The Boys nearly pulled off the comeback right under LordJeff's snooty nose last Sunday, but after coming from 15 down with 9:21 to tie it at 68, Barrise hit the biggest 3 of his Amherst-life with 3.2 left and derailed The Panther Express. Our last second strategy actually needed about another tick to unfold, and maybe put NolanT. on the line with a chance to tie it. Two brutal beats left the Panther Faithful with a sour after-taste, but the ncaa gurus recognized the degree of difficulty faced by The Boys in Lefrak, and didn't penalize us too much for not achieving a split with Toomey and his pals. So for the fifth straight year we're 'dancin', a remarkable achievement in itself (only R.I.C. has more, their sixth), and The Boys were rewarded with hosting this weekend.
A sold-out Pepin will be rockin' for the Morrisville State game. My sense, looking at their record, conference and roster is that this is something like a 2 vs. 15 game (or 1 vs. 16) in the Big Dance. But they should be rightfully proud to be dancin'. They started out 3 and 6, then righted the ship, and won the neac. Whatever the neac is- strong, it isn't. Seven of the ten teams have records south of the .500 line. Don't think that they'll be able to match up with our 'bigs' too well. And am not going out on a limb by saying that our G. rotation is stronger. Add the depth of the bench and the fact that although it's been unusual this season, Jensen, 'Longjack', NateB. and Dylan, 'the Smoothie', get to work in front of the home crowd, where they'll not only be more appreciated, but get invaluable ncaa experience under their belt. As an aside, thought that NateB.'s effort against Wesleyan was a breakout game. He's just starting to uncover his potential. Jensen continues to give us solid minutes on both ends and has steppped up his board work. And when you consider that LongJack's job last year was to hand out water during timeouts and that Dylan is a frosh with a huge upside, you realize the depth of this group. Morrisville is 'do-able' and we should be able to not empty the tank to get it done.
That gets us to probably the most dangerous team in the east, if not the country, Albertus Magnus (AlMag). On my radar for years, this group, led by RayAskew, has quickness, a lot of ability and good size. They want to pressure you, turn you over with their chaos and get you into a game around 90, where their speed and firepower can knock you out. This is not their first visit to the ncaa's, having beaten a good William Paterson team in Jersey two dances ago. Two thoughts on them. First they've got St.Joe's (L.I.), who also likes the track meet style and shoots a ton (30/game) of 3's. When they're hot they are dangerous. And in a shootout on a neutral court anything might happen, but think AlMag's got the best player and a big advantage on the boards that give them a definite edge in a close game.
My other thought is that AlMag has been mortal on the road, particularly if they're in a game in the 60's. Either they are not quite at optimum playing a lower tempo game, or they have problems defending for the entire shot clock. If you add those factors together, with the road, you can understand that The Boys can frustrate them with patience and shot selection. Despite their record they haven't faced 'Bigs' yet this year like 'TheBigDog' and Lynch, who can score the ball down low. Less long RB's means that they're not getting off to the races on their break. And for those concerned that we might not measure up in a 'city game', where there will be a lot of trash-talking, bear in mind that Jake and Joey grew up playing with these kinds of guys in Jersey, and Nolan's from Akron, Ohio, and won't be intimidated.
On balance it's my take we'll survive and move on to the next four team tournament. Know that any mistakes are magnified and can be fatal at this time of year, but like the way our guards operate under pressure. That's a hidden advantage. If you hadn't heard, Ryan was named first team all-nescac and as nescac POTY. Joey joined him on the first team. And JeffB. was named Coach of the Year. A big shoutout to all 3 for the honors earned. Depending on how the bracket goes, hosting a second weekend is not out of the question, but we certainly need Ohio Wesleyan to go home early to make that a possibility. See you all at Pepin tomorrow. If you can't get there The Boys will be on the small screen.
And remember.. "off the Pine Room keg, down The Alibi stairs, off DicktheHealer's hot tub, nothin' but net". Be well. Clubbo.
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