MBB: University Athletic Association

[hugenerd]

Northwestern is going to have a longgggggggggggg year in the Big Ten. 

Who knows, with Ohio State losing to Findlay.  Anything can happen. 

The Big 10 seems to be pretty down this year.  That said, Northwestern is usually at the bottom of the conference whether it is strong or not.

[Gregory Sager]

16 minutes to go in the first half - Chicago leads Northwestern 8-7.

Announcers are idiots - said this is a big game for Chicago and that the Maroons would much rather beat NU than Wash U.  WRONG!!!!!!

Also said the Maroons would not see something as complicated as the Princeton offense in the UAA.  What condescending jerks.

Well, obviously the Maroons aren't up to the task of figuring out something as intricate and mentally taxing as the Princeton offense. I mean, it's not like University of Chicago students are known for their brainpower, or anything.

I was watching NPU's scrimmage, so I didn't get a chance to hear the stream from this game. Was it Northwestern's usual WGN crew? If so, I'm astonished that Dave Eanet (WGN Radio's sports editor and a well-respected sportscaster around town) would be a party to all of those stupid comments. I would certainly hope that Dave Kaplan wasn't the color guy; I know that he's one of four analysts that rotate alongside Eanet at 'cats games. The other three members of the rotation are all former NU jocks, so their ignorance of D3 would be understandable. But Kaplan's a professional sportscaster and the host of WGN's SportsCentral ... love him or hate him if you're a Chicago sports radio listener, you know that he does his homework. And he's always honest about the Cubs, which is not an easy thing to do considering that WGN is the flagship station of the Cubs Radio Network.

Given Wheaton's near-miss at Welsh-Ryan Arena last season, it astonishes me that anyone from Northwestern could badmouth a D3 program. Let's face it, Wheaton wasn't a world-beater on the D3 stage last season (17-9 and no NCAA tourney bid). Five minutes of homework on this website would've told the NU broadcast crew everything that they needed to know about where Wheaton stood last season -- and where Chicago currently stands -- in the D3 universe.

Unfortunately, if this really was the normal WGN crew calling the game, their uninformed yahoo comments about D3 will probably be given some credence on the 20th. Benedictine is a young team that is not up to Chicago's standards this season, and I don't think that the Eagles are going to acquit themselves well against the Wildcats.

[martin]

Was it Northwestern's usual WGN crew?

GS - This was an all student production for a webcast, no WGN involvement.  It was not broadcast on radio or on the Big Ten network, just on the internet.  One camera in the northeast corner of Welsh Ryan Arena and student announcers.  I believe that NU will be webcasting all its games that are not broadcast by someone.

Given NU's journalism programs - including broadcast - I thought they would have come up with something better than the pair they had for this game.  It was not just the condescending comments about D3, but anything NU did well was the result of great play while Chicago got lucky.  Also, the continued references to the Princeton offense - how intricate and complex it is.  I don't think it is such a hard offense - it is something you use to slow the game down when you don't have talent.

In a later comment, I noted that these announcers had said that size wise, Wheaton and DePauw looked like high school teams when they played NU.  After that, I really regretted that Wheaton did not beat NU last year.

I know most student broadcasters are terrible but they are usually amateurs, doing it for fun.  The NU guys are preparing for their careers.

[hugenerd]

Preseason rankings are out:
Place/School                 Pts      2006-07 Record
1. Washington (7)        49        25-5 (11-3 UAA)
2. Brandeis (1)             40        20-6 11-3
    Rochester                40        20-7 (9-5)
4. Chicago                   30        18-8 (9-5)
5. Carnegie Mellon      25        12-13 (5-9)
6. NYU                         18        22-6 (8-6)
7. Case                       14         5-20 (1-13)
8. Emory                      8          8-17 (2-12)

Top 3 are as expected, CMU is surprisingly close to Chicago in points (they usually dont get much preseason respect, even in the years they did well they were ranked pretty low in the preseason). Rounding out the bottom are the usual suspects, Case and Emory.  NYU lost alot of players so they also find themselves near the bottom.

[martin]

Preseason rankings are out:
Place/School                 Pts      2006-07 Record
1. Washington (7)        49        25-5 (11-3 UAA)
2. Brandeis (1)             40        20-6 11-3
    Rochester                40        20-7 (9-5)
4. Chicago                   30        18-8 (9-5)
5. Carnegie Mellon      25        12-13 (5-9)
6. NYU                         18        22-6 (8-6)
7. Case                       14         5-20 (1-13)
8. Emory                      8          8-17 (2-12)

You have the 2006-07 records wrong - right for the order of finish last year but that is not the same as the preseason poll.  BTQ - where did you find the poll?  It is not up on the UAA website yet.

                          UAA           Overall   

1   x-Washington   11   3      25   5
       x-Chicago                   11    3      20   6
3   Brandeis                    9   5      20   7
   Rochester                    9   5      18   8
5   NYU                    8   6      22   6
6   Carnegie Mellon    5   9      12   13
7   Emory                    2   12      8   17
8   Case                    1   13      5   20
                  
   x-UAA champions               

[hugenerd]

I copied it directly from the CMU website, www.cmu.edu/athletics , they must have had the errror in their article. 

http://www.cmu.edu/athletics/intercollegiate-sports/mens-teams/basketball/news/2008/uaapreseasonpoll.html

[Marty Peretz]

A great story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on the relationship of Tyler Nading and Sean Wallis. Nice to see the number one team in the country getting some local press.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/othersports/story/CD0238EDB41EC5B3862573920018FD3A?OpenDocument

On a side note, Wash.U. will be tested early, as they will be forced to be on top of their game when they open up at the Calvin tournament this weekend. Anyone know anything about Calvin or Ohio Northern?


EDITED to correct hyperlink

[Bearssss]

Ohio Northern went 19-7 last year and is returning 4 starters. Their point guard position was apparently up in the air this year, and Sean Wallis should be able to take advantage of that. Kyle Gehle is a real 3 point threat on the wing and could be a concern for the Bears if he gets hot early.

As for Calvin, they won their last 9 of 11 games, including a win at Aurora in the first round of the tourny. They went with a 3 guard lineup for the 2nd half of the 2006-2007 season and all 3 guards return. However, their front court may be weak as starting post players Eric DeVries and Josh Meckes have graduated as has key reserve Kyle Snoeyink. If the Bears play Calvin, I would expect a big game out of Troy Ruths. It would be shocking if Calvin could find a way to stop his D1 style inside game.

[Gregory Sager]

As for Calvin, they won their last 9 of 11 games, including a win at Aurora in the first round of the tourny. They went with a 3 guard lineup for the 2nd half of the 2006-2007 season and all 3 guards return. However, their front court may be weak as starting post players Eric DeVries and Josh Meckes have graduated as has key reserve Kyle Snoeyink. If the Bears play Calvin, I would expect a big game out of Troy Ruths. It would be shocking if Calvin could find a way to stop his D1 style inside game.

Your preview of Calvin forgot to mention that the Knights have an excellent center in 6'8, 245 sophomore John Mantel. Ruths is not going to enjoy a leisurely stroll to a 20 and 10 against Mantel; he'll most definitely have to work for it. And Mantel can do plenty of damage of his own at the other end of the court.

Calvin's starting guards, Caleb Veldhouse and Derek Griffin, each averaged 15 ppg last season and are not to be taken lightly. And the Knights have a small forward who can absolutely torch the nets from downtown in sophomore Matt Veltema.

Wash U will have its hands full against Calvin if the two teams meet, particularly since the game would be on the Knights' home floor. The Bears will be the favorite in every game that they play this season, but that doesn't mean that they can afford to take a team of Calvin's caliber lightly.

[ILive4This]

I think it is unrealistic for the number one team in college basketball at any level to be the absolute favorite in every single game they play. Playing a conference game on the road against another top 10 or especially a top 5 team, would probably be one instance where they are not the favorite. This is a very possible scenerio for them this year, as there are atleast 2 other teams in conference that will most likely be top 10 teams come UAA time.

[Gregory Sager]

I think it is unrealistic for the number one team in college basketball at any level to be the absolute favorite in every single game they play. Playing a conference game on the road against another top 10 or especially a top 5 team, would probably be one instance where they are not the favorite. This is a very possible scenerio for them this year, as there are atleast 2 other teams in conference that will most likely be top 10 teams come UAA time.

I disagree with the words "will most likely" in that last sentence of yours. I would replace them with the words "could possibly". I would agree that a Top 5 team would be the favorite if it were to host the Bears (e.g., if Augustana was hosting Wash U on the 24th rather than the other way around), but I'd still pick the Bears as the favorite if they were on the road at any team below that Top 5 level.

[Bearssss]

WashU at Brandeis or Chicago is definitely a toss up...and i think WashU would be underdogs on the road. At home, i don't see the Bears losing (they didn't lose a home game all of last year), but you have to give the other UAA teams credit, especially on their home turf.

[Gregory Sager]

WashU at Brandeis or Chicago is definitely a toss up...and i think WashU would be underdogs on the road.

No. At Brandeis and Rochester, the Bears may be legitimate underdogs (we'll see where the teams are when they square off on Jan. 27 and Feb. 1, respectively). But in the Windy City, Wash U will definitely be favored to win.

[hopefan]

I say this with the preface that I am a Wash U fan, and a Hope fan  - 

Any team, including Wash U, coming into Western Michigan to play Calvin or Hope, will have their hands full.   Were it not for my happy marriage, I'd be traveling up to Grand Rapids tomorrow to see a couple of VERY good D3 games.

[Marty Peretz]

Any radio coverage for tomorrow's game between Wash.U. and Calvin?