For the first time in recent memory Middlebury travels to LeFrak with nothing to play for in the NESCAC standings. Middlebury’s victory over Trinity, coupled with Hamilton’s loss to Wesleyan, on Friday guaranteed the Panthers a home game in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. Today, with Middlebury off, Bowdoin lost on the road to Tufts, slotting the Panthers in the 3 seed. So win or loss tomorrow at Amherst, Middlebury will host Hamilton — the 6 seed, and one of Middlebury’s three conference losses — next Friday.

The same is not true for Amherst, who need a win tomorrow to secure the number one overall seed. Should the Lord Jeffs lose, Williams would host, despite having already lost twice to Amherst this year.

And simply because the Panthers are locked into the 3 seed doesn’t mean Middlebury won’t play to the level we’ve become accustomed to seeing when these two teams play. While the only certain path to a NCAA berth for Middlebury is the AQ bid from winning the NESCAC Tournament, the Panthers could conceivably earn a Pool C bid with a win over Amherst tomorrow and a trip to the NESCAC title game.

Furthermore, there is more to this matchup than conference ramifications. Amherst and Williams have a rivalry that most other schools can only hope to foster, but over the last four years, Middlebury has inserted itself into the fray and developed an on-floor rivalry with the Lord Jeffs that has surpassed what the Ephs have been able to muster. If one were to rank the best in-conference games over the past three seasons, he or she would be hard-pressed to find three better games than the last three times Middlebury and Amherst have played one another. (Not insignificantly, Amherst won all three of those games). Now, if you extended the time frame two more years, the on-floor rivalry would switch to Middlebury and Williams. (If you think this is a Middlebury-centric argument, consider that Middlebury has finished the last seven seasons as a top 3 seed in the NESCAC and is 6-0 in the NESCAC quarterfinals over that time. Neither Amherst nor Williams, nor any other team in the conference can lay claim to either of those accomplishments. In other words, over that period — and it’s somewhat arbitrary — Middlebury has been the most consistent team in the NESCAC.)

Returning to the matchup, the last time these two teams played, Middlebury failed to box out the Lord Jeffs in a 104-101 triple overtime loss in what was likely the greatest game ever played in Pepin Gymnasium. Both teams played at an incredibly high level and the game’s final 20 minutes were highlighted by one tremendous play followed by the next. Regardless, Middelbury ended up on the wrong end of a once-in-a-season, but-twice-if-you’re-Middlebury play by Willy Workman who saved the Lord Jeffs at the end of the first overtime and gave them a chance to win. Nobody has forgotten that game and for many, the two losses in LeFrak during 2012 loom equally large. Middlebury hasn’t beaten Amherst since the 2011 NESCAC semifinals, when the Panthers overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to advance to the NESCAC finals.

Why might today be different? Middlebury is playing arguably its best team basketball of the season, the Panthers could be bolstered further by the return of Matt Daley and Amherst has not been quite as dominant in the conference as their record suggests. As a team the Lord Jeffs have shot just 44 percent from the floor in conference play and 34 percent from beyond the arc. The drop off has been most apparent in Connor Green, who appeared to be making an All-NESCAC case early in the year, but has shot just 36 percent from the floor and 24 percent from three in NESCAC play. The other guy who has played a significantly smaller role in conference play is David George, who enters the final game of his NESCAC rookie regular season averaging 17 minutes per game while scoring just 3.2 points per game. George remains a dominant defensive presence in the post, averaging 1.6 blocks per game and the third highest blocks per minute in the NESCAC, but the offensive game has not consistently materialized late in the year for the Lord Jeffs’ promising big man.

Aaron Toomey has continued to carry Amherst, averaging 21 points per game on 46/37/92 shooting splits, but has historically struggled in this matchup. In the five previous games between these two teams, Toomey has shot a combined 25 percent from the field, while scoring just 11 points per game. Whether the D3 Player of the Year continues to struggle against Middlebury in spite of the graduation of NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Nolan Thompson, will be one of the keys to today’s game.

Joey Kizel, meanwhile, has enjoyed consistent success against Amherst (though not necessarily in the win column), averaging 17 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor. Kizel is playing easily his best basketball of the season, following up a week in which he won NESCAC Player of the Week honors with a 15-point, 12-rebound performance in Middlebury’s road win over Trinity on Friday.

Outside of Toomey and Kizel, the biggest difference makers for Middlebury and Amherst will likely be Dylan Sinnickson and Tom Killian. Sinnickson may be the hardest player to defend in the NESCAC and the Panthers will live and die at times with his jump shot. Fortunately that did not happen in Hartford, as Middlebury overcame a poor shooting night from Sinnickson, who has put together an All-NESCAC caliber season. Even after Friday’s 1-10 performance, Sinnickson leads the team averaging 16.4 points per game while shooting better than 46 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc.

For the Lord Jeffs that player appears to be Tom Killian, who is second in scoring in NESCAC play, averaging 14.4 points per game on 45/35/80 splits. Killian can do a little bit of everything offensively, but makes his mark on the defensive end where he is averaging 2.7 steals per game and 6.4 rebounds in conference play. While he is not as prone for an offensive outburst as Sinnickson, Killian makes important contributions in all three phases of the game and could be the athletic swing forward who can check a player like Sinnickson.

The front line names in this game (Kizel, Toomey) are well known and will be fun to watch, but this game will likely be decided by who gets more production from their role players around those guys. This game will be decided by the Merrymans, Greens, Kalemas and Browns more so than the All-American guards headlining things.

This is not a must-win game for the Panthers necessarily, but boy, every time you head to LeFrak it sure feels that way.

With two NESCAC games remaining for all but Trinity and Amherst, seeding for the NESCAC Tournament remains wide open. Only Bates (1-7) knows it has been locked out of the tournament — a shocking development after the Bobcats opened conference play with a road win at Middlebury, ending a streak of 43 consecutive wins for the Panthers against non-Amherst, non-Williams foes. Since then Bates has lost and lost badly and will finish the season playing for bragging rights against its CBB brethren. The remaining 10 teams all have something to play for this weekend and given all the many possible permutations, we’ve decided to break things down so we know just where everything stands. Take note of some of the particularly wild tie-breakers, all of which we attempted to analyze below. In reverse order …

11) Bates (1-7), (Bowdoin, Colby): The Bobcats have been mathematically eliminated from the NESCAC Tournament. The eight seed will finish with at least three wins and Bates has lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with all four of those possible teams.

Possible Finishes:
Bates will miss the NESCAC Tournament.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 31 @ Wesleyan (76-70 OTL).
Had Bates won that game they would currently be locked in a four-way tie for the eighth seed and would likely need only to beat Colby to secure a tournament berth. Instead, Bates will miss the NESCAC Tournament for the first time since the ’06-’07 season.

10) Connecticut College (2-6), (vs. Williams, Hamilton): The Camels are in a tough spot with one of their two wins coming against Bates (the other over Colby) and the Ephs and Continentals left on the schedule (though they play those games in New London). Even worse for Conn. College, their tournament chances hinge on matching or surpassing Colby in the standings, which requires the Mules to lose. But one of Colby’s games this weekend is at Tufts and the Jumbos hold the tiebreaker over the Camels.

Possible Finishes:
The Camels will be the 7 seed with: Two wins, Colby goes 1-1 or 0-2, Wesleyan goes 0-2 and Tufts goes 1-1 or 0-2.
The Camels will be the 8 seed with: Two wins, Colby goes 1-1 or 0-2, Tufts goes 1-1 or 0-2; OR two wins, Tufts goes 2-0 and Wesleyan goes 0-2.
The Camels will miss the NESCAC Tournament with: Anything less than two wins; OR two Colby wins; OR two Tufts wins.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 31 vs. Tufts (66-51 L).
From a game perspective, the Camels threw away a chance to beat Middlebury at home, losing in the final seconds on a Dylan Sinnickson three, but even a win over the Panthers would only go so far for the Camels who would still lose a tie-breaker with the Jumbos. Where the Camels really dropped the ball was losing to Tufts at home in a game that would have given Conn. College wins over Colby and Tufts and a stranglehold on a playoff spot.

9) Tufts (2-6), (vs. Colby, Bowdoin): After Bates, Tufts has been the conference’s most disappointing team. The Jumbos can save some face by playing their way into the NESCAC Tournament, but barring a deep run this season is going to be a series of what-ifs for Tufts, which has been derailed by key injuries to its best players. As a result the Jumbos are on the outside looking in, though their path to the postseason is not nearly as tenuous as Conn. College’s, given they own the tiebreaker and also host Colby, currently the seven seed tomorrow.

Possible Finishes:
Tufts finishes as the 7 seed with: Two wins, Wesleyan goes 0-2.
Tufts finishes as the 8 seed with: Two wins and Wesleyan goes 2-0 or 1-1; OR beat Colby, Wesleyan goes 2-0 or 1-1 and Conn. College goes 1-1 or 0-2.
Tufts misses the NESCAC Tournament if: Any scenario that involves a loss to Colby occurs, or if the Jumbos beat Colby, but lose to Bowdoin and Conn. College goes 2-0.

Game they wish they could have back: Saturday, February 1 @ Wesleyan (86-73 L).
When Bob Sheldon looks back at this season there will be a lot of games he wishes he could have back, but the loss at Wesleyan could loom particularly large. Win that game and Tufts is sitting in eighth place needing only to beat Colby to secure the seven seed.

8) Wesleyan (3-5), (vs. Hamilton, Williams): Wesleyan has been one of the pleasant surprises in the NESCAC this season. The Cardinals have played teams especially tough in Middletown, where Joe Reilly’s team is 3-1 this season and a double overtime loss to Middlebury from being 4-0 on home turf in conference play.

Possible Finishes:
Wesleyan finishes as the 6 seed with: Two wins and Colby goes 1-1 or 0-2; OR beat Hamilton, Hamilton goes 0-2 and Colby goes 0-2.
Wesleyan finishes as the 7 seed with: Two wins and Colby goes 2-0; OR 1-1, Hamilton goes 1-1, Colby goes 0-2, Tufts goes 1-1 or O-2 and Conn. College goes 1-1 or 0-2.*
Wesleyan finishes as the 8 seed with: Two losses, Tufts goes 1-1 or 0-2 and Conn. College goes 1-1 or 0-2; OR 1-1, Hamilton goes 2-0 or 1-1 and Colby goes 2-0 or 1-1.
Wesleyan misses the NESCAC Tournament with: Two losses and either Conn. College or Tufts go 2-0.

*There are a couple of different permutations for this second seven-seed scenario, which you can figure out if you really want.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, February 7 @ Trinity (70-65 L).
This one stings for the Cardinals, who held Trinity to 19 first-half points before allowing the Bantams to explode for 51 in the second half. The difference between winning and losing that game for the Cardinals is a drop from a tie for fifth place in the conference and clinging on to the 8 seed.

7) Colby (3-5), (@Tufts, @Bates): The Mules are intriguing: They handed Amherst their only conference loss so far this season, ending a streak of 31 straight NESCAC wins for the Lord Jeffs) and had played everyone in the conference tough before being blown out by Middlebury last week. Colby went 3-1 at home this year, but is on the short end of the travel stick, having to play six games on the road this season, including the final two away from Waterville. The future is bright for Damien Strahorn’s team, which is led by a loaded sophomore class. In the meantime, however, Colby will need to prove its chops on the road — where it has yet to win this season — if the Mules want to play beyond this weekend.

Possible Finishes:
Colby finishes as the 5 seed with: Two wins, Trinity goes 0-1 and Hamilton goes 0-2.
Colby finishes as the 6 seed with: Two wins, Trinity goes 1-0 and Hamilton goes 0-2; OR Two wins, Trinity goes 0-1 and Hamilton goes 2-0 or 1-1.
Colby finishes as the 7 seed with: One win, Wesleyan goes 1-1 or 0-2, Tufts goes 1-1 or 0-2.*
Colby finishes as the 8 seed with: One win, Wesleyan goes 2-0, Tufts goes 1-1 or 0-2; OR One win, Wesleyan goes 0-2, Tufts goes 2-0; OR 0-2, Wesleyan goes 0-2, Tufts goes 2-0 or 1-1 and Conn. College goes 1-1 or 0-2.
Colby misses the NESCAC Tournament with: Two losses, Wesleyan 2-0 or 1-1; OR 1-1 and any two of Wesleyan, Tufts and Conn. College 2-0.**

*If Colby, Wesleyan and Tufts all finish 4-6 in the conference (this would happen if Tufts goes 2-0, beating Colby, Colby beats Bates and Wesleyan goes 1-1) then there would be a three-way tie as each team will have beaten and lost to one of the other teams. In that scenario, Colby would be the 7 seed because the second tiebreak (after head-to-head) is record against the top four teams. Only Colby has beaten one of the top four teams (Amherst) from that group, unless Wesleyan beats Williams, but either way, Wesleyan holds the head-to-head against Tufts and would be the second team in, making Colby the 7 seed and Wesleyan the 8 seed. It’s also possible for a four-way tie to occur at 4-6 if Hamilton goes 0-2, which we’ll address in a moment.

**The Mules also miss the tournament in the case of a four- or five-team tie at 3-7. This would occur if Colby and Wesleyan both lose out, Conn. College and Tufts finish 1-1 and Bates wins its final two games (though it’s not predicated on Bates’ participation, hence the four-team tie applies, too). Here, Wesleyan and Tufts would secure the 7 and 8 seeds, respectively, hanging lost only one game to the other teams involved in the tie-breaker. (Wesleyan holds the tie-breaker over Tufts). In the case of a three-team tie between Colby, Wesleyan and either Tufts or Conn. College, Colby would then jump to the 7 seed as each team would have a unique set of wins and losses, to one another and the Mules would have the lone win against a top-four team (Amherst). Wesleyan, having beaten both Conn. College and Tufts, would then be the 8 seed.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 17 @Hamilton (70-57 L).
Again, other games on Colby’s schedule were more tightly contested or were higher profile games, but in terms of securing a NESCAC Tournament berth, no other win would have meant more than beating Hamilton on the road, which would have guaranteed the Mules a place in the tourney and given them a legitimate shot at a home game in the first round as a top-four seed.

6) Hamilton (4-4), (@Weselyan, @Conn. College): Hamilton has resurrected its NESCAC season with wins in its last three games to improve to .500 in the conference. The Continentals had a season-defining win over Middlebury two weeks ago and followed it up with home wins over both Tufts and Bates. Now Hamilton has to go on the road, where it has yet to win a game in NESCAC play, to have a chance at stealing a top-four seed in the NESCAC Tournament.

Possible Finishes:
Hamilton will finish as the 3 seed with: Two wins, Trinity goes 0-1, Middlebury goes 1-1 and Bowdoin goes 0-2.
Hamilton will finish as the 4 seed with: Two wins, Trinity goes 0-1 and Middlebury goes 1-1 or Bowdoin goes 0-2.
Hamilton will finish as the 5 seed with: Two wins, Trinity goes 1-0 or Middlebury goes 2-0 or Bowdoin goes 2-0; OR Hamilton goes 1-1,* Trinity goes 0-1 and Middlebury goes 1-1.
Hamilton will finish as the 6 seed with: One win, Trinity goes 1-0 or 0-1, Middlebury goes 2-0 or 1-1; OR Hamilton goes 1-1, Middlebury goes 0-2 and Wesleyan goes 2-0; OR Hamilton goes 0-2 and Wesleyan and Conn. College go 1-1.
Hamilton will finish as the 7 seed with: One win against Conn. College, Middlebury goes 2-0 or 1-1 and Wesleyan goes 2-0; OR Hamilton goes 0-2, Wesleyan goes 1-1, Colby goes 1-1, Conn. College goes 2-0 AND Tufts goes 2-0.**

*This assumes Hamilton’s win is over Wesleyan. Should they lose to Wesleyan they would need Wesleyan to lose Williams to still secure the 5 seed.

**In this scenario there is a five-way tie between Hamilton, Colby, Wesleyan, Conn. College and Tufts all of which would be 4-6. (This scenario is possible and there is only one chain of events that would lead to this outcome). Should things break down as such, Wesleyan would get the six seed because the Cardinals went 3-1 against the other four 4-6 teams. Hamilton, Tufts and Conn. College, however, all went 2-2, with each losing to Wesleyan and then dropping a game to one another. The next step in the tie-break, therefore, is record against the top-four teams. Here, Hamilton comes out on top only if Middlebury is in the top four teams. If the Panthers lose to Trinity on Friday and Amherst on Sunday (such that the top four would be Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin and Trinity), then none of those three teams would have recorded a win against the top four and the tie-breaker would expand to records against the top eight teams. Here, Hamilton would escape the tie-breaker again with a win over fifth-seeded Middlebury, leaving Tufts and Conn. College to battle it out for the eight seed. Because Tufts has the head-t0-head advantage, the Jumbos would claim the eight seed, leaving Conn. College and Colby, which went 1-3 against that group of teams out of the playoff picture. Therefore, in the unlikely event of a five-way pile up at 4-6, the NESCAC standings would look like this: 6) Wesleyan; 7) Hamilton; 8) Tufts; 9) Conn. College; 10) Colby.

Game they wish they could have back: Saturday, January 11 @Trinity (62-53 L).
Beating Trinity would have done more than flip the two teams in the standings. At 5-3, Hamilton would be sitting in a three-way tie for third place with Middlebury and Bowdoin and would secure a home game in the NESCAC Tournament with two wins this weekend. As is, the Continentals are the most volatile team in the conference with finishes anywhere between the 3 and 7 seed possibilities.

5) Trinity (5-4), (vs. Middlebury): Trinity has been one of the league’s stingiest teams this season, but has yet to register a win against any of the conference’s top four teams. That could all change this weekend. A win over Middlebury would give the Bantams a signature win and would guarantee them a home game in then tournament. Trinity is not a serious contender for the NESCAC title, but if you can buy yourself another home game — and a possible rematch with Middlebury in the first round of the conference tournament on your floor —you say yes every time.

Possible Finishes:
Trinity will finish as the 3 seed with: A win over Middlebury and two Bowdoin losses.
Trinity will finish as the 4 seed with: A win over Middlebury and Bowdoin  goes 2-0 or 1-1.
Trinity will finish as the 5 seed with: A loss to Middlebury, Hamilton goes 1-1 or 0-2 and Colby goes 1-1 or 0-2.
Trinity will finish as the 6 seed with: A loss to Middlebury and Hamilton goes 2-0 or Colby goes 2-0.
Trinity will finish as the 7 seed with: A loss to Middlebury, Hamilton goes 2-0 and Colby goes 2-0.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 31 @Bowdoin (46-39 L).
Had Trinity beaten Bowdoin, a win over Middlebury would have secured the Bantams the third seed in the conference tournament. Instead Trinity scored a season-low 39 points on a horrific 29/12/39 shooting line and will have to beat Middlebury to secure a home game in the quarterfinal round.

4) Bowdoin (5-3), (@Bates, @Tufts): The Polar Bears have been the most consistent team in the NESCAC, taking care of business at home against lesser talented teams and dropping games to Williams and Middlebury on the road. The Polar Bears are talented, experienced and have one of the best five-man starting lineups in the conference. But they have yet to record a signature win, which may be the difference for them between an NCAA Tournament berth and a loss in the NESCAC Semifinals.

Possible Finishes:
Bowdoin will finish as the 3 seed with: One more win than Middlebury this weekend.
Bowdoin will finish as the 4 seed with: The same number of wins as Middlebury this weekend.
Bowdoin will finish as the 5 seed with: Two losses and Trinity goes 1-0 or Hamilton goes 2-0.
Bowdoin will finish as the 6 seed with: Two losses, Trinity goes 1-0 and Hamilton goes 2-0.

Game they wish they could have back: Saturday, February 1 @Amherst (70-67 L).
Amherst made just 10 two-point field goals in that game, but made up for it with 15 made threes. Bowdoin enjoyed an efficient scoring night, shooting better than 55 percent from the floor and held Amherst to 41 percent shooting. Despite the disparity, the Polar Bears ended up on the losing end. A win would have given Bowdoin the tie-breaker for the two-seed in the NESCAC Tournament and an outside shot at hosting.

3) Middlebury (5-3), (@Trinity, @Amherst): The Panthers have the toughest finishing schedule of any team on the road against two top-five teams. It is difficult to know if the Panthers have been snakebitten by NESCAC play or if they deserve the cards they’ve been dealt. On the one hand they lost one-possession games to Bates and Williams after holding double digit leads at halftime, on the other they stole a pair of games on the road at Wesleyan and Conn. College with a series of big plays down the stretch that would be difficult to replicate. Either way, the Panthers have a chance to grab the three seed in the tournament, which is more than they could have asked for two weeks ago following losses to Williams and Hamilton.

Possible Finishes:
Middlebury will finish as the 3 seed with: Two wins; OR one win over Trinity, Bowdoin goes 1-1 or 0-2 and Hamilton goes 1-1 or 0-2.*
Middlebury will finish as the 4 seed with: 1-1 (win against Trinity) and Bowdoin goes 2-0; OR 1-1 (loss to Trinity), Bowdoin goes 1-1 or 0-2 and Hamilton goes 1-1 or 0-2; OR 1-1 (win against Trinity), Bowdoin goes 1-1 or 0-2 and Hamilton goes 2-0.**
Middlebury will finish as the 5 seed with: 1-1 (loss against Trinity), Bowdoin goes 2-0 or Hamilton goes 2-0; OR 1-1 (win against Trinity), Bowdoin goes 2-0 and Hamilton goes 2-0; OR two losses and Bowdoin or Hamilton goes 2-0 or 1-1.
Middlebury will finish as the 6 seed with: 1-1 (loss to Trinity), Bowdoin goes 2-0 and Hamilton goes 2-0;*** OR two losses, Bowdoin and Hamilton go 2-0 or 1-1.

*If Middlebury, Bowdoin and Hamilton end up in a three-way tie at 6-4, things get interesting. Each have unique wins and losses to the other two teams and none of them would have wins over the top four (top two in this case because only Amherst and Williams are clearly ahead of them). Middlebury, however, would have one more win than Hamilton against the top eight teams and either one more or the same number as Bowdoin (depending on whether the Polar Bears lost to Tufts or Bates and whether Tufts then qualified for the tournament). Middlebury, however, holds the tie-breaker over Bowdoin, making them the three seed. Bowdoin, meanwhile, would be the four seed, either because they would have a better record than Hamilton against the top eight teams or, if their records are the same, because they own the head-to-head win over the Continentals.

**Things get really hairy if a five-team pile up occurs at 5-5. How this would happen: Middlebury and Bowdoin lose out, Hamilton goes 1-1, and Colby and Wesleyan both go 2-0. In that case, Trinity would be 3 seed at 6-4, Middlebury would be the 4 seed (only the Panthers and Polar Bears have one loss to that group and Bowdoin’s came to Middlebury), Bowdoin would be the 5 seed, Hamilton would be the 6 seed (only team with two losses), leaving Colby and Wesleyan, which both went 1-3 against the other teams in that group. Because Colby ahs the head-to-head victory, Colby would be the 7 seed and Wesleyan would be the 8 seed. If, however, you remove Bowdoin from the equation (say they go 7-3 or 6-4) and you have a four-team tie between Middlebury, Hamilton, Colby and Wesleyan, then Hamilton takes the 5 seed, Middlebury grabs the 6, Colby is the 7 and Wesleyan is the 8. In this case, Hamilton and Middlebury have one loss and Hamilton has the head-to-head tie-breaker, while Colby and Wesleyan would have two losses and Colby still holds the breaker.

**There is also the possibility of a four-team tie at 6-4 if: Trinity beats Middlebury, Middlebury beats Amherst, Bowdoin goes 1-1 and Hamilton goes 2-0. In that scenario, Bowdoin would be the 3 seed because they went 2-1 against those teams and beat Trinity head-to-head. Trinity would be the 4 seed because their only loss came to Bowdoin. Middlebury and Hamilton both lost two of their three games, but Hamilton beat Middlebury, which would make Hamilton the 5 seed and Middlebury the 6 seed.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 31 vs. Williams (64-61 L).
Middlebury led by as many as 18 points in the second half, before watching it all slip away in a heartbreaking loss. A win over Williams would have given Middlebury the inside track to the two seed, but would have had an even bigger impact on the Panthers’ Pool C odds as a win over the Ephs would have given Middlebury wins over two of the three top-ranked teams in the region, with a game at Amherst looming. Beat all three and the Panthers likely would have secured a Pool C bid. Now even a win over Amherst on Sunday guarantees Middlebury nothing.

2) Williams (7-1), (@Conn.College, @Wesleyan): Williams has stumbled just once this season in NESCAC play, but the Ephs have been less than convincing in a number of their wins. Regarded by many in the pre-season to be the most talented team in the country, Williams has thus far failed to dethrone Amherst. With an outside shot at hosting the NESCAC Tournament, the Ephs would love to secure a pair of wins, though they cannot fall beyond the two seed in the standings.

Possible Finishes:
Williams hosts the NESCAC Tournament with: A pair of wins and an Amherst loss.
Williams finishes as the 2 seed with: Any combination of a loss and an Amherst win.

Game they wish they could have back: Saturday, January 11 @Amherst (84-73 L).
Only one candidate here for the 7-1 Ephs: the loss to the Lord Jeffs in the conference’s opening weekend. Had Williams won that game they would almost certainly be hosting the NESCAC Tournament this weekend. But Amherst has twice beaten the Ephs, both at home on the road, and have proven so far to be the better of the two teams.

1) Amherst (8-1), (vs. Middlebury): Amherst has been the NESCAC’s best team for the third consecutive season. For the Lord Jeffs the equation is simple: beat Middlebury and host the third straight NESCAC Tournament at LeFrak Gymnasium.

Possible Finishes:
Amherst hosts the NESCAC Tournament with: A win over Middlebury; OR a loss to Middlebury and Williams goes 1-1 or 0-2.
Amherst finishes as the 2 seed with: A loss to Middlebury and Williams goes 2-0.

Game they wish they could have back: Friday, January 31 @Colby (70-65 L).
The Mules handed Amherst its one loss of the season. A victory that night would have secured the Lord Jeffs the number one overall seed, regardless of what happens in Sunday’s game. It also broke a streak of 38 consecutive wins in conference for Amherst. While Amherst will not run the slate for the third straight season, a win over Middlebury would make the loss to Colby moot.

Contributor Adam Lamont has ranked the NESCAC teams from Amherst (1) to Bates (11).

1) Amherst (8-1): Two comfortable wins for the Lord Jeffs over the weekend is what should be expected for a veteran team. The potential loss of sophomore center Ben Pollack to injury could leave the front court even thinner than before. If Pollack’s injury is serious then freshman David George will start and see a heavy does of minutes the rest of the season. Pollack is Amherst’s most effective interior scorer and though George has a lot of potential, his offensive game is raw. If Pollack can’t return then the perimeter scorers for the Jeffs will have even more pressure on them to carry the load. Their final game against Middlebury will be difficult and features great matchups on the perimeter.

2) Williams (7-1): They started three freshman this weekend and won both games going away. You probably need no reminder, but it can’t hurt to emphasize: the future is bright for the Ephs. They have the second seed locked up and could end up being number one if Amherst falls. We don’t have word on whether Taylor Epley or Hayden Rooke-Ley will return, but Williams will need them to make a run deep in the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Duncan Robinson is almost assured a First-Team All-NESCAC spot and if he closes strong he could get Player of the Year honors as well. And he has three more years to terrorize the NESCAC …

3) Middlebury (5-3): The Panthers had the best weekend in the conference beating Colby and Bowdoin. Senior Guard Joey Kizel is playing like the All-American he is, and Dylan Sinnickson is a great second option on offense. They have a tough weekend ahead traveling to Trinity and Amherst. Trinity is a physical team that Middlebury can’t overlook before playing Amherst. If Middlebury had hung on to beat Williams they would start to be in the conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAAs, but at this point they probably need to win the NESCAC Tournament — a tall task, but far from impossible.

4) Bowdoin (5-3): First, this is based heavily on how teams have done recently (essentially in conference play) so ranking Bowdoin below Middlebury here is not an evaluation of their overall seasons or NCAA tournament worthiness. The way Bowdoin lost to Middlebury was obviously disheartening, but the Polar Bears did not deserve to win the game. They missed a lot of easy layups and foul shots. The trend of losing narrow games to their best opponents is disconcerting, but Bowdoin is learning from these games. They face a rivalry game against Bates who they barely beat earlier in the year. The Polar Bears should jump all over the Bobcats the second time around given Bates’ struggles in conference play.

5) Trinity (5-4): The overtime loss to Colby two weeks ago looked like it killed any hope the Bantams would have of hosting a NESCAC tournament game, but a win against Middlebury this weekend will ensure the Bantams of just that. Sophomore forward Shay Ajayi is really starting to come on, giving Trinity a little more offensive punch. Ajayi had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Bantams’ 98-point performance against Conn. College — easily their high-water scoring mark this season. If they can come close to that type of play again and have the stifling defense they have shown all year they will be a really tough out in the NESCAC tournament.

6) Hamilton (4-4): The Continentals have roared into relevance (relatively speaking) in the second half of the NESCAC schedule. They can get a home game in the first round of the NESCAC tournament if they win their last two, Middlebury beats Trinity and loses to Amherst. Not likely, but certainly not impossible. Matt Hart is only a sophomore, and next year he will be the premier guard in the conference. He is already the best pure scoring guard, but needs to do a better job creating for his teammates.

7) Colby (3-5): It was a disappointing performance last Friday against Middlebury as the Panthers came out fired up and put Colby in the rearview mirror early on. They can still get to .500 in conference if they win their final two. Point Guard Luke Westman doesn’t shoot very often, but he is unbelievably efficient. Despite not making a three all season, he is shooting almost 65 percent from the floor so far this season. Along with Chris Hudnut and Patrick Stewart, Westman will be the key for Colby to make the leap next year into conference title contention.

8) Wesleyan (3-5): This isn’t to disparage Wesleyan, but there is definitely a drop off after Colby to the Cardinals. Maybe I’m discounting Wesleyan, but to me the most surprising conference game this year was that Middlebury needed a few last second shots and double overtime to escape Middletown with the victory. Wesleyan has nice pieces including freshman Harry Rafferty, who leads the team in scoring. He has to become a more efficient scorer and turn the ball over less, but with the graduation of Kizel and Toomey, he will become one of the standard bearers of NESCAC point-guard play.

9) Tufts (2-6): This is not the season that people in Medford signed up for. I don’t know if it’s the bus ride to Hamilton or what, but the Continentals claimed the Jumbos as the latest to fall victim in Clinton. This was despite Matt Hart only scoring 11 points. It seems like whenever a couple of players have good games, it means that everyone else will struggle. They were not at all competitive in their loss to Williams. Still, if they win Friday against Colby, Tufts controls its NESCAC-tournament destiny.

10) Conn College (2-6): Not too much new to talk about with Conn. The Camels have leaned heavily on seniors Matt Vadas and Mason Lopez this year. Their graduation will leave a dearth of scoring and leadership. Hey, recruits: Immediate playing time available in New London! In all seriousness Vadas needs only 19 points to become the Camels’ all-time leading scorer. He has been a prolific scorer and if he can carry his team to a pair of wins, Conn. College has an outside shot at a tournament berth.

11) Bates (1-7): Anyone who predicted Bates to finish 1-7 after beating Middlebury in the coference-opener is a soothsayer. This team played Amherst very tight for 30 minutes, but just got run out of the gym against Hamilton. Graham Safford’s play has dropped off considerably from the beginning of the season and the Delpeche brothers have not developed over the season. It will be interesting to see how Bates responds playing two rivals at home to close the season.

Contributor Adam Lamont breaks down Bowdoin’s last second loss at Middlebury on Sunday.

Bowdoin missed out on a chance against Middlebury to separate itself as the third best team in the NESCAC. The headlines will say that Tim Gilbride’s attempt to call a timeout when he didn’t have one cost the Polar Bears the game, but as is the case with any close game, the story is much more complicated as to why Middlebury escaped with the victory. Shooting 52 percent from the free throw line, missing easy layups and letting Middlebury get open looks from three cost Bowdoin far more than Gilbride’s lapse at the end. Of course Gilbride should have been aware that his team was out of timeouts, but in the grand scheme of things the other factors are far more concerning. It would have been great to see the game go into overtime, but Gilbride has done an exceptional job coaching this year. One mistake should not overshadow that. Now, to the game itself …

For the first 39:30 the game played out just like Bowdoin’s other two losses. Bowdoin’s defense, especially on the perimeter, played worse than its usual stingy self. Dylan Sinnickson and Joey Kizel both had big first halves getting good looks from the outside. The amount of open threes that Middlebury had was particularly disappointing. Bowdoin played primarily man-to-man though they would sometimes disguise it as a zone coming out of a timeout or stop of play. Man is not the defense this team is most comfortable playing and it showed a few times when players got caught watching the ball instead of sticking to their player. Swords was unable to shut down Jack Roberts who had a nice game scoring 10 points. He seemed just a little bit too slow in his reactions and Roberts did a good job keeping him off balance with his post moves.

The Polar Bears made the occasional switch back to the zone for the short stretches when Kizel went to the bench. Bowdoin was burned earlier in the year when Duncan Robinson went off from outside, single-handedly rendering the zone defense useless. Understandably, Gilbride did not want Kizel, coming off a 30-point performance against Colby, to consistently get open looks. He still scored in the first half though it was in a variety of ways, both by pulling up from three in transition as well as getting to the basket. His playmaking in the second half kept the Middlebury offense going even after Bowdoin started to tighten things up defensively in the second half. Obviously a lot of (virtual) ink has been written about Kizel here. Seeing him and Toomey in back to back games was a real treat as well as a disappointing reminder to what Bowdoin is missing as Bryan Hurley continues to play his way back from injury. Hurley was a great floor leader for Bowdoin last year and was the engine of the offense, especially late in the shot clock. It is pretty clear that even though he has returned that Hurley will not be that player until next year. Matt Mathias has been great all season, but he isn’t the type of player who can consistently create for his teammates like Kizel or Toomey. Having a player who can create offense out of nothing in close games is what distinguishes the consistently great teams and may be Bowdoin’s missing ingredient this season.

On offense Bowdoin only got into a rhythm during a few moments in the first half and the end of the game. Middlebury was the first team all year to primarily front Swords with weak-side help quick to double. The high-risk, high-reward strategy definitely played to Bowdoin’s advantage. Swords was able to out-battle Jack Roberts for three easy dunks (it felt like more) because the help side either could not get there in time or the pass came from the middle of the floor meaning nobody could help enough off their man to stop Swords. I found the strategy surprising because playing Swords straight-up forces him to make more difficult shots or pass out to the perimeter. Fronting him allows him to use his greatest strength, his size, to get him easy baskets. Swords finished with 16 points and probably should have had 20 considering he missed two point-blank shots and also five free throws.

What fronting him did do, however, was limit the looks Bowdoin got from the outside because Swords’ touches were limited even though his scoring was not. The clean looks for Bowdoin’s perimeter players that often result from the attention Swords receives just weren’t there. Andrew Madlinger was able to hit a couple of threes, but he also fired up others that were contested because it was the only way he could get a shot off. This was especially true in the first half when Bowdoin only attempted four threes. The lack of threes in the first half made Grant White’s 11 first-half points all the more important because he was able to efficiently score off the dribble. The senior from Vermont had his best game offensively since the first game of the season. He has been more aggressive in the last few weeks getting into the lane and has become a good secondary playmaker for Bowdoin averaging 3.1 assists per game. His play helped offset subpar games from both Matt Mathias and Keegan Pieri. Mathias had a difficult matchup with Jake Brown harassing him for much of the game. Though his shot was off he still had four assists and more importantly no turnovers so he still found ways to produce when he wasn’t having his best game.

The struggles of Pieri were a little more perplexing. He didn’t seem to get the ball as much as he has recently nor with the space he needs to work. Middlebury deserves some credit because the athletes like Jensen or Sinnickson that they can put on Pieri are impressive. He was virtually non-existent in the first half with only one shot taken and two rebounds. In the preview for this game I said that Lucas Hausman shouldn’t shot threes anymore which obviously meant that he went 2-2 from there on Sunday. He also uncharacteristically missed three free throws, which was a theme from Sunday. Bowdoin finished 13-25 (52 percent) from the line and though Middlebury’s misses down the stretch were more important, the cumulative effect of missing 12 free throws is immense. Five of those misses were by Swords who sits at 51.9 percent for the season. No team has employed a hack-a-Swords strategy yet, but we very well could see that this weekend at Bates Friday night, where there should have a raucous crowd trying to get into Swords’ head. Overall foul shooting has been a strength of the team all season and one game of poor shooting isn’t of too much of a concern.

Losing at Middlebury wasn’t a bad loss considering all the talent the Panthers have, but it means this weekend will be a tricky one for Bowdoin. On paper the Friday game against Bates is an easy win, but the teams played an incredibly close game in December that came down to the buzzer. Tufts is a talented team that has struggled, but has pieces. Though Bowdoin closes with the bottom two teams in the league, they are by no means easy wins. Win both and one NESCAC tournament game and Bowdoin should make the NCAA tournament, but stumbling could put them on the bubble because they played an easy non-conference schedule and don’t have a signature win in NESCAC play. The Polar Bears have made up for it by running the table against the rest of their schedule, but if they want to make a run in either the NESCAC or NCAA Tournament they have to be able to beat tournament-caliber teams.