NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal
No. 25 Babson at WPI
Friday, February 28 | 7 p.m.
Harrington Auditorium | Worcester, Mass.
|
By the Numbers |
|
| 3-2 |
Last 5 Games |
3-2 |
| 9-2 |
Road/Home |
10-3 |
| 86.0 (1st) |
Scoring Offense |
77.8 (5th) |
| 73.1 (4th) |
Scoring Defense |
64.7 (1st) |
| 48.4 (1st) |
FG Pct. |
47.0 (3rd) |
| 38.4 (2nd) |
3-pt. FG Pct. |
36.5 (5th) |
| 78.9 (1st) |
Ft Pct. |
75.7 (3rd) |
| +0.6 (5th) |
Rebounding Margin |
+8.4 (1st) |
| 15.6 (4th) |
Assists |
16.8 (2nd) |
| 10.0 (2nd) |
Turnovers |
11.2 (3rd) |
| 45.0 (5th) |
FG Pct. Defense |
39.9 (1st) |
| 34.4 (4th) |
3-pt. FG Pct. Defense |
32.0 (1st) |
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 50-33 all-time against WPI in a series that dates back to the 1974-75 season.
• The Beavers and Engineers split their regular season series as Babson won 93-81 in Worcester on January 11, while WPI returned the favor with a 75-56 victory in Babson Park on February 12.
• Seven of the last 12 games between the teams have been decided by seven points or less.
• Babson and WPI have split eight previous conference playoff matchups and will meet for the second year in a row in the NEWMAC Tournament after the Engineers edged the Beavers, 70-66, in the quarterfinals last winter.
LAST MEETING
• After seeing its 16-point lead trimmed to just three with under seven minutes to play, junior Dakota Wheeler buried three consecutive three-pointers as WPI closed the game on a 20-4 run to defeat the Beavers, 75-56, on February 12 in Babson Park.
• Wheeler finished with 17 points and senior Jake Wisniewski led all players with 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the Engineers.
• Senior Jack Coolahan scored 17 points for Babson, which went just 1-of-15 from three-point range.
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• Second-seeded WPI (19-6) enters the postseason off back-to-back losses after falling 59-55 at MIT last Saturday.
• Junior Garrett Stephenson posted a double-double with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds for the Engineers, who made just three field goals over the last eight minutes.
• Stephenson (15.6 pts, 6.2 reb) is shooting 62.6 percent from the floor, junior Colin McNamara (11.9 pts, 3.6 reb) has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 13 games, and classmate Kahleb Downing (9.8 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.4 ast) went just 1-of-17 from the floor in two losses to close the regular season.
• WPI ranks fifth in Division III in adjusted defense allowing just 90.3 points per 100 possessions.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Third-seeded and 25th-ranked Babson (20-5) closed the regular season with an 84-78 loss at then-No. 15 Springfield last Saturday.
• Coolahan matched his career-high seven three-pointers on the way to scoring 31 points for the Beavers, who were outscored 32-13 at the free throw line.
• Coolahan (19.0 pts, 4.4 reb) is shooting 53.6 percent from the floor, junior Andrew Jaworski (17.4 pts, 6.3 reb) needs two points to reach 1,000 for his career, and classmate Crew Ainge (11.5 pts, 4.7 ast, 4.3 reb) ranks third in the league in assists.
• The Green and White ranks 11th in Division III in adjusted offense putting up 116.3 points per 100 possessions.
BABSON IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Beavers are making their eighth NEWMAC Tournament semifinal appearance in the last nine years after getting ousted in the quarterfinals last winter.
• Babson has dropped its last three conference playoff games and is in search of its first victory since the 2017 semifinals.
• The Beavers have won four conference titles (2002, 2004, 2015, 2016) during the NEWMAC era, which dates back to 1999.
• Babson reached the conference final in four consecutive seasons from 2001-04 and three straight years from 2015-17.
LATE-SEASON CLASSICS
• The last three postseason games between Babson and WPI have been decided by a total of just seven points, which includes a pair of last-second semifinal wins by the Engineers.
• Then-sixth-ranked WPI slipped past the Beavers 66-64 on a putback with 1.6 seconds left in 2013, and got a game-winning layup with 10 seconds remaining for a 60-59 victory back in 2008.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
• In Babson's victory over WPI in January, the Beavers raced out to a 55-32 halftime lead, knocked down 12 three-pointers and turned 15 Engineer turnovers into 26 points.
• WPI turned the tables earlier this month holding Babson to a season-low 56 points and just 1-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. The Beavers also allowed 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 17 second-chance points for the Engineers.
JACK THE RIPPER
• Coolahan ranks second in the conference in points (21.2) and three-point field goals (49) and seventh in field goal percentage (54.7).
• His 82 three-pointers in all games this season ranks third on Babson's single-season list, and his 475 points are good for 20th in program single-season history.
• Coolahan also put together one of the most memorable games in Babson history going 13-of-13 from the floor, 5-of-5 from three-pointer range and 4-of-4 at the free throw line on the way to scoring a career-high 35 points in January's win at WPI.
DOUBLING UP
• Sophomore Colin Bradanese recorded his third double-double of the season scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 boards in Saturday's loss at Springfield.
• Over the Beavers' final three regular season games he averaged 14.7 points on 71.4 percent shooting (20-of-28) and 7.7 rebounds.
BUBBLE BOYS
• WPI, which is fifth, and Babson, which is sixth in the most recent NCAA regional rankings are both looking for another quality win to add to their resume ahead of next Monday's NCAA selection show.
• Both squads own three regionally-ranked wins and are currently projected to be among the 20 at-large teams selected to the tournament according to @d3bubble.
NUMBER TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 11-1 this season when making at least 10 three-pointers.
