MBB: University Athletic Association

[WUPHF]

But it was home game for the Spartans

That should have been obvious from the press release I included.  I followed the live stats on my phone and I thought for sure it was hosted on a Carnegie Mellon server.  Thanks for the correction.

[ADL70]

Gut check tomorrow at U of R

[WUPHF]

Gut check tomorrow at U of R

Rochester maybe 6-6 on the season, but they have not lost at home since the first game of the season.

Also, in the latest from Massey, the UAA is ranked No 1 in Division III with a combined 63-25 record and only two teams out of the Top 100. 

No. 13 Washington
No. 31 Emory
No. 40 New York
No. 73 Chicago
No. 78 Case Western
No. 84 Brandeis
No. 125 Carnegie Mellon
No. 128 Rochester

[WUPHF]

Carnegie Mellon gets the first road win in the UAA with a 95-83 win over Emory in Atlanta.  The Tartans trailed by one at the half before knocking down 61 second half points.  Rochester over Case Western 69-66.

[WUPHF]

Chicago gets the win over NYU in Hyde Park, 58-50 providing for a six-way tie for second in UAA conference play.  The game was very close until a late run gave Chicago the lead. 

The Chicago student broadcasters had something I had never seen in Division III: a student sideline reporter. 

Otherwise, Washington University takes a one game lead in the conference championship race with an 82-72 win over Brandeis.  Unfortunately, I had to watch this from home, but enjoyable nonetheless.  I plan to be in the Field House on Sunday when the Bears try to put some distance on an NYU team that was 11-1 before tonight and receiving votes in the poll.

[Gregory Sager]

Very entertaining game at Ratner last night. NYU really looked as though it was a step slower, or that perhaps the Violets were caught unaware by a faster pace than they'd been used to playing in non-conference action. Chicago dominated most of the game. The Violets did catch up in the second half and actually took a brief 38-35 lead midway through the second stanza, but the Maroons answered the run with one of their own and were pretty much in control over the game's final five minutes, with Royce Muskeyvalley's (12 pts, 4 asts) transition play being the big difference down the stretch. Charlie Hughes, who was a real matchup problem for NYU, led the Maroons with 15. Iyoha Agbo hit three triples en route to 16 points for the Violets.

There was an amusing moment when an NYU dad who was sitting near me (I won't mention his son's name), who was constantly yelling at the refs throughout the game, let out an infuriated cry of, "Hey, refs! You godda problem wit' Noo Yoahk?" I had to chuckle, as some questions answer themselves.

[jaybird44]

The Wash-U/Brandeis game last night was very physical and contentious, with players yapping back and forth, not-so-subtle shoulder bumps and nudges, and on a jump-ball tie-up between Brandeis' Tim Reale and Wash-U's Clinton Hooks, both players pushed each other hard with the basketball in their hands...I thought at that point a hockey game might break out.  Fortunately, the tempers didn't bubble over into scuffles.

Wash-U played great defense in the first half, limiting Brandeis to 27% shooting and 2-12 (17%) from 3-point range.  That was significant, since Derek Retos burned Wash-U last year at the Fieldhouse with 6 treys in 12 attempts.  First half score:  Wash-U 33, Brandeis 22...as the Bears enjoyed advantages of 22-10 in points-in-the-paint and 9-0 in 2nd-chance points.

Both teams opened up their offenses in the 2nd half, but Brandeis could only enjoy a slight 50-49 edge in scoring in the 2nd half.  Wash-U prevailed 82-72.

Chris Klimek had 25 points, Alan Aboona 17 (all in the 2nd half), Tim Cooney 15 and 7 assists, and Matt Palucki had 10 after early foul troubles kept him to 2 points in the first half.  Unsung heroes:  Nick Burt tied a career-high with 9 rebounds, and Jordan Rapp had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 8 minutes of play off the bench in the first half when Palucki and Brandon Staffeil each had 2 fouls.  I believe Rapp had only 3 points all season, before he was summoned to action last night.

Gabe Moton tried to singlehandedly carry Brandeis on his shoulders, pouring in 26 points (19 in the 2nd half),  Unfortunately for the Judges, no one else scored in double figures.

Tough game tomorrow, as NYU comes to St. Louis loaded for bear (pun intended), after losing at Chicago last night.  Evan Kupferberg has emerged as a dominant force inside, with 17.2 ppg and 9.6 rpg.  Costas Gontikas is a good partner for Kup, with 12.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg.  And, Ryan Tana gave Wash-U some problems last season with his lateral quickness; and he is also averaging nearly 12 ppg.  The Violets are strong rebounders as well, so Wash-U has a big early-conference season at high noon Sunday.

[WUPHF]

Washington University moves to 3-0 in the conference with a big 81-65 win over NYU.  The Bears were led by Matt Palucki who scored 29 points on 10-15 shooting including a 5-7 performance from three point range.   

NYU may lead Division III in rebounding, but lost that battle today by 33-43.

Emory rebounded from the home loss on Friday to murder Case Western, 102-76. Emory went 15-26 from three point range in the win.

Carnegie over Rochester on the road by six.  Chicago over Brandeis at home by 10.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Ugh!!!  Emory just gave us a BEAT DOWN!!!!

[WUPHF]

Matt Palucki has been the go-to for Washington University early in conference play, including the 26 point effort against Chicago last weekend and the 29 point effort against NYU today.  Palucki was a versatile offensive threat last season, but his three point shooting efforts are worth a second look.  He went 4-9 from three point range against Chicago and 5-7 against NYU, along with 4-7 against Wheaton, and is 33-71 on the season.

I am not sure that anyone is surprised he can make them from downtown.  Even though he only registered 63 three point attempts in his first two seasons, he regularly shot from just inside the arc.  And, he is taking and making more this season.  His three year scoring stats are below.

It is worth noting that even though I did not include his rebounding stats, Palucki continues to be strong on the boards, and the 11 rebounds he had today were enough for him to register his eight career double-double.

2013-2014 Minutes-Average: 30.6 FG-FGA: 74-136 (.544) 3FG-FGA: 33-71 (.465)  Points-Average: 14.8 2012-2013 Minutes-Average: 32.6  FG-FGA: 95-216 (.440)  3FG-FGA: 16-49 (.327) Points-Average: 9.5 2011-2012 Average Minutes: 20.3  FG-FGA:  74-144 (.514)    3FG-FGA: 7-14 (.500)  Points-Average:  6.9

[jaybird44]

Palucki does make WashU much more dangerous, with his 3-point prowess.  Teams can't overplay Alan Aboona as the only bonafide outside threat.  Adding Luke Silverman-Lloyd to the 3-ball mix gives the Bears the arsenal it needs to keep up with the 3-point shooting teams in the UAA...and it allows more room inside for Chris Klimek to keep him out of more foul situations.

This a team that has good balance right now, and it will need that on the upcoming 4-game road trip that spans the next two weekends.  WashU's only road win was a short walk to Fontbonne this season, and the last road loss was at IWU.  The Bears have developed more scoring depth since then, and we will see if it translates into big road wins on the UAA trail.

[WUPHF]

It is so true what you say. Even in the loss against Emory, Case Western went 12-24 from three point range while we have had our share of 3-10, 4-20, 5-21 and 7-18 performances. 

In reviewing the stats, it looks like Washington University 177th in three points FGM nationally and 7th in the conference.

Otherwise, the NCAA tweeted today that Washington University has the toughest schedule in the nation based on a 66.1 percent opponent win percentage.  Massey has the strength of schedule at 17.

[Gregory Sager]

Chicago eked out a 65-64 win at Carnegie Mellon in a game in which they were without the services of leading scorer Charlie Hughes. The Maroons stormed out to an early 23-7 lead, mostly because their transition game was simply running the Tartans right off the floor. The Tartans eventually adjusted, and largely dominated the last 30 minutes or so of the game. They finally caught and passed Chicago at 54-53 with seven minutes and change remaining, and built that lead up to as much as five at 60-55 with four minutes to go. But CMU was unable to knock down some great looks at the rim, Royce Muskeyvalley made a huge three with :47 left to cut the Tartans' lead to 64-63, and then he followed it up with further heroics by knocking down a fallaway 14-footer with one second left in the game. The Tartans actually got off a halfcourt shot at the buzzer from Rashaun Riley that came pretty close to going in, but it was too strong off the glass.

Very entertaining game to watch, but the CMU students who called the game were irritating. Although serious homers, they actually weren't bad on most of the calls and analyses, but their persistent and, frankly, obnoxious whining about the officials was just too much to bear.

[jaybird44]

Chris Klimek had a Moses Malone-like 26 points and 18 rebounds in WashU's 77-64 win at Case.  Klimek had an edge to his game that was reminiscent of Jaimie McFarlin's scowl that she wore from the start of UAA play to the closing moments of the women's national championship victory in the 2009-10 season.  He needed that edge to keep repelling the upset-minded Spartans.

Case trailed by only 5 points at halftime, and led 50-46 with 12:40 to play.  Klimek made 3 straight baskets to push WashU up 52-50.  That was the beginning of a 20-1 run to give the Bears a 66-51 lead with 5:40 left.  Then after Case closed within 6 points at 68-62 with 3:03 left, Klimek and Tim Cooney outscored the Spartans 9-2 the rest of the way.

Cooney added 18 points, Alan Aboona 12 and 8 assists, and Nick Burt added 12 points.  Matt Palucki was limited to 5 points, but he gathered 12 rebounds.  The Bears outscored Case 44-22 in the paint. The Spartans were led by David Thompson's 13 points/10 rebounds, Dane McLoughlin's 17 points, and Tim Chung had 10.

WashU travels to Pittsburgh to visit Carnegie Mellon Sunday.

[howardjp]

Interesting game in Waltham as Emory leads Brandeis 52-51 at the half (!) Emory is shooting 67% as they are driving the lane at will, with no Brandeis defense.  But while Emory hits 2's at will, Brandeis has hit enough 3's to keep it close. In fact, they would have had the lead at half time if Gabe Moton hadn't lost the ball going in for a clear layup. Alex Stoyle came in late for Brandeis and hit a couple of threes.  Coach Meehan seems to be working in some of the underclassmen more and more. 

more in a bit.