MBB: University Athletic Association

[Marty Peretz]

WUH,
Generally agree with your thoughts, but have to disagree with you about Smith. He was terrific last night and though he's a dependable offensive threat when necessary, don't expect him to drastically up his offense on a team with two first team all-Americans to carry the offensive load. Smith is a great third option, but his contributions last night (or any night) can not be underestimated. If he regularly can put up 6 points, dish out 7 assists, and grab four boards to go with just one turnover and one foul (this despite the fact that he is incontrovertibly WU's best defender and regularly draws the toughest defensive assignment) in 32 minutes of play last night, Wash.U. will continue to dominate opponents.

Extremely pleased with the performance of Gay. He is finally become the player so many people anticipated he'd become. With Nading having graduated and John Wolff opting for a senior year free of hoops, Gay is finally getting his chance and last night he really impressed. I've always felt that, from a pure raw talent/potential perspective, he is one of the most impressive I've seen at this level. Because his minutes were limited and he had to adapt to a D3 style of play (Gay is a slashing, high rising 6'6", providing a skill set that doesn't always lend itself to the oft-times more structured and, frankly slower, brand of play to which he has now apparently grown accustomed).

Pleased with Knepper's play. Agree with thoughts on Richter. I think he'll pick things up soon. Toth, Kelly, Kelley all solid in addition to the performance of the two big guns. This is an incredibly deep and talented WU team, but it is an even more athletic one that in recent years. Between Gay, Smith, Richter and a couple others, there's always a spark to keep pushing the team to a new level of defensive intensity, something that, as solid as the team's been the last three years, hasn't been at the top of the list of characteristics that would define Wustl hoops.

[Gregory Sager]

I watched Chicago engineer a very efficient and workmanlike 68-60 win over Illinois Wesleyan today. The Maroons were really on from beyond the arc (8-14), but it was their cut-and-pass game that really impressed me. Even with Michael Sustarcic still not his old self after suffering a broken nose (he's playing with a mask) and Jake Pancratz not looking for his own shot as much, the Maroons are doing OK. Steve Stefanou looked very impressive; he can shoot from anywhere, which is always nice to have in a 6'8 guy, and he's a very solid rebounder.

The Maroons aren't a powerhouse-level team, but I tend to think that today's performance is probably closer to the norm for Chicago than was last Wednesday's debacle in Wheaton.

[WUPHF]

The Bears knocked off Pomona-Pitzer 76-50 to take home (or take upstairs) another Lopata Classic trophy.

I will credit Pomona-Pitzer for playing tough through the first 15 minutes, but the intense motion offense was unsustainable and WUSTL eventually took over.  The Bears are ultra-athletic and can run all night long and they proved that again tonight.

Everyone played well tonight.  Relatively mistake free with only seven turnovers and while we won the battle of the boards (38-30), this is an area that we need to improve upon.

Congratulations to Sean Wallis for the MVP honors.  That was an easy call.  Aaron Thompson and Cameron Smith were great additions to the all-tournament team.

Marty: Smith is an phenomenal player all around.  No denying it.  Offense is more than points per game.  I should have said that I would like to see him take more shots.   Smith played particularly well tonight.  I am happy to have him shoot from behind the arc and tonight he went 4-4.

I had no doubt that Richter would be back, and he was tonight.

And, I agree with what you said about Spencer Gay.  I watched him play the reserve role in a few games last year and maybe I was missing something but I had no idea he would be this good and this tough.

Next up: Wheaton College.  Incidentally, congratulations to the Lady Bears for dismantling Elmhurst College on the road.

[WUPHF]

It looks like the UAA rolled through the weekend going 6-2.  Chicago had the only notable win with the 68-60 win over Illinois-Wesleyan (thanks Gregory Sager for the update).

New York dropped to 3-2 on a last minute shot by Mount St. Vincent in a game filled with three pointers and even more three point attempts (56 between the two schools).

Rochester moved to 6-1 with a win over Emory (4-2) in the first UAA conference match-up of the season.

Brandeis 76 Framingham State 73 Final
McKendree 67 Washington U. 82 Final
Mount St. Vincent 64 New York University 63 Final
Rochester 83 Emory 62 Final
Illinois Wesleyan 60 Chicago 68 Final
Brandeis 88 Salem State 73 Final
Pomona-Pitzer 50 Washington U. 76 Final

Looking ahead, Washington University is the only UAA team with games this week worth mentioning.  The two biggest games of the year, in fact.  The Bears have an ultra-tough reading week ahead, hosting Wheaton on Wednesday and Augustana on Saturday. 

Live video for both games: http://www.stretchinternet.com/wustlschedule.html

[WUPHF]

Headline: One CCIW Team Down, One to Go

Washington University beat No. 8 Wheaton College 64-62 to improve to 6-0 on the season.  This game was discussed ad nauseum in another thread, so I will not say too much here.

Nothing pretty about this win.  Very good preparation for the battles WUSTL should face in the tournament.

The story of the evening is of course Spencer Gay who scored 14 points including two free throws to give WUSTL the lead. 

I am too tired to comment more.

Next up: Augustana on Saturday.

[Hugenerd]

It looks like the UAA rolled through the weekend going 6-2.  Chicago had the only notable win with the 68-60 win over Illinois-Wesleyan (thanks Gregory Sager for the update).

New York dropped to 3-2 on a last minute shot by Mount St. Vincent in a game filled with three pointers and even more three point attempts (56 between the two schools).

Rochester moved to 6-1 with a win over Emory (4-2) in the first UAA conference match-up of the season.

Brandeis 76 Framingham State 73 Final
McKendree 67 Washington U. 82 Final
Mount St. Vincent 64 New York University 63 Final
Rochester 83 Emory 62 Final
Illinois Wesleyan 60 Chicago 68 Final
Brandeis 88 Salem State 73 Final
Pomona-Pitzer 50 Washington U. 76 Final

Looking ahead, Washington University is the only UAA team with games this week worth mentioning.  The two biggest games of the year, in fact.  The Bears have an ultra-tough reading week ahead, hosting Wheaton on Wednesday and Augustana on Saturday. 

Live video for both games: http://www.stretchinternet.com/wustlschedule.html

I would call that a 5-1 week, in conference games dont mean a thing in terms of strength of conference.

[Gregory Sager]

Headline: One CCIW Team Down, One to Go

Two down, one to go, if you're talking about the regular season rather than this week. Wash U beat Illinois Wesleyan back on November 22.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Headline: One CCIW Team Down, One to Go

Two down, one to go, if you're talking about the regular season rather than this week. Wash U beat Illinois Wesleyan back on November 22.

You beat me to the reply.  Since WashU is only +7 for the season, if Augie can shock the world and win by 8+, the CCIW can still prevail!

[WUPHF]

My headline was for the week, since we are playing two in one week.  I am well aware of the win over Illinois Wesleyan.

If you were my editors, you would win out though.  Ultimately, I like your version better. 

I am sure that Augustana is capable of giving the Bears a very good game and are even capable of winning, but it seems that the odds are against them at this point.  They have very little time to rest and recover and make final preparations.

[WUPHF]

I would call that a 5-1 week, in conference games don't mean a thing in terms of strength of conference.

I agree.  I had planned to add that to the analysis, but I really did not want to spend too much time on it and so I posted my post without it.

I am not following the UAA as close as my post would suggest.  I was mostly hoping to draw in other UAA fans by keeping the thread alive.

[Marty Peretz]

Little nervous about Augie today. They have some pretty good size down ow which will test the Bears. WU -8.5 on the faux line....145 o/u....If the Bears win today and take the Wooster tourney (the latter being a big if, particularly with it being just after the holiday and on the road) I think it's fair to start the undefeated chatter. Early yes, but the UAA is down again this year and with wins already over McKendree and Wheaton, I don't see many teams getting in the Bears way.

[WUPHF]

The game tonight should be fun.  A test for both teams, and like the Wheaton game, great preparation for a post-season run.

I do think the big question of the night is whether or not fatigue is a factor for Augustana, both mental and physical.

[WUPHF]

The press release referred to the 71-53 Washington University win over Augustana as a rout.  I have no better word to describe the win.

The Bears played great offense and even better defense tonight.  Washington University took the early lead and looked to be in control.  Augustana did have a good run early on in the first half, coupled with tight defense, that got them back in the game, but the second half was all WUSTL.

I am too tired to go in to detail, but I think that the starters and key reserves all played very good basketball tonight.  No complaints.  This is a great team.

Hats off to Augustana on a long week.  They played tough, physical basketball, but the shot were not falling tonight.

[WUPHF]

Chicago and New York University also had wins today.  Incidentally, both were against winless squads that shall remain nameless.

Chicago heads to Augustana this week.  A few more games in an otherwise boring week for the UAA.

[ADL70]

I know no one expects much out of the Spartans but thought I'd chime in with a recap of the pre-holiday portion of the season.

First, Kevin Herring is not with the team (not in school is my information).  Two frosh are among the players who have been in all eight games, averaging 12 and 17 minutes.  Tom Summers is averaging a double-double w/ 14.2 p/g and 10.5 r/g.  Reid Anderson is leading scorer with 16.5 p/g.

The record is 6-2 with wins over Montclair (pre-season 3rd in NJAC), Hiram (who beat then #22 Wittenberg), and W&L from the tough ODAC.  The two losses were to Thomas More (pre-season PrezAC pick) and Wilmington (receiving votes in the d3hoops poll and likely to get more with yesterday's win over John Carroll).