MBB: University Athletic Association

[WUPHF]

Great article about Division III basketball players who found a way to continue their basketball career overseas.

There are a few other former UAA players who are playing basketball at some level.  David Fatoki is playing in Spain and Costis Gontikas is playing in Greece.  There are a few others that had been and may still be playing, but I am drawing a blank at the moment.

[WUPHF]

Tonight begins yet another weekend of UAA basketball.

NYU and Brandeis travel to Washington University and Chicago while Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve host Rochester and Emory.

Carnegie Mellon is 3-0 with wins over the other three bottom teams...  I do think they have what it takes to beat both Rochester and Emory, though I am not expecting it.  The Tartans are a veteran squad led by senior forwards Jack Serbin and Chris Shkil.  If I did not know better, I would swear Jack Serbin has been around for six years, but that is a reflection of how good the former UAA Rookie of the Year has been.  He is averaging almost 17 points per game and 12 rebounds.

Brandeis is 2-1 with their only loss coming to Carnegie Mellon.  This team also has a few veterans including two senior guards in Robinson Vilmont and Tim Reale and junior Jordan Cooper.  Brandeis took Tufts to the wire in Boston, but I would expect them to go 0-2 on the weekend.  Vilmont and Jordan Cooper combined for 43 last year when the Judges defeated Washington University at the Field House though.

[WUPHF]

Washington University defeats NYU, 89-72

Definitely the worst officiating I have seen in a long time.  Everything was called a foul in the first 5-10 minutes.  No consistency after that.  The officials missed so much more.  The officiating drove NYU to a technical.  Every other game I have seen this year has had exceptional officiating.

Both teams were off to a very slow start before both teams began to find a rhythm.  NYU led by one at the half before rattling off five quick points to start the second half.  The Bears eventually broke through with 12 minutes left in the game and were able to respond to every NYU run.

Washington University had one of their most balanced scoring and balanced rebounding efforts to date.  Kevin Kucera and Matt Highsmith both scored 14 with Highsmith and David Schmelter both finishing with 7 rebounds.  +7 rebounds and 18 assists.

__________

Emory trailed Case Western Reserve at the half, but eventually getting the 91-81 win.

Chicago defeated Brandeis, 75-65.

Rochester ran away from Carnegie Mellon, 87-56.  Very impressive to see Rochester score 87 with Sam Borst-Smith and Mack Montague shooting below their season averages.  In the case of this game, 10 and 15 points respectively.  Andrew Lundstrom may have had the line of the night: 14 points on 7-8 shooting in just 21 minutes.

[Gregory Sager]

Chicago trimmed Brandeis at Ratner tonight, 75-65. Aside from their usual free-throw woes and a tendency to get their pockets picked by the aggressive and light-fingered Judges, the Maroons were coolly efficient tonight, shooting 51% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. Jake Fenlon and Tyler Howard more than compensated for the fact that Noah Karras and his 14.1 ppg and 42% trey shooting was home in bed with the flu and a high fever, as each of them garnered 16 points on a combined 7-11 from beyond the arc; Howard also had six assists. Blaine Crawford also had 16, and he had ten rebounds to boot. Brandeis, which seems to be a team that's less than the sum of its parts, had only the impressive Jordan Cooper reach double figures, as he scored a game-high 21.

[Gregory Sager]

Sunday scores:

Chicago 92, NYU 79
Rochester 80, Case Western Reserve 61
Emory 93, Carnegie Mellon 77
Wash U 88, Brandeis 61

[WUPHF]

I am a little late in posting thoughts about the Washington University over Brandeis.

Washington University came out with a very high level of energy with dissipated after the double technical foul.  Very good defense, especially on the Brandeis screens.

A big second half allowed for Jack Wiernicki and Sasha Sobolev and others to get some good minutes.  I have a lot of respect for guys who do not get a lot of playing time, but play a big role behind the scenes.

Michael Bregman had a career game scoring 17 with 4 rebounds.  Jake Knupp also scored 17 which is just under his career high of 18.  Knupp finished with 7 boards.

This team is often referred to as a veteran team.  It is true that Washington University is mostly playing two seniors and five juniors, but only two guys played substantive minutes (+10) before last year.  No question that there is value in being part of a program even when you are not in line to play, but...between the diversity of scoring options and the step up in assists (20+ on average this season compared to 12 a season ago), this is definitely a team coming that is coming in to its own.

[WUPHF]

Looking ahead...the next two weekends will be the last four opportunities for the Bottom 4 to get a win over the Top 4 teams.

Carnegie Mellon and Case Western hosts Washington University and the University of Chicago while NYU and Brandeis travel to Rochester and Emory before the seasons turns and NYU and Brandeis get home (or quasi-home) games against Rochester and Emory. 

The best two chances according to Massey are when Brandeis hosts Emory (30%) and Carnegie Mellon hosts Chicago (27%).

If I were going to bet on an upset, I would pick that Carnegie Mellon-Chicago game because of the match-ups inside and because it would not be the UAA if crazy things did not happen on Sundays...  I am not counting out Brandeis though.

[Greek Tragedy]

How good is Emory? Knightslappy has them #1 in the South. Is the South that bad or is Emory that good? I wasn't sure how good Emory would be after losing Rao and Trawick.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

How good is Emory? Knightslappy has them #1 in the South. Is the South that bad or is Emory that good? I wasn't sure how good Emory would be after losing Rao and Trawick.

I think there is something to be said about the South not being as strong as in years past. The SCAC doesn't have an above .500 team, I believe, with Colorado leading the way who is below .500. The SAA isn't blowing anyone away. Centre leads, but is average (on paper) at best. The USA South is interesting, but again nothing spectacular. And the ODAC is good, but Randolph-Macon isn't as good as their conference record indicates (they are good, but not like we are accustom), VWC is clearly not at the same level we are accustom, leaving Guilford to be about the only star in the conference and they already lost to Hamden-Sydney last week.

I don't think Emory stays #1. First off, their SOS while strong will come back to earth a little bit as more games are tallied. Also, I can't imagine they can get through the conference unscathed the rest of the way meaning losses will ding them up. A lot of this is why the NCAA doesn't release regional rankings any sooner than they do... some of the data and information is flawed (though, I wouldn't mind one more week).

Emory might be good, but I don't think they are that good as the ranking indicates (and I think the ranking is fair considering the data).

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

All of the sudden the month of January is coming to a close! It wasn't that long ago we were watching how teams would perform during holiday tournaments and after long breaks. Now, we are wondering how most teams will weather the second half of conference play.

Thursday night on Hoopsville, Dave tries to take the temperature of Division III basketball. Just how good are the teams nationally ranked and near the top of some conference? Are there teams lurking who are about to emerge and disrupt things?

Of course the focus on this show will primarily be the East, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, and West Regions, but there is still plenty to talk about nationwide including the common theme: upsets and parity.

Guests will include a coach who won his 400th on Wednesday, three nationally ranked teams, and seven total losses.

Dave also discusses the recently launch Hoopsville Fundraising efforts and the upcoming annual marathon show. For more information on the fundraiser, click here: https://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser-2017

Tune in starting at 7:00 PM LIVE via this link: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan26 (or the Facebook Live simulcast). If you can't make it live, watch the show On Demand to listen (download) the podcast to the right (available after the show concludes).

Don't forget to contribute to the new "Hoopsville Mailbag" segment. Email questions you may have to hoopsville@d3hoops.com. Dave will answer them tonight or on a future show.

Guests scheduled to appear (in order of appearance):
- Frank Marcinek, No. 11 Susquehanna men's coach
- Luke Flockerzi, No. 7 Rochester men's coach
- Don Mulhern, UW-Superior women's coach
- Michele Durand, No. 8 Ohio Northern women's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville
Fundraiser: https://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser-2017

[WUPHF]

I would agree that Emory is good, but they are down talent-wise compared to the past few seasons. 

They looked terrible against Rochester on the road, but they have a great coach and may pick up the play before the season goes.  The last three games include Washington University and Chicago on the road with a season culminating home game against Rochester, so hard to imagine they go undefeated.

Incidentally, Adam Gigax is the all-purpose stud that he was a season ago, but he may be a free agent pick in the fantasy leagues this season.

[Greek Tragedy]

Gigax is already taken in both the Early Bird league, drafted in April, and the Futures League, drafted in December.

[WUPHF]

Correction: tourney fantasy leagues.

[Greek Tragedy]

Correction: tourney fantasy leagues.

He's the top guy on the team. Emory is well known. There's no way he won't get drafted if they're in the tourney.

[WUPHF]

I am not a fantasy league guy, so sure, a second correction: even though we have no idea who Emory will be matched up against should they make the tourney, and having watched with curiosity a season ago how three Emory guys on a much better Emory team went in the final two rounds a season ago, I was crazy to suggest that he may not get drafted.