#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.