From a Chicago fan --

Congratulations to the Washington University Bears on dominating in Salem and earning their first-ever championship.  You did the UAA proud.  What an accomplishment after losing Sean Wallis (an excellent PG) early in the season.

The Bears' national title should add some spice to the UC-Wash U rivalry.  Fortunately, the Maroons won't have to deal with Troy Ruths any longer.  Congratulations to Troy -- somebody get that kid a trophy case for graduation.

You all know how highly I think of Nate Hainje, so I'm thrilled to see him win UAA Player of the Year.  Nothing against Troy Ruths, who has had a terrific career and is probably the best post player this league has seen since Derek Reich.  I'm guessing if Wash U had won on Saturday, Ruths would have been POY -- so it's fitting that Hainje's 23-foot rainbow three with 49 seconds left on Saturday not only sealed the win for Chicago, but the POY for Nate.

Congrats also to Mike McGrath and his assistants for winning UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.  In my opinion, this team represents McGrath's best coaching job during his very successful tenure in Hyde Park.  I say this because of the production he had to replace from last year, the vast improvement of the Maroons from November until now, the team's confidence level, and the number of wins against great teams required to win this year's title.

Mark Edwards also deserves recognition for the job he did at Wash U this season.  To lose a PG as good as Sean Wallis and still finish 2nd in the UAA and be going to the tournament is a credit to the Bears coaching staff.

Quote from: Old School.... (Tom Doebler) on March 04, 2008, 04:48:11 PM
Are the big guys bangers or more versatile and face the basket and play around the top of the key?  Point seems to have a tough time against big post bangers.  Jeff Skemp 6'10 (Platteville), Dan Beyer 6'8"? (Eau Claire) and Dane Seckar-Anderson from Oshkosh probably can be considered bangers in our league and especially Skemp ate us up.

Chicago does not really feature classic back-to-the-basket post players -- not like you typically see in the WIAC.  Tim Reynolds is listed at 6'7", 205, so he's a pretty skinny guy.

Quote from: Old School.... (Tom Doebler) on March 04, 2008, 04:48:11 PM
Also, if your guards are really quick, you'll have the advantage.  DJ Marsh (listed as a 6'4" forward-Oshkosh), Matt Goodwin and Myles McKay from Whitewater and Miles Webb from Stout gave us fits because they are so quick. 

The Maroons' top 3 scorers (Hainje, Corning and Pancratz) all can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket.  Much of Chicago's offense is based off of dribble penetration.

Quote from: Old School.... (Tom Doebler) on March 04, 2008, 04:48:11 PM
Does U of Chicago play solid defense, are they good at shutting down the opposition's "star" player etc...

Chicago is a solid defensive team.  Jake Pancratz, as I mentioned, is a great defender and is usually assigned the opposing team's top guard.  The Maroons were able to limit the effectiveness of Wash U All-American center Troy Ruths on Saturday by throwing different bodies at him and making him earn his points from the line.

It sounds like Point and Chicago might be somewhat similar teams.  UWSP may have more depth, but Chicago's Big 3 are difficult to match up with.  It should be a good game.  I know WIAC teams are always tough in the tournament.  Chicago was eliminated by WIAC teams in 1998 (Platteville) and 2000 (Stevens Point) and barely beat Eau Claire in Chicago in 2001.

University of Chicago Maroons
18-7 overall, 11-3 UAA

How Earned Bid: Pool A (UAA regular-season champion)

Last Tournament Appearance: 2007 (lost 76-54 to Hope in 1st round)
Best Tournament Finish: 2001 Elite Eight

Head Coach: Mike McGrath (DePauw '92) – 9th year at UC, 4th tournament appearance

Key Wins: Illinois Wesleyan, at Brandeis, at Rochester, Wash U
Key Losses: at Wheaton (IL), at Loras, at Carnegie Mellon

Key Stat: Chicago ranks 9th nationally in three-point field goals per game (10.0).

Nate Hainje (6'5" Sr.) is one of the best all-around players ever to wear the maroon-and-white.  Hainje finished among the conference leaders in scoring (4th), rebounding (4th) and assists (9th).  He has notched double-doubles in five of the Maroons' last six games (all wins).  He just does so many things that help the team win.  Hainje apparently is versatile in the classroom as well.  I learned on Senior Day that Nate is concentrating in religious studies and economics – a quintessential U of C double-major if I ever heard one. 

Matt Corning (6'4" Jr.) has had an outstanding season (17.8 ppg, .554 FG%) after being hurt much of last year.  Corning is a good shooter, but he also likes to take the ball to the hoop and draw contact.

Jake Pancratz (6'1" So.) makes plays from the point and is a terrific defender.  He will shoot the three at any time.  Pancratz played all 40 minutes in Chicago's last two wins over Brandeis and Wash U, which indicates how important he is to this team (this is especially impressive in D3 with no TV timeouts).

Adam Machones (6'5" Jr.) has come on strong late in the year and poured in a career-high 18 points in Saturday's conference-title game against Wash U.  Machones is a Duluth native who will be opening tournament play in his home state.

Tim Reynolds (6'7" Sr.) gives the Maroons a stronger post presence than they had last year, when he was hurt.  Reynolds also can step out and shoot the three -- he went 4-4 from beyond the arc in UC's win at Rochester.

Team Outlook: Six weeks ago, the D3Hoops Top 25 had Rochester at #1, Brandeis at #2 and Washington at #4.  Chicago did not receive a single vote.  Under those circumstances, for the Maroons to win the UAA title outright is a tremendous accomplishment.  Mike McGrath had to replace three starting guards from last year's tournament team and has done a tremendous coaching job.  The Maroons are playing with a confidence that is palpable.  Having taken down the giants of the UAA, will Chicago be able to maintain that confidence against WIAC powerhouse Wisconsin-Stevens Point?

I'm really looking forward to the games at Ratner tomorrow.

To have both the men's and women's teams at Chicago playing for the UAA title against their arch-rivals from Wash U is just tremendous.

It will be great to have one more chance to watch Nate Hainje and Nofi Mojidi play at home -- two of the most fun players to watch on the men's and women's sides in my 14 years of following Maroons basketball.

At stake on the women's side, for those who aren't aware, is Wash U's remarkable streak of 10 consecutive UAA championships.  Like the men, the UC women will take the title outright with a victory on Saturday.

If anyone wants to say hi tomorrow, I will be wearing a short-sleeve maroon U of C shirt and my wife will be wearing a long-sleeve maroon (not UC) shirt.

Go Maroons!

Troy Ruths, last 3 games vs. Chicago:

Jan. 6, 2007: 28 pts, 11-12 FG (WU 70, UC 59)
Feb. 24, 2007: 19 pts, 8-13 FG (WU 79, UC 74)
Jan. 12, 2008: 26 pts, 12-18 FG (WU 76, UC 50)

Average, last 3 games: 24.3 ppg, 31-43 FG (.721)

In UAA play, Onyiriuka is averaging 11.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG and has 6 blocked shots in 11 games.  That does not scream dominance to me.  This for a team that is tied for 4th.

Chicago is very much a bubble team right now.  The Maroons' NCAA chances may depend on what happens in the CCIW tournament.  The CCIW has a four-team tourney to determine its automatic qualifier.  Right now it looks like the participants will be Augustana (#2 MW region), Illinois Wesleyan (#5), Wheaton (#6) and Elmhurst (#7).

If Augustana wins the CCIW tourney, Chicago would appear to have the edge over the other three CCIW teams.  But projecting Chicago as a Pool C contender assumes that the Maroons will suffer another loss -- if the Maroons win out, they earn the Pool A bid.  Who knows how that additional loss would affect the rankings.

Head-to-head against the CCIW, Chicago owns a 15-point home win over Illinois Wesleyan and a 2-point loss at Wheaton without Nate Hainje.

A key stretch in last night's game was the final 3:30 of the first half.  Chicago had Rochester on the ropes, having gone on an 18-4 run to take a 28-17 lead.  Mike Neer called timeout, and considering UC had just won at the Palestra 5 days earlier, Rochester had to be wondering at that point if Chicago was simply the better team.  But the Maroons let off the gas somewhat, allowing the Yellowjackets to score the final 7 points of the half.  The score was 28-24 at intermission, which had to do wonders for Rochester's confidence.

That said, we're all singing a different tune about this game if Nate Hainje puts a little more on his 25-foot jumper at the buzzer.  Despite the final miss, Hainje put forth a terrific all-around effort last night.  Playing with a large bandage on his chin, Hainje took an inadvertent elbow to that area in the second half and was in some pain.  However, with Chicago down by 2, he took Jon Onyiriuka to the hoop with :11 remaining, converting a three-point play that could have been the game's defining moment.  Alas, it was not to be.

Greg, do you have any insight as to how Uche Ndubizu got so wide open under the basket for the winning shot with :03?  It appeared to be some sort of press defense breakdown, but it happened so fast I'm not exactly sure what transpired.  Credit the seniors Ndubizu for getting open and Jeffrey Juron for finding Uche under the basket.  Because of that play, it is Rochester, not Chicago, tied with Wash U atop the UAA.

Halfway through probably the best UAA season in history.  None of CMU, Emory or NYU will run the table, so 4 contenders for the conference title remain:

Washington U. (5-2) (4 H, 3 A)
Despite their stumbles last weekend, I still think the Bears have the best shot to go 6-1 the rest of the way and earn the Pool A bid.  They get their chance for revenge vs. Rochester and Carnegie Mellon this weekend.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Bears beat the Tartans by 20+ tomorrow night to avenge their blowout loss in Skibo.  They also get Brandeis and NYU at home before traveling to Chicago the last game of the season.  However, the Bears (particularly Troy Ruths) match up very well with the Maroons and dispatched Chicago rather handily in Ratner last season.

Chicago (5-2) (5 H, 2 A)
The surprise team of the UAA thus far has jumped out to a 5-2 start despite playing 5 of those 7 games on the road.  If the Maroons win out at home and pick up a victory at 0-7 Case, they will be looking at an 11-3 conference record.  That's much easier said than done, however, with the quality opponents that will be visiting Ratner.  It starts with Rochester tomorrow night.

Rochester (5-2) (2 H, 5 A)
The Yellow Jackets didn't sweep last weekend like I said they needed to do.  However, their hard-fought win over Washington, coupled with the Bears' subsequent loss to CMU, gives UR hope.  Rochester's next three games are brutal: @Chicago, @Wash, @Brandeis.  Win 2 of those 3, and the Yellow Jackets are in good shape.  Anything less, however, and Mike Neer's team is thinking about tiebreakers and Pool C bids.

Brandeis (4-3) (5 H, 2 A)
The Judges have a conference-leading 4 road victories but are hanging by a thread in 4th place.  Brandeis must beat Rochester at Auerbach Arena on Feb. 15 and win at either Chicago or Wash U the following weekend to have any hope of a conference title.

Thinking about this weekend's action, I believe it's imperative for Rochester and Brandeis to sweep in order for them to remain in contention for the UAA title.

Rochester finishes with 5 of 7 on the road after this weekend, so the Yellow Jackets need to take care of business at The Palestra.  That will not be easy against Wash U and Chicago teams that are playing with a lot of confidence right now. 

Meanwhile, Brandeis cannot afford to stumble on the road at either Emory or Case.  A fourth UAA loss would effectively bring down the gavel on the Judges' UAA title hopes.

Hard to believe I'm saying this about teams that were on top of the D3 world (#1 and 2) just 10 days ago.

Dave -

According to the WBRS broadcast, Chicago coach Mike McGrath was absolutely livid after the rebound and TO with no time elapsed.

I imagine McGrath's face was approximately the color of his players' uniforms. 

Emory knocks off #1 Rochester, 81-76, in Atlanta.

Jon Onyiriuka hit a shot for UR to send it into overtime after Emory had led the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half.  Kudos to the Eagles for not getting discouraged and outscoring the Yellow Jackets 12-7 in OT.  Spiros Ferderigos led Emory with 22 points.

Emory pulls off the upset despite going only 3-12 from downtown.  Incredible.

Chicago wins at #2 Brandeis, 79-77!

Matt Corning poured in 27 points, including a 4-point play with Chicago trailing 67-66 that gave the Maroons the lead for good.

Joe Coppens' (27 pts) 3-point shooting kept the Judges in the game, but Chicago dominated the offensive glass.  That was the key to the Maroons' upset, according to the terrific WBRS broadcast.

Rochester-Emory in OT right now...

I like these in-season recruiting announcements.  I live about 10 min. from Conant HS, so maybe I'll check out one of their games.

Anyone want to return Martin's volley about whether Jake Pancratz is the best PG in the UAA?  I haven't seen enough UAA teams to say for sure, but Jake is very good.  He can shoot and score in transition and plays excellent D.