MBB: American Rivers Conference

[dunkin3117]

Time will tell. 

From a conference standpoint, several of last seasons bottom tiered teams should see vast improvement.  Losing just Spencer Williams and Matt Meyer, Coe will be a seasoned team who could be due for a breakout season.  Luther losses just McCoy Mathias and Christian Wright, neither were top 5 in scoring for the Norse.  My prediction is 3-6 win improvement for both in conference play.

[dunkin3117]

If I had to submit a ballot for the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 poll at this early stage (Sept 29), it would look something like this...

(Top three returning scorers for each team noted.)

#1) Nebraska Wesleyan (30-3, 13-3 IIAC, IIAC Champ, NCAA National Championship)
* Cooper Cook, 6-5 Sr F; 16.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg
* Ryan Garver; 6-3 Sr G; 14.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.6 apg
* Jack Hiller; 6-6 Jr G; 13.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg

#2) Springfield (22-9, 12-2 NEWMAC, NEWMAC Champ; NCAA National Semifinal Game)
* Jake Ross, 6-4 Jr G; 24.8 ppg, 9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg
* Heath Post, 6-6 Jr F; 12.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.1 apg
* Cam Earle, 6-5 Sr G; 9.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg 

#3) UW-Oshkosh (25-8, 9-5 WIAC, WIAC 3rd, NCAA National Runner Up)
* Ben Boots, 6-1 Sr G; 16.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.4 apg
* Jack Flynn, 6-8 Jr C; 12.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg
* Adam Fravert, 6-8 Jr F; 12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.9 apg

#4) Augustana (25-6, 12-4 CCIW, CCIW Co-Champ, NCAA 4th Round)
* Nolan Ebel, 6-1 Sr G; 16.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.8 apg
* Chrishawn Orange, 6-2 Sr G; 15.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
* Brett Benning, 6-6 Sr G; 10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
(*Pierson Wofford, 6-4 Jr F; 14.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.0 apg[/i]; 3 games/injured)

#5) Williams (23-6, 7-3 NESCAC, NESCAC Co-champ, NCAA 2nd Round)
* James Heskett, 6-8 Sr F; 19.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg 
* Kyle Scadlock, 6-8 Sr F; 18.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
* Bobby Casey, 6-3 Sr G; 15.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.1 apg

#6) Swarthmore (25-6, 15-3 CC, CC Co-champ, NCAA 4th Round)
* Cam Wiley, 6-0 Sr G; 16.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg
* Zac O'Dell, 6-7 Jr F; 10.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg
* Nate Shafer, 6-6 Jr F; 9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg

#7) UW-Platteville (24-5, 12-2 WIAC, WIAC Champ, NCAA 3rd Round)
* Robert Duax, 6-4 Sr F; 15.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
* Carter Voelker, 6-3 Jr G; 10.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.2 apg
* Quentin Shields, 5-8 So G; 10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg

#8) Hamilton (24-5, 7-3 NESCAC, NESCAC Co-Champ, NCAA 3rd Round
* Kena Gimour, 6-3 Jr G; 18.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg
* Peter Hoffman, 6-5 Sr F; 13.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg
* Michael Grassey, 6-4 Sr F;  12.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg 

#9) MIT (25-6, 10-4 NEWMAC, NEWMAC Co-champ; NCAA 4th Round)
* Bradley Jomard, 6-6 Sr G; 15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 6.0 apg
* AJ Jurko, 6-3 Sr G; 14.2 ppg; 4.7 rpg, 5.9 apg
* Cameron Korb, 6-1 Sr G; 14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

#10) Whitman (29-2, 16-0 NWC, NWC Champ, NCAA 4th Round)
* Joey Hewitt, 6-2 Sr G; 16.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
* Darne Duckett, 5-11 So G; 10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.9 apg
* Trevor Osborne, 6-2 Jr F; 9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg

#11) Illinois Wesleyan (19-8, 12-4 CCIW, CCIW Co-champ, NCAA 1st Round)
* Brady Rose, 6-3 Sr G; 21.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.1 apg
* Colin Bonnett, 6-4 Sr G; 12.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg
* Alex O'Neil, 6-9 Jr C; 9.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg

#12) Plattsburgh State (24-5, 17-1 SUNYAC, SUNYAC Champ, NCAA 3rd Round)
* Jonathan Patron, 6-2 Sr F; 23.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg
* Brandon Johnson, 5-10 Sr G; 8.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg
* Nick DeAngelis, 6-4 Jr G; 8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg

#13) Whitworth (24-4, 14-2 NWC, NWC 2nd, NCAA 1st Round
* Kyle Roach, 6-5 Sr G; 18.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.8 apg
* Ben College, 6-1 Jr G; 16.5 ppg, 2.1 apg
* Jordan Lester, 6-2 Sr G; 15.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.6 apg

#14) UW-Stevens Point (21-9, 11-3 WIAC, WIAC 2nd, NCAA 3rd Round)
* Nate Dodge, 6-3 Sr G; 11.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg
* Canon O'Heron, 6-5 Sr F; 10.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg
* Drew Frederickson, 6-0 Sr G; 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
(Ethan Bublitz, 6-2 Sr G; returning from injury)

#15) Loras (19-7, 12-4 IIAC, IIAC 2nd, NCAA n/a)
* Josh Ruggles, 6-2 Sr G; 22.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 apg
* Ryan Dicanio, 6-3 Sr G; 17.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 4.7 apg
* Rowan McGowen, 6-4 So G; 10.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg

#16) Marietta (21-7, 14-4 OAC, OAC Co-champ, NCAA 1st Round
* Kyle Dixon, 6-3 Sr G; 14.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.8 apg
* Anthony Wallace, 6-2 Sr G; 12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg
* Avery Williams, 6-7 Sr F; 11.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg 

#17) Wittenberg (27-3, 16-2 NCAC, NCAC Champ, NCAA 2nd Round)
* Mitchell Balser, 6-0 Sr G; 12.2 ppg, 3.2 ppg, 3.5 apg
* Connor Seipel, 6-6 Jr F; 11.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg
* Jacob Bertemes, 5-11 Jr G; 11.0 ppg, 2.4 ppg, 3.2 apg

#18) Emory (23-5, 12-2 UAA, UAA 2nd, NCAA 3rd Round)
* Romin Williams, 5-9 So G; 15.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg
* Gebereal Baitey, 6-2 Sr G; 11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg
* Matt Davet, 6-7 So F; 8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg

#19) Middlebury (21-7, 7-3 NESCAC, NESCAC Co-champ, NCAA 3rd Round)
* Matt Folger, 6-8 Jr F; 13.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg
* Eric McCord, 6-7 Sr F; 8.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg
* Jack Farrell, 6-1 So G; 8.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg 

#20) Johns Hopkins (24-5, 15-3 CC, CC Champ, NCAA 2nd Round)
* Michael Gardner, 6-2 Sr G; 14.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg
* Conner Delaney, 6-0 So G; 10.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
* Joey Kern, 6-1 So G; 8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg

#21) St. John's (23-4, 19-1 MIAC, MIAC Champ, NCAA 1st Round)
* David Stokman, 6-2 Sr G; 13.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.2 rpg
* Jubie Alade, 6-4 Jr F; 11.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg
* Lucas Walford, 6-8 Jr C; 9.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg

#22) St. Olaf (20-8, 15-5 MIAC, MIAC 2nd, NCAA 2nd Round)
* Austin Korba, 6-5 Sr F; 14.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg
* Nate Albers, 6-3 Jr G; 12.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg
* Dominic Bledsoe, 6-0 So G; 10.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg

#23) Wooster (22-7, 14-4 NCAC, NCAC 2nd, NCAA 2nd Round)
* Danyon Hempy, 6-5 Jr G; 15.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
* Reece Dupler, 6-2 Sr G; 14.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg
* Blake Blair, 6-2 Sr G; 7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg 

#24) Hope (19-10, 10-4 MIAA, MIAA Co-champ; NCAA 2nd Round)
* Jason Beckman, 5-11 Sr G; 22.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
* Preston Granger, 6-6 So C; 9.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg
* Teddy Ray, 6-5 Sr F; 9.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg 

#25) Wesleyan (22-7, 7-3 NESCAC, NESCAC Co-champ; NCAA 2nd Round)
* Jordan Bonner, 6-4 Sr G; 15.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg
* Austin Hutcherson, 6-6 So G; 12.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.7 apg
* Antone Walker, 6-0 So G; 7.6 ppg
------------------------
First Two Out:

#26) Bethel (21-7, 14-6 MIAC, MIAC 3rd; NCAA n/a)
* Granger Kingland, 6-4 Jr G; 14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg
* Matt Ambriz, 6-2 Sr G; 13.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg
* Jack Jenson, 6-1 Jr G; 11.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg

#27) Maryville TN (22-7, 14-2 USAC, USAC Champ; NCAA 1st Round)
* Dante Hoppa, 6-5 Sr. F; 12.7 ppg, 5.1 ppg, 2.2 apg
* Calvin Songster, 6-2 Sr G; 12.7 ppg, 2.6 ppg, 2.5 apg
* Emier Bowman, 6-3 Sr F; 12.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg 

There are many teams I'd keep an eye on outside of the 27 above.  That list would include, but certainly not be limited to: New Jersey City; Washington U (re-loading with a very talented nucleus); North Central and Wheaton from the CCIW; UW-Whitewater; and Amherst. 

I'm sure I am missing a few legit Top 25 contenders above.  Any thoughts on who those are?

For those who may not have seen Titan Q's pre-season rankings.  Very reputable and knowledgeble in the D3 community, other than the fact that he has squandered my "toughest schedule in the county" bid for Loras

[Alfredeneumann]

Wartburg will play UNI in an Exhibition game on Oct 28.

https://wcfcourier.com/sports/college/uni/mens_basketball/college-basketball-uni-releases-men-s-hoops-schedule/article_fa1ac464-601c-575c-87be-64895bec75cf.html

3 Starters back for the Knights and 7 of 9 games @ Levick to start the season.
https://go-knights.net/schedule.aspx?schedule=188

[dunkin3117]

Two weeks after the first practice!? Woof. That'll be a wakeup call for the Knights. 

I'll admit, I'm not sold on these D3 vs D1 games.  Especially if your team has no chance of competing.  I believe Coe has a couple of D1 games on the schedule, Drake and Creighton maybe?  Why Creighton agreed to that game, no one will ever know.  In recent years Dubuque has played UNI as well.  To each their own I guess.

[Pat Coleman]

I don't mind a game being used like this in basketball, where we have two dozen-plus contests. The guarantee is great for a D-III team to use to enhance its budget.

[Gregory Sager]

Yep. You can't underestimate the importance that a D1 guaranteed payout can have for a D3 program budget.

[doolittledog]

What kind of payout are we talking about?  10k? 25k? 50k? 100k?

Or are we talkin...

[Gregory Sager]

Enough to make an impact upon your typical D3 men's basketball team. You'd be surprised at how small the typical D3 program budget can be, aside from sports such as football and hockey that have both large rosters and lots of expensive equipment.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

A small d3 program can double its team budget with a decent d1 payout.

[doolittledog]

I was just curious.  I know waaaaaay back in the day, Dubuque football got 10k from Dayton for a game.  I was just curious what kind of money basketball threw out there. 

[dunkin3117]

I can certainly see that side of it.  I've heard the mid-majors are guarenteeing anywhere from 2-5k.  Not a HUGE chunk of change considering D1 budgets, but definitley a nice boost if you manage it the right way at the D3 level. 

[Pat Coleman]

I can certainly see that side of it.  I've heard the mid-majors are guarenteeing anywhere from 2-5k.  Not a HUGE chunk of change considering D1 budgets, but definitley a nice boost if you manage it the right way at the D3 level.

I would hope it's more than that now. That's what schools were getting 20 years ago when I was an SID.

[AO]

Kentucky paid $20-25k to Transylvania and Thomas More in the past couple years.


https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2017/07/06/uk-play-state-schools-college-basketball-exhibitions/456229001/

[dunkin3117]

Kentucky's budget is a little different than a UNI/Drake so I would guess 5k would be pretty close to what most mid-majors are handing out.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Typically the guarantee is some percentage of the anticipated revenue from the game.  I'd guess that varies quite a bit between programs, especially if they have TV deals to cover preseason contests.  I'd also expect that D3 schools are willing to take a lot less, which surely helps them book these things.