MBB: University Athletic Association

[Caz Bombers]

they had no scheduled events until December 30 anyway, even if they end up calling off an OOC game or two it's pretty low impact at this time.

[WUPHF]

I am not sure what to think when an institution that has a 99% vaccination rate decides they need to close.  On the one hand, it is easy to do with finals at hand an students moving home so I agree on the impact.  On the other, this does raise the question of when does it end. 

[deiscanton]

I am not sure what to think when an institution that has a 99% vaccination rate decides they need to close.  On the one hand, it is easy to do with finals at hand an students moving home so I agree on the impact.  On the other, this does raise the question of when does it end.

I am thinking that this outbreak is a result of the Omicron variant (although NYU has not confirmed at this time that this outbreak is Omicron related), in which cases just having 2 doses without a booster will not protect you sufficiently.  New York City is a huge transmission area for this variant to really spread among the general population as a whole, not just NYU.  Just a few weeks ago, a major anime convention in New York City was found to be a cause of the Omicron variant spreading. 

But in the meantime, NYU students are being asked to eat outdoors (if they must eat on campus) whenever possible and have all study groups meet remotely on Zoom as of today, among other immediate steps to take.

Before today, I had a question of where NYU basketball was going to play their home UAA games, as it did not look like the Hunter College Sportsplex would be available for NYU UAA home games this season due to the COVID-19 situation.  It really did not matter as to personal attendance, as visiting fans (including NYU alumni) cannot attend NYU indoor athletic events in person at this moment-- and that was before the events of today.

[WUPHF]

I probably should inoculate the boards from my opinions on the matter because I have posted more on Covid-19 than all other posters combined, but the doctors have come out and said that Omicron appears to be significantly less dangerous than the Delta variant.

I guess we will see as the weather gets colder around the country and more and more people head inside.

I have had a lot of students I work with get Covid-19 and the only one I know of who had anything other than cold-like symptoms and the loss of taste and smell is third-hand, a reference here on the boards actually.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I probably should inoculate the boards from my opinions on the matter because I have posted more on Covid-19 than all other posters combined, but the doctors have come out and said that Omicron appears to be significantly less dangerous than the Delta variant.

I guess we will see as the weather gets colder around the country and more and more people head inside.

I have had a lot of students I work with get Covid-19 and the only one I know of who had anything other than cold-like symptoms and the loss of taste and smell is third-hand, a reference here on the boards actually.

More transmissible and less severe, which could pose trouble come Spring.  Hopefully we won't have too many asymptomatic positives sitting at home watching their teams play games.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The closer we get to the New Year, the more DIII teams are into the season grind. Though, we also hit a time when some teams are not playing for a few weeks while others scatter games around the holidays.

On Thursday's Hoopsville, Dave McHugh chats with several teams that are making headlines with terrific starts or dominating performances. Tune in as we talk to several men's and women's programs that fit the bill around the country.

You can watch the show LIVE (or on demand) here: https://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2021-22/dec16 or http://www.d3hoops.com/x/fh5lq

We are also simulcasting on our Facebook Live page (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville) AND tonight on our YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/Hoopsville)

Guests include (order subject to change):
- Naomi Graves, No. 25 Springfield women's coach
- Pat Juckem, No. 15 WashU men's coach
- Scott Bittner, Stockton men's coach
- Bill Broderick, No. 6 Christopher Newport women's coach

Hoopsville is hosted by Dave McHugh from the the NABC Studio. It is presented by D3hoops.com and thanks to our partner WBCA. All guests are featured on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline.

If you have questions, ideas, or want to interact with the show, feel free to send them to hoopsville@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options available.

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville


 
   
We also have the podcast now on Tune-In and others coming. We will update them once we have better abilities to do so.

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Video Portal (and archives): www.team1sports.com/Hoopsville
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[deiscanton]

I watched the Pat Juckem interview on Hoopsville last night, and I am looking forward to watching Sunday's Illinois Wesleyan at Wash U game.

Unfortunately, Dave McHugh's audio was out when he was asking most of the questions, although Coach Juckem's audio was on when he gave the answers.

I was wondering if there is a written transcript of the questions that Dave asked to Coach Juckem from the interview.  I do notice that Dave occasionally seems to type on his keyboard (or at least the sound of typing is occuring) when the answers are being given.

On another note, I do agree with Dave's opinion expressed at the end of the show that we could be headed into a rough January (and February) basketball wise.

Just before NYU suspended all athletic activity for an indefinite time this week, the university ordered all students eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot to upload proof of a booster vaccination by January 18, 2022.  However, the first 3 scheduled UAA conference basketball games would be played by then if this was a pre-pandemic season.

NYU basketball is supposed to play at Brandeis Saturday, January 8, 2022, and then is supposed to host Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon on Friday, Jan. 14, and Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, respectively.  The athletics suspension puts these dates up in the air as to when (or if) these games will be played.

On a third note, the Brandeis Alumni Club of Greater Boston scheduled all 3 Sunday home Brandeis UAA games (CWRU, Rochester, and Wash U) this season as Alumni/Family Basketball Days, where they are encouraging local Brandeis alumni to personally attend and cheer on the Judges.  I believe that the alumni club is noticing that the local Brandeis alumni are preferring this season to stay at home for most games and are watching Brandeis on streaming TV, so instead of just 1 Sunday this season, the club has scheduled all 3 Sundays as alumni events.  Naturally, each attendee would have to fill out a Daily Health Assessment form on-line prior to coming to campus, so that Brandeis would be able to have that info for contact tracing.  The form does ask if the visitor has been fully vaccinated, although they do not yet have a booster shot question.  While I did RSVP for all 3 Sundays, I am reserving my right to cancel last minute depending on local conditions.  Yesterday, the state DPH reported that my hometown just had a 2 week positive test rate of 5.38% for COVID-19 over the past 2 weeks, so even under the old Massachusetts standards, my hometown of approx 24,000 residents is now in the red for high COVID-19 community transmission. 

[WUPHF]

Just before NYU suspended all athletic activity for an indefinite time this week, the university ordered all students eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot to upload proof of a booster vaccination by January 18, 2022.  However, the first 3 scheduled UAA conference basketball games would be played by then if this was a pre-pandemic season.

NYU basketball is supposed to play at Brandeis Saturday, January 8, 2022, and then is supposed to host Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon on Friday, Jan. 14, and Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, respectively.  The athletics suspension puts these dates up in the air as to when (or if) these games will be played.

I think the Fall season cancellations and infection rate models pointed to the potential for a rough January and February.  This should not be a surprise to anyone.

There is no reason to assume that are arbitrary deadline for obtaining the vaccine booster should affect the NYU games. 

[deiscanton]

Watching CWRU vs Kalamazoo right now, live stream from Horsburgh Gymnasium-- Ron Jantz PxP, only commentator today.

1.)  Understandable slow start for the Spartans-- CWRU just resumed practicing on Wednesday, so they had only 2 days to prepare for this one. (as relayed by Ron Jantz).

2.) I always love watching a Princeton offense with the trademark backdoor cuts, which is what Kzoo runs.

3.)  Cole Frilling the sharpest CWRU player so far today.

4.)  Coach Todd McGuinnesses's goal for the Spartans in the next 2 games (as Ron Jantz relayed to the streaming audience)-- Play better defense, and cut down on the turnovers.

[deiscanton]

Halftime:

CWRU 45, Kalamazoo 37

For CWRU--

Cole Frilling-- 11 points, 1 rebound, 2 fouls.

Griffin Kornaker-- 9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists

Robert Faller-- 6 points, 3 rebounds

For Kalamazoo--

Josh Decker-- 11 points, 1 rebound

DJ Courtney-- 10 points, 4 rebounds

Gabriel Sharp-- 7 points

Addison Atwater has 4 assists for the Hornets.

Kzoo shooting 50% from the field (14-28), 46.7% from 3 pt land (7-15), and 66.7% from the FT line (2-3).

CWRU shooting 52.9% from the field (18-34), 27.8% from 3 pt land (5-18) and 57.1% from the FT line (4-7)

Each team has 9 turnovers a piece.

Kzoo made 14 points off turnovers, while CWRU made 12 points off turnovers.

CWRU outrebounding Kzoo, 22-10, 8-1 off the offensive glass.

Kzoo has 9 assists to CWRU's 8 assists.

CWRU leading in blocks, 2-0, and in steals, 6-3.

CWRU leading in bench points, 15-10.

CWRU leading in second chance points, 10-0.

[deiscanton]

Final--

CWRU 94, Kalamazoo 74.   Spartans pulled away late in the game.  CWRU improves to 9-1.

9 wins in a row for the Spartans-- program best in the DIII modern era.   CWRU school record is 10 wins in a row set in the 1971-72 season.

Next Spartans game-- at Hilbert, Monday, January 3, 2022.

Kalamazoo held to 44.3% shooting for the game, and CWRU only committed 12 turnovers-- only 3 turnovers for the Spartans in the second half. 

For CWRU--

Cole Frilling-- 25 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Robert Faller-- 16 points, 6 rebounds

Griffin Kornaker-- 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

For Kalamazoo--

DJ Courtney-- 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Gabriel Sharp--14 points, 3 rebounds

Josh Decker-- 11 points

Addison Atwater-- 5 assists

[WUPHF]

It looks like the biggest game in the first weekend of UAA play will be Case Western Reserve at Carnegie Mellon. I don't think anyone could have predicted that.

[WUPHF]

Last Massey Update

Washington University  No 26
Case Western Reserve  No 33
Brandeis  No 34
Emory  No 44
Rochester  No 47
Carnegie Mellon  No 50
NYU  No 84
Chicago  No 87

Current Massey (updated Saturday night)

Washington University  No 20
Carnegie Mellon  No 26
Emory  No 35
Case Western Reserve  No 36
Brandeis  No 42
Rochester  No 56
Chicago  No 83
NYU  No 90

Is it possible that Carnegie Mellon is the second best team in the league?  The answer is yes.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

There's a legitimate chance that 7 UAA teams could be in the regional rankings this year.  If Chicago gets a few good conference wins, they might sneak in as well.  Would be pretty crazy to have an entire league schedule count as vRRO games.

[WUPHF]

I have to see NYU before I believe they can do anything in the UAA, but who knows? The Violets are of course the only team to close down due to Covid-19 protocols. They do still have Salibury on the schedule so fingers crossed.