NESCAC

[SaltCounty]

Lecturing about emotions and bias after blaming all northern teams for Salisbury never playing any of them or traveling to face OOC opponents…come on man. A lot of this is based on feelings in the first place.

I think that when you win 10+ National Championships, your program reserves the right to be traveled too.
Go there enough, and they may just return the favor.

IE. When Salisbury would travel to OWU, back when OWU was competing at that level.

[ah23]

I think that when you win 10+ National Championships, your program reserves the right to be traveled too.
Go there enough, and they may just return the favor.

IE. When Salisbury would travel to OWU, back when OWU was competing at that level.

I would hope that no one has that amount of entitlement.

[callaxdad]

I'm not sure that's a stat they keep in lacrosse as they do in football but it seemed to me RIT had the ball far longer than Tufts.

lacrossereference attempts to; they have Tufts at #182 nationally out of 239 teams. In the RIT-Tufts game they had a 56/44 split in favor of RIT. Love that site, really cool resource.

RIT routinely used over 60 seconds of the shot clock. They were extremely patient and disciplined IMO. I know Tufts plays fast, its in their DNA as some say. However, Tufts D was on the field a lot. I think that was a big contributor to the outcome.

Spot on. RIT's average possession that game was 8 seconds longer (doesn't seem like much, but that adds up over the course of a game with close to 90 total possessions and a lot of transition), and their average time before taking their first shot was 40 seconds (Tufts' first shot came at an average of 24 seconds). Zooming out, RIT is 188th nationally in pace. Tufts is, unsurprisingly, 1st.

This topic was brought up before and I forgot to post a graphic from last season heading into the semifinals.

Tufts' defense was one of the nation's best overall, but cratered late in possessions. Opposite story for RIT, which was/is pretty interesting given how each team plays offense.

Excellent statistical data ah23!! Thank you for sharing.

[PioJimmy]

Tufts will always be the tip top of this league, their recruiting tactics and facilities, coaches, everything is ran as a d1 program. Understanding the strength of the LL this year does make good conversation but the NESCAC will always be the top of division 3 lacrosse, the amount of talent held in each team from the top down to the very bottom is much different.

The problem with this league is outside of tufts, I do not think we can really put a clear cut 2-11 out there right now. An example of this I am able to show is the Trinity Bates game this weekend. From what I heard Trinity was dominating the entire game, and after watching some of the game for myself, I think they could win every game for the rest of thier season - will that happen though? Definitely not. Despite the talent trinity holds, the coaching is out of wack and there is not enough discipline on the team or by the coaches, I think the camels handle them in New London this week. But like I said, every game in the NESCAC especially this year seems to be a toss up.

Let me know what you guys think. Defiantly has been a really interesting season and not really able to seem like anyone has pulled away in the league besides tufts.

In my opinion the rankings should go
1 - tufts
2 - midd
3 - Bowdoin/Wes/Williams
4-12 ??????????

[shorelax12]

Tufts will always be the tip top of this league, their recruiting tactics and facilities, coaches, everything is ran as a d1 program. Understanding the strength of the LL this year does make good conversation but the NESCAC will always be the top of division 3 lacrosse, the amount of talent held in each team from the top down to the very bottom is much different.

The problem with this league is outside of tufts, I do not think we can really put a clear cut 2-11 out there right now. An example of this I am able to show is the Trinity Bates game this weekend. From what I heard Trinity was dominating the entire game, and after watching some of the game for myself, I think they could win every game for the rest of thier season - will that happen though? Definitely not. Despite the talent trinity holds, the coaching is out of wack and there is not enough discipline on the team or by the coaches, I think the camels handle them in New London this week. But like I said, every game in the NESCAC especially this year seems to be a toss up.

Let me know what you guys think. Defiantly has been a really interesting season and not really able to seem like anyone has pulled away in the league besides tufts.

In my opinion the rankings should go
1 - tufts
2 - midd
3 - Bowdoin/Wes/Williams
4-12 ??????????

I know Wes beat Williams, but Williams is looking pretty good at the moment, I think that it is Wes or Williams at 2, but leaning to Williams after Wes loss to MIdd.

[Motorman]

I think that when you win 10+ National Championships, your program reserves the right to be traveled too.
Go there enough, and they may just return the favor.

IE. When Salisbury would travel to OWU, back when OWU was competing at that level.

I would hope that no one has that amount of entitlement.

Salisbury schedule does home and away for majority of opponents. No different than any other program. Considering they have been in 20 of the last 30 Nat. Finals,you would think more programs would follow their scheduling approach instead of questioning their travel choices. Gotta be doing something correct.

[StevieUAlum]

As a Stevens alum you have to realize you've got a geographical blessing in terms of how many opponents are a 3-5 hour bus ride away. Between the large number of league games, the late start date (Salisbury plays games before the NESCAC starts practicing), half the schools being in the boonies, and the administrations really not liking class time being missed for athletics, the opportunities to go out of region for out of conference games is tough. It's more logistics more than anything else.

Stevenson*

[ah23]

Salisbury schedule does home and away for majority of opponents. No different than any other program. Considering they have been in 20 of the last 30 Nat. Finals,you would think more programs would follow their scheduling approach instead of questioning their travel choices. Gotta be doing something correct.

If more teams followed their scheduling approach, the Mustang Classic wouldn't exist and we would never see any of the fun, competitive interregional matchups that have become a staple of the early/mid season schedule. No thanks.

[Motorman]

Salisbury schedule does home and away for majority of opponents. No different than any other program. Considering they have been in 20 of the last 30 Nat. Finals,you would think more programs would follow their scheduling approach instead of questioning their travel choices. Gotta be doing something correct.

If more teams followed their scheduling approach, the Mustang Classic wouldn't exist and we would never see any of the fun, competitive interregional matchups that have become a staple of the early/mid season schedule. No thanks.

Salisbury plays 4 of those teams during the season already. Probably 1 or 2 more in NCAA tournament. What’s the point?

[slippinjimmy]

Predictions for the Tuesday games?

I don't see any upsets happening. Wesleyan Amhesrt could go either way.

[callaxdad]

Tufts will always be the tip top of this league, their recruiting tactics and facilities, coaches, everything is ran as a d1 program. Understanding the strength of the LL this year does make good conversation but the NESCAC will always be the top of division 3 lacrosse, the amount of talent held in each team from the top down to the very bottom is much different.

The problem with this league is outside of tufts, I do not think we can really put a clear cut 2-11 out there right now. An example of this I am able to show is the Trinity Bates game this weekend. From what I heard Trinity was dominating the entire game, and after watching some of the game for myself, I think they could win every game for the rest of thier season - will that happen though? Definitely not. Despite the talent trinity holds, the coaching is out of wack and there is not enough discipline on the team or by the coaches, I think the camels handle them in New London this week. But like I said, every game in the NESCAC especially this year seems to be a toss up.

Let me know what you guys think. Defiantly has been a really interesting season and not really able to seem like anyone has pulled away in the league besides tufts.

In my opinion the rankings should go
1 - tufts
2 - midd
3 - Bowdoin/Wes/Williams
4-12 ??????????

PioJ, a couple weeks ago before the Tufts Trinity game I asked a friend of mine who is a coach and knows the NESCAC really well what he thought about the tilt. His response, expect a lot of EMO's. Essentially, what he said is, Trinity is 1. Young and inexperienced. 2. Undisciplined and chippy. The former is not necessarily on the coaches, the latter, generally speaking, is. I know nothing about the Trinity coaches so I won't comment on them but, coaching matters.

And while Tufts is clearly #1 in the league atm, they can't sleep on any of their remaining conference foes. Tonight's game should shed light on a few of the remaining unknowns.

[ah23]

Salisbury plays 4 of those teams during the season already. Probably 1 or 2 more in NCAA tournament.

I'm not talking about playing good teams in-region; most top teams - including Salisbury - do that every single year. I'm talking about traveling out-of-region to play good teams or going to centralized events like the Mustang Classic to face them, which they have essentially never done.

Just to be very clear so this doesn't get twisted: This is not meant to single out Salisbury or say they don't play anyone; they play a tough slate every year. Just suggesting that the OOC travel discussion could use a little (or a lot of) perspective. Long OOC trips are the exception, not the rule, and no one needs to leave their region to play good opponents.

What’s the point?

Same question could be asked for Tufts, RIT, or any other team with postseason expectations. Every NESCAC and LL team gets great competition in conference play, and there are a ton of ranked OOC teams in the region if they want to beef up their schedule even more. What's the point in traveling 8-10 hours south to play a similar caliber of opponent (or worse, depending on who we're talking about)?

Different coaches would have different answers. Some of them clearly think there's value in those kind of trips, while others clearly think the travel simply isn't worth it. I don't think there's necessarily a right answer. I just know that as a D-III fan I selfishly want to see more of those matchups (and see them before May).

[Chipzhoo]

What’s the point?

Same question could be asked for Tufts, RIT, or any other team with postseason expectations. Every NESCAC and LL team gets great competition in conference play, and there are a ton of ranked OOC teams in the region if they want to beef up their schedule even more. What's the point in traveling 8-10 hours south to play a similar caliber of opponent (or worse, depending on who we're talking about)?

Different coaches would have different answers. Some of them clearly think there's value in those kind of trips, while others clearly think the travel simply isn't worth it. I don't think there's necessarily a right answer. I just know that as a D-III fan I selfishly want to see more of those matchups (and see them before May).
[/quote]

Included in any consideration (perhaps), might be the number of teams in a given conference (Nescac11 vs CLC6 leaves less opportunities for OOC games) and the ability to determine "good" teams in advance of the season's start. I imagine certain coaches consistently schedule teams they believe will offer the best chance to play ranked, OOC teams on a year-to-year basis.

[ah23]

Predictions for the Tuesday games?

Fake Vegas says...

Middlebury (-4.5) at Hamilton
Tufts (-6.5) at Williams
Amherst (-3.5) at Wesleyan
Bowdoin (-9.5) at Bates
MIT @ Colby (-1.5)

[Not Suitable]

Predictions for the Tuesday games?

Fake Vegas says...

Middlebury (-4.5) at Hamilton
Tufts (-6.5) at Williams
Amherst (-3.5) at Wesleyan
Bowdoin (-9.5) at Bates
MIT @ Colby (-1.5)

I'll take Wesleyan +3.5 at home

[callaxdad]

Predictions for the Tuesday games?

Fake Vegas says...

Middlebury (-4.5) at Hamilton
Tufts (-6.5) at Williams
Amherst (-3.5) at Wesleyan
Bowdoin (-9.5) at Bates
MIT @ Colby (-1.5)

I'll take Wesleyan +3.5 at home

Just for giggles I'll take Hamilton on the money line, Bos - 6.5, Wes +3.5 and Bowdoin -9.5!

[StevieUAlum]

Nice first quarter from the Jumbos

[ah23]

Today in “What is Wrong With Middlebury’s Offense?”, Hamilton is running the mid-2010s Conn College “would be a real shame if you took that 16-yard stepdown” zone defense and Middlebury is very content to take them…right into a hot goalie. Hamilton remains very confusing but seemingly trending up (right?), Middlebury…hooooo boy.

[choochooCharlie]

I chose the Tufts Williams game to watch, wow. Fast and loose only works if A. The other team is on their heels afraid of you, and B. If you’re actually catching the ball when it’s thrown to you. Neither of those things applies for tufts in this game. Williams by 8 late in the 2nd.

[choochooCharlie]

Wow. Gifted a 2 man up and they threw the ball away.