Tufts basketball teams prepare for conference tournament

Women's Basketball

After both teams ended their regular season action with wins, the men’s and women’s teams embark on their postseason journeys this weekend with the commencement of the NESCAC tournament.

The women’s team wrapped up its regular season at Trinity last week, winning 59–40.The victory pushed the Jumbos' record to 21–3 on the season, with an 8–2 record in the NESCAC.That resume has earned them the third seed in the conference tournament, which nets them home-court advantage in the first round.

That first round matchup will be against a Conn. College team that put up an overall record of 15–8 and a 4–6 showing in the NESCAC. Earlier in the season, the Jumbos played an excellent game against the Camels at home, winning 75–54. Despite that result, Tufts isn't looking past Saturday's game.

"Playoff time is playoff time," senior guard and co-captain Lauren Dillon said. "We know that every team is fighting for a chance to keep playing, and we know especially with this Conn. College team that their season is over if they lose. So we know the seniors are going to be fighting for their lives, along with the rest of the team."

Should the Jumbos win on Saturday, they’ll earn a spot in the following weekend's conference semifinals, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.The NESCAC championship game will take place the next day.

For the third year in a row, it appears that Amherst will be the team’s biggest obstacle in the eight-team field.The Mammoths have won back-to-back NESCAC titles, beating the Jumbos in nail-biters in both games. After a 41–37 loss last year, Tufts has a little extra motivation to deny Amherst's quest for a three-peat. The Mammoths defeated the Jumbos in the NCAA title game last year, as well, no doubt adding more fuel to the fire.

"Both of those games have left a bad taste in our mouths," Dillon said. "It's a new season, and obviously that's in the back of our minds, but for right now, we're just focused on Saturday. But if it comes to [playing Amherst again], then we're definitely going to have a lot of motivation."

It won’t be easy, as Amherst hasn’t lost a game in two years, maintaining a perfect record (33–0) during its championship run last year and having yet to drop a game this season. The Jumbos came close to victory during the teams' regular-season matchup on Feb. 2, losing 50–43 on the road.As Tufts is the No. 3 seed and Amherst is the No. 1 seed, the soonest the two foes could meet is in the conference championship game.

Men's Basketball

The Tufts men’s team finished its season with a win against Trinity, as well, pulling out a 76–71 triumph. This secured the Jumbos' regular-season record of 17–7, with a 6–4 NESCAC record to boot.Tufts' victory also locked up the sixth seed in the conference tournament, setting up a matchup with third-seeded Hamilton (21–3, 7–3 NESCAC) on Saturday. Since the Jumbos are the lower seed, they will make the trek to Clinton, N.Y.

The Jumbos played the Continentals only two weeks ago, losing 74–57 at home.A big second half from Hamilton cost Tufts the game, as the team couldn’t keep up with the visitors' 45-point barrage in the latter period.The Jumbos learned a lot from the game, though, and hope to bring this knowledge to the matchup this weekend.

"We've definitely been watching film of that game and critiquing ourselves of what we think we could've done better, but also things that we did well," sophomore guard Eric Savage said. "We shot a really low percentage in that game, so I think if we can just put the ball in the basket, we'll be in great shape to win this game."

With a win against Hamilton, Tufts would advance to the conference semifinals the following weekend. Even though the team is assured of being on the road throughout the tournament, the Jumbos may favor that situation: Tufts is 9–3 on the road this year.

"It's sad for our seniors that they've probably played the last home game of their career," Savage said. "But I've talked with some of the guys, and I think, personally, that we don't really like home games. We like being away, we like feeling like we're the underdogs — it kind of adds a chip to our shoulder."

Despite their middling position in the NESCAC standings, the Jumbos believe they can beat anyone — a sentiment backed up by the fact that the team has impressive wins over the top two seeds in the conference: Amherst (60–56 on Feb. 2) and Williams (69–63 on Jan. 12). The key for the Jumbos will be stringing together three consistent games.

The next two weeks will be crucial for the team's NCAA tournament résumé. As it sits, Tufts may be a bubble team given its current record.A deep NESCAC run would certainly give the Jumbos some help on that front, and a conference title would give them an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

"Even though we're going to take it one game at a time ... in the back of your mind you're like, 'look, if we do lose, the implication is that our season is likely ending,’" Savage said.

The Jumbos have their work cut out for them on both the men's and the women's sides, but they are ready to take on the postseason. Both teams will tip off the first round of the NESCAC tournament at 3 p.m. on Saturday.