MBB: University Athletic Association

[howardjp]

Beware the fouls --

Coppens, Hollins, Yemga, Hainje, Pancratz all w/3 w/ about 9 min left

[theBroadcaster]

I'm amazed at how many brandeis fans it sounds like are in chicago right now.  Also, its amazing how close every single brandeis game is against good teams.  You can almost sign off beforehand that it will be a one possession game with 2 min. left

[howardjp]

Hollins and Yemga now have 4 fouls, 1 pt game, 'Deis

Amazing! Hainje hits a 3, then Coppens!  How good is this?

[howardjp]

uh-oh Chicago by 4

earth to Olson and Roberson .. 4-19? pick it up dudes ..

Hill makes it a two pt game, 1:47 left, grey hair anyone?

in fairness, Pancratz is 2-10 as well ...

30 sec left, Coppens misses a 3, Hollins fouls out, down 3

12 sec, more missed 3's, Coppens and Olson, that's that ... congrats to Chicago, came up clutch down the stretch.

[theBroadcaster]

74-66.  Tough loss for the Judges.  They really shot poorly today and their bigs were quiet late.  Even so, they still had a shot late.  Pool C it is for Brandeis.  I think they're in regardless, but they better beat NYU and get to 20 wins just to be safe.  Now my question is, will that be enough to host a first/second round regional?  And now that we know Brandeis won't win the UAA, is hosting a potential sweet 16/elite 8 round completely out of the question (assuming an Amherst gets there)?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I think Brandeis has a tough arguement over Amherst and UMass-Dartmouth for that hosting chance - based on regional records and all!

[old_hooper]

That would be a a real long shot for deis to host the sectional even with the win over Amherst.  If that were true, a strong case could be made for UMD.  You would have to think that the Judges have a good shot at hosting first and second round games.  Also think that UMD will have that possibiliy also.  

[deiscanton]

Today's attendance at Ratner Center for the men's game was 355.

I figure that the Brandeis alumni in Chicago turned out for the doubleheader, so Brandeis will probably have the majority of the fan support at Ratner for today.  Chicago students usually don't show up for Sunday games unfortunately.

Tough loss for the Judges, but the Brandeis men locked up a Pool C invite with the victory Friday night.  A win next Saturday will do wonders to secure hosting rights for the first weekend.  Since 2008 is an even year, should a school get both men's and women's basketball teams into the NCAA tournament, and both teams are picked to host regional games, the men get priority to host on the first weekend, with the women getting priority to host sectionals-- so as to avoid conflict.

I don't think that Brandeis will host a sectional this year either-- it will be just first and second round games at the most. 

[Marty Peretz]

Wash.U. wins by 9 over NYU. Violets gave the Bears fits in the first half with their slow-it-down, very methodical offense, but Ruths and Nading take over in the second half before 1000+ (a nice number for a Sunday game) in STL. And, for the second year in a row, Wash.U. will take on Chicago for the UAA title. This time it's in the windy city, but don't be surprised if Wash.U. fans outnumber the home team's supporters. WUSTL has a number of Chicago area guys on its roster and a sizable student contingent is expected to make the trip...should be a great game.

[Hugenerd]

Although this wasnt in any of the "significant" games this weekend, Greg Gonzalez had himself two monster games.  Against Emory he had 23 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals, and then against CWRU he had 12 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists and a block.  For the weekend he averaged 17.5 ppg, 17.5 rbg, 2.5 bpg, 1.5 spg, and 2.5 apg.

[Gregory Sager]

But a school to be picked on is Trinity.  Their endowment is $1.8 billion - for 1,800 students and no research programs.  And they are in the middle of a fundraising drive.  They spend over $100,000 per year per student.

Which Trinity, Martin? The one in Texas, or the one in Connecticut?

[Gregory Sager]

You have to hand it to the Maroons. Nobody gave them any chance at all this season, as the consensus in here seemed to be that Chicago was most likely looking at a fourth- or fifth-place UAA finish. I was no exception; I saw the Maroons scrimmage before the season started, and I figured them for about 17-8, 8-6. While I'm close to what will be their final regular-season record, I was another one of the people who underestimated how the Maroons would fare in the UAA. I just didn't think that Mike McGrath would be able to replace all of the perimeter firepower he lost to graduation.

Nate Hainje's been the star, of course, but Jake Pancratz and Matt Corning have both had extremely solid seasons, particularly in UAA play, and Adam Machones is really coming on as well. The big men have been just good enough to hold their own, but the triple threat of Hainje, Pancratz, and Corning on the perimeter -- combined with a very smooth-running offense -- has been enough for the Maroons to eke out one UAA win after another.

Kudos to Coach McGrath and his Maroons on a very successful two months' worth of surpassing expectations, regardless of how next Saturday's showdown with Wash U turns out.

[howardjp]

74-66.  Tough loss for the Judges.  They really shot poorly today and their bigs were quiet late.  Even so, they still had a shot late.  Pool C it is for Brandeis.  I think they're in regardless, but they better beat NYU and get to 20 wins just to be safe.  Now my question is, will that be enough to host a first/second round regional?  And now that we know Brandeis won't win the UAA, is hosting a potential sweet 16/elite 8 round completely out of the question (assuming an Amherst gets there)?

20 wins would indeed be a great accomplishment during the regular season, ever been done before?  Maybe the Harrigan/Martin teams of the late 70's, I think the Perry/Fahey/Williams teams before them topped out at 17-18 (tougher schedules then too ....).  With the long dry spell, can't think of any others, maybe some of the early teams.

[mark_reichert]

BTW, I was at the WashU/NYU game and it was great seeing Ruths score his Senior Day basket as a dunk right in front of me.  NYU had pulled within seven which gave them a very small chance, but a long inbound pass found Ruths wide open and he sprinted to the basket where he made a two hand dunk, signifying that the game was definitely all but over.  The crowd went wild.

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/mensbball/GAME24.HTM

[ILive4This]

The Wash U box is one of the most lopsided affairs I have ever seen, but I mean they got it done. 31 for Ruths, 17 for Nading, only 2 other players with more than 1 point