Dan DaranciangThe Washington University men’s basketball team lost what turned out to be its season finale Saturday 67-57 at the hands of the University of Chicago. Head coach Mark Edwards felt that the Bears deserved an NCAA tournament bid regardless of Saturday’s outcome, but the squad was not included among the small list of at-large tournament bids when selections were released late Sunday night.
The loss and subsequent exclusion from the tournament brought what had been an otherwise exciting season to an abrupt end. The Bears had previously been riding high, having just won three in a row, including two on a grueling road trip last weekend to Brandeis University and New York University. On Saturday, though, the host Maroons held star University guard and second leading scorer, senior Scott Stone, in complete check, and Chicago was able to prevent the Bears’ generally reliable perimeter game from fully coming to fruition. The University hit just six of their 24 attempts from beyond the arch and was unable to thoroughly take advantage of its superior post play. The team shot 35 percent from the floor, as the offense remained stagnant for much of the afternoon.
The hosts opened the second half on a 12-4 scoring run, expanding its halftime lead of four to 12 and holding on the rest of the way to upset the Bears, who end their season at 17-8 overall and 9-5 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. Chicago shot 23-of-28 from the foul line, denying the possibility of a comeback. Once the Maroons opened the half on the aforementioned run, Chicago never allowed the Bears to cut the lead to closer than eight points.
Senior center Mike Grunst was one of the few bright spots for the University on this otherwise disappointing day. He finished with 16 points in just 22 minutes of action. Sophomore star Troy Ruths, who on Tuesday was named a first team all-UAA conference selection, finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Stone, who was named to the league’s second team, recorded six assists in his final collegiate contest.
Joining Ruths and Stone with all-conference honors was freshman standout Tyler Nading. The freshman guard was named the UAA Rookie of the Year, as well as also an honorable mention all-league selection.
The Bears finished the season as UAA runners-up to league champion Carnegie Mellon. Next season promises to be another enjoyable one, as the Bears return three starters and a host of talented freshmen to a team that was probably one victory short of making an NCAA tournament appearance for the first time since 2003.
Saturday was indicative of the team’s weakness throughout the season: a failure to win key road games. Of the team’s eight losses, four came on the road against league opponents. They finished below .500 on the road in conference contests (3-4), a factor that may have added increased skepticism to a selection committee that was assessing the University’s overall portfolio against the backdrop of a region which almost certainly had the most quality teams of any in the country.