MIT Advances to NEWMAC Championship with 65-42 Win

Junior Mitchell Kates shot 7-of-10 in the first half vs. Babson (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

The nationally-ranked #3 MIT Basketball team, the host of this year's NEWMAC Conference Tournament, took down visiting Babson College, 65-42, in front of a sell-out crowd in Rockwell Cage yesterday afternoon. Tech held to Babson to just 8 points for over a 15-minute span that spilled over into the second the half of the semi-final game.

6'8" Will Tashman was difficult to stop inside (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

Mitchell Kates couldn't be stopped in the first half, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the frame to go with his 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and steal. Preseason All-American Noel Hollingsworth, recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American squad, notched 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal, and an assist in the win. Last year's Tournament MVP Will Tashman was a force down low, scoring 14 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists in just 21 minutes of action. Senior Billy Bender pitched in 12 points and 8 rebounds as well.

Rockwell Cage was filled to capacity for the semi-final game (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

MIT shot 55% from the field while holding Babson to 39% from the field and 7% from three.

Tech takes on Springfield College today at 1pm for the NEWMAC Conference Tournament Championship.

MIT vs. Babson Tip-Off 1pm EST

The nationally-ranked #3 MIT Engineers take on the Babson Beavers at 1pm EST today in Rockwell Cage in the NEWMAC semifinals.

Watch the game live: http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=246

MIT Basketball Featured in Boston Globe

"Third-ranked MIT gets A in Chemistry"

Read more here: http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2012/02/24/mit_baskeball_bouncing_to_the_head_of_the_class/?page=2

New York Knicks Coach "Needs an MIT Guy"

Mike D'Antoni, Head Coach of the New York Knicks of the NBA, is shown on camera proclaiming his need for an MIT basketball player:

"We got a Harvard...I need an MIT guy"

 

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.

Hollingsworth, Karraker Academic All-Americans

Noel Hollingsworth and Jamie Karraker, who both have junior eligibility, have both earned a spot on this year's CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team. 10 players in all of Division III (over 5,000 student-athletes) compose the two teams, and the NEWMAC provided three of them (Senior Matt Carr of WPI also earned the honor).

Both Hollingsworth and Karraker will stay at MIT for graduate school, and use their final year of eligibility.

MIT continues to lead all other Division III institutions in number of Academic All-Americans produced.

Read more here: http://mitathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/releases/20120221txy6e2

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.

MIT, Jeremy Lin, and ESPN

Former MIT assistant coach Oliver "Doc" Eslinger, now the head coach at CalTech, was featured as a guest writer on ESPN.com. Coach Eslinger talks about his experience recruiting Jeremy Lin to MIT.

Read more here: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/37066/development-in-lin-years

MIT Caps Historic Season with Win

The #3 ranked MIT basketball squad avenged their only loss of the season against WPI with a 71-66 victory on Wednesday. The visiting Engineers, now 23-1, went on a 21-1 run to start the second half, and downed last year's regular season champions on their home court. MIT's 23rd victory sets the record for most wins in program history.

The big-man duo of All-American Noel Hollingsworth and All-Region Will Tashman combined for 41 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 assists. Point guard Mitchell Kates led the second-half surge, scoring all of his 11 points in the frame along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Senior Billy Bender connected on two big threes and nailed all four of his crucial free-throws for 12 points.

MIT, the NEWMAC Regular Season Champions, will play host to this year's Conference Tournament next weekend. MIT plays on Saturday, Feb. 25th, at 1pm in Rockwell Cage versus the winner of the Wheaton vs. Babson quarterfinal game.

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).