Coming off last year's disappointing 67-65 second-round loss in the NCAA Division III Tournament against Franklin & Marshall College last season, the Brandeis men's basketball team is hoping to revive itself and advance deeper in the NCAA Tournament this season. The team begins the season ranked at No. 22 in Division III, according to D3hoops.com, and hopes to exceed preseason expectations and rise farther toward the top, starting tonight at 7 p.m. at home against Lasell College.

The Judges will rely heavily on their veteran seniors, in particular guards Kenny Small '10 and Andre Roberson '10 in the backcourt, and forwards Terrell Hollins '10 and Rich Magee '10 in the frontcourt, to lead them this year.

"Any team that's going to be good needs seniors, because they've been through it, have experience and have seen everything," coach Brian Meehan said. "The four guys we've got have played a lot of minutes, and here is where those minutes pay dividends."

Meehan also hopes to give a lot of playing time to his fifth senior, guard John Weldon '10, who played 10 games last year coming off of hip surgery.

"He's a whole different kid this year; he's looked great in scrimmage," Meehan said of Weldon.

Unlike other squads, Brandeis does not yet have a set starting five, nor does it have any first-year recruits. Instead, the team will rely on an eight-man rotation of veteran players, most likely consisting of Roberson, Small, Magee, Hollins, Weldon, forwards Christian Yemga '11 and Vytus Kriskus '12 and guard Tyrone Hughes '12. Having consistent rotations among these eight players will be crucial in keeping the team fresh.

"We have all [these] guys who are all [returning players, and] we're going to rely on those eight guys. In all honesty, all eight will have to be key contributors," Meehan said. "They're all going play a lot of minutes, whether they start or not. They're all focused on being possible contributors. We won't have that one or two guys who will lead the team."

The team is optimistic that it can improve upon last year's finish and hopes to incorporate a new style that could benefit its players. Meehan said the squad will focus on playing a faster tempo that he feels caters to his players' strengths.

"I think we are more athletic than last year. We need the game to be played at a quicker pace; we need to force the issue," Meehan said.

Key games this year include hosting No. 25 Amherst College Feb. 9 and battling the defending national champion No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis both at home and on the road as part of conference play. It will be critical, however, for Brandeis to win enough regional games against squads like Amherst, Lasell and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth this season, not only to get into the NCAA Tournament but also to assure home-court advantage in the postseason after losing on the road in the NCAA Tournament last season.

"We need to get those wins that we didn't get last year, especially against teams like Lasell," Meehan said. "If we get those wins, we get into the tourney, and if we get in to the tourney, home court advantage is huge. There is such a big difference playing on the road, where the fans are against you and the refs are from the area. Playing at home is big."

Despite having five seniors on the roster this season, the team did lose a pair of consistent contributors from last year's squad in guard Kevin Olson '09 and forward Steve DeLuca '08, who returned last season as a graduate student to complete his final year of eligibility after missing most of his senior season in 2007 to 2008 with back- and foot-related injuries.

"[Olson] and [DeLuca] had great careers at Brandeis-not a shock there-but every guy eventually leaves," Meehan said. "It gives more guys an opportunity to play and step up."

The team hopes it can at least repeat its success from last season and will strive to better its results from two seasons ago. That season, the team reached the Sectional Finals of the NCAA Tournament, the farthest the men's team has advanced in postseason play in its history.

"We have a small team and a very small margin of error," Meehan said. "We have an opportunity to be very good; we could end up better than last year or [end up] doing exactly what we did last year."

After tonight's home opener, the Judges will host Emerson?College Saturday at 5 p.m. for their second contest of the season.

The Judges will then play their first road game of the season at UMass-Dartmouth Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.