MIT Announces Incoming Freshman Class

The MIT Men's Basketball Team has announced their incoming freshman class.  More information here:

http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/releases/20120702mjtmsb

Associate Head Coach Kevin Byrne Tabbed to Lead Ohio Northern University

MIT's Associate Head Coach Kevin Byrne has been named as the Head Coach of the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears of the Ohio Athletic Conference.  Byrne, an Akron, Ohio native, becomes just the 7th coach in the school's history.  More from the ONU website.

Team, Alumni, and Fans Celebrate MIT Season

On April 21, the MIT Basketball team, alumni, family, friends, and fans joined together to celebrate another historic season at the annual MIT Basketball Banquet. Held at the MIT Faculty Club overlooking the Charles River, the keynote speaker this year was Mark Attanasio, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Coaches and players reflected on the past year, and awards were given to the team, including their NCAA Semifinalist trophies.

Head Coach Larry Anderson

Senior Dan Mccue

Milwaukee Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio

The 2011-2012 MIT Basketball Award winners:

MVP - Mitchell Kates
Jack Barry Award  - Will Tashman (given to the student-athlete who demonstrates most what MIT Basketball stands for)
Best Defensive Player - Billy Bender
Rookie of the Year - Paul Dawson
Most Improved - Andrew Acker

Captains for the 2012-2013 Season
Noel Hollingsworth
Mitchell Kates
Will Tashman
Jamie Karraker

The NCAA Semifinalist Individual Trophies

The NCAA Semifinalist Team Trophy, as well as championship memorabilia from MIT's Final Four appearance

The view from the MIT Faculty Club

Head Coach Larry Anderson Earns National Man of the Year Award

Head Coach Larry Anderson has produced 92 wins over the last four seasons (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Head Coach Larry Anderson, coming off the best season in MIT history with a 29-2 record and trip to the Final Four, has earned the Man of the Year award presented by CollegeInsider.com. The award was presented to Anderson in New Orleans, the site of this year's Division I Final Four. Anderson, in his 17th season, was also a finalist for the National Coach of the Year after earning both Conference Coach of the Year and Northeast Region Coach of the Year accolades.

Read more here: http://mitathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/releases/201204059xdyqd

Emerson College Joins NEWMAC Conference

The NEWMAC announced today the addition of Emerson College to its conference. Emerson will officially join in the 2013-2014 season, and become the 8th member institution for men's basketball. The Emerson Men's Basketball team is coached by Jim O'Brien, who previously coached at Boston College and Ohio State.

MIT to Face Babson in Semifinals

6'8" Junior Will Tashman rips a board away from Babson in their last outing (Pic: Tom Gearty)

#4 seeded Babson College defeated #5 seed Wheaton College last night in the NEWMAC quarterfinals 62-58 to advance to the semifinals versus MIT. Both games between the Beavers have been extremely close this season. Babson had MIT down 13 points in the second half in their last outing before Tech went on an 11-0 run and come away with the victory.

MIT, ranked #3 the nation, tips off against Babson at 1pm on Saturday in Rockwell Cage.

2012 NEWMAC Men's Basketball Championship

This upcoming weekend, MIT will play host to the conference tournament for the second time in program history. MIT will tip-off on Saturday at 1pm and face the winner of the Wheaton vs. Babson contest. Free food and drinks will be provided during the MIT game.

Below are the tournament pairings:

2012 NEWMAC Men's Basketball Championship

Quarterfinals: Wednesday, February 22 at Babson:
         #5 Wheaton at #4 Babson - 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals: Saturday, February 25 at MIT:
         Winner #4/5 Seed at #1 MIT - 1:00 p.m.
         #3 Springfield vs. #2 WPI - 3:00 p.m.

Championship: Sunday, February 26 at MIT
         Semifinal Winners - 1:00 p.m.

Tech Back to #3 in Polls

In this week's D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll, the MIT Men's Basketball team moved its way back up to #3 in the nation.

Other Northeast Region schools in the top 25 include Amherst (#2), Middlebury (#4), and Albertus Magnus (#20). Just outside of the Top 25 are Western Connecticut (#26), Keene State (#27), Wesleyan (#32), Williams (#34), Eastern Connecticut (#35), Rhode Island College (T-#38), and WPI (T-#38).

MIT Moves Up to #5 in Top 25 Poll

With the two wins this week, MIT moves up a spot to #5 in the nation in the latest D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Joining Tech is Northeast Region teams Middlebury (#1), Amherst (#6), and Williams (#16), while others are on the bubble in Rhode Island College (#27), Eastern Connecticut (#28), Albertus Magnus (#31), and WPI (#32).

MIT has been ranked in the Top 10 every week this season.

See the complete rankings here: http://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2011-12/week9

MIT Hoops Earns Points in Rankings

MIT Basketball remained at #3 in this week's national D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll, but gained 12 points in addition to holding on to a 1st-place vote.

Tech takes on WPI, ranked #24 in last week's poll, this Saturday at 3pm in Rockwell Cage.

MIT Moves up to #3 in Country

The MIT Engineers moved up in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll this week to #3. Tech went 2-0 on the week and improved their record to a nation's best 14-0.

This is the highest ranking in program history.

Fellow NEWMAC rival WPI earned a #24 ranking, while other Northeast Region schools Middlebury (#1), Amherst (#5), Williams (#12), Rhode Island College (#20), and Western Connecticut (#23) all earned rankings as well. The Northeast region has the most teams in the Top 25.

#4 MIT Returns to Action

Head Coach Larry Anderson leads Tech versus Harvard; Harvard is currently ranked #24 in Division I (Pic: Tom Gearty)

The nationally-ranked and undefeated MIT Engineers returned to practice early last week ready for the upcoming semester. Tech takes on Springfield College to kick off the conference slate this Wednesday at 7PM in Rockwell Cage. Springfield comes into the game with a record of 8-4.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Tune in on Saturday at 2pm Eastern as undefeated Tech takes on Suffolk University in Rockwell Cage.

MIT Basketball Excellence Banquet this Saturday

This Saturday, the MIT Men's Basketball team will continue celebrating their 110th anniversary season at the end-of-year MIT Basketball Excellence Banquet. This event honors the 2010-2011 Men's Basketball team that finished 20-9, won their second Conference Tournament Championship, and earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the third straight year. Dinner will be served along with an awards presentation, announcement of the captains for the 2011-2012 season, and Senior Captain Eric Zuk as a speaker. The banquet begins at 6:30pm at the MIT Faculty Club.

Register for the Banquet here.

Celebrations continue the following day at the DAPER and MIT 150th Celebration at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at 11am.

Event: MIT Basketball Excellence Banquet
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2011
Place: MIT Faculty Club
Time: 6:30pm

Attendees: Players, Alumni, Friends of the Program, Fans, and Parents

NCAA Opener vs. Ithaca to be Audio Webcast

Tonight's NCAA opening round game at Ithaca College will be audio webcast at the following link:

Ithaca College Audio Webcast

More information about the game can be found at the official MIT Athletics website.

MIT Will Travel to Ithaca for Opening Round

The Division III NCAA brackets were released this afternoon, and MIT was selected to travel to Ithaca to play the hosts of that pod in the first round.

The full bracket can be found here.

In similar news, MIT moved into the final NE regional rankings, checking in at #11.

David Koch Endows MIT Head Coach of Men's Basketball Position

Former MIT basketball standout, and current co-owner of multi-billion dollar conglomerate Koch Industries, David Koch ('62) has endowed the MIT head coaching position with a generous 2 million dollar gift. Koch starred in the early 1960's, including setting a single-game record of 41 points that stood for 46 years. He is still the 2nd all-time leading scorer in career points per game.

The full story can be found at the official MIT Athletics website.

MIT Falls to Harvard, Hollingsworth Out for Season

Despite a great effort, MIT fell to Harvard 84-58 this afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion on the Harvard campus. MIT was led by Will Tashman, who scored 19 points and had 5 rebounds, despite foul trouble. MIT took a brief lead 6.5 minutes into the contest, but had no answer for the size and athleticism of the Harvard players, getting out-rebounded by 16 and having 9 shots blocked. More photos of the game can be found here or here.

Noel Hollingsworth, who was named a 1st Team Preseason All-American by D3Hoops.com, did not play in the game because of injury. Hollingsworth has been plagued by injury all season, starting only 2 games, while making appearances in just 6 games overall. Hollingsworth suffered a torn shoulder labrum in the first game of the season. He attempted to play through the injury, but after lack of improvement of the shoulder, doctors advised that he shut it down for the season. Hollingsworth will apply for a medical waiver (as current MIT assistant coach Billy Johnson was able to do last year), which will put him in the same athletic class as sophomores Mitchell Kates, Will Tashman, and Jamie Karraker.

Holiday Greetings from MIT Basketball

Image Courtesy of Dawn Anderson
The MIT basketball program wants to wish all their friends, families, and fans a very happy holidays. Wishing you all the best in 2011!

Don't forget to come support the Engineers as they travel up Mass Ave to take on the Harvard Crimson on December 31 for a 2:00 PM tip.

MIT-Harvard Game Reception and Signup for Alumni Celebration

The MIT Club of Boston is again organizing an event to rally support around the MIT Men's basketball program as they get set to face Harvard on December 31, at 2:00 PM. All friends of MIT can buy tickets ahead of the date of the game for only $10 at the link below. Following the game, there will be a free reception for those that RSVP.

BUY TICKETS FOR THE HARVARD GAME AND RSVP FOR THE POST-GAME RECEPTION

In addition to the event on New Year's Eve following the game at Harvard, MIT will be commemorating the 110 year anniversary of basketball at MIT and the 150th anniversary of The Institute at its biannual alumni celebration in February. The registration for the event is now open and can be found at the link below utilizing the Infinite Connection system.

RSVP FOR BIANNUAL ALUMNI CELEBRATION INCLUDING 110 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MIT BASKETBALL