MBB: University Athletic Association

[Wydown Blvd.]

NYU has historically had a weak non-con. No surprise there.

I was just gonna say NYU normally feasts on cupcakes in their non UAA portion of the schedule, no surprise they have no votes.  They get Brandeis, Emory and Rochester are all home the next 2 weeks, so a chance for them to at least get some votes with 3 wins (against 1 team in the top 15 and 1 in the ORV category).

It's always surprised me that NYU doesn't have a better out of conference schedule.  I get that they don't want to travel but it seems like they could find decent competition in the metro area.  Do they host a tournament?  I think that's how Rochester manages at least a decent SOS.  They host 2 tournament plus play in the Wnedy's Classic.

On the other hand, I can see the reasoning for NYU scheduling weak (not that I agree with it)... rack up the in-region wins, finish in the top half of the pack in the UAA, and basically stamp your ticket to the NCAAs. If you don't get enough wins in conference, then you still play in that postseason ECAC thing. On the NYU women's side, they have historically done the same thing (CWRE men historically schedule weak OOC as well). Not a fan, but it kind of makes sense in terms of taking advantage of the multiregional dimension of the UAA.

[Pat Coleman]

I was going to say -- it hasn't worked if getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament is the only consideration. That may have worked when the Atlantic and East each got eight tournament bids in 1995 and 1996 but that's long, long ago now.

[WUPHF]

The UAA thread has been unusually quiet and that is saying something.  I had a chance to watch Washington University defeat Chicago 79-72 in a hard fought and entertaining contest. 

Interesting game for Matt Johnson who was faster than I had ever seen him but could not seem to handle the ball.  It did not stop him from scoring or moving the ball in the first half, but he struggled, thanks in large part to Tim Cooney, to get good looks in the second and had a costly late game turnover.

Chicago seemed to concede a little early too.

[shotdr]

WUH, why do you think this thread has been quiet?
The midwest and particularly the CCIW seems to get a lot of traffic.
And it was a nice win for the Bears on Saturday.  Lots of players contributing right now.

[hopefan]

I'll take part of the blame shotdr....  in the past, WUH and I have fed off each other's comments to keep discussion about Wash u a little livelier....  unfortunately this year, due to several circumstances, I've only had the time to concentrate on the SLIAC room, an area that gets less attention than the UAA room....  I've only seen Wash U once this year...hopefully I'll get over there to see a couple of games soon....

[shotdr]

thanks hope fan.  I have been an observer for quite awhile, and have enjoyed the discourse that I see on this board.  It has been refreshing to see the spirit that people post with despite being rivals.  can't say the same for other boards I have participated in.  I'm a new follower of the UAA as I have some sons being recruited by schools in the conference.  trying to learn what I can from those of you with years of experience with the programs.

[Ethelred the Unready]

thanks hope fan.  I have been an observer for quite awhile, and have enjoyed the discourse that I see on this board.  It has been refreshing to see the spirit that people post with despite being rivals.  can't say the same for other boards I have participated in.  I'm a new follower of the UAA as I have some sons being recruited by schools in the conference.  trying to learn what I can from   of you with years of experience with the programs.

. 

There is a lot of positives when considering a UAA school.  It may be overworn, but the belief that a kid should chose a school based not on athletics, but on where they want to be even if they weren't playing a sport, is truer that most kids want to believe.  When our son was deciding which was the best fit, we told him to choose the place he wanted to be if he broke his ankle and couldn't play.  He did, then proceeded to tear up his ankle sophomore year, ending his career.  But he was in the right situation, graduated in May and started his job the next day.  not sure it would have worked that way at UNE, Dickenson, Hartwick, Wesleyan or any of the other schools he considered.

[Hugenerd]

I have to agree, I played at a UAA school as an undergrad (CMU) not so long ago, which allowed me to choose to go wherever I wanted for my PhD.  The traveling aspect of the UAA is also fun.

[Ethelred the Unready]

I have to agree, I played at a UAA school as an undergrad (CMU) not so long ago, which allowed me to choose to go wherever I wanted for my PhD.  The traveling aspect of the UAA is also fun.

Yeah...not so much for parents.   

How's this for travel.  Nate Novosel at UofR has a twin sister who stars at Notre Dame.  And when they were freshmen, I believe they had an older sister that played at Evansville.  The family is from Louisville and they tried to make as many games as they could.  Not sure how well they managed over the course of 4 years.

[mck99]

Interview with head coach Mark Edwards prior to the Bears roadtrip to Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhjF3dumsxw&list=UUvSXLgTosHEa3OFiAv1Aygw&index=1&feature=plcp

[7express]

West Conn is up @ Plymouth state Saturday, so I'm gonna drop by the Brandeis vs. Rochester game Friday on the way up, and Brandeis Emory game Sunday on the way back home.  Looking forward to see Emory in person Sunday.

[WUPHF]

There is a lot of positives when considering a UAA school.  It may be overworn, but the belief that a kid should chose a school based not on athletics, but on where they want to be even if they weren't playing a sport, is truer that most kids want to believe.  When our son was deciding which was the best fit, we told him to choose the place he wanted to be if he broke his ankle and couldn't play.  He did, then proceeded to tear up his ankle sophomore year, ending his career.  But he was in the right situation, graduated in May and started his job the next day.  not sure it would have worked that way at UNE, Dickenson, Hartwick, Wesleyan or any of the other schools he considered.

Thanks for sharing your family story. 

[WUPHF]

West Conn is up @ Plymouth state Saturday, so I'm gonna drop by the Brandeis vs. Rochester game Friday on the way up, and Brandeis Emory game Sunday on the way back home.  Looking forward to see Emory in person Sunday.

That is my kind of weekend.

[WUPHF]

The midwest and particularly the CCIW seems to get a lot of traffic.
And it was a nice win for the Bears on Saturday.  Lots of players contributing right now.

Our conference will never come close to the CCIW in terms of fan support.  I am blown away by how many Illinois Wesleyan fans, for example, will travel for Women's Soccer.  But as a fan, I love the UAA.

It is true about the depth of the contributions from the Bears squad.  It is like nothing I have ever seen because I started following during the Ruth, Nading, Smith, Thompson, Wallis days but this team is so fun to watch.  Richter in particular has proven that his name deserves to be included among the best.  But the team is getting good minutes from many players and getting the job done unlike last year where they would play well and then go for long stretches without a basket.

[WUPHF]

Did not expect to wake up this morning to see Brandeis and WUSTL leading the league very early in conference play, but NYU knocked off No. 4 Emory 89-73 at the Palladium.

Washington    2-0    10-3    
Brandeis       2-0    8-5
Emory       1-1    12-1    
New York       1-1    11-1    
Chicago       1-1    8-5    
Carnegie Mellon    1-1    6-7    
Rochester       0-2    9-4    
Case Western     0-2    8-5