MBB: University Athletic Association

[deiscanton]

Due to today's potential blizzard, the NYU men have cancelled tonight's 5 PM non-conference game with Wheelock.

Update-- The Sportsplex at Hunter College is closed Thursday due to the storm-- the primary reason for the cancellation of the NYU/Wheelock men's game.

NYU and Brandeis both have 1 non-conference game remaining on January 8. 

[deiscanton]

UAA Rookie update

Special Edition-- Games through Jan. 3-- Going into UAA play

Scoring

1.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 17.7 ppg, 28.1 points per 40 min.
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 13.1 ppg, 18.1 points per 40.
3.). Jack Nolan, Wash U-- 11.2 ppg, 21.5 points per 40.
4.)  Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 10.7 ppg, 19.5 points per 40.
5.). Antonio Ionadi, Case-- 9.1 ppg, 15.2 points per 40.
6.). Matt Davet, Emory-- 8.2 ppg, 26.9 points per 40.

Rebounding

1.). Chandler Jones, Brandeis-- 4.6 RPG
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 4.3 RPG
3.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 3.6 RPG
3.). Matt Davet, Emory-- 3.6 RPG
5.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 3.3 RPG
5.). Bobby Hawkinson, NYU-- 3.3 RPG

Assists

1.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 4.4 APG
2.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 3.8 APG
3.). Zach Watson, Carnegie Mellon-- 2.5 APG
4.). Antonio Ionadi, Case-- 2.2 APG
5.). Nick Stuck, Emory-- 1.4 APG
6.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 1.3 APG

[deiscanton]

KnightSlappy's unofficial SOS calculations of UAA men's teams

As of Jan. 2, 2018

1.). Carnegie Mellon-- .594
2.). Rochester-- .567
3.). Wash U-- .562
4.). Brandeis-- .540
5.). Chicago-- .533
6.). Emory-- .529
7.). Case-- .528
8.). NYU-- .372

As of Jan. 4, 2018--

1.). Carnegie Mellon-- .594
2.). Wash U-- .572
3.). Rochester-- .568
4.). Case-- .542
5.). Chicago-- .540
6.). Brandeis-- .538
7.). Emory-- .537
8.). NYU-- .396

[deiscanton]

Just to catch you up, here is the UAA men's basketball coaches preseason poll for predicted order of finish for the 2017-18 season:

1.). Wash U-- 7 first place votes
2.). Emory-- 1 first place vote
3.). Chicago
4.). Rochester
5.). NYU
6.). CWRU (Case)
7.). Carnegie Mellon
8.). Brandeis

[deiscanton]

In case you are wondering, I saw Bucknell women's basketball coach Aaron Roussell's Facebook post with me at Case Gym at Boston University this morning.😉. I was at the Bucknell/BU women's game earlier this week.  I also saw Babson men's basketball player Brandon Johnson and a few of his teammates at the game as well.

On to UAA play!

Action starts at noon Eastern with Rochester at Emory.

Brandeis takes on NYU at 3 PM Eastern with 4 PM Eastern tips for Chicago at Wash U, and Carnegie Mellon at CWRU (Case).

[deiscanton]

Emory beat Rochester earlier today by an 18 pt margin.

I just saw, on-line, Ross Udine become the first NYU men's basketball player to get 500 career assists.  Assist 500 came in the final minute of an NYU 90-82 victory over Brandeis.

Chicago up 11 over Wash U at the break.

[Gregory Sager]

Wash U 79
Chicago 78

[Gregory Sager]

Chicago used a 14-0 run early in the first half to dominate the scoreboard most of the game, building a lead that was as high as 14 early in the second half. But it was inevitable that Wash U, a significantly better team than the Maroons, would make a run to whittle that down. The Bears did so at about the twelve-minute mark, bringing the Chicago lead down to two, but the Maroons bucked up and built the lead back out to 11. The Bears came back again down the stretch, and this time drew even by coming up with some very big stops at the rim in the last couple of minutes, while, at the other end of the floor, Jake Knupp rebounded a Wash U miss and was fouled with six seconds to go and the Bears down by one. He made both FTs, Chicago was unable to get a good look at the basket in its final shot, and the Bears eluded what would've been a pretty serious upset on their home floor.

[deiscanton]

In the game in Cleveland, Case defeated Carnegie Mellon, 94-63.

Wash U, Emory, NYU, and Case Western Reserve are in a four way tie for first place in the UAA going into next weekend with all 4 home teams prevailing today.

[blue_jays]

Chicago used a 14-0 run early in the first half to dominate the scoreboard most of the game, building a lead that was as high as 14 early in the second half. But it was inevitable that Wash U, a significantly better team than the Maroons, would make a run to whittle that down. The Bears did so at about the twelve-minute mark, bringing the Chicago lead down to two, but the Maroons bucked up and built the lead back out to 11. The Bears came back again down the stretch, and this time drew even by coming up with some very big stops at the rim in the last couple of minutes, while, at the other end of the floor, Jake Knupp rebounded a Wash U miss and was fouled with six seconds to go and the Bears down by one. He made both FTs, Chicago was unable to get a good look at the basket in its final shot, and the Bears eluded what would've been a pretty serious upset on their home floor.

WashU didn't look like a #10-ranked team today, and Chicago showed much better form than they had in December. The UAA is way down this year, so we'll see who the challengers will be.

[deiscanton]

Week 1-- Best individual performances

Overall

Top scorer

Jimmy Martinelli, NYU-- 18 pts, 6-11, 4-5, 2-2 FT.

Top rebounder

Dom Cristiano, NYU-- 15 rebounds, 2 offensive, 13 defensive.

Top assist maker

Jordan Baum, Chicago-- 8 assists

Best in steals--

Whit Rapp, Emory-- 6 steals

Best in A/TO ratio-- tie.

Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 5 assists, 1 turnover

Jule Brown, NYU-- 5 assists, 1 turnover

Blocked shots

Latye Workman, Brandeis, 3 blocks.

[deiscanton]

Best individual performances in the Rookie category-- Week 1

Scoring

Antonio Ionadi, Case-- 15 pts-- 5-8, 3-5 from 3 pt land, 2-2 FT.

Romin Williams, Emory-- 15 pts, 4-9, 1-5 from 3 pt land, 6-6 FT.

Rebounding

Akim Sanni, Brandeis-- 7 rebounds, 5 offensive, 2 defensive.

Assists

Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 5 assists, 1 turnover (Best A/TO ratio among rookies in Week 1).

Steals

Matt Davet, Emory, 2 steals
Chandler Jones, Brandeis, 2 steals

4 with 1 blocked shot

Akim Sanni, Brandeis
Ignas Masiulionis, Case
Jack Nolan, Wash U
Steph Peters-Smith, Rochester

[deiscanton]

UAA Rookie Update

End of Week 1

Scoring

1.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 17.5 ppg, 28.0 points per 40.
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 12.2 ppg, 17.0 points per 40.
3.). Jack Nolan, Wash U-- 11.6 ppg, 21.8 points per 40.
4.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 10.7 ppg, 19.1 points per 40.
5.). Antonio Ionadi, Case-- 9.6 ppg, 16.1 points per 40.

Rebounding

1.) Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 4.5 RPG
1.). Chandler Jones, Brandeis-- 4.5 RPG
3.). Akim Sanni, Brandeis-- 3.7 RPG
4.). Matt Davet, Emory-- 3.6 RPG
5.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 3.5 RPG
5.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 3.5 RPG

Assists

1.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 4.5 APG
2.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 3.6 APG
3.). Zach Watson, Carnegie Mellon-- 2.3 APG
4.). Antonio Ionadi, Case-- 2.2 APG
5.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case-- 1.3 APG
5.). Nick Stuck, Emory-- 1.3 APG

Steals

1.). Romin Williams, Emory-- 1.5 SPG
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis-- 1.3 SPG

No rookie with an average of 1 block or more per game.

[jaybird44]

"WashU didn't look like a #10-ranked team today, and Chicago showed much better form than they had in December. The UAA is way down this year, so we'll see who the challengers will be."

Must be a malady that is contagious like the flu...the #2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 teams likewise didn't look like their rankings this weekend.

True, Chicago did show much better form than it had in December.  Playing in UAA openers often elevate a team's performance, especially when the non-conference disappointments can be wiped off the whiteboard in favor of the new conference season.  The Maroons in the 1st half did shoot the 3 much better than their season average of 34% (6-14, 43%).  But, the Bears deserve some credit for playing very good defense in the 2nd half, limiting Chicago to 33% overall shooting, and 29% (5-17) from the arc. 

Wash-U also matched its +6.7 rebound margin average with a +7 vs. Chicago; and in a game with both teams protecting the ball well (Wash-U 6 turnovers, Chicago 9), the Bears enjoyed a 16-7 advantage in points from turnovers--getting an outstanding 1.78 points per opponent turnover. 

I guess it depends on whether one looks at that Saturday afternoon glass half-full or half-empty. 

The half-empty proponents would point to the difficulty that Wash-U had in dispatching a 4-7 opponent at home as being a lackluster performance.  And, on the surface, that is a tempting stance to take. 

Those who look at that glass half-full would point to the aforementioned numbers...and also acknowledge that Wash-U did a pretty good job in the 2nd half of defeating (a) a conference archrival inspired to start the UAA season much better than how its non-conference season ended, and (b) a conference opponent that knows Wash-U's stuff inside and out, and tried mightily to take that stuff away.

A perfect performance...hardly.  But, given the backdrop of the game--featuring two conference foes that are very familiar with each other--it's not very realistic to expect a 30-point blowout from Wash-U, even at home.   

[Mr. Mo]

Thanks Jaybird.  I had a similar thought earlier today, but was not in a position to post.

I think the Maroons' record is deceiving given the close losses they have had in the non-con (we will see as conf play progresses).   I also think that a top ten team tends to get everybody's best shot.

While I think there were a few things the Bears could clean up -- like fighting thru ball screens for shooters and coming out more physical from the jump — I think the original comment was a bit harsh. 

With a very deep bench, I think they can pick up the physicality and absorb some additional fouls.  When they run the floor, they can wear teams out.  I like what they have and think they will prove themselves worthy of their ranking.

P.S. — Is it wrong if I hear Bugs Bunny's voice in my head everytime I say the word "Maroons"?