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Brown excited to be in CBI

BY MIKE SZOSTAK
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE – Brown is going to a dance. Not the Big Dance, the NCAA Tournament. And not the Little Dance, the re-tooled N.I.T.

Brown is going to the new dance on the basketball block, the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, and the players are thrilled.

“They’re all really excited, as are the staff and I,” coach Craig Robinson said Sunday night after receiving the good news. “We’re happy to keep playing. We practiced this morning, hoping we’d have another game.”

Brown finished second behind Cornell in the Ivy League, the only Division I conference that does not have a tournament to determine the recipient of the NCAA’s automatic bid. Brown’s RPI in the 104-106 range made it a long shot for the N.I.T., now owned and operated by the NCAA, and Robinson and his players were not disappointed they didn’t make that cut.

“We know how the process works. We’re in the Ivy League, and our RPI and strength of schedule aren’t as strong. We’re just happy there’s another tournament now,” he said. As of 10:45 p.m. Brown's opponent had not been announced.

This will be Brown’s fourth post-season appearance since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939 and third since the Ivy League started in 1956-57. The 1939 Bears lost to Villanova, 42-30, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and the 1986 Ivy League champions fell to Syracuse, 101-52, in the first round of the NCAA. The 2003 team went to the NIT and lost in the first round to Virginia, 89-73.

The Ivy League has never sent more than one team to the NCAA Tournament and has sent only eight to the N.I.T. Brown was the last five years ago.

Brown was counting on several factors to attract attention from either the NIT or the CBI this year. This team posted the school’s best record in the 51 seasons of Ivy League basketball, 19-9, for a winning percentage of .678. Its 11-3 record in the Ivy League was second-best at Brown. The 1974 team that finished 17-9, 11-3, had an overall winning percentage of .653. The 2003 NIT squad was 17-12, 12-2, with a winning percentage of .586. The 2002 team finished 17-10-.629 but did not make a post-season tournament.

This team finished fast, winning 10 of its last 11 games, five on the road. It swept season series from both Penn and Princeton, a first for the Brown program.

This team defeated Eastern Michigan and Northwestern on the road and lost to Michigan by 15 and to Baylor by 10, both on the road. It also lost to Notre Dame by 33 in South Bend.

Three Brown players earned All-Ivy recognition. Seniors Mark McAndrew of Barrington and Damon Huffman made the first team and junior Chris Skrelja the second team.

McAndrew and Huffman composed one of the most dynamic backcourts in the Northeast. McAndrew led the league in scoring (16.5), was fifth in field-goal percentage (.474) and was 10th in rebounding (5.0). Huffman was fifth in scoring (14.9), sixth in field-goal percentage (.472) and second in three-pointers (73).

Skrelja was third in rebounding (6.6) and second in assists (4.04).

Center Matt Mullery led the league in blocked shots (37), and forward Peter Sullivan was one of the best Ivy freshmen.

The Bears gathered last night at Robinson’s house to watch the NCAA Selection Show and have something to eat. “It was one of those times when everyone was quietly hoping we’d get a chance to play,” Robinson said.

They drifted back to their dorms and apartments to prepare for Monday classes and exams, “just in case they were going to be away,” their coach said.

It was a good move, because now they will be away.

mszostak@projo.com / 401-277-7340

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 10:43 PM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Brown basketball in CBI

By MIKE SZOSTAK
Journal Sports Writer

Brown is going to a post-season basketball tournament for the fourth time in school history.

Coach Craig Robinson has accepted an offer to play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. The Bears will go on the road for a first-round game either Tuesday or Wednesday. Robinson was waiting to learn Brown's opponent.

"I'm really happy for these guys. They were playing really well at the end of the season," he said shortly after receiving the call.

The Bears finished with the best record in their Ivy League history, 19-9, and their 11-3 Ivy League record was second-best. They were second to the Ivy champion, Cornell.

Brown's 1939 team played in the first NCAA Tournament. The 1986 team won the Ivy League and played in the NCAA Tournament. The 2003 team finished second in the Ivy League and went to the NIT.

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 9:39 PM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Rams will play in Omaha

The URI basketball team will get to continue its season in Omaha, Neb.

The Rams tonight accepted a bit to play in the Master Card National Invitation Tournament. They will visit Creighton, from the Missouri Valley Conference, Tuesday night in a late game, 10 p.m. eastern time.

Creighton finished fourth in the Missouri Valley with a 10-8 record, 21-10 overall. The Blue Jays played two Atlantic 10 teams early in the season, beating Saint Joseph's 90-84 at home and losing at Xavier, 79-66.

It will be the Rams’ 12th appearance in the NIT. The Rams are 9-12 in the event, including two losses in the 1945 tournament when only eight teams were invited.

The last was in 2004 when the Rams beat Boston University in the Ryan Center, then lost at West Virginia in the second round. URI’s best finish was in 1946 when it was runner-up to Kentucky. That was the year URI legend Ernie Calverley fired ``the shot heard round the world’’ when he drained a 62-footer at the end of regulation against Bowling Green. Rhode Island won in overtime, 89-86.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 8:22 PM to URI Basketball | Permalink | Comments 0