MBB: University Athletic Association

[theBroadcaster]

Obviously tonight's loss hurts, but I just want to congratulate Brandeis for a tremendous season.  What Coach Meehan and these seniors were able to accomplish over the last 4 yrs goes beyond the basketball court.  They took a school that had zero school spirit and turned it into a great college sports atmosphere.  There were probably as many students in Plattsburgh tonight as there were at home games four years ago, and that's a testament to what these six seniors helped accomplish.  They helped to completely change the culture and perception of Brandeis basketball, and hopefully their legacy and this new culture will live on long after we all graduate in may.

[Marty Peretz]

Special game tonight at the Field House. Wash.U. looked flat-out tired in the first half before really turning it on late. Millsaps was probably the most athletic team I've seen all year, but they were sorely lacking in the way of basketball IQ and general basketball skills. 3-26 from three won't win much no matter how great your defense is. When Wallis went down, I never thought this team had a chance of getting back to Salem, but here we are and I couldn't be happier. This isn't the prettiest team, but they play harder than damn near any team in the nation. They play with ice in their vains and are never flustered. They also play incredibly smart and do a great job of making adjustments. But perhaps the reason I see them having a shot at the title is their foul shooting. Over the course of the weekend, the Bears shot 34-38 from the charity stripe. In close games, you've gotta like the Bears.

[mark_reichert]

But perhaps the reason I see them having a shot at the title is their foul shooting. Over the course of the weekend, the Bears shot 34-38 from the charity stripe. In close games, you've gotta like the Bears.

I was surprised they got to shoot that many in the second half.  If this non-refereeing that I saw tonight is the norm elsewhere, I can see why people have thought some Bears game had excessive free throws.  It wasn't looking like the refs were going to call any but the most obvious fouls.  I thought the Bears didn't really get going until they realized that the refs weren't going to call those fouls and they started taking it to Millsaps like Millsaps had been taking it to them.  Edrick Montgomery seemed visibly upset when that started happening.

The 11 point gap in free throw points ended up being the margin of the game.

[fcnews]

Great point mark_reichert. I was waiting on someone to breach that subject. The calls in the paint went from where's the whistle, to why the whistle and back. Montgomery looked like he was defintely taken out of his game the seond half. Most all the fouls called against Millsaps in the 2nd half were earned, but I think Wash U. did get away with some contact on the defensive end. Maybe a touch of home cooking. More like a dash.

It turned into an interior scoring game because neither team could connect from the 3's (3-26 and 3-18). Millsaps post play used quickness and finess in the first. Wash U bought the bulk in the second.

It was a fun game to watch. Both squads hustle their buts off. Millsaps might be the quickest team I saw this year.

[Pat Coleman]

A nice student section from Millsaps...

Nice to meet PC and Titan Q also!

You too -- thanks for coming up and introducing yourself!

[fcnews]

Pat do you know the attendance figure at tonights Wash U. game. It appeared the bottom was almost full. A pretty good section in the upper.

[walzy31]

A nice student section from Millsaps...

Nice to meet PC and Titan Q also!

You too -- thanks for coming up and introducing yourself!

See you in Salem

[Marty Peretz]

Attendence was announced at 1,039, but from what I've heard, Wash.U. students may not have been counted, since their tickets were free (thank you Student Union). A lot of Wash.U. kids had come back from break and it certainly seemed like more than 1000+ were in the building. Interestingly, last year when Wash.U. played Fontbonne in the first round, attendence was announced at 1500+ and I can tell you I have NEVER seen the field house that full. The Deis game this year had an announced crowd of over 2,000 and it was considerably smaller than the Fontbonne crowd. Fcnews, you know just as well as I do that the Field House was well more than half full (capacity is 3,000) for that playoff game. Considering that there may have been upwards of 800-1000 wash.u. kids there, it'd make sense that the announced 1,500 was really more like 2,500 and my only guess for why there might have been a discrepancy with respect to paying and non-paying customers is the non counting of WU students. Strangely enough, I was going to estimate the attendence tonight at around 1,500 and my guess is that there were about 300-400 students which would make sense considering my being off my around 500.

In general, though, it's a tough job to count everyone who walks through the door. A crew of 20 people might roll in and the kid staffing the event might click his counter 3 times. The NCAA requires the information, though, so it's the closest method for being precise, I suppose.

Who's going to Salem?

[pabegg]

But perhaps the reason I see them having a shot at the title is their foul shooting. Over the course of the weekend, the Bears shot 34-38 from the charity stripe. In close games, you've gotta like the Bears.

In last year's run they were 46 of 54 in the sectionals and 42 of 49 at the final four. It looked like that was deserting them this year in the regional, but they came through this weekend.

[fcnews]

Marty - There is no way there wasn't at least 1500 + there last night. The sign at the ticket windows said, " Wash U. under graduate students free - student goverment association." I know these are paid for I just don't know when there counted in. Wash U. has hosted a lot of these type of events. The counting was done in the box office.

I was told in Jackson that the NCAA required the double row ticket rolls. My guess is the HS students working the gate weren't counting. Attendence was based on the ticket count in the box office. Plus the pass gate.

It was a great crowd for a one game night, with one of the teams 500 miles from home.

[fcnews]

Marty - You mentioned last years first round game. The number of tickets paid for by the FU SAA was 432. I was told last year that the bottom seated 1800 and the top 1200.

The bottom ring was as full as you could squeeze in. The two student sections were standing room only. And, I do mean standing. I stood at mid court the entire game (between the Wash U. and FU students) as FU game managemet assistant. The upper level was full except for a small section at the end of the press side. It may not of been cheek to cheek, like the bottom, but it was a much larger crowd then the Brandies game.

I told a Wash U. Alum (from Chicago) last nite, with a break here or there it could of easily had been a Wash U. vs. Fontbonne final game last night. And, if that was to have happened we would of seen how many the field house could actually hold.

But it wasn't. Maybe next year. I hope to meet you at next years regular season game at Wash U.

Good luck to the Bears in Salem. You'll represent the STL well.

[Titan Q]

Marty - There is no way there wasn't at least 1500 + there last night. The sign at the ticket windows said, " Wash U. under graduate students free - student goverment association." I know these are paid for I just don't know when there counted in. Wash U. has hosted a lot of these type of events. The counting was done in the box office.

I was told in Jackson that the NCAA required the double row ticket rolls. My guess is the HS students working the gate weren't counting. Attendence was based on the ticket count in the box office. Plus the pass gate.

It was a great crowd for a one game night, with one of the teams 500 miles from home.

The biggest crowd I have ever seen at Wash U was in the 2003 tournament, when the Bears hosted Illinois Wesleyan.  That crowd, which was at least 65% IWU fans (Wash U on spring break), was listed at 2190...

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2003/Miwu27.htm

If that crowd was 2190, then I'd guess there were 1200 or so there last night.   Last night's crowd wasn't even the ballpark with that one from '03, when over 1000 drove down from Bloomington.

Remember, NCAA tournament games typically feature the most accurate attendance figures of the year because the host school has to sell tickets and report revenue to the NCAA.  It's often funny to see a school that lists, say, 2000 for some of their games all the sudden have 1500 for a packed house tournament game.

I'm guessing that figure Wash U posted (1039) is pretty accurate...maybe short about 200.

[Titan Q]

I think Wash U has a great chance to win the national championship, but the Bears do have a big problem at the point, and that is a huge area to have a question mark at.  Ross Kelley has 8 assists and 17 turnovers in the last 3 games (@ Augie, vs BV, vs Millsaps).  He's just not quite ready to play the point against teams that get after it defensively on the perimeter, like Augustana and Millsaps.....and Hope.  Aaron Thompson, who is a terrific 2-guard, really isn't the answer either at the 1.  He struggled last night in his minutes at the point and turned it over 6 times in the game.

Troy Ruths should be the best low post player in Salem, 6-7 wing Tyler Nading will continue to be one of the toughest matchups in Division III, and Aaron Thompson is a great shooter, but I do have concerns about the PG situation.  The Bears don't need Kelley to score any points or do anything flashy, but he can't be a negative.  He has to take care of the ball and get his team into its offense consistently.

I think the Hope/Wash U semifinal game is a pick 'em.  I've seen a lot of games this year, and a lot great teams, and I think that with a healthy Sean Wallis, Wash U would be head and shoulders better than any other team in Division III.  Without him, they're probably dead even with the rest of the Salem field.

[HopeConvert]

Q: could very well be. I'm just not familiar enough with all the teams to judge. I will say this - this year's Hope team is better than last year's, and they barely lost to WashU with a healthy Wallis in the elite 8. I know it is hard to compare across years, but it is essentially the same Bears club. In my opinion, this year's iteration of the Dutchmen is not just marginally better, I think they are significantly better, even without Steve Cramer. The difference results from a number of intangibles, including the way a number of the players have progressed, but mostly from the presence of Ryan Klein, who is as good a defensive player as I have seen (ask Kent Raymond). Klein has the length and athleticism to hang with Nading, and I'd be surprised if Nading has had to deal this year with anyone like Ryan. I suspect we'll see VanderHeide and Osburn spend time on Ruths. I don't know who to favor in this year's final four - Amherst looks awfully strong to me - but I will say I like Hope's odds against WashU better this year than I did last year.

[Titan Q]

Q: could very well be. I'm just not familiar enough with all the teams to judge. I will say this - this year's Hope team is better than last year's, and they barely lost to WashU with a healthy Wallis in the elite 8. I know it is hard to compare across years, but it is essentially the same Bears club. In my opinion, this year's iteration of the Dutchmen is not just marginally better, I think they are significantly better, even without Steve Cramer. The difference results from a number of intangibles, including the way a number of the players have progressed, but mostly from the presence of Ryan Klein, who is as good a defensive player as I have seen (ask Kent Raymond). Klein has the length and athleticism to hang with Nading, and I'd be surprised if Nading has had to deal this year with anyone like Ryan. I suspect we'll see VanderHeide and Osburn spend time on Ruths. I don't know who to favor in this year's final four - Amherst looks awfully strong to me - but I will say I like Hope's odds against WashU better this year than I did last year.

I look at it this way, Hope.  Without Wallis, Wash U finished just one game out of first in the power-packed UAA this season.  In the tournament, they knocked off a very good Wooser team on a neutral court, won at CCIW champion Augustana (a very good team that rarely loses at home), beat a Buena Vista squad that was on par with all of the top teams I've seen this year, and knocked off Millsaps - the most athletic team I have seen in '07-08.  I am 100% sure that Wash U would be significantly better with their All-American point-guard.  That improvement would seem, to me, to put the Bears a notch above the pack.  But they don't have Wallis, so the point is moot anyway.

The Hope/Wash U game should be a classic.