The University of Chicago men’s varsity basketball team (15–9, 7–6 UAA) went 2–0 this weekend, completing season sweeps of both UAA opponents Brandeis and NYU. The big story of the weekend, however, wassecond-year guard Noah Karras setting a new school record for threes made in a season. Karras poured in eight more three-pointers this weekend to bring his season total to 74. This is the second record Karras has broken this year after he set the single-game record for threes against Case Western Reserve University on February 3.
The weekend started in Bostonas the Maroons traveled to take on Brandeis University (7–15, 3–9 UAA). Despite being down by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Maroons were able to pull out an 82–74 win. Karras shot 7-for-11 behind the arc and had a game-high 25 points, while fourth-year forward Blaine Crawford led the Maroon’s domination of the paint with 22 points and eight rebounds. The Maroons out-rebounded the Judges 30 to 26 and scored 12 more points in the paint.
“I knew I was getting closer to the three-point record but wasn’t sure if I was going to get it this year,” Karras said. “The more important thing is that we beat Brandeis and then NYU. Those are both solid teams, and we were able to win all of our games against them. Now we just have to focus on Wash U and getting them back from last time.”
After Boston, the Maroons travelled to New York City to face the NYU Violets (7–17, 2–11 UAA). Interestingly, the game was played at Pace University, as the Violets are under going construction on their historic gym. The Maroons dominated, jumping out to a double-digit lead before the Violets could even score, thanks to Crawford and third-year guard Jake Fenlon, and winning with a final score of 80–60.
The Maroons played stifling defense, forcing NYU to shoot 33.3 percent from the field and an impressively low 5.3 percent behind the arc. Crawford and third-year forward Collin Barthel both put up double-doubles, and all 14 Maroons who traveled this weekend received playing time, including three first-years.
“It was a good team win; I’m glad we won my last ever Sunday game,” said Crawford, who scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. “Any time we can get that many guys in a game is a good thing. Now we need to beat Wash U this weekend.”
This weekend will be the last game for Crawford, along with fellow fourth-years Tyler Howard, Waller Perez, and Alex Gustafson. The last time these two teams met, Chicago lost due to a goaltending call on Crawford as time expired. The rematch is scheduled for this Saturday afternoon in St. Louis.
