Top 25 discussion

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

On almost any night you can expect there is something to talk about in Division III basketball. From upsets to dominating results, when thousands of games are being played there never is a moment that goes by that shouldn't be discussed.

That's what we hope to do on Hoopsville every show.

Sunday night is no different. There are plenty of upsets to discuss along with figuring out just exactly who are the best teams in the country. Sometimes that discussion means talking to those who won, those who lost, and those who are helping determine conference races.

On Sunday's show, Dave talks to several teams who are in the conversation around the country. From a men's team who ended a 72-game conference winnings streak to another men's squad whose undefeated conference run ended. Also, a women's squad who is already having the best season in four years and another being led by a man who has overcome more than most do and trying to lead by examble by staying focused despite his battled with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Dave will also update a few items voted on this week at the NCAA Convention that will affect basketball starting next season.

You can watch Hoopsville live or watch it on Facebook Live (simulcast):  http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan22. If you missed the show live, you can watch the video On Demand in the same manner or listen to or download the podcast (available when the show concludes).

Don't forget to contribute to the new "Hoopsville Mailbag" segment. Email questions you may have to hoopsville@d3hoops.com. Dave will answer them on air tonight or on a future show.

Guests scheduled to appear (in order of appearance):
- Michael Coppolino, Mount St. Mary women's head coach
- Paul Culpo, Castleton men's coach
- Derek James, MacMurray women's coach - WBCA Center Court
- Ryan Kane, Ripon men's coach
- Tom Palombo, Guilford men's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (almost Complete)

Whitman @ George Fox just entered the second half; I'll edit the result in later this evening.

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	612	Tufts	18-0	won at T#34 Babson, 60-46; won at Wesleyan, 80-45; won at Connecticut College, 72-48
#2	598	Amherst	17-0	won at #19 Bowdoin, 66-45; won at Colby, 69-43
#3	565	Scranton	16-1	won at Moravian, 76-55; LOST to Catholic, 76-82 OT
#4	544	St. Thomas	16-0	def. St. Mary's (Minn.), 77-57; def. Augsburg, 89-63
#5	529	Thomas More	17-0	won at St. Vincent, 92-60; won at Grove City, 86-43
#6	479	Christopher Newport	17-0	def. #9 Mary Washington, 75-67; won at Frostburg State, 73-62
#7	464	Hope	17-1	won at #24 Trine, 76-65; won at Adrian, 67-55
#8	418	Wartburg	16-2	LOST at Luther, 61-66; won at Nebraska Wesleyan, 61-50
#9	406	Mary Washington	16-1	LOST at #6 Christopher Newport, 67-75; def. York (Pa.), 66-60
#10	372	UW-Oshkosh	15-2	LOST at #20 UW-Whitewater, 50-55; won at UW-River Falls, 65-55
#11	357	Ohio Northern	17-0	def. Heidelberg, 82-49; won at Mount Union, 73-60
#12	313	Washington U.	14-2	def. T#30 New York University, 80-48; def. Brandeis, 70-54
#13	292	Carnegie Mellon	15-1	def. #23 Rochester, 71-62; def. Emory, 93-73
#14	274	Puget Sound	16-1	def. Pacific Lutheran, 91-58; def. Pacific, 81-62
#15	273	DePauw	17-1	won at Ohio Wesleyan, 74-46
#16	268	Trinity (Texas)	16-1	won at Colorado College, 75-43; won at University of Dallas, 76-61
#17	267	Montclair State	16-1	def. Kean, 75-58; def. Rutgers-Newark, 69-56
#18	197	Whitman	15-2	LOST at Lewis and Clark, 70-79; won at #21 George Fox, 82-74
#19	166	Bowdoin	13-3	LOST to #2 Amherst, 45-66; def. Trinity (Conn.), 76-61
#20	164	UW-Whitewater	16-1	def. #10 UW-Oshkosh, 55-50; def. UW-Stout, 74-63
#21	161	George Fox	14-3	def. Whitworth, 90-67; LOST to #18 Whitman, 74-82
#22	132	Gustavus Adolphus	17-0	def. St. Catherine, 83-76; def. Macalester, 103-70
#23	63	Rochester	12-4	LOST at #13 Carnegie Mellon, 62-71; won at Case Western Reserve, 77-68
#24	54	Trine	15-2	LOST to #7 Hope, 65-76; won at Olivet, 76-29
#25	51	Messiah	16-1	won at Lebanon Valley, 85-79 OT

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	36	Wheaton (Ill.)	13-3	won at North Park, 85-42; def. Carthage, 65-46
#27	32	SUNY Geneseo	17-0	def. Rochester Tech, 62-60 OT; def. SUNY Potsdam, 58-36; def. Plattsburgh State, 66-46
#28	14	Texas-Dallas	15-3	LOST to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 49-63; def. East Texas Baptist, 74-60; def. Louisiana College, 79-65
#29	7	Calvin	16-2	won at Rochester (Mich.), 67-52; won at Kalamazoo, 81-50
T#30	5	Marymount	14-3	def. Penn State-Harrisburg, 69-42; def. Salisbury, 53-42
T#30	5	New York University	10-6	LOST at #12 Washington U., 48-80; LOST at Chicago, 67-69
T#32	2	Bluffton	14-3	LOST to Defiance, 75-79 2OT; won at Franklin, 64-55
T#32	2	Ithaca	13-3	LOST at Stevens, 43-74; won at Houghton, 67-53; won at Elmira, 98-54
T#34	1	Albright	14-4	def. Alvernia, 74-60; won at Widener, 69-45
T#34	1	Babson	15-3	LOST to #1 Tufts, 46-60; won at Mount Holyoke, 108-32
T#34	1	Illinois Wesleyan	11-6	LOST at Augustana, 83-73; won at Carroll, 92-56

Teams receiving votes in the WBCA poll, but not the d3hoops poll

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
---	---	Maryville_(Tenn.)	15-3	def. Salem, 79-42; won at Agnes Scott, 72-41; won at Wesleyan (Ga.), 68-40
---	---	Chicago	11-5	def. Brandeis, 62-55; def. T#30 New York University, 69-67

[PolarBearPA]

great stuff. Thanks for posting the top25 recaps. Do you know when the first NCAA regional ranking will come out?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

great stuff. Thanks for posting the top25 recaps. Do you know when the first NCAA regional ranking will come out?

Wednesday, February 10

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (So Far)

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	613	Tufts	19-0	won at Emmanuel, 69-48; 01/28 vs. Bates
#2	601	Amherst	19-0	def. Lehman, 85-45; won at Williams, 67-43; 01/28 at Trinity (Conn.)
#3	565	St. Thomas	17-0	def. Macalester, 71-48; 01/28 at St. Benedict
#4	543	Thomas More	18-0	def. Thiel, 113-57; 01/28 vs. Chatham
#5	515	Christopher Newport	18-0	def. Salisbury, 61-58; 01/28 vs. Penn State-Harrisburg
#6	495	Hope	17-2	LOST at Albion, 77-83 OT; 01/28 vs. Alma
#7	458	Scranton	17-1	def. Drew, 71-45; 01/28 vs. Elizabethtown
#8	424	Ohio Northern	18-0	won at Wilmington, 62-61 OT; 01/28 vs. Capital
#9	363	Carnegie Mellon	15-1	01/27 vs. #11 Washington U.; 01/29 vs. Chicago
#10	347	Mary Washington	17-1	def. Southern Virginia, 69-55; 01/28 at Salisbury
#11	345	Washington U.	14-2	01/27 at #9 Carnegie Mellon; 01/29 at Case Western Reserve
#12	333	Puget Sound	16-1	01/27 at #24 George Fox; 01/28 at Linfield
#13	312	DePauw	18-1	won at Wittenberg, 51-38; 01/28 vs. Wooster
#14	285	Wartburg	17-2	def. Coe, 83-51; 01/28 vs. Simpson
#15	279	UW-Oshkosh	16-2	def. UW-La Crosse, 51-49 OT; 01/28 at UW-Eau Claire
#16	277	Trinity (Texas)	16-1	01/27 vs. Colorado College; 01/28 vs. University of Dallas
#17	268	UW-Whitewater	16-2	LOST at UW-Stevens Point, 57-70; 01/28 vs. UW-La Crosse
#18	252	Montclair State	17-1	won at Ramapo, 69-38; 01/28 vs. Rowan
#19	189	Gustavus Adolphus	18-0	won at Concordia-Moorhead, 61-59; 01/28 vs. St. Mary's (Minn.)
#20	160	Whitman	16-2	won at Whitworth, 71-65; 01/28 vs. Willamette
#21	98	Bowdoin	13-3	01/28 vs. Colby
#22	85	Messiah	17-1	won at Lycoming, 60-54; 01/28 vs. Arcadia
#23	68	SUNY Geneseo	18-0	def. Buffalo State, 61-47; 01/27 at Cortland; 01/28 at Oswego State
#24	62	George Fox	14-3	01/27 vs. #12 Puget Sound; 01/28 at Pacific
#25	45	Wheaton (Ill.)	14-3	won at Illinois Tech, 84-35; 01/28 at North Central (Ill.)

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	41	Trine	16-2	def. St. Mary's (Ind.), 103-42; 01/28 vs. Albion
#27	35	Catholic	16-2	won at Susquehanna, 93-62; 01/28 vs. Juniata
#28	25	Calvin	17-2	def. Alma, 62-52; 01/28 vs. St. Mary's (Ind.)
#29	18	Rochester	12-4	01/27 vs. New York University; 01/29 vs. Brandeis
#30	11	FDU-Florham	16-2	def. Manhattanville, 80-44; 01/28 at Misericordia
#31	8	Marymount	14-4	LOST at Frostburg State, 42-53; 01/28 at St. Mary's (Md.)
#32	2	Augustana	13-5	LOST at Illinois Wesleyan, 74-83; 01/28 at Carthage
T#33	1	Albright	15-4	def. Arcadia, 83-51; 01/28 vs. Stevenson
T#33	1	Babson	15-4	LOST to MIT, 74-78 2OT; 01/28 vs. Smith
T#33	1	Texas-Dallas	15-3	01/26 vs. Belhaven

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

All of the sudden the month of January is coming to a close! It wasn't that long ago we were watching how teams would perform during holiday tournaments and after long breaks. Now, we are wondering how most teams will weather the second half of conference play.

Thursday night on Hoopsville, Dave tries to take the temperature of Division III basketball. Just how good are the teams nationally ranked and near the top of some conference? Are there teams lurking who are about to emerge and disrupt things?

Of course the focus on this show will primarily be the East, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, and West Regions, but there is still plenty to talk about nationwide including the common theme: upsets and parity.

Guests will include a coach who won his 400th on Wednesday, three nationally ranked teams, and seven total losses.

Dave also discusses the recently launch Hoopsville Fundraising efforts and the upcoming annual marathon show. For more information on the fundraiser, click here: https://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser-2017

Tune in starting at 7:00 PM LIVE via this link: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan26 (or the Facebook Live simulcast). If you can't make it live, watch the show On Demand to listen (download) the podcast to the right (available after the show concludes).

Don't forget to contribute to the new "Hoopsville Mailbag" segment. Email questions you may have to hoopsville@d3hoops.com. Dave will answer them tonight or on a future show.

Guests scheduled to appear (in order of appearance):
- Frank Marcinek, No. 11 Susquehanna men's coach
- Luke Flockerzi, No. 7 Rochester men's coach
- Don Mulhern, UW-Superior women's coach
- Michele Durand, No. 8 Ohio Northern women's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville
Fundraiser: https://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser-2017

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (Complete)

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	613	Tufts	20-0	won at Emmanuel, 69-48; def. Bates, 73-44
#2	601	Amherst	20-0	def. Lehman, 85-45; won at Williams, 67-43; won at Trinity (Conn.), 85-44
#3	565	St. Thomas	18-0	def. Macalester, 71-48; won at St. Benedict, 65-40
#4	543	Thomas More	19-0	def. Thiel, 113-57; def. Chatham, 94-45
#5	515	Christopher Newport	19-0	def. Salisbury, 61-58; def. Penn State-Harrisburg, 75-57
#6	495	Hope	18-2	LOST at Albion, 77-83 OT; def. Alma, 83-65
#7	458	Scranton	17-2	def. Drew, 71-45; LOST to Elizabethtown, 55-61
#8	424	Ohio Northern	19-0	won at Wilmington, 62-61 OT; def. Capital, 64-49
#9	363	Carnegie Mellon	15-3	LOST to #11 Washington U., 72-78; LOST to Chicago, 61-81
#10	347	Mary Washington	18-1	def. Southern Virginia, 69-55; won at Salisbury, 59-47
#11	345	Washington U.	16-2	won at #9 Carnegie Mellon, 78-72; won at Case Western Reserve, 92-79
#12	333	Puget Sound	18-1	won at #24 George Fox, 83-76; won at Linfield, 96-77
#13	312	DePauw	19-1	won at Wittenberg, 51-38; def. Wooster, 85-49
#14	285	Wartburg	18-2	def. Coe, 83-51; def. Simpson, 80-62
#15	279	UW-Oshkosh	17-2	def. UW-La Crosse, 51-49 OT; won at UW-Eau Claire, 57-45
#16	277	Trinity (Texas)	18-1	def. Colorado College, 95-52; def. University of Dallas, 84-44
#17	268	UW-Whitewater	17-2	LOST at UW-Stevens Point, 57-70; def. UW-La Crosse, 67-53
#18	252	Montclair State	18-1	won at Ramapo, 69-38; def. Rowan, 68-62
#19	189	Gustavus Adolphus	19-0	won at Concordia-Moorhead, 61-59; def. St. Mary's (Minn.), 71-44
#20	160	Whitman	17-2	won at Whitworth, 71-65; def. Willamette, 71-51
#21	98	Bowdoin	14-3	def. Colby, 71-30
#22	85	Messiah	18-1	won at Lycoming, 60-54; def. Arcadia, 60-33
#23	68	SUNY Geneseo	20-0	def. Buffalo State, 61-47; won at Cortland, 77-52; won at Oswego State, 62-48
#24	62	George Fox	15-4	LOST to #12 Puget Sound, 76-83; won at Pacific, 74-67
#25	45	Wheaton (Ill.)	15-3	won at Illinois Tech, 84-35; won at North Central (Ill.), 112-71

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	41	Trine	17-2	def. St. Mary's (Ind.), 103-42; def. Albion, 69-45
#27	35	Catholic	17-2	won at Susquehanna, 93-62; def. Juniata, 89-71
#28	25	Calvin	18-2	def. Alma, 62-52; def. St. Mary's (Ind.), 84-49
#29	18	Rochester	14-4	def. New York University, 68-49; def. Brandeis, 75-58
#30	11	FDU-Florham	16-3	def. Manhattanville, 80-44; LOST at Misericordia, 67-86
#31	8	Marymount	15-4	LOST at Frostburg State, 42-53; won at St. Mary's (Md.), 63-56
#32	2	Augustana	13-6	LOST at Illinois Wesleyan, 74-83; LOST at Carthage, 62-73
T#33	1	Albright	16-4	def. Arcadia, 83-51; def. Stevenson, 75-58
T#33	1	Babson	16-4	LOST to MIT, 74-78 2OT; def. Smith, 76-72
T#33	1	Texas-Dallas	16-3	def. Belhaven, 76-48

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Believe it or not... there is just one more month remaining in Division III basketball's regular season. In other words, time is running out for teams looking to play in March. One month from today, most conference champions will be crowned and the conversation will be who may be in and will be out of the NCAA championship tournament.

So as the season head's for the home stretch, what programs will we be talking about in a month? Who may emerge from some tight conferences races to prove they are the best?

Sunday night on Hoopsville, Dave hopes to turn the spotlight on a few programs others may not be paying attention to as much. Tufts' men's program is seperating themselves from the rest of the NESCAC, Elmhurst women are making the CCIW race more interesting than expected, LeTourneau men have turned their program around and now lead their ASC division, and Montclair State women have a battle on their hands in the NJAC.

Also on Sunday night, we head to the WBCA Center Court and talk to one of the up and coming women's basketball coaches. Already honored for his success at a young age, what has Alex Richay done to turn the Oglethorpe program around?

Dave will also preview the upcoming annual Hoopsville Marathon and give an update to this season's fundraising efforts.

Tune in starting at 7:00 PM ET to watch the show live here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan29 (or via Facebook Live). If you miss any of it, you can watch the show On Demand or listen (download) the podcast.

Don't forget to contribute to the new "Hoopsville Mailbag" segment. Email questions you may have to hoopsville@d3hoops.com. Dave will answer them tonight or on a future show.

Guests schedule (in order of appearance):
- Bob Sheldon, No. 4 Tufts men's coach
- Tethanie Carriollo, Elmhurst women's coach
- Alex Richay, Oglethorpe women's coach (WBCA Center Court)
- Dan Miller, LeTourneau men's coach
- Karin Harvey, No. 18 Montclair State women's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville
Fundraiser: https://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser-2017

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (So Far)

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	613	Tufts	20-0	02/03 vs. Trinity (Conn.); 02/04 vs. #2 Amherst
#2	601	Amherst	20-0	02/03 at Bates; 02/04 at #1 Tufts
#3	565	St. Thomas	19-0	won at #17 Gustavus Adolphus, 75-69; 02/04 vs. St. Catherine; 02/05 at Luther
#4	544	Thomas More	20-0	won at Bethany, 87-47; 02/04 at Geneva
#5	525	Christopher Newport	19-1	LOST at #8 Mary Washington, 69-74; 02/04 at St. Mary's (Md.)
#6	474	Ohio Northern	20-0	def. Baldwin Wallace, 68-43; 02/04 at Muskingum
#7	410	Puget Sound	18-1	02/03 at Lewis and Clark; 02/04 at Willamette
#8	403	Mary Washington	19-1	def. #5 Christopher Newport, 74-69; 02/04 at Frostburg State
#9	399	Washington U.	16-2	02/03 vs. #20 Carnegie Mellon; 02/05 vs. Case Western Reserve
#10	376	Hope	19-2	won at #27 Calvin, 63-55 OT
#11	374	DePauw	19-1	02/03 vs. Hiram; 02/04 vs. Allegheny
#12	323	Trinity (Texas)	18-1	02/03 vs. Southwestern; 02/04 vs. Texas Lutheran
#13	311	Wartburg	19-2	won at Loras, 88-83; 02/04 at Central
#14	306	Scranton	17-3	LOST to Moravian, 83-87; 02/04 at Juniata
#15	291	Montclair State	19-2	LOST at Stockton, 65-68 OT; won at William Paterson, 73-52; 02/04 vs. Stockton
#16	289	UW-Oshkosh	18-2	won at #31 UW-Stevens Point, 60-55; 02/04 vs. UW-River Falls
#17	250	Gustavus Adolphus	19-1	LOST to #3 St. Thomas, 69-75; 02/04 vs. Hamline
#18	194	Whitman	17-2	02/03 at Pacific; 02/04 at Linfield
#19	173	UW-Whitewater	18-2	def. UW-Platteville, 76-59; 02/04 at UW-Stout
#20	150	Carnegie Mellon	15-3	02/03 at #9 Washington U.; 02/05 at Chicago
#21	116	SUNY Geneseo	20-0	02/03 at Brockport
#22	112	Messiah	19-1	won at Stevenson, 52-39; 02/04 at Alvernia
#23	110	Bowdoin	15-3	won at Mass-Boston, 83-59; 02/03 at Hamilton; 02/04 at Middlebury
#24	66	Wheaton (Ill.)	15-4	LOST at Carthage, 44-70; 02/04 vs. Elmhurst
#25	40	Catholic	18-2	won at Goucher, 75-46; 02/04 at Drew

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	36	Trine	17-2	02/04 at #27 Calvin
#27	33	Calvin	18-3	LOST to #10 Hope, 55-63 OT; 02/04 vs. #26 Trine
#28	14	Rochester	14-4	02/03 at New York University; 02/05 at Brandeis
#29	13	George Fox	16-4	won at Lewis and Clark, 69-68 OT; 02/04 vs. Pacific Lutheran
#30	9	Marymount	16-4	won at Southern Virginia, 75-57; 02/04 vs. Wesley
#31	4	UW-Stevens Point	13-7	LOST to #16 UW-Oshkosh, 55-60; 02/04 vs. UW-Eau Claire
#32	1	Albright	17-4	won at Hood, 75-52; 02/04 vs. Lebanon Valley

[Smitty Oom]

The big GAC vs. UST game was last night and I think that GAC held their own. I am curious to see what happens for them in regards to rankings. I know a lot of people wanted to see how they stack up against the Tommies before they rank them too high, but even though they lost I think it would be hard to drop them too far down considering it was a close game the whole way.

[gordonmann]

I had Gustavus in the 15-17 range and they'll probably stay around there. 

The game was essentially tied with 5 minutes remaining before the Gusties went cold. Based solely on what I've read and seen in the box score, I'd say St. Thomas would win a five-game series 4-1 or 3-2 but all the games would be competitive.

The challenge with Gustavus is, like the rest of the MIAC, they don't play a lot of non-conference games and their non-conference wins don't tell me much.  Buena Vista and UW-La Crosse are probably in the top half of Division III women's programs, but not high enough for those to be signature wins.

I think winning at Bethel is a good sign but, if the Royals and Gusties are relatively even, then that means I probably should drop Gustavus on my ballot because Bethel isn't on it.

The unbalanced schedule leaves Gusties with one game against St. Thomas and Bethel. That's nice from a winning percentage but not helpful for SOS.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I had Gustavus in the 15-17 range and they'll probably stay around there. 

The game was essentially tied with 5 minutes remaining before the Gusties went cold. Based solely on what I've read and seen in the box score, I'd say St. Thomas would win a five-game series 4-1 or 3-2 but all the games would be competitive.

The challenge with Gustavus is, like the rest of the MIAC, they don't play a lot of non-conference games and their non-conference wins don't tell me much.  Buena Vista and UW-La Crosse are probably in the top half of Division III women's programs, but not high enough for those to be signature wins.

I think winning at Bethel is a good sign but, if the Royals and Gusties are relatively even, then that means I probably should drop Gustavus on my ballot because Bethel isn't on it.

The unbalanced schedule leaves Gusties with one game against St. Thomas and Bethel. That's nice from a winning percentage but not helpful for SOS.

I have a different take on that... because they don't play the entire conference twice, their SOS isn't closer to .500 for conference play. By the way it works out, Gusties played two really good records just once to make their SOS in conference a bit higher .500. Yes, playing that SOS twice is nice, but at least they didn't play too many sub-par records that would have dragged their SOS below .500 in conference.

Their current SOS is .539 - not bad.

[Smitty Oom]

I had Gustavus in the 15-17 range and they'll probably stay around there. 

The game was essentially tied with 5 minutes remaining before the Gusties went cold. Based solely on what I've read and seen in the box score, I'd say St. Thomas would win a five-game series 4-1 or 3-2 but all the games would be competitive.

The challenge with Gustavus is, like the rest of the MIAC, they don't play a lot of non-conference games and their non-conference wins don't tell me much.  Buena Vista and UW-La Crosse are probably in the top half of Division III women's programs, but not high enough for those to be signature wins.

I think winning at Bethel is a good sign but, if the Royals and Gusties are relatively even, then that means I probably should drop Gustavus on my ballot because Bethel isn't on it.

The unbalanced schedule leaves Gusties with one game against St. Thomas and Bethel. That's nice from a winning percentage but not helpful for SOS.

I have a different take on that... because they don't play the entire conference twice, their SOS isn't closer to .500 for conference play. By the way it works out, Gusties played two really good records just once to make their SOS in conference a bit higher .500. Yes, playing that SOS twice is nice, but at least they didn't play too many sub-par records that would have dragged their SOS below .500 in conference.

Their current SOS is .539 - not bad.

Sounds like both of you will have them in the top 25 still. Would be fun to see another Tommie-GAC MIAC championship!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I had Gustavus in the 15-17 range and they'll probably stay around there. 

The game was essentially tied with 5 minutes remaining before the Gusties went cold. Based solely on what I've read and seen in the box score, I'd say St. Thomas would win a five-game series 4-1 or 3-2 but all the games would be competitive.

The challenge with Gustavus is, like the rest of the MIAC, they don't play a lot of non-conference games and their non-conference wins don't tell me much.  Buena Vista and UW-La Crosse are probably in the top half of Division III women's programs, but not high enough for those to be signature wins.

I think winning at Bethel is a good sign but, if the Royals and Gusties are relatively even, then that means I probably should drop Gustavus on my ballot because Bethel isn't on it.

The unbalanced schedule leaves Gusties with one game against St. Thomas and Bethel. That's nice from a winning percentage but not helpful for SOS.

I have a different take on that... because they don't play the entire conference twice, their SOS isn't closer to .500 for conference play. By the way it works out, Gusties played two really good records just once to make their SOS in conference a bit higher .500. Yes, playing that SOS twice is nice, but at least they didn't play too many sub-par records that would have dragged their SOS below .500 in conference.

Their current SOS is .539 - not bad.

Sounds like both of you will have them in the top 25 still. Would be fun to see another Tommie-GAC MIAC championship!

Well not me... I don't vote in the women's poll.

[gordonmann]

Following today's game between Amherst and Tufts, I wondered how often the top two teams have played each other in the regular season. By my count, it has only happened four times since 1999-2000.

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/wrapup-024-women