MBB: University Athletic Association

[WUPHF]

The UAA announced co-players of the week including both Andrew Sanders and Adam Gigax: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/general/2016-17/releases/20170130ofamer

[WUPHF]

Washington University leads Carnegie Mellon at the half, 46-30.

There is something in the air tonight in the Field House.  Very physical...the game has a bad blood feel to it.

You got the Serbinator starring down the Washington bench.  Elbows being thrown.

[WUPHF]

Looks like Brandeis may get their upset tonight against Emory...

[WUPHF]

Brandeis gets the upset over Emory, 67-59.

[WUPHF]

Washington University gets the season sweep over Carnegie Mellon, 93-80.

This game was hard fought and won...the Tartans had every intention of winning this game, but the Bears were just too much tonight.

The Bears shot a season high 59% from the field with 18 assists.  Kevin Kucera finished with 10 highlight reel assists and 10 points.  Andrew Sanders and Matt Highsmith were playing out of their minds tonight.  Their aggressive play resulted in a host of early fouls for the Tartans.  Let's see more of that.

Andrew Sanders finished with the double-double, scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds while Highsmith finished with 18 points (10-11 from the line).  Michael Bregman and Jake Knupp also finished in double figures.

I am not sure Carnegie Mellon has the personnel to run the full court press on nearly ever play.  They would have to shoot way better than the 45% they shot tonight.  The Tartans finished with 5 guys in double figures including a 18 point, 8 rebound performance from the Serbinator.
__________

I'll just borrow this from the Rochester press release: Rochester Rolls to 101-58 Win Over NYU.  Not much more needs to be said other than Rochester shot 58% from the field and 55% (12-22) from three point range. 
__________

Brandeis gets the upset win over Emory, 67-59. 

A week ago, Emory chased down Brandeis in regulation and took over in overtime.  Brandeis never let the Eagles back in this game.  Not a great shooting night for either team...Jordan Cooper scored 28 points for the Judges.  Emory struggled with fouls...both Adam Gigax and Christopher Avant fouled out. 
__________

Chicago destroyed Case Western Reserve, 99-73.

Noah Karras scored 39 points on 12-17 shooting including an 11-14 effort from three point range.  Who is this kid who barely played a season ago as a freshman, but is now averaging over 13 points per game?

That three point shooting performance from Karras helped the Maroons finish with a 59% average from the perimeter.  56% overall.

I guess a few others guys played as well, though curiously, neither Blaine Crawford nor Collin Barthel played tonight.

[blue_jays]

Washington University gets the season sweep over Carnegie Mellon, 93-80.

This game was hard fought and won...the Tartans had every intention of winning this game, but the Bears were just too much tonight.

The Bears shot a season high 59% from the field with 18 assists.  Kevin Kucera finished with 10 highlight reel assists and 10 points.  Andrew Sanders and Matt Highsmith were playing out of their minds tonight.  Their aggressive play resulted in a host of early fouls for the Tartans.  Let's see more of that.

Andrew Sanders finished with the double-double, scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds while Highsmith finished with 18 points (10-11 from the line).  Michael Bregman and Jake Knupp also finished in double figures.

I am not sure Carnegie Mellon has the personnel to run the full court press on nearly ever play.  They would have to shoot way better than the 45% they shot tonight.  The Tartans finished with 5 guys in double figures including a 18 point, 8 rebound performance from the Serbinator.
__________

I'll just borrow this from the Rochester press release: Rochester Rolls to 101-58 Win Over NYU.  Not much more needs to be said other than Rochester shot 58% from the field and 55% (12-22) from three point range. 
__________

Brandeis gets the upset win over Emory, 67-59. 

A week ago, Emory chased down Brandeis in regulation and took over in overtime.  Brandeis never let the Eagles back in this game.  Not a great shooting night for either team...Jordan Cooper scored 28 points for the Judges.  Emory struggled with fouls...both Adam Gigax and Christopher Avant fouled out. 
__________

Chicago destroyed Case Western Reserve, 99-73.

Noah Karras scored 39 points on 12-17 shooting including an 11-14 effort from three point range.  Who is this kid who barely played a season ago as a freshman, but is now averaging over 13 points per game?

That three point shooting performance from Karras helped the Maroons finish with a 59% average from the perimeter.  56% overall.

I guess a few others guys played as well, though curiously, neither Blaine Crawford nor Collin Barthel played tonight.

Karras was a stud recruit, just had to bide his time for the first year especially on a veteran-laden squad. Everyone knew going in he is a Division I shooting talent.

[WUPHF]

Karras was a stud recruit, just had to bide his time for the first year especially on a veteran-laden squad. Everyone knew going in he is a Division I shooting talent.

Oh, I did my homework on Karras a season ago.  It is easy to find stories on Chicago-area players.  But, 38 points is John Di Bartolomeo territory. 11 three pointers is a school record.  Like, the next Matt Johnson territory.

[Gregory Sager]

This sport is funny sometimes. A week ago a full-strength Chicago squad had to come from behind to beat struggling Case Western Reserve in the final seconds in Cleveland. And then tonight, with four starters (Tyler Howard, Blaine Crawford, Waller Perez, and Collin Barthel) and a couple of reserve upperclassmen on the bench in maroon polos and khakis serving a one-game suspension for breaking team rules, a depleted Maroons squad featuring mostly underclassmen guards blows the Spartans right out of the water, 99-73.

First things first, since people are already talking about Noah Karras's performance. He broke the UAA record for most treys made in a game that was set by Wash U's Alan Aboona four seasons ago, as he hit 11 of 14 from beyond the arc en route to amassing 39 points. What was really impressive about that total was that most of those eleven makes were from the 23' to 25' range. He was in Steph Curry Land tonight.

Karras was hardly the only Maroon who had a great night tonight. With the team missing most of its size, Ryan Jacobson stepped up and had a career night, registering a 14 and 13 double-double, as he made six of eight from the field. He not only was a force underneath the basket, he also did a really nice job of taking CWRU star center T.J. Duckett off of the dribble. Jake Fenlon had a really solid 12-5-6, Justin Jackson did about as well as could be expected in guarding Duckett and also contributed 11 points at the other end, and Jordan Baum had 10 points and seven assists.

CWRU, which was also down a player (top reserve Eric Black was a no-show; he wasn't even on the bench), threw a whole fistful of different defensive looks at the Maroons tonight -- 2-3 zone, 3-2 zone, man, even a diamond press at one point -- and nothing worked. Aside from perpetual motion machine Javier Alvarez and the sneaky-good Colin Zucker, the Spartans looked like a team that had just feasted on deep-dish before showing up for the shootaround. At the other end of the floor, they had sucess early in pounding the ball inside to Duckett and David Black, but for some unknown reason they went away from that and decided to get into a game of H-O-R-S-E with the Maroons that they were bound to lose. How any team that is facing a smallish and inexperienced opponent ends up attempting 27 treys rather than throwing the ball into Duckett on every possession escapes me. Duckett did lead CWRU with a 25 and 10 double-double, and Zucker contributed 24, both of them registering career scoring highs. Alvarez dished out six dimes and had three steals.

Who is this kid who barely played a season ago as a freshman, but is now averaging over 13 points per game?

Karras is hardly an unknown quantity, at least among those of us who track Chicagoland high-school basketball. He had a large number of D3 schools after him his senior year at Lake Forest.

Karras was a stud recruit, just had to bide his time for the first year especially on a veteran-laden squad. Everyone knew going in he is a Division I shooting talent.

Shooting is shooting. D1 shooters are not necessarily better than D3 shooters; shooting percentages are pretty much the same across all three divisions. Karras does not have a D1 overall game or D1 athleticism, so he wouldn't be getting many open looks in a D1 uniform. But he's already on his way to becoming a great D3 player.

[WUPHF]

Can we get a third poster to say that Noah Karras was known around Chicagoland?

[iwumichigander]

Lara's was known around Chicagoland  . With his shooting ability a lot of schools would have attempted recruitment.  But as Greg noted, not a complete player to make D1 which as the saying goes "there is a reason why a player with talent is D3"
You often see a player "grow into D1 abilities"  which is why you often see players blossom as sophomores or juniors.  On the other hand, we all know players in D3 who have the skills to play D1 but not the size.

[Gregory Sager]

Can we get a third poster to say that Noah Karras was known around Chicagoland?

Sorry, WUH, but I was typing my report when your second post came out that made it clear that your original question was rhetorical.

[jaybird44]

Very enjoyable topics covered this morning and afternoon!

I would think the Chicago benched starters learned a valuable lesson last night...you can be replaced.  Especially in basketball programs that continually gather good young talent from year to year.  At least for last night, the phrase "addition by subtraction" rang true in that situation.

I'd like to see the d3hoops writers collaborate and develop a story on the best reserve-player tandems in D3 basketball.  Wash-U's Matt Highsmith and Jake Knupp are vital to Wash-U's success, and it would be fun to read about other tandems across the country.

I am also enjoying the good shot selection that Michael Bregman is using.  A temptation for guards would be to launch 3s ad nauseum, especially if the first 3-point attempt is successful.  Bregman has learned that he is more effective in the mid-range area...like a football wide receiver finding a soft spot in a zone defense and gobbling up passes.  Last night, Michael made his lone 3-point attempt, but his 4 other baskets were short jumpers in or just outside of the lane, in the 8-12 foot range.  He finished 5-for-8 from the field and had 13 points. 

Bregman has discovered his greatest value...using his senior savvy to maneuver into mid-range areas unoccupied by defenders.  His defense has been pretty good, too.

Wash-U is 8-0 in the UAA so far...wouldn't have put money on that to start the season, but the Bears continue to evolve into a very formidable team to face.  Have to keep their efforts at a relentless level...each team in the UAA has a unique and particular skill set that can steal a victory from their opponent from game to game.

[Gregory Sager]

Very enjoyable topics covered this morning and afternoon!

I would think the Chicago benched starters learned a valuable lesson last night...you can be replaced.  Especially in basketball programs that continually gather good young talent from year to year.  At least for last night, the phrase "addition by subtraction" rang true in that situation.

It was a nice glimpse into the future, too, as four of the six benched Maroons are seniors.

[WUPHF]

NYU edges Emory, 80-79.

There is no Top 4 anymore...

Sundays in the UAA.

[WUPHF]

Carnegie Mellon gets the win over Chicago in overtime.

If Washington University is able to get the win, then we have the Top 2 and everyone else, but that is far from certain.  It is Sunday afterall.