Last year, the Middlebury men's basketball squad enjoyed one of the best years in the program's 92−year history. The team — which was led by NESCAC Player of the Year Ben Rudin — had cruised to its first conference title in school history and headed into the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 9 in the nation on the strength of a 24−3 record.
The path appeared nicely paved for the Panthers as they attempted to win the first NCAA game in school history and to make their way toward the tournament finals. They had earned a first−round bye and found themselves facing the unranked Bridgewater State Bears at home — where Middlebury had gone 13−0 up to that point — in the second round. But Middlebury's journey through the NCAA bracket ended abruptly and unexpectedly, as the Bears hit two three−pointers in the final 37 seconds of the second−round game to upset the Panthers 78−76 and drown their dreams of a national title.
"We were hopeful that last year we'd be able to go deep into the tournament, especially having a bye in first round," Middlebury coach Jeff Brown told the Daily. "It was very disappointing to lose an NCAA game at home, where we felt like we played pretty well. We had a lead late, and unfortunately we lacked a couple of plays down the stretch, and it really was an emotional loss for our team and especially for our seniors, who had done so much for the program."
This year, Middlebury will be looking for some vengeance — albeit with a much different−looking squad. The Panthers graduated Rudin, as well as Kyle Dudley, the team's No. 2 scorer, and Aaron Smith, the team's leading rebounder.
And yet, Middlebury has played at an equally high level this year. Led by sophomore Ryan Sharry and freshmen Jake Wolfin and Nolan Thompson — all of whom average double−digit points — on the offensive end, the Panthers have slightly upped their scoring average from 73.6 to 74.1 this season.
"They've been huge this year, especially the first semester when I was out for the first six games," Panthers senior co−captain Tim Edwards said. "They stepped up and played, and they understand this is a winning program — it doesn't seem like they're [underclassmen] all the time."
But should the youngsters ever falter, they know that someone else will be there to pick them up.
"The team has really jelled very quickly and they've been very efficient all year, and I feel like we have a lot of great chemistry," Brown said. "We're a true team in that any given night seven, eight guys we feel can have a really big game for us."
"We have great team leadership and balance," Sharry added. "If someone has a bad day, someone else steps up."
Known for its defense during its 2008−09 NESCAC title run, Middlebury has also managed to maintain its efforts on its own side of the court this season. It is currently ranked No. 1 in the NESCAC in scoring defense, allowing just 60.7 points per game.
A large part of that effort has been the play of junior Andrew Locke, who has led the conference in blocked shots the past three years, as well as Edwards, who recently earned the title of NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Edwards, however, attributes the Panthers' defensive success to the willingness of his teammates to adopt coach Brown's grind−it−out philosophy.
"I think it's just everyone buying into it," Edwards said. "If you have three people buying in, you're not going to be a great team on defense. So from the freshmen all the way up to seniors, we buy into the belief that defense will bring us championships."
As a result of this mix of freshman scorers and veteran leadership down low, Middlebury has again compiled a 24−3 record and will head into this year's NCAA Tournament ranked No. 6 in the country — three spots higher than it was last year.
"Our team has been extremely efficient all year long," Brown said. "Of our three losses, two have been to Williams, the No. 2−ranked team in country. It shows how consistent we've been as a ball club and our dedication towards defending."
The Panthers failed to earn a bye this time around, but they will nonetheless enjoy the benefit of a first−round home game. Their opponent will be the Gordon Fighting Scots, a team that went 24−4 en route to its first conference title ever.
But after one−and−done appearances the past two years in the NCAA Tournament, the team seems poised to finally make some noise in the national competition.
"We feel that we can win games in this tournament, but obviously you have to go out and perform and make play some defend and rebound," Brown said. "And looking at the bracket, they're all quality teams. You just have to take it one step and one game at a time. Our focus right now is on Gordon."
"We're definitely confident in our ability, but we know the NCAA tourney is 61 of the strongest teams in the nation, and each game is going to be a dog fight," Edwards added. "And we have to come out for 40 minutes of every game, and we can't take anything for granted. If you lose, you go home, and that's the end of the season."
