Bob Sheldon – Nothing But NESCAC

The Rise of the Jumbos: Tufts’ Season in Review

Tufts is going to miss senior leaders Stephen Haladyna '16 and Ryan Spadaford '16. (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics) — Tufts is going to miss senior leaders Stephen Haladyna ’16 and Ryan Spadaford ’16. (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

The 2015-2016 Jumbos will go down as the best team in Tufts men’s basketball team history. At 23-7, Tufts tied their ’05-’06 team with the most wins in school history, and their Elite Eight appearance is the first ever for the program. Following back-to-back 13-12 seasons, expectations were unclear for Tufts, but given their plethora of returning players, Coach Bob Sheldon’s squad hoped to improve on recent years.

Tufts started out on a good note, and were 9-2 heading into conference play. Then they walloped Bowdoin by 33 and smacked around Colby by 27 – things were looking good for the ‘Bos. The following weekend, Tufts headed to Middlebury and lost in OT, and after a blowout win against Hamilton, they lost their second straight overtime game to Wesleyan. They barely scraped by Connecticut College the next day, and the way the NESCAC was shaping up, Tufts was looking like a team that might just beat up on the bottom half while they failed to finish games off against the top half. A Bates beat down and a bad loss to Trinity seemed to align with this trend, but everyone’s perception of the Jumbos changed when Amherst rolled into town the next day. Tufts dominated Amherst, winning by 11 points and never trailing after the 16:05 mark in the first half. Tufts finished the regular season with two more wins, putting themselves at third in the NESCAC heading into the playoffs and with a lot of momentum.

After a good first round win against Williams, Tufts played pretty poorly against Amherst in the semi-finals. Vinny Pace ’18 was really the only bright spot for the Jumbos, as he dropped 33 points, but Tufts could not stop the balanced attack of Amherst, and ended up losing by three. Regardless of this loss, it was pretty clear that Tufts was going to make the NCAA tournament based on their 20-6 record and a handful of quality wins. The NCAA Tournament committee decided that Tufts’ resume was pretty impressive, and as result, Tufts hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

On the first possession of the opening round game against Southern Vermont, Pace drove to the hoop and came down awkwardly, injuring his knee pretty badly and ending his season. With their top scorer out, Tufts’ first option obviously became big man Tom Palleschi ’17, and Palleschi sure did impress. Over the last stretch of the regular season, Palleschi carried the Jumbos, and he continued to do so once Pace went down. That night against Southern Vermont, Palleschi scored 17 and followed that with 19 points, 16 points and 20 points in the next three rounds. But just one scorer wouldn’t have been enough for Tufts, so who else stepped up? The answer to that was senior tri-captain Stephen Haladyna ’16. Haladyna scored his 1000th point against Amherst in the NESCAC semi-finals, and with Pace down he was the obvious answer for the next shot-taker. Over the four NCAA games, Haladyna averaged 23.0 ppg on 45.7 percent shooting from the field and went 26-30 from the free throw line. Though the Jumbos ran out of juice against Amherst in the last three minutes in the Elite Eight, this team showed some extreme resilience by winning three games without their top scorer. Palleschi and Haladyna were two of the biggest contributors on both ends of the court during that stretch, while the rest of the squad clearly stepped it up as well.

Highlight Moment: 78-76 Win vs. Southern Vermont in the NCAA First Round

When Pace went down on the first play of the game, the packed house in Medford went dead silent. Everyone in the gym knew that Pace was an integral part of getting the Jumbos into the tournament, and a little doubt crept into everybody’s minds when he was helped off the court. Well, the Jumbos responded with one of their best all-around performances of the season. Palleschi was the anchor, totaling not just 17 points, but also eight blocked shots. Haladyna led the way scoring the ball with 24 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow tri-captain Ryan Spadaford ’16 was not to be outdone however, as he added to the effort with 12 points and a game-high 14 boards – pretty impressive for a guard against the big bruisers of Southern Vermont. The well-rounded effort didn’t stop there, however. Tarik Smith ’17 didn’t shoot the ball particularly well on this night, but he found his niche and led the game with six assists. The bench also played an integral role in this win for Tufts: Ben Engvall ’18 played well, totaling his pretty consistent eight points while also grabbing seven boards, but the spotlight shined on freshman sharpshooter Ethan Feldman ’19 in this one. Despite his limited minutes during the rest of the season, Feldman stepped in and put on a clinic on how to shoot the rock, dropping 10 points in 11 minutes. This was a huge win for Tufts, and an extremely emotional one at that. They played as one unit, and it was truly impressive to watch.

Team MVP: Center Tom Palleschi

He might not have been the top scorer, but without this highly skilled big man, Tufts would not have been nearly as good as they were this season. That is not a slight to the rest of the team, but rather a nod to Palleschi. It’s pretty incredible how much attention Big Tom demands from opposing defenses, and his passing ability is a perfect complement to this. I haven’t seen a team play Tufts that doesn’t try to double down on the big guy, but Coach Sheldon intelligently surrounds him with shooters, so just one ball fake eliminates the possibility of a double team. Palleschi is so shifty down low, and his ability to step out and shoot the three-ball this year was huge for Tufts. On the other end of the court, he might be even more important. Palleschi’s 3.90 blocks per game ranked second in all of Division III, and he was one of just two players to block over 100 shots this season (he had 113 blocks in 29 games). Due to his redshirt year during what would have been his sophomore campaign, the Jumbos will get Palleschi back for another year, and they sure are happy to have him returning.

Biggest Surprise: The loss of Hunter Sabety was addition by subtraction

Entering the season, there was lots of talk about Sabety’s transfer to Hofstra. Many critics thought that Sabety’s departure would be a huge loss for Tufts, but it actually opened things up for Coach Sheldon, who took advantage of having a more guard-heavy lineup and incorporated a new fastbreak-based offense. The Jumbos dropped buckets at a crazy rate, and were head and shoulders above everybody else in scoring with an average of 86.0 ppg. Allowing other players to get more involved took away the ability of opposing defenses to collapse on Palleschi, and gave shooters like Spadaford, Haladyna and Pace to get more opportunities to reign down threes from deep. The fast-paced offense also served Palleschi’s shooting ability well, as he was often the last one up the court when they set up in their half-court offense. When opposing centers backed off of Palleschi, he made them pay, and he actually ended up leading the team in three-point shooting percentage at 47.6 percent. The new high-powered offense served the Jumbos very well, and I expect more of the same out of them next year.

Most Interesting Stat: Tufts lead the NESCAC in FTA by a lot

Seriously, Tufts got to the free throw line about a million times more than their opponents. They were 626-841 from the line on the season, which totals to 74.4 percent. The next high number of attempts came from Middlebury, who shot 441-660 on the year. That is 181 extra free throws! I understand that in conference, this number comes down significantly (Tufts still led, with 262 attempts, followed by Wesleyan at 242), but still, this difference is crazy. In their four NCAA games, Tufts shot 131 free throws. The most drastic difference came in their second round game against Skidmore, when Tufts attempted 44 free throws and Skidmore shot just 17. This sky-high number of free throw attempts over the course of the season is definitely related to the high-speed offense that Coach Sheldon implemented, and it is definitely going to be something to watch when next season rolls around.

Other Thoughts

I think it’s also important to note that Coach Bob Sheldon was the Northeast Region Coach of the Year, and Palleschi was named to the All-Northeast Region Second Team. Congratulations to the two of them on these accomplishments. The only other schools to have two players/coaches recognized were Babson (Joey Flannery ’17 and Isaiah Nelsen ’17), Bowdoin (Lucas Hausman ’16 and Jack Simonds ’19), and Johnson & Wales (Quarry Greenaway ’16 and Tom Garrick ’16). What’s one common denominator that jumps out? Tufts beat all three of these teams. The most impressive part about the Jumbos’ season to me is that they went up against the best competition week in and week out and still amassed a record of 23-7. They beat the #11, #12, #15 and #16 teams in the country, and played a total of nine games against opponents that qualified for the NCAA tournament. That strength of schedule certainly paid dividends for Tufts in March, and it will benefit this team in the future, as they only lose three seniors this year. The young Jumbos will be a very scary team in the NESCAC in 2016-2017.

NCAA First Round Preview: #20 Tufts vs. Southern Vermont

Like many first round match ups, Southern Vermont and Tufts took very different roads to reach the NCAA tournament. Southern Vermont lost two of their first three games to Salisbury and St. Thomas (MN), both in the Hoopsville National Invitational Classic hosted by Stevenson University. Neither of these losses can be considered bad ones: Salisbury and St. Thomas are both tournament teams, and are ranked at #24 and #8 in the country, respectively. These two close losses actually seemed to help SVM, as the Mountaineers went 23-1 the rest of the way, including winning their last 16 games, all of which were against conference opponents. Sure, the NECC is not loaded with talent (no other NECC team received an NCAA bid), but conference games are conference games no matter how you slice it. SVM accumulated some quality wins against Regis and Becker en route to their conference tournament title, and also won a close game at Bates just before the winter break. I know Bates didn’t have a very good year, but no matter who you are, playing in that small gym is not easy thanks to the rowdy student section, so this is a good win. Unfortunately for SVM, the only three tournament teams they played are their three losses, with the third being Middlebury. When SVM visited the Panthers, Middlebury blew them out by 18 points. SVM couldn’t shut down Matt St. Amour ’17, and strong contributions from Matt Daley ’16 and Jack Daly ’18 helped to put away the Mountaineers early. With all this in mind, riding a 16-game win streak into the NCAA tournament is not something to turn your nose up at. After receiving two straight NECC Coach of the Year honors, SVM Head Coach Dan Engelstad has shown that he knows how to win. SVM doesn’t play down to their competition, evidenced by their average margin of victory of 17.1 ppg. I don’t care who they’ve played; SVM has showed they are dangerous.

On the other side of the court are the Tufts Jumbos. The Jumbos are a streaky team, so their loss last weekend to Amherst in the NESCAC semi-finals could be either good or bad. Following losses, the Jumbos have done won the following number of games before their next loss: one, eight, one, four, and four. This leaves it completely up for speculation what the Jumbos will do following this most recent loss. One thing Tufts has shown is that they do not lose two games in a row. Even after a poor game against Trinity at home, Tufts bounced back the next day and beat Amherst with relative ease. The tough schedule Tufts plays has battled tested them, and I think they’re in great shape to make a run in the tournament. The big wins for the Jumbos came against Amherst at home, and at two neutral sites against #11 Whitman and #16 Babson. In conference, Tufts beat every bottom half team, but lost to all four of the other top five teams, Trinity, Amherst, Middlebury and Wesleyan. Their other two losses were against solid teams in MIT and WPI, but WPI blew out the Jumbos by 15, accounting for Tufts’ worst loss of the season. One thing to take note of is that four of these losses, excluding Wesleyan and MIT, came against tournament teams, and two losses (Wesleyan and Middlebury) came in overtime. Tufts is a strong, strong team, and their six losses are deceiving because of the extremely tough schedule they play.

Despite their different paths to the big dance, these two teams are very evenly matched. They scored at about the same clip on nearly the same number of attempts: SVM 85.1 ppg on 65.4 FGA/game; Tufts 86.1 ppg on 65.3 FGA/game. They hit pretty evenly from deep too: SVM hits 8.0 3PT/game while Tufts drains 8.2 3PT/game, but SVM shoots a tad more consistently at 37.4 percent rather than Tufts’ 35.1 percent. Both teams rely on their rebounding, and are very even in this category as well: each team averages 12.7 offensive rpg, but SVM averages 43.0 overall rpg as opposed to Tufts’ 42.5 rpg. Clearly, the teams match up in a shooting and rebounding, so where do they differ? There is one main answer to that question: defense. While they score at about the same rate, Tufts allows 77.6 ppg vs. SVM’s 68.0 ppg. This makes the Tufts defense look much worse than SVM’s, but I think this gap can be attributed to the difference in strength of schedule. Since Tufts is playing better teams, it makes complete sense that they give up more points. I’m not saying SVM doesn’t play good defense, but there is certainly a difference in the level of competition day in and day out.

Southern Vermont X-factor: Forward Deshawn Hamlet ‘16

(Courtesy of Southern Vermont Athletics)

Deshawn Hamlet is hands down the best player on the Mountaineers roster. As a junior, Deshawn was the NECC player of the year, and he followed that up with First Team All-NECC recognition. Though the scoring is pretty spread out for Southern Vermont, this team thrives when Hamlet puts the ball in the basket. He has been held under 10 points just four times this season, and each of those times, Hamlet got into foul trouble. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 14.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg, each of which is driven by his strength and tenacity. Hamlet can shoot the ball from the perimeter pretty accurately, but he is very selective on his outside shots. Hamlet’s best when he uses his big body to power his way through smaller wings. At 6’4”, Hamlet is one of SVM’s tallest players, but he is very nimble for what I would guess is a 220-225ish lbs. forward (SVM’s website doesn’t list the weight of their players). Hamlet will likely be matched up with Stephen Haladyna ’16 or Vinny Pace ’18, which plays in his favor since these two are listed at just 180lbs. and 185lbs., respectively. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more minutes out of Stefan Duvivier ’18 as a defensive stopper on Hamlet, as he is a much bigger yet extremely athletic wing. I’m excited to see what Coach Bob Sheldon does defensively to deal with Hamlet.

Tufts X-factor: Center Tom Palleschi ‘17

Like Hamlet, Palleschi was just named to his all-conference first team, and he is bound to have a big game for the Jumbos. There isn’t a player on the SVM roster listed over 6’6”, and on a short team I wouldn’t be surprised if Casey Hall ’16 was given the 6’6” listing out of generosity. Palleschi was on fire during the last six regular season games, and though he cooled off a bit in the NESCAC tournament, his presence alone is a huge advantage for the Jumbos. He averaged 18.7 ppg in the month of February, and with such a size advantage and the variety of post moves Palleschi has in his arsenal, he is either going to eat up his one-on-one matchup or he is going to open shooters up for wide open threes when SVM collapses into the paint. I don’t think Tufts needs Palleschi to score 15ish points to win, but it certainly bodes well for the home team if he does.

Three Questions

1.) Will SVM be able to stop Palleschi?

I could very well be wrong (I’ve never seen Southern Vermont play after all), but I don’t see any way that they stop Palleschi. He has shown over and over again that he is a dynamic scorer down low, especially against undersized centers. The big man struggles the most against Eric Conklin ’17-type post players, aka the very solid, very wide centers. To reiterate, I’ve never seen SVM play, and I could very well be underestimating the width of Casey Hall, but if I’m right, he looks like he’s a lankier center than he is a big bruiser. Palleschi should take advantage of this matchup, and he is a good enough passer that it should negate the effect of SVM doubling down on him.

2.) Who steps up as the secondary scorer for SVM?

Over the course of the season, Hall has been the secondary scorer behind Hamlet, but with Palleschi’s stifling defense down low, I am not quite sure he’ll be able to get his normal 10-12 points. I’m looking at Will Bromirski ’16 to step up for the Mountaineers. At just 5’11”, it could be tough for Bromirski to get his shots off against the taller wings of Tufts, but if Hamlet demands as much attention as I expect he will, Bromirski will be open to shoot from the perimeter.

3.) What will SVM do about Tufts’ fast pace?

I have to assume that SVM is a pretty fast-paced team based on their guard heavy lineup and lack of size. Coach Sheldon stressed to me that Tufts is still going to try to play their game: “We want to do what we’ve been doing all year. We’re not going to change for the NCAA tournament. We’re doing what got us here.” So basically, Tufts is still going to try to get out and run. If SVM can play solid transition defense, they can force Tufts into a half court offense, but that gives Palleschi more opportunities to work down low. I don’t know which SVM would prefer, speeding Tufts up or slowing them down. This strategy decision will likely decide the game for SVM.

Prediction

If Southern Vermont wants to win this one, they have to hope that they can find a way to slow down Palleschi. Make other people beat you, make Pace recreate his 33-point performance that he had last weekend when Palleschi struggled from the field, make Ryan Spadaford ’16 hit shots from deep, make Haladyna shoot 10 or 15 shots. The Mountaineers have to do something besides allow Tufts to pound the ball into the post. Deshawn Hamlet is also going to have to have a crazy game offensively. I expect him to score around 20 points, but SVM relies on a very balanced attack that I just don’t see scoring the ball like they did in conference play. Cousens Gym has gotten louder and louder as the year has gone on and the Jumbos have continued to win, and Tufts feeds off the energy of their crowd. I think Tufts is going to have a small lead going into halftime, but as the game wears on and Palleschi forces the Mountaineers into foul trouble, the Jumbos will have a good chance to run away with this one.

Prediction: Tufts 84 – Southern Vermont 72

Eye on Saturday

If Tufts wins this one like I think they will, they’re going to play the winner of Franklin & Marshall vs. Skidmore. At 18-8 in a relatively weak conference, it’s clear that Skidmore is in the tournament because they won their conference tournament. This is not to say that Skidmore doesn’t deserve to be here – they won the regular season in the Liberty League as well – but they have been inconsistent. They blew out Plattsburgh State and beat Middlebury by five, both of whom are tournament teams, but they have some bad losses. Franklin & Marshall also won their conference tournament, but at 22-5, they have showed that they know how to win just a bit better than Skidmore does. I think F&M is definitely a better and more consistent team, with a history of postseason success, but Skidmore has shown the ability to explode offensively, and I think that they’ll do that tonight and upset F&M.

This brings us to tomorrow. Skidmore is led by freshman phenom Edvinas Rupkus ’19, who is averaging 16.7 ppg from the guard spot. At 6’4”, 205 lbs., Rupkus could have a size advantage over some of the Tufts guards, but after dealing with Hamlet tonight, it might feel like Rupkus is actually a smaller guard. Skidmore has a couple big boys that measure in at 6’8”, but they don’t play very many minutes, and once again, I think Palleschi will have an opportunity to dominate inside. The ability of Tufts to knock down open shots on kick outs from Palleschi will determine the outcome of this one, but I’m expecting Tufts to move on to the Sweet 16 after a couple big wins at home. Maybe I’m a bit biased in favor of the NESCAC teams, but I keep coming back to the toughness of the Tufts schedule in giving them the edge. They have been tested, and I think that they’re ready to get a couple wins this weekend.

NESCAC Quarterfinal Preview: #6 Williams at #3 Tufts

(Top: Courtesy of Tufts Athletics; Bottom: Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

One of the late games this weekend matches up Tufts with Williams, two teams that played just last Friday. This is the first game for the Jumbos since then, while Williams had the chance to play a tune-up game in which they trounced Bates by 20 points. Williams comes in at 5-5 in conference play making them the No. 6 seed. Williams has been perfectly average this season. They’ve lost to every team ranked higher than them and beat every team ranked lower than them. Tufts’ 7-3 record varies slightly from this pattern, but it’s still somewhat accurate. The Jumbos beat every team ranked sixth or lower as well as Amherst, but lost to Trinity, Middlebury and Wesleyan, the first, fourth, and fifth seeds.

These two were separated by a margin of just four points when they played each other, so this should be a good one. Tom Palleschi ’17 has been hot for the Jumbos of late, averaging 21.6 ppg in his last six games, and he looks to continue that streak into the NESCAC tournament tomorrow. For the Ephs, Dan Aronowitz ’17 shook off a tough three game stretch and put together three outstanding games to round out league play, averaging 23.3 ppg against Conn College, Tufts and Williams.

Last time they played: Tufts 77 – Williams 73

When Tufts and Williams matched up just a week ago in Williamstown, the ability to protect the rock was the difference in the game. Tufts turned the ball over just four times last Friday, three of which came in the first half. Williams, on the other hand, committed 15 turnovers. Quite simply put, the lack of ball control Williams demonstrated lost them the game. Tufts didn’t shoot the ball very well from the perimeter (7-24 3PT) and got to the line 10 less times than their average of 26 free throw attempts per game. They were able to pull out a close victory, in large part due to the contributions of tri-captain Stephen Haladyna ’16. On 8-17 shooting from the field and 3-6 from deep, Haladyna matched Williams’ best scorer Aronowitz bucket-for-bucket on the way to his season-high 22 points. On a night where Vinny Pace ’18, Tarik Smith ’17, and Ryan Spadaford ’16 shot the ball pretty poorly, Haladyna’s leadership propelled the Jumbos to victory. Tufts Coach Bob Sheldon said, “Stephen has been due for a breakout game. Our team has done this all year: if one or two guys aren’t playing well, somebody else steps up.”

The other big duel of the game was between Tufts center Tom Palleschi and Williams guard Cole Teal ’18, both of whom dropped 17 points, but in very different ways. The Williams offense is centered on tons of on- and off-ball screens with the goal of creating chaos for opposing defenses, which leads to open shooters. Teal was able to get free beyond the arc and light up the scoreboard on five separate occasions, providing the Ephs with a huge boost. Meanwhile, Palleschi did most of his damage in the paint. He was able to rack up 14 points from field and another three from the free throw line, but Ed Flynn ’16 did not make it easy for him. Flynn is couple inches taller than Palleschi, something the Tufts big man does not usually see, and maybe this had something to do with his 7-16 shooting performance. Palleschi missed SEVEN lefty hooks in this game, a shot that he usually makes look easy.

When I asked Williams Coach Kevin App about Palleschi’s performance, he noted, “We held Palleschi to 17 points on 16 shots, that’s about a point per shot.” Williams is going to take that 10 times out of 10. Palleschi is a force inside, and holding him to under 50 percent from the field on almost all layups/hook shots is pretty good. The way Williams packed in the paint worked pretty well defensively, as it forced Tufts to kick the ball out and beat Williams from the perimeter, a strategy which would have been successful if Tufts hadn’t scored 12 more points off of turnovers than Williams did. I expect Williams to protect the ball better tomorrow, but I also expect Tufts to shoot better from the outside, so this will be another great matchup between the two squads.

Tufts X-Factor: Guard Ryan Spadaford ’16

Overall this season, Spadaford is the third highest scorer and rebounder on the Jumbos roster, but when Tufts traveled to Williamstown last weekend Spadaford did not play well. He shot just 2-9 from the field and shot 0-6 from behind the arc. Missing good shots early, Tufts’ “shooter” clearly became frustrated as the game went on, made evident by a few forced shots. However, last weekend’s game is EXACTLY why I think that Spadaford is going to come out hot on when his team hosts the Ephs in Medford. As one of three captains leading Tufts, Spadaford is not going to let his team get upset at home due to his playing poorly. Just two weeks ago, after a poor game against Trinity in which Spadaford shot 0-4 from three and scored just two points from the field, he bounced back against Amherst and rained down 3-5 from deep. Expect Spadaford to put up a lot of shots: this streaky shooter has shown that he can be pretty deadly when he gets the crowd behind him at home.

Williams X-Factor: Bobby Casey ’19

Bobby Casey, like Spadaford, did not play particularly well last weekend. Casey also shot 2-9 from the field, and he added four turnovers to round out a subpar performance. However, Casey, also like Spadaford, showed that he has the ability to bounce back from poor performances. Just two days after the loss to Tufts, Casey dropped 16 points on 5-6 from the field and 4-4 from three-point land! Casey is young, and Tufts defense forced more mistakes out of him than any other NESCAC team has, but he has also demonstrated his ability to step up in big games. Against Amherst, Casey scored 13 points and didn’t turnover the ball once while dishing out three assists. When Williams faced Trinity just two days later, Casey dropped a season-high 17 points while recording two assists and just one turnover. The Ephs are going to need help from their role players, especially now that the Jumbos have had a chance to figure out a little more about Teal and Aronowitz. I think Casey is going to find some room to work, and this time, he’s going to take advantage of those opportunities.

Three Questions

1. Can Williams contain Tom Palleschi again?

As Coach Sheldon said, “Tom had 17 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks, and we’re not happy with his game.” That statement sums things up right pretty perfectly. Palleschi can play a lot better. I don’t see Tufts going 7-24 from outside again, so the Williams guards are not going to be able to sink into the paint to help out on Palleschi nearly as much. Frankly, I think Palleschi is going to have a mammoth of a game tomorrow.

2. Can Tufts force Cole Teal off the three-point line?

Obviously, Tufts is going to be locked in on Teal, but I’m sure they were when they faced off in Williamstown too. Teal showed off his elusiveness by ducking around option screens all over the place last weekend, and Tufts had a hard time communicating on those screens, leading to Teal sinking five threes-pointers. Basically, the answer to this question relies on a couple things: 1.) The ability of Tufts to switch more fluidly off of screens – when there is seamless switching and Teal is forced to attack the hoop, he is not nearly as effective. 2.) The ability of other guards to put the ball in the basket – obviously Aronowitz is going to get his points, but if guys like Bobby Casey, James Heskett ’19, Chris Galvin ’18 and Kyle Scadlock ’19 can score the ball efficiently, Teal will find himself open, too.

3. Will Tufts dominate the turnover battle again?

Like I noted above, Williams turned the ball over 15 times last weekend …Tufts turned it over just four times. Tufts scored 15 points off turnovers while Williams scored just three. For Williams to win this game, they NEED to take care of the basketball. It’s unlikely that the Jumbos will take care of the ball as well as they did last time, but limiting wasted possessions is vital for Coach App’s squad. Williams is a young team, but they are going to need to play wiser than their years if they are going to pull off the upset.

What to Expect

It’s no secret that Williams has a very hard test ahead of them. Tufts is a much more experienced team with some really tough players to guard in Palleschi, Pace, and Smith. Spadaford and Haladyna have shown their ability to step up to the challenge in must-win situations, and the Williams young guns like Scadlock, Casey and Heskett are going to be tested in their first NESCAC Tournament action. Aronowitz has been here before, but not as the go-to-guy, so this playoff game is going to be a bit different for him as well.

Not to be overlooked is how loud the Tufts crowd is going to be: the #6 Tufts women’s team plays before the men’s game, and if the Lady Bo’s get the crowd going with a big win (as they are favored heavily to do), Cousens Gymnasium could be a raucous arena come 4:00 pm on Saturday. The key for Williams is to come out hot to quiet the student section. If they can get on top early, then the crowd will play a minimal role in this one. Spadaford is known to be a guy who feeds off the energy of the fans, and since his shooting is going to be such a big factor in this one, Williams can’t sleepwalk their way through the first few minutes.

I think that Tufts is simply a better team than Williams, especially at home. The game last weekend could easily have been a blowout if any number of guys on Tufts hits the open shots they normally hit. I don’t think turnovers are going to play as big a factor in this one, but I do think Tufts is going to shoot the ball much more efficiently, especially Palleschi. If this one goes the way I think it will, Tufts will pull away at the end.

Prediction: Tufts 86 – Williams 72

Are the Jumbos Better without Their Big Man? Tufts Season Preview

As the only real interior presence for the Jumbos, C Tom Palleschi '17 will need to alter shots and rebound for Tufts - and stay out of foul trouble. (Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletics) — As the only real interior presence for the Jumbos, C Tom Palleschi ’17 will need to alter shots and rebound for Tufts – and stay out of foul trouble. (Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletics)

The biggest news in the Tufts offseason is, without a doubt, the loss of Hunter Sabety. Though he was injured on and off for the majority of last season, Sabety still averaged 14.9 ppg and gave the Jumbos much more versatility down low. The combo of Tom Palleschi ’17 and Sabety was arguably the most talented bigs combo in the NESCAC, but it also created some structural issues for the team. When Sabety was healthy, it almost felt like Tufts was playing three different styles during each game: one for Sabety as the lone big, one for Palleschi as the lone big, and one for a lineup that included both centers. Though deadly at times, this definitely led to inconsistency for the Jumbos, and the coaches believe that the squad will be much more in sync this year when they can maintain one offense throughout.

2014-15 Record:

13-12 overall, 6-4 NESCAC (4th); lost first round of NESCAC tournament to Williams in Overtime, 87-77; did not qualify for NCAAs

Coach: Bob Sheldon, 28th year, 386-289 (.572)

Starters returning: Four

G Stephen Haladyna ’16 (7.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 spg)
G Ryan Spadaford ’16 (7.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 3pt/game)
G Thomas Lapham ’18 (3.4 ppg, 1.7 apg, 41.8% FG, 46.9% 3PT FG)
C Tom Palleschi ’17 (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg)

The Jumbos technically return four starters, but Palleschi is the only one who was a consistent starter last year. Spadaford and Haladyna split time pretty evenly in the starting lineup, and Lapham also started about half the games, splitting the other half with Tarik Smith ’17. Smith started the first 11 games of the season – Lapham started the next 14 in his stead. Drew Madsen’s ’17 name could also be thrown in the mix here, but the majority of his starts came when Sabety was injured last year, so his starting experience is also limited.

Projected Starting Five:

G Ryan Spadaford

Spadaford, a natural two guard, will see time at all three guard positions this year, as the Jumbos will look to play smaller and push the tempo. As a senior co-captain with Haladyna and Palleschi, it will be interesting to see Spadaford evolve as more of a leader on the court since the last two years he has played more as a quiet member of the supporting cast. He has shown that he can light it up for stretches, but consistency is certainly something to look for in Spadaford this year. If he can get his jump shot going, that will do wonders for the premier shooters on the team, Haladyna and Vinny Pace ’18.

G Stephen Haladyna

Haladyna was rightfully disappointed after his junior campaign due to his step back in offensive production. Haladyna went from starting every game he played and averaging 12.4 per game as a sophomore to splitting time and putting up just 7.8 ppg. The biggest reason for this drop in scoring is that Haladyna struggled to get a rhythm from behind the arc, possibly because he was the only established shooter in the Jumbos lineup and was feeling the pressure. The senior co-captain needs to get hot early and stay hot throughout the season, proving to be one of the most important pieces of the puzzle on the offensive end for Tufts.

G Vinny Pace

Pace should without a doubt see an increase in production this season after a pretty average freshman year. Pace has improved physically and has developed much more consistency on his jump shot. Defensively, Pace’s wingspan and athleticism will surely prove valuable for the Jumbos, who I’m sure will look to pressure opposing teams with more trapping defenses than in past years. The coaches are very excited to see how Pace plays this year, and for good reason. Now that he has gotten used to the very different pace of college ball (I crack myself up), I am projecting Pace to be in the running for one of the All-NESCAC teams as we approach the end of the season.

F Ben Engvall ’18

This could be a bit of a surprising pick to some, but Engvall could see big minutes out of the starting lineup for Tufts this season. Madsen will likely switch in and out with Palleschi, leaving the four spot open. Meanwhile, the Jumbos will want their two quickest guards, Smith and Lapham, coming off the bench, where Smith had a lot of success last year and where Lapham won’t feel too much pressure: this is where Engvall comes in. Engvall’s value is that he is really the only true forward on this team, and he fits right into what the Jumbos are going to try to do this year: run. Engvall can play bigger than he is and is unafraid to bang around in the post, but he can also help spread the floor and handle the ball when he’s matched up against bigger opponents. Engvall is going to play a sneaky huge role for the ‘Bos this year.

C Tom Palleschi

As a redshirt junior, Palleschi is looking to follow up on a strong return to the court last year in which he was selected to the Second Team All-NESCAC. He led the NESCAC with an average of 2.4 blocks per game, while finishing 13th in rebounding and 16th in scoring with 6.1 and 12.0 per game, respectively. Much of the Jumbos’ success will depend on Palleschi’s ability to stay out of foul trouble since the Tufts roster is loaded with guards.

Breakout Player:

G Vinny Pace

How could I not like Vinny from New Jersey here? But seriously, Vince Pace is the real deal. He has shown he can put up big points at times, but his consistency didn’t fully develop last year as some anticipated it would. I’m expecting a big year from Pace on the offensive end of the court since Tufts will have to rely heavily on their guard play throughout the season. With so few true bigs on the Tufts roster, Pace will likely be matched up against bigger, less athletic players due to his length and size (6’5”, 180 lbs). The coaches are high on Pace this year, and if he can take advantage of the matchup problem that he is going to create, I don’t see anything stopping him from becoming one of the leaders on this team.

Everything else:

The Jumbos will almost surely be trying to push the tempo this year with their surplus of guards, and the sophomore class is the most important part of the picture. There are seven sophomores on the team (six returners and one transfer, G Kene Adigwe, from Claremont McKenna College), all of whom are guards besides Engvall. This class had their opportunity to gain experience last year, but they don’t have too much time to learn anymore as they make up the core of this team. I’ve already mentioned Pace and Engvall’s importance above, and Lapham clearly played a part in Tufts’ success last year, but a couple other names to watch this year are Stefan Duvivier ’18 and Everett Dayton ’18. Duvivier is an athletic freak who excels in pushing the tempo and getting to the hoop. He does triple jump and high jump for the Tufts track team in the spring, so you can imagine how hard Duvivier can throw it down. Duvivier could play an instant-offense role. Meanwhile, Dayton is a very solid, well-rounded guard. His length is important on defense, and I think his biggest asset comes in his versatility at both ends. Dayton will see time at the 1-4 positions, and will causes turnovers when the Jumbos go to press/trapping situations on defense. Though not a sophomore, Tarik Smith is very important to the Tufts game plan. He will probably be the primary point man once again, even if he technically comes off the bench. Smith went from averaging 6.6 ppg and 4.4 apg as a starter to 12.9 ppg and 2.6 apg. Once Coach Sheldon made that transition, Smith stopped worrying about being a true point, and started using his elite athletic ability to put the ball in the hoop.

The other key for Tufts this year is going to be their ability to rebound the basketball. They will clearly be outsized (they only have three players over 6’5”), so if the Jumbos don’t gang-rebound they will run into issues. I know I mentioned it above, but it is absolutely vital that Palleschi stays out of foul trouble. Madsen does not present the same size as Palleschi, and rebounding becomes a lot tougher when your one true center is out of the game. Expect Duvivier, Pace, Engvall and Haladyna to present themselves as secondary rebounders to Palleschi and Madsen this season.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving: Stock Report 1/20

Tufts is the best team in the league, Bates is in danger of the same free fall as last year, and Wesleyan might be good, but they can’t compete with the NESCAC’s best.

All of these arguments could be made after this weekend, but could also also look foolish in another week. Consider this: at this point last week Middlebury was in the process of being exposed as soft. The Panthers responded with a 2-0 weekend, including the best half played by any NESCAC team this season in the first half against Wesleyan on Friday night. We still do not know much about how the league is going to shake out.

What is clear is that all of the chaos has hurt the NESCAC’s reputation nationally. For the first time since 2002, no NESCAC team was in the D3Hoops Top 25 released on Monday. Amherst and Trinity received a couple of votes each, but it will take a team stringing together a couple of weeks without losing before someone will claw back into the poll. The chances of multiple NESCAC teams making the tournament continue to fade as the committee sees the wide-openness as mediocrity.

Stock Up

Hard Non-Conference Schedules: Colby and Tufts entered conference play with a combined record of 11-12, but so far the two are 6-1 in conference play, with the Jumbos the most impressive team thus far in NESCAC play. Both coaches, Damien Strahorn for Colby and Bob Sheldon for Tufts, went out of their way to schedule hard teams out of conference. The combined records of the teams Colby and Tufts lost to is 126-52 (.710 winning percentage), and that record includes a 4-10 Maine-Farmington team which Colby lost to without Chris Hudnut ’16. Both teams now have turned the corner and for now are at the top of the league standings. Tufts in particular looked poised down the stretch against Trinity after losing a number of close games early in the season. Keep in mind that this stock is only up in the short term. The hard early schedule could come back to hurt both teams. Unless either team wins out in the regular season and wins a game or two in the NESCAC tournament, their chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament remains slim.

Class of 2016: Two weeks ago we noted how the current senior class could end with only two players crossing the 1,000 point mark. Last week saw two current juniors, Chris Hudnut ’16 (Colby) and Connor Green ’16 (Amherst) cross the same mark.

Chris Hudnut '16 (Courtesy of Bear Sports News) — Hudnut earned his second Player of the Week honor of the season by averaging 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in two conference games this week. (Courtesy of Bear Sports News)

Mike Boornazian ’16 (Bates) has 794 points currently and looks like a lock to reach 1,000 points. A recent explosion in points from Lucas Hausman ’16 (Bowdoin) means that with 630 points right now, he appears likely to cross the mark as well. Meanwhile, Luke Westman ’16 (Colby) is averaging 14.0 PPG while shooting an UNREAL 74.8 percent from the field. Westman never shoots from outside, but even still to shoot that well around the rim is exceptional, especially for a guard. Trinity is powered by their duo of Shay Ajayi ’16 and Jaquann Starks ’16. The junior class is not as deep or as star studded as the 2014 or possibly 2017 class, but it’s not far off, either.

Point Guard Tarik Smith ’17 (Tufts): A lot of different players have elevated their play in conference for the Jumbos, but Smith has unquestionably had the biggest impact. In three conference games Smith is averaging 17.3 PPG on the absurd shooting percentage slashline of 68.4/83.3/95.5. He scored nine points in the second half against Trinity, including the game sealing free throws in the waning seconds. However, big questions remain. First, there is zero percent chance Smith continues to shoot this well from deep and at the charity stripe so his efficiency is sure to go down. Second, this scoring binge is coming out of nowhere. In non-conference play Smith averaged 6.0 PPG and reached double digits only twice. Finally, Smith is only averaging one turnover per game during this stretch but is averaging over two per game on the year. But note that before conference play began, Smith had started all 11 games at the point for the Jumbos, while he has come off the bench in each NESCAC game so far. There is a chance that Smith moving out of the starting lineup has taken pressure off of him. More likely, Smith played a great three games, but regardless his play is representative of a wider trend for Tufts.

Stock Down

Traditional Powers: The Big Three of the NESCAC (Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury) are each sitting in the middle of the pack at 2-2. All three lost huge senior classes, but that does not fully explain how far back to the pack they have fallen. Consider that since 2001-2002 season, one of those three won the NESCAC regular season crown by going either undefeated or having only one loss. Since Middlebury still has to play Amherst and Williams, it is possible that all three finish with at least three losses. All three teams are more than talented enough to win the NESCAC tournament, but their rosters are not as flawless as in years past.

Wesleyan: As someone who was in the front row of the Wesleyan bandwagon, this was a very hard week. First the Cardinals went up to Amherst in a non-conference game and forgot how to shoot from deep in the process of a 21-point loss. Then after going up early in the first half against Middlebury 14-13, Wesleyan let up a 38-10 run by the Panthers to go into the half down 27 points. Their normally stout defense was unable to find a way to slow down any aspect of the Middlebury attack. Things got out of control quickly as the home Panthers just got in an offensive roll. Sixteen turnovers, with each starter having at least two, also was not helpful.

Wesleyan's Joseph Kuo '17 can't stop this finish from Matt Daley '16. (Courtesy of Michael O'Hara, Middlebury Campus) — Wesleyan’s Joseph Kuo ’17 can’t stop this finish from Matt Daley ’16. (Courtesy of Michael O’Hara, Middlebury Campus)

Now Wesleyan is 1-2 in conference, and because of their schedule, they have to go on the road for five of their final seven conference games. The Cardinals just rebounded with a nice win last night over Baruch, but they now face an uphill battle in conference play.

Point Guard Graham Safford ’15 (Bates): Though a bit simplistic, as Safford goes, so go the Bobcats. Last Tuesday in order to keep him rested, Bates coach Jon Furbush did not play Safford at all, but the results this weekend were subpar. Safford scored 12.0 PPG on only 26 percent shooting, and he did not make a single two-point field goal against Trinity. Not coincidentally, Bates went 0-2 against Trinity and Amherst. Those are two very hard road games, but Tufts also went 2-0 as Bates’ road partner this weekend. The Bobcats need their leading man to figure out how to avoid another late season slide. Last season Safford had a similar falloff with his overall points per game 4.4 higher than his conference average while his shooting percentage plummeted at the same time. Keeping him fresh is crucial, and Bates might need to rely on Billy Selmon ’15 to become the primary ball handler for short stretches.

Tufts Team Preview: Optimism Abounds in Medford

Editor’s Note: Unlike football, team previews are being released in no particular order.

Tufts Jumbos

2013-2014 record: 13-12 (4-6 NESCAC), seventh in NESCAC, reached quarterfinals of NESCAC tournament

Head Coach: Bob Sheldon, Jr., 27th season (373-277, .574)

Starters Returning: 3

G Ben Ferris ’15

G Stephen Haladyna ’16

F Hunter Sabety ’17

Breakout Player: G Vinny Pace ’18

With three starters returning and Tom Palleschi ’17 back in the mix (more on that later), the starting lineup is fairly solidified, but Pace has the potential to make a huge impact off of the bench. The 6’5″ combo guard brings great size to the backcourt, where he could be a defensive force. His skills are a mix between that of teammates Ferris, a double-double threat, and the sharpshooter Haladyna. He will have to battle classmate Thomas Lapham ’18, a true point guard, and returner Ryan Spadaford ’16 for bench minutes, but after a little over a week of practice Pace is pushing strongly for time.

Projected Starting Five:

Tarik Smith (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

G Tarik Smith ’17

Smith has big shoes to fill with distributor Oliver Cohen ’14 gone, but he is next level quick, shoots the ball well from deep and got plenty of seasoning under his belt last year (25 games, 18.8 minutes per game). Smith will have the ball in his hands to start most possessions.

Ben Ferris (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

G Ben Ferris

Ferris, the 2011-12 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, is the undisputed leader on the floor for the Jumbos. The guard missed the first half of last season due to injury, and never got fully into the swing of things. Though he put up points and rebounds similar to what he achieved during his sophomore season, he was much less efficient from the floor. However, after undergoing hip surgery during the summer, reports are that Ferris is as healthy as ever and ready to take this team to the next level.

G Stephen Haladyna

Of the starting five, Haladyna is the best long-range shooter, and he should get plenty of open shots off of passes from the two big men. He might be the fourth option on this offense, which is a scary thought for opposing teams.

Hunter Sabety (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

F Hunter Sabety

In the majority of seasons, Sabety would have been the hands down choice for Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.8 points per game (tops on the team) on 65 percent shooting and 6.6 boards per game. Unfortunately for Tufts, the hopes of a third straight ROY honor were dashed by Duncan Robinson. Sabety presents a huge matchup problem for almost every team in the league, and had stretches of dominance in 2013-14.

Tom Palleschi (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

F Tom Palleschi

Palleschi is the Jumbos’ X-factor, as well as the biggest question mark. He brings size and double-double potential to the front court. A heart condition held the big man out last season, and it’s an amazing story that he will even be on the court again. Palleschi is 100 percent cleared to play, but head coach Bob Sheldon, Jr. estimates that he has not quite returned to his former level of play just yet. That being said, Sheldon also expects the sophomore captain to return to form and be better than ever before long.

Everything Else:

The Jumbos were a sexy pick by some to make a surprise run at the NESCAC title last season, but the squad never got healthy at the same time. Ferris missed almost half the season, Haladyna was sidelined for a handful of games, and, of course, Palleschi never saw the floor. However, if Tufts can avoid the injury bug this season then they have a shot to realize those lofty expectations.

Expect the offense to work inside out on most possessions. It will be a challenge for Palleschi and Sabety, both 6’8″ and about 240 pounds, to mesh together, but if they do then their offensive potential is sky high. Expect a lot of high-low action from the big men, and open shots for the guards. Sabety brings more athleticism to the floor than Palleschi, so he might also be employed to run the base line while Palleschi works to get position inside.

Drew Madsen ’17 will be the primary reserve big man, and the aforementioned Pace and Spadaford should see a decent amount of minutes. The scoring should be spread out fairly evenly across the board, as every player in the starting five is strong offensively.

Look for the Jumbos to get better as the year goes along, as this group builds chemistry that is just now getting the opportunity to foster.