Kena Gilmour – Page 2 – Nothing But NESCAC

Déjà Vu?: Hamilton vs. Christopher Newport Sweet Sixteen Preview

We’ve got a Top-10 matchup out in Clinton, New York as the #10 Hamilton Continentals (25-4) welcome the visiting #9 Christopher Newport Captains (27-3) to Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. For the Continentals, their first game was all but a cakewalk, as a last-second layup bounced off the front end of the rim to give them a two-point win. They followed up that nailbiter with a more comfortable 11-point victory, one that featured a more consistent performance on both ends of the floor. The Captains ran through the New Jersey Athletic Conference and continued running through their first two NCAA Tournament opponents, winning both games by a combined 61 points. It’ll be a contrast of styles. They’re built like Amherst on defense, but have more weapons from the perimeter instead of all-around guard play. It’ll be a stern test for the Continentals, one that they’ll hope to pass in order to advance to the Elite Eight.

Well, the cardiac Continentals survived quite the scare in their opening round matchup with Penn State-Behrend, ultimately pulling out a 72-70 win. Hamilton trailed by as many as 11 midway through the second half before storming back to take the lead late. Kena Gilmour was sensational, racking up 26 points to go along with five boards, and Peter Hoffmann chipped in with 19 points. While the Continentals forced 17 turnovers en route to their win, they struggled to guard the perimeter. Their poor defensive performance was partially corrected in their round of 32 victory against Moravian (35.6% from the field), but they were still able to connect on 40% of their shots from deep. This time, Gilmour and Hoffmann got a big boost on the offensive end from Tim Doyle ‘19 as the senior tallied 16 points. For the second game in a row, Hamilton forced 17 turnovers; however, they committed 17 of their own. They must be more careful handling the ball against Christopher Newport, a team that’s stingy defense only allows 62 PPG and can rebound the ball.

Marcus Carter ‘19 is capable of going off at any point for the Captains

Christopher Newport is riding high into their Sweet Sixteen trip to Clinton after dispatching their previous two opponents quite easily. The #9 ranked Captains feature a squad with a solid balance on offense combined with a ferocious defensive gameplan that packs the paint and makes teams beat them with the long ball. Marcus Carter is the leading scorer for Christopher Newport (16.5 PPG, 7.2 REB/G), and guard Jason Aigner (15.5 PPG, 44.8% 3PFG) will shoot from just about anywhere on the court. In their most recent 85-59 win against Alfred, Carter went off for 26 points and Aigner sunk five threes. Adrian Beasley was a force down low, posting an impressive double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Cutch Ellis also registered a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). This one game is a microcosm of the Captains’ offensive game plan: spread the ball around and get everyone involved, because they have plenty of guys who can score and the ball movement will tire opposing defenses quickly. CNU doesn’t force a ton of turnovers (12.6/game), but they make it extremely tough for opposing players to score; they boast an impressive defensive field goal percentage of 37.5%, including 29.6% from beyond the arc. They are relentless when crashing the glass (outrebounded Alfred 49-30) and also attack the rim frequently on offense, averaging over 20 free throw attempts per game.

Hamilton X-Factor

Michael Grassey ‘19

Kena Gilmour and Peter Hoffmann cannot handle all the scoring duties alone if Hamilton wants to advance to the Elite Eight; they need help, and I think Michael Grassey’s play will severely influence the outcome of this matchup. Grassey is the team’s third-leading scorer with 11.8 PPG, however the NCAA Tournament has not been kind to him: In the Continentals’ first round matchup against Penn State-Behrend, Grassey shot 2-9 from the field and registered a measly four points. In their most recent win over Moravian, he was slightly better (eight points) but again shot just 2-8. Grassey will need to exceed his scoring average for to stay in the tournament, as Christopher Newport’s defense seems likely to zone in on Gilmour and Hoffmann and force guys like Grassey to beat them. The senior has had a great career at Hamilton and is not ready to hang it up just yet, so I believe he’ll break out of his mini slump and put up some points.

Christopher Newport X-Factor

Jason Aigner ‘21

Hamilton has not guarded the three ball very well in their first two tournament games, allowing Penn State-Behrend and Moravian to sport a combined 43.8% from beyond the arc. In steps Jason Aigner, and as I touched on briefly earlier in the article, the sophomore is an absolute sniper from deep. He’s taken an insane 252 three pointers (over eight attempts per game) but is sporting an impressive 44.8% success rate. Aigner has connected on nine triples in Christopher Newport’s two tournament wins, and he’ll be salivating at the defensive numbers the Continentals have registered in their last two games. He’s only failed to register double digit points in one of his last sixteen games and hit at least four three-pointers in twelve of those sixteen. He doesn’t attack the rim too often, so the Continentals will have to try and run him off the three point line. Hamilton doesn’t really have anyone who can shoot as well as Aigner from deep, so their best bet is to run the sophomore off the three-point line and force him to beat you off the dribble.

Final Thoughts:

I’d love to take the Continentals here because they are a great feel-good story in the sense that sans Gilmour, the starting five is all comprised of seniors who are making one last run to avenge last year’s heartbreaking defeat in the NCAA Tournament. Gilmour is a special player, and if Hoffmann, Grassey and Doyle all sync up, they’re a very hard team to defeat. I’m concerned the Continentals will get bombarded from deep if they don’t fix their perimeter defense, but an underlying factor is Newport’s ability to bang down low and make the game a physical one. The Captains are by no means a big team (Ellis is the tallest player that plays significant minutes at 6’7’’), but they are no doubt a very physical team who is not afraid to initiate contact. What’s more, they’re a smart team who uses their physicality but doesn’t commit very many fouls. Barring an incredible performance from Gilmour, I think Hamilton’s run ends in the Sweet Sixteen at home, and the Captains advance to the Elite Eight.

Prediction: Christopher Newport 77 – Hamilton 71

Year of Destiny: Hamilton Regional Preview

#10 Hamilton (23-4, 7-3, Lost to #7 Amherst in NESCAC Finals)

The Continentals have been a clear cut choice to make the tourney since before week 1. With a preseason ranking of #9, Hamilton has maintained their top-25 status throughout the season. This alone ensured them entry into this year’s NCAA regionals. They have performed so well, in fact, that they have earned themselves hosting rights for the first two regional games.

Kena Gilmour is the best in the ‘CAC, but can he be the best in the dance?

How They Got Here:

Hamilton was fairly even keel all year long. They were poised for not only a NESCAC playoff run but an NCAA playoff run as well, and now they are presented with that opportunity. Hamilton was consistently successful all year long, all four of their losses coming to NESCAC teams. They started their season running, winning their first 13 straight contests. Leading the scoring for the Continentals during this time was Kena Gilmour. Gilmour was the leading scorer for Hamilton all year long and helped to create a dynamic offense which helped them to such a good season. After their hot start to the season, things got a little bit more shaky as they lost two of their next five to Colby and Wesleyan. The Colby loss was seemingly out of nowhere and was their first home loss of the year. After these two losses the Continentals continued to roll, only losing once more to Middlebury, garnering them the #2 seed in NESCAC play. After beating Colby in their quarterfinal rematch, Hamilton had to opportunity to host the remainder of the NESCAC playoff games after #1-seed Middlebury lost to #8-seed Tufts. Hamilton was able to hold off Tufts, 89-85, in the semi-finals but would then have to take on Amherst. The NESCAC championship was a close contest, but the Mammoths were able to hold off Hamilton until the final buzzer, but hey, nothing wrong with silver.

How They Lose:

One thing is consistent in each of Hamilton’s 4 losses this season, their 3-point shooting. On the season, the Continentals are shooting an impressive 35% from downtown as a team. When looking more closely at each of their 4 losses, we can see that these games do not stack up to those stats. In the NESCAC Final against Amherst, Hamilton put up 19 3s and was only able to convert 3 of them, shooting at a 15.8% clip. In their neck-and-neck battle with Midd at the end of the year where they lost by just one point, Hamilton was just 6 for 21 from downtown. Against Colby they were 4-16 and against Wesleyan they were 6-26. Point being that when Hamilton doesn’t shoot as they can, they put themselves in a much more difficult position. If Hamilton is able to keep up the shooting numbers that they have been putting up all year, they could make a serious run. If they have another 3-19 streak, it could be an early exit.

The Competition

Penn State – Behrend (23-4, 14-4, AMCC Conference Champs)

Penn State – Behrend comes in with an impressive record at the end of the season. The Lions were the #2 seed in The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference but were able to take down #1 La Roche in their conference championship. Very similarly to Hamilton, Penn State’s only losses have come from within their own conference. They have 3 All-Conference players on their roster: Andy Niland and Mike Fischer both earned First Team selections while Justin Gorney was selected to the second team. Niland is the best shooter on the Lions, shooting nearly 43% from downtown and 93% at the line so far this season. He is also the team leader, and all-time program leader, in assists with just over 6 per game. Similarly, he only needs 7 more 3-pointers to become the all-time program leader in 3-pointers made. Against bad teams Penn State – Behrend has shown that they are a lockdown defensive team, at times winning by a 30 or 40 point margin. Hamilton should certainly have the advantage in this game, but i wouldn’t sleep on the Lions.

Andy Niland poses a real shooting threat this weekend.

Keene State (20-7, 13-3, Won LEC)

Keene State enters this competition riding a 12-game win streak. They easily defeated Western Connecticut State by a 27 point margin in the LEC semifinals to advance them to a championship game against none other than Eastern Connecticut State. This was a much closer competition as Keene State was down by 1 at the half but managed to pull out a 72-69 victory to capture the conference title. Some NESCAC fans should be familiar with Keene State already as they have had 2 NESCAC opponents in their schedule, including Hamilton. Early in the season Keene State went to Middlebury and took a tough 93-88 loss. Keene State’s Ty Nichols was fantastic for them against Midd, putting up 26/14/7 for a monstrous near triple-double. Although his performance was noteworthy, it was still not enough to take down the Panthers. Their game at Hamilton was close as well, an 85-80 loss in which Ty Nichols once again lead Keene State in points. We’re beginning to see a theme here, and its name is Ty Nichols. Nichols lead Keene State in points, assists and rebounds, posting up a 27/5/7 clip on average. The Senior from Springfield, Mass is the heart and soul of this team and was recently named D3 Player of the Week as well as Player of the Year in the Little East Conference. The kid is a force to be reckoned with and has the talent to take this mediocre Keene State team much further than they should go.

Moravian (19-8, 10-4, Landmark Champions)

Rounding out our competitors we have our third conference champ in Moravian. Moravian defeated Susquehanna in their conference semis and then took down Drew in the finals to earn themselves a spot in the NCAA playoffs. NESCAC fans got a chance to look at Moravian earlier this year when they took on formerly #2 Williams. Moravian attempted a second-half comeback in this contest but it was not quite enough as the Ephs won 81-72. The leading scorer for Moravian in this contest was CJ Barnes who came off the bench to put up 21PTS, including 4 triples. Lots of triples seems to be another theme for Moravian. While their opponents have attempted 404 3-pointers against Moravian, Moravian have more than doubled that by putting up 832 3-pointers over their 27 games, that’s nearly 31 3s a game. While CJ Barnes is Moravian’s best shooter, their best player is O’Neil Holder, who is leading the team in PPG with 18.4 and rebounds with 6.6. Moravian is a clear-cut 3 and D team and those can always be dangerous in a tournament setting. Catch them at the wrong time and you could be going home early.

One Trophy Left: Stock Report 2/27

Stock Report 2/27

Congratulations to Amherst who won their 8^th NESCAC Championship with a 62-56 victory over Hamilton on Sunday. The Mammoths earned the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while Hamilton, Williams, and Middlebury snagged at-large bids as well. Getting four teams into the tournament is basically common practice for the NESCAC, so it’ll be exciting to see if anyone can do some real damage this year. Each of the remaining teams have looked terrific this season and they are all capable of competing with anyone. We’ll just have to wait and see who is left standing in a few weeks.

Stock up

Chance for a run by a NESCAC team

The selection committee was relatively nice to the NESCAC this year, putting the four teams that earned bids in regions that are very winnable. According to the D3 Massey Ratings (the only available computer-generated rankings for Division III basketball), the highest ranked team in the Williamstown regional is Plattsburgh State at 58 and the highest ranked team in the Clinton regional is Keene State at 49. For these two teams in particular there really isn’t a reason that they shouldn’t find themselves in the Sweet 16. Things are a little bit tougher for Amherst and Middlebury who each have one very strong team in their region, but I still think that things bode well for the conference as a whole. By the time the Sweet 16 rolls around we could have some serious chaos – a possible matchup between Amherst and Middlebury looms as well as the chance for Williams to be matched up with Pomona-Pitzer or another school from out west. The good thing is that March is all about chaos so we’re in for quite an exciting month of hoops.

Duo of Grant Robinson and Fru Che

Fru Che is about as lethal a scorer as they come

Nobody is hotter right now than the Amherst Mammoths, winners of 9 out of their last 10 including their last 3 in a row to win the NESCAC Championship. They’ve got one of the deepest lineups in the league, but they certainly wouldn’t be here without their star power. Grant Robinson ’21 and Fru Che ’21 have been the team’s leading scorers all season, but they really upped their play when it mattered. In the conference tournament these two accounted for 60% of the team’s offense (116 of 194 total points), guiding the team to three victories. They’re only sophomores, but they’ve played well beyond their years as the season has progressed. It’ll be interesting to see how well they handle the spotlight playing in their first NCAA Tournament game against Rosemont on Friday.

Stock down

Whoever picks the regional sites

I’m not one to throw myself into the fire for Amherst, but how in the world are they not hosting a regional? When I saw that they weren’t hosting I was surprised, but I assumed that it meant the NESCAC didn’t have a team hosting a regional this year. Once I found out that Hamilton and Williams were hosting, I was truly shocked. Hamilton had a great year I understand having them host a regional, but how did Williams get to host over Amherst? The Mammoths won the conference championship and are currently ranked 7^th in the nation going into the tournament. I personally think that the NESCAC champion should automatically host a regional, but this case seems overwhelming. They say that sometimes more things are taken into account such as region, but Amherst and Williams are only about 90 minutes apart so I don’t see how that could be enough of a factor. In the end none of this really matters that much because each team has to win the same number of games, but I do think it was a very strange move by the committee.

Note: Had I done a pretty basic amount of research before writing this, I would have found that because the Amherst women’s basketball team is hosting a regional, the men cannot also host. In odd numbered years the women have priority for the first rounds, but the Amherst men’s team is in line to host the following two rounds this year should they get there.

POY clarity

Bobby Casey looks to become the second straight Eph to win the award

Now that the NESCAC season has come to a close the league will hand out awards to the top performers during the season. As of right now it seems that picking a Player of the Year is going to be a very difficult job for the committee because there are seemingly three guys that are all equally as deserving. I have laid out the stat lines (only for conference play) for each player to prove just how tight the race is between the top three contenders:

Kena Gilmour – 19.8PPG, 5.6REB/G, 2.7AST/G, 48% FG, 39% 3PT, 91% FT)

Bobby Casey – 19.6PPG, 5.4REB/G, 4.6AST/G, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 80% FT)

Grant Robinson – 17.8PPG, 5.5REB/G, 3.5AST/G, 51.3% FG, 41.4% 3PT, 87% FT)

There are a few different ways the committee can go to pick a winner. Last year by picking James Heskett over Jack Daly they showed that they valued winning the conference championship over (slightly) better overall statistics. This would lead me to believe that Robinson would take home the hardware, but I also don’t necessarily believe that will be the case. It’ll be interesting to see what the league puts an emphasis on this year through who they give the award to.

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble: NESCAC Championship Final Preview

For Amherst and Hamilton, their basketball season is hardly over as the two teams will most certainly earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Before they take a stab at the Big Dance, however, the Mammoths and the Continentals will duke it out for the right to cement their status as NESCAC champions. The two teams played an exhilarating game earlier this month, with Hamilton narrowly escaping with a win on their home court. The Continentals have the home court advantage given the fact that they are the highest remaining seed, but the Mammoths have revenge on their minds and will come in confident they can leave New York with a win after taking down Wesleyan and Williams.

Overview

While there is no such thing as an easy game in the NESCAC, the Continentals have undoubtedly faced weaker opponents in the tournament than the Mammoths. In their semifinal victory over Tufts, Hamilton trailed at halftime but quickly erased the deficit and did not look back. Star player Kena Gilmour ‘20 struggled mightily (9 points, 2-9 from the field), but seniors Tim Doyle ’19 (18 points) and Andrew Groll ’19 (16 points) picked up the slack. Hamilton also received a substantial contribution from their bench players, tallying 29 points. The Continentals shot well from the field (51.7%) and repeatedly attacked the rim, registering an impressive 35 free throw attempts; however, they converted only 20 of those attempts (57.1%). Defensively, the Continentals limited the Jumbos to just 43.1% shooting, but they did allow them to bomb away from three and connect on 14 of their 28 attempts from beyond the arc. It seems as if the Continentals can’t get the entire squad to fire on all cylinders at the precise moment, yet fantastic individual performances by a couple of players per game is enough to keep adding to the win column. Individual performances will not be enough to knock off the stingiest defense in the ‘CAC, and Hamilton will need a more well-rounded performance if they want to secure their first ever NESCAC Championship.

Much like their football team, the Mammoths have a simple recipe for success: defense wins championships. This mantra was put on display against Williams, as Amherst secured their third win of the season against their archrival by limiting the Ephs to just 38.7% shooting and including 26.3% from downtown. The terrific trio of Bobby Casey ‘19, James Heskett ’19 and Kyle Scadlock ‘19 were stifled by the suffocating Mammoth defense, clanking shot after shot en route to a combined 14 for 42 shooting performance. Amherst didn’t have a fantastic offensive performance as a team on Saturday, but Grant Robinson ’21 single handedly willed his squad with a season-defining 32 points. The Mammoths did cash in at the free throw line, shooting 22-23 from the charity stripe. Fru Che had a quiet performance by his standards with just 10 points, but the sophomore has stepped up in big moments before and will look to help Amherst win their first NESCAC Championship since the 2014 season.

Hamilton X-Factor

Kena Gilmour ‘20

Who else can it possibly be in a moment like this? When he’s on, Gilmour is one of the most dynamic players in all of America; however, the probable NESCAC POY has struggled in the tournament thus far, shooting a paltry 32.1%. The Continentals cannot afford to have him struggle in their biggest game of the season to date, and Amherst’s relentless defensive pressure is not the most ideal matchup for Gilmour to bust out of his shooting woes (although he did tally 23 points in their regular season matchup). Hamilton must find ways to get their best player some easy buckets in order for him to get into the flow of the game and regain his confidence. They survived against Colby and Tufts, but if Gilmour fails to ignite the offense once again, Hamilton will very likely lose this contest.

Amherst X-Factor

Fru Che ‘21

I mentioned Che had a quiet performance against Williams, but in Amherst’s previous game against Wesleyan, the sophomore dropped a career-high 30 points. It was Robinson’s turn to carry the offense against the Ephs, but this game is critical for Che to get back on track. In their previous matchup with Hamilton, Che led the Mammoths with 18 points and knocked down four shots from three. Given Hamilton’s woes guarding the perimeter, Che should have plenty of looks to knock down some deep balls. Colby and Tufts had absolutely no problem tearing apart the Hamilton defense, so it’s critical that Che puts up some solid shooting numbers in order for the Mammoths to take home the championship.

Final Thoughts

These two teams are the exact opposite from one another, as Amherst likes to grind down its opponents with defense, while Hamilton seems perfectly content with its run-and-gun style of trying to outscore its opponents. In their regular season matchup, Hamilton won the pace-of-play battle and was able to put up 81 points on the highly touted Mammoth defense. They didn’t shoot particularly well at 42.4%, but they shot 21 free throws and converted 81% of those attempts, a bit of an anomaly for the Continentals. In contrast, Amherst only attempted eight free throws, and despite shooting at a higher field goal percentage than Hamilton, the Mammoths averaged a pedestrian 31.8% from beyond the arc against a team that has not guarded the deep ball well in recent games. This time around, I think Amherst is the better prepared team. They know they have to control the pace of the game, and have shut down two very good offensive opponents in Wesleyan and Williams on their way to this rematch. I do believe Gilmour will bust out of his mini slump and score north of 20 points, but Amherst will connect on more threes than they did in their last outing, and the defense will come up with some big stops late. The Continentals will have to wait another year to see if they can snag that first ever NESCAC Championship.

Final Score: Amherst 77 – Hamilton 73

Stock Report: Championship Weekend

Stock Up:

Can Gilmour bring it home on his own court for the Conts this weekend?

Hamilton’s Chances at a Title

Last week the Continentals were able to take care of business on their home court against the 7-seeded Colby Mules. While this may not seem that surprising, as the Continentals were heavy favorites, it was only a few weeks ago when the Mules stormed into Hamilton territory and stole a game right out from under their noses. The Mules were able to keep it close, but lightning did not strike twice for them. Hamilton played a clean, team game in which all 5 starters were able to amass double digit scoring. Kena Gilmour lead the way for the Continentals, putting up 19 points which includes a perfect 5/5 from downtown. Overall this team played as a cohesive unit, which should allow them to make an even bigger playoff push. Another advantage that Hamilton now possesses is that they now have home court advantage for the remainder of the playoffs. While other teams have to take the long ride to upstate New York, Hamilton can sit back and relax and wait for the competition to come to them.

UMBC… I mean Tufts

After sneaking their way into the playoffs over Bowdoin, the Tufts Jumbos are here to stay. Obviously the story of the weekend was #1 Midd going down on their homecourt to a team they had no business losing to. The Panthers did not look like their usual selves all game, but this section isn’t about bashing Midd, it is about celebrating the underdog. Everyone loves an underdog, and Tufts usually doesn’t get to feel that love. See the reason is that Tufts is never the underdog is because they have more than twice as many students as the rest of the NESCACs. When you have that many enrollment spots, it can be much easier to compete. This year though, their basketball program is flipping that narrative on its head. It’s underdog Tufts taking on all the big bad schools like Hamilton, Amherst and Williams. With the #1 seed out of the way who says they can’t make a run?

Stock Down:

The State of Connecticut

After Wesleyan and Trinity exit the tourney in the first round with losses to Amherst and Williams, respectively, all 3 of the Connecticut NESCACs have been eliminated. The first Connecticut elimination was the earliest in all the NESCAC when Conn finished their season still searching for a conference win. It was a tough season all year long for the Camels but they have another year of rebuilding to look forwards to next year. Trinity proved themselves to be a playoff-quality team as the season progresses but they were still not able to finish the job against a very well organized Williams team. Joe Bell had a great performance for the Bantams off the bench, leading Trinity with 17 points, but the skill gap between the two teams was still too much to overcome. Connecticut’s best chance had to be Wesleyan. They had been ranked at multiple points throughout the season and really looked as if they could bang with the big dogs when push comes to shove. They dropped down to the 6-seed entering postseason play and were not able to top 3-seed Amherst. It was a disappointing year overall for the Connecticut NESCACs but now they can sit back, relax and join their buddies up in Maine as they watch Massachusetts and New York bang it out for a championship.

CACs in the NCAAs

The chances for five NCAA berths are gone, but will the NESCAC get four?

At one point or another this season it seemed as if it were possible to have up to 5 NESCACs make the tournament. As the playoff picture winds down, that number is getting smaller and smaller. First with the givens: from day 1 of the season it was pretty clear that Hamilton and Williams will be in the tournament no matter what. They were slated very high in the top-25 to start the season and while they are not as highly ranked as they have been at the moment, even without a championship I would be in disbelief if these two are not at-large selections. Amherst lies just behind Williams and Hamilton in stature. They were first able to break the top-25 mark in just week 2 of the season. Since that they have bounced in and out of the top-25 but find themselves all the way up at #11, right behind Hamilton, in the latest poll. It wasn’t as obvious throughout the season that this squad would be able to hang with the the Continentals and Ephs but they have more than proven themselves at this point as a lock for NCAAs. Next we come to Midd who is very much “on the bubble” of making the tournament. They had everything going for them. They jumped into the top-25 right at the end of the season after taking the CAC by storm, earning them a 1-seed in the NESCAC tourney. If Midd had made it even to the semis and lost to a ranked team, I believe that they would’ve had great chances to crack into the NCAA tourney. Unfortunately this is not what happened. Midd blew it to the 8-seed on their home court for what must have been quite the embarrassing upset. I do, however, still believe that the odds favor the Panthers to sneak in to the tournament as the twitter account “D3bubble,” researching D3 bracketology, named the Panthers as a “definite lock” entering the NESCAC tournament.

Can the Underdog pull it off? Tufts @ Hamilton Semifinal Preview

Tufts pulled off what some consider the impossible last weekend. The Jumbos made the tumultuous trek up to Vermont and defeated top seeded Middlebury. The Jumbos were led by freshman guard, who went to my high school, Tyler Aronson. Aronson played an all around complete game, proving to the conference why he will be an elite player for years to come. Similar to what happened to UVA last year during March Madness, Tufts was not intimidated by playing the top seed. The Jumbos looked poised and cruised to a nine point victory. Tufts’ opponent this weekend, Hamilton, should be weary about playing Tufts. It was about three weeks ago when Hamilton squeaked out a four point win against the Jumbos. I consider three weeks an eternity ago. Like Jim Mora famously muttered, “Playoffs?!” the playoffs in any sport have proved to be a different beast. Considering how competitive the league is, which Tufts displayed this past weekend, Hamilton needs to come out of the gates hot. The Continentals need to prove why they’re hosting the game— boasting an earned cockiness and swagger. Hamilton beat Williams and lost by a point to Midd this month. Kena Gilmour continues to dominate the scoring sheet. Gilmour has proven to be the league’s elite scorer this year. Even though basketball is a team game, I am excited to see the individual match up of Aronson versus Gilmour this weekend. Let’s take an in depth preview of the game.

Eric Savage needs to move a mountain to bring the Jumbos some rings.

Overview

Tufts is one of those teams no one wants to play in the playoffs. They’re simply a team with momentum. You know those teams. The ‘07 Giants, who barely earned a wildcard, went on to defeat the 18-0 Patriots. The Blackhawks when Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were in their primes. And most famously, the 1980 Men’s Olympic hockey team. Their run was quite a ‘miracle.’ Tufts, based on their regular season performance, doesn’t deserve to be in this spot. Their 4-6 conference record barely squeaked them into the playoffs. Then they go and beat a one seed. That’s sports. Every game starts 0-0. Previous games don’t matter; it’s what about what you give today. Although at first glance it’s a shock for Tufts to have defeated Midd, it’s terribly surprising. Tufts has a young squad led by veteran coach Bob Sheldon. Coach Sheldon has been around the block a few times. He has experience in big games and knows how to create a game plan that once featured big man Tom Palleschi and now is centered around guard Tyler Aronson. I will get to Aronson in the next section, but now I want to focus on Tufts as a team. Their general statistics don’t jump out at me. They shoot 43% from the field and around 32% from deep. What is particularly striking is that they have a 66% free throw percentage. I don’t want to jinx anything, but having a number like that may come back to bite them in a big game. The Jumbos on average get outrebounded per game as well. Was their victory against Midd an anomaly? Maybe. I don’t want to say anything further, however, since playoffs are so much about momentum. Frankly, numbers get thrown out the window at this point.

Hamilton has five legitimate weapons in their starting lineup.

Hamilton has been a powerhouse all year long. They’re that team who you know is very good, but for some reason, they don’t garner the same respect as a Williams or Midd. One reason is that Hamilton is so far away. In the NEW ENGLAND Small College Athletic Conference, an upstate New York school outside of Utica is out of the picture. The Continentals have proven year in and year that they’re a very good basketball team. This year is no different. Hamilton posted a solid 7-3 conference record—finishing nearly undefeated at home (11-1). I am going to take one more shot at upstate New York here. Tufts playing Hamilton is like the Florida Gators traveling to play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. That ride is far even if you’re not playing the day of travel. Regardless of home court advantage, Hamilton has proven that defense wins games. They allow on average 70 points per game, one of the best in the league. They’re tough inside too with a six rebound advantage per game. Hamilton plays a tough brand of basketball with a potent inside force and strong scoring led by Kena Gilmour.

Tufts X-Factor

G Tyler Aronson

Aronson, a Holliston, Mass, native and my former classmate at Rivers, has been the guy for Tufts all season. He has averaged 9.4 points this season and posted solid assists and turnover numbers. I do not think Aronson’s stats jump off the page. He is not the guy that will get you twenty-five, ten, and five on a daily basis. He is, however, one of the smartest basketball players I have seen. I want the ball in his hand with the game on the line. His handle is one of the best in the league and is a smart player. He will not throw away the game with a stupid turnover. I am excited to watch him develop into one of the league’s best these next few years. He is not huge like Wesleyan’s Austin Hutcherson, but he’s quick and bouncy. He can seriously fly. If Tufts wins the game, I guarantee Aronson will have a breakout game.

Hamilton X-Factor

G Kena Gilmour

In life people overcomplicate things. They think in order to sound smart they have to sometimes evade a logical answers. Think back to all those multiple choice exams. What if instead you picked the answer that was a bit more wordy and complex, you picked the one that simply answered the question in a well-constructed sentence? Makes you wonder. Kena Gilmour is the obvious choice for Hamilton’s x-factor. Sure he has great teammates, but he has proven that he is one of the best in the league scoring wise. Aronson can use Gilmour as a model for his own progression. Gilmour needs to start off hot to show that he is the alpha right now in the league. He needs to assert himself right away. He and Hamilton can’t let Tufts have a glimmer of hope. He needs to crush any hopes of a Tufts’ miracle from the jump.

Final thoughts

Aronson has come out of nowhere to put Tufts in the Semis.

This game is definitely an interesting matchup. Every single statistic I look at points in Hamilton’s favor. The Continentals have a better offense, defense, home court advantage, etc. You get the general picture. Something doesn’t sit right by writing Tufts off immediately. Aronson is a young, confident player. He has young guys around him looking to make a difference. There’s no reason to pick Tufts except for the fact that they’re coming off a huge win at Midd. It’s like I am sitting in that multiple choice exam where the right answer is in front of me, but there is another option that mentions something from a textbook reading from the first week of the semester. I am split; however, I cannot go against the simple answer. Hamilton will win this game.

Hamilton 87 Tufts 79

One and Done?: NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal Previews

NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal Previews

The best time of the year is here – playoff season, baby. Saturday is going to be an awesome day filled with awesome games that should be as exciting as ever. In fact, the lower seed beat the higher seed when the teams met in the regular season in three of the four first round matchups (with Williams vs. Trinity being the exception). Each of these teams will battle for the coveted automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament that is awarded to the winner of the NESCAC Championship, and it’s shaping up to be a very exciting tournament as always. The results of this tournament will have an impact on the NCAA Tournament field because the NESCAC could have anywhere from four to six teams in this year’s NCAA’s. If Colby and Wesleyan are able to steal a win or two (or even win the whole thing) then we could see some extra teams sneaking in. There’s still a lot left to play, so check out our previews for each of the quarterfinal matchups:

1. #25 Middlebury vs. 8. Tufts

*Tyler Aronson and the Jumbos will have to make a little tournament magic happen if they want to pull off the upset*

We start off with a very interesting matchup between Tufts and Middlebury. In their regular season matchup the Panthers traveled to Medford and were dropped on a game winning shot by Brennan Morris ’21, keeping the Jumbos in the playoff race. That game also took place a very long time ago – over a month, in fact. Middlebury is a very different team now than they were then, and the Jumbos are very, very young. The trio of Matt Folger ’20, Jack Farrell ’21, and Max Bosco ’21 are averaging a combined 46 points per game and they have been absolutely on fire for the Panthers when they’ve needed it. The Jumbos are very guard-heavy and have proved that they’re capable of getting hot, so this could be an intriguing matchup between two particularly young backcourts. It’ll also be very interesting to see what we get out of the battle down low because each of these teams boast outstanding big men. Tufts features a 6’8”, 230lb giant in Luke Rogers ’21 who hauls in rebounds at a high rate and scores better than just about any other big in the league. On the other side, Eric McCord ’19 isn’t a huge contributor scoring-wise, but he averages a league-best 9.9 rebounds per game and does an excellent job locking down opposing centers. Both of these guys had big games in their first meeting, so if one if them can do a better job defending the other this time around then their team will have a huge advantage. Middlebury has (a little) more experience and I truly do think they’re the better team in this one, so I’m going with them to move on to the semifinals next weekend.

Prediction: Middlebury 86, Tufts 77

2. #10 Hamilton vs. 7. Colby

I feel like I find myself saying this a lot but I think this could be the year for Hamilton. They’ve had an outstanding season and have looking simply dominant much of the way. Their success has earned them a home game in the first round and a rematch with one of the only three teams that beat them this season. When they met in late January the Mules were able to travel to New York and take down the Continentals on the back of Sam Jefferson ’20 who scored 29 points on 9-14 shooting including 6-10 from three-point range. Colby is a team who, similar to Tufts, is very young and has a very promising future ahead of them. The problem is that I’m not sure if they’re quite ready to compete with the experience that a team like Hamilton brings to the table. Hamilton’s top six leaders in minutes played this season are all juniors and seniors, and they’ve been terrific. Led by NESCAC Player of the Year favorite Kena Gilmour ’20, the Continentals have shot their way to first in the league in points per game second in field goal percentage during their outstanding 2018-2019 season. The Mules aren’t far behind (3^rd in PPG, 5^th in FG%), and they’ve had some of the hottest shooting streaks we’ve seen in the NESCAC this year. I like that Colby is young and they play like they have nothing to lose because they don’t and I think they’re going to be great in the near future. This is going to be a close game, but I think that Hamilton’s depth and experience will end up being too much for the youthful Mules.

Prediction: Hamilton 90, Colby 87

3. #11 Amherst vs. 6. Wesleyan

*Austin Hutcherson hopes to lead a tournament run in just his second season*

I think that out of all the first round matchups, this is my favorite. The Little Three rivals split their regular season meetings, but the Cardinals won the official conference meeting. Wesleyan is not a particularly deep team but they’ve got a few stars that have taken them a very long way. I’d honestly be shocked if Austin Hutcherson ’21 didn’t take home a Player of the Year trophy in one of the next two years, because he has been absolutely outstanding. The league leader in points per game (20.4) has had some incredible performances this season, most recently coming in the form of a season-high 37 points on 81.3% shooting while adding 9 rebounds as well. This guy is a total stud who can light anyone up on any given night, but in the first two meetings between these two teams Hutcherson hasn’t looked quite as impressive. He totaled 25 points and 7 rebounds in those two games combined, well under his regular numbers. He’s going to play the biggest role on the Wesleyan side because if he comes to play then they’ll be very hard to stop. Amherst on the other hand plays a deeper rotation of guys and they share the scoring a bit more evenly. There’s no doubt that Grant Robinson ’21 is their go-to guy, but they have a number of players that can step up when they need to. They’re no. 11 in the country for a reason and there’s never a year when they should be taken lightly. However, star power goes a very long way in this league and Wesleyan wins the battle there. I’m going with the upset in this one.

Prediction: Wesleyan 66, Amherst 62

4. #18 Williams vs. 5. Trinity

It doesn’t bring me any joy to say this, but I’m not very excited for this one. Williams dominated Trinity in their regular season meeting and I don’t see this one being any different. The Ephs boast three of the most prolific scorers in the league in James Heskett ’19, Bobby Casey ’19, and Kyle Scadlock ’19, and these guys have now had so much experience playing in the NESCAC and NCAA Tournament over the past three seasons. The fact that Williams ended up the number four spot is very sneaky, because I still think they might be the favorites to win the whole thing. Bobby Casey ’19 is very much a candidate to win Player of the Year with his 18.5PPG (3^rd in the NESCAC), 4.6AST/G (1^stin the NESCAC), and 5.3REB/G. We’ve said it time and time again, but this team has a lethal combination of size and shooting ability that is nearly impossible to stop. I’m a bit surprised that Trinity ended up at 6-4 and in the fifth spot, but I certainly owe them one. They had a much better season than I predicted and Donald Jorden, Jr. ’21 has emerged as one of the top forwards in the league. Jorden is actually 4^th in the league in offensive rebounds per game, so the Ephs will have to be careful not to get lazy on the defensive glass. The Bantams have had an unpredictable season so there’s no question that they could come out and prove me wrong, but I just think that Williams is too good to lose this early. Their talent and experience is really unmatched and I see them making a very deep run. Somehow I think the 4-5 matchup is the worst out of all the first round games – I don’t think this game will be very close.

Prediction: Williams 83, Trinity 61

Final Regular Season Power Rankings

March is Overrated, “February Frenzy” is Upon Us – Power Rankings 2/13

Chaos doesn’t even begin to describe this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. Heck, we didn’t even know that Midd was the #1 seed until last night! In these past two weeks, we’ve witnessed the unexpected: Williams tumbling out of the top three? Yup. Trinity catching fire late while Wesleyan sinks like a stone? Sure. Amherst blitzing past everyone in their path? Check. These two weeks have proven that any of the top eight teams in the postseason tournament have the ability to get hot and win the entire thing, which makes for an extremely entertaining set of games. It’s also an indicator that the teams we consider to be a part of the upper echelon of NESCAC basketball are nowhere near safe, even in their opening games. Without further ado, here’s my interpretation of the madness.

(5) 1. #11 Amherst (20-3, 7-2)

At this very moment, no team is hotter than the Mammoths. Winning six straight conference games until last night was no easy task, especially considering the volatile nature of the NESCAC this season. Their two most impressive wins of the season came last weekend; on Friday, the Mammoths traveled to Williamstown and secured a season-sweep of rival Williams, and if that wasn’t enough, they followed up that performance with a road win against Middlebury. Grant Robinson ‘21 (19.0 PPG last two games) and Fru Che ‘21 (15.0 PPG last two games) paced the Amherst attack, and bench players Garrett Day ‘21 and C.J. Bachmann ‘19 reach double figures in both contests. What’s more impressive is Amherst is a team that usually grinds down teams with its defense, but against the Panthers they proved they can outscore teams by dropping 97 points. Even with their loss to Hamilton last night, I’d still consider Amherst as the front-runner for the NESCAC Championship.

(3) 2. #25 Middlebury (18-6, 7-3)

If the Panthers had defeated the Mammoths on Saturday, they would have clinched regular season crown; instead, they had to wait for Hamilton to knock off Amherst. A weekend split between Hamilton and Amherst is nothing to be ashamed of, however, and the Panthers’ win against the Continentals was massive in the sense that the result ensured they would earn a top two seed for the postseason tournament. Jack Farrell’s ‘21 18 points paced Middlebury against the Continentals, but it was sharpshooter Max Bosco ‘21 who sunk a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give the Panthers their seventh conference win. The Panther defense that had been brilliant in recent games was non-existent in their matchup with Amherst, as Middlebury allowed a season-high 97 points, including 56 in the second half. The Panthers will now turn their focus to their matchup against Tufts in the first round of the postseason tournament and will be expected to advance.

(4) 3. #10 Hamilton (20-6, 6-3)

The Continentals bounced back from their heartbreaking defeat against the Panthers with huge wins against Williams and against Hamilton. Those wins cemented their place as the two seed for the postseason tournament. Kena Gilmour ‘20 was sensational, registering 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, as three other players joined him with double figures in the scoring department. Hamilton also held the Ephs to just 7-23 from beyond the arc and forced 16 turnovers in the process. The Continentals have really picked up the quality of their play in recent games even with the one blemish against Middlebury, and they’ll be undoubtedly one of the favorites in the NESCAC tournament and possibly beyond.

(1) 4. #18 Williams (19-5, 6-4)

What on Earth is going on in Williamstown? No one would have predicted the former #2 team in the country to endure a three-game losing streak this late in the season and plummet to #18 in the national rankings. After defeating Colby, the Ephs and the rest of the NESCAC community were left stunned when Bowdoin’s Sam Grad ‘21 nailed a game-winning three in overtime. This past weekend, Williams lost to rival Amherst, and if that wasn’t bad enough, their second-leading scorer, James Heskett ‘19, tweaked his ankle and missed their regular season finale against Hamilton. Word on the street is he should be ready to go in their quarterfinal matchup, and he’ll be needed because Bobby Casey ‘19 cannot do it all by himself, despite averaging 21.0 PPG over their last three. The Ephs might want to focus their attention on the whole defensive thing: They’ve allowed opposing teams to shoot 52.2% in the past three games, including 44.7% from downtown.

(9) 5. Trinity (17-7, 6-4)

After getting absolutely pounded by Williams and Middlebury by a combined 71 points (ouch), Trinity was sitting at 2-4 in conference with just four games remaining. Their win against in-state rival Wesleyan completely re-energized this squad, and the Bantams rattled off three straight conference wins against Conn, Tufts and Bates to soar up the standings into fifth place. Their most recent win against Tufts was the most impressive sans the upset against Wesleyan, as the Bantams dominated the Jumbos from start to finish en route to an emphatic 20 point victory. Four players reached double-digits, led by Donald Jorden Jr.’s ‘21 20 point, 10 rebound performance. Trinity now has plenty of momentum heading into their quarterfinal matchup, and the league’s fourth best defense will have to be ready to shut down a Williams team that hung 85 on them last time out.

(2) 6. Wesleyan (16-8, 6-4)

Even with the loss to Tufts, Wesleyan looked like it was in position to snag a top three seed. They had a very favorable remaining schedule and already boasted wins against Middlebury, Hamilton and Amherst. Then came the loss to Trinity, but hey, the Cardinals only shot 19% from deep and when you have an in-state rivalry game, anything can happen. Next up was a non-conference loss to Amherst; not a huge deal considering Amherst is a great squad and it was only a one point loss, but concerning because Austin Hutcherson ‘21 struggled to score for the third consecutive game. Stopping the bleeding after the Amherst loss was essential in order for the Cardinals to hold on to a top three seed; well, the Cardinals responded by going down 26 points – at halftime – to Colby, and despite a frantic comeback, the deficit was too large to overcome. Hutcherson had a horrific first half (5 points, 2-11 from the field) before finding his stroke in the final twenty minutes, and only one player (Sam Peek ‘22) contributed off the Cardinals’ bench. Hutcherson (37 points) and Wesleyan bounced back the following day by annihilating Bowdoin, but the damage from their recent defeats was done and Wesleyan fell in the standings to simply a middle-tier team. Don’t get me wrong: Wesleyan certainly has the capability to make a deep run in the postseason, but the shine from their blazing start has worn off and those three losses severely hampered their quest an NCAA at-large selection. Winning the tournament might be the only way we see Hutcherson, Jordan Bonner ‘19, and company make it to the Big Dance.

(6) 7. Colby (17-7, 5-5)

If I’m being completely honest, I have no idea what to think of this team. Colby has some of the strongest wins in league play (@ Amherst, @ Hamilton, and this past Friday, @ Wesleyan). Against the Cardinals, Matt Hanna ‘21 (19 points) led the offensive assault as the Mules drained 18 three’s, and freshman sensation Noah Tyson ‘22 recorded a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) while knocking down four triples of his own. Their performance against Conn on Saturday, however, was much less exciting, as the Mules were unable to finish off the only winless NESCAC squad until the very waning minutes. Sam Jefferson ‘20 (20 points, carried an offense that hit only 39.7% of their shots, 21.1% from deep, and a head-scratching 58.3% from the charity stripe. As strong as some of their wins are, the Mules do own losses against both Bates and Bowdoin, so maybe it’s just an instance of Colby playing to the level of their competition? If so, it’s good news that this team will open up the NESCAC tournament against the #2 seed, Hamilton.

(7) 8. Tufts (11-13, 4-6)

On February 1st, The Jumbos sat one game ahead of Bowdoin for the eighth seed in the NESCAC standings with three games to play. One win in those three games would have ensured their participation in postseason ball. Well, the Jumbos proceeded to get whacked by Amherst, lose a close one to Hamilton, and get annihilated yet again, this time by Trinity. Luckily, the Jumbos own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Polar Bears, so despite their three-game losing streak, Tufts lives to see another day. In their most recent loss to Trinity, Eric Savage ‘20 led the Jumbos with 20 points and big man Luke Rogers ‘21 (14 points, 11 rebounds) added yet another double-double to the stat sheet, but the defense (or lack thereof) is a real cause of concern for Coach Sheldon and his team. Tufts is dead last in defensive PPG, FG% and 3PFG%. The boys in brown and blue have a lot of work to do this week in order to prepare for their first round matchup.

(10) 9. Bowdoin (15-9, 4-6)

The win against Conn gave the Polar Bears a real shot at snagging the seventh seed from Colby (due to their head-to-head victory over the Mules back in January), as long as they could beat a Wesleyan team in full nosedive mode. The Polar Bears trailed by nine at half, and were eventually run out of the gym as they saw their postseason hopes fade away in what was surely one of their worst performances of the season. They shot just 36.2%, and David Reynolds ‘20 and Jack Simonds ‘19 combined to shoot just 9-26 from the field. The defense was porous to say the least, allowing Austin Hutcherson to explode for 37 points as he and the Cardinals hit at a 54.5% clip on the day. What’s more, the Polar Bears committed 19 fouls, leading to 26 free throw attempts for Wesleyan. All in all, the poor performance will certainly leave a bitter taste for Polar Bear fans, who will have to wait until next season to see if their squad can make the postseason dance.

(8) 10. Bates (7-17, 3-7)

I really thought the Bobcats were going to make a late push for a playoff spot, but they ran out of gas and dropped their last three league games. Defending the long ball has been a weak spot for Bates all season, and it was evident in their losses against Hamilton and Trinity. Despite forcing 21 turnovers against the Continentals, the Bobcats allowed them to sink 16 triples, and the Bantams drained 13 of their own in what proved to be the difference in a tightly-contested contest. Center Nick Lynch ‘19 capped off his career with a 20-point performance against Trinity before fouling out with 1:12 left, and Jeff Spellman ‘20 came alive with 14 points in the second half, helping erase an 11 point deficit with under five minutes and claw within one point. With the season over for the ‘Cats, there’s plenty to look forward to as Spellman, Kody Greenhalgh ‘20, Tom Coyne ‘20 and Nick Gilpin ‘20 will all return for the 2019-2020 season; the biggest concern will be filling the role of Lynch (13.4 PPG, 7.3 REB/G).

(11) 11. Conn (7-17, 0-10)

The Camels had nothing to play for this weekend, but credit this team for fighting hard until the very last whistle of their 2018-2019 season. They could have easily folded against Bowdoin and Colby knowing that they were effectively eliminated from postseason ball, but they made the Maine schools earn their wins. Unfortunately, we’re not here to hand out participation trophies, and Conn’s valiant performances does not mask the fact that the Camels have not won a NESCAC game since February 10th, 2017 (a streak that has extended to 21 consecutive games). It does not help that Conn will graduate David Laboissiere ‘19, a prolific scorer who ended a fantastic career with combined 34 points over the two contests. On the bright side, the Camels only graduate three seniors, and forward Dan Draffan ‘21 (21.0 PPG last two games) and company will hope to erase the Camels’ woes on the hardwood next season.

Clash of the Titans: Game of the Week Preview 2/8

Game of the Week Preview 2/8

We’ve got a battle of big guns to open the final (and biggest) weekend of NESCAC basketball this season, as the Hamilton Continentals look to knock off the high-flying Middlebury Panthers. With so much chaos surrounding the top five seeds, this game will be sure to provide some clarity into the situation. Middlebury currently occupies the number one spot in the standings due to their head-to-head win against Williams combined with have one more win than both Amherst and Hamilton (with one more game being played). The Continentals are in fourth, but a win on Friday would potentially vault them into the top two with games against Williams and Amherst remaining on the schedule. If you like offense, this is the game for you: both teams are top two in PPG and top four in FG% (I said this last week and Colby put up a dud in the second half, but second time’s the charm or something like that); at the same time, both teams rank top three in terms of defensive PPG and defensive 3PFG%, so something has to give here. With so much on the line for both teams, I expect the stars to come out and shine on the hardwood Friday night, and the result of this game will certainly be a fantastic segway into Saturday’s slate of conference games.

Jack Farrell ‘21 will look to lead the Panthers to their second NESCAC regular season championship in three years

Overview

Middlebury looked a bit shaky for the better part of the first 25 minutes of Saturday’s game against Colby, but the defense stymied Colby’s offensive weapons in the last 15 minutes and Jack Farrell ‘21 and Matt Fogler ‘20 hit some big shots as the Panthers eventually pulled away to secure a 81-68 victory. The defensive intensity the Panthers have recently displayed is quite an impressive turnaround from earlier this season, as they’ve allowed just under 56 PPG in their last four NESCAC matchups. Middlebury was able to hold Bowdoin’s David Reynolds ‘20 to a season-low seven points on 3-14 shooting, and then limited Colby’s Sam Jefferson ‘20 to 16 points on 2-11 shooting from beyond the arc; the ability to contain the opposing team’s star player will be key on Friday as Hamilton not only boasts the best offensive unit in the ‘CAC, but arguably the front-runner for NESCAC POY in guard Kena Gilmour ‘20. The recent emergence of big man Eric McCord ‘19 only complicates matters for Hamilton’s defense, as they now have to worry about an inside presence on top of the Panther’s plethora of shooters. Farrell, Fogler, and Max Bosco ‘21, are all prolific scorers, and Midd gets plenty of help on the bench from guys like Griffin Kornaker ‘21 (8.4 PPG, 3.1 AST/G in conference play). This unit is on a roll on both sides of the floor and the Panthers will be ready come Friday to protect home court.

The Continentals needed a big bounce-back weekend after flopping against Colby two Saturdays ago, and they did so with wins against Bates and Tufts. Against the Bobcats, Hamilton was led by (you guessed it) Kena Gilmour with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Peter Hoffmann ‘19 played exceptionally well, chipping in with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Grassey ‘19 capped The Big 3’s performance with 17 points and 11 rebounds of his own. The Continentals knocked down 16 triples and held Bates to just 25.9% from downtown combined with forcing 18 turnovers. The Tufts game was a slightly different story, as Hamilton was down 1 with 53 seconds left before Grassey’s layup gave the Continentals the lead with 32 seconds to play. Hamilton held off the upset-minded Jumbos despite Gilmour’s uncharacteristic poor performance (4 points, 2-10 shooting), as Hoffmann scored 22 and the bench players combined for a rather impressive 31 points. Hamilton’s defense has been rather pedestrian as of late, allowing over 81 PPG. Against Middlebury’s high-scoring unit, the Continentals will need to clamp down and run Midd’s shooters off the three point line, because the last thing they want to do is get in a shootout with the league’s best 3-point shooting teams.

Middlebury X – Factor

Eric McCord ‘19

Guys like Farrell, Bosco, and Folger are the sexy choices, but I’m opting for the big bruiser down low. On a team full of snipers, McCord is that big body center who crashes the boards and does the dirty work inside. He’s averaging a career-high 9.2 PPG to go along with 10.2 REB/G and was a monumental part of the Panthers’ last two conference wins. Against Bowdoin, McCord registered his 8th double-double of the season, chipping in 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds. The following day, the senior scored a team-high 19 points and went 8-10 from the field in Middlebury’s road win against upset-minded Colby. McCord will have his hands full dealing with Hamilton big man Andrew Knoll ‘19, but if he can replicate his performances from this past weekend, the Panthers will have a good chance to knock off Hamilton.

Hamilton X – Factor

Peter Hoffmann ‘19

Hoffmann has had a relatively disappointing senior campaign as he’s averaging a career low 12.1 PPG. His play was subpar in Hamilton’s two conference losses, as Hoffmann finished with a mere 8 points in each of the Continentals’ defeats to Wesleyan and Colby; however, the 6’6’’ G/F has shown flashes of brilliance during his past two games against Bates and Tufts, scoring a combined 43 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. His 22 point performance at Tufts was instrumental in the Continentals’ victory and kept them in the hunt for the #1 overall seed come postseason tournament time. I cannot underestimate the need for a guy like Hoffmann to have a large impact against the Panthers, and I think he’ll continue his recent success into this matchup of titans.

Final Thoughts

I’ve gone back and forth with my decision like a college football recruit before signing day (only I’m not being offered thousands of dollars of cash to make the choice) and I can’t say I’m 100% committed to one side. I will say that I don’t think home court matters a whole bunch in this league; we’ve seen plenty of teams upset at home this season, including Williams at the hands of Middlebury, Colby beating both Hamilton and Amherst, Bowdoin beating Williams, Trinity beating Wesleyan, etc. Both teams possess dynamic offenses and solid defenses capable of getting stops at the right moments. Despite Hamilton’s 19-2 record, they haven’t played a NESCAC team situated in current the top 5 with the exception of Wesleyan, whereas Middlebury has the advantage of already playing Williams on top of Wesleyan. Hamilton’s loss to Colby, coupled with close calls against Trinity and Tufts, is an indicator that this team isn’t quite as dominant as I thought they would be at the start of this season. Or maybe, it’s just a case of a team playing down to its competition. Despite all of this, I’m going to side with the Continentals and Kena Gilmour. I believe Gilmour, who should be hungry to cement his status as the league’s best player after laying an egg against Tufts, will take over this game. I expect help from the likes of Grassey, Hoffmann, and McCord, but Gilmour will be the catalyst that wills the Continentals to a massive road win and knocks Middlebury off the throne.

Writer’s Pick: Hamilton 78 – Middlebury 74

Trend or Fluke? 2/8 Weekend Preview

Weekend Preview

#19 Amherst (18-3, 5-2) @ #10 Williams (19-3, 6-2)

Amherst and Williams will battle it out in Williamstown this weekend as 2 of the top teams in the country will collide to see who can sit atop the NESCAC. Amherst enters this contests after having won 4 straight NESCAC contests. While Wesleyan was certainly able to give the Mammoths a run for their money last weekend, their other 3 victories were quite convincing. Amherst does a great job of spreading the ball around. Unlike many teams, they don’t have a few dominant guys and a few role players to fill holes but rather they have a complete roster where they are comfortable having any combination of players on the floor. They will need this unpredictability this weekend because the Williams squad they are facing is not too shabby themselves. The big story last weekend was that Williams took only their 3rd loss of the season in an overtime battle with Bowdoin. Looking at the stats I think this game is somewhat of a fluke. Bowdoin shot like Brook Lopez from three, hammering Williams left and right. I think that Williams will be able to bounce back from this loss and finish out the season strong.

Score Prediction: #10 Williams 74 – #19 Amherst 68

Bowdoin (14-8, 3-5) @ Connecticut College (7-15, 0-8)

Bowdoin enters this weekend on their high horse after their overtime win against Williams helped boot them out of a top-10 seed nationally. As I have previously mentioned, the Polar Bears were on fire from 3, shooting 15-28 (53.6%) against Williams. Jack Simonds was the star of the game, dropping 32 points on 6-10 from 3. David Reynolds was nothing if not efficient, scoring 16 on 6/10 from the field and 4/7 from 3. If Bowdoin could repeat this performance every game they would be a dominant force, but that just isn’t realistic. That being said, they certainly aren’t playing a Williams-caliber team in this one so I would expect those players to thrive once again. There’s no two ways about it, Conn’s season has gotten rougher and rougher as it has progressed. There are really no quality wins to write home about and their trajectory does not seem as if there are any coming soon. Senior David Labossiere has had another solid season, averaging over 18 PPG, but does not have enough support to take down the other NESCAC teams. I would say that Conn is tanking for a draft pick, but that’s just not how it works.

Score Prediction: Bowdoin 83 – Conn 69

Colby (15-7, 3-5) @ Wesleyan (15-7, 5-3)

The Mules might just shoot their way deep into the NESCAC playoffs.

Both of these teams have been down on their luck in their last few NESCAC matchups. After an unexpected weekend in which the Mules managed to take down two nationally ranked teams on the road, they have since lost their last two games. To be fair to the Mules, they have had to face the top two teams in the conference, and were heavy underdogs in their last four games. Considering that fact, it really isn’t too bad at all that they are 2-2 in their last 4. Wesleyan, on the other hand, had their run of success much earlier in the season when they took down Midd, Hamilton and Amherst. Since then the Cardinals are 2-3 in their last 5 NESCAC contests, including 3 straight losses. This has all the makings of a very weird, back-and-forth game. While on paper Wesleyan seems to have the better record (in conference), I think this game is closer than it appears.

Score Prediction: Wesleyan 88 – Colby 85

Bates (7-15, 3-6) @ Trinity (15-7, 4-4)

The Bantams will have home court advantage in this matchup as they host a Bates team that has been up and down all season. At the beginning of the year it appeared as if we had underestimated the Bobcats when they were able to win one of their first two NESCAC contests despite a poor preseason. Since that time it seems as they have come back down to their expectations, but still were able to grab conference wins against Conn and Tufts. This will be Bates’ last conference game of the year so I would expect them to put it all on the line for a shot at getting an 8-seed in the conference tourney. Trinity had themselves a great two games last weekend which launched them up in ‘CAC standings to a nice, safe 6th seed in the conference. You hate to say it but a win against Conn at this point is just a given, but their win against Wesleyan may have raised some eyes. That win suggests to me that Trinity are not a team to be taken lightly, especially in a playoff scenario. Another conference win here will really help the Bantams solidify their playoff spot, and they have all the opportunity to get it.

Score Prediction: Trinity 74 – Bates 65

#8 Hamilton (19-2, 5-2) @ #10 Williams (19-3, 6-2)

The battle of the big dogs will go down this Saturday as the two highest-ranked teams in the conference will go head-to-head for the first time this season. Williams is lucky enough to have gotten the home court advantage for this year as they will host the Continentals. Both of these teams appear to be the obvious best 2 teams in the conference (no disrespect to Midd, you guys are dangerous too). Kena Gilmour has been an absolute animal for Hamilton this year, averaging nearly 20 PPG as well as almost 6 REB/G. On the other side of the ball Williams has the always dangerous Bobby Casey who is putting up an impressive 18/5/4.6 line so fat this season. There is not too much to separate these two on paper, which should make it a fun match to watch. Two high-quality, evenly matched teams atop the NESCAC is great for the brand and should be great entertainment value overall. When it comes to both NESCAC rankings and national rankings, this is an important game. I will certainly be watching and you all should too.

Score Prediction: #8 Hamilton 86 – #10 Williams 82

Bowdoin (14-8, 3-5) @ Wesleyan (15-7, 5-3)

After a warm-up game against Conn, the Polar Bears will head into Cardinal territory for their final NESCAC contest of the year. Bowdoin will likely be riding a high after taking down Conn and will have their eyes on taking down Wesleyan in order to secure a playoff spot. While Wesleyan is certainly the favorite in this contest, Bowdoin’s take down of Williams leaves them confident that they can take down anybody, and Wesleyan is no exception. While Bowdoin may be in form, it is also a fact that Wesleyan is a stronger team overall. They have more quality wins in conference and obviously have a better record. While the cards are stacked in the Card’s favor (I’m sorry), you can’t count Bowdoin out. It’s upset season and this game has upset alert written all over it.

Score Prediction: Bowdoin 78 – Wesleyan 76

#19 Amherst (18-3, 5-2) @ Middlebury (17-5, 6-2)

For the moment, Midd sits atop the conference and has their eye on that #1 seed heading into playoffs. The only problem for the Panthers is the strength of schedule they will have to face finishing out the season. Directly after Friday’s Game of the Week versus #8 Hamilton, Midd will get right back into it on Saturday as they host another top-25 team in Amherst. If there is any way to solidify yourself as top dog at the end of the season it is to beat two ranked teams to end out the year. While this is what all Panther fans are imagining, it is much easier said than done. Middlebury has lost games against the likes of Tufts but then comes right back around to easily take down a former top-10 seed in Williams. This tells us to things about Midd: they are dangerous and can beat anyone, they are human and anyone can beat them. They are not supposed to be at the top of the NESCAC ahead of 3 ranked teams, but they are. There’s a certain grind about them that I like and you can see it on the court until the final buzzer. Amherst’s tough week gets tougher after having to face #10 Williams they have to bus up to Vermont and take on a red-hot Midd. While they off-the-court factors may not be in their favor, Amherst has proven they have everything they need to take care of business on the court. I think that Amherst will need to ride whatever energy they have after facing Williams into this game. If it is a loss, play angry. If it is a win play with confidence. This game is also make or break for their bright, shiny national ranking. A loss here will likely kick them out of the top 25 and boost Midd right into it. I know that is something Mammoth fans would not be happy to see.

Jack Farrell and the Panthers are starting to get it going in the stretch run of the NESCAC season.

Score Prediction: Middlebury 83 – #19 Amherst 77

Colby (15-7, 3-5) @ Connecticut College (7-15, 0-8)

While this game may seem fairly insignificant at face value, in reality it could have a huge impact on how the bottom of the playoff seeds shake out. Colby needs to take this gimme win and run with it for their playoff sakes. As was mentioned in a previous NBN article, one more win should launch the Mules into playoff position, and this is their surefire way to secure that win. Additionally, if the Mules are able to capture another win before this point it will help their seeding out tremendously and possibly avoid a first round matchup with the likes of Williams or Hamilton. The key for the Mules all season has been Sam Jefferson. When he is hot there is nobody that Colby can’t beat. He lead the charge that week when they took down Amherst and Hamilton and he is going to need to lead their final playoff push. For Conn this is a final opportunity to not go completely defeated in conference. It has been another rough season for the Camels and I’m sure they won’t be all too upset to see it draw to a close.

Score Prediction: Colby 83 – Conn 71