With four losses in the past five games and four games remaining in the regular season, it is make or break time for the men's basketball team. Among the four losses are Trinity, Amherst and, most recently, Bowdoin - all NESCAC rivals. However, the team has also had some recent success against conference rivals, defeating both Colby and Bates.
Currently, Tufts stands in a tie for fifth place in the conference with Wesleyan and Amherst. If the team can win two or three of its remaining four games there is a strong chance that the squad will qualify for the NESCAC tournament.
"This is a big weekend for us as far as NESCAC is concerned," coach Bob Sheldon said. "We need to come out with at least one or two wins to be in the playoff hunt. It's an important weekend."
"It looks like we have to win two or three [of the remaining four] to get into the tournament," junior Brian Shapiro said. "After last year we thought we were good enough and didn't make it. It was one of our goals at the beginning of the year to make the tournament. We are definitely gonna give it all we've got."
The playoff push begins tonight against the Williams Ephs, who are tied with Bowdoin atop the NESCAC standings. The Ephs, who sport a 5-1 conference mark and an imposing 18-3 mark overall, pose one of the biggest challenges of the season for the Jumbos. Williams is in the midst of a four-game win streak that included victories over Conn. College and Wesleyan.
Williams last loss came against the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Jan. 26. In that game the Polar Bears beat up on the Ephs, to the tune of 84-54. This provides hope for the Jumbos, who put together an extremely competitive first half in their 98-79 loss to Bowdoin last Sunday.
"Despite the way we have played lately, our expectations are still high," Shapiro said. "We have the talent. We just have to put it together as a team. We are really excited about the game [today]. Everyone thinks we have a chance."
Over the past seven games, defense has been the main problem for Tufts, as the team has allowed its opponent to score 86 or more points in six of the past seven games. Against Bowdoin, the Jumbos continued to play defense at a level lower than that at which they feel they are capable of performing.
"We weren't getting back on defense and they were hitting a lot of shots," Shapiro said of the Bowdoin game. "We had a bunch of defensive lapses."
Sheldon echoed Shapiro's sentiments. "We are giving up too many points and we have had a lot of turnovers lately," he said. "We have been giving them [too many] chances. We have been playing a lot of good teams also. Even though it's been a rough stretch it's been against good teams."
Recognizing their problem, the Jumbos have emphasized defense during practice over the past week. "This week in practice we have focusing on playing team defense," Shapiro said. "Williams runs the offense really well. It's going to take a team effort from everyone [to beat them]. If even one person relaxes for a second on defense we are going to run into a lot of problems."
While Williams can be viewed as the big game of the weekend, Tufts cannot overlook Middlebury, a team which is tied for eighth in the NESCAC with an in conference record of 2-4. Despite their eighth place position, the Jumbos are only a half game ahead of Middlebury in the standings. Middlebury is led by a pair of double digit scorers in forwards Eric Bundonis and Nate Anderson who average 15.1 ppg and 12.3 ppg respectively.
The Jumbos are hoping that a little home cooking will get them back on the right track. After playing four of their past five games on the road, the team will finish the regular season with four consecutive home games - two this weekend and two next weekend.
"We definitely play a lot better at home," Shapiro said. "We don't have to take the long bus trip and we feel a lot more comfortable here. The fans have been great this year. They pick us up a lot."
"We need the crowd to be the sixth man," Sheldon said. "We need them screaming and yelling and going off. We shoot better at home. We are comfortable at home. If you look at the NESCAC, the home team wins a good percentage of the time."
Tufts will play Williams tonight at 7 p.m. before going to battle with Middlebury on Saturday at 3 p.m.
