The Dartmouth 01/28/19

1.28.19

The Weekend Roundup p. 2-3 Women’s basketball badly beaten on boards in loss to Harvard p. 6 Pucks in Deep: Hockey is giving women the cold shoulder p. 7 Men’s hockey remains in contention in the ECAC p. 8

Three-point shooting propels men’s basketball to promising start p. 4-5 WILLIAM CHERRY/COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

The weekend Roundup

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019

Women’s Basketball

Compiled by THE DARTMOUTH sports STAFF

M basketball The Dartmouth men’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker at the hands of Harvard University on Saturday, losing 64-59. The sequel played out very differently from the first meeting between the two teams two weeks prior. In that first matchup, the Big Green shot 68.1 percent from the field and 52 percent from the three-point line on its way to an 81-63 victory over the Crimson. In the rematch, the team shot just 39 percent from the field, yet it was still within three points in the final seconds when Brendan Barry ’20 missed the potential tying

3-pointer. Barry had a strong day from the field, however, making four 3-pointers to contribute to his NCAA-leading three-point shooting percentage of 51.8 percent. Taurus Samuels ’22 was a bright spot for the team, scoring a team-leading 13 points off the bench.

The Big Green will return to Hanover for a weekend homestand against Brown University and Yale University, two of the top teams in the conference, as it looks to qualify for the annual Ivy League tournament as one of the conference’s top four teams.

track & field

skiing

This past week, the men’s and women’s Dartmouth track teams competed at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic. Although no athletes from Dartmouth competed in any field events, the Big Green was still able to make an impact at the meet.

For the men, top performers included Max Fyre ’21, Reed Horton ’19, Parker Johnson ’19, Shawn Ohazuruike ’20 and Donovan Spearman ’21.

Spearman ran a 6.82 in the final of the 60m, finishing only one-hundredth of second behind a professional athlete

The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association took the weekend off from carnival competition, but several Big Green skiers were in action on the FIS circuit and in cross-country Super Tour racing.

Kipling Weisel ’18 took second place in a FIS slalom race at Smugglers Notch, 0.76 seconds off the pace set

by Middlebury’s Erik Arvidsson. At Okemo Mountain Resort, Hannah

who took first. For the women, Nicole Deblasio ’19, Kathryn Laskoski ’21, Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20, Lauren Sapone ’20, Grace Thompson ’19 and Julia Valenti ’20 were all top 10 performers in their respective events. Rothwell finished fifth in the 60m hurdles with an 8.59 run, and Valenti finished second in the pole vaults after clearing 3.65 meters.

At the start of next month, the teams will participate in the New England Championship in Boston before moving on to the Fastrack Invitational in Staten Island.

Utter ’21 took fourth in Friday’s slalom and first in the giant slalom the next day. Katharine Ogden ’21, returning to Lake Placid for the second time in the last two weeks, represented Dartmouth at the Super Tour 10-kilometer classic mass start. The defending NCAA champion took third overall, besting the rest of the collegiate field by half a minute.

EVAN MORGAN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Cy Lippold ’19 scored a career-high 26 points against Harvard on Saturday, but the senior’s effort was not enough.

After a win against State University of New York at Binghampton on Dec. 31, the women’s basketball team faced an over three-week break before taking on Harvard in Cambridge on Jan. 19. The team got off to a rough start, getting shut out 14-0 in the first quarter and trailing 27-7 at the end of the first half. Despite a terrific third period — besting Harvard 27-12 — the Big Green were not able to follow through in the fourth quarter and lost 56-46. Paula Lenart ’20 finished the game with 12 rebounds, while Cy Lippold ’19 and Annie McKenna ’20 led the team with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

This Saturday, the Big Green took on Harvard

again at home, falling 73-57. Although the team had a much better start to the game this time around — outscoring Harvard 24-19 in the first quarter — the Big Green were beaten badly on the boards by a bigger Crimson team, who gradually wore Dartmouth down during the second half. A bright spot of the night was Lippold, who scored a career-high 26 points; Isalys Quinones ’19 followed suit with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Big Green face a four-game road stand the next two weekends, taking on Brown University and Yale University next on Feb. 1 and 2.

M & W squash Zachary ZacharyBenjamin Benjamin’19 ’19

Zachary Benjamin ’19 Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief

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AmandaZhou Zhou ’19 Ioana Amanda Solomon ’19 ’19 Executive Editors Executive Editors Executive Editor

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The No. 6 men’s squash team faced a tough stretch over the past two weeks, falling 8-1 to No. 4 Trinity College on Jan. 19 and then falling 9-0 to No. 2 University of Rochester this Saturday. Only Matt Giegerich ’19 was able to secure a match win against Trinity, while Jack Bell ’22 dropped a hardfought match after falling 21-19 on the fifth game.

The Big Green bounced back yesterday with a 5-4 win at No. 11 St. Lawrence University, with Jack Bell ’22 and Drew Monroe ’20 sweeping their matches.

Meanwhile, the No. 9 women’s squash team had a mixed weekend, falling 8-1 to No. 3 Trinity on Jan. 19 while bouncing back yesterday for a 9-0

trouncing of No. 27 St. Lawrence University. Caroline Mollenkopf ’22 was the lone bright spot in the Trinity match, scoring an 11-6, 11-4 and 11-4 sweep against her opponent. But at St. Lawrence in Canton, New York, all nine members of the Big Green swept their matches, with Mollenkopf and Ellie Gozigian ’21 coming away with 11-0 game wins.

The 4-4 women’s team will look to improve their record against Ivy League opponents with matches at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University next weekend, while the 7-3 men’s team will attempt to bolster their 2-2 road record against the same opponents.

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

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Men’s Hockey

EVAN MORGAN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Dartmouth grabbed two ECAC points with a home win against St. Lawrence University on Friday.

The men’s hockey team sits just two points from the top of the Eastern College Athletic Conference standings as it enters the final five weeks of conference play. On Jan. 18, the Big Green defeated Colgate University 1-0. The game marked the second straight shutout for goaltender Adrian Clark ’20. Alex Jasiek ’19 scored the lone goal with fewer than nine minutes remaining. The Big Green struggled the following day in a tough atmosphere against Cornell University. In a 5-1 loss, the team allowed five goals despite only allowing 19 shots on goal.

Dartmouth returned to Thompson Arena last weekend following a five-game road trip, in which the team went 2-2-1. The Big Green enjoyed its first game back home last Friday, defeating St. Lawrence

University 4-1. Dartmouth was able to get over 50 shots on goal for the first time in almost a decade while only allowing 13 shots. The Big Green finished the weekend with a 2-0 loss to No. 10 Clarkson University. Despite outshooting the Golden Knights 31-21, Dartmouth could not capitalize on its offensive chances. Clarkson scored early in the first period and withstood a strong attack from the Big Green, especially in the final minutes of the game. The game marked just the second time this season that the team failed to score.

The Big Green (8-10-2, 7-5-1 ECAC) travel to Harvard University for a matchup next Friday at 7:30 p.m. before returning to Hanover for two games the following weekend.

W ICE HOCKEY this weekend marked just the second time all season that the team has scored multiple times in back-to-back games, netting two goals in both games. For a team that has struggled offensively all year, it’s a good start to see the hard work on the ice translate to points on the scoreboard. Additionally, Clarkson is the fifth best team in the country, and Dartmouth was able to match their shots on goal total and keep the game reasonably close until the last buzzer.

Competing with a team of Clarkson’s caliber shows that the Big Green certainly has what it takes to turn its season around.

WOMEN’S TENNIS Women’s tennis lost its season opener for the first time since the 2015-16 season but bounced back the next weekend by splitting a pair of home matches against the University of Iowa and the University of Connecticut.

In the season-opener, Dartmouth fell to Boston College for the second straight year. The Eagles won the doubles point and got wins against Racquel Lyn ’20, Catherine Cable ’20 and Abigail Chiu ’21.

The lone win in the 6-1 defeat came from Jingyi

Peng ’22, who took down BC’s Elene Tsokilauri 7-6, 6-4. Iowa dealt Dartmouth a second defeat this Saturday. Chuyang Guan ’20 won 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 6 position, and the Big Green took several matches to three sets, but the Hawkeyes came out with the 6-1 win. Dartmouth enjoyed a better outing the next day in a 7-0 triumph over the University of Connecticut. After winning the doubles point, the Big Green swept the Huskies in straight sets during singles play.

coasted to victory over Bryant.

None of the deciding sets even went to seven games as the Big Green won the doubles point, then Casey Ross ’21, Sid Chari ’22 and Horneffer closed out the match with singles wins.

The team battled back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Wildcats 4-3 on Saturday. Kentucky won the doubles point and had the Big Green on the brink with singles wins at No. 1 and No. 5. But Conklin, Horneffer and Chari won to power Dartmouth back to a 3-3 tie, and Martin downed Kentucky’s Enzo Wallert 6-4, 7-5 to give Dartmouth the win.

The Big Green drew a tougher opponent the next day in the No. 14 Lions. Columbia scooped up the doubles point and ran out to a 3-0 lead. Broom grabbed a point with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 40 Jack Lin, but Martin lost at No. 2 to give Columbia the win.

For the second time in the two years since Dartmouth’s home meet was renamed the Tate Ramsden Invitational, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams picked up home wins. For the men’s team, the win over the University of Massachusetts was its first victory of the season.

Connor LaMastra ’21 broke pool and meet records left and right on both Friday and Saturday. He started by taking down the meet record in the 500-yard freestyle by more than two seconds (4:31.04).

On Saturday, he broke the pool record in the 400-yard IM by four seconds (3:51.49) and later broke the meet record in the 1,650-yard freestyle by 25 seconds (15:26.76). Justin Sodokoff ’21 led the way for the Dartmouth divers on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, breaking the meet record in the latter. Elsewhere, Joe Moll ’22 won the 200-yard IM, J.P.

Mortenson ’21 touched first in the 100-yard butterfly and Dartmouth also got wins in four other events.

Meanwhile, the women’s team took down UMass 193142. Big Green swimmers won three events on Friday as Mia Leko ’22 touched first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:58.66), Ashley Post ’22 did the same in the 200-yard IM and the A team won the 200-yard freestyle relay. The next day, Dartmouth notched seven more event wins as Leko won the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.69) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:06.06), Connie Zhang ’22 won the 100-yard backstroke and Mackenzie Stumpf ’21won the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.61). Dartmouth went 1-23 in the 200-yard breaststroke, Sarah Minnigh ’22 won the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:23.38) and the Big Green won the 400yard freestyle relay to close the meet.

Swimming & diving

This weekend, the women’s hockey team hit the road for a couple of away games in New York, matching up with St. Lawrence University on Friday night and Clarkson University on Saturday. The previous weekend, the team also suffered a pair of losses against No. 7 Cornell University and No. 8 Colgate University. Against Colgate, the Big Green had a strong third period but couldn’t overcome Colgate’s four goals in the second. The Big Green continues to struggle through this season, but despite coming up empty in the win column again this weekend, the team showed signs of improvement. First,

No. 27 Charlie Broom ’20 and the men’s tennis team hit the ground running in its first two weekends as they won three of four matches, including a victory over the University of Kentucky on Intercollegiate Tennis Association kickoff weekend. The lone blemish on Dartmouth’s schedule came Sunday at the hands of Columbia University, the No. 14 team in the nation.

The Big Green opened the 2019 season on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with home wins over Indiana University and Bryant University.

Facing the Hoosiers, Dartmouth never trailed, taking the doubles point and then getting wins from David Horneffer ’20 at No. 3 and Dan Martin ’21 at No. 2, who beat 96th ranked Bennett Crane. Peter Conklin ’21 brought the match home with a straight-set win at No. 4. Later that day, Dartmouth

Men’s TENNIS

NATALIE DAMERON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Casey Ross ’21 and Peter Conklin ’21 won both home doubles matches.

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019

Three-point shooting propels men’s ba BRENDAN BARRY ’20 CURRENTLY LEADS THE NCAA IN THREE-POINT SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

By BAILY DEETER / T

Brendan Barry ’20 currently sits atop the NCAA rankings in 3-point shooting percentage. His hot shooting has been contagious, with the Big Green averaging 3.4 more 3-pointers per game t

At a stellar academic institution like Dartmouth, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the Big Green using its intelligence to its advantage on the basketball court.

Conventional wisdom in basketball is that 3-point shots, while providing a large payoff, are less likely to go in and aren’t often best for a team. Teams that shoot too many 3-pointers are often seen as inconsistent and doomed for mediocrity, as they can easily struggle if they don’t shoot well on a particular night.

Yet the Dartmouth Big Green, at 10-8, is having its best season in 22 years thanks to a tremendous season of 3-point shooting. Brendan Barry ’20 currently leads the entire NCAA with an incredible 3-point shooting percentage of 51.8 percent, while James Foye ’20 and Ian Sistare ’20 aren’t

‘‘

Green shot just 35.9 percent from beyond the arc en route to a 7-20 season, but it has improved greatly to the tune of a 40.5 percent clip this season.

Even more amazing is the frequency with which the team shoots its long balls. The team shot just 557 3-pointers in 27 games last season, but it’s already taken 479 in just 18 games this season. The team is averaging 5.98 more 3-point attempts per game and 3.4 more successful 3-pointers per game this year compared to last year.

“Our coaching staff is into this new wave of analytics in basketball,” Foye said. “We’re looking for the most efficient shots, so when it comes down to it, we want to be shooting either layups or 3s.”

Foye referenced a hypothetical yet realistic example of a

Barry has the hot hand

Confidence in basketball is huge, so when you know that your coaches want you taking shots, you’re not thinking in the back of your head when you shoot. It allows you to just focus on making the shot.” —James Foye ’20

far behind at 48.6 percent and 45.6 percent, respectively.

“It’s cool to be up there in the rankings, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates and my coaches,” Barry said.

“Our coaches are drawing up great plays and my teammates are getting me open looks, which plays a huge part.”

With the amazing season Barry’s been having, it’s safe to say he’s earned the trust of the coaching staff.

“They’re basically encouraging him to shoot whenever he wants,” Foye said. “Even his contested 3s go in, so they’re urging him to take more and more shots.”

Barry’s tremendous shooting has gotten much of the press, but the team’s strong shooting season can be attributed to a handful of players. In the 2017-18 season, the Big

team shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 50 percent from 2-point range, not too far off from Dartmouth’s true averages of 40.5 percent on 3s and 45.7 percent from the field. The expected points per possession value is greater in this case if you shoot a 3-pointer, as 40 percent odds to make a shot worth three points yields an expected value of 1.2 points per possession in comparison to just 1.0 points per possession for a 2-point shot with 50 percent odds.

Armed with these facts, the Big Green changed its philosophy to encourage more 3-point shooting.

“The coaching staff made it a priority for everyone to shoot more 3s,” Foye said. “Our starting guards and a lot of our bench players were known for shooting in high school,

BELLA JACOBY/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Barry made four of nine 3-pointers against Harvard on Saturday but missed both 2-point attempts.

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019

SW 5

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

asketball to promising start

The Dartmouth Staff

WILLIAM CHERRY/COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

than last season.

so it plays into our strengths.”

With three stellar shooters in Barry, Foye and Sistare, opponents have to respect the three-point shot if they want to slow down the Big Green offense. However, with forward Chris Knight ’21 leading the team with 15.4 points per game and providing a significant threat in the post, defenses are faced with a difficult dilemma defending Dartmouth. Either they take away Knight down low and hope the shooters have an off night, or they guard the perimeter heavily and trust their one-on-one matchup against Knight.

“Having Knight in the post really opens things up for us,” Barry said. “If they try to double him, it will leave us with open shots, and our guards shooting as well as we have opens things up for him as well. It works both ways.”

While Barry, Foye and Sistare were all known for their shooting abilities coming into Dartmouth, coach David McLaughlin made it a priority for the team to work on its shooting consistently over the offseason to rise to the elite level at which it’s currently performing.

“The biggest thing we encouraged during the offseason was for guys to get to the gym on their own,” McLaughlin said. “It started in the summer with guys like Ian and James being in the gym every day and continued into the fall.”

With the team’s guards having a natural penchant for shooting and a consistent work ethic, the coaching staff has faith in them to make their open 3s. This trust that the coaching staff has in its players to make open shots has certainly benefited the team mentally.

“Confidence in basketball is huge, so when you know that your coaches want you taking shots, you’re not thinking in the back of your head when you shoot,” Foye said. “It allows you to just focus on making the shot.”

With so many strong shooters, the team knows most of its possessions will end with a top-tier shooter taking a high-percentage shot. McLaughlin seconded the notion that this has allowed them to relax and play with more confidence.

“We realize the value of moving the ball and making sure

we’re getting to great shots every possession,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve got guys who can spread out the defense and shoot it, so there’s no need for us to turn the ball over. We’re going to get a good or great shot every possession.”

This increased confidence and better shooting carried Dartmouth to an impressive 9-7 non-conference record, but Dartmouth was even more impressive in its Ivy League opener against Harvard University. It shot a phenomenal 68.1 percent from the field, including 52 percent from 3-point range. Thanks to the team’s unbelievable shooting performance, it dominated the Ivy League powerhouse Crimson 81-63.

“That was a crazy performance that’s hard to repeat, but I still think we can shoot at similar percentages based on how well we move the ball and find open looks,” Barry said.

In the team’s second game against Harvard, it wasn’t able to repeat that stellar performance in a 64-59 defeat in Cambridge. Nobody expected the team to shoot around 70 percent from the field like it did two weeks prior, but the team’s 37.9 percent success rate from the field certainly fell short of expectations.

Dartmouth led 26-25 going into halftime, but it fell behind late in the second half and couldn’t close the gap.

After knocking down four 3-pointers earlier in the game, Barry couldn’t sink the potential game-tying triple as the Big Green dropped a heartbreaker.

Yet even on one of the team’s worst shooting days all season, it just barely lost to a traditional Ivy League powerhouse. Taurus Samuels ’22 stepped up with four 3-pointers of his own, potentially adding another member to the group of sharpshooting guards.

With a 1-1 Ivy League record and a 10-8 overall record, the Big Green is still in the midst of a promising season and an exceptional shooting season on a national scale. With the team continuing to create open looks and knock down open shots, it’s a legitimate threat to defeat any opponent as the season progresses.

GIL TALBOT/COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

15 BARRY BRENDAN

3-pt FG %

Pts/Game

Season High

51.8 / 12.9 / 31 HEIGHT: 6’2’’ POSITION: GUARD HOMETOWN: FAIR HAVEN, NJ

HEDER HAYAT AND EVAN MORGAN/THE DARTMOUTH

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MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

Women’s basketball beaten badly on boards in loss to Harvard to seal the game.

Despite its eventual loss, the Big The Dartmouth Staff Green gained momentum in the Dartmouth women’s basketball second half, and that was something took on the Harvard University that head coach Belle Koclanes Crimson each of the past two wanted to carry into the following weekends to kick off Ivy play. The week against the same Harvard team.

Big Green went 0-2 in the matchups, “Our mentality was we want first losing 56-46 in Cambridge, then to pick up where we left off from 73-57 in Hanover.

Boston,” Koclanes In Cambridge, “We had one key on said. “We had a the Big Green’s second half our scouting report great shots weren’t in Boston.” finding the bottom tonight. We usually To begin the of the net at the give them three. It game, the Big beginning of the Green did just that. game. None of was one key, and The team came Dartmouth’s 19 it was rebounding. out of the locker first quarter shots room focused We weren’t able fell, giving the and energetic Crimson a 14-0 to do that, and during warmups lead to start the we didn’t earn a and carried that game. The second edge into the first quarter was slow victory.” quarter, outscoring as well, and the the Crimson 24Big Green headed 19. Cy Lippold -HEAD COACH BELLE to the locker room ’19 led the effort, at the half facing a KOCLANES putting 11 points 27-7 deficit. o n t h e b o a rd Dartmouth herself to start out returned to the court with a a night in which she posted a careervengeance, and had a 27-point high 26 points. third quarter, led by guard Annie Despite the Big Green’s fast McKenna ’20. Harvard had a 39-34 start, key players Elle Louie ’21 lead entering the final quarter after and forward Paula Lenart ’20 the Big Green’s monstrous third, but had each accumulated two fouls the Big Green could not come back in the first quarter and had to sit

out much of the second quarter.

Already missing forward Anna Luce ’21, having Lenart in foul trouble against a much bigger Harvard team required Koclanes to call on Georgia Alexander ’22 to help forward Isalys Quinones ’19 hold down the Crimson’s bigs.

“We called on Georgia Alexander, who hasn’t played very much because she hasn’t been ready to,” Koclanes said. “She’s been putting time in — after hours, before hours, all the hours, Georgia is always in this gym, and it’s starting to show. She did a fantastic job with where she is on the timeline right now to help us maintain that competitiveness in the first half.”

Alexander, who had played a total of 11 minutes all season coming into Saturday’s game, played for 13 minutes against the Crimson. However, the Big Green got outrebounded 19-5 in the second quarter, including eight offensive rebounds. Rebounding ended up being the key to the Big Green’s loss.

“We had one key on our scouting report tonight,” Koclanes said. “We usually give them three. It was one key, and it was rebounding. We weren’t able to do that, and we didn’t earn a victory.”

Despite scoring just three fewer points than the Crimson in the third quarter, there was a clear shift in momentum favoring the Crimson,

and Harvard outscored the Big Green thing over and over again,” Lippold by ten in the fourth, sealing their fifth said. “As we’ve been talking about consecutive victory. Besides getting this week and as one of our alums beat on the boards, the Big Green reminded us about rebounding, it’s struggled with turnovers and couldn’t in your heart, not your height. So it’s reign in a unanimous 2017-18 just effort, really.” first team All-Ivy E ve n g i ve n selection in Katie the Big Green’s Benzan. Benzan, “As we’ve been discouraging start wh o t h e B i g talking about to Ivy play, Lippold Green limited to is not worried about just five points in this week and as her team’s ability to Cambridge, sunk one of our alums bounce back. six threes en route “There are starts reminded us about within to a 22-point the game rebounding, it’s in performance. and there are starts Harvard is your heart, not your within the season, certainly one of and they’re both kind the Ivy League’s height. So it’s just of similar just across t o u g h e s t effort, really.” different spans of programs. time,” she said. “We With that said, showed last week at the Big Green -CY LIPPOLD ’19 Harvard that we can will continue go scoreless in the to face similar first quarter and then challenges, outscore them by 15 especially on the boards. One possible in the third quarter. So I think it’s the solution to the rebounding problem same thing just over a longer span of is to box out other teams’ guards, time now, you have to bounce back and not count on them staying on the same way we bounced back in the perimeter when a shot goes up. that second half, and bounce back According to Koclanes and Lippold, this weekend.” that is something the Green and This coming weekend, Dartmouth White has been working on. will face Brown University and Yale “We have two small post players University on the road. The Big compared to a lot of other Ivy League Green will look to bounce back and teams, so that’s going to be a repeat improve to a .500 record in Ivy play.

best conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference has remained relatively consistent with preseason expectations at the top of the conference.The University of Virginia, Duke University and the University of North Carolina were all projected to finish at the top end of the conference after being ranked as a one, two and two-seed in last year’s postseason play.

We won’t go into what happened to Virginia during said postseason play; everyone’s quite aware. These three teams have a combined record of 507; Virginia’s only loss came at Duke, Duke lost to Gonzaga and Syracuse, and three of North Carolina’s four losses have been to teams ranked in the top 15 in Adjusted Efficiency, per KenPom.com. I predict Virginia will win the conference — the Cavaliers can most likely beat Duke on a neutral court, with Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia Tech University receiving high seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville jumped to national attention after demolishing North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 83-62, giving head coach Roy Williams his worst home loss since coming to North Carolina, and Virginia Tech is undefeated at home this season with only three losses on the road so far.

Moving on to possibly the best conference in college basketball this season, the Big Ten could also send a high number of teams to postseason play. If the season ended

right now, both the University of Michigan (started the season 17-0) and Michigan State University (two of the team’s three losses have come by five points or fewer) could have a case to be one-seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Speaking about other quality teams, Purdue University ranks seventh in the country with an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of 120.6 points per 100 possessions, and the University of Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ is one of three players in the Big Ten to average a double-double.

The Big 12 is in an interesting position this season. For a conference which is known for its high scoring football, its basketball has been very defensively oriented. The median adjusted defensive efficiency team rank in the conference is 22, while the median adjusted offensive efficiency team rank is 51.5. The Big 12 also boasts the best defensive team in the country in terms of efficiency, as Texas Tech currently allows 84.1 points per 100 possessions. It’s also worth watching if any team will finally dethrone Kansas University as the Big 12 Champion, a title the Jayhawks have held since 2005. I expect Kansas and Texas Tech to be joined in the postseason by Iowa State University, who just came off a ranked win against the University of Mississippi. Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin are on the bubble right now, but Baylor, led by graduate transfer and former

Yale player Makai Mason, is on a hot streak (four straight wins), and Texas has wins over North Carolina and Purdue, so I expect both these teams to be in the conversation come March.

The best team in the Southeastern Conference right now surprisingly isn’t the University of Kentucky.

It’s the University of Tennessee, the current number one team in the AP Poll. Tennessee arguably has the best frontcourt in college basketball with the duo of forwards Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield; Williams and Schofield are first and fifth in the SEC in points per game with 20.2 and 16.6, respectively. The top of the SEC consists of Tennessee, Kentucky and 25th-ranked Louisiana State University, all of whom are currently undefeated or have only one loss in conference play. The remainder of the conference that will make the tournament — and there is a surprising number of them for a conference considered strongest in football — will probably only be lower seeds, including Mississippi State University, Auburn University, Ole Miss and the University of Florida.

Since the original Big East split up, the “new” Big East has sent an average of 5.6 teams to postseason play. This year, the Big East is looking weaker and could potentially only send four

B y Lili Stern

The Redshirt Senior with Evan Griffith ’18

The Redshi rt Seni or: Looking Ahead to the NCAA Tournament As conference play in men’s college basketball keeps moving forward, the picture starts to look a bit clearer regarding which teams have a chance to make it far in the postseason. Some teams that shined early in the season have struggled against teams from their own conference (like St. John’s University), while other teams have come on strong in recent weeks (like the University of Louisville). Which teams from the power conferences will make the NCAA Tournament and have the potential to go far?

Starting off with the easternmost, alphabetically first and objectively

teams to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. The two top teams in the conference are defending national champions Villanova University and Marquette University. Marquette’s starting point guard Markus Howard is averaging 24.6 points per game and has scored above 40 points three times this season; he’s scored 45 twice and 53 in an overtime game against Creighton University.

Villanova has dropped two games in a row twice this season, so people may have forgotten about them, but the Wildcats are undefeated in conference play so far, so they should not be brushed to the side so easily.

My opinion on the Pac-12 has already been made clear. It’s quite possible that only the conference champion will make the postseason; as of right now that team looks to be the University of Washington.

As for who I think can make the championship game, it’s hard to tell right now. It’s difficult to bet against Virginia even considering what happened last year. Virginia is still playing its painfully slow, suck-the-life-out-of-you defense as it has been since Tony Bennett arrived in 2009, but the Cavaliers on offense are much better than in years past, currently ranked second in the country in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. If the Cavaliers can make it past the first round, it should be smooth sailing.

Pucks in Deep

with Sam Stockton ’19 Pucks in Deep: Hockey is Giving Women the Cold Shoulder In her familiar No. 26 USA sweater, one which immediately ignited chants from the SAP Center crowd, Kendall Coyne Schofield became the star of the National Hockey League’s All-Star Weekend before a single NHL player participated in any competition.

The annual NHL Superskills event suffers from television’s failure to capture the nuanced skills of the league’s stars. The ease with which each player performs the task put before them — say, firing at targets in each corner of the net in the accuracy shooting competition — diminishes the awe we feel watching any one performance. In the case of the fastest skater competition in which Coyne participated, we have an on-screen clock to provide some context for what we are watching, but that clock does nothing to promote the sensation of speed as each participant laps the ice. The tight camera angle NBC Sports Network chose to show each run provided the opportunity to closely observe Coyne’s instant acceleration, the tightness of her crossovers as she rounded the nets and the long strides she used to glide through the neutral

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zone, but again, without any other players, let alone regular people, it wasn’t obvious just how fast she went.

If the live broadcast left uncertainty about her speed, the reaction shots of the benches, peopled by about 40 of the best hockey players in the world, assuaged it. Every player rose, instantly compelled to their feet by Coyne’s performance and eager to congratulate her for it, because of course, Coyne didn’t just earn notoriety by being the first woman to participate at Superskills, she did it by making it indubitably clear that she belonged in the competition of the NHL’s fastest skaters.

If Coyne’s performance came as a surprise, the end result of the fastest skater competition was not.

Connor McDavid, who entered the competition as the back-to-back champion, became the first player to ever win the event thrice. But of course, it was Coyne, not McDavid, whose performance deservedly drew the hockey world’s attention.

Her time of 14.346 seconds came in less than a second slower than McDavid’s 13.378. She beat Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller.

And she went even faster (14.226 seconds) in the lap she skated Thursday night as a demonstration of the event. Coyne stands at just 5-foot-2, nearly a foot shorter than McDavid, and yet despite this stride disadvantage, she showed that her inclusion in the event was much more than an attempt to “grow the game” and promote “diversity and inclusion” to borrow from the buzzwords of commissioner Gary Bettman. Irrefutably, Coyne’s inclusion improved the quality of the competition.

The obvious implication of Coyne’s performance is that we are overdue for the inclusion of women at the highest level of hockey.

Of course, a skills event does not equate to the physicality of an actual game, but Coyne shredded the

conventional perception that women simply lack the size and strength to play alongside men. As the NHL’s ever-progressing transition toward a game predicated much more on speed and skill than size and strength, players like Johnny Gaudreau — winner of Friday night’s puck control relay, among the front runners for the Hart Trophy as league MVP and a mere 5-foot-9, 165 pounds — have found opportunities they would never have been afforded if they came up in hockey before our current era. Gaudreau’s dazzling puck skills would not have been enough to convince the average NHL coach or general manager from the ’90s that someone who would not look physically imposing in an eighth grade basketball game belonged in the National Hockey League. If players like Gaudreau can thrive in today’s game, there is no legitimate reason to doubt that Coyne, the other three women who participated in the Superskills event (Brianna Decker, Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast) and the many other supremely talented women in professional hockey can do the same.

The culture of sports dictates that athletic competition functions as the purest meritocracy possible in our capitalist society. And yet, the performances of Coyne, Decker, Johnston and Fast plainly label this notion delusional. Setting aside Coyne’s performance for the moment, let us consider Decker’s as an example of this fact.

On Friday night, Decker, like Coyne a member of the 2018 gold-medal winning American Olympic women’s hockey team, “demonstrated” the Premier Passer competition, a demonstration NBCSN valued so much as to show old footage of current NBCSN analyst Jeremy Roenick in lieu of her live performance.

This competition requires players

to complete three breakout passes, four saucer passes over a barrier and into a mini net, and four passes from the point at light-up targets. If you or I attempted this feat, we would likely spend two hours in the neutral zone before begrudgingly accepting that we would never be able to get the puck up over the barrier and into the tiny net on the other side.

Leon Draisaitl, the contest’s official winner, was able to pull this off in a shade over 1:09. Mikko Rantanen finished last among the eight NHL participants with a time of 2:17. In addition to declining to televise Decker’s performance, the NHL opted not to bother using the official clock for her attempt.

However, unofficial timers in the arena clocked her effort at 1:06, a full three seconds faster than Draisaitl.

The NHL maintained that Decker merely demonstrated the drill and makes no mention of her even attempting it in their official log of the competitions and their results.

Draisaitl received a nice $25,000 check as the “winner” bringing new new meaning to the phrase “may the best man win.”

Quite plainly, the competition showed the illusory nature of professional sports’ supposed meritocracy. The competition’s best performer did not receive its prize, which instead was reserved for whichever man finished first.

Decker’s denial of the $25,000 prize she rightfully deserved forced attention away from her feat and necessitated a conversation about the wage gap in sports. I can’t imagine anyone is non-plussed by picking up 25 grand for barely more than a minute’s work, but Draisaitl is in the second year of an eightyear contract worth $68 million.

Conversely, the National Women’s Hockey League set a salary cap at $270,000 per team. Fortunately, CCM, a hockey manufacturing company, paid Decker the money

she deserved, but this sort of deal should not be necessary for a league to whom $25,000 means just about nothing.

On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the NHL did check Decker’s time, and that she actually finished in the vicinity of 1:12. I would contend that this entirely tone deaf “well actually” on behalf of the league only makes it look worse.

The inclusion of women at the Superskills showcase did the impossible: it made an all-star event genuinely noteworthy, and yet, all too unsurprisingly, the NHL’s own clumsiness and inability to take advantage of the undeniable talent available to it ensured that what should have been an incredible celebration of the game could not unfold without irrepressible reminders about the league’s complicity in structural inequality. At this point, there can be no legitimate doubt about the ability of women to participate at the highest level of sports. The question that remains is when will the conservative, old boys’ club culture of professional sports finally embrace that reality.

Author’s aside: The Candian Women’s Hockey League held its all-star game the weekend before last in Toronto.

Among the league’s chosen representatives was Laura Stacey ’16. Stacey, in just her second CWHL season, scored a goal in a losing effort, and despite the loss, she continues to add to her already impressive resume. In her rookie season for the Ontario-based Markham Thunder, Stacey also made the All-star game, but more notably scored the overtime goal that clinched a Clarkson Cup championship. While she wasn’t busy with that, Stacey earned a silver medal for Team Canada in Pyeongchang. Not a bad start to a pro career.

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SPORTS

Men’s hockey remains in contention in the ECAC

feeling.”

The Big Green struggled the The Dartmouth Staff following day in a tough atmosphere As Eastern College Athletic against Cornell University. The Conference play heats up, the team allowed five goals despite only men’s hockey team sits just two allowing 19 shots on goal. Despite points from the top of the league the loss, the team still feels good standings. The team split the past about conference play thus far.

C l a rk b e l i e ve s t h e t e a m two weekends, with both losses has successfully transitioned coming to top-15 teams.

On Jan. 18, the Big Green to conference play, where the defeated Colgate University 1-0. importance of each game increases.

“We didn’t have the best nonThe game marked the second straight conference luck, so shutout for it has been nice to g o a l t e n d e r “Especially in get back to ECAC A d r i a n conference play, it’s g ames and end Clark ’20. the year on a good “It shows nice to know that we note,” Jasiek said. t h e l e v e l are able to play a full The team was of play we happy to return to are able to 60 minutes and come Hanover for four m a i n t a i n , ” out and dominate the of five games at Clark said. game.”

Thompson Arena “Especially following a fivein conference game road trip, play, it’s nice -ADRIAN CLARK ’20 in which the team to know that went 2-2-1. we are able “I’m glad we got to play a full it over with, but 60 minutes and come out and dominate the we’ve got a couple more road trips ahead,” Clark said. game.”

The Big Green enjoyed its With a 2.17 goals-against average, Clark has provided a first game back home last Friday, spark to the Big Green team. He defeating St. Lawrence University currently has the fifth-most saves 4-1. Quin Foreman ’21 scored two goals, and Jasiek scored to extend of any goaltender in the ECAC. “Seeing [Clark] get two straight his point streak to four games.

“We did a good job of getting shutouts was enormous for us,” forward Alex Jasiek ’19 said. “It second and third chances off of gave us a lot of confidence playing rebounds, which really added up in front of him and I know it helped over the course of the game,” Clark said. “When we have us get two forwards in front b i g w i n s.

“Seeing [Clark] get of the net tipping He’s played pucks, screening really well two straight shutouts a n d l o o k i n g fo r for us all was enormous for rebounds, it makes year.” it easier to cash J a s i e k us. It gave us a lot of i n a ro u n d t h e i r played an confidence playing crease.” important in front of him and The team was role for unable to find its t h e B i g I know it helped us of fense the next G re e n i n get two big wins. He’s night against No. 10 the victory Clarkson University, o v e r played really well for losing 2-0. Just like C o l g a t e . us all year.” the game against He scored Cornell, the team the lone outshot its opponent goal with -ALEX JASIEK ’19 but struggled to find f e w e r the back of the net than nine despite controlling most of the minutes remaining in the game.

“Helping the team get a win play. The Big Green finished with against Colgate was incredible,” 31 shots on goal to the Golden he said. “Whenever we are able to Knights’ 21. Saturday’s game was get a road victory is always a good just the second time the Big Green

By ADDISON DICK

EVAN MORGAN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Forward Shane Sellar ’21 took control of the puck during the Big Green’s 4-1 win against St. Lawrence University.

has been shut out all season. The team is averaging 2.60 goals per game, which ranks eighth among ECAC teams.

“I thought we battled hard both nights this weekend,” Clark said.

“They were both close games, so we showed good mental toughness in our ability to close out against St. Lawrence and then battle right until the final buzzer against Clarkson.”

The Big Green (8-10-2, 7-5-1 ECAC) travel to play rival Harvard University for a matchup next Friday. Clark expects another close game.

“The major thing we didn’t do last time we played them was kill penalties very well, so I am sure we are going to do a lot of video this week so we can sort out those details,” Clark said. “Other than that, we’re just going to go out and play our game, stick to what we do best, and hopefully we can come out with a big two conference points.”

Despite two tough losses the past two weekends, the Big Green remain in contention in the ECAC standings. Tied for fifth place with Quinnipiac University, the team is two points behind Cornell and Yale University for the top spot in the conference. With teams vying for the regular-season title as well as the four first-round byes in the conference tournament, the final

five weeks of conference play are take the rest of the season one game shaping up to come down to the at a time, one shift at a time, and wire. get two points every game we play.

“The next few weekends are Our ceiling is really high. We have huge,” Clark skill, work ethic, said.

“Our main goal right talent, and I think As the we all believe in one team lear ned now is to take the another to win the last year, the rest of the season championship.” final weeks of The team is one game at a conference also hoping to play can have time, one shift at a make a run in a large impact time, and get two the conference on the team’s tour nament and p o s t s e a s o n points every game advan ce to the success. Last we play. We have NCAA tournament season, the for the first time in skill, work ethic, Big Green won 39 years. seven of its final talent, and I think “We’ve got a 11 conference we all believe in one really good team, matchups to especially a team propel them to another to win the that can make a a home series in championship.” run for Lake Placid the first round [home of the of the ECAC ECAC semifinals t o u r n a m e n t . -ALEX JASIEK ’19 and finals],” Clark The Big Green said. “Once you used the homemake it [to the ice advantage ECAC semifinals], to defeat No. 12 St. Lawrence in all you need is to string together a a three-game series. couple of wins to make the NCAA The Big Green is looking to win tournament. I think we’re able to the regular season ECAC title for do that. Hopefully, our team peaks the first time since 2006. at the right time and we continue “In my mind, this team has what the momentum that we’ve been it takes to win the ECAC,” Jasiek building the second half of the said. “Our main goal right now is to season.”