D3 vs. D1/D2/NAIA/NCCAA

[Titan Q]

The NAIA D2 tourney field...

http://naia.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl-div2/spec-rel/030806aal.html

Again, a few crossover games I recall...


Warner Pacific 100
@Puget Sound 93
(Nov. 25)

Cornerstone 87
Calvin 79
(Nov. 25, neutral)

Hope 79
Cornerstone 59
(Nov. 26, neutral)


Any others?

[Ralph Turner]

NAIA D-1

LSU-Shreveport (25-3)  (Gulf South AC Champion)   90 
at ETBU (14-12/14-9 reg /14-8 conf--ASC-East Div)  87
Nov 22nd.

[Titan Q]

Ralph, I was just referring to NAIA/NCAA tournament team "crossover."  Sorry for the confusion.

[dren]

The NAIA D2 tourney field...

http://naia.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl-div2/spec-rel/030806aal.html

Again, a few crossover games I recall...


Warner Pacific 100
@Puget Sound 93
(Nov. 25)

Cornerstone 87
Calvin 79
(Nov. 25, neutral)

Hope 79
Cornerstone 59
(Nov. 26, neutral)


Any others?

at Hope 82
Aquinas 75
Dec 10, 2005

Hope 67
Aquinas 66
Nov 25, 2005, neutral

Calvin 71
Aquinas 86
Nov 26, 2005, neutral

Calvin 69
at Aquinas 52 
Dec 6, 2005

[Ralph Turner]

Aw shucks!  I was going to add that D-1 Southland Conference Regular Season Champion Northwestern St Demons only defeated ETBU 77-74 in the Lions opener in Natchitoches, LA (Na" chi tosh') on Nov 22nd.

The Southland Conference tourney finishes this week.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

And Northwestern State has a pretty decent team too.

[smedindy]

Yep, I think NW State could be a thorn in the side of some major team in the NCAA D-1 tourney!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

They were quite impressive in the non-conference season.  Hopefully their poor conference opponents haven't ruined their ability to play at a higher level (much like Gonzaga's do every year).

[smedindy]

Well, last year St. Mary's was good enough to get a second bid from the WCC. So I don't blame Gonzaga's issues on their conference, just the inherent flaws of the team itself.

And Sam Houston State also had a good run in the pre-season NIT, so they're not a pushover.

The teams that will have issues because of their conference are GW and Memphis, IMHO.

Anyway...it's not unlike what we have here at times in D-3 land. The SOS of Mississippi College was horrid, in comparison, because their half of the ASC isn't as strong as the other half. Could that affect them this weekend?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Actually that game should be interesting.  MC likes to run 12 guys in there in near equal time.  I'm not sure Tranny has had much of a chance to play against a deep team like that.  That would be one great game to watch.  Well, I guess Hope-Wittenberg would be pretty good too.  With all the talk about the Midwest Sectional, people are overlooking two pretty good games at Wittenberg this weekend.

[Ralph Turner]

Well, last year St. Mary's was good enough to get a second bid from the WCC. So I don't blame Gonzaga's issues on their conference, just the inherent flaws of the team itself.

And Sam Houston State also had a good run in the pre-season NIT, so they're not a pushover.

The teams that will have issues because of their conference are GW and Memphis, IMHO.

Anyway...it's not unlike what we have here at times in D-3 land. The SOS of Mississippi College was horrid, in comparison, because their half of the ASC isn't as strong as the other half. Could that affect them this weekend?

Smed and Hoops fan, thanks for the consideration that you are giving the ASC.

Texas Lutheran (7-17/6-16) defeated Norwich (21-8/13-5) on a neutral floor.  No great shakes. but definitely a win.
Norwich made the tourney and lost to SJF in the 2nd round.

http://www.d3hoops.com/school_info.php?school=Norwich&team=m&year=2006

The ASC is so isolated that the conference has decided to play a 22-game schedule to ensure a generous number of South Region games.  Therefore, we don't have the chance to boost the records on SLIAC's or NIIC's or AMCC's or NEAC's.  Trinity and Southwestern are very selective in their scheduling, and UDallas rarely schedules ASC teams.  There are weak teams, but the teams are not as weak as one might suggest, simply because the ASC is a closed system.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm curious, Ralph -- have any ASC members attempted to emulate the SCIAC by attracting D3 snowbirds in November and December? If the weather's nice in Texas at that time of year (and I realize it's a big state, so the weather in north Texas isn't necessarily the same as the weather in south Texas) it strikes me as a cheaper alternative than southern California for D3 teams looking to make a warm-weather trip. The games wouldn't count in terms of regional play, of course, but they'd at least create some secondary-criteria possibilities and would raise the national profile of the ASC on the D3 radar.

I'm thinking of the classic-format tourney that Trinity (TX) and Southwestern have been co-hosting over the past few seasons. It seems to be working very nicely.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The ASC is so isolated that the conference has decided to play a 22-game schedule to ensure a generous number of South Region games.  Therefore, we don't have the chance to boost the records on SLIAC's or NIIC's or AMCC's or NEAC's.  Trinity and Southwestern are very selective in their scheduling, and UDallas rarely schedules ASC teams.  There are weak teams, but the teams are not as weak as one might suggest, simply because the ASC is a closed system.

That's true.  It's hard to get a competitive regional record if you're .600 in conference without much chance at other in-region competition.

[Ralph Turner]

Greg, the migration of AC to the SCAC does help with the availability of games.  The East will have 20 games among conference teams; the West 21 in 2006-07.

The East might be able to schedule two tourneys or classics, but travel is not as convenient as flying into San Antonio or Austin.  UT-Tyler is 2 hours from DFW; everyone else except UT-Dallas is farther.

Actually what might help us more is the Holiday in-region legislation.  The ASC is much closer to the Midwest, West and even Great Lakes regions, than to the ODAC and USAC.

I actually prefer that McMurry actually travel to the tourneys.

In 2003-04, the ASC-West so much better than the ASC-East, that the net effect was to boost the QOWI by 0.57 points.  That is a great boost.  Unfortunately, there were so few Pool C bids.

Practically speaking, MissColl was better than anyone else.  UMHB might have been that good, but an All-ASC senior point guard failed to make grades in the Fall Semester.  That might have given a second team as a Pool C.  Otherwise, the ASC just tends to WIAC/CCIW itself out of contention for Pool C bids on the men's side.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Otherwise, the ASC just tends to WIAC/CCIW itself out of contention for Pool C bids on the men's side.

And, like I said, they don't have the chance to up the QOWI numbers with non-conference opponents (ala IWU).


I think the holiday in-region thing is a great idea, which means the NCAA will never go for it.  You'll have to come up with something else Ralph.