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Basketball

Basketball
Basketball

Watt powers Jumbos to NESCAC semifinals

By Riley Daniel | February 25

With ten minutes left in their quarterfinal against Williams College, there was a question of which Jumbo would step up in crunch time. Would it be Scott Gyimesi, the junior who had already recorded 13 double-doubles during the season and 34 in less than three seasons? Perhaps it would be junior James Morakis, currently averaging over 17 points? Shockingly, it was an electric shooting performance sparked by the whiteout crowd from sophomore Zion Watt, who posted a career-high of 15 points, making four threes in the span of five minutes, sending the Jumbos on to an 80–70 win and earning them a trip to next weekend’s NESCAC semifinals at Wesleyan University.

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Columns

The Intangibles: On Victor Wembanyama’s health

By Jonah Cowan | February 24

We know that Victor Wembanyama will be one of the greatest basketball players of all time — if he stays healthy. This is the statement that defines his career. Now, Wembanyama is out for the rest of the season with a deep vein thrombosis and a blood clot in his shoulder which, according to Dr. Brian Sutterer, “could have traveled to his lungs and killed him.”

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Basketball

Men’s basketball stumbles in NESCAC showdowns

By Luke Fredericks | February 5

The Tufts men’s basketball team faced its toughest weekend of the season, dropping two hard-fought road matchups against top-ranked Wesleyan University and No. 16 Trinity College. A heartbreaking 69–66 loss at Wesleyan on Friday was followed by an 81–45 defeat at Trinity on Saturday. The Jumbos now sit at 17–4 overall and 5–2 in NESCAC play as they look to rebound from their first back-to-back losses of the season.

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Columns

Lay of the Leagues: NBA edition

By Brian Becker | February 3

It is such a shame to see a league that was so focused on ball movement and masterful isolation in an effort to drive to the rim become diluted into a no-defense 5-out three-point contest. The NBA has reached a ratings cliff, where chic association edition jerseys and haute-culture-inspired parquets have become the focal point rather than the avant-garde ball mastery that many children around the world would spend countless hours mastering. Nowadays, you’ll be lucky to even turn on the TV and see a player even seriously attempt a one-legged fadeaway (Cam Thomas vs. Orlando Magic circa 2024).

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Columns

Sports and Society: Hellenizing college basketball

By Oliver Fox | March 6

I have a friend who goes to Georgetown, a still-great school with a once-great basketball program. Aside from weekly Celtics mental health check-ins, an ever-increasing proportion of our conversations consist of three words, unmatched in history in their titanic importance: 

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Basketball

Men’s basketball upsets Middlebury in NESCAC playoffs with double-overtime win

By Matt Chen | February 22

In what might be the most exciting game of the season so far, Tufts traveled to nationally ranked Middlebury College for the second time with one thing on its mind: revenge. With the 72–56 January loss to the Panthers still fresh in their minds, the Jumbos came out and played one of their best games of the season, getting their revenge on the Panthers with a gritty 89–80 double-overtime win in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs.

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Basketball

Men’s basketball takes a look in the mirror with competitive matchups at Williams and Middlebury

By Spencer Rosenbaum | February 1

It was a weekend long-awaited for the Jumbos. It was a weekend of two away games circled on the calendar since the schedule was released. It was a weekend where the squad would not only have two major NESCAC matchups but also matchups against the then No. 10 and No. 5 ranked teams in the country. This weekend was the weekend of tests: Williams and Middlebury. The Tufts squad did not shy away from these tests either, as it had a dominant 71–50 win against Williams and put up a fight against Middlebury before falling 72–56.

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Basketball

Women’s basketball builds on strong preseason form leading into NESCAC play

By Bharat Singh | January 18

After an impressive preseason, the Tufts women’s basketball team has had a strong start to their NESCAC campaign. The Tufts Jumbos began their season with a 55–38 home win against the Connecticut College Camels with standout performances from sophomore guard Sofia Gonzalez and junior forward Maggie Russell. Gonzalez led the scoring charts with 11 points and three assists while Russell’s 8 points and incredible 12 rebounds kept the Jumbos in control. A strong defensive effort in the first half kept the visitors to just 12 points with the Camels shooting a low 13% from the field in the first quarter as the Jumbos shot 33% and piled on the pressure. 

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Local

Keeping Up With the 617: Champions

By Matt Goguen | October 19

We’ve reached the point of the NBA season where overreactions are more common than pessimism amongst fanbases; some are drooling over a newly-drafted rookie, and others are looking ahead towards a Larry O’Brien trophy presentation in June. In the Celtics’ case, the Garden Faithful are anticipating another NBA Finals appearance after a tumultuous offseason. And why wouldn’t they? The starting lineup from the 2022 playoffs is still intact, new free agent addition Malcolm Brogdon adds depth to an already solid bench, and Jayson Tatum had another offseason of development. Nonetheless, this offseason contained more drama than a Shakespearean play; with a now suspended head coach and injuries to Robert Williams III and Danilo Gallinari, a once promising season has turned dire quickly.

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Basketball

Tufts pickup basketball scene struggles without space to play

By David Cooperman | May 20

Last year, the Daily covered the booming pickup basketball scene on the Tufts campus. Particularly when Tufts’ COVID-19 policies were the most restrictive, the consistently packed courts served as a rare beacon of normalcy. Every warm and sunny day, countless full and half-court games were played while skateboarders added to the engaging atmosphere.

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Columns

The Step Back: Playoff storylines, hopes and dreams

By Sam Dieringer | April 25

As the rubble settles from the all-out gauntlet that was the NBA regular season, all sights are set on the postseason. With razor thin margins separating each playoff team in the East, and multiple heavy hitters in the West, it’s time to review the biggest storylines to follow as this year’s NBA Playoffs continue.

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Basketball

Men's basketball beats Bowdoin, struggles against Wesleyan

By Keila McCabe | January 31

Men’s basketball split against NESCAC competition this week, dropping a game to Wesleyan (65–64) and earning a win at Bowdoin (74–53). The Jumbos faced the then-leader of the NESCAC, the Wesleyan Cardinals, and put up a good fight, falling just one point short of the victory. The Cardinals improved their conference record to 5–1 and overall record to 17–3. In Tuesday’s battle, the two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest with frequent lead changes and energetic game play from both sides. Using the momentum from a high-level game earlier in the week, Tufts secured a commanding win at Bowdoin on Friday night. 

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