MBB: University Athletic Association

[jaybird44]

Nick Burt's block of a transition layup with 2:15 left was huge.  NYU had lots of momentum and was poised to parlay that into a two-possession lead or more.

[WUPHF]

Nick Burt's block of a transition layup with 2:15 left was huge.  NYU had lots of momentum and was poised to parlay that into a two-possession lead or more.

And, it is so rare to see this team block a shot.  Washington University currently ranks No. 305 in blocked shots, though it is worth mentioning that we outrebounded NYU by four on Sunday after going +10 a few weeks ago.  NYU is currently ranked No. 1 in rebounding margin.

__________

Yet another quick look at Massey at the season winds down.

Washington University has been back and forth with Illinois Wesleyan for the No. 3 slot, but the Bears moved ahead on Friday and stayed there on games played through Saturday.  Emory is up to No. 32 while Chicago is at No. 59. 

[gordonmann]

Congrats to Wash U. on winning the conference again. 

[WUPHF]

Whew!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The final week of the regular season is upon us and already teams are on the bubble hoping to qualify for the NCAA national championships and that can also mean some upsets. So tonight, we focus on the bubble and who has to get it done this week in conference tournaments. We will be talking to Emory MBB coach Jason Zimmerman along with the following guests tonight:

- Rhodes WBB coach Matt Dean
- Lyndon State MBB coach Joe Krupinski
- Wheaton (MA) WBB coach Melissa Hodgdon
- UW-Stevens Point WBB coach Shirley Egner
- Ohio Wesleyan WBB coach Stacey Lobdell off their upset of #1 DePauw
- Baruch WBB coach Machli Joseph
- MSOE MBB coach Brian Miller

We will also feature a special #whyd3 story from York (Pa.) women's basketball you have to see.

Show starts at 7 PM EST and will run until at least 9:30 tonight.

You can tune in here: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2013-14/feb23

Don't forget you can ask us or our guests questions via social media:
- Twitter (@d3hoopsville and #Hoopsville)
- Facebook (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville)
- Email (hoopsville@d3hoops.com)

Thanks and enjoy the show!

[jeffjo]

Whew!

Whew, indeed. Wash U started 10-2, but fell behind 32-21 in the first half. Battled back to tie in the second, but fell behind by 8 with 7 minutes left.

Play sequence of the game: Down 79-78 with a minute left, and the shot clock winding down. Alan Aboona drives along the baseline to take the lead AND foul out Christian Manoli (14 TP, 9 RB, 8 A, all team highs). Misses the and-one, but Nick Burt rebounds. Aboona is fouled again at 0:30, and makes both. Up 82-79, completing the comeback.

The sign of a good team is not always blowing out opponents, but being able to maintain composure and win when you don't start your best.

[WUPHF]

Play sequence of the game: Down 79-78 with a minute left, and the shot clock winding down. Alan Aboona drives along the baseline to take the lead AND foul out Christian Manoli (14 TP, 9 RB, 8 A, all team highs). Misses the and-one, but Nick Burt rebounds. Aboona is fouled again at 0:30, and makes both. Up 82-79, completing the comeback.

For those who missed this sequence, the WUSTL SID posted the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rZzUfpRCr8

Obviously, a big game for Aboona and an even bigger game for Tim Cooney, but it is worth mentioning that Nick Burt had a career game with 15 points off 5-8 shooting and 13 rebounds.  It is worth mentioning that Will Patt is playing better than ever.  His minutes have been limited, but his contributions have been big.

Chicago is next with the possibility of an undefeated conference season.  Chicago had an even closer win on Sunday over Case Western.  The Maroons were down by one until Royce Muskeyvalley nailed a three pointer with a second or two on the clock.

The Bears were Royced at the Ratner Center a year ago, but I am looking for a big win on Saturday.

[Gregory Sager]

Chicago had an even closer win on Sunday over Case Western.  The Maroons were down by one until Royce Muskeyvalley nailed a three pointer with a second or two on the clock.

No, that was Friday's win over Carnegie Mellon. The Sunday game against Case Western Reserve was a ho-hum 95-80 win for the Maroons. Speaking of Friday's buzzer-beater by Muskeyvalley, it was the second time this season that Chicago beat CMU on a last-second Muskeyvalley shot. He beat the Tartans in January in Pittsburgh on a running 12-footer with less than two seconds left on the clock.

I doubt that he is welcome any longer within the precincts of the Steel City. But I know whom I'd love to have on my team if I needed somebody to take a game-deciding shot at the buzzer.

[WUPHF]

I apologize.  Days, weeks, basketball games...everything has been a blur since paternity leave started. 

It takes everything I have to avoid writing about how Nick Burt is sitting for extended periods.  Or, how Will Patt is showing signs of teething.  My latest Massey Ratings update over at Babycenter.com was not particulary well received either.

[ADL70]

Congrats to WUStL and Emory making the "dance!"

Also CWRU's David Thompson 2nd Team Academic All-American and finalist for the Josten's.

http://athletics.case.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20140304tp1s86

Then there's the All-UAA:

http://www.uaa.rochester.edu/Basketball/13-14%20MBKB%20All-Assoc.pdf

I have a bit of a bone to pick.

Thompson 2nd team, but no C on first team.  And he's the only double-double average.   

Who could argue with him first team and Palucki second?  similar scoring ave, advantage Thompson in reb, and huge advantage in blocks.

[WUPHF]

I have a bit of a bone to pick.

Thompson 2nd team, but no C on first team.  And he's the only double-double average.   

Who could argue with him first team and Palucki second?  similar scoring ave, advantage Thompson in reb, and huge advantage in blocks.

Your concern is definitely fair.  I obviously was not in on the discussion, but the fact that Washington University went undefeated in the conference obviously influenced the voting.

Congratulations to David Thompson on the Academic All-American love! 

[WUPHF]

Washington 100
Wilmington 69

The Bears got the quick lead behind the Klimek-led offense before Wilmington turned up the defensive pressure and took the lead.  The Bears struggled offensively for a matter of a few minutes but soon got it together and finished the first half with an 18 point lead.   The Quakers would never get back in the game.

Aboona finished with a game high 27 points, but the story of the night was Luke Silverman-Lloyd who scored 13 points in a career game. 

Washington proved again that they are deeper than the starting five.  Will Patt finished with 11, but played some absolutely critical minutes in the first half.  David Fatoki played one of his best games.

The highlight of the night was the break away dunk by Mitch Styczynski which prompted a standing ovation along with the Tom Garvin layup which gave the team 100 points.  Those two possessions made this the best blowout win I have seen.

Overall, the Bears shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range along with 23 assists.  The Bears were +9 in rebounding.

I have been particularly pleased by the officiating in the Field House over the last two seasons, but this group of officials were a complete joke.  The Wilmington coach was up in arms over the officiating, but the lack of consistency clearly favored the Quakers.
__________

Washington University will host Calvin on Saturday at 7:00 pm while Emory with the first-round bye will begin tournament action by hosting Centre College.

[WUPHF]

Glad to see Coach Edwards brought Silverman-Lloyd to the press conference tonight.  Well deserved.

[jaybird44]

Wash-U arguably played its best game of the season last night, totalling 100 points in a playoff game for only the second time in school history, shooting 61% overall and had 11 treys...and limiting Wilmington to 35% shooting overall and 20% from 3-point range (5-25).  Wash-U also scored 24 points from 19 Wilmington turnovers.  Alan Aboona had 27 points to lead the Bears to their 19th straight victory.

What is most encouraging is the emergence of the bench players providing very productive minutes.  Some believed Wash-U's bench to be too thin early this season, but it is a true strength now.  Will Patt had a career-high 11 points, Luke Silverman-Lloyd tallied 13 points last night--one point away from tying his career high, and David Fatoki has been good at running the offense when Aboona needs a break.  Wash-U had 14 bench points in the first half, an important aspect of its 18-point halftime lead last night.

Calvin will be a very tough opponent for the Bears tonight.  Tyler Kruis is the real deal--he can play the low post and step out to make mid-range and 3-point shots, and he is very good defensively (shutting down Wittenberg's Scott Masin).  Kruis vs. Wash-U's Chris Klimek will be a very interesting battle to watch tonight.  Jordan Daley is a very good on-the-ball defender, which may present a big problem for Aboona.  Hopefully, Tim Cooney can be the same sort of defensive pest against Calvin's Jordan Brink.  And, the Knights only average 9.5 turnovers in their last 8 games.

Matt Palucki will have to stay out of early foul trouble in order to keep his 3-point shooting and rebounding for more than 4 minutes of the first half.  With Kruis, Mickey DeVries, and Dan Stout serving as good rebounders, Palucki and Nick Burt will have to perhaps give up a basket or two inside, in order to avoid picking up costly fouls.  Those two have to be on the floor to help Klimek inside. 

Game time 7:00...pre-game discussion at 6:30 Central.

[WUPHF]

Calvin 83
Washington 75

Congratulations to Calvin on a tremendous effort tonight.  The Knights broke open the game early with a great offensive effort while keeping the Bears out of their offensive rythym.  Washington University finished the first half strong, but watched the Knights break open the game again in the second.  The Bears made a game of it late, but to no avail.

Aboona finished with a game high 26 points on 8-21 shooting before leaving his final game with five fouls.  Klimek finished with 15 points, mostly in the second half, and nine rebounds along with a technical foul that relegated him to the bench for 10 minutes or so.  Tim Cooney finished with 11 on 4-14 shooting.

The officials let them play tonight and this certainly favored Calvin tonight.  It allowed Coach Edwards to keep the starting five in for most of the second half, so we did not see much from the bench.

This was the FOURTH second round loss in FIVE years for Washington University at the Field House.  As friendly as the Field House is during the season, the Bears had to go on the road for rounds one and two during both championship seasons. 

A disappointing end to an otherwise great season for the Bears which featured 16 home or St. Louis based games, an undefeated run through the UAA, a No. 2 regular season ranking in both the D3Hoops.com Top 25 and Massey Ratings and two players joining the 1,000 point club.  Thanks to everyone involved with the program for another fun year.  And, special thanks to Aboona, Cooney, Klimek, Patt and Rapp.