Senior quad-captain Dan Wheeler heads a strong senior class that will lead the Jeffs into the NESCAC Tournament

Jeffs Take Top Seed in Third Straight NESCAC Tournament

By Alex Kantor

February 15, 2007

AMHERST, MA – The third-ranked Amherst College men’s basketball team locked up its third consecutive number-one seed in the NESCAC Tournament with a sweep of Connecticut College and Wesleyan University with one week remaining in the regular season. Despite falling to Trinity College last weekend in a thriller, Amherst finished the regular season with a spectacular 23-1 record and will host 8th-seeded Bates College Saturday afternoon.

Amherst, the two-time defending NESCAC Champion will look to regain its winning ways in the NESCAC Quarterfinals after dropping its last contest 62-59 on a last-second three-pointer. The Jeffs have no easy task in the Bobcats, who started their season 11-0 overall and finished the year 15-0 in non-conference play. Bates struggled through its difficult NESCAC slate, posting a 3-6 conference record.

The game, to be aired live on Amherst’s student operated radio station WAMH (http://wamh.amherst.edu), is a rematch of last year’s conference semifinal, which Amherst took 86-66 en route to its second consecutive NESCAC crown.

Amherst took the lone meeting between the two teams this season, 79-64 in Lewiston, Maine, on Jan. 13 in the opening weekend of conference play. The Lord Jeffs will have a chance to take down the Bobcats this Saturday at 3 p.m. with the hope of holding their home-court advantage through the semifinal and final rounds of the 2007 tournament.

2007 NESCAC MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 17 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Bates at No. 1 Amherst - 3:00 p.m.
No. 7 Bowdoin at No. 2 Trinity - 3:00 p.m.
No. 6 Tufts at No. 3 Williams - 2:00 p.m.
No. 5 Colby at No. 4 Middlebury - 3:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, Feb. 24 at Highest Remaining Seed
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed - 2:00 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, Feb. 25 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.

Tickets will be sold at the door to all NESCAC Tournament games, and cannot be purchased in advance.