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Tufts
This one is relatively straightforward, but the Jumbos are for real: anyone who was not a believer in this squad before Saturday’s monumental home victory against the Mules, you are surely one now. Tufts was not even remotely phased by Colby’s plethora of talented guards, sticking with their plan of centering their offense around big man Luke Rogers ‘21. The big fella got his own with 19 points and 12 boards, and both Eric Savage ‘20 (22 points, 6 rebounds) and Tyler Aronson ‘22 (14 points) provided big buckets down the stretch, allowing Tufts to pull away. What was most impressive above all, however, was the stifling defense displayed by the Jumbos against one of the country’s most prolific offenses. Tufts held Colby to just 41% shooting from the field, smothering (in particular) Sam Jefferson ‘20 (three points on 1-5 shooting). With an immaculate 6-0 record in conference, Tufts is now (in theory) two full games ahead of Colby for first place because of their head-to-head victory and should absolutely be placed higher than their #21 national ranking. The slate ahead won’t be particularly easy with road games remaining against Trinity, Middlebury and Williams, but the Jumbos fear no one and have made it clear to the rest of the NESCAC that they (not Colby) are the best team in the league.
Donald Jorden Jr. ‘21 and Trinity
Don’t look now, but Jorden is quietly cementing himself as one of the best big men in the NESCAC. Over the past three games, the 6’6’’ junior is averaging 16.0 PPG and a jaw-dropping 15.6 REB/G. His seven offensive rebounds in Trinity’s upset victory against Middlebury displays how relentless Jorden is on the glass, and it is truly safe to say that he is the most instrumental player to both the Bantams’ recent success. The weekend sweep of Middlebury and Williams vaulted Trin into the third spot in the standings, and with a home game against Tufts still to come, a higher ascension within the conference standings is not totally out of the question.
League Parity
It’s not even March and the NESCAC is already experiencing some early madness vibes. Aside from Tufts (6-0), Colby (6-1), and Conn (0-6), the rest of the NESCAC is separated by two games or fewer. While it may come to hurt some teams seeking an at large bid, it nonetheless makes for an exciting home stretch in which no game is really an absolute gimme for any team. Even the infamous Conn College, despite their winless streak in conference play reaching 27 games, has started to show signs of life with a double-overtime heartbreaker to in-state rival Trinity coupled with a hard-fought loss to Middlebury (whom they were beating midway through the second half). Bowdoin’s upset over Bates has allowed them back into the playoff picture, patiently waiting behind the cluster of Williams, Bates, Hamilton and Wesleyan, all sitting with four losses. Next week will surely see some movement in the standings, but I’ll be the first to admit that most of these matches can go either way.
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Bates’ Playoff Chances
The Bobcats might very well be the most volatile team in the ‘CAC this season – they can compete with the very best (as we saw last weekend giving the Jumbos all they could handle), and yet struggle with some of the traditional bottom-feeders. This type of behavior was on full display on Friday and Saturday; Bates went toe-to-toe with Colby for roughly 25 minutes before the defense collapsed, and then proceeded to sleepwalk the following day against Bowdoin. Having already defeated the Polar Bears comfortably by 14 on the road earlier this season, I assumed that, despite the natural hangover that comes with losing to your rival, the ‘Cats would rebound quickly against their other in-state rival in a must-win game. Instead, the Bobcats turned in their worst offensive performance of the season, shooting an abysmal 31.9% from the field. Sitting at 2-4 in conference play and currently tied for seventh (they hold the tiebreaker over Hamilton and Wesleyan due to their head-to-head victories), Bates is still firmly in the playoff picture – however, all four of their remaining conference games are on the road, and besides Conn (who is still not nearly as much of a pushover as we previously thought), all of those games are against very quality opponents in Trinity, Williams, and Middlebury. It’s safe to say the Bobcats now face an absolute must-win against the Camels, and will probably need another victory from that other group of three in order to safely secure a spot in the conference tournament.
Middlebury
The Panthers are in trouble not so much for the conference tournament as they are for their overall seeding come national tourney time. Checking in as the current five seed in the NESCAC isn’t the best look for a top fifteen team nationally, who is expected to run the table of sorts and dominate inferior opponents. It was a relatively rough weekend for Midd as they dropped one to Trinity and severely struggled with Conn until midway through the second half. The remaining slate isn’t the most favorable for the Panthers, having to hit the road next weekend to face a desperate Cardinals team before hosting both the undefeated Jumbos and a talented, yet inconsistent Bobcats squad the following weekend. The offense has experienced a slight downward tick in production over those past two games, but there’s plenty of time for a team as uber-talented as Middlebury to pick up the pace and head into the conference tournament on a high note.