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Week 11 got off to a slow start as both Monday night games were canceled due to the snowstorm and have been rescheduled for Wednesday, 2/18. That left us with just three games on the slate this week. Because of the limited action, this will be more of a true recap-style week, no stat leaders or power rankings, as not much changed from last week’s overall landscape. That said, these games still carried real weight when it comes to playoff positioning.  While none of the matchups turned into nail-biters (all three were decided by double digits), the results will certainly impact the seeding picture as we head down the stretch. Let’s jump right into the action from Week 11.

Fast Break 52 – We Got Game 42: This was a rare grind-it-out, defensive slugfest for Fast Break, and credit goes to We Got Game for forcing it. One of the league’s better defensive units, We Got Game made every possession difficult and turned this into a half-court battle rather than the track meet Fast Break usually prefers. Offensively, Fast Break leaned heavily on its core trio. League-leading scorer Jorge Mangui was held well below his usual output with just 17 points, but he still impacted the game across the board, adding 6 rebounds and 4 steals. As more teams throw double and triple-teams at Jorge, the importance of his supporting cast becomes magnified, and once again, they answered the call. TJ Farrell continued his strong season with 14 points, repeatedly stepping up when defenses collapsed on Jorge. And yes, I know you’re sick of hearing about it, but Mike Glanzman remains one of the most underrated players in the league. His value often doesn’t fully show up in the box score, but his weekly assignment of guarding the opposing team’s top player, combined with relentless physicality, changes games. Glanzman dominated the glass, showcased some of the league’s best post moves, and finished with an ultra-efficient 14 points and 7 rebounds.

   

The decisive factor in this game was turnovers. Fast Break’s frenetic defensive pressure overwhelmed We Got Game, forcing mistake after mistake. The official steals margin was 13–5, but that hardly tells the full story, there were well over 20 turnovers, and it’s nearly impossible to establish any offensive rhythm when you’re constantly giving the ball away. For We Got Game, Matt Ceccarelli and Omer Nimrodi led the scoring with 15 points apiece, with Ceccarelli also pulling down 12 rebounds. Scott Paer struggled to get going offensively but contributed 10 rebounds, while Steve Shelton was held to 6 points and 8 boards. Ben Huber, coming off a strong stretch entering the week, was completely bottled up, finishing with just 4 points on 2-for-10 shooting. Despite the offensive struggles, We Got Game’s defense kept this game within striking distance well into the second half. Fast Break captain Gary Levine and Dave Kobi were quiet on the scoreboard but made their presence felt everywhere else, each grabbing 8 rebounds and 3 steals, providing the hustle and defensive intensity that helped limit We Got Game to just 42 points. Seth Frankel, apparently having used up all his offense last week, was quiet, but on this night it simply wasn’t needed. The win pushes Fast Break to 8–2, firmly in the driver’s seat for the #1 playoff seed. Meanwhile, the loss drops We Got Game to 5–5, leaving them stuck in a crowded and competitive middle tier of the standings.

Fast Break vs We Got Game Highlights

Prior to the Going Buck vs. Ball Don't Lie matchup, there was a gathering of the 4 Indiana Hoosiers alumni fresh back from their trip to Miami:

   

Going Buck 78 - Ball Don't Lie 64: Thanks to some classic New Jersey Transit issues (shocker), both Adam Hynes and Will Howarth arrived a few minutes late. Unfortunately for Ball Don’t Lie, Going Buck didn’t wait around. They came out firing and couldn’t miss early, drilling seven three-pointers in the first half and setting the tone from the opening tip. Going Buck is one of the most enjoyable teams in the league to watch. The ball moves, players cut, and shots come within the flow of the offense with very little forcing. They’re my dark-horse pick to win the entire league. At the core are two true shot creators in Jon Ackerman and Will Howarth, who can score at all three levels: drives, pull-ups, and from deep. Surrounding them is a perfectly balanced supporting cast in Rory Schulman, Jake Granoff, and Ben Gerstein, a trio that seems to rotate who steps up on any given night (though all three were strong in this one). Add in Matt Birnbach as a physical presence inside and Brian Maier, who has been knocking down midrange jumpers, and you have one of the most well-rounded teams in the league. That balance showed early, as five different Going Buck players scored at least six points in the first half. Their biggest weakness on paper is a lack of height, but it didn’t matter against the biggest team in the league. Ball Don’t Lie center Dan Amsellem looked like he might be a serious problem early, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the first half, but as the deficit grew, Ball Don’t Lie went away from the post and never truly threatened again. Ball Don’t Lie captain Adam Hynes struggled out of the gate, likely a result of not getting a proper warmup, but caught fire in the second half. Unfortunately, the comeback never materialized. Hynes scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime, but it was simply too little, too late. Jon Ackerman led the way once again for Going Buck with a terrific all-around performance: 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Ackerman’s game is deceptively smooth—by the time a defender realizes what he’s doing, the ball is already splashing through the net or he’s blowing by them for a layup. Will Howarth had a relatively quiet scoring night with 12 points, but made his presence felt with 9 rebounds. Jake Granoff (12 points) and Ben Gerstein (11 points) combined for five three-pointers, while Rory Schulman was ultra-efficient, finishing with 8 points and 11 rebounds. Brian Maier and Matt Birnbach chipped in a combined 10 points to round out a complete team effort. For Ball Don’t Lie, Dan Amsellem finished with 16 points and a ridiculous 22 rebounds, further separating himself in the league rebounding race. Ben Carr added a strong all-around line with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and AJS contributed 6 points and 7 boards. Ball Don’t Lie remains one of the league’s most puzzling teams. At their best, they can compete with anyone; at their worst, they look disjointed. The talent, size, and defensive intensity are there. It’s the consistency and execution that continue to hold them back. This one may simply be chalked up to a night where Going Buck shot the lights out, and nothing was going to stop them.The win moves Going Buck to 7–4 and into a tie for the all-important second place spot in the standings. The loss drops Ball Don’t Lie to 4–7, likely landing them in the play-in round.

Going Buck vs Ball Don't Lie Highlights

Laub & Order 61 – Household Hoopers 40: The story of this one was written before the opening tip. Household Hoopers were without their two best players, Colin Neff and Jason Pompeo, and were also missing Cory Rothbort. Filling the gaps were Mark Koransky, making his JCC debut, and fill-in extraordinaire Mike Pollack, but against a fully loaded Laub & Order squad, that was a tall order. Laub & Order (also known as Jekyll & Hyde) have been one of the league’s great mysteries all season. On paper, they look like a championship contender. On the court, they’ve oscillated between dominant and  merely average from week to week. On this night, they looked very much like the former, though the shorthanded opposition certainly played a role. Laub & Order remain the only team in the league with three players averaging 15+ points per game, and the most consistent of that trio has been Eric Sass (aka The Gazelle). Sass was outstanding, pouring in 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting while pulling down 12 rebounds. He overpowered defenders inside but also showcased the speed and grace that earned him his nickname.

   

Sass had plenty of help. Mike “Flex” Huberman stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. When Flex plays under control, his combination of length, athleticism, court vision, and deep shooting range makes him incredibly difficult to contain. The third member of the 15+ PPG club, captain Mike Gerstein, had a quiet night with 9 points, though this was more a case of his offense simply not being needed. Gabe Berkowitz deserves recognition for the season he’s having. The ultimate complementary player, Gabe consistently understands what each game calls for. Against smaller defenders, he’s effective on the block; give him space, and he’ll knock down midrange jumpers. Both were on display here as he scored 13 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting performance.

   

The game was competitive for roughly the first 15 minutes, with Household Hoopers hanging around thanks to a strong start from Jonathan Roy. Roy scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, adding 12 rebounds and snapping out of a recent shooting slump with confident spot-up shooting. Laub & Order closed the half on a run, extending the lead to 12, and from there the Hoopers never managed to cut it below eight. In the second half, the lack of depth caught up to Household Hoopers. They appeared gassed, and Laub & Order gradually pulled away. Roy couldn’t replicate his first-half success, shooting just 1-for-12 after the break. Seth Niessen added 8 points, Ed Seiden chipped in 7, and Mark Koransky finished with 4 points in his JCC debut. Much like We Got Game earlier in the week, Household Hoopers struggled mightily with turnovers, especially in the first half, which led to a steady diet of easy fast-break baskets for Laub & Order. The loss drops Household Hoopers to 7-4, while the win brings Laub & Order back to .500 at 5-5. And one final note: Mike Smulewitz’s streak of games with a made three has officially come to an end and it's time to start a new one.

Laub & Order vs Household Hoopers Highlights

Playoffs: As we get closer to the end of the regular season, there have been a lot of questions about tiebreakers and playoff timing. With that in mind, and after much discussion amongst myself and the captains, here’s a quick breakdown so everyone knows exactly where things stand heading into the final stretch.

Tiebreaker Rules

Two-Team Tie

  1. Head-to-head record

  2. If head-to-head is split, point differential in head-to-head games

  3. If still tied, overall point differential in all games played

Three (or More) Team Tie

  1. Head-to-head record among the tied teams

    • If one team is undefeated against the other tied teams, that team wins the tiebreaker

    • Example: If three teams are tied and one team is 3–0 against the other two, that team earns the highest spot among the three

  2. Once that team is placed, it is removed and the tiebreaker is reapplied to the remaining teams

  3. If no team is undefeated, the tiebreaker goes to point differential in games played among the tied teams

  4. If still tied, overall point differential in all games played

Playoff Schedule

After a lot of discussion last week about the best way to structure the playoffs, here’s the finalized schedule and format:

Play-In Games – 3/9

  • #7 seed vs #10 seed

  • #8 seed vs #9 seed

Quarterfinals

  • The top two seeds will choose whether they prefer to play on 3/11 or 3/16

  • There will be two quarterfinal games on 3/11 and two quarterfinal games on 3/16

  • Matchups:

    • #1 seed vs winner of #8 / #9

    • #2 seed vs winner of #7 / #10

    • #3 seed vs #6 seed

    • #4 seed vs #5 seed

Semifinals

  • Played on 3/18

    • Winner of 1 vs 8/9 winner vs winner of 4 vs 5
    • Winner of 2 vs 7/10 winner vs winner of 3 vs 6

Finals

  • Played on 3/23

There will be no reseeding at any point — the playoffs will follow a set bracket throughout.