The New York University men's and women's basketball teams have big tests ahead of them in their first University Athletic Association (UAA) road trip of the season this weekend.
The Violet men and women will travel to the University of Chicago on Friday night and Washington University on Sunday afternoon. Historically, the trip has been one of the most difficult for all UAA teams. Only four times on the men's side and four times on the women's side has a UAA squad swept the Midwest trip in a season.
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UAA Midwest Sweeps
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Men |
Women |
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Emory (2010-11) |
NYU (2005-06) |
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Brandeis (2009-10) |
Brandeis (2004-05) |
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Carnegie Mellon (2004-05) |
NYU (2003-04) |
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Rochester (1991-92) |
NYU (1996-97) |
The NYU men (12-1, 2-1) will be playing their first games since entering the national rankings. The Violets are ranked #23 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and already own wins over the two preseason favorites in the UAA, #8 Emory University and the University of Rochester.
To stay in the rankings and near the top of the UAA, NYU will look to beat a Chicago team that is also 2-1 in UAA play (9-5 overall) and a Washington squad that is the lone team still unbeaten in UAA play at 3-0 (11-3 overall and receiving votes the D3hoops.com poll).
In the past, NYU has struggled at both schools. The Violets have dropped 15 of their last 16 at Chicago, with their lone win during that stretch coming in 2005-06. At Washington, meanwhile, NYU has won just once, in 2004-05. Overall, the squad is 1-24 all-time on the Bears' home court.
On the women's side, the Violets (9-5, 1-2) will face two teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Defending UAA Champion Chicago is #2 in both the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and the
USA Today/ESPN rankings, while Washington, last season's National Runner-Up, is #7 in the former and #9 in the latter.
NYU will be looking to bounce back from a tough weekend in which it went 0-2 at home, losing to both Emory University and fifth-ranked University of Rochester. In the UAA, the Violets sit at 1-2 and tied for fifth place. Chicago and Rochester are the lone unbeatens at 3-0, as the Maroons (14-0, 3-0) nipped the Bears (12-2, 2-1) by three on the opening day of UAA play.
Beating either or both squads will be no easy task. Chicago has won 32 straight regular-season games dating back to last season, the longest streak in Division III. The Maroons have also won 18 straight at home, including their last two against NYU, as well as 17 straight UAA contests. Chicago is currently one of six undefeated teams left in Division III.
Washington boasts the lone victory over Chicago since beginning their regular-season streak, as the Bears defeated the Maroons in the “Elite Eight” of last year's NCAA Tournament. Washington has lost just seven times at home in UAA play – with three of those defeats coming at the hands of NYU. However, the Violets have lost five straight in St. Louis and their last nine contests overall against the Bears dating back to a meeting in the 2006-07 NCAA “Final Four.”
The women tip-off is at 6:00 pm central standard time at Chicago on Friday, followed by the men at 8:00 pm cst. On Sunday, the men play first at noon central time, followed by the women at 2:00 pm. Live stats and video links for all of the weekend's action are available below:
Live stats for games at Chicago
Live video for games at Chicago
Live stats for games at Washington
Live video for games at Washington
