Bumblin' B's

[Mr. Ypsi]

David,

Understood!  And you raise a good question: my rantings probably contribute to my ill-being (new term; mark it down!); but since they apparently are read by MORE than one person (2? 7? 27? millions?), am I lowering the cumulative IQ of the country by a measurable amount?

[Pat Coleman]

Pat,

I already spend an unhealthy amount of time on d3sports. com - you want me to research too!

Since you can be there in three clicks, then yes. We put a tremendous amount of effort into compliling the resources this site has to offer. We are not just a message board.

[njlincolnlion]

Now the season gets interesting for Lincoln.  The Lions play at Baptist Bible tonight, and then the "Rubber Hits the Road" literally and figuratively", with R-MC and St. John Fisher or Lake Erie in Ashland VA on 12/18 &12/19.  The Lions travel to Myrtle Beach SC to take on Christopher Newport and Greensboro on 12/20 & 21/21.

Hopefully Lincoln's conditioning will help the Lions pull out much needed wins during this "suicide stretch".  I'm hoping the loss to Wilkes will refocus the Lions to play with more intensity.

[Coach C]

NJLincolnLion -

How about some predictions?

I will tell you that I think that a 4-1 in those 5 games GUARANTEES a Pool B slot for Lincoln.  3-2 is more likely with a 2-3 still keeping the Lions in the mix.

C

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

From what I've seen this year, I would put Lincoln as the favorite in all of those games with the possible exception of R-MC.  Obviously, throwing them all into such a short span of time makes things tougher, but I think they can perform very well.  The NIIC schools are not playing up to par, so there may actually be room for Lincoln and Maryville to both get B spots.  They need to beat Greensboro, Baptist Bible and probably Newport to be successful.  If they can pull out at least one win this weekend, I think they have a spot locked up... although in d3 nothing is certain, no matter how locked in it seems.

[njlincolnlion]

Coach C:

I'm predicting Lincoln will go 4 -1......but obviously hoping for a 5-0 record   .  The first tourney is gonna be a killer with 3 top 25 teams and the fourth team Lake Erie with just one loss.

Hopefully, the OT loss to Wilkes last night will have the Lions focused and play like they have a chip on their shoulders, and win for the "Dear Old Orange & Blue".

[Coach C]

Wilkes is a tough place to play any year.  It's a long trip,  it's a loud place , and the officiating is always interesting. 

OT losses can do one of two things to a team.  Let's see what happens!

C

[njlincolnlion]

Coach C:

I hope the OT helps in Lincoln's case.   

[joe smith]

   Bethany is in a world of hurt right now losing this past weekend to Lake Erie by 15.  They fell to 5-4 and now that's 4 region losses already even before going into conference play.  Even though the conference is at an all time low, you can always expect to get upset at least once or twice.  Other B teams have to do pretty bad for this team to be reconsidered again, or win the next 16 games and conference tourny. (realistic goal......maybe.  the only tough game i see ahead of them is Muskingum) 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

With only three B spots open, I have to believe the front runners right now are :

Lincoln
Maryville
Benedictine


I guess Fisk still has to be considered until they play d3 competition.  Bethany's losses have been to good teams for the most part, so they aren't out yet.  There is a decent chance NebWes could be 7-0 against d3 competition (maybe even picking up another two wins in an indy tournament at the end of the year).  They have declared d3 this year, so I'm not sure how that would affect their chances.  Chapman is doing well early, as well, with 14 d3 games on the schedule, they could be a factor if they play well.

But, barring some unforeseen circumstances, I think Lincoln and Maryville are pretty solid.

[fritzdis]

Does anyone know whether the NCAA will count Lincoln's games with Randolph-Macon as regional games?  The various map/directions sites list them just under or right at 200 miles apart.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Someone with the official Streets & Trips will have to be the final word.  The Lincoln win over R-MC earlier this year wasn't marked as an in-region game for either team on d3hoops.com.  However, I've used msn maps (the basic software package on microsoft streets and trips) and under the shortest distance option I can see how it could be more than 190 miles between them.

[Pat Coleman]

I'm pretty sure we checked those with Streets and Trips when we put the games on the schedule.

[Ralph Turner]

There are 4 bids allocated to Pool B schools this year.  I will start the "bubble" teams after I have projected my picks as "close-to-a-lock".

[joe smith]

Bethany beats LaRoche tonight 75-67 to improve to 6-4 and 3-4 in the region.  They'll be off now for x-mas break.