The Jumbos are preparing for a historic weekend at home, starting Saturday, when they face the Williams Ephs in the NESCAC semifinals. If they win, they will face the winner of the Trinity vs. Middlebury contest on Sunday, also at home.
This year was the first time that the Jumbos were first-seeds in the NESCAC regular season, and therefore the first time they have been given the opportunity to host the second and third rounds of NESCACs. This is a huge advantage for Tufts, which holds a home record of 11-1. On the other hand, the Ephs, Trinity Bantams and Middlebury Panthers have away records of 7-5, 7-5 and 7-2, further compounding Tufts' advantage.
Williams is in the semifinals this year after upsetting last year’s tournament winner, Amherst, 76-69 last weekend. Earlier in February, the Jumbos beat the Ephs 93-68 at home, handing Williams its fifth conference loss. Despite the big margin, the Jumbos are not underestimating the Ephs.
“We’ve been focusing on our defense. We played good defense against Williams last time, and they didn’t come close to as many as they usually score against us. Our goal has been to get ahead of shooters and get them off that three-point line,” coach Bob Sheldon said.
The Ephs are known for their ability to shoot from the perimeter. They average 27.2 three-point attempts per game and make 9.2. Despite making eight three-pointers against the Jumbos earlier in the season, the Ephs faced a strong defense from the Jumbos, which included 12 steals and three blocks. This held Williams to a mere 68 points, below its average of 76.2 points per game.
First-year Eric Savage shone against the Ephs in the previous match-up, scoring a game-high 17 points in only 11 minutes. Senior tri-captain Tarik Smith, and junior guard KJ Garrett both tallied 15 points, while junior guard Vincent Pace led the Jumbos in rebounds, with nine.
Should the Jumbos beat the Ephs on Saturday, they will advance to the NESCAC championship to face the Bantams or the Panthers. The Jumbos have defeated all three other teams in the final four of the tournament already this season, so no matter who they face, their opponent will be out for blood.
“We are a confident team and we know that when we play well, we’re able to beat anyone that comes on the court," senior tri-captain center Tom Palleschi said. "We just hope that we can beat Williams before we look ahead. Because without a win on Saturday, Sunday means nothing.”
Middlebury is tied with Tufts with a NESCAC record of 8-2. However, in a head-to-head tiebreak, Tufts came out on top as the first seed.In January, the Jumbos overcame the Panthers 91-85. Tufts built a solid lead in the first half, thanks to 11 points from Pace and six from Palleschi, establishing a 48-37 advantage.Despite Middlebury scoring 48 in the second half to Tufts’ 43, junior guard Everett Dayton helped the Jumbos keep their lead with 11 points and three assists in the second half.
While Middlebury and Williams like to move the ball up and down the court and let their offenses dictate the course of the game, Trinity is a defensive force.
The Jumbos saw this firsthand on Feb. 3, where they outlasted the Bantams 78-75 in overtime despite averaging 83.7 points per game. Last weekend in the quarter-finals the Bantams held the Wesleyan Cardinals to only 49 points.
Against Trinity, Savage was again the team leader with 18 points. He was followed closely by Garrett, Pace and Smith, who scored 17, 16 and 15, respectively. In the match-up, two Bantams scored over 20 points, so the main focus would be keeping those two under control.
Palleschi will be returning to the court for the first time in four-and-a-half weeks after suffering a dislocated kneecap against Wesleyan on Jan. 20.Palleschi is a 1000-point scorer, the Jumbo all-time leader in blocks and will be a big asset against the Ephs who field four players 6’8” or over.
For the senior class consisting of Palleschi, Smith and tri-captain center Drew Madsen, a win on Saturday will give them the first opportunity of their careers to win a NESCAC ring. Although they will likely receive either an automatic or at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, this weekend may be the last home game of their Tufts careers.
The semifinals will be held at Cousens Gym starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and the final will be on Sunday.
Jumbos two wins away from becoming NESCAC champions
