Vying for a spot in the NESCAC tournament, the men's basketball team will host Conn. College and Wesleyan this weekend to close out the regular season. The Jumbos will take on the 12-9, (2-5) Wesleyan Cardinals Friday, who stand alone in ninth place in the conference. Tufts will then square off with the Conn. College Camels, who are in fourth place with a 14-8, (4-3) mark.
Tufts is currently tied with Colby for sixth place in the NESCAC, and boasts a 12-10 (3-4) record following last weekend's contests.
The Jumbos split two NESCAC games last weekend, falling to Williams and defeating Middlebury. With the win over Middlebury, Tufts is now the master of it's own post-season destiny. With a tournament spot all but assured, the Jumbos stand to remove all doubt and exploit a home-court advantage to victories this weekend.
"We control our own destiny right now," freshman Craig Coupe said. "We don't have to rely on other teams losing to get into the tournament. It's do or die time."
Tufts will start off the weekend against the Cardinals, a team with more talent than their record suggests. Wesleyan notched a victory against sixth-place Colby earlier in the season, and also took down a strong Bowdoin squad by a score of 89-70.
"Wesleyan is definitely better than they've been playing," junior Brian Shapiro said. "They've got a bunch of guys who can shoot the ball."
Leading the way for Wesleyan is senior co-captain Leo Jones. Jones is averaging 19.9 points per game so far this season, fueled by 52.3 percent shooting from the floor, including a solid 40.3 percent from three-point land. Tufts will certainly have to concentrate on neutralizing Jones if it hopes to come away with a victory.
"Leo Jones is one of the best players in the conference, and he's hard to contain," Shapiro said. "We've been watching tapes and scouting a lot, but he's been playing there for four years so we have a pretty good idea of what he can do. Hopefully we can contain him and get the win."
Jones does not represent the only Cardinal threat, however - sophomore Kanem Johnson and junior Chris Bray both hold double-figure averages, with 18.5 and 14.7 points per game respectively.
Things will not get any easier against Conn. College, another strong NESCAC program. The Camels have posted four conference victories, including a seven-point win over Amherst, which beat the Jumbos by 15 points on Jan. 26.
Excepting the Amherst victory, however, Conn College has had very similar results to Tufts, falling at the hands of Williams, Bowdoin, and Trinity. This should make for a hotly contested game between two teams vying for post-season position.
Tufts will likely look to junior Mike McGlynn to continue his red-hot shooting against NESCAC opponents. McGlynn leads the team in scoring with 18.2 points per game, but is averaging 24.7 points in conference contests. He led the way last weekend, scoring 51 points in two games, after combining for 31 points in two games the previous weekend.
Shapiro will also be vital to the Jumbo offense, after pouring in 24 points against Middlebury last weekend. Tufts will also have to concentrate on its defense and rebounding as well as its offensive production.
"It will all start on defense," Shapiro said. "We have to guard well and rebound. When we do that I don't think many teams can keep up with us."
Also important to the Jumbos' success will be the play of their big men, Coupe and freshman Reggie Stovell. Though Coupe kicked in a double double against Middlebury, with 12 points and ten rebounds, his numbers have been down lately.
"It's not gonna be a one-man show where I do everything," Coupe said. "When I get double teamed I have to kick it out to let other guys contribute. I have to concentrate on rebounding and the scoring will come."
Stovell, while a spark in the second half of the season, including a double double last weekend, is not yet a dominant force in the middle. This, combined with the loss of sophomore point guard Phil Barlow, has put more pressure on McGlynn and Shapiro to score. The pair however has appeared to respond to this pressure, as they are one and two in scoring for the Jumbos.
"Mike and I have been playing together for a while now," Shapiro said. "We've gotten a feel for how each other plays. We like the situation and we want the ball."
Tufts faces Wesleyan at 7 p.m. on Friday, and finishes up its season in Cousen's Gym against Conn. College at 3 p.m. Saturday.
