NESCAC playoff picture becoming clearer in final weeks

As February zips by and final league games begin to loom in the near future, NESCAC teams are feeling the heat for the final push into the playoffs.

With just one more weekend of league competition in store for the men's and women's basketball teams, and two more weeks for hockey, the playoff pictures are solidified for some, but still up in the air for many squads.

In men's basketball, Williams, ranked second in the nation, can clinch the top seed in the NESCAC championship tournament with a win on the road against either Bates or Tufts this weekend. The Ephs look to repeat last year's success when they went all the way in the tournament, edging Amherst in the championship game, 74-70, to win a bid to the NCAA Div. III national tournament.

Number two in the conference Trinity stands just behind Williams with a 6-1 NESCAC record. The Bantams will play fifth place Wesleyan and last place and winless Connecticut College this weekend while vying for either the top or second tournament seed. Trinity sophomore Tyler Rhoten earned the NESCAC's most recent player of the week honors with his 28 point, 13 rebound performance in a 68-66 win over third place Amherst last Saturday.

Despite losing to Trinity, the Lord Jeffs made news last week by defeating the Colby-Sawyer Chargers 89-66 on the road. Amherst's win broke a 32-game home win streak for Colby-Sawyer and moved the Lord Jeffs to 19-1 overall on the season.

In women's hoops, number one ranked Bowdoin clinched the top tournament seed with wins over Bates and Tufts last weekend. Led by senior guard Lora Trenkle, who scored a game high 13 points against Tufts and another 20 points versus Bates, Bowdoin extended its undefeated season record to 22-0 (8-0 NESCAC). The Polar Bears now stand as the only unbeaten team in Div. III basketball, women's or men's.

The league's hockey teams still have two weeks remaining on their league schedules. Middlebury sits in the top spot at 12-2 in the league and 18-2 overall. Bowdoin is right on the Panthers' heels with a 10-4 league mark.

Polar Bear sophomore forward Adam Dann earned NESCAC player of the week honors for his play in his team's two wins last week. Dann had a hat trick against St. Michael's and helped the Polar Bears knock off top ranked Norwich, 5-3, on Saturday. Dann netted the game-winning goal against Norwich in the second period and later added an insurance score in the third to snap his opponent's 15 game win streak.

The playoffs will be structured similarly for both basketball leagues as well as hockey. The top eight basketball teams in each league will be seeded by record, or in the case of ties, by a variety of tie breakers. The top four teams will have home court advantage in the quarterfinals, beginning February 21. From there, home court will be decided based on the highest remaining seeds with the semifinals and championship games falling on the last weekend in February.

Hockey will have much the same playoff format as basketball with the top eight teams qualifying for the post season. This tournament, however, will begin a week later than the basketball teams' due to one final weekend of league competition. The hockey championships will be held the weekend of March 6-7 and the NESCAC champion will automatically receive a bid to compete for the Div. III national crown.