University Athletic Association

[newtonnancy]

was speaking with a friend in Waltham today and they told me that someone at Brandeis told them that based on record and qowi that they are in the NCAA's today win or lose at NYU and that they expect to host the first round of the tourny. Is that possible? I mean I see that they are over 10.6 in the QOWI but a loss at NYU would bring that down, they only play 24 NOT 25 games and they had one win out of region. Granted they did beat the Maroons twice and Rochester once, but with 5 losses and that cupcake out of conference schedule why would they be "in not matter what happens today" when a team like Chicago if they beat Wash U would not. Chicago had a much tougher out of conference schedule and ok they lost at NYU and Brandeis and Rochester but all couple of point games. Maybe Coach Simon does it right if you get in the tourny by beating teams with 3 wins, 5 wins, 6 wins and it pays off better then beating teams with 12, 13, 15 wins

[TheKatzInTheHat]

Brandeis did beat St. Lawrence (21-2), Endicott (18-9), Wheaton (Mass.) (17-9), Worcester (19-6) and Tufts (17-7) so that's not exactly correct there Nancy. In the past Brandeis has played a weaker out of conference schedule but the past couple of years they've beefed it up a bit.

[Hoop Dreams]

Final from the Wash U Field House:

Washington 80, Chicago 75 (OT)

Kudos to both teams on what, from the KWUR broadcast, was a tremendous basketball game.  The Bears were led by seniors Sarah Schell and Rebecca Parker.  Parker posted a 20-20 effort and even led off OT with a three-pointer.

Congratulations to Coach Nancy Fahey and the Bears for rebounding from a slow start to capture yet another UAA title in a tremendous year for UAA women's basketball.

As for Chicago, the season may not have ended the way the Maroons would have liked, but they deserve major credit for fighting Wash U tooth and nail in St. Louis.  If the selection committee passes the Maroons over on Sunday, I want to say thanks to the players for all the memories and excitement this season.

[y_jack_lok]

I have infiltrated this board a couple of times this season to say that I did not think Wash U was as good as their rankings, and that they wouldn't go far in the NCAA tournament. Yesterday I caught the last 7 minutes of regulation, plus the overtime of their game with with Chicago. That was the best 12 minutes of women's basketball I've seen this season. If the Bears can continue to play with the poise and intensity that I saw yesterday, then they have a legitimate shot to advance deep into the tournament. Good luck Wash U.

[ILive4This]

It does appear that win or LOSE which is what actually happend to Brandeis this saturday, they are in the tournament, as for hosting I am not so sure about that, Id assume that Bowdoin is a lock but after that who knows, I am not familiar enough with the format to know if only 2/8 schools host games or if seeds 1-4 get to host.

[ILive4This]

Also I would like to add that hosting games would be a logistical nightmare for Brandeis which is hosting the UAA indoor track championships friday and saturday and  for those of you who do not know the basketball court is inside the track.

[deiscanton]

Starting last year, it is only the top two schools/seeds in the regional rankings for each region that have the shot of hosting 1st and 2nd round games.

I expect that Bowdoin and Emmanuel will be the Northeast Region teams that will be hosting 1st and 2nd round games (in 4 team pods) this upcoming weekend, and I hope that when the bracket gets released within the next hour, that the Brandeis women will be able to play at the Jean Yawkey Center on the Emmanuel campus in Boston this weekend rather than having to make a return trip to Bowdoin's Morrell Gym in Brunswick, Maine.

And yes, Brandeis would not be able to host Friday or Saturday games this weekend due to the their hosting the UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.    Events would be held from 2 to 6 PM Eastern on Friday, and from 10 AM Eastern on Saturday-- there would be no way to get the basketball court available for the first and second round games.

[deiscanton]

The bracket is out!

Brandeis is going to the Jean Yawkey Center on the campus of Emmanuel College in the Fenway in Boston, MA for this upcoming weekend's first and second round games.

Brandeis will be playing in the first game on Friday against Maine-Farmington.

Brandeis's first round opponent is the North Atlantic Conference's automatic qualifier, the Maine-Farmington Beavers, coached by Jaime Beaudoin.  Maine-Farmington swept the season series against the Maine Maritime Mariners, defeating the Mariners three times during the season to capture the North Atlantic Conference championship.  Maine Maritime defeated Bowdoin earlier this season.

Maine-Farmington is led by Kari Simpson (Wells, Maine), who played against Brandeis alum Christine Clancy '06 in high school and was Clancy's high school arch-rival.  This will be a top quality first round match for the Brandeis Judges.

The second first round game on Friday will pit the host Emmanuel Saints against the Commonwealth Coast Conference's automatic qualifier, the Salve Regina Seahawks.  Emmanuel is favored to win that game.

Brandeis will probably be playing Emmanuel if the Judges win on Friday.  I will probably not be going to the Brandeis/Maine-Farmington match because I want to see the Brandeis men take on Trinity (CT) in Providence, RI on Friday, but I will see the second round match at Emmanuel on Saturday if the Brandeis women win on Friday.  (Both Brandeis teams play first on Friday, leaving me with a decision of where to go this weekend.)

[TheKatzInTheHat]

Do you know when the times of the games are announced? I expect the Brandeis men and women to be playing at the same time which would be a logistical nightmare in a lot of ways for Brandeis fans who have been out in large force getting to the games this season (they dominated the NYU crowd at times on Saturday).

It would also be a fun time for the broadcast team...

Am I judging by your previous statement, Allan, that you think that the women have a better chance of advancing than the men?

[deiscanton]

Well, the start time for the Brandeis men's game in Providence on Friday has been set for 6 PM Eastern.  Emmanuel has not yet set the start time for the first game on Friday, which would be the Brandeis v. Maine-Farmington match, but I would expect that the start time for that game would also be no later than 6 PM Eastern, which would mean that both games would be playing simultaneously.  It is an NCAA tournament rule that the host school must play in the second game on Fridays, so nothing can really be done about that.

This definitely means that the Brandeis fan base would have to be split up this weekend, with some going to the men's games and some going to the women's games.

The women's games are a subway ride away from the Brandeis campus-- Emmanuel is at the Fenway stop on the "D"/ Riverside branch of the MBTA's Green Line, while the men's games would require an MBTA commuter train ride from South Station or Back Bay in Boston, MA to Providence, RI and then a RIPTA bus ride from Kennedy Plaza to the RI College campus.  I would suggest that Brandeis send a fan bus to Providence for those people wanting to root on the Brandeis men's basketball teams this weekend-- I can take the commuter rail from Canton Junction to Providence for Friday's games (and for me, the train ride from Canton, MA to Providence, RI is cheaper, thanks to the way that the MBTA prices its commuter rail fares!)

I make no predictions about who wins Friday's games at this time-- I hope that both Brandeis teams win on Friday.  I made my decision based on the fact that the Brandeis men are making their first appearance in the NCAAs in years, while the Brandeis women competed last year in the NCAA tournament, as well as the costs of the commuter train fares, as well as which of Friday's matchups intrigued me better (the men won out-- barely.).  (And yes, maybe the Brandeis v. Trinity (CT) men's game is the more difficult of the two at first glance, but you can't be 100% certain of that, can you-- these women from Maine can play, too!  .

Another note of trivia about Maine-Farmington.  One of the starting five for the Beavers is frosh Caitlyn Laflin (5'10")-- she is a former high school teammate of Brandeis's Chelsey Dionne, and both Laflin and Dionne were 1,000 pt. scorers for Hall-Dale.  Laflin averages 14.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg for Maine-Farmington. 

[mark_reichert]

It's old opponent's weekend for the WashU women as they play Manchester College in the first round for the second straight year and then play either host Lake Forrest College or Maryville (MO), both of whom they've played this year.

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/wbk2-27-07.html

Maryville they've been playing every year recently along with fellow close SLIAC teams Fontbonne and Webster.

Lake College was the one who tied the game up on a NBA length three pointer and a half court buzzer beater.

[deiscanton]

Emmanuel has now set the starting times for Friday's and Saturday's games at the Jean Yawkey Center, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA.

Courtesy of http://www.emmanuel.edu/athletics

Friday, March 2, 2007

5:30 PM Eastern-- Brandeis v. Maine-Farmington

7:30 PM Eastern-- Emmanuel v. Salve Regina

Saturday, March 3, 2007

7 PM Eastern-- Brandeis/Maine-Farmington winner vs. Emmanuel/Salve Regina winner.

Emmanuel College is located on the corner of Brookline Avenue and the Fenway in Boston, MA-- right next door to Simmons College. 

Closest public transportation stop:  MBTA Green Line, Riverside Branch-- Fenway station.

To WBRS:  You will have to make a decision as to which of the two games between the Brandeis men and women gets the live audiocast this Friday and/or Saturday.

[BachDog]

    I don't want to rain on anyone's parade (i.e. Brandies fans), but I don't think Brandeis has a real chance of getting out of the first round. Now granted, I am an NYU fan, biased to say the least.
 
    I know that Allen saw the NYU-Brandeis game and needless to say, the stars of Brandeis (Capra and Malcolm) are shining a little less bright than in prior years. It will come down to Brandeis's seniors, they will be the deciding factor. I saw Caitlin play in high school and in college (Karen Bachman of NYU is my sister), and she has had some pretty dominant games where she is the deciding factor; she needs another one versus Maine-Farmington.

    Good luck Brandeis! By the way, the sleeper pick of the tournament is NYU to win it all. Quinn feels as if their team today is better than when they won it all...Plus, they have an easier bracket. Thoughts??

[ILive4This]

I would actually disagree, I think Brandeis has one of the easiest first round matchups and possible second round matchup in the tournament. Nothing against Maine-Farmington, any time you only lose 3 games and dont lose a single game in conference that is impressive, but i do see it being a team Brandeis will match up well against. Assuming they win and play emmanual in the second round a team they have been ranked either right ahead of or right below in the national top 25, i think this is another team that bosts a strong record from a not so strong conference, that Brandeis will matchup well against. Aside from the close call at Wheaton, the Lady Judges handled its new england regional games with ease, and I expect them to do so now.

I am not going to make a bold projection like calling them a sleeper to win it all. I was at the NYU game, and think NYU has a very strong team, especially with their star putting up 30+, however I do think the judges will make it to the sweet 16.

[farmingtonfan]

It will be a great game, a mention of laflin on the UMF yeah she is not bad but Simpson is the one Brandeis is going to have to stop.  UMF's all-time leading scorer 1700 and change and rebounds 850 and change.  Not to mention the NAC Tourney MVP 3 out of her 4 years at UMF.  If Brandeis is to win they will have to stop Simpson period.