The men's basketball team has started the season in unexplored territory.
The Jumbos sit at 11-4 overall, in the No. 3 spot in the league, where their 3-1 conference start is the program's best since 2005 and has earned them the highest ranking any member of the current team has ever enjoyed.
And while the rest of the school was on vacation, Tufts dismissed then-national No. 7 Williams 80-71 on Jan. 6, Bowdoin 82-70 on Friday, Colby 64-59 on Saturday afternoon, and Suffolk 98-65 on Tuesday night.
Suffice to say, these Jumbos are taking care of business.
Their only NESCAC loss came on Jan. 7 at the hands of undefeated national No. 1 Middlebury 82-69 in a game where Tufts pulled within six points in the final five minutes. Early in the conference season, Tufts is quickly proving they plan to leave the NESCAC cellar in their rearview.
"We started preparing for NESCAC play as soon as we got back from break," junior tri-captain Scott Anderson said. "It was nice to have a few games before our matchup with Williams, but us upperclassmen had been reminding the underclassmen that NESCAC games were a different animal because of how much faster and more physical the players are. We were all focused since we left for break on the opportunity we had to potentially take down the No. 7 and No. 1 in the country because it's an opportunity that most teams don't get to have."
On Tuesday night, the Jumbos rolled over visiting Suffolk University 98-65, which completed a three-game win streak at home -- their first wins in Cousens of the season. In fact, three of Tufts' four losses this season have been at home.
Against the 5-9 Rams, the Jumbos exploded for their highest point total since Dec. 8, 2007, pulling away in the second half behind five players in double figures and two more who scored nine points.
On Saturday, Tufts posted their second home win of the season against the visiting Mules. The Jumbos controlled the game from the start despite taking heat from a streaking Colby late in the second half. Their 58-55 lead with 30 seconds left held up; sophomore guard Oliver Cohen, Anderson, and freshman guard and eventual NESCAC Player of the Week Ben Ferris went a combined perfect 6-for-6 from the line to seal the win.
And each time the Mules threatened, the Jumbos had a response. Colby came within three for the first of four times in the second half with an 8-2 run, but Tufts responded with an 8-2 run of its own. A 12-3 Colby streak later in the half was stopped cold by a clutch 3-pointer from junior guard Alex Goldfarb, followed by a Ferris layup on the Jumbos' next possession.
On Friday night, Tufts was also dominant against a visiting Bowdoin squad. Despite falling behind early 11-4, Tufts then took control of the floor with a 14-1 run sparked by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kwame Firempong just 4:37 into the game and capped by another from Goldfarb. Freshman guard C.J. Moss added a jumper while Ferris added back-to-back 3s in the run.
After the halftime break, Bowdoin responded to a 15-point deficit with a 12-2 run that put them within five with 11:54 left. But a long 3-pointer from Ferris halted the comeback as the visitors stayed outside eight points for the remainder of the game. Ferris was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field—including four from long range—for 17 points and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench.
The first-year has been one of coach Bob Sheldon's biggest weapons off an incredibly deep bench; Ferris is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game, and is shooting a team-high .468 from beyond the arc.
"Our focus was to get two home wins above all else," Ferris said. "We hadn't won at home the entire season so we needed to show some grit and prove to ourselves that we were a good enough team to beat two NESCAC teams at home back to back. Coming off a split weekend, we needed to win two games to keep our hopes alive for a tournament bid which has been our goal since day one."
And the Jumbos have certainly kept those hopes alive with their 3-0 follow-up to a 1-1 weekend on the road against top-10 opponents. At then-No. 7 Williams, Ferris dropped 23 points and Anderson double-doubled with 19 and 10 boards, fueling an upset in which the Jumbos trailed only once for 16 seconds in the first half.
"The key to our wins so far has been our energy," Anderson said. "I think we took both Williams and Bowdoin by surprise with our aggressiveness on the defensive side and rebounding. Saturday games in the NESCAC are always difficult because everyone is tired from the night before. That game with Colby I think was won simply because we are a better team with more talent and more threats on the offensive end."
Despite losing to No. 1 Middlebury, which shot at 62.5 percent in the game — the Jumbos again saw stand out performances from Anderson (19 points, 5 rebounds), Firempong (16 points, 5 assists), and sophomore forward Tom Folliard (10 points) while keeping up with the defending NESCAC champs on the boards 29-29.
"We felt like we didn't come with the same energy we had in the win over Williams against Middlebury," Ferris said. "We still didn't bring the same energy against Colby, but a win is a win and that's what we set out to do. However, winning a close game by five to a team that isn't as strong as we are is something that just can't happen anymore and I think we are learning from those types of games."
The Jumbos will have a chance to show what they've learned over the coming weekend; they cannot afford to split games again. Tomorrow, Tufts will travel to 12-4 Wesleyan whose only two NESCAC losses have come against Middlebury and No. 4 Amherst by three and two points, respectively, and exacted revenge on the Lord Jeffs on Tuesday night, 68-67, behind a career-high 24 points from junior Mike Callaghan.
On Saturday, Tufts should have an easier go of it at Connecticut College, which sits at 6-10 overall and winless in the conference.
"Wesleyan is a very good team," Ferris said. "We need to come with the same focus, energy, and competitiveness we had against Williams. We can't look past anyone at this point so all we can do is win one game at a time… We will be preparing for Wesleyan [tomorrow] and hopefully we can get that win and go from there. I'm confident that if we play to our potential with enough energy on defense we will be successful."
