MBB: University Athletic Association

[deiscanton]

KnightSlappy has unofficially calculated current SOS numbers for the UAA men's basketball teams. 

Brandeis's SOS is not listed since the Judges are not currently in the top 40 in the Northeast, as measured by RPI.  KnightSlappy's unofficial rankings rank the teams in each region by ratings percentage index, which DIII does not currently use as a criteria for selection.

Men use a home/away multiplier in the SOS calculations.

Here are the teams with their SOS calculated as of December 14 at 12:30 PM Eastern, according to KnightSlappy:

1.). Wash U's SOS is currently .514
2.). Emory's SOS is currently .457
3.). Chicago's SOS is currently .504
4.). Rochester's SOS is currently .556
5.). New York Univ's SOS is currently .351
6.). Case's SOS is currently .525
7.). Carnegie Mellon's SOS is currently .566

Source:  tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/p/division-iii-mens-regional-rankings.HTML

[mck99]

Interview with WashU Men's Basketball coach Mark Edwards, who won the 670th game of his illustrious career Tuesday at Fontbonne. WashU (7-1) travels to Illinois Wesleyan (7-1) Sunday for a key regional contest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdaTJjQQc7Y

[deiscanton]

I watched the Emory v Guilford game on-line yesterday.

First of all, Emory has a great video broadcast with Justin Hoffman on men's commentary.  Great ads at halftime promoting Emory and NCAA Division III.

Second, good to see Whit Rapp back in the line-up.  He had a good game with 8 assists in 21 min of action yesterday.

Third, Romin Williams still makes a huge impact off the bench with 16 pts off 4 treys.  Emory hit 10 3's in the first half and 15 for the game.

Fourth, I was expecting a close game, but Emory's defense and 3 pt shooting led to a 20-0 run that effectively put away the game by halftime.  Emory picks up a great win over a regionally ranked opponent from last season.  I will be very surprised if this win is not a result vs a regionally ranked opponent on Feb. 21.

Brandeis is going to have to improve defensively if they are going to have any chance of holding Emory under 60 pts this season.

Looking forward to Illinois Wesleyan's tour through the UAA for the next 3 games.  The Titans play Wash U and Chicago before the holiday break, and then play at Emory in December 28.

[y_jack_lok]

Fourth, I was expecting a close game, but Emory's defense and 3 pt shooting led to a 20-0 run that effectively put away the game by halftime.  Emory picks up a great win over a regionally ranked opponent from last season.  I will be very surprised if this win is not a result vs a regionally ranked opponent on Feb. 21.

With a 4-4 record and some losses to not great teams Guilford will have to improve a lot to be regionally ranked come February.

[deiscanton]

Fourth, I was expecting a close game, but Emory's defense and 3 pt shooting led to a 20-0 run that effectively put away the game by halftime.  Emory picks up a great win over a regionally ranked opponent from last season.  I will be very surprised if this win is not a result vs a regionally ranked opponent on Feb. 21.

With a 4-4 record and some losses to not great teams Guilford will have to improve a lot to be regionally ranked come February.

I see your point there.  Last season, Guilford was ranked #2 in South, and Emory was #3 in South by the NCAA.   So from my point of view, I came into yesterday's game expecting a battle between 2 regionally ranked sides.  If Guilford doesn't improve, they will have to win the ODAC AQ to get into the NCAAs, and that conference tournament is tough to win. 

[deiscanton]

Taking y_jack_lok's point that Guilford may not be ranked in South come Feb. 21, Emory has 3 teams left on schedule that were regionally ranked last season:

Illinois Wesleyan-- ranked #7 in Central by NCAA.

Wash U-- ranked #2 in Central by NCAA.-- 2 games in conference

Rochester-- ranked #1 in East by NCAA-- 2 games in conference.

Emory will have to win at least 2 of those games to get a shot at a Pool C bid if the Eagles don't take the UAA AQ.

[jaybird44]

Wash-U leads 58-33 at halftime from the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan.  A perfect offensive storm for the Bears, shooting 59% overall and 7-12 from 3-point range, with 19 assists.  Jack Nolan is 5-5 overall and 3-3 from the arc, Andrew Sanders was 5-6 overall and 11 points, and Matt Highsmith has found his shooting stroke after being in the 25% range early in the season.  Highsmith had 16 first-half points shooting 6-7 from the floor...and David Schmelter had 2 dunks in a row among his 4-5 shooting.

Defense has been just as good, holding the Titans to 29% shooting on their home floor.

We'll see what the second half holds, but the Bears enjoyed arguably their best first half of the season to this point...

[deiscanton]

Wash U wins today, 95-69, and the game wasn't even that close.  It seemed to me as I was watching this one that I felt like introducing Illinois Wesleyan to Guilford, and vice versa.

Chicago hosts Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday to close out play going into the holiday break.

Illinois Wesleyan coach Ron Rose gave a frank accounting of the game afterwards before the video cut out.

Jaybird44, any further thoughts?

[jaybird44]

Some early transition baskets from Wash-U put the Titans on their heels...many perceive the Bears as a proficient half-court offense that doesn't do a lot of looking for fast-break opportunities.  But, Kucera and Knupp don't hesitate to push the ball up the floor quickly if there is an advantage.

David Schmelter has raised his game in the last 2-3 weeks.  Early in the season he was a 7-and-7 man of points and rebounds per game.  He now has had a few double-doubles to enjoy, and his rebound average per game is now at 9 and change. 

Teams are trying 2-3 zone defenses to offset Wash-U's early-season prowess from 3-point range...but as long as the Bears move well without the ball, the constant screening action will eventually find open shooters in good spots to shoot.

A dangerous team to face, but there are others as well that are talented.  Including Illinois Wesleyan.  I expect the Titans to recover from the loss and play well at Chicago.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

That finally looked like the WashU team I was expecting coming into the season.  If they can keep that level of play up, they're a title contender.

[deiscanton]

I have been reading the CCIW men's basketball forum, and the subject of video paywalls caught my attention.

Currently, 2 UAA schools use video paywalls.  Emory charges a nominal fee if you want to watch their Boxcast video stream in high definition.  There is no charge for watching the Boxcast stream in standard definition video.  I watched the Emory v Guilford game using the standard def video option on my Fire tablet.  I found the resolution to be quite acceptable for my uses.

Rochester's video paywall is more extreme.  Rochester charges $6.95 for 1 day's use of their video paywall, or $10.95 per month on a monthly subscription, if you want to watch video of their games.  I listen to JC DeLass and the WYSL internet audio feed for Rochester coverage whenever I can do it.

I see Division 1 schools charge to watch video of their games and it is just as irritating for me to have to deal with it as it is when I have to watch a d3 school use a paywall for video content.

It is one thing to charge a fee if you want to watch a game in person and have that gate fee subsidize the video content.  It is quite another thing to charge for live streaming.

[deiscanton]

Wash U has just been honored by the NABC as its DIII Men's Basketball Team of the Week for games played Dec. 11-17, 2017.  Congrats to the Bears on receiving this honor.

[deiscanton]

Summary of honors given to UAA players for games played December 11-17, 2017:

Jake Fenlon, Chicago-- UAA Player of the Week

Jack Nolan, Wash U-- D3Hoops.com Team of the Week

[deiscanton]

Chicago lost to Illinois Wesleyan today.  The Titans won 76-65 over the Maroons to go to 1-1 vs UAA teams with Emory to follow on December 28.

For Chicago, Jake Fenlon was held scoreless in the first half, and finished with 5 pts for the game before fouling out without making a 3 pointer today.

Noah Karras led Chicago off the bench with 18 pts, while Colin Barthel had a double-double with 13 pts and 13 rebounds.

Brady Rose led Illinois Wesleyan with 25 pts on 8-18 shooting from the field, 5-9 from 3 pt land, and 4-4 from the line.

Zach Knoblauch had 11 pts for the Titans, and Jayden Beasley had 9 rebounds to lead Illinois Wesleyan in that department.

UAA men's basketball now takes the holiday break until Thursday, December 28, when Emory hosts Illinois Wesleyan.

Season's Greetings!

[deiscanton]

UAA Rookies to watch--

Scoring

1.). Romin Williams, Emory, 16.6 ppg, 25.45 points per 40 min.
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis, 13.3 ppg, 18.46 points per 40 min.
3.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case, 10.9 ppg, 19.88 points per 40 min.
4.). Antonio Ionadi, Case, 10.6 ppg, 16.19 points per 40 min.
5.). Jack Nolan, Wash U, 10.1 ppg, 21.04 points per 40 min.

Also to watch in scoring--

Matt Davet, Emory, 8.0 ppg, 25.85 points per 40 min (64 pts scored in 99 min of action this season.)

Rebounding

1.). Chandler Jones, Brandeis, 4 RPG, 32 rebounds on season.
1.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis, 4 RPG, 32 rebounds on season.
3.). Romin Williams, Emory, 3.8 RPG, 30 rebounds on season.
4.)  Bobby Hawkinson, NYU, 3.6 rpg, 29 rebounds on season.
5.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case, 3.6 RPG, 29 rebounds on season.

Assists

1.). Romin Williams, Emory, 4.5 APG, 36 assists this season
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis, 3.9 APG, 31 assists this season
3.). Antonio Ionadi, Case, 2.1 APG, 17 assists this season
4.). Zach Watson, Carnegie Mellon, 2 APG, 14 assists this season
5.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case, 1.6 APG, 13 assists this season

Steals

1.). Romin Williams, Emory, 1.8 spg, 14 steals this season
2.). Lawrence Sabir, Brandeis, 1.6 spg, 13 steals this season
3.) Jack Nolan, Wash U, 1 spg, 9 steals this season
4.). Ignas Masiulionis, Case, 1 spg, 8 steals this season
5.). Zach Watson, Carnegie Mellon, 0.9 spg, 6 steals this season.
5.) Antonio Ionadi, Case, 0.8 spg, 6 steals this season.