2012 Division III NCAA Tournament

[Jacketfan2011]

As for everyone else, hmm lets see

At Ursinus, they have to defeat a conference foe again, which is always tough, but I will give them the advantage given that they are playing at home. Rochester will be playing cinderella Coast Guard which I love as a fun story this season, and with a local naval base they may get some good support, however, I am not sure they can match up with Rochester. HOWEVER, if the game is close and it comes down to free throws....well lets just say the coast guard will sink UR. Assuming a Rochester/Ursinus matchup....i really am not informed enough about Ursinus, but I want to assume a bit that given their location their win total is a little bit inflated. Perhaps they will get beat just like centre. As much as I did not think we would see Rochester in the Final Four this year, I think that they may have the bracket to do just that, because I do not see either of the other three teams really making it.

Just one thought about that.  I don't remember any games that were close at the end where UR's foul shooting cost them the game.  IF UR has the lead and the other team is forced to foul, Neer runs the offense/defense substitutions through the scorers table so fast it creates a breeze.  And IF Oniyiruka is on the floor when UR has the ball, he SPRINTS to the farthest end of the court.  If CG wants to foul Dominiak, Juron, Kaplan, Runco, Chmely...more power to them.  That being said, foul shooting DURING the game may make it a close contest at the end.  But even that is a double edged sword.  If your big is hacking JO or Ndibizu, he isn't going to be around too long.  And you really don't want to see what an unfettered JO and Uche can do to an opponant.

[Knightstalker]

I believe Stockton can shoot it out with anyone and they can play pretty good defense.  Besides they have the secret weapon of Coach Gerry Matthews White Shoes and Belt.  They definitely will not be outcoached, they might not make it out but they have a very good shot.  The only real hiccup on the season was a loss to RU Camden.  Camden shot the lights out in that game, 58% overall and 63% 12 for 19 from 3 point range.

I do believe they can win the bracket, as it is said it is the toughest bracket and they are a very good team and are not an easy win.  I also seem to recall many of the posters stating that this is a wide open field and I believe that teams also receiving votes in the last top 25 poll are probably just as good as many of the teams that made the top 25.

Here is the link to the Stockton website.  They are a very experienced team and have two of the best players in the NJAC in Marion Lancioni and Jon Greene.

[njachoopsfan]

We are getting some interesting votes.   Don't forget to cast your vote before Friday.  The St Louis Region is the closest in voting right now  Who will advance?   Will we have any more upsets?

Cast your vote at http://www.tobannounced.com

Results so far;

Who wins the Platsburgh Region?
                                         Votes     
Amherst (24-3)                    6   42.9%   
Stockton (22-6)                   0   0.0%   
Brandeis (22-5)                    5   35.7%   
Plattsburgh State (27-2)        3   21.4%   

Who wins the Holland Michigan Region?
                                          Votes     
Hope (25-3)                       10   76.9%   
Ohio Wesleyan (22-7)            2   15.4%   
Wheaten Ill (21-7)                0   0.0%   
Whitworth (21-6)                  1   7.7%

Who wins the St Louis Region?
                                        Votes     
Washington U. (21-6)          4   33.3%   
Buena Vista (23-6)             3   25.0%   
St Mary's MD (19-11)          2   16.7%   
Millsaps (27-3)                   3   25.0%   

Who wins the Collegeville PA Region?
                                       Votes     
Ursinus (27-2)                   4   33.3%   
Gettysburg (24-4)              0   0.0%   
Rochester (22-5)               6   50.0%   
Coast Guard (23-6)            2   16.7%   

[LogShow]

As for everyone else, hmm lets see

To me there is no question who comes out of the Hope Bracket, its almost like they have 2 byes in the sweet 16 and elite 8, I know I will catch some flack for this, but I mean its Midnight for Ohio Wesleyan, and assuming Wheaton beats the west coast free ride to the sweet 16 in Whitworth, Hope will handle Wheaton (the last team in) easily on their home floor in front of a packed house.

Whitworth might have had an [the] easy trip to the sweet 16, but they are still a good team.  I think they will definately give Wheaton a run for their money out there in the great lakes.

What do people on this board think of Whitworth...they turned in a pretty good preformance against Oxy.

[ILive4This]

One very positive thing I can say for whitworth is that the travel will not affect them one bit, if I remember correctly lat year they traveled all over the country logging some solid frequent flier miles that would make UAA teams jealous.

[eazye1334]

As for everyone else, hmm lets see

At Ursinus, they have to defeat a conference foe again, which is always tough, but I will give them the advantage given that they are playing at home. Rochester will be playing cinderella Coast Guard which I love as a fun story this season, and with a local naval base they may get some good support, however, I am not sure they can match up with Rochester. HOWEVER, if the game is close and it comes down to free throws....well lets just say the coast guard will sink UR. Assuming a Rochester/Ursinus matchup....i really am not informed enough about Ursinus, but I want to assume a bit that given their location their win total is a little bit inflated. Perhaps they will get beat just like centre. As much as I did not think we would see Rochester in the Final Four this year, I think that they may have the bracket to do just that, because I do not see either of the other three teams really making it.

Just one thought about that.  I don't remember any games that were close at the end where UR's foul shooting cost them the game.  IF UR has the lead and the other team is forced to foul, Neer runs the offense/defense substitutions through the scorers table so fast it creates a breeze.  And IF Oniyiruka is on the floor when UR has the ball, he SPRINTS to the farthest end of the court.  If CG wants to foul Dominiak, Juron, Kaplan, Runco, Chmely...more power to them.  That being said, foul shooting DURING the game may make it a close contest at the end.  But even that is a double edged sword.  If your big is hacking JO or Ndibizu, he isn't going to be around too long.  And you really don't want to see what an unfettered JO and Uche can do to an opponant.

The NYU game comes to mind, as well as the game at Wash U., though not as much. If I recall correctly, they had chances against NYU to win in regulation if they made free throws and we both know how that turned out.

With that said, I think the argument about foul shooting for UR is much ado about nothing. Jon and Uche have had a game or two where they really were on from the line, so who's to say it can't happen again?

It'll be interesting to see how CGA can match up underneath with UR. Even if the four cancel each other out, UR still has Milbrand, who has really picked it up as of late, and the freshman Roberson, who has looked nothing like a freshman in recent weeks.

As far as the Plattsburgh region, Brandeis can get on a run and beat them all, but I think Amherst will come out of it.

[Jacketfan2011]

I believe that you could make the argument that UR lost all 5 games because of foul shooting.  Well, less so the Chicago game maybe, but the bigs making foul shots during the body of the game would have certainly prevented OT losses to Emory and NYU and likely the 'deis and WashU losses as well.  If you are saying the bigs missed foul shots at the end of games against WashU and NYU, I'll take your word for it as I wasn't there.

And I agree about Milbrand and Roberson.  There is going to be a LOT of responsibility placed on Roberson next year.  Though they are going after some LARGE kids for next years freshman class.

[eazye1334]

I believe that you could make the argument that UR lost all 5 games because of foul shooting.  Well, less so the Chicago game maybe, but the bigs making foul shots during the body of the game would have certainly prevented OT losses to Emory and NYU and likely the 'deis and WashU losses as well.  If you are saying the bigs missed foul shots at the end of games against WashU and NYU, I'll take your word for it as I wasn't there.

And I agree about Milbrand and Roberson.  There is going to be a LOT of responsibility placed on Roberson next year.  Though they are going after some LARGE kids for next years freshman class.

I wasn't at either game, but I did listen to them. NYU is the only one that really stands out to me that I can remember.

And I've heard from some decent sources that the recruiting class is pretty stacked. If we can get a few more like Lebanowski, we'll be in good shape for quite a while.

[ILive4This]

I agree with the fact that Brandeis could make a run. I have talked with some people at school, and when filling out the bracket for D3 I got to feel what it was like to fill out a d1 bracket and go to UNC or a school of that caliber, because it is difficult to make your team lose when they have a chance to win it all/are ranked so high in the country. At number 5 in the country, Brandeis is capable of beating any team in the tournament, and they have shown that at 3-2 against teams in the sweet sixteen. But at the same time, they could also lose to any of the teams if they don't bring it. I would love to see a Brandeis/Amherst rematch on a neutral floor and I am sure most people (except those from Plattsburgh or Richard Stockton) would too. And those two teams are gonna do their best to make sure it does not happen. If it does tho, it will be fun to watch as I think the combo of Graves-Fulgham and Roberson shut down Andrew Olsen (bad ankle or not) better then any one else in the country so far this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Hah, yes, that is true.

[ILive4This]

Okay quick question, NCAA is always big on money --> taking it in via gate receipts and giving it out via travel expenses, so regional rankings aside, explain to me why Plattsburgh a team that is both the highest north and furthest west of the four teams left in that bracket, and has a gym that max holds 1000 according to this site, or 1400 according to its media guide is hosting the sectional.

Why not move to neutral sites with larger capacities starting in the sectionals? For this region I would suggest the springfield stadium where D2 is hosting their elite 8 and beyond this year.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'd vote if I could get the webpage to work.  It comes in all garbled and when I try to click on a team, the bubble doesn't fill up.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Okay quick question, NCAA is always big on money --> taking it in via gate receipts and giving it out via travel expenses, so regional rankings aside, explain to me why Plattsburgh a team that is both the highest north and furthest west of the four teams left in that bracket, and has a gym that max holds 1000 according to this site, or 1400 according to its media guide is hosting the sectional.

Why not move to neutral sites with larger capacities starting in the sectionals? For this region I would suggest the springfield stadium where D2 is hosting their elite 8 and beyond this year.

They don't make any money on the d3 tournament.  That's not a huge factor in the decision.  They give hosting duties to the highest ranked team in the section, if they qualify and if they applied to host.  It's pretty simple.

[Knightstalker]

Plattsburgh had a great season and earned the right to host.

[ILive4This]

not making money on the tournament, if true, shows some ineptness on the NCAA's parts, figure for a sectional, you could get 5000 fans at an average of 5 bucks per person, per day, thats 50,000 across 4 sectionals thats 200k, I know we are not talking millions from TV revenue etc, but definitely more then enough for profit after taking out travel costs for the 12 non-hosting teams (on average at least 8 are taking busses).

I am just saying something to think about, and Plattsburgh had a great season, going undefeated in region is awesome, but they did not even play some of the tougher teams in their region. They lost to OXY which squeeked into the tournament and lost to Gordon which was not even ranked in the NE region. Honestly I think their most quality win was against Middlebury, and that does not say a whole heck of a lot.

Take Karma from me if you must, but I am just stating my opinion and telling it like it is.