The Bowdoin College men’s and women’s basketball teams have earned the right to play in this weekend’s New England Small College Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
Women
Bowdoin is the No. 2 seed and will host seventh seeded Williams on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside Morrell Gymnasium.
The Polar Bears posted their best regular season record since the 2006-07 season, with their lone loss being a 49-45 setback at Amherst, the top-ranked team in Division III. The Polar Bears own the best offense in the NESCAC, averaging 82.8 points per game, while allowing 47.3 points per game. Bowdoin is shooting a league-high 46.9 percent from the floor, 37.8 percent from 3-point range and 76.7 percent from the foul line.
The Polar Bears have won eight NESCAC Championships, the last of which came in 2009.
Williams is the No. 7 seed for the second consecutive season. Connecticut College and Williams finished with identical conference records of 4-6, but Connecticut College edged the Ephs during the regular season to grab the No. 6 seed. The Ephs began the year with a 5-1 record, and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 57-50 win over Hamilton in the regular-season finale.
Bowdoin is 7-0 against Williams in the NESCAC tournament series, and the teams last met in the 2016 quarterfinals with the Polar Bears posting a 73-50 win.
This season, Bowdoin earned a 73-47 victory over the Ephs on Feb. 3. Williams has never won a NESCAC Championship.
Men
Bowdoin has earned the eighth seed and will travel to top-seeded Amherst on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Bowdoin returns to the NESCAC Championship following a one-year hiatus and is the No. 8 seed for the first time since 2011 and fourth time overall.
Trinity, Bowdoin and Bates all finished with identical conference records of 4- 6. In head-to-head competition, the three teams all went 1-1, and all three teams won four conference games. In comparing records against the teams in the top four, including all teams tied for fourth, Trinity went 2-3, Bowdoin went 1-4, and Bates went 0-5. As a result, Trinity is the No. 7 seed and Bowdoin earned the No. 8 seed.
The Polar Bears started the season with a 6-0 record, but went 1-4 in the final five games of the regular season. Bowdoin owns the best 3- point field goal percentage in the conference (38.3 percent), and ranks second in both field goal (46.8 percent) and free-throw percentage (74.6 percent). The Polar Bears also rank second in the NESCAC in assists, averaging 17 helpers per contest.
Amherst (16-8, 7-3 NESCAC) finished in a tie for first place with Hamilton, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Williams. The Mammoths earned key wins over the Panthers and Ephs on the final weekend of regular season to post a 3-1 record against the other teams tied at the top to grab the No. 1 seed.
The Mammoths are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2014 and the ninth time overall. Amherst started the year 7-1, struggled in the middle of the season, but closed out the regular season by winning seven of its final nine games.
The Mammoths own the best rebounding margin in the league at plus-11.5 and rank second overall in rebounds per game (45.7). Amherst is also holding opponents to 36.8 shooting from the field, which is second best in the conference.
Complete coverage of both games will be available at GoUBears.com.
Swimming
Bowdoin swimming and diving team will head to Williams College this weekend for the 2018 NESCAC Championships.
The Polar Bears have enjoyed a successful winter so far, winning five dual matches, including four against NESCAC opponents. Bowdoin took sixth overall at last year’s conference meet.
Competition begins each day with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. Finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, 5:50 p.m. on Saturday, and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets are $8 per session for adults and $3 per session for children and students. Doors will open 90 minutes prior to the preliminaries and finals. No pre-sale tickets will be available, as all tickets will be sold at the door.
Live webcasts and results from the NESCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be available throughout the weekend at NESCAC.com.
Women’s squash
Bowdoin is the top seed in the Epps (D) Division of the College Squash National Championships and will open action on Friday against Georgetown.
The Polar Bears, who finished the regular season ranked 25th in the nation, will battle the Hoyas at 1:30 p.m. at Harvard University on Friday in the opening round.
The winner of Friday’s match will advance to the second round against the winner of Vassar and Mount Holyoke.
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