Following consecutive losses to Hamilton and Clark teams Tufts was expected to handle easily, the men's basketball team will have little margin for error if it wants to stay in the hunt for an NCAA tournament at−large bid. The Jumbos, seeded fourth in the NESCAC tournament, face the fifth−seeded Bates Bobcats this Saturday in a must−win matchup in the conference quarterfinals.
Hosting their first NESCAC playoff game since 2006, the Jumbos, who sit at 16−8 overall and 6−4 in the NESCAC, still need at least one more quality win to make a legitimate case to the selection committee.
"I think we're in the mix, but we do have to win a couple more games," head coach Bob Sheldon said. "To be honest with you, I think we need to at least get to the finals of our league, because that would give us 18 wins, and it's usually around that number of wins that can get you an at−large bid. But to get to the finals, we have to beat Bates first, so we're focused on Bates now."
After an impressive midseason surge during which the Jumbos won 10 of 12 games following winter break, the team fell to national powerhouse No. 2 Amherst on Feb. 4, 74−65. Since then, Tufts has continued to slide, dropping consecutive games to conference rival Hamilton and non−conference foe Clark and putting a damper on what was otherwise an extremely successful season.
Against Clark at Cousens Gym last night, Tufts got off to a poor start offensively and never recovered, shooting just 40 percent from the field in both halves. The Jumbos held a 43−32 lead with 14:53 to go in the second half, but things fell apart from there as Tufts was held scoreless for more than four minutes. Clark stormed back with a 13−0 run and never trailed again as the Cougars pulled away for the 70−64 victory.
The Jumbos will try to put those late−season losses behind them as they prepare for the NESCAC tournament. In its previous matchup with Bates, Tufts played one of its best defensive games of the season, allowing only 62 points against a Bobcats squad that averages more than 66 per game. The biggest offensive threat for the Bobcats was junior Mark Brust. The guard — who was primarily marked by sophomore forward Tom Folliard — still managed to score 29 points while shooting an even 50 percent from the field. This time, Sheldon plans to utilize a slew of different defenders and tactics to contain the Bobcats' second−leading scorer.
"We're going to gear up a little more to stop him this time, not necessarily one person, [but] instead as a team," Sheldon said. "We want to get the ball out of his hands, so we'll do some different things with our defense."
Another key for the Jumbos will be matching the Bobcats' rugged interior play. Bates is known as one of the toughest teams in the league, and Tufts' post players especially will need to be physical to keep the Jumbos in the game.
"Their bigs are always pretty physical," junior forward Scott Anderson said. "Their offense really stems from their toughness, so the biggest thing for us on defense is to match their physicality."
"Bates traditionally always has hard workers," junior forward Matt Lanchantin added. "No matter what kind of talent ... they have, they always battle hard from year to year."
Despite the Jumbos' recent lackluster play, they can still relish the opportunity to host a NESCAC playoff game for the first time in six seasons. This accomplishment is especially impressive considering that the Jumbos are just three years removed from a regular season in which they went 1−8 in conference play and didn't even qualify for the NESCAC playoffs.
"One of our goals was to get a home playoff game in the NESCAC, and we did that," Sheldon said. "It's nice when you reach a goal that you set as a team, so there's some accomplishment there, but we're excited to move on to the playoffs." The way they remember the season will depend on their performance in the conference tournament.
"That was definitely one of our goals at the beginning of the season [to have a home playoff game]," Lanchantin said. "So despite the way we're entering the playoffs, we're happy to be at home on Saturday. But we know that having a home playoff game means nothing if we can't capitalize."
