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.
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.
Now it’s getting really good. This is the time of year everyone looks forward to from day one of practice. We’ve got just one weekend left of conference basketball (and a makeup game between Amherst and Hamilton on Tuesday) to sort out the final standings. As you could probably guess, it’s absolute madness right now. Everything you thought you knew seems to change on a weekly basis, and now we’re at the part of the season when everything is magnified. It would be nice if we could start projecting conference tournament matchups, but I guess the players got together and decided they’d rather watch the world burn. Chaos sure is fun, so find out how the league is looking as we head into the final weekend:
Stock up
Chance for a crazier ending than last year
In the 2017-2018 season we saw one of the wildest endings to a season that we possibly could. Five teams finished tied atop the standings at 7-3, Tufts finished 6-4, and then teams 7-9 all finished 4-6. As you can imagine this led to the use of a number of tiebreakers to sort out playoff seeding, and the fact that teams 1 and 9 were separated by just 3 games is a real testament to how well balanced this league really is. Somehow this season it’s looking like we could be in for an even more exciting finish than last year. Right now there are four teams at the top with just two losses (although Williams and Middlebury have six wins while Amherst and Hamilton have just five), one team has three losses, one has four, three have five, and one has six. It is conceivable that by the end of the season there could be ties at any of the top 10 spots in the league. It is also conceivable that there are two different four-way ties, which would be absolutely absurd. This is what makes NESCAC basketball so much fun and we can certainly bank on even more insanity this weekend as conference play comes to a close.
Hamilton big 3
Michael Grassey and his terrific class of seniors have one last shot to take home some hardware
The Continentals have had a terrific year and much of that has been a result of the production they’re getting from their top 3 guys – Kena Gilmour, Peter Hoffmann, and Michael Grassey. These guys have led the way all year long, and they had a big weekend. In their game on Friday at Bates each of these three posted a double double, while also adding 3 or more assists. They were a bit quieter on Saturday when Gilmour actually had his worst game of the season with just 4 points and 6 assists, although Grassey and Hoffmann still found their way into double figures in scoring while grabbing at least 5 rebounds each. They’re all averaging at least 12 points and 4 rebounds a game, but even among these 3 guys, Kena Gilmour stands out. The top NESCAC POY candidate is putting up a league-best 19.4 points, grabbing 5.8 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists per game to set the pace for Hamilton. This team is poised to make a run deep into the postseason, and it that won’t be possible without their big 3 taking the reigns.
Stock down
Week-to-week consistency
If there’s one thing I know for sure it’s that writing the weekend preview for NESCAC basketball on a weekly basis is nearly impossible. Right when you think you know how each team stacks up compared to each other, something totally crazy happens. Two weekends ago Trinity was absolutely annihilated twice, losing by 35+ points both games. This past weekend they came back and looked excellent, defeating both Wesleyan and Conn College en route to getting back into the playoff picture. Bowdoin hadn’t been playing well and was also coming off of two brutal losses, and they knocked off Williams in overtime. Tufts took down Wesleyan and Conn two weeks ago, and then followed that with a rough weekend against the likes of Amherst and Hamilton. Colby was riding high after winning road games against both Amherst and Hamilton, and then were handled by Middlebury and Williams the following week. It is so difficult to predict these games because there is so much talent across the conference. Anyone really can beat anyone on a given night and as a writer it drives me insane but as a fan it brings me about as much excitement as possible.
NESCAC East
I know, I know – the NESCAC isn’t split into two divisions in basketball. That said, I’m a baseball player so that’s the lens that I have on when looking at the conference. With this in mind, it’s very disappointing to see the five teams in the NESCAC West at the top of the standings in basketball while the five teams in the NESCAC East battle it out at the bottom. It seems fitting that Conn College sits at the bottom because at times it doesn’t even feel like they should be there at all. It is true that many of the perennial NESCAC powers are found in the west (i.e. Amherst, Williams, Middlebury) so that’s obviously something to think about, but come on. I go to Bates so of course I’d like to see my Bobcats higher up in the standings, but Trinity, Tufts, Bowdoin, and Colby aren’t helping us out very much here. We know that these teams are capable of beating the best, so maybe they’re just trying to make things interesting with a few first round upsets. Looks like we might just have to wait until baseball season to reverse the roles a little bit…
Chances of getting 5 teams in the NCAA Tournament
Kyle Scadlock and the Ephs have their sights set a bit beyond the NESCAC Tournament
By almost all measures the NESCAC is the best conference in Division III basketball. It has the deepest pool of teams and a ton of historical success in the NCAA Tournament. Because of how talented the conference is we like to pride ourselves on getting as many as 5 berths into the NCAA Tournament – 4 at-large and 1 conference champion. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this will be such a year, as Wesleyan just lost their 7th game of the year to Amherst last night. At this point it appears that Williams, Amherst, Hamilton, and Middlebury are locks to get into the tournament, but Wesleyan is just on the outside. The Cardinals very well have a chance to win the conference tournament to get a berth, but picking up an 8th loss in the conference tournament would all but end their chances of making it. Getting four teams into the NCAAs is definitely something to be proud of, but it would be pretty cool to see someone besides one of the top four win the conference tournament to steal a bid.
This is an interesting weekend in NESCAC basketball because if you look at the slate of games, you have a feeling that you could confidently pick anywhere from 7 to 9 of the 9 games correctly this weekend. Nearly all of the games feature a team towards the top of the standings against a team towards the bottom of the standings. The great thing about this conference is that we’re likely to be surprised by more than one result this weekend. Tufts is a total wild card, and you really don’t know what you’re going to get out of the Maine schools because a lot of times they’ll randomly shock you. We’ve put out previews for 8 of the 9 games so far, but Friday’s game between Hamilton and Bowdoin was big enough in our minds to earn Game of the Week honors. Now we can present a closer look at the huge matchup in upstate New York:
Overview
Mark Lutz has been a valuable contributor off the bench for Hamilton
Hamilton comes into the game on a mini two-game winning streak after suffering their first loss of the season to Wesleyan. They’ve looked every bit the team they were at the start of the year in these past two games so it appears that their trip to Middletown was a mere hiccup. The Continentals currently lead the NESCAC averaging 89.1 points per game while shooting 49.2% from the field, second to only Williams. In the loss to Wesleyan they shot a season-low 35.9%, so it’s easy to see why they finally had to put one in the loss column. None of their starters are below 6’4” so they do a good job rebounding on both ends of the floor. The key for Hamilton is to keep the pace of the game at the speed they want it. They’re a team that scores a lot of points and shoot at a very high rate, so a faster pace certainly tips the balance their way. They also have a bit more depth than Bowdoin, with talented players like Spencer Kendall ’21, Mark Lutz ’20, and Sayo Denloye ’20 coming off the bench. If they can keep the points coming and make this one a shootout I don’t see Bowdoin being able to keep up with their firepower.
David Reynolds is going to have to have one of his classic big games if they want to compete with the Continentals
The Polar Bears travel to Clinton having won three in a row since their consecutive conference losses to Tufts and Trinity. They were just able to snag a crucial win at Colby to keep their postseason hopes still very alive. It’s no secret that Bowdoin is very much a two-headed monster with David Reynolds ’20 and Jack Simonds ’19 who are 2nd and 7th in the NESCAC, respectively. They either take turns in the spotlight or simply share it instead – they’ve accounted for 12 combined 20-point games and 4 combined 30-point games. It’s clear who’s doing the shooting, but stopping them is easier said than done. The nice thing for opponents is that if you are able to stop the two of them, you’ve pretty much won the game. The Polar Bears rely so heavily on their dynamic duo that they really don’t have many other viable scoring options. Zavier Rucker ’21 and Hugh O’Neil ’19 have each had their moments, but haven’t showed much consistency. Bowdoin isn’t a low-scoring team per se, but their scoring numbers have been relatively pedestrian to date so it is certainly in their best interest to keep the game at a pace they can keep up with. If this game gets into the upper-80s or 90s then they won’t stand a chance.
Hamilton X-Factor
Peter Hoffmann ’19
If the Continentals want to stay competitive with the top teams in the NESCAC, they’ll need strong efforts from guys in supporting roles. They can’t ask Kena Gilmour to go out there every night and single-handedly keep them in the game, and I think Hoffmann is a guy who has all the right tools to step up as we move forward. He was on a tear at the start of the season, scoring 18 points in the first game of the season and consistently putting up 12-16 points per game. However, his scoring output took a hit once conference play started, and he netted just 4 and 8 points against Trinity and Wesleyan, respectively. Luckily he was able to get in on the blowout victory over Conn College, dropping 15 points in just 21 minutes of action. As they progress Hoffmann will have to be able to do a little bit of scoring, with Gilmour and Michael Grassey doing the majority of the work. He’s also got a big frame at 6’6” and 210 pounds so he can help contribute to Hamilton’s dominance on the glass as well as block the occasional shot. If Hoffmann can get going again then the Continentals will be a lot to handle with all the other weapons they have in their lineup.
Bowdoin X-Factor
Zavier Rucker ’21
Rucker has been doing a fine job as facilitator for the Polar Bears, turning the ball over at a low rate and coming in at 3rd in the conference with 4.1 assists per game. He’s also got a bit of size for a point guard and combined with his athletic ability he has given a good effort to help rebound since Bowdoin places 3rd to last in rebounds per game. Rucker finds himself in a similar role to Hoffmann: he is clearly the team’s third scoring option so he’ll have to be selective with his shots and efficient when he does shoot. He isn’t a guy who is often going to be in isolation or taking contested fade aways, but because he’s on a team with Jack Simonds and David Reynolds (who require a lot of attention), he’s going to find himself a decent amount of good looks. It’s almost as if Rucker is forced to be the smartest guy on the team – he can’t just take shots at will because they already have two guys that do that, and do it well. Rucker has to have the discipline to know that really the only shots he should be taking are high percentage ones, and that those shots will come if he continues to help set up his teammates the way he has been. There’s no question that a lot is being asked of him, but if Rucker can be the smartest guy on the court, Bowdoin always has a great chance to win.
Final Thoughts
There are obviously some themes presenting themselves here, but I’ll try to lay things out as overtly as possible. Hamilton is the deeper and (slightly) more talented team, but Bowdoin has two guys who are capable of putting up huge numbers on any given night, so they’ll surely be able to compete. If you haven’t figured out that pace is going to be the key to the game then you should probably make your way back to the beginning of the article because I don’t think I can harp on it enough. Bowdoin has talent and if they can keep this game close then they’ve got a real shot at winning, but if they try and play at Hamilton’s pace then they won’t be able to keep up. I think they’ll hang around for a little while, but I think the Continentals will be able to speed things up just enough to run away with this one.
Williams had gone completely undefeated until last weekend when they lost their first two games in a row to Amherst and Middlebury. Before this it seemed pretty clear that Williams was the favorite in the CAC and one of the favorite seeds nationally, but at this point we may need to reevaluate. In their game against Midd the Ephs shot a measly 10% from 3-point range. Could this possibly explain what seems to be an out of place loss? Maybe, maybe not, though. The Amherst loss was probably an even bigger blow to Williams, they were leading at half and had all the opportunity in the world to take that game but they couldn’t pull it out. This next game needs to be a turning point for Williams if they still wish to fulfill their lofty goal of a national championship. Trinity, on the other hand, are feeling good right now. They went up to snowy Maine and took both games from Colby and Bowdoin, much improving their NESCAC record. They also were able to sweep their latest 2 mid-week games, putting them up to a 4 game win streak. This would be a huge opportunity for the Bantams to shake up the conference. The only question is whether or not the Bantams have the grit to hold of big bad Williams.
Score Prediction: Williams 81 – Trinity 72
#25 Wesleyan (14-4, 4-1) @ Bates (5-12, 2-3)
The Cardinals are on a roll at the moment as they have won their last 6 games. To make that even more impressive, within those 6 wins they faced 4 NESCAC teams and 3 nationally ranked teams. All of these feats have pushed them into a national ranking of their own. Jordan Bonner and Austin Hutcherson continue to thrive as the core of the Wesleyan team with terrific support from Antone Walker and others. As of now I would consider Wesleyan a member of the top 4 elite in the NESCAC along with Williams, Hamilton and Amherst. The fact that they have taken down two of those three already shows their talent. Bates has been a surprise team as of late. Looking at their preseason record I was not expecting much from the Bobcats but they have held their own in conference thus far. Big wins over Tufts and Colby have lifted them every so slightly out of the cellar of the NESCAC. Despite their success against these low to mid tier teams, I just don’t think they have what it takes to take down a team like Wesleyan, especially not right now.
Score Prediction: Wesleyan 82 – Bates 69
Connecticut College (6-11, 0-5) @ Tufts (8-10, 2-3)
Justin Kouyoumdjian will have to bring his A-game for the Jumbos to make a turn around this weekend
Tufts is a confusing team, to say the least. One game they will take down a Middlebury squad who have received national votes and then the next game they will lose to a bottom-tier team like Bates. It’s fairly evident that consistency is an issue for this squad, but at the same time they are talented enough to hang with most teams. Luke Rogers has been a solid big man for the Jumbos, nearly putting up a double-double a game. Beyond him no names and numbers really stand out on the stat sheet and that is their issue. Tufts has a lot of solid role players but not enough star players. If everyone happens to get hot then they are extremely dangerous but on your average game they are not anything to write home about. If anyone was going to hand Conn their first win of the year, it could be this Tufts team. While Tuft’s biggest issue is inconsistency, Conn’s biggest issue is their consistency: they are constantly losing. David Labossiere and Dan Draffan have been holding down the for for the Camels but there is only so much these guys can do. It’s clear that these guys are good NESCAC basketball players, they just need more of those to support them. I’m going to take a risk here though and say that Conn is going to roll into Medford and pick up their first conference win. I mean you can’t lose every game, right?
Score Prediction: Conn 81 – Tufts 80
Colby (12-5, 1-3) @ #19 Amherst (13-2, 2-1)
The Mammoths find themselves back in the national rankings this week after taking down formerly undefeated Williams in a non-conference matchup. After the last 2 intense matchups that Amherst has had, there will probably be a sense of relief for them being able to stay home and face a slightly less dangerous squad. Amherst has only lost 1 home game this season and it was against a very good Babson team. The thing I like most about this Amherst team is that they receive contributions from everyone on the roster. They have 8 guys that have clocked in for every game and nobody has played less than 7 games this year. When everyone gets a chance to be involved, it is much harder for the defense to develop a game plan and that has showed in Amherst’s success. Colby has been fairly frustrating to watch as a team this year. The big win over Tufts to start the season was extremely uplifting and gave that team a lot of hope but since then it seems as if everything has gone wrong. Losing tight games to Trinity and Bowdoin as well as a loss to Bates really hurts the Mules’ slim chances of making playoffs. With a very talented lineup that includes Sam Jefferson, Matt Hanna, Wallace Tucker and Noah Tyson one would expect that the Mules can compete game in and game out. While they have been competing they just haven’t been finishing. Maybe this weekend can change that, but I doubt it.
Score Prediction: Amherst 92 – Colby 81
Saturday
Bowdoin (11-5, 2-2) @ #19 Amherst (13-2, 2-1)
After facing Colby on Friday the Mammoths with play host to another Maine team in Bowdoin. So far this year it seems as if Bowdoin has taken the “gimme” wins in the NESCAC of Bates and Colby, although they were barely able to hang onto their win against the Mules. I actually think that Bowdoin has a really strong starting 5, or at least core 3, and am surprised that they weren’t able to find success against teams like Tufts and Trinity. Those wins could have been huge for the Polar Bears but they couldn’t pull them out and now they need to look in harder places to find wins, harder places like Amherst, Mass. As I just talked about Amherst in the last paragraph you know how I feel about their team. They are solid and well balanced and can compete with anyone in the NESCAC. I don’t see them losing this game either but I think Bowdoin might give them a little scare that they weren’t expecting.
Score Prediction: Amherst 88 – Bowdoin 83
#25 Wesleyan (14-4, 4-1) @ Tufts (8-10, 2-3)
It’ll be a big weekend for Antone Walker and the Cardinals who are riding a 6-game win streak
Wesleyan drew the short straw this week, having to trek all the way up to Maine on Friday and then all the way to Massachusetts on Saturday. I hope that bus is comfy because those boys will be spending around 8 hours on it over a short 2 day period. Although the travel may pose some problems for the Cardinals, their opponents are less of a problem. Tufts’ loss to Bates put their abilities more into perspective. They are not the team they once were and are now struggling to maintain a middle-of-the-pack status in the conference. While Tufts has been falling behind Wesleyan has been catching up to the top of the conference at a rapid rate. Purely based on momentum this should be Wesleyan’s game.
Score Prediction: Wesleyan 86 – Tufts 71
Connecticut College (6-11, 0-5) @ Bates (5-12, 2-3)
Despite their decent NESCAC record, I don’t remember the last time that Bates was favored in a conference matchup. For Bobcat fans, today is your lucky day. Bates has proved that they are a gritty team who can play up to the level of their opponents, even against much stronger opponents. Conn has had many opportunities to surprise us and pull off an upset but they have never seized it and there’s just not too much to say about them. Bates, on the other hand, has the opportunity to sneak up the conference standing by taking a fairly easy game from one of the only teams that they may have an edge on. I wouldn’t expect this to be a quality basketball game as far as NESCAC basketball goes, but a win will be huge for either team that walks away victorious.
Score Prediction: Bates 74 – Conn 68
Colby (12-5, 1-3) @ #6 Hamilton (15-1, 2-1)
Michael Grassey will have to help lead the way for the Continentals
Hamilton has a pretty simple weekend ahead of them, two home games against two Maine teams that, on paper, they are far superior than. The Continentals have the most consistent starting 5 of anyone in the conference. All 5 of their starters have started every single game that they’ve had this season. That makes it clear that Hamilton has a strong gameplan that they are confident in and clearly they have been executing it well. Colby, much like Wesleyan, have a tough travel schedule this weekend as well as a tough schedule of opponents. When looking at all outside conditions it looks like Hamilton has a huge advantage well before the jump. When looking at all on-court factors, Hamilton wins big again. If Colby wins this game it will be through pure grit and lights out 3-point shooting. If Hamilton wins, it will be because they should.
Score Prediction: Hamilton 91 – Colby 80
Trinity (13-5, 2-2) @ Middlebury (14-5, 3-2)
Our final game of the weekend comes from Middlebury and Trinity. Midd id coming off of a lot of rest time for this game and they also have home court advantage. Trinity will have faced an elite Williams team in Massachusetts and then have to go to Vermont and have to face a ready-to-go Panthers squad. Midd should go into this game with heaps of confidence as the last time that they played a game was taking down formerly undefeated Williams last weekend. Although Trinity has a 4-game win streak heading into the weekend, it is more likely than not that that streak will be broken before they even reach Vermont.
A week changes a lot in college basketball. Prior to last Friday, both Amherst and Hamilton were riding high with undefeated conference records. Hamilton was ranked top ten in the nation. Both teams, however, got “Hutcherson’ed”. Wesleyan’s sophomore superstar Austin Hutcherson unleashed himself at the expense of Hamilton and Amherst. Hutcherson put up thirty-two against Hamilton, and beat Amherst the next day on a game winner. Sound familiar, Amherst fans? If not, refer back to Nathan Krill’s, of Wesleyan, shot against you guys last season to send you guys home. Wesleyan, therefore, has shot up the power rankings—showing the league that it’s Williams and Wesleyan at one and two. As of right now, the third position in the conference is up for grabs.
Michael Grassey needs to step up this weekend as a reliable second option to Gilmour
Amherst and Hamilton are led by veteran coaches, who know how to make critical decisions down the stretch. Who will step up in the clutch? Hamilton star Kena Gilmour only put up fifteen against the Cardinals. In a big game like that, I predicted that he would match Hutcherson bucket for bucket. As the game progressed, though, Hutcherson showed that he and the big man from Williams are the two prime contenders for league MVP. As for Amherst, Grant Robinson’s must be getting close to a herniated disk in his lower back. He has carried Amherst all season long in the scoring department. The early season loss for is beneficial for both teams in my opinion. These are talented teams, but in order to be the best in an ultra competitive conference, they must address their weaknesses no matter how small they are. If a team’s winning, it’s easy to sweep under the rug a weakness that may not be visible. Getting hit in the mouth, in contrast, will always force you to look yourself in the mirror, and immediately address areas to improve.
X-Factors:
Hamilton: Kena Gilmour
Gilmour is one of the most talented, creative scorers in the league. While Hutcherson may have shown up Gilmour last Friday, I don’t doubt that the game was an anomaly for him. Gilmour can flat out score whether it be on the perimeter, slashing, or in transition. He still leads the league in points per game, albeit only by 0.1 over Hutcherson. What I believed bothered Gilmour last Friday was Wesleyan’s defense. Wesleyan’s Coach Reilly has always been known to put an extremely athletic team on the floor. Switching on all screens is something that Wesleyan can do because one through five can guard the opponent’s one through five. I still remember the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals where it seemed like 5’ 9” Isaiah Thomas would switch onto Kevin Love in the post, or concrete-footed Kelly Olynyk would get switched onto Kyrie Irving at the point. Brad Stevens, no matter how smart he looked, seemed to get played by Ty Lue (ironic, right)? Nevertheless, Amherst couldn’t exploit the switch-happy Cardinals. Gilmour had to deal with a longer Hutcherson or the wingspan of Jordan James. That game was the first test of the season for Hamilton. They lost to a very comparable Wesleyan team. Amherst will be no less talented than Wesleyan. Amherst has great coaching and talented players; they may not have Wesleyan’s athleticism, but they play great individual defense. Gilmour has to explode for at least twenty to win it for Hamilton.
Amherst: Grant Robinson
As stated in the introduction, Grant Robinson has been carrying Amherst offensively all season long. Robinson averages about fifteen points per game. None of his teammates are close to him in scoring. Robinson also shoots the ball at an efficient percentage, shooting at almost fifty percent per game. Robinson’s efficient not only in the field, but at the line as well. He shoots at 93% from the line, which is Steve Nash like numbers. He also leads the league in steals. Robinson can’t do it alone, but I picked him over his other teammates because he must score to give his team a shot at winning. Sure Eric Sellew or Fru Che could go off for fifteen or twenty points a piece. A counterpoint to that argument is the following: as seen in the Wesleyan game, all the attention has to be on Robinson to get those guys going. If Robinson’s having an off night, the defensive scheme against Amherst could be switched to giving Sellew or Che more attention. There’s no way these guys have the offense, even combined, to carry Amherst to victory without a strong showing from Robinson. As seen all year, Grant Robinson has to be the guy in order for Amherst to come away with a win.
Final thoughts:
Both teams are at critical junctures of their seasons. Winning the league title is not over by any means. Wesleyan simply woke them up. Stars didn’t perform down the stretch for Hamilton; Amherst has relied too heavily on one player. I give the edge to Hamilton here because your best player having an off night against one of the best defenses in the country is more easily treated than relying on one guy to score every possession. I’m going Hamilton in this one.
We’re now in the thick of things as each team has played 3 or 4 NESCAC games, and there is absolutely no more clarity in the rankings than we had last week. This conference is tough, and everybody just seems to be beating everybody. Even Williams is no longer unbeaten (continue reading to find out more). The Ephs still remain the league’s top team and they stand alone now that Hamilton has taken a conference defeat. Next week will give us some more marquee matchups and maybe next week the rankings will somehow be easier to write. Probably not, and that’s what makes it fun. For now let’s see where everyone falls in the mid-January rankings:
(1) 1. #3 Williams (15-1, 4-0)
Last week: W 85-61 @ Tufts, W 75-69 @ Bates
This week: vs. Middlebury
It wasn’t pretty at times, but Williams is still every bit deserving of their top spot in the rankings. After an impressive team effort in a blowout victory on Friday, the Ephs faced a bit more adversity in their matchup with Bates in Lewiston. The Bobcats led by as many as 14 in the first half and it remained close right up until the very end. The Ephs looked visibly uncomfortable against Bates’ 1-3-1 zone, uncharacteristically turning the ball over on several occasions. It took some hot shooting by Bobby Casey ’19 and a few critical plays by Kyle Scadlock ’19 to secure the victory for Williams. The ability to win games in which they aren’t playing their best has really set this Eph team apart through the first half of the season, and it was very much on display against the Bobcats. Williams actually took their first loss of the season on Thursday night in a non-conference matchup with Amherst, so maybe things aren’t as pretty as they seem in Williamstown. A huge matchup looms on Saturday when the Middlebury College Panthers come to town to try and hand Williams their second consecutive loss so stay tuned for the result this weekend in Western Mass.
(4) 2. Wesleyan (11-4, 3-1)
Last week: W 73-69 vs. Hamilton, W 62-60 vs. Amherst
This week: @ Conn College
Austin Hutcherson is slowly becoming “the man” in Middletown
It’s no secret why the Cardinals worked their way up to the 2 spot in this week’s rankings. After knocking off no. 6 nationally ranked Hamilton for the first time, Wesleyan turned around and gave Amherst their first conference loss of the year – just their second over all. This weekend was the Austin Hutcherson show: against Hamilton on Friday the sophomore dropped 32 points on 9-19 shooting, including 9-10 from the free throw line. He absolutely took over the game, scoring 24 points in the last 20 minutes and scored 12 in a row at the very end, sealing the win for the Cardinals. The very next day Hutcherson took an inbounds pass with 11 seconds to go in a tie game, drove the length of the court, and banked in a game-winner with 3 seconds remaining to defeat the Mammoths. Wesleyan made a statement this weekend that not only can they compete with anyone, but they have the star power to do some real damage in this league. Conn College won’t do much to get in the way of this machine, so look for the Cardinals to put another one in the win column this weekend.
(2) 3. #7 Hamilton (15-1, 2-1)
Last week: L 73-69 @ Wesleyan, W 91-46 @ Conn College
This week: vs. Amherst
They had to lose eventually and I suppose eventually for the Continentals was last Friday in Middletown. Wesleyan was the better team that night, carried by Austin Hutcherson and Jordan Bonner. Hutcherson won the star battle with his 32 points, as Kena Gilmour ’20 scored only 15 points, while grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists. Obviously he can’t put up insane numbers every single night, but no one besides Gilmour and Michael Grassey ’19 (20 points) could get into double figures and the rest of the team was very cold shooting the ball the entire game. The good thing was that Hamilton bounced back on Saturday and demolished Conn College by a score of 91-46. This is a powerful way to respond after suffering your first loss of the season, so my guess is that the Continentals aren’t going anywhere. They’ve got another huge chance to prove themselves when they host an Amherst team this weekend who is also looking to rebound after a loss. I’m sure we’ll be in for an exciting matchup from New York.
(3) 4. Amherst (13-2, 2-1)
Last week: W 88-60 @ Conn College, L 62-60 @ Wesleyan
This week: @ Hamilton
The Mammoths are in the exact same position as the Continentals coming out of the weekend. They were off to a tremendous start, lost a tough game to Wesleyan, and now have to come back and play another tough team who’s in the same spot. Grant Robinson ’21 continues to impress, posting 18 points on Friday and 21 on Saturday while nearly draining a three-pointer for the win in the final seconds of the Wesleyan game. The only apparent problem for the Mammoths is that Robinson isn’t getting a lot of help right now. He’s averaging 15.1 points per game (19.3 in conference play) and his teammates haven’t been able to support him as much as Coach Hixon would like. In the loss at Wesleyan, Robinson had 21 and there actually were double-digit efforts from Fru Che ’21 and Eric Sellew ’20 who had 13 and 11, respectively. The problem was that is took them both at least 14 shots to get there, so not very efficient. I’ll say the same for Amherst as I said for Hamilton – they have nothing to worry about and they’re still in a comfortable position, but this should serve as a wake up call. This Saturday is a big one.
(5) 5. Middlebury (13-5, 2-2)
Last week: W 100-93 @ Bates, L 86-84 @ Tufts
This week: @ Williams
Max Bosco has been playing really well as of late, and even worked his way into the starting lineup in their mid-week game
What a tough way to end the weekend for the Panthers who really hoped to go 2-0 against the likes of Bates and Tufts. It took a bit of late-game magic for the Jumbos who picked up a huge win at home. Again, no reason to panic yet in Vermont – Tufts is a good team and it’s still very early. In the game against Bates the Panthers were forced to deal with the same 1-3-1 zone that stifled Williams at times, but they shot the Bobcats out of the gym. The game was relatively close the whole way, but Middlebury led pretty much start to finish. It really felt like every time Bates would get the game a little bit closer they’d hit another big shot to keep the Bobcats at bay. Max Bosco had a huge weekend, dropping 28 on Bates and 17 on Tufts, while shooting 50% from the field. He has a very crafty nature and can beat you in a variety of ways – one of which is taking it hard to the basket and often getting fouled. In fact, he got to the line quite a bit over the weekend hitting 14 of his 17 free throws, good for 82%. Midd will take a trip down to western matchup for an enormous matchup at Williams on Saturday so keep your eyes on the score from that one.
(9) 6. Trinity (12-5, 2-2)
Last week: W 66-56 vs. Bowdoin, W 62-60 vs. Colby
This week: non-conference
I have to admit; I was a little down on Trinity early in the year and even after their close game with Hamilton, but this weekend they definitely proved something. Colby and Bowdoin aren’t traditionally the top teams in the NESCAC, but they’re having very good seasons and had played well recently. Winning close games in this conference is no small task, and the Bantams won two of them in a single weekend. Kyle Padmore ’20 led the charge on Friday, netting 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting, grabbing 7 rebounds, and even blocking 4 shots. The hero on Saturday was freshman Anthony Kelley ’22 who caught the inbounds pass and took the ball coast to coast, laying it in with 3.5 seconds on the clock to win the game for the Bantams. That basked accounted for 2 of just 4 points for Kelley on the afternoon, but they were certainly the biggest. Donald Jorden, Jr. ’21 has slowly been making a name for himself as he posted 26 points and 19 rebounds on the weekend, continuing to play really good basketball all season. Trinity is idle this weekend as far as conference play goes, but they’ve got big games coming in the near future with Williams, Middlebury, and Wesleyan, so there’s no question that they have some preparing to do.
(8) 7. Tufts (8-9, 2-2)
Last week: L 85-61 vs. Williams, W 86-84 vs. Middlebury
This week: @ Bates
The loss against Williams was tough, but I’d say this was a fairly successful weekend for the Jumbos. They had 5 guys score between 14 and 17 points against Middlebury, but it was Brennan Morris ’21 who stole the show, hitting a fade away baseline jumper with just a few seconds left to win it. Those were 2 of Morris’ team-high 17 points in the contest, but it was a true team effort in the win. Eric Savage ’20 and Luke Rogers ’21 turned in really the only significant performances in the big loss against Williams. Savage scored 16 points and handed out 6 assists while Rogers recorded a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tufts has been a bit of a wild card thus far, struggling at times in non-conference play but picking up a couple of impressive wins in Bowdoin and Middlebury when conference play started. They sit at 2-2 and they’ll travel to Lewiston on Saturday to take on a streaky Bates squad. A win puts them at 3-2 and in a great spot in the standings, but the Bobcats have won 3 of the last 4 meetings between the two teams so it’s certainly not a matchup to take lightly.
(6) 8. Bowdoin (9-5, 1-2)
Last week: L 66-56 @ Trinity
This week: @ Colby
The loss to Trinity is a bummer for the Polar Bears who surely had their hopes a little higher for this one. The Bantams played terrific defense, holding Bowdoin to just 34.4% from the field on the day. Moving forward they’re going to need more from their stars, David Reynolds ’20 and Jack Simonds ’19. These guys combined for 14 points and 9 rebounds, and that’s not going to win you a tough conference game on the road. Zavier Rucker ’21 had the best game scoring 14 points of his own, but really no one stepped up for the Polar Bears and they drop to 1-2 in conference play. It seems like if Simonds and Reynolds don’t play well then they lose, because no one else has stepped up this season in the scoring column aside from Rucker at times. They’ve got an important game on Saturday with Colby in what is essentially a must-win game if Bowdoin wants to stay in the race to potentially host a first round NESCAC tournament game. Colby won their first meeting 83-70 when they faced off in a non-conference CBB game, so some adjustments are going to be necessary if the Polar Bears want to have a chance this weekend.
(7) 9. Colby (12-4, 1-2)
Last week: L 62-60 @ Trinity
This week: vs. Bowdoin
It seems that many teams are in the same spot heading into their 4th/5thconference games because Colby could use a bounce back. They started conference play well by defeating Tufts, but they’ve dropped games to Bates and now Trinity since then, so things seem a bit shakier. Alex Dorion ’20 put together a notable effort off the bench, dropping 17 points that included 4 of his 6 3-point attempts. I’ve obviously pointed it out enough at this point, but the NESCAC is a star-driven league and Sam Jefferson ’20, Matt Hanna ’21, and Noah Tyson ’22 weren’t their usual selves against the Bantams. These guys have led the team in scoring and rebounding all year and they couldn’t really produce against a tough Trinity defense. The Bowdoin game this weekend will be very telling because the Mules have already defeated them once so they certainly know what it takes. They beat Bates in their first meeting but lost in the conference matchup so Colby really can’t afford to let this happen again. At this point only time will tell.
(11) 10. Bates (4-12, 1-3)
Last week: L 100-93 vs. Middlebury, L 75-69 vs. Williams
This week: vs. Tufts
Tom Coyne has had the hot had off the bench recently
Bates lost two games this weekend, but it definitely wasn’t all negatives in the two games. The Bobcats introduced a new 1-3-1 zone that they used on Middlebury and Williams and it gave us a few different results. Middlebury shot the ball incredibly well – in fact they shot a higher percentage from behind the three-point line than they did in front of it. The zone was a sneaky look, but the Panthers simply shot too well to lose this game. Nick Lynch ’19 had one of the quieter 25-point games I’ve ever seen, but along with 11 rebounds he had himself a pretty nice looking double double. On Saturday the defensive ploy worked a bit better, confusing the Ephs and giving the Bobcats a number of fast break layups. Tom Coyne ’20 had himself a huge game off the bench, lighting it up from the perimeter to the tune of 24 points on 8-13 shooting including 7-11 from 3-point land. Towards the end of the game it was Coyne’s hot hand that kept Bates within striking distance where they ultimately got stuck. There’s no doubt that the Bobcats have struggled this year, but they have showed some positive signs and they have a winnable game against Tufts on Saturday. This could be an exciting mid-January matchup from Alumni Gym.
(10) 11. Conn College (6-10, 0-4)
Last week: L 88-60 vs. Amherst, L 91-46 vs. Hamilton
This week: vs. Wesleyan
It seems like more of the same in New London as the Camels took two drubbings at home at the hands of Amherst and Hamilton. For a number of years now they just haven’t been on the same level as the rest of the NESCAC. David Labossiere ’19 and Dan Draffan ’21 have been putting together some very strong seasons, but neither of them could get anything to fall over the weekend. I will give them the fact that these games were against Amherst and Hamilton who are currently right near the top of the standings, but Conn struggled nonetheless. Their next game is against a hot Wesleyan squad that just knocked off the same two teams that they just lost to. The expectation is low at this point for the Camels but maybe that’s a good thing. Spoiler is a fun position to be in sometimes so maybe they can make something happen.
Overview: The undefeated Hamilton College Continentals will travel to Middletown, CT, this Friday to face off with the 9-4 Wesleyan Cardinals. Hamilton comes into this game ranked sixth in the country, while the Cardinals are outside looking in. The Cardinals are 1-1 in conference play with a win against a tough Middlebury team, but a big loss against the undefeated Williams College Ephs. Like I said in my preview a month ago, Wesleyan is big, tough, and athletic. Losing a guy like Jordan Sears was a heavy blow for the Cardinals, but Wesleyan still maintains its strong defensive identity. Allowing on average 68.5 points per game, Wesleyan ranks fourth in the NESCAC. Wesleyan’s field goal percentage has plagued them thus far. The Cardinals have one of the worst shooting percentages in the league at 43.9%. Wesleyan is led offensively by sophomore superstar Austin Hutcherson. Hutcherson has followed up his Rookie of the Year campaign with a stellar sophomore season so far. His 20.1 points per game ranks third in the league, while trailing Hamilton’s Kena Gilmour who averages 20.6 points per game. The matchup between Hutcherson and Gilmour will be fun to watch.
Hamilton needs to look out for Jordan Bonner on Friday night.
Both players seem to score at will in a variety of methods whether it be in transition or in a half-court set. These guys bring length to the guard position: Hutcherson stands about 6’ 6”, and Gilmour is 6’ 4”. Gilmour’s game is well-rounded because he not only scores well, but he’s tough on opposing ball handlers and rebounds well. Senior Michael Grassey of Hamilton will be another tough matchup for the Cardinals. Grassey is one of the best rebounders on the squad average around seven boards per game. He plays a Draymond Green style of play with strength inside, but also shooting to stretch the floor.
Don’t be surprised if Coach Riley puts Jordan James on him. James is having a breakout season as well. The long 6’ 7” forward will contest every shot, and is strong on the boards. He has the athleticism to run the floor with Hutcherson to dish to. This game will be Wesleyan’s third tough challenge in as many weeks. Starting off the season against Williams, Middlebury, and Hamilton is a daunting start of the season. The team can’t be so unhappy with the results so far, but picking up a win against Hamilton would be huge. Hamilton barely squeaked past Trinity, who doesn’t have nearly the team Wesleyan does. Like last year, this matchup is sure to be a thriller.
We expect to see some athletic and high-flying plays in this game.
X-Factors: This one’s pretty easy. How could I not pick Hutcherson and Gilmour? Hutcherson affects the game in so many ways. Coming in as a freshman and making the incredible impact he did right away, you come to realize the quality of player he is. It doesn’t appear that he gets rattled over the moment. Even though he’s one of the most electrifying players coming down the court in transition, I like his maturity in the half-court offense even more. He’s a smart player who knows how to run an efficient offense.
Kena Gilmour ’20
To cap it off, Hutcherson is a ninety percent free throw shooter. With the game on the line, you trust Hutcherson with the ball. You can’t say that about many college players especially underclassmen. Kena Gilmour has made his case to be regarded as one of the best players in the country. He statistics tell the whole story with his prolific scoring and steals. He’s very similar to Hutcherson in that he’s a young guard whom you trust to run the offense efficiently. I’m excited to see the plans Coach Reilly and Coach Stockwell devise to stop the opponent’s superstar guards.
Austin Hutcherson ’21
Final Thoughts:
This game is Hamilton’s biggest test so far in the season, while it’s one of the final really tough opponents Wesleyan will face for a while. Hutcherson has picked up some of the slack that Krill’s graduation left, but I’m not entirely sure that’ll be enough to dethrone Hamilton. Hamilton is playing great basketball right now, and I’m not sure that Wesleyan has played to their potential yet. My heart will always be with Wesleyan, but for this game, Hamilton is too good to pick against.
Now that one weekend of conference games is in the books, we can see how exciting this season is truly going to be. There is really no apparent hierarchy and every team displayed some sort of weakness that can be exploited as we move forward in the season. This weekend was really a microcosm of what NESCAC basketball looks like on a regular basis. We had a few blowouts, a few tight games, a few defensive battles, and a good number of shootouts. There was seemingly no discernable pattern of who’s beating who, and that’s exactly the way we like it. Every weekend is an interesting one, nearly impossible for us to predict. With that being said, let’s take a look at the best and worst performers of the first weekend to see where everybody stands:
Stock Up
Williams dominance
It was about as successful as it could have gone this weekend for the Ephs as they took care of Wesleyan and Conn College at home. The Wesleyan game especially passes the eye test because they were able to prove that they could win a defensive battle. We know that Williams can score, but the fact that they led a low-scoring game pretty much the entire way against the talented Cardinals shows that they can win in any fashion. Bobby Casey ’19 led the way against Conn College, posting a game-high 24 points and 8 assists in a rout of the Camels. The Ephs were playing as well as anyone in the preseason, but they’ve brought their dominance into NESCAC play and that is a scary sight for teams around the league.
Jack Simonds as a leader
Everything was falling for Jack Simonds this weekend, but we’ll find out if he is really here to stay
The top performer of the weekend was undoubtedly Jack Simonds. The senior put up an astonishing 55 points on 22-33 from the field and grabbed 15 rebounds combined in the matchups with Bates and Tufts. It felt like Simonds couldn’t miss all weekend and he certainly threw his name back into the conversation for NESCAC player of the year with his efforts. After a breakout sophomore year, Simonds had a bit of a down season in his junior campaign and Bowdoin struggled at times without his leadership. He has come into conference play firing on all cylinders after torching Bates and putting up a valiant effort in a loss versus Tufts. Bowdoin comes out of the weekend right in the thick of things at 1-1, but things are looking bright if Jack Simonds can keep putting out performances like these.
Stock Down
Hamilton dominance
This is not meant to take anything away from a win to start off NESCAC play for the Continentals, but the Bantams tested them on Sunday. It took a carrying violation against Trinity and then a basket with 0.8 seconds left for Hamilton to sneak out the win. The Bantams were embarrassed by Amherst in Western Mass on Friday so morale was low when they rolled into New York for their Sunday matchup. Hamilton couldn’t capitalize, and Trinity hung around for much too long in this one. Kena Gilmour ’20 was not himself at all, putting up 15 points and snatching only 4 rebounds, but fortunately Michael Grassey ’19 picked up the slack and was able to do just enough to secure the win. The Continentals are doing just fine, but being ranked #6 in the country is a very impressive feat. It’ll take a much less sloppy effort if they want to compete with the other top teams in the league moving forward.
Clarity in the middle
Austin Hutcherson ’21 is identifying himself as the top option so far for the Cardinals
It’s never easy to identify the best teams this early in the season, but there are 6 teams that finished the weekend 1-1, and it wasn’t exactly the 6 that we may have thought. After looking really bad to start the season, Bates snagged a win at Colby and even Conn College battled tough with Middlebury until the very end. Tufts started off slow losing to Colby on Friday, but turned around and took care of Bowdoin on Saturday. Wesleyan looked very impressive at times too, but here they are at 1-1 with the rest of them. Trinity and Conn each went 0-2 on the weekend, but the way they played we can tell there won’t be a winless team in the NESCAC this year. All we can do now is wait another week to get a bigger sample size and start making some better assessments. I wouldn’t be surprised to see quite a few 2-2 teams at the end of the second weekend…
Hope for Connecticut
I will admit that Wesleyan had a solid weekend and doesn’t have much to feel bad about at the moment, but Conn and Trinity aren’t doing them any favors in the early going. The state of Connecticut as a whole went 1-5 this weekend and only one of those losses was by fewer than 12 points. I’m not saying I expect to see these three schools at the top of the standings, but they certainly haven’t helped make a name for themselves so far. There’s never an easy game in this conference, so there’s no time to relax for any of the schools down in the NESCAC’s warmest state. Another weekend like this and we might have to start looking forward to the spring season when the southern schools get to have their moment.
This Williams team looks nearly unstoppable. They have three players averaging over 14 points per game and three averaging over five boards per game, dominating each of their nine opponents thus far. Bobby Casey has been lights out from deep, draining 47.7% of his threes, Scadlock has been electric from the floor, shooting over 60% from the field, and James Heskett has been doing his thing for the Ephs, following up his All-American season with some more balanced numbers among a more talented supporting cast with the return of Scadlock. Matt Karpowicz and Michael Kempton have been doing well all around as a big man unit, averaging a combined 14 PPG and over ten boards, equalling a dual double-double. No NESCAC team can match the size and big-game experience of this Eph team with the Continentals as the only real threat on their road to a second straight NESCAC championship.
Casey and the Ephs are not going to be a fun opponent this season.
2.) #5 Hamilton (9-0)
I’ve been a big fan of this unit that Coach Stockwell has developed for quite some time. They were set on a course for predestined greatness in this 2018-2019 season long ago when the group of Peter Hoffmann, Tim Doyle, Andrew Groll, and Michael Grassey joined forces in the 2015-2016 season. Those four along with the most athletic player in the lineup, junior Kena Gilmour, make up this team that could bring the Continentals their first major men’s sports championship in who knows how long. Gilmour and Grassey are doing most of the scoring in the perfect 9-0 start to the season, averaging 19.7 and 15.2 PPG, respectively. They are a balanced team and Gilmour, Grassey, and Groll all haul in over five boards per game. Their trusty point guard, Doyle, dishes out passes to the rest of the shooters and is the glue that keeps the gears turning and rounds out the deadly group that is, top to bottom, without any glaring weaknesses.
Gilmour’s Continentals are the biggest threat to the Ephs in 2019.
3.) Amherst (7-1)
This is a bit of a surprise for me as I figured that after losing some studs, the Mammoths would enter more of a rebuilding year. Their only loss so far was to the 2017 national champion Babson Beavers and they received votes in the last D3 Hoops rankings. Their big man, Joe Schneider, is their only senior, boding well for the future of this historically dominant program. Grant Robinson is leading the way on the scoring front with 15.8 PPG with Eric Sellew putting in 9.6 PPG, and sixth man-to-be and deep threat off the bench, Garrett Day, dropping 9.3 PPG in just 17.3 minutes per game. Five Mammoths average over four rebounds per game and while Robinson is the closest they have to a superstar, they are a deep team with many possible contributors and several wild card players who entered into new roles at the start of this season.
4.) #24 Middlebury (8-2)
This is an unusual year for the Panthers as they are without a true leader on the court like they have had the past few years. Matt Folger is the most talented player on the floor for Midd and has been off to a hot start, putting up 16.0 PPG, shooting over 50% from the field and over 47% from deep which is going to need to be sustainable for the Panthers to have a shot to compete with Bobby Casey and the Ephs. My biggest concern for the Panthers this season was at the guard position as they lost Jack Daly and had a big scoring, passing, and rebounding hole to fill. Jack Farrell, Max Bosco, and Griffin Kornaker have all contributed surprisingly well so far this year, making up the next wave of elite Panther guards. Farrell is averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.9 REB/G, and 4.3 A/G while Bosco is scoring 13.8 PPG in 21 minutes per game off the bench. Kornaker is more of a distributor, averaging 4 A/G and spreads the floor well between Folger, Hilal Dahleh, and Eric McCord down low. While Folger hauls in boards in his own right, raking in 9.5 per game to nearly total an average of a double-double for himself. McCord and freshman forward Alex Sobel are the defensive specialists, grabbing 10.8 and 5.4 REB/G, respectively. The guards are going to need to continue to play lights out for the Panthers with Folger leading the way for Midd to compete in the postseason. Their early season conference match ups should provide a good indication of how this rather unpredictable teams competes against better competition.
5.) Wesleyan (7-3)
Contrary to Andrew’s (unsurprisingly) favorable preview for the Cardinals entering this season, this team has proven to be human in the early going despite their notable athleticism. They played a non-conference game against Williams and lost by 15—not such a bad result considering the prowess of the second-ranked Eph team. It actually was a poorly played game by the Cardinals, boding even better for their future games against the NESCAC’s top foes as they shot just 25% from beyond the arc. They also hauled in just 28 boards which was likely the main issue—allowing Williams to dominate on defense. Jordan Bonner, Austin Hutcherson, and Antone Walker are the big time scorers for this Wesleyan team, all averaging at least 14 PPG and represent a dangerous trio of shooters. This young team may be a bit inconsistent at times with Bonner as the only senior on the roster, but they should have a shot in some games that they are not favored in due to their athleticism and potential to score.
6.) Colby (8-2)
This young Mule team is coming out of nowhere to intimidate the other NESCAC competition in the 2018-2019 preseason. While I didn’t really expect them to compete without any seniors on the roster, they are quietly putting together wins with five players averaging double digit point in the early going. Matt Hanna (14.1 PPG, 5.7 REB/G, 3.5 A/G), Sam Jefferson (16.6 PPG, 4.0 REB/G, 40.3% 3-PT), Wallace Tucker (11.1 PPG, 3.7 REB/G, 2.0 A/G), Noah Tyson (11.8 PPG, 8.6 REB/G, 2.6 A/G), and Ronan Schwarz (11.9 PPG, 4.9 REB/G, 58.2% FG) round out a well-balanced, and deep starting five for the Mules. While it’s hard to determine the quality of their opponents, they knocked off Bowdoin pretty easily 83-70 and Bates 86-69.
7.) Trinity (7-3)
Trinity is a team much like Colby in that they lack a superstar or one player really performing above the rest of the team. Four of five starters (Kyle Padmore, Donald Jorden, Christian Porydzy, and Nick Seretta) average 10 PPG while Connor Merinder adds 8.3 PPG. Jordan and Merinder each haul in 8.1 and 6.4 REB/G, respectively and are the best rim defenders on the team. They lost to pretty badly 84-67 to 16th ranked Nichols but lost by less than five points in their other two hiccups thus far. This team still has a lot to figure out after losing key players last season, much like Middlebury and Amherst, but they seem to have a deep enough lineup so far to be dangerous and a match for many NESCAC foes.
8.) Bowdoin (6-3)
Despite a below average 6-3 record entering the break, including a loss to rival Colby College, the Polar Bears are boasting a modest four game win streak after staring the season just 2-3. While it often takes some time for younger teams to get going, I didn’t expect to see this from the rather experienced Bowdoin team. Jack Simonds, Jack Bors, Hugh O’Neil, and David Reynolds who represent a similar level of experience to the Hamilton team. In fact, I’d even go to say that similar to Hamilton, this is the year of hope and destiny for the Bowdoin team too. If there was ever a year for them to make a run at the whole thing, this is it. Now I’m by no means saying they’re as talented as Hamilton or Williams, but David Reynolds and Jack Simonds both have POY potential, making a run at the league’s scoring title, and Hugh O’Neil has DPOY potential, bringing down rebounds with the best of them for his entire career. They fall all the way down here to eighth on these first power rankings of the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get hot and make a run and host a first round playoff game.
Simonds, Bors, and O’Neil represent a NESCAC ‘Big 3’ that could challenge any team on any day.
9.) Tufts (4-5)
Nobody lost more key players than Tufts did at the end of 2018. They lost starters Thomas Lapham, Everett Dayton, and, most importantly, Vinny Pace, leaving them with just Miles Bowser and team leader Eric Savage remaining. Savage, however, is the only Jumbo left in the starting lineup from last season as Bowser is no longer on the roster. Tyler Aronson and Carson Cohen are two of the new starters and are freshmen looking to make a quick impact at the college level. Both highly decorated high school players, Aronson and Cohen should improve as the season goes along but likely, as seen in their early record, will be overmatched by against some better teams and will experience up-and-down shooting nights. Rounding out the starting five are sophomores Justin Kouyoumdjian (that is a mouth full), Brennan Morris, and Luke Rogers. Savage has been a bit banged up thus far, leaving room for Cohen to make an early impact, but expect Cohen to come off the bench in games that Savage plays in. Arguably their best game of the season was in a loss to #7 MIT that went to OT early in the season. While the Jumbos might be the last ‘good’ team in these power rankings, they still have the talent to knock off any team on any day, speaking to the depth of the NESCAC.
10.) Conn College (3-5)
And then there were two. Conn and Bates seem to be far below the rest of the NESCAC competition thus far. I hope they prove me wrong, but each program is in different places and will struggle for different reasons throughout the spring. For Conn, they have their star player, David Labossiere, leading the way but they lack a solid supporting cast to propel them into the fire of the NESCAC competition. Dan Draffan is another great player for the Camels, but Jack Zimmerman, Phil Leotsakos, and Ryan Omslaer need to step up their game for Conn to work to sneak into the playoffs. With that said, however, Labossiere could make a run for the NESCAC scoring title and could take over any game as he is shooting 40% from deep and averaging nearly 20 PPG so far. Draffan scores over 16 PPG and hauls in nearly 10 boards per game and if they can figure out how to score, this team could upset better NESCAC teams on their off nights.
11.) Bates (2-7)
Bates had an underwhelming but not abysmal 2017-2018 season, but lost one of their starters in Guards Shawn Strickland. They went into the holiday break with five straight losses, two to NESCAC teams (Colby and Bowdoin) which I think clearly makes them the worst team in Maine so far. They shoot from beyond the arc at just 27.8%, make under 60% of their free throws, and only have two players in Jeff Spellman and Nick Lynch scoring in the double digits per game. Lynch and Spellman are also the only Bobcats averaging over six boards per game and it looks as if, unless there is going to be a dramatic shift in the new year, this may be a long season for Bates. Tom Coyne should return after the break in time for NESCAC play, and while it’s been rough so far, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Bates make the playoffs and slowly climb up the rankings into the top eight.
