MBB: University Athletic Association

[Hugenerd]

A win over Carnegie Mellon tomorrow would go a long way towards securing a first-division finish for the Maroons.

It would also likely give CMU a chance to repeat in the ECAC South tournament.

[BUBeaverFan]

Mike C. has a great game as Rochester upsets Wash U 70-69.  Wash U misses 2 fts. with .4 secs left.  Mike C. has 32 points.  AT gets to 1000 with 20 but fouls out with several minutes to go.  Bears go to 22-2, might have hurt their NCAA hosting chances. 

[Marty Peretz]

Very very disappointing loss for Wash.U., but give all the credit in the world to Near and Chamilowek. They came ready to play and ruined Edwards' 500 party, AT's 1000 party, and Wash.U.'s chance at an undefeated UAA season in the process. Tough one to swallow as a Bears die hard, but the hope is that this might re-focus the team before the tournament and that we will play with a new urgency on what I hope will be a return trip to Salem four short weeks from now...

I also think Mike's performance today changes the dynamic in the UAA POY race. I thought AT had just about sewed it up, but if Chamillionaire can put up another 25 or 30 and get a win against Carnegie, I think it might be his. Should be a very close vote...interested to hear what others have to say.

Congrats to AT, despite the final outcome.

[Hugenerd]

Carnegie Mellon getS a much needed win today at Chicago.  I think they will get a Pool C bid if they can win at Rochester next week (giving them a record of 19-6 and 15-5 in region.

Brandeis also wins again, improving to 16-8.  Their OWP will likely be hurt this week because their opponents were a combined 14-34 this weekend.  How does that work in this case anyway?  Since Case and Emory are not in Brandeis' region, do only the games Case and Emory played against NE and UAA opponents count when calculating OWP or do all in-region games for Case and Emory count?

[pabegg]

Their OWP will likely be hurt this week because their opponents were a combined 14-34 this weekend.  How does that work in this case anyway?  Since Case and Emory are not in Brandeis' region, do only the games Case and Emory played against NE and UAA opponents count when calculating OWP or do all in-region games for Case and Emory count?

All in-region games count.

[deiscanton]

Well, if today is the last time this season that I personally see the Brandeis men's basketball team in action, the Brandeis men gave me and the rest of the fans something to remember them by.  Brandeis shot 73.1% from the field today, hitting 38 of 52 against Case. 

The 73.1% shooting from the field easily set a new UAA record for best shooting percentage by a UAA team in a conference game.  The old record was a 68.2% shooting game from the field set by Wash U against Rochester on January 2, 1991.

Also, Brandeis and Case combined for 26 3 pointers made today.  Brandeis hit 16 of 22 from 3 pt range, and Case hit 10 of 23 from 3 pt range.  If Brandeis had hit 1 more 3, not only would Brandeis have tied Chicago's record of 17 3's made in a game, which Chicago initially set against Rochester on January 21, 2007, and tied that mark against Brandeis a few weeks ago, but the record for most 3's made in a UAA game by 2 teams would also have been tied.  The record for most 3's made by 2 teams in a UAA game was set in the Brandeis v. Emory showdown on Feb. 1, 2004, where Brandeis made 14 of 29 from 3 pt range, and Emory hit 13 of 28 from 3 pt range, for a combined 27 3 pointers made.  If Case had hit 1 more 3, the combined record would have been tied.

For Brandeis, Kenny Small hit 9 of 10 from the field, 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, and 2 of 3 from the charity stripe for 24 points.  Kevin Olson hit 8 of 9 from the field, a perfect 5 of 5 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2 of 2 from the charity stripe for 23 points, and Steve DeLuca hit 6 of 8 from the field, 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, and 6 of 6 from the charity stripe for 22 points.

[Hugenerd]

I noticed that Jack Anderson didnt play for CMU today after playing 30 minutes on Friday night.  Anyone who went to the WashU game on Friday know about an injury or any other reason he might not be playing?

[sean-o]

I noticed that Jack Anderson didnt play for CMU today after playing 30 minutes on Friday night.  Anyone who went to the WashU game on Friday know about an injury or any other reason he might not be playing?

Chicago's videocast discussed his absence today ... he was out with a concussion.

[Hugenerd]

I noticed that Jack Anderson didnt play for CMU today after playing 30 minutes on Friday night.  Anyone who went to the WashU game on Friday know about an injury or any other reason he might not be playing?

Chicago's videocast discussed his absence today ... he was out with a concussion.

Thanks

[Hugenerd]

WashU stays at #2 in the national rankings this week, but drops 6 first plate votes.  CMU drops out of the top 25 to 31.

[walzy31]

WashU stays at #2 in the national rankings this week, but drops 6 first plate votes.  CMU drops out of the top 25 to 31.

I am surprised they didn't slip in the rankings with the loss, but think that the Bears are still deserving of that #2 spot.

[Hugenerd]

WashU stays at #2 in the national rankings this week, but drops 6 first plate votes.  CMU drops out of the top 25 to 31.

I am surprised they didn't slip in the rankings with the loss, but think that the Bears are still deserving of that #2 spot.

I guess what helped is that all 3 WIAC schools right below them have also lost a game in the last couple of weeks, so compared to the field they werent doing that bad.  Puget Sound move up from 6 to 3, skipping over all 3 WIAC schools and WashU stayed at 2, while St. Thomas solidified their first place position.

[ILive4This]

I am changing the topic a bit, mainly because I have not posted in a while and something started to pop into my head. Although the overall record is simply not as good as last year for Brandeis, a win this weekend I believe gives them the same conference record as last season. I would argue that this year's team though less consistent than last year's is perhaps a better team when playing to its potential. The losses to Rochester at Home and Chicago on the road just should not have happened. 12-2 in conference is more or less what people expected for this year's squad and would have put them right in the thick of the conference battle with wash u. Now flip around the strange loss to lasell and the even more unforgivable loss to FSC and you have a 4 loss team.

I know you can not just take away losses, but it seems as of late the judges have figured it out. If they are some how lucky enough to squeek into the tournament, I feel they would make a run as deep or deeper than last year.

[Hugenerd]

I am changing the topic a bit, mainly because I have not posted in a while and something started to pop into my head. Although the overall record is simply not as good as last year for Brandeis, a win this weekend I believe gives them the same conference record as last season. I would argue that this year's team though less consistent than last year's is perhaps a better team when playing to its potential. The losses to Rochester at Home and Chicago on the road just should not have happened. 12-2 in conference is more or less what people expected for this year's squad and would have put them right in the thick of the conference battle with wash u. Now flip around the strange loss to lasell and the even more unforgivable loss to FSC and you have a 4 loss team.

I know you can not just take away losses, but it seems as of late the judges have figured it out. If they are some how lucky enough to squeek into the tournament, I feel they would make a run as deep or deeper than last year.

As you pointed out, they are not as consistent, and I think the hypothetical run you speak of would depend on which team showed up any given night.  With that said, I think they are a better team than Amherst and should be ranked ahead of them in the region.  Whether they can be last year's Wheaton and sneak into the tourney is yet to be seen. The losses to FSC and Lasell will definitely hurt though.  Without those two I think they are ranked top 5 or 6 in NE and with their OWP numbers they would have a much firmer hold on a C right now.

I think a main reason for their inconsistency is due to the inconsistency of their go-to-guy, Steve DeLuca.  In my observation, when DeLuca has played well against good teams, Brandeis usually wins.  When he struggles, the team tends to also.  In my opinion, Joe Coppens was a more consistent player last year which had a lot to do with them playing more consistently throughout the season.

[Hugenerd]

Rankings are out:

Rochester drops to # 5 in the East from #4
CMU stays at #3 in the Great Lakes
WashU drops a spot to #2 in the Midwest
Brandeis moves up 2 spots to #8 in the East