Hollingsworth Earns 3rd Player of the Week Honor

Hollingsworth has been one of the most dominating big-men in the country this year (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Junior Noel Hollingsworth earned his third, and MIT's sixth, NEWMAC Player of the Week award for his dominating performances last week. The 6'9" All-American averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting a commanding 61% from the field.

Hollingsworth is 12 points shy of the 1,000-point mark, a feat that could be reached this Wednesday at Wheaton along with Jamie Karraker (who is 13 points away from the milestone).

Live stats of the game can be found here: http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/livestats/landing

Read more about the Player of the Week here: http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW013012

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

No. 9 Volleyball Beats Reigning National Champions

The #9 MIT Men's Volleyball squad, who join five other current MIT teams who are ranked in the top-ten in their respective sport, took down the reigning national champion and current #1 team Nazareth in four sets over the weekend.

Read more here: http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/m-volley/2011-12/releases/20120130i4pjfh

#6 MIT Downs Coast Guard as Karraker and Hollingsworth near 1,000-Point Mark

The nationally-ranked MIT basketball squad took down Coast Guard yesterday afternoon in dominating fashion with an 80-55 victory. The Coast Guard Academy, an Elite Eight team just a few years back, could not keep up with Tech's inside presence and outside shooting.

Hollingsworth, a Junior eligibility-wise, leads the conference in scoring at 18.1 ppg (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

All-American Noel Hollingsworth poured game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds along with 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mitchell Kates scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half connecting on 5 three-pointers in the frame while dishing out 4 assists. Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on 5 three's as well for 15 points, while Senior Billy Bender filled the stat-sheet with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block. 6'8" Will Tashman hauled in 8 boards in just 19 minutes.

Junior Mitchell Kates is currently 22nd all-time at MIT in scoring (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

With the win, MIT moves to 18-1 overall and stands alone at first place in the NEWMAC with a 6-1 conference record. Juniors Jamie Karraker and Noel Hollingsworth are now both within striking distance of the 1,000-point mark, as Karraker needs 13 points and Hollingsworth 12 to reach the milestone. This would be one of the few instances, if ever, in NCAA history where two teammates score their 1,000th point in the same game. Junior Mitchell Kates reached the mark versus WPI last week.

6'7" Freshman Dennis Levene is a versatile athlete with an array of offensive and defensive weapons (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

MIT travels to Wheaton College on Wednesday for the 7pm tip-off.

MIT Ranked #1 College in America by Business Insider

MIT once again topped Business Insider's list of "The 50 Best Colleges in America".

Read more here: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-colleges-2011-11#1-massachusetts-institute-of-technology-50

No. 6 Tech Bounces Back with Win

The MIT Basketball team, which fell to #6 in the nation after a loss to WPI, got back to their winning ways with a 64-46 victory over Clark University this evening in Rockwell Cage. MIT's defense held Clark, who upset the Engineers in the 2009-2010 NEWMAC Tournament, to just 31% shooting from the field.

Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on six three-pointers for a game-high 18 points. All-American Noel Hollingsworth dished in 15 points and 6 boards, while point guard Mitchell Kates contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

MIT also received valuable minutes from the bench, including 6 rebounds, 4 points, 3 blocks, and an assist in 10 minutes from 6'8" freshman Matt Redfield.

MIT shot 53% from the field and out-rebounded Clark 36-28. Tech takes on the US Coast Guard Academy at home this Saturday at 2pm.

Kates' 1,000th Point Not Enough as WPI Stuns #3 MIT

After leading at halftime, the #3 ranked MIT Engineers couldn't recover from a 12-2 run by WPI in the second half, ultimately falling to last year's regular season champions 80-68. The upset is the Engineers' first loss of the season, as MIT is now 16-1 overall and 4-1 in conference.

A rematch of 2011's Conference Championship (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

Leading Tech was All-Conference Mitchell Kates, supplying MIT with 22 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. On his 19th point of the night, Mitchell Kates became MIT's 24th player to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Junior Mitchell Kates will continue to move up the all-time leading scorers' list (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

The big-man duo of Will Tashman and Noel Hollingsworth combined for 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, while sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on three three-pointers for 11 points. Senior Billy Bender had a game-high 10 rebounds. 

MIT and WPI will meet again during the final regular season game (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

MIT went cold in the second half, however, shooting a season-low 36% from the field during the frame and going 0-6 from three. Tech was also out-rebounded in the half 19-13. 

MIT takes on Clark University Wednesday at 7pm.

MIT Assistant Bill Johnson Featured on MIT Alumni Website

Former MIT standout and current assistant coach Willard "Bill" Johnson sat down with the MIT Alumni Association to talk about his pro hoops career and his return to the Engineers' staff:

http://alum.mit.edu/pages/sliceofmit/2012/01/20/diy-iap-mit-basketball-doubleheader-saturday-january-21/

MIT Athletics on National Stage

The MIT men's basketball team isn't the only team on campus finding success in the national spotlight. The MIT men's swimming and diving team, the women's swimming and diving team, the men's track and field team, as well as the women's track and field team are all ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in their respective sport:

#3 Men's Basketball
#4 Men's Swimming & Diving
#5 Women's Indoor Track & Field
#6 Women's Swimming & Diving
#10 Men's Indoor Track & Field

MIT Athletics' success as a whole is captured by their high ranking in the Director's Cup national standings (15th after the fall season), which measures the overall performances of Division III programs.

Read more here: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/sports-shorts-0117.html

Tashman Earns Player of the Week

6'8" Junior Will Tashman earned Conference Player of the Week for his dominating performances last week versus Coast Guard and Babson. The reigning NEWMAC Tournament MVP and D3Hoops.com Northeast All-Region performer averaged 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over the two games.

Tashman hails from Atherton, California and is majoring in Materials Science & Engineering and minoring in Physics. The Jewish First-Team All-American spent last summer interning at Lunera Lighting, helping them develop state-of-the-art LED fixtures. 

MIT players have now received five out of the seven Player of the Week awards. 

Read more here: http://newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW011612

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.

Statistically Speaking

This is how MIT players stack up statistically in the NEWMAC. Stats are for games through 1/15. Only statistics in which an individual is in the Top 15 are listed. 

Of Note:

- MIT players take up 48 of the possible 195 positions (15 positions in 13 categories), or 25%

- Senior Billy Bender is ranked in the Top 15 in more categories, 12, than any other player in the NEWMAC

Noel Hollingsworth

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Scoring	18.1	1
Blocks	2.1	2
FG%	56.7	2
Off. Rebounds	2.7	4
Total Rebounds	6.6	5
FT%	76.6	6
Def. Rebounds	3.9	6
Minutes	28.1	13

Jamie Karraker

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
3FGM	4.5	1
3FG%	45.3	5
Scoring	15.7	6
Minutes	29.4	7
FG%	48.1	13
Steals	1.3	13

Will Tashman

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Minutes	30.2	1
Total Rebounds	9.7	1
Def. Rebounds	6.7	1
Off. Rebounds	3.0	2
Assists	2.7	4
Steals	6.6	5
FG%	53.2	6
A/TO	3.9	6
Blocks	0.8	8
Scoring	11.6	10
FT%	68.0	12

Mitchell Kates

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Steals	2.2	1
Assists	5.2	1
A/TO	2.0	2
Minutes	29.6	6
FT%	71.7	9
Scoring	10.9	11
FG%	49.3	12
Total Rebounds	4.3	14
Def. Rebounds	3.4	14

Billy Bender

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
3FG%	48.8	1
FG%	56.7	2
FT%	77.8	5
3FGM	1.3	7
Total Rebounds	5.5	8
Steals	1.5	9
A/TO	1.5	9
Assists	2.3	11
Scoring	10.8	12
Def. Rebounds	3.4	14
Blocks	0.4	14
Minutes	27.7	15

Daniel Mccue

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
A/TO	1.7	5

Matt Redfield

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Blocks	1.1	5

Head Coach Anderson on Hoopsville Tonight

Head Coach Larry Anderson, in his 17th season at MIT, will be interviewed on D3Hoops.com's Hoopsville radio broadcast tonight at 7:20PM EST.

Head Coach Larry Anderson's promotion of integrity and leadership both on and off the court has proved successful (Pic: Dawn Anderson)

Anderson, who has led the #3 Engineers to three consecutive championships and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, currently boasts a record of 79-23 (.775) over the last four seasons.

Anderson being interviewed by ESPN's Sports Center (Pic: ESPN)

Listen to Anderson and the broadcast here: http://d3hoops.com/hoopsville/index

Kates, MIT in Boston Globe

Read more here:

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/2012/01/kates_carries_m.html

#3 Engineers Win Record 16 Straight

The nationally-ranked MIT Engineers outlasted Babson 72-63 yesterday afternoon to go 16-0 on the season and break the 50-year-old record for the longest win streak in MIT history (the record was held by the memorable 1961-1962 Tech squad).

The 1961-1962 Team went 17-4, including 15 in a row (Pic: MIT Athletics)

Leading the way was Mitchell Kates, an All-American candidate, who poured in game highs of 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Big-men Will Tashman and Noel Hollingsworth tallied 16 points apiece with a combined 12 rebounds, and Senior Billy Bender added 11 points along with 5 rebounds. Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker hit all three of his trifectas.

Billy Bender, a Sophomore in this picture, drives past NBA guard Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Tech has a week to prepare for WPI in Rockwell Cage on Saturday, January 21st at 3pm. 

Bloomberg: "Europe Crisis Rescue Begins with MIT Men"

Read more below about Bloomberg's piece on MIT and how MIT alums are in charge of solving the European debt crisis. MIT's Economics program is currently ranked #1 by U.S. News and World Report.

“The faculty makes the place but the students also make the place,” [former MIT professor and now Bank of Israel Governor Stanley] Fischer said in a telephone interview. “One of the reasons you go to MIT is because you have the best students in the world.” To him, economics was a tool to “do something useful.” 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/rescuing-europe-from-debt-crisis-begins-with-men-of-mit-as-matter-of-trust.html

MIT's Win at TheDay.com

Read more about MIT's win over Coast Guard at TheDay.com:

http://www.theday.com/article/20120112/SPORT02/301129434/-1/SPORT

#3 MIT Downs Coast Guard

The #3 MIT Engineers displayed another dominating performance last night in New London, Connecticut with an 83-55 win over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Their 15th win in a row ties the program record, as the Engineers led by as much as 30 against the Bears, former back-to-back NEWMAC champs just a few years back who made it to the Elite Eight in 2008.

Hollingsworth is scoring a league-leading 18.3 points per game (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Leading the way was Will Tashman and Noel Hollingsworth, arguably one of the best big-man tandems in the country. 6'8" Tashman, an All-Region performer last year as well as the NEWMAC Tournament MVP, poured in 21 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and steal in 27 minutes of action. 6'9" Hollingsworth, a Preseason 1st Team All-American, added 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal in the same amount of time.

Kates is considered one of the top point guards in the country (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Leading the show on both ends of the court was All-Conference point guard Mitchell Kates with 9 rebounds, 6 points, and 3 assists. Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker nailed three treys while Senior Billy Bender pitched in 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Tech heads to Babson College this Saturday at 2pm to go for a program-best 16th straight win.

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.

Karraker Nets 2nd POTW Award

Junior Jamie Karraker earned his second Conference Player of the Week award this week for his stellar performances against Springfield College and Wheaton College to open NEWMAC play. Karraker averaged 17.5 points with 11 three-pointers in the two games.

The sharp-shooter from West Virginia is tops in the nation in three-point field goals made, and has already broken two three-point records at MIT.

Read more here: http://newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW010912

Statistically Speaking

This is is how MIT Hoops stacks up with the over 400 teams in Division III. Only categories where the team is ranked in the top 25 in the nation are listed. Statistics are through Jan. 5th (does not include Wheaton game). 

MIT

Statistic	Value	Nation
Wins	13	1
Scoring Margin	25.8	1
Reb. Margin	14.8	2
Scoring Defense	55.2	5
FG%	51.5	6
FG% Defense	37.0	6
Assists	18.2	11
3FG%	40.5	20

#4 MIT Wins 14th Straight

The #4 ranked Engineers took care of business in their second NEWMAC contest, downing visiting Wheaton College 87-54 Saturday afternoon for their 10th victory of over 20 or more points. MIT is tops in the nation with an average margin of victory of 25.8 points.

The MIT 6th Man Club has a lot to cheer about with the success of their men's and women's teams (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Leading the way was sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker who connected on 8 three-pointers for a game-high 24 points. Karraker is currently tops in the nation in total three-pointers made this season (66) and is third in the conference in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Two-time All-Conference point guard Mitchell Kates pitched in 15 points with 3 assists and 2 steals.

Karraker is 33 three-pointers shy of the single-season three-point record (Pic: Tom Gearty)

MIT also saw many contributions from its bench against the Lyons, including dominating performances from the underclassmen big-men. Freshmen Dennis Levene, Matt Redfield, Andrew Acker, and Sophomore Will Dickson, who all stand 6'7" or taller, combined for 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

6'8" Freshman Andrew Acker is a reason why the Engineers have an extremely bright future (Pic: Tom Gearty) 

The Engineers travel to New London, CT on Wednesday to take on the Coast Guard Academy and go for their 15th victory in a row, which would tie the program record.

Tashman Interview by Noontime Sports

Tashman registered 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks versus Harvard. Harvard is currently #22 in Division I (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Click on the link below for a recap of last night's game as well as a post-game interview with 6'8" Junior Will Tashman by Noontime Sports. This publication extensively covers New England sports: http://noontimesports.com/2012/01/04/recap-no-4-mit-67-springfield-college-59/

Noontime Sports also listed MIT as the #1 team in Massachusetts in Division III:

http://noontimesports.com/2012/01/04/massachusetts-college-basketball-mens-top-5-poll-updated/

#4 MIT Starts NEWMAC with Win

After 20 days of no competition over the holiday season, the #4 MIT Engineers grinded out a 67-59 win over Springfield College in the conference home-opener last night. The statistics for the game between the Beavers and Pride were essentially even across all categories, but Tech's execution at the end of the contest landed them their 13th win in a row. 

Tashman is a Materials Science and Engineering major with a minor in Physics

All-Region big-man Will Tashman's dominance was certainly felt as he led the way with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. All-American Noel Hollingsworth followed suit with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, and sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on three three's for 11 points. 

Bender is majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Energy and concentration in Economics

The heroics of the night, however, came from "Big Shot" Billy Bender, who connected on a three with less than a minute remaining to seal the Engineer's victory. Bender, who received the nickname after nailing a last-second shot his freshman year in the NEWMAC tourney as well as crucial free-throws the same year in the NCAAs, finished the night with 7 points and 8 boards. The pass to Bender came from none other than All-Conference point guard Mitchell Kates, who dished out 5 assists on the night with 3 steals. 

Tech plays host to Wheaton College on Saturday at 2pm in Rockwell Cage. 

MIT Hoops Highlighted in San Francisco Chronicle

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

"Academic Top Half-Dozen

Several schools rated high in U.S. News and World Report's 2012 rankings of American universities and liberal arts colleges also have outstanding basketball teams. Here's our all-academic basketball rankings:

1. Harvard (12-1) - No. 1-ranked university is No. 22 in AP poll.

2. Middlebury (9-0) - No. 5-ranked liberal arts college, located in Middlebury, Vt., is No. 1-ranked Division III team.

3. Williams (8-1) - No. 1 liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Mass., is No. 6 in Division III poll.

4. Amherst (10-1) - No. 2 liberal arts college, located in Amherst, Mass., is ranked No. 7 in Division III.

5. MIT (12-0) - No. 5-ranked university is No. 4 in Division III rankings.

6. Stanford (12-2) - No. 5-ranked university (tied with MIT) is 2-0 in Pac-12."

Read more here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/03/SPF11MKER7.DTL

MIT Basketball Receives #1 Vote

MIT Basketball remained at the #4 spot in this week's D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, but gained 14 points and received a #1 vote for the first time in program history.

Other northeast region schools in the Top 25 include Middlebury (#1), Amherst (#6), Williams (#7), and Rhode Island College (#24). NEWMAC rival WPI (#26) is just outside the Top 25.

#4 MIT takes on Springfield College tonight at 7pm EST.

#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.