Will Grudzinski News Today

The Bears not only earned a spot in the tournament field, but obtained hosting privileges in the first and second rounds, one of just 16 teams to do so.

The script for the Washington University Men's basketball team has been pretty much the same lately: overcome early struggles, make clutch shots, and leave with a win. That’s the pattern they’ve been following for much of the past season, and it’s one they followed once again in their regular-season finale against the University of Chicago.

After making the flight from Atlanta to upstate New York, the Bears showed up ready to play on Sunday, Feb. 11. From the opening tipoff to the final whistle, the Bears put on a clinic, riding a 15-0 start, a rebounding performance for the history books, and lockdown defense to a 75-61 victory.

The Bears have become used to comebacks in their tight UAA season, but as the clock wound down, they were unable to pull out a win this time. Carnegie Mellon held on for a 79–73 victory. Two days later, on Feb. 4, the Bears’ struggles were compounded by a 74–59 loss to No. 10 Case Western Reserve University.

Sunday’s win against a UAA-leading Case Western squad, along with a win Friday night against the gritty Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, capped off a season-defining weekend for the Bears.

Coming off an OT thriller against the University of Rochester where the Bears barely escaped with a win, it seemed now that the engine pushing their late-game heroics had run out of fuel as WashU headed East for a two game trip against the New York University Violets and Brandeis University Judges.

“We talk about having a next-play mentality… I thought we played some great possessions on defense, our guys just stayed strong, stayed level, they believe in each other, and just found a way,'' Juckem remarked.

In their season-opener against Swarthmore– a team that made it all the way to last year’s final four–the Bears wasted no time asserting their dominance, with juniors Hayden Doyle and Drake Kindsvater guiding the charge.

Images: Check out the colorful Week in Pictures photo gallery for March 5-11, 2022.