MBB: University Athletic Association

[nescac1]

After a very lean recruiting haul this year and some guys who transferred out, Brandeis has rebounded in big way, UAA folks may be interested to hear.  They already have three promising recruits in the fold, including one who sounds like he has some serious upside (top ranked recruit in R.I.).  Given that they only have six non-seniors on the roster, I'd imagine that they are far from done:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/1237/Dascy-Takes-Road-Less-Traveled.php

the other two:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/1221/Pomfret-Duo-off-the-Board.php
http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/recruits/player/447/Derek-Retos.php

[howardjp]

Yes, the two point loss to Case takes away Brandeis' ability to take charge of the division with a win on Friday, not that it wouldn't be nice to have anyway.

If you have ever read my posts before, you would know that I am prone to hyperbole.  As a fan, I am just trying to make the most of this season because of what was lose to graduation this year.

The Bears would likely wrap up the UAA with wins on the road against Brandeis and then New York or Chicago.  A Brandeis win on Friday would make things interesting for sure.

Hardly hyperbole, my friend, tis the truth. The Case loss did make things harder for the Conference title.

Anyway, a little non-conference action tonight with Amherst tonight as an appetizer ....

(modified by GS for formatting)

[Hugenerd]

After a very lean recruiting haul this year and some guys who transferred out, Brandeis has rebounded in big way, UAA folks may be interested to hear.  They already have three promising recruits in the fold, including one who sounds like he has some serious upside (top ranked recruit in R.I.).  Given that they only have six non-seniors on the roster, I'd imagine that they are far from done:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/1237/Dascy-Takes-Road-Less-Traveled.php

the other two:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/1221/Pomfret-Duo-off-the-Board.php
http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/recruits/player/447/Derek-Retos.php

There is a 4th player listed for Brandeis also:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/recruits/player/1238/Alex-Stoyle.php

[Hugenerd]

Wallis and Thompson are playing really well tonight.  They are leading WashU to an apparent win to avenge their earlier loss at home.

[BUBeaverFan]

Wash U wins 92-82 over Brandeis Wallis goes off for 29 and AT supports with 25.

[ADL70]

Spartans get three straight with an 87-74 win over Rochester.

[Marty Peretz]

A great win for Wash.U tonight. With Chicago losing their 5th conference game tonight, the Bears can wrap up the league title in outright fashion on Sunday with a win at NYU and a Chicago win at Deis. Just a win gives Wash.U. a share of the league title. At 9-1, they have three games on Deis, with 4 to play. Even if WU were to lose 3 more games and Deis finished undefeated in league, they'd finish tied and, since WU's margin of victory tonight was larger than Deis' at WU a month ago, I'm thinking the title would go to WU. That said, I'm not sure of the second tie breaker scenario. But that's the nitty gritty. I'm just looking forward to seeing the Bears take on the Violets in front of a huge Wash.U. following in New York.

[Hugenerd]

A great win for Wash.U tonight. With Chicago losing their 5th conference game tonight, the Bears can wrap up the league title in outright fashion on Sunday with a win at NYU and a Chicago win at Deis. Just a win gives Wash.U. a share of the league title. At 9-1, they have three games on Deis, with 4 to play. Even if WU were to lose 3 more games and Deis finished undefeated in league, they'd finish tied and, since WU's margin of victory tonight was larger than Deis' at WU a month ago, I'm thinking the title would go to WU. That said, I'm not sure of the second tie breaker scenario. But that's the nitty gritty. I'm just looking forward to seeing the Bears take on the Violets in front of a huge Wash.U. following in New York.

Thats two good games in a row for Thompson after a 2.5 month slump, maybe he is turning things around which would obviously make WashU a much better team.

By the way, point differential is never a tiebreaker in basketball.  This isn't soccer.

[Hugenerd]

Full tiebreaking procedures are here:

http://www.uaa.rochester.edu/Administrative/Code_of_Conduct/Basketball.pdf

After head to head, it would be the best record against the 3rd best team, then 4th team...etc.

Obviously there is going to be no need for a tiebreaker this year, but just for your reference.

[Titan Q]

Thats two good games in a row for Thompson after a 2.5 month slump, maybe he is turning things around which would obviously make WashU a much better team.

Aaron Thompson career 3-point shooting:

Freshman: 56-147 (.381)
Sophomore: 68-155 (.439)
Junior: 96-205 (.468)


Did you expect him to keep struggling from beyond the arc?

[Hugenerd]

Thats two good games in a row for Thompson after a 2.5 month slump, maybe he is turning things around which would obviously make WashU a much better team.

Aaron Thompson career 3-point shooting:

Freshman: 56-147 (.381)
Sophomore: 68-155 (.439)
Junior: 96-205 (.468)


Did you expect him to keep struggling from beyond the arc?

When your team loses a huge offensive threat each of the last two seasons, defenses get to concentrate on you a lot more. 

Before last weekend (he had a huge game against Rochester, then an off night against Emory, and then a huge game against Brandeis), he was shooting just 31.6% from 3 for the year (37-117). According to your stats, that is the worst he has shot his entire career, and why would I all-of-a-sudden assume he would snap out of it after struggling for 2 months.  It is great for WashU if he gets it going, but it does not seem too absurd to me to think he would struggle given his play this season, especially in the games since around mid-December. 

To answer your question, it is not that expected him to continue to struggle, it is that he was not been playing like "himself" the last 11 games (prior to last weekend) in terms of shooting and, therefore, after repeated below-expected performances, that yes maybe he is not, for whatever reason, the player he was the first 7 games of this year and earlier.  If he returns to the form of the last two years (and the first 7 games this year), that is great for WashU and the UAA, but the way your rhetorical question is worded makes it seem like he has just been off for a game or two, when in fact this is not the case.  All of his shooting percentages are down (FG, 3FG, and FT) from last year.  In fact, if you just look at the 11 games between December 13 and February 4, he scored 137 points in those 11 games, or just over 12 ppg, while shooting 49-125 from the field (39%) and 15-64 from 3 (23%). In fact, in the 6 games before last weekend (Jan. 10 - Jan. 31), he shot only 25-75 from the field (33%) and 5-38 from 3 (13%).  Therefore, it seemed like more than just like a small slump, but a real problem for WashU.  The other 10 games of the season (the first 7 and the last 3), he has averaged just under 22 ppg. As I have said on numerous times, WashU is a much better team with him playing like we all expect, and I hope he gets it going, but as things were, the team looked vulnerable and he wasnt playing well.  I dont have any ill-feelings toward WashU at all, you can ask Ypsi that I argued with him to great length about the strength of the UAA in the preseason (and I played in the UAA not so long ago).  I was merely giving my opinion based on recent observations and results.

[WUPHF]

When your team loses a huge offensive threat each of the last two seasons, defenses get to concentrate on you a lot more.  

The interesting thing about Aaron Thompson, in my opinion, is that many of his best offensive performances have come against the best defenses.  Wheaton, for example, did a remarkable job keeping a hand in his face.  On the other hand, he had many more open looks against New York at home, and Emory on the road, two of his worst three point shooting performances.

Thompson will be essential to a deep run in the tournament, whether he scores from outside or not, as he can defend as well as anyone I have seen this year and can do Tyler Nading-esque damage inside (just ask Chicago or Illinois Weslyan).  My prediction is that this team, regardless of how far they go in the tournament, will prove that they are deeper than you seem willing to admit.

[WUPHF]

Case Western had a big win on Friday over Rochester, 87-74, after a big loss on the road.  Case is enjoying a three game win streak after going 1-6 to start UAA play. 

Brandeis goes for the season sweep over Chicago today at home.  Washington University in a similar situation at New York. 

Carnegie Mellon (4-17, 0-10) is looking for win No. 1 against Rochester at home.  Will the Tartans get a conference win this season?

Tip off in 30 minutes.

[WUPHF]

Thompson alert: 6-8 from behind the line, 21 points with 15 minutes left in the game!

[bobcat10]

Thompson alert: 6-8 from behind the line, 21 points with 15 minutes left in the game!

kudos to the NYU coaching staff. lets play zone against the best shooter in the country out of halftime. Thompson 3/3 in three consecutive possessions.