ball handlers well forcing 16.1 turnovers a game. Hamilton places a lot of their offensive burden on Lauren Getman ’18 the only player averaging double figures in points per game with 11.4. Getman has also been Hamilton’s leading rebounder on the year with 6.6 per game. The team as a whole has shot well from three, making these shots at a 33.3 percent clip, and Getman has been no exception shooting 55.6 percent from three on two attempts per game. Hamilton must hope for growth during NESCAC play from their second leading scorer Mackenzie Aldridge ’20 to challenge for a higher spot in the conference.
Colby (6-4)
Colby ranks lower than Hamilton here due, at least partially, due to their propensity to get blown out when they lose. In all four of their losses Colby has fell by a double digit margin, and in two losses the margins were 20 and 22. Of course, one of those losses was in a non-conference battle with Bowdoin but that doesn’t bode well for a team hoping to remain competitive in the NESCAC after their trip to the semi-finals of the conference tournament last year. Colby has struggled on the boards compared to their NESCAC counterparts, only tallying a margin of 5.7 which is eighth in the league. Colby has also struggled to generate turnovers and allows their opponents to shoot 36 percent from the field, the second worst rating in the league. Where the defense has struggled, the offense has been at least serviceable. They average a middling 60.1 points per game, and have been the 6th most efficient team in the conference shooting 38.6 percent from the field. Haley Driscoll ‘18 has been the Mules’ bread and butter this year. The 5’11 center from Bedford, New Hampshire has been averaging 11.7 points per game and pulling 6.4 rebounds per game. She has also added 1.1 steals per game. Driscoll will need to carry much of the load for the Mules going forward.
Wesleyan (5-5)
Wesleyan has played five games on the road in there first ten matchups, compared to only three at home, and have gone 1-4 in those games (the other two games were at neutral sites). They are certainly hoping an end of season slate that features seven home games will lead to more winning. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that will mean stepping up their play on both sides of the ball. They are currently 9th in the league in both points scored per game and points allowed per game, and are worst in the league in both field goal percentage and three point percentage. They are also ninth in the league in assists per game and average the most turnovers per game in the league. The Cardinals will certainly need Maeve Vitale ’18 to step up in a major way during conference play. The 5’8 guard is averaging 10.7 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting, while also draining 36.2 percent of her three pointers on more than five attempts per game. Vitale is also pulling down 5.6 rebounds and securing 1.9 steals per game, good for second and first on her team respectively. She’s all over the place for the Cardinals, but someone is going to need to step up and help her out if they want to climb the standings.
Bates (3-8)
Bringing up the rear of our first power ranking on the Bates Bobcats who have stumbled early in the season to a 3-8 record. Unfortunately for Bates it is hard to focus on just one issue with this team. They are last in the NESCAC in both points scored per game and points and allowed. They also struggle with field goal percentage defense and their rebounding margin of 0.1 per game is the only NESCAC average less than 1. The only two meaningful statistical categories where Bates ranks in the top 8 of the league are assists per game where they rank eighth, and three point percentage where they rank sixth on the third most attempts. Bates also lacks depth, 6 players average more than 20 minutes per game and after than only one player averages more than 10 (Madeline Foote ’19, who averages 10.1). Allie Coppola ’17 has been one of the few consistent bright spots for the Bobcats, playing and starting all 11 games. She is also averaging 9.7 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, and 2.5 assists per game, good for second, first, and second on her team respectively. Things won’t get any easier for the Bobcats in the coming weeks as they play #17 Bowdoin and then travel to play Hamilton and Middlebury next weekend.
Bobby Casey is willing to go to the end of the earth and back to get Williams a win over hated-rival Amherst. That, and this picture was too good not to include (sorry Bobby). (Courtesy of Williams Athletics).
Remember early in the season when we thought the league might be less chaotic this season? We were wrong. For the first time ever, there are five NESCAC teams in the D3Hoops.com Top 25, with Middlebury (22) and Williams (25) joining Amherst (3), Tufts (8) and Wesleyan (9) after impressive tournament wins coming back from break. And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, Amherst and Wesleyan both lost on Tuesday night, throwing both the NESCAC and national rankings into a state of chaos mirrored only by the American political climate. And to add still ANOTHER layer of intrigue, four of the five ranked teams face each other on Friday night, kicking off what promises to be a spectacular season of league games. Amherst and Williams renew the biggest little rivalry in sports, and Middlebury takes on Wesleyan at home in a game that I think I might just try to attend if I’m not too busy. Oh yeah, and the other teams play too. Let’s break down those two marquee match-ups, and the rest of the games around the league.
GAME OF THE WEEK: #3 Amherst @ #25 Williams, 7:00 PM, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Overview:
I’m not saying that Amherst reminds me of the Purple Cobras…but I am saying it and have said it several times in the past on this very blog.
NESCAC’s version of the Average Joes-Globo Gym rivalry returns on Friday night, as Williams and Amherst square off in as important a game as one can hope for in the opening weekend of league play. After opening the season at #1 in the country and looking fairly unstoppable over the first couple weeks, Amherst has dropped two out of their last three. The chief reasons for their sudden mortality are on offense. They turned the ball over 17 times in their loss to Eastern Connecticut on Tuesday, and shot only 36% in a loss to Springfield last week. The depth the people raved about for Amherst early in the season is in disarray. Eric Conklin is the only bench player who has made a difference for Amherst lately, as his minutes have jumped up due to the inconsistent (to be diplomatic) play of starting center David George ‘17. Amherst has too often relied on the volume scoring of Jayde Dawson and the efficiency of Johnny McCarthy to keep them in games.
Williams comes in on almost the exact opposite track. Impressive wins over Hope and Mount Union in the Mount Union Classic vaulted the Ephs into the top 25, and they maintained their position with a (somewhat lackluster) 74-62 win over Oneonta St. on Tuesday. In a departure from the last few years, the Ephs have recently won despite poor showings from three point land. Williams is hovering around 28% in their last three games, and yet they are 3-0. This is due to an excellent team defense, and honestly, the play of sophomore forward Kyle Scadlock. After a slow start to the year, Scadlock has averaged 19 PPG in the last three, bringing to life the star leap that some projected after an impressive freshman year. Shooting struggles aside, Williams has to love the spot they’re in entering league play, and Amherst certainly shouldn’t be thrilled with theirs.
X-Factors
Coach David Hixon diagramming a play during an Amherst timeout.
For Amherst it has to be pure, elemental anger. Yeah they’ve lost a couple games, but every team will at some point. But to be the pre-season #1 and have to hear idiot pundits like myself and even their own fans cry gloom and doom must royally tick them off. Williams is an excellent team, but this is Amherst basketball we’re talking about here. They were #1 for a reason: they have loads of good players, and they are coached by the legendary David Hixon, who is certainly capable of whipping these guys into shape. A rivalry win in the opening weekend of league play would be a delicious way to remind the league why they were at the top in the first place.
Cole Teal ’17 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)
Williams has been winning without three point shooting, but that will get far more difficult to do against elite opponents like Amherst. The Ephs will have trouble getting good looks in the paint against Amherst’s length, meaning that perimeter shots will have to make up the difference. Additionally, Williams does not match up well defensively with Dawson and McCarthy, the backcourt that makes Amherst’s engines run. Therefore, Williams will have to hit some threes to keep pace. This makes Cole Teal ‘17 a major key (shout out: DJ Khaled) to this game, and to the remainder of the season. Teal is capable of insane hot streaks and insane cold streaks, but lately he has been doing far more of the latter. He was quiet in Mt. Union, shooting just 1-5 over the two games, but he bounced back with a nice night against Oneonta, tallying 15 points on 3-5 shooting from deep. Teal will need to be hot against Amherst both to score from the perimeter and open up the middle for Scadlock and Aronowitz.
Final Thoughts
Both teams have struggled to find production at the five this season. Williams has spun their “Random Center” wheel several times this season, but so far none of them have been winners. Meanwhile, David George of Amherst has been like the parents from Stranger Things: there in person, but pretty lackluster and ignores a lot of responsibilities. This should lead to a tight, high scoring game, one that I would tend to favor Williams in, as they’re at home. But Williams has no answer for McCarthy and Dawson, both of whom can swing a game themselves. It’s a toss up at this point, the best possible projection for a rivalry game of this magnitude.
Wesleyan will be trying to finally BREAK AWAY from Middlebury on Friday night.
Middlebury has not lost to Wesleyan since 2004. Let that sink in. The last time Middlebury lost to Wesleyan, Matt St. Amour was 10 years old. The last time Middlebury lost to Wesleyan, the greatest song of all time (and my go-to karaoke song) “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson had just been released. The last time Middlebury lost to Wesleyan, Mel Gibson was still a marketable movie star. That said, Wesleyan looked poised to break that streak until Tuesday night. After starting off 11-0 and beating #4 Marietta, Wesleyan was knocked off pace by Rhode Island College 62-55. The loss to RIC featured many of the problems that have plagued Wesleyan in league play over the last few years, namely a lack of offensive firepower and shot-making down the stretch. Standout guards Harry Rafferty ‘17 and Salim Green ‘19 combined for 2 points on 1-15 shooting, numbers that many experts have referred to as “bad.” Wesleyan will not win if they don’t get production from the perimeter, and Middlebury is arguably the best perimeter defensive team in the league. Additionally, the loss of defensive stopper PJ Reed will hurt Wesleyan’s efforts to slow down the run-and-gun Panther offense.
Middlebury enters league play with momentum, but some depth problems. Sophomore guard Hilal Dahleh remains out with a back injury, and forward Zach Baines ‘17 will likely miss the weekend as well. These are two valuable weapons that the Middlebury offense will dearly miss, particularly from a floor-spacing perspective. However, in the Staten Island Tournament of Heroes (DOPE name for a tournament by the way,) Middlebury weathered those losses and a prolonged shooting slump from Matt St. Amour ‘17 to win the championship and vault into the top 20. They owe their success to a two-game stretch of excellent defense, and the heroics of Jack Daly ‘18, who continued his low-key All-League candidacy with a buzzer beater over #17 Illinois-Wesleyan (as well as 14/7/7.5 averages.) In Staten Island, Middlebury showed the toughness to rise to the top of the loaded NESCAC, but they will need to hit outside shots more conistently to beat the elite Wesleyan defense.
X-Factors:
While Daly and St. Amour were certainly the MVPs of Middlebury’s tournament, it was contributions from the bench that allowed the Panthers to weather tough shooting from the starters. And the stand-out player from the Middlebury bench was freshman forward Matt Folger.
Matt Folger ’20 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Folger is an excellent shooter who had threes in both games of the tournament, but defensively was where he really set himself apart. The lanky forward had four blocks over the two games, including three in the championship. Folger’s combination of size, athleticism and timing make him the interior defensive force that Middlebury has been lacking. He and Nick Tarantino will be crucial in stopping Wesleyan’s post duo of Joseph Kuo ‘17 and Nathan Krill ‘18.
Wesleyan’s defense is far from in doubt. They are the number one field goal defense in the country, and boast a perimeter defense that is uniquely able to shut down Middlebury’s three-headed dog of excellent guards. However, Wesleyan simply has to score, and the person most responsible for that is Salim Green ‘19. Green is an exceptional defender, but Middlebury is too deep and fast for Wesleyan to pound the ball and win 55-50. Green will need to score and push the pace if Wesleyan has any hope of ending their 11 year losing streak against the Panthers.
Final Thoughts:
Of all the teams in the league, Middlebury may be the best equipped to handle the indefinite losses of Dahleh and Baines. They have great chemistry and experienced leaders at the helm, as well as a deep bench that is rounding into shape at exactly the right time. But “handling” losses isn’t the same as fixing the holes they create. Middlebury is vulnerable right now, particularly in outside shooting and interior defense. These are the areas that Wesleyan will look to exploit on Friday night. However, Wesleyan has no chance if they shoot anything like the way they did on Tuesday. Someone besides Joseph Kuo needs to put the ball in the basket for the Cardinals, or else their league season will look very different from their first 12 games.
Writer’s Pick: Middlebury
#8 Tufts @ Bowdoin: 7:00 PM, Brunswick, Maine
Of course I hate Tufts, a six fingered man from Tufts killed my father.
I was going to let Rory handle this one, since according to an intrepid commenter I “hate Tufts,” but I think I’ll be able to handle it. I certainly do not hate Tufts, I just left them off the Awards Preview because none of their individual players have stood out yet from a postseason honors standpoint. That could certainly change in league play, particularly as Vincent Pace ‘18 gets healthier and healthier. Pace returned early in the season from a knee injury, and is still rounding himself back into form. When 100% he is certainly one of the best all around players in the league, capable of leading Tufts to a NESCAC title. This opening weekend will be a good test of just how ready he is to take on a heavy minutes load.
Bowdoin, on the other hand, has their star very much ready to go. Jack Simonds ‘19 is leading the league in scoring at 23.3 PPG, and the Polar Bears for the most part rise as far as he can take them. However, on Tuesday night they had a nice win over Bridgewater State despite Simonds having “only” 17. Sophomore guard Jack Bors had 23 off the bench, and forward Neil Fuller ‘17 added 15. We haven’t seen this balance from Bowdoin yet this year, and if it continues in league play, Bowdoin could definitely make some noise. Tufts has a huge edge in this game, but don’t count the Polar bears out just yet.
Writer’s Pick: Tufts
Bates @Colby: 7:00 PM, Waterville, Maine
Jeff Spellman ’20 (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
With the Brothers Delepche manning the middle, Bates was always scary defensively. But transfer Jeff Spellman ‘20 has given the Bobcats some needed offensive punch off the bench. Spellman was a fairly sought after D1 recruit coming out of high school, and committed to Stonehill College. However, he transferred to Bates before playing at all, and immediately hurt his ankle. The 6’2” guard made his NESCAC debut against Farmingdale State on the 29th, and had 13 points off the bench on Tuesday in a big road win against Brandeis. With a terrific defense and a revitalized offense, Bates is looking a little scary.
Entering their non-conference matchup with Bates on December 10th, Colby had lost four out of five and appeared to be carving out a spot at the bottom of the league. But they pulled out a gritty win in that game, and then another in their first game back against UMaine-Farmington. Like the Starship Enterprise, Colby is led by Patrick Stewart ‘19, who averages over 16 points per game. This game might not be critical at the top of the standings come the end of the season, but it is certainly a matter of pride for the Maine rivalries, and also will help determine which of these teams (if any) make the final cut for the NESCAC playoffs.
Writer’s pick: Bates
Connecticut College @ Hamilton:
This game will fly under the radar due to the Middlebury-Wesleyan and Williams-Amherst games, but it is quietly a fascinating match-up that could have major ramifications at the end of the year. Connecticut College has played with tremendous balance all season. They have four players averaging over 10 points per game, including the front-runner for the made-up NESCAC Sixth Man of the Year award in Isaiah Robinson ‘18. Robinson averages 10 per game off the bench on 45.2% shooting from three. Robinson’s offense off the bench has been critical in Connecticut College’s success, as an efficient offense has masked a mediocre defense at times for the Camels.
Speaking of efficient offenses, Hamilton leads the league in points per game at 87, and is third in shooting percentage at 48.3. The Continentals are led by a trio of stellar sophomores. Peter Hoffmann, Michael Grassey and and Tim Doyle all average over 13 points a game and shoot over 50% from the field. This youth is obviously a benefit, as this core could make Hamilton a player for the next couple years at least. However, it may also hurt them during league play. These players are not used to playing meaningful minutes in league play; Hamilton was not a contender during their freshman campaign. Connecticut College is older and more experienced (though still pretty young), and that could help them if this game comes down to the wire. Additionally, Hoffmann, Hamilton’s leading scorer and best defender, is only shooting 47.2% from the foul line. If the game is close in the final minutes, Connecticut College may try to exploit this, forcing Hamilton to choose whether or not to have him on the floor.
Writer’s Pick: Hamilton
Trinity @ Pine Manor: 3:00 PM, Brookline, Massachusetts
Writing about a non-league game after all this excitement makes me a little bit tired, but I’m going to write through it because #BlogIsLife. Pine Manor has had an uneven start to the season, standing at 7-4. Their only other NESCAC matchup was an early season 97-96 loss to Colby. However, from my extensive research on their season (a cursory glance at their website,) Pine Manor looks to be a pretty tough matchup for Trinity. They play at a blinding pace, taking 81 shots per game, which is a full 22 (!) more than the infamously slow Bantams. This game looks like it will be less of a basketball game and more of an ideological debate regarding the nature of the sport.
Speaking of Trinity, they have been one of the toughest teams to figure out in the early months of the season. They started off the year losing three of four, and then a nice win over Springfield (three straight NCAA berths, has beaten Amherst and Conn College) made it appear that they had righted the ship. But they followed that up with a terrible loss to Susquehanna and another loss against a very good Eastern Connecticut team, and they were back down again. And finally, they just put up by far their best performance of the year against Plattsburgh, scoring 107 points and shooting 66% from the field. The Bantams have struggled to find any consistent perimeter scoring around center Ed Ogundeko, but against Plattsburgh they proved that they can beat anyone when they have it. This game will be a crucial final tuneup for Trinity as they look to make a run in league play.
By popular demand (Pete’s note: pretty sure I’m the only one who even requested this,) here are the first NBN power rankings of the 2016-2017 basketball season. I have finals to study for, so I’m not going to spend time on a long-winded intro. NESCAC basketball has been great so far, but I just can’t wait for January so that we can see where everyone actually stacks up. Now, here are the rankings at a point in the season that is far too early to make rankings.
1.) Amherst (8-0, 0-0)
I feel like Joey Flannery is basically a NESCAC player at this point with the amount of love that we’re giving him lately, but the kid can ball.
They’re the number one team in the country, and they’re obviously the number one team in NESCAC as well. Amherst has been dominant so far this year against mostly far inferior competition, but they have also picked up the most impressive win in the country so far in a double-overtime thriller against #2 Babson last week. While Babson’s Joey Flannery ‘17 dropped 42 to put away Tufts just a few weeks prior, Amherst was able to withstand Flannery’s 41 thanks to some late-game heroics from Johnny McCarthy ‘18 and Jayde Dawson ‘17. Though it wasn’t the most efficient 32 (13-30 from the field), Dawson showed that he could put the ball in the basket when it counted. He’s now third in the league with 18.3 PPG, the leading scorer for Coach Hixon’s team. Amherst relies on Dawson and McCarthy primarily on offense, but the rest of their scoring is spread pretty evenly between the seven other players averaging 12+ minutes per game. Balance, balance, balance – that is what Amherst is about at this point in the year
2.) Wesleyan (9-0, 0-0)
Speaking of balance, Wesleyan is displaying just that through their first nine games. The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digits so far (Jordan Bonner, Salim Green, Harry Rafferty, and Joseph Kuo), and three others averaging over 7.0 PPG (Nathan Krill, Andrew Gardiner, and Kevin O’Brien). This widespread attack has given opposing defenses headaches, and these headaches have even carried over to the other end of the court. Wesleyan is allowing the fewest points per game so far this season. They’re not blocking an ungodly amount of shots, they’re not forcing a ridiculous amount of turnovers, the Cardinals are just baiting their opponents into tough shots, leading to league-bests in opponent’s FG% (34%) and opponent’s three-point FG% (28.5%). They also took down a strong Williams team at home on December 3rd, showing that the Cardinals are far from rebuilding, as we thought they might this year.
3.) Middlebury (7-1, 0-0)
If you’ve been keeping up with our sparsely posted articles, you know a lot about the Panthers since the Middlebury section takes up half of every one of Pete’s articles. Like Pete noted on Monday, the Panthers are a very solid 7-1 right now, with their lone loss coming to Endicott, who only just dropped out of the Top 25. What concerns me in the long run for Middlebury is that they allow opponents to shoot 42.5% from the field, the worst mark in the league. However, Middlebury’s own shooting percentage, 49.7%, goes for the best shooting efficiency in the league, so the Panthers will probably be alright. One reason they shoot so well is because they lead the league in assists. They are the only team in the NESCAC who can boast 20+ AST/G. If Jake Brown ‘17 and Jack Daly ‘18 remain among the ranks of the top 5 dime-droppers in the conference, Middlebury will be pretty tough to shut down offensively.
4.) Tufts (8-2, 0-0)
I’m not saying I jinxed the Jumbos in my most recent post, but I’m not not saying it. As soon as I posted about how Tufts and Amherst deserved more credit for their play, Tufts nearly gave away a game to Brandeis, they got worked by Joey Flannery and the Babson Beavers, and then lost on a buzzer beater to a far less talented UMass-Boston team. Nonetheless, Tufts bounced back against Wentworth on Saturday with a nice 15-point victory led by a four-pronged attack of Vinny Pace ‘18, Tarik Smith ‘17, Everett Dayton ‘18, and Tom Palleschi ‘17. One of the issues in their slide last week was that they relied far too heavily on Pace to bail them out, an issue that started all the way back against WPI. Well, Dayton must have realized this as well, because in the last two games he has gone for 16 and 14 points while shooting 50% from the field. If the Jumbos want to stop dropping in the rankings, Tufts is going to need Dayton to keep playing well, because so far they have lacked the consistent offensive punch in the interior that they possessed last winter.
5.) Williams (8-1, 0-0)
I feel bad putting the Ephs in the five spot since their only loss came against #22 Wesleyan, but for a very young Williams team, things are looking good so far. Dan Aronowitz ‘17 is leading the way once again for Coach App’s squad with 18.6 PPG, 2.2 AST/G, and 4.3 REB/G, and he has positioned himself nicely in the Player of the Year race as we head into winter break. Aronowitz is aided primarily by Cole Teal ‘18 and Kyle Scadlock ‘19 on the offensive end, while Bobby Casey ‘19 and James Heskett ‘19 have also chipped in quite a bit. The post is what we figured would be the weak spot for the Ephs, and in their lone loss to Wesleyan, they were outscored 34-18 in the paint. Now I know that not all points in the paint come via post players, but lack of an imposing defensive presence down low begs questions about whether Williams will be able to maintain their current success. If they can figure it out, however, the Ephs will be alright.
6.) Hamilton (6-2, 0-0)
OH you didn’t mean this “Hamilton cast?”
I’ll be honest, Hamilton has been the biggest surprise for me so far this season. I know they have not been too competitive in NESCAC play in recent years, but I truly believe this is a different Continentals team than we’ve seen in awhile. The Hamilton offense is led by a very young cast: Tim Doyle ‘19 (20.0 PPG, note that Doyle has only played in three of Hamilton’s eight games), Peter Hoffman ‘19 (16.3 PPG), and Michael Grassey ‘19 (16.0 PPG) do the bulk of the damage, while Kena Gilmour ‘20 also chips in with 10.0 PPG. The Continentals are a pretty solid rebounding team, led by Grassey and Andrew Groll ‘19, who are 7th and 9th in the NESCAC respectively. Hamilton is one of the youngest teams in the league, but they were last year as well, which allowed the class of 2019 to gain valuable on-court experience. I think that Hamilton will have at least one big upset this year, but I don’t think they’re quite mature enough to topple some of the beasts at the top of the conference. I suppose we’ll see when league action begins.
7.) Conn College (7-1, 0-0)
Conn College looked pretty good at this point last season, but they fell off when NESCAC play rolled around as they were unable to finish some games the way they wanted to. However, Conn looks to be a much more cohesive unit thus far, and they’ve been scoring in bunches this year. The Camels lead the league with 86.8 PPG, and it has a full team effort on the offensive end as six (!!) different Conn players are averaging at least 11 PPG through their first eight contests. However, one cause of concern, and maybe where the challenges of NESCAC play will catch up to Conn, is that their bench is not very deep. It’s more or less a seven man rotation for Conn, which will be thin when conference action begins in January. Additionally, the Camels are fully reliant on their ability to score the ball – they are last in the league in points allowed, and as we saw against Wesleyan, when Conn doesn’t score well, they don’t play as well (Pete’s Note: Pretty sure this is how it works for most teams.) Conn looks to be a potential threat as of now, but unless they figure out their defense they will struggle in NESCAC play.
8.) Trinity (5-4, 0-0)
Very classic Trinity allowing just 64.8 PPG so far, but what’s a bit uncharacteristic is that they have not had the scoring to reward their defense. I will admit, their losses have not been the worst defeats in the history of Division III hoops – Southern Vermont was an NCAA tournament team last winter and Susquehanna is currently ranked 18th in the country, but regardless, I think the Bantams are scarily dependent on Ed Ogundeko ‘17. Trinity plays 9-10 deep, but Ogundeko is the only consistent scorer, and when he struggles, so does the team. In two of his three lowest scoring games, Trinity has lost. Their biggest issue offensively is without a doubt ball control. The Bantams are committing a dreadful 19.8 TO/G,and if this type of sloppy ball security continues, it would be hard-pressed to envision Trinity in the playoffs.
9.) Bowdoin (5-3, 0-0)
Jack Simonds ’19 is a serious contender for both Player of the Year and Best Hair in the League.
Though Bowdoin looked very pretty solid early on, it has become clear after eight games that this team is completely reliant on Jack Simonds ‘19. To a certain extent, this is fine – Simonds does lead the NESCAC in scoring after all, with 23.6 PPG – but it is to the point where Bowdoin refuses to even take him off the court. Simonds plays 35.1 minutes on average…I believe that that’s simply an unsustainable amount of playing time. What’s worse, Bowdoin doesn’t really have anyone else who can take over the scoring duties if he has an off day, and in the one game the sophomore scored less than 19 points (he scored 12), Bates handed Bowdoin their biggest loss of the season. The Polar Bears are just not that deep, and while Simonds has explosive potential on the offensive end, relying on one player is generally not the formula for success in the NESCAC.
10.) Bates (5-3, 0-0)
Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche are currently leading the Bobcats with 15.0 and 13.3 PPG respectively. Marcus is also second in the conference in rebounding (10.5 REB/G) while Malcolm is tied for fourth (9.4 REB/G), and Malcolm leads the NESCAC with 3.3 BLK/G. With all these positive signs, I can’t help but think back to previous years where the Delpeche twins have been solid during the non-conference portion of their schedules and then fallen off once January rolled around, but I’m hoping that this is the year that the two finally get over the hump and lead Bates back to the playoffs. The Bobcats did trounce Bowdoin by 14 last week, but they then suffered a devastating loss to Colby on Saturday after the Mules’ Patrick Stewart ‘17 converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. Bates is a decent defensive team, but they rank last in points scored, so expect Bates to show off their Lewiston toughness come conference play.
11.) Colby (5-4, 0-0)
After losing what feels like a million seniors that graduated in May, the Mules are young. Really young. They only have two seniors and two juniors. They have eight (yes, eight) freshmen. So as not to leave out the class of 2019, I’ll note that there are three sophomore Mules on their roster, but I think my point is clear – this team lacks maturity, and that is one of the most important features for a NESCAC basketball team. Patrick Stewart ‘17, however, has captain(Kirk)ed Colby this season to the tune of 16.2 PPG. Unfortunately, he’s really been the only consistent threat for Colby, leading to some pretty inconsistent play. When the Mules took on Bowdoin in a nonconference matchup (who obviously know each other pretty well), Stewart was just 2-18 from the field with 7 points. Conference opponents are going to be able to shut down Stewart, so someone else is going to need to pull some of the scoring load. In each of their four losses, Colby has been outscored in the paint. That’s only happened one time when Colby has won, so they’re either going to need to figure out how to keep teams out of the paint, or they are going to have to start shooting higher than 32.8% from three-point land.
Everyone knows that the hardest thing about sports blogging is fighting off all the people trying to date you because of your articles (ladies, ladies, please, one at a time.) But the second hardest thing is balancing the rest of your college life with blogging responsibilities. It’s a delicate balance that we writers strike between writing and other college activities, and
Hope is a good thing, and we HOPE that finals don’t kill us so we can keep writing about sports.
finals season (as well as a play in which I had to dress like a bear) has that balance considerably out of whack. But we’re almost to the end of the tunnel of ****-smelling foulness that is finals, and ready to reach the Zihuatentejo that is NESCAC basketball.
Annoyingly for our purposes, the league did not stop during our break. In fact, there were several huge matchups, including a non-league tilt between Williams and Wesleyan, and two matchups featuring Babson and the class of NESCAC, namely Tufts and Amherst. Wesleyan continued to dominate, Hamilton and Conn College continued to make their leaps forward, and Middlebury struggled at times but ultimately came out with two quality wins. Here are the highlights from the last week and a half or so of NESCAC basketball.
Tufts/Amherst vs Babson
Tufts and Amherst both played Babson (#2 in the country). At the time of their games, Tufts was #3 in the country, and Amherst has been #1 all season, so both games were marquee matchups. Tufts took on Babson on December 3rd in the final of the Big Four Challenge in Waltham, MA. Babson dominated the game throughout, winning 91-78 and holding Tufts to 40.5% shooting. Tufts was particularly weak on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 49-39 despite their reputation as one of the bigger, tougher teams in the league. The loss appears to have triggered a mini-slide for the Jumbos, who dropped their next game 76-74 to UMASS-Boston (definitively NOT the #2 team in the country.) They were out-rebounded again in that game 49-42, but this was a much more embarrassing disparity according to Rory, who attended the game. UMASS-Boston has nobody over 6’4″ on their roster, and Rory told me that the Beacons really took advantage of Tufts overlooking them. Tufts, a generally aggressive team, definitely looked more tentative, and as a result they only got to the line nine times, making just five. Tufts has “dropped” to #5 in the country (champagne problems, am I right), and they need to regain some of their toughness to avoid falling further.
Joey Flannery ’17 averaged 41.5 points in their games against Tufts and Amherst.
The Amherst/Babson game, on the other hand, was an all-time classic. I was lucky enough to turn it on for the last five minutes of regulation and both overtimes, so I saw many of the big plays leading up to Amherst’s 99-97 win. Babson’s leading scorer Joey Flannery ‘17 had 41, after having 42 against Tufts. But the real star of the game was Amherst senior guard Jayde Dawson, who had 32 points, including the game tying layup at the end of the first overtime and the game winner in the second. Johnny McCarthy ‘18 also had two huge threes, including the game tying shot at the end of regulation. Babson appeared to have the game won four or five times, but, like the show Two Broke Girls, Amherst simply would not die.
The Maine Schools come back to Earth
On paper, the Maine schools (Bowdoin, Bates and Colby) look to be the three weakest teams in the league. But early in the season they looked poised to surprise. Jack Simonds ‘18 leads NESCAC in scoring, and the Delpeche twins had Bates looking scary. However, the last week or so has seen the league become more and more stratified. Colby in particular has returned to earth, with a terrible loss to perennial power Maine-Presque Isle on Wednesday being the lowlight.
Because of the lack of colleges or civilization in general in Maine, these schools have played games against each other in order to fill out their non-conference schedules. Bates took care of Bowdoin 74-60 on Wednesday, holding Simonds to just 12 points. And on Saturday, Colby beat Bates 55-54 in a game that middle schoolers would have watched and said “this seems sloppy.” Neither team shot over 40% from the field, and the teams combined for an abysmal 14-50 from three. Of course, official league-play doesn’t start until after the holidays, but it seems that the Maine schools will be towards the bottom once it gets started.
Wesleyan and Williams Need Some Love
To be clear, when I say they “need love” I’m saying both from NbN and the shadowy listmasters over at D3Hoops. Williams has flown under the radar largely due to their unsexy style of play. The Ephs are towards the middle of the league in points per game, and towards the bottom in rebounding, blocks and quality of nickname. And yet, thanks to an efficient offense and stout defense, Williams sits at 8-1. The Ephs average just 11.9 TO/G (third in the league) and have the second highest shooting percentage, despite taking a league leading 27 threes per game. And on defense, they allow the fourth fewest points per game despite their tremendous struggles on the boards. Williams has real struggles defending the paint, but their strong perimeter players, led by POY candidate Daniel Aronowitz ‘17, place them in strong position to continue succeeding in the guard-heavy NESCAC.
Wesleyan has also had great success this season at 9-0, but they have done it in a much different fashion than Williams. The Cardinals are very deep, with ten players averaging over 10 minutes per game. This talent off the bench allows them to play a fast, exciting style. Sophomore guard Salim Green started off the season as the sixth man, but has moved into the starting lineup and uses his tremendous speed to kickstart the Wesleyan offense. He leads the team in scoring at 12.0 PPG. He is joined by several other talented perimeter players, including fellow sophomore Jordan Bonner and senior Harry Rafferty. Senior forward Joseph Kuo holds down the middle, along with junior forward Nathan Krill. The Cardinals really excel on defense, where they lead the league in rebounding margin and are second in opponent points per game.
PJ Reed ’17 drives the lane against Williams.
Williams and Wesleyan met in Middletown for a non-league tilt on Saturday the 3rd, and to put it simply, the Cardinals beat the Ephs up. Wesleyan outshot Williams 53.2% to 37.5%, and outrebounded them 41-23. However, this impressive performance hasn’t translated to any recognition for Wesleyan in the national rankings. D3Hoops has them outside the top 25 by a considerable margin. Wesleyan should post these rankings all over their locker room, because they are being disrespected by the powers that be.
Let me speak now to my fellow Middlebury fans who read this blog:
Guys, calm down. We do not get to complain, nor should we panic, about being 7-1 and leading the league in field goal percentage. A tough loss against #20 Endicott is not a bad loss, and a close win over maybe-should-be-ranked Skidmore is a good win. Relax, have a beer, everything is gonna be okay.
Jake Brown ’17 has been playing like a First Team All League Candidate lately.
Alright, now that we took care of that, let’s get serious. Middlebury has come through a difficult non-conference stretch in which they played Endicott (#20), Southern Vermont on the road (beat Trinity) and Skidmore (was ranked for a time). The Panthers came out of this stretch 2-1, dropping a 93-89 heartbreaker to Endicott before beating Southern Vermont on the road and Skidmore at home in a thriller. There were many bright spots for Middlebury in these games. The play of point guard (or Point “God” if you want to go by his instagram handle) Jake Brown ‘17 is chief among them. Brown had a double-double of 11 points and 10 assists against Southern VT, and then put the team on his back Greg Jennings-style against Skidmore, with 22 points, 9 rebounds and the game winner on a putback after an offensive rebound. Matt St Amour ‘17 struggled mightily against Southern Vermont and Skidmore, going 5-25 from the field in the two games. However, it must be noted that he did block the potential game winner for Skidmore, putting to rest any rumors of defense being his weakness. The play of Brown, along with bench mob members Matt Folger ‘20, Nick Tarantino ‘18 and Bryan Jones ‘17, helped the Panthers weather St. Amour’s inconsistencies.
Now for the bad. Of course, St Amour’s struggles are worrying, although he may simply be tired from carrying a heavy load early in the year. Break will be a good time for him to reset himself a bit and come back strong for league play (said the biased Middlebury fan, hopefully.) Additionally, against both Endicott and Skidmore, the Panthers blew double digit leads in the second half. After crisp, high scoring first halves, Middlebury looked discombobulated at times on offense in both games, and let opponents back into the game with defensive lapses. Both those opponents are very good teams who would be expected to make runs, but Middlebury shows signs of being able to crush even teams of that quality. Therein lies the frustration with Middlebury’s play of late: they are winning, but they could be winning more solidly. A neutral site matchup with #16 Illinois-Wesleyan will be a good test for Middlebury coming out of break. If they can tweak some of their issues with second half play, and St Amour returns to his early season form, Middlebury is every bit as good as Amherst, Tufts and Wesleyan.
Tufts guard Ben Engvall ’18 lays the ball in as Amherst’s David George ’17 tries for a swat from behind (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics).
So there I was – it was Tuesday and I was just sitting around trying to put together a plan of attack to become an academic weapon in between now and finals. Just minding my own business when Pete sends me his list of talking points to edit. I finally got around to reading it Wednesday night in the midst of my increasingly building workload, and when I finished, I couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was off. I took a quick read through and didn’t notice any grammar mistakes, a pleasant surprise for Pete’s work. So I reread the talking points he put together, and then it struck me. There was no mention of the #1 or the #3 teams in the nation, Amherst and Tufts. Seems a bit odd, no? Well, congratulations Pete, because if this was your strategy to motivate me to write a blog, it worked. Maybe I just have a soft spot for these two because I grew up an Amherst fan and am now a Tufts superfan, but I’m sick and tired of the lack of credit being given to these two. The fact is, omitting these two teams is inexcusable at this point in the season, so I’ll do the honors. Here’s how two of the top three teams in the nation are doing so far this fall.
Amherst, 4-0
Coach Dave Hixon has quite the squad this year, and he hopes to lead them back to the Final Four like last year (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics).
Amherst is 4-0 after Tuesday night’s solid win against Westfield State, and has done nothing that indicates their number one national ranking is undeserved. Their closest game has been an 11 point victory on the road against Anna Maria, which is also their only away game at this point. In their home contests, however, Amherst has been nothing short of dominant, outscoring their opponents by a total of 89 points in those three matchups, or just under 30 PPG. Obviously, Amherst hasn’t been faced with the strongest competition so far, but they also haven’t shown any signs of weakness. The Purple and White are playing the best defense in the league by far (just 58.0 OPPG), allowing 9 points less than the next closest NESCAC defense (Williams). They’re not necessarily forcing the most turnovers in the world (13.5 TO/G, 7th in the league), but they are forcing opponents into taking difficult shots. I mean really tough shots. Opponents are shooting just 34.7% from the field and 26.3% from three-point land against Coach Hixon’s squad…. That second percentage is absolutely miserable.
One reason Amherst is able to force this poor offensive play is that they are so versatile on defense. Jayde Dawson ‘17 can guard pretty much any opposing point guard, Johnny McCarthy ‘18 flashes such length that Kevin Durant looks like he has t-rex arms in comparison, and both Michael Riopel ‘18 and Jeff Racy ‘17 more than hold their own. Amherst switches pretty much everything on the perimeter, something they can do because of their athleticism, size, and most of all, because they have David George ‘17 manning the paint – not a bad little safety net behind you as a perimeter defender.
“Oh, but Rory, Amherst doesn’t have anyone who can score! McCarthy is their top scorer with just 13.0 PPG – that’s 18th in the NESCAC!!!” So what. Amherst never has anyone that scores significantly more than the rest of the team, that’s why they’re always so good. Coach Hixon currently has four players averaging double digits: McCarthy, Dawson (11.0), Riopel (10.5), and Eric Conklin ‘17 (10.3). That’s not something too many NESCAC teams can say. They are also so deep that they don’t play their starters the entire game, they just simply don’t need to. Of the top 10 scorers, only the 10th highest scorer (Vinny Pace, who I will get to), that is averaging under 20 minutes per game. Pace is actually the only one averaging under 24 MIN/G. Well, McCarthy is the only one on Amherst averaging over 24 MIN/G, and the next highest is Riopel, who is playing 20.5 minutes on average. My point is this: Amherst scores the ball extremely efficiently, and while it’s certainly impressive that Jack Simonds is scoring 25.2 PPG, he is also playing 36.2 MIN/G. I’m not picking on Jack, I’m just saying that there is a strong correlation between minutes played and points scored. This is a pretty consistent trend through the top 10 scorers, which is why Amherst’s wide array of scoring threats should be more highly regarded than it seems like it is. Amherst is really, really good, and they deserve that recognition.
Tufts, 5-0
Tarik Smith ’17 has been the most consistent threat for the Jumbos so far this year (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics).
A lot of people have been wondering all year – why is Tufts ranked #3? I just simply don’t get that question. Tufts started at #5 because of their Elite Eight finish last year, but they have also proved that they still deserve to be up there. Really? Ab-so-lute-ly. Tufts is currently out to a perfect 5-0 start. Spanning back through the 1999-2000 season, Tufts has not done this once. Frankly, I don’t know what happened in the 1998-1999 season or any season before that – Tufts archives don’t go back that far – but let’s just leave at this, it has been a VERY LONG TIME since Tufts had such a good start. Additionally, Tufts consistently has one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the NESCAC, and this year is no different. On Tuesday night, Tufts won an absolute battle against #23 WPI at home by score of 75-71. They also beat an Emerson squad that has been rising in recent years, and MIT, who is always at least in the Top 25 discussion. Fact is, Tufts has some solid wins on their resume already, and it’s only December 2nd. So how are they doing it?
This is the interesting part – Tufts is not really dominating in any categories. Let’s look at their defense first. The Jumbos are 5th in points allowed, they foul the 4th most, and they only force the 6th most turnovers. Tufts opponents shoot 39.3% from the field and just 33% from deep (3rd and 5th best respectively). They do have Tom Palleschi ‘17, who was second in the nation in blocked shots last season, and is continuing his dominance down low with an average of 4.2 BLK/G. He’s currently tied with Bates’ Malcolm Delpeche ‘17 at first in the conference, but realistically, I don’t see any way that Delpeche (or anyone else) takes the blocked shots crown from Palleschi at the end of the season. Still, however, blocked shots does not necessarily mean good team defense. Statistically, Tufts looks like an above average defensive team, but not the most dominant in the league. So how about the Tufts offense then?
Tufts, who led the rest of the league in scoring last year by a pretty comfortable margin, is currently 7th in the league in scoring. They’re shooting the 7th highest percentage at 45.6%, and they are hitting just 68.3% of their free throws, 3rd worst in the league. They also only tally the 8th most AST/G in the NESCAC, and turn the ball over the 2nd most. So how are the Jumbos doing it?
Well, the fact is, they just know how to win. Their primary gameplan has two-parts: get to the foul line and hit threes. Tufts has shot and made the 2nd most free-throws in the ‘CAC behind Wesleyan, and they have shot and made the 4th most three-pointers. They’ve got five guys knocking down shots from beyond the arc: Ben Engvall ‘18 (7-16), Tarik Smith ‘17 (6-14), Ethan Feldman ‘19 (10-25), Vinny Pace ‘18 (7-18), and Eric Savage ‘20 (5-13). When you have that many guys that can hit shots from deep, it’s pretty difficult for opposing defenses. So, just chase shooters off the arc, right?
Wrong. If you don’t sag, then Palleschi will eat down low. Defenses have been aware of this so far, and they’ve sagged into the paint, doubled team, and have fronted Palleschi. Basically, they’ve said, “if we’re going to lose, someone besides Palleschi is going to have to beat us.” The tough part is, Tufts has other guys! A lot of them. It seems like they’ve taken a page out of Amherst’s playbook in that no one guy is going to run the show, but rather, the whole squad is going to chip in. Opening night, it was Feldman and Everett Dayton ‘18 who carried the ‘Bos. Game 2 – Smith, Palleschi and Feldman. Game 3 – Pace, Smith, and KJ Garrett ‘18. Game 4….okay you get my point. It’s someone different every night, and that right there is why Tufts is so good. Whatever you take away, the Jumbos have a Plan B, C, and D. This team is very, very good, and if we are lucky, we could see an incredible #2 vs. #3 matchup tomorrow night: Babson vs. Tufts. Just pray that Babson and Tufts both handle business like they should tonight in the Big Four Tournament and maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be electric.
Johnny McCarthy ’18 is the leader on the court for Amherst this year (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
In summary, Amherst and Tufts are two of the best teams in the country, and as of now, seem to be the two best teams in the conference. I know that our job is to cover everyone in the NESCAC, but having two ‘CAC teams in the top three is not the most common thing in the world. The best teams in the NESCAC generally spread out their scoring and play nearly impenetrable defense. Amherst is doing this, and they’re playing phenomenal defense. Tufts is really spreading out the scoring, and playing solid D. These two are the best two teams in the conference right now, but unfortunately we’re going to have to wait until January to see how they stack up against the rest of the conference. I’m looking forward to Amherst-Tufts once NESCAC play begins, but for now I just hope we get to see a Babson-Tufts matchup tomorrow.
Devon Carrillo ’17 was a force for Wesleyan all year long (Courtesy of Steve McLaughlin/Wesleyan Athletics)
1.) Trinity
Well, there weren’t any ‘fluke’ losses this year for Trinity. For those of you NESCAC old timers, yes, I am referring to Bob Smith’s Middlebury football shirts he made in 1992 after Midd went 7-1 to win the league and deemed their only loss to Trinity a ‘fluke.’ There’s simply no argument that can be made against the mighty Bantams here. They are the kings of the ‘CAC and had the success all year to back it up. Spencer Donahue ’17 had a monster year and could easily win Defensive POY as a part of the secondary that terrified opposing QB’s all season. Sonny Puzzo ’18 improved drastically from his 2015 campaign, decimating the TD:INT ratio of last year that was below 1:1 to improve to 16:4. He also made a great case for First Team All-‘CAC. Max Chipouras ran over everybody in his path for the Bantams all year, finding holes and blasting through defenders en route to 910 yards, 5.8 yds/carry, and 7 TDs, only second to Tufts’ Chance Brady. You want to know what their secret formula to winning the league was? Just dominate offense, defense, and special teams. Undefeated.
2.) Tufts
Chance Brady is in the history books. According to Babe Ruth in TheSandlot, legends never die, and in every sense of the word, Brady’s 17 rushing TD season (19 total) is legendary. He won two more Gold Helmets and managed to lead his team to a 7-1 season just two years after breaking a preposterous 31 game losing streak. Despite their resurgent season that only Rory could’ve predicted, they did lose to Trinity and the Bantams showed they had the better team. But last week in Middlebury, VT, Brady couldn’t be stopped, and the Tufts secondary gave Lebowitz all he could handle. They battered him all day and tallied 2 fumbles, 3 INTS, and three painful looking sacks. The Jumbos will still have Ryan McDonald ’19 next year who played well when he started, tallying a 5:1 TD:INT ratio and a crazy 602 yards rushing, good for 5 TDs and 6.2 yds/carry. The Jumbos won’t stop here and the Bantams better watch out, there’s a stampede on the way in 2017.
3.) Wesleyan
In mutual games, Wesleyan largely played better than Middlebury. These two teams were the closest in talent level this season, both losing to Trinity and Tufts for their only losses, knocking off Amherst, and all the other teams that we expected them too. However, the Cardinals blew the Purple and White out, and could’ve easily beaten Tufts in Week 1, and frankly the fact that they went 6-1 in their final games shows that even without any assurance that they could get back into the championship run, they still put a great season together. Puzzo, Lebowitz, and Piccirillo are the top 3 QB’s in the conference and Piccirillo is arguably the best of the bunch. His 10:2 TD:INT ratio and 62.3% completion rate led the league, and he was second in passing yds/game to Lebowitz who benefitted from a system conducive to more passing attempts. Their defense also allowed the least yds/game and put them in a position to win a share of the league championship in the final game. They earned this ranking and nearly earned a ring.
4.) Middlebury
It’s tough for me to put Midd below Wesleyan here as I rooted for them all year and still thought they could win up until the final minutes against the Jumbos. However, the box scores don’t lie—the Panthers barely knocked off Amherst and Trinity rolled right over them. Lebowitz had a great season, especially considering that it was his first season starting in the NESCAC, but slowed down at the end of the year. A big loss to Trinity after a 5-0 start proved to be somewhat of a reality check, and pretty much crushed the Panthers’ hope of going to titletown. However, this team still had a great season, putting up a 6-2 record, and was hurt big time by injuries in the final weeks heading into their two biggest games against Trinity and Tufts. The fire in the hearts of this Midd team showed up in the final minutes against the Jumbos when they frantically put a rally together, sparking hope in the parents and fan section. Diego Meritus ’19 improved on his first season and looks like he could step up to another level next year; Conrado Banky ’19 proved me right in that he is a fast twitched receiving animal; and Lebowitz broke out in a big way. The good news for Panthers fans is that these three guys will be back, and they will be hungry for the ‘ship.
5.) Amherst
Nobody expected Amherst to be fifth on this list at the end of the year, but not even Amherst’s fans could argue for a better ranking. A tough 27-26 loss to Middlebury in week three would spiral the Purple and White’s season out of control, leading to a 2-4 finish. Granted they struggled with injuries all year as both their first and second string QB’s Reece Foy and Alex Berluti were out, Foy for the entirety of the season and Berluti for a large part of it. Some highlights were that they extended their winning streak to a historic 21 games, WR David Boehm had a fantastic senior campaign good for 660 receiving yards and 6 TDs, and the defense held opponents to a league best 79 rushing yards per game. On the positive side, Reece Foy will be back next year, and when he is on the field, he is always a candidate for POY. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, but this is the first year Amherst didn’t have a mascot during football season and was also the year that their winning streak ended. Is this the new curse of the Billy Goat?
6.) Bates
This is where the rankings start to get a little trickier. The margins between Bates, Hamilton, and Colby are fairly narrow, as they all played pretty evenly against each other. Bates showed flashes of what is to come with their Sophomore QB Sandy Plashkes who broke off some big rushes despite a lack of passing consistency. Bates took the CBB crown, beat Colby and Bowdoin, and while that isn’t saying too much, they put up a good game against Tufts (12-7 loss) and jumped up to a 9-0 lead against Middlebury. And if they managed to beat Hamilton, they would’ve been tied with Amherst! Throughout the season, I put a lot more faith in the Bobcats than their success warranted, and maybe their season doesn’t deserve this ranking considering they did lose to Hamilton, but based on their games against some of the tougher teams, they are the best of the bottom tier of NESCAC teams.
7.) Hamilton
Continental fans might not be too happy with this ranking since they beat Bates by a considerable margin in week 8. However, that’s not a great selling point when you lose to the other 3-5 team, Colby. Once again, the distance between these 6-8 ranked teams is minimal, and if Hamilton put up a solid performance against any of the top NESCAC teams they would be ranked higher. But there isn’t a great argument to be bumped up when they got absolutely blown out against Middlebury, Amherst, Trinity, and Wesleyan. Mickey Keating ’18 was arguably Hamilton’s best defender with two picks and 72 total tackles to lead his squad, while Colby Jones ’19 also added two INTs, showing what the NY squad’s defense could showcase next year. QB Kenny Gray ’20 had a tough rookie season, but his experience this year should give him a lot to work on and a bunch of improvements going into his sophomore year. This is obvious but if their defense can allow less than 26.9 ppg next year, they’ll have a much better chance.
8.) Colby
Similar to Hamilton, nothing really stands out with the Mules’ season in terms of wins and losses. 3-5 is respectable, sure, but they only competed against Bowdoin, Williams, Hamilton, and Bates. They beat the Continentals but lost to Bates in a close game, and won against the Ephs in what was a poorly played Week 1 game. They did show some real offensive pieces unlike Bates and Hamilton, as Jabari Hurdle-Price ’18 rushed for 91 yds/game and six scores while roping in the most catches (30) on the team. Sebastian Ferrell ‘19 and Christian Sparacio ‘18 looked like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison at times, especially towards the end of the season. Good news for the Mules is that their QB, top RBs, and top WRs are all staying put for next year, so if Gabe Harrington ’18 or another signal caller can figure it out, they might actually compete against some of the big dawgs.
9.) Williams
I tried to spin off the Ephs as a better team than their record after they played well against Middlebury, but a winless season doesn’t leave a whole lot of positives. Jansen Durham could be a legit QB in the ‘CAC the next few years if he makes a Puzzo-esque transition into 2017; the two are definitely show some similarities in their career trajectory. Do-it-all playmaker Adam Regensburg showed off his athleticism time and time again as he led the team in receptions (37), receiving yards (319), field goals, punts, and points (he also put in time as a DB and a kick returner). CB Ben Anthony also had a promising first season with 44 tackles and 2 picks, showing that he will be a threat to opposing QBs in the years to come, but overall, this team has some work to do. They lost three games by less than two possessions, so if they bring in some more playmakers, they could get over the hump into the win column.
10.) Bowdoin
Well, not a lot to say here. Bowdoin went 0-2 in the CBB series and 0-8 overall, so they pretty much put themselves in this position. Their closest game was against Hamilton in a one point heartbreaker, and other than that, it was a pretty ugly season. The lone bright spots for the Polar Bears, who must be feeling pretty cold right about now, were Joe Gowetski ’20 and Nate Richam ‘20. Gowetski represented the future of NESCAC linebackers with a ludicrous 92 tackles to open up his career, and Richam displayed some promising work out of the backfield. These two will both solid for the winless squad going forward. Better luck next year.
The Trinity Bantams – your 2016 NESCAC football champs (Courtesy of Trinity athletics)
What. A. Year. Seriously, NESCAC football was absolutely outstanding this year, and an enormous part of that was the competitiveness at the top of the league. We saw plenty of blowouts, but we also saw last second comebacks, epic defensive stands, and back and forth shootouts throughout the past eight weeks. The range of outcomes kept us on our toes throughout the year, and while some teams were much better than others, every team had at least one game that came down the wire, which definitely made things interesting as a fan.
I want to first congratulate Tufts on their first 7-1 season, their best season since 1998. While it’s true that I’m a fan of the Jumbos, objectively, I think that it’s just amazing how far this team has come since my freshman year. I will never forget my first Parent’s Weekend game as a Tufts student. Down by 3 with under a minute to go, Tufts had the ball on the 2 yard line for First and Goal. Deep into their eventual 31-game losing streak, I stood in a crowd of baseball players that were all trying to figure out what to do in the case of what looked to be the first Tufts victory any of us had seen. Well, fate was not on the side of the Jumbos that day, and an interception in the end zone ended their chances of finally adding a tally to the win column. I never imagined that just three years later, Tufts would be 7-1 and the lone team in 2nd place in the NESCAC. Congrats to the Jumbos on a great year.
Middlebury and Wesleyan, two more successful programs of late, kept up their winning ways. After a tough defeat at the hands of Tufts in the night-opener, Wesleyan rolled through the rest of the league, destroying everybody in their path from Weeks 2-7. By the numbers, Wesleyan was right up there with Trinity, and they put themselves in a position to be crowned NESCAC champs with a Week 8 win. Middlebury was also in the running for NESCAC champs in Week 8, but they took a very different path to get there. After blowing out their first two opponents in a display of aerial expertise, Jared Lebowitz and company faced a daunting task in taking on the dreaded Amherst, who were riding into Vermont on their 21-game win streak. Well, the game was an absolute classic, and Middlebury prevailed. Unfortunately, Middlebury was later dominated by Trinity and in a must win game, Chance Brady absolutely dismembered the Panthers, putting Middlebury in a tie for 3rd place with the Cardinals.
That streak-ending loss to Middlebury in Week 3 was the start of a fall from grace for Amherst, who had a disappointing .500 season. I don’t know if it was their lack of mascot or what, but Amherst just couldn’t find an identity this year, and their inconsistent play, especially on the offensive side of the ball, left them with a number of questions heading into the offseason. Luckily for Amherst, Reece Foy will be back next year to retake the reigns under center, a position that proved to be a weak spot for the Purple and White due to injuries and inconsistent personnel.
Bates, Colby and Hamilton were the next three in order. While 3-5 is improvement from 2015 for each of these squads, none of them beat a team with a better record from them. Until one or more of these teams can demonstrate the ability to beat a better team, we will continue to see a league of two tiers. At the bottom of this tier is Bowdoin and Williams, both of whom had disappointing seasons. Neither could ever string together a game where both the offense and the defense played well, it was always one or the other…or neither. Hopefully this year teaches these two squads what they need to do to compete next year.
Am I forgetting anyone? Oh yeah, the juggernauts from Hartford, CT of course! The Bantams were an unstoppable force this year, and there was no immovable rock in the league to counter the multi-faceted attack that Coach Devanney was able to roll out there on offense. Max Chipouras will benefited greatly from the effectiveness of the Trinity passing attack, and Sonny Puzzo reaped the benefits of the sophomore back’s effectiveness on the ground. Darrien Myers and Bryan Vieira proved that they are two of the best wide receivers in the league, and they lit up opposing defenses week in and week out. The Bantams averaged 38.1 PPG this year and it’s absolutely because of how ridiculously talented their offensive weapons were.
However, the scoring numbers for Trinity would not have been as high as they were without the incredible defense they had. Coach Devanney’s defense consistently set up Puzzo and company with terrific field position, and the Bantams frequently capitalized on the short field. Yet it wasn’t just field position that the Bantams provided the offense, Trinity also scored four defensive touchdowns – FOUR!! No other team scored more than one this year. Spencer Donahue, Archi Jerome, Paul McCArthy, Liam Kenneally, Yosa Nosamiefan…the list goes on. This defense was incredible, and they deserve all the credit in the world for their contributions to this powerhouse’s undefeated season.
Finally (and much less importantly), let me apologize for failing to post the writers’ predictions for this weekend. Frankly, I just dropped the ball on it. I’m not an excuse guy but I’ve never had more work in my life than I did last week. Schoolwork, job apps, baseball and blog life ate me up, plain and simple. However, everyone did get their predictions in before Saturday, and here is what they were (the final standings are below):
Trinity @ Wesleyan
Rory: Trinity 30, Wesleyan 24 W
Pete: Trinity 45, Wesleyan 14 W
Liam: Trinity 22, Wesleyan 17 W
Colin: Trinity 33, Wesleyan 30 W
Colby: Trinity 28 Wesleyan 20 W
Sid: Trinity 42 Wesleyan 38 W
Nick: Trinity 38, Wesleyan 14 W
Hamilton @ Bates
Rory: Hamilton 14, Bates 28 L
Pete: Hamilton 7, Bates 10 L
Liam: Hamilton 14, Bates 26 L
Colin: Hamilton 21, Bates 14 W
Colby: Hamilton 10, Bates 17 L
Sid: Hamilton 14, Bates 28 L
Nick: Hamilton 14, Bates 27 L
Williams @ Amherst
Rory: Williams 10, Amherst 21 W
Pete: Williams 13, Amherst 17 W
Liam: Williams 10, Amherst 28 W
Colin: Williams 10, Amherst 35 W
Colby: Williams 10, Amherst 35 W
Sid: Williams 16, Amherst 35 W
Nick: Williams 10, Amherst 31 W
Bowdoin @ Colby
Rory: Bowdoin 7, Colby 21 W
Pete: Bowdoin 0, Colby 30 W
Liam: Bowdoin 13, Colby 17 W
Colin: Bowdoin 17, Colby 14 L
Colby: Bowdoin 14, Colby 17 W
Sid: Bowdoin 12, Colby 16 W
Nick: Bowdoin 19, Colby 20 W
Tufts @ Middlebury
Rory: Tufts 28, Middlebury 21 W
Pete: Tufts 24, Middlebury 30 L
Liam: Tufts 27 Middlebury 24 W
Colin: Tufts 20, Middlebury 27 L
Colby: Tufts 21, Middlebury 24 L
Sid: Tufts 28, Middlebury 27 W
Nick: Tufts 25, Middlebury 30 L
That leaves the final standings as follows:
1.) Liam (31-4)
2.) Rory (29-6)
3.) Nick (28-7)
3.) Sid (28-7)
5.) Pete (27-8)
6.) Colby (26-9)
6.) Colin (26-9)
Though I’m bitter about my loss, I was taught not to be a sore loser. Congrats to Liam on a great season – a well deserved championship title after 7 weeks of picking games (if we had picked in week 1 I would have beat you).
