Top 25 talk

[Ryan Stoppable]

Yeah, I would love to sit here and tell you that it might find a way to work out and have a different option... but until the bracket is 64 teams (which would force maybe some different options depending on the season), they aren't going to avoid each other in the second round.

Why isn't the NCAA Tournament 64 teams? Division III is larger than Division I is, and they have 68. Would adding two more at large berths screw things up somehow?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I'd rather be bubbly than flat. I hate it when my wife doesn't put the cap on tight!

This can go a few different directions, Greek.

[sac]

Yeah, I would love to sit here and tell you that it might find a way to work out and have a different option... but until the bracket is 64 teams (which would force maybe some different options depending on the season), they aren't going to avoid each other in the second round.

Why isn't the NCAA Tournament 64 teams? Division III is larger than Division I is, and they have 68. Would adding two more at large berths screw things up somehow?

Power 5 conference schools would have to cut back on the ivory back scratchers. 

[KnightSlappy]

If provisionals advance as expected we'll hit 416 D3 full-member D3 teams next season. That is supposed to be enough for a 64-team tournament.

Then again, according to NCAA Division III bylaws we were supposed to be at 63 teams by now, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Ralph Turner]

Yeah, a likely senario is that Whitworth gets a bye and plays the winner of Whitman and a SCIAC team or a similar opponent. That's the life of living on a D3 island.

Ditto.

[Ralph Turner]

I'd rather be bubbly than flat. I hate it when my wife doesn't put the cap on tight!

This can go a few different directions, Greek.

ROTFL!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah, I would love to sit here and tell you that it might find a way to work out and have a different option... but until the bracket is 64 teams (which would force maybe some different options depending on the season), they aren't going to avoid each other in the second round.

Why isn't the NCAA Tournament 64 teams? Division III is larger than Division I is, and they have 68. Would adding two more at large berths screw things up somehow?

I assume you want a real answer.  There's an access ratio, which means a certain percentage of teams make the tournament (with a cap at 64).  D3 should be at 63 right now, but the NCAA wanted to save a little money, so they're only going to bump up when we hit enough for 64, which should be next year.  The d1 tournament gets as many teams as it wants because it funds every championship for every sport at every level and thus can do whatever it wants to make more money (as it should).

[Gregory Sager]

The access ratio for D3 is 6.5:1. In other words, there's one tournament slot for every 6.5 schools that sponsor the sport -- or, as KS and HF point out, there's supposed to be one for every 6.5 schools, but D3 is lagging behind the ratio in terms of men's basketball.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

To be honest, the NCAA is instituting a rule across all sports to resist adding teams to the brackets in odd numbers, i.e. one at a time, in an effort to save money. We were recently in a pretty good hole and while more money comes in, sports are expanding and costs are increasing thus the division is always in jeopardy of entering that hole again. Thus they are using the little known rule that was forgotten about when tournaments across the board were expanded at the drop of the hat each and every time - feeding into the problem.

Right now the math puts us at exactly 63 schools, so we need 6 to 7 schools to be eligible next season and with the way the process works, I can't speak to if that number will actually be high enough next year. Most I spoke with at the NCAA say it won't be next year, but they will admit that is coming off the top of their heads usually. When you have schools like Iowa Wesleyan who have to repeat years, it makes the math a bit fuzzy.

But again... ALL NCAA tournaments in Division III have been slowed in their increase to even numbers and only when it is clear the expansion is warranted. This is NOT a basketball-only item despite how many might feel.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

For the third consecutive year, Hoopsville will air for 12 hours as the regular season enters the final four weeks. Dave McHugh will chat with coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and others involved in Division III basketball from around the country. Other guests will include those who have Division III roots or appreciate the division and the game along with the student-athletes who play the sport.

Hoopsville will air from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (and maybe later) on Thursday, February 4 live from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can see what guests are scheduled, get more information, and watch the show here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2015-16/feb4

You can also read the press release about the show: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/hoopsville-marathon-2016



   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Time	Guest	School
10:15am	Connie Tilley	St. Norbert (WBB) - WBCA Center Court
10:40am	Jamie Purdy	Peidmont (WBB)
11:00am	Keri Carollo	UW-Whitewater (WBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
11:20am	Brent Pollari	Saint Mary's (Minn.) (WBB)
11:40am	Kent Madsen	No. 21 Wheaton (Ill.) (WBB)
12:00pm	Russell Loyd	Rose-Hulman (MBB)
12:20pm	Kevin Broderick	Nazareth (MBB)
12:40pm	Justin Scott	Arcadia (MBB)
1:00pm	Sam Hargraves	No. 12 Alma (MBB)
1:20pm	Lenny Reich	Mount Union (SID)
1:40pm	Maureen Webster	Clarkson (WBB)
2:00pm	Betsy Witman	York (Pa.) (WBB)
2:20pm	Sara Lee	Denison (WBB)
2:40pm	Klay Kneuppel	Wisconsin Lutheran (MBB)
3:00pm	Brian Van Haaften	Buena Vista (MBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
3:30pm	Sydney Moss	No. 1 Thomas More (WBB)
3:45pm	Aaron Rousell	Bucknell (WBB) - former Chicago coach
4:00pm	Tim Shanahan	Staten Island (WBB)
4:20	Pat Cunningham	Trinity (Texas) (MBB) - NABC Coach's Corner
4:50pm	Bubba Smith	Sewanee (MBB)
5:15pm	Ben Strong	Former Guilford All-American
5:30pm	Kevin Connors	ESPN SportsCenter Anchor - Ithaca alumnus
6:00pm	Kristen Dowling	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (WBB)
6:20pm	Allison Coleman	Sage (WBB)
6:40pm	Landry Kosmalski	Swarthmore (MBB)
7:00pm	Dave Niland	No. 23 Penn State-Behrend (MBB)
7:20pm	Aaron Galletta	Lasell (MBB)
7:40pm	John Baron	Gwynedd-Mercy (MBB)
8:00pm
8:20pm
8:40pm	Melissa Hodgdon	Wheaton (Mass.) (WBB)
9:00pm	G.P. Gromacki	No. 2 Amherst (WBB)
9:20pm	James Wagner

We hope to get at least the full show on a podcast, or several podcast, during the on Friday. You can find it here:
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

And a reminder the Hoopsville Fundraising Project has begun yet again. Please consider helping us cover Division III basketball the way it deserves to be covered. If you can not donate, please don't worry about - we understand. At least share the campaign with anyone you think might be interested: http://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser/x/6029509

Also, if you know any advertisers interested in promoting their company or products on the show, send them our way: hoopsville@d3hoops.com

Thanks!

[hopefan]

The access ratio for D3 is 6.5:1. In other words, there's one tournament slot for every 6.5 schools that sponsor the sport -- or, as KS and HF point out, there's supposed to be one for every 6.5 schools, but D3 is lagging behind the ratio in terms of men's basketball.

What would the ratio have to be to get a 2nd SLIAC team in?

ok, ok, I'm sorry.. just inserting a little humor....

[Greek Tragedy]

I'd rather be bubbly than flat. I hate it when my wife doesn't put the cap on tight!

This can go a few different directions, Greek.

ROTFL!

I was trying to narrow down those directions...    

[John Gleich]

I'd rather be bubbly than flat. I hate it when my wife doesn't put the cap on tight!

So THAT'S what happened to UWSP. I knew there had to be an explanation...

[KnightSlappy]

To be honest, the NCAA is instituting a rule across all sports to resist adding teams to the brackets in odd numbers, i.e. one at a time, in an effort to save money. We were recently in a pretty good hole and while more money comes in, sports are expanding and costs are increasing thus the division is always in jeopardy of entering that hole again. Thus they are using the little known rule that was forgotten about when tournaments across the board were expanded at the drop of the hat each and every time - feeding into the problem.

Right now the math puts us at exactly 63 schools, so we need 6 to 7 schools to be eligible next season and with the way the process works, I can't speak to if that number will actually be high enough next year. Most I spoke with at the NCAA say it won't be next year, but they will admit that is coming off the top of their heads usually. When you have schools like Iowa Wesleyan who have to repeat years, it makes the math a bit fuzzy.

But again... ALL NCAA tournaments in Division III have been slowed in their increase to even numbers and only when it is clear the expansion is warranted. This is NOT a basketball-only item despite how many might feel.

I have 412 full-member NCAA schools that sponsor men's basketball which would give us 63.4 bids. NCAA truncates the decimal so 63 bids. But as Dave mentions they haven't been adding teams in odd-number increments (despite what the bylaws say).

416 is the magic number for a 64-team tournament (64 x 6.5 = 416).

I have three Year 4 provisional members (Houghton, Southern Virginia, Valley Forge) who would become full NCAA members next year in 2016-17 if they advance as expected. Plus dual-member Nebraska Wesleyan (who I didn't count in the 412 number) is leaving NAIA to fully participate in D3. That would get us to 64 the team threshold.

NCAA Pre-Championship Manual says 410 teams this year, but it's not counting Chatham at all and lists Wilson as a provisional member. I think those are errors.

I will set the over/under on actual tournament bids for 2016-17 at 62.5 (-110) you may place your wagers accordingly.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (So Far)

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	609	Whitworth	19-1	LOST at #20 Whitman, 71-87; 02/06 vs. Pacific
#2	597	Augustana	20-1	won at #13 North Central (Ill.), 76-68; 02/06 vs. Carthage
#3	579	Benedictine	21-0	won at #30 Aurora, 93-70; 02/06 at Wisconsin Lutheran
#4	551	John Carroll	20-0	def. Otterbein, 95-48; 02/06 at Capital
#5	536	St. Thomas	18-1	def. Gustavus Adolphus, 87-72; 02/06 at Hamline
#6	460	Christopher Newport	19-1	won at Frostburg State, 82-71; won at #41 Salisbury, 61-59; 02/06 at Wesley
#7	459	Hope	18-2	def. Olivet, 94-58; 02/06 vs. #12 Alma
#8	449	Marietta	18-2	def. Capital, 77-63; 02/06 at Wilmington
#9	433	Elmhurst	18-3	def. Carthage, 96-70; 02/06 vs. Wheaton (Ill.)
#10	414	Ohio Wesleyan	18-2	def. Wittenberg, 87-66; 02/06 at Kenyon
#11	337	Amherst	17-3	def. Rhode Island College, 88-51; 02/05 at Bates; 02/06 at #26 Tufts
#12	306	Alma	16-4	won at Adrian, 68-63; 02/06 at #7 Hope
#13	290	North Central (Ill.)	15-6	LOST to #2 Augustana, 68-76; 02/06 vs. Illinois Wesleyan
#14	288	St. Norbert	17-2	won at Lawrence, 62-59; 02/06 vs. Beloit
#15	222	Lancaster Bible	18-0	won at Penn State-Abington, 76-54; 02/06 vs. Penn State-Berks
#16	198	Franklin and Marshall	17-3	def. Muhlenberg, 72-43; 02/06 at T#42 Swarthmore
#17	197	Johnson and Wales	19-1	won at Lasell, 101-68; 02/06 vs. Anna Maria
#18	193	Susquehanna	17-2	won at Juniata, 74-71; 02/06 at Moravian
#19	184	WPI	16-4	LOST to Emerson, 53-56; 02/06 at T#34 Babson
#20	159	Whitman	17-3	def. #1 Whitworth, 87-71; 02/05 vs. Pacific
#21	155	Chicago	14-4	02/05 at #29 Emory; 02/07 at Rochester
#22	107	Wesleyan	17-4	won at Emmanuel, 78-60; 02/05 vs. Williams
#23	70	Penn State-Behrend	18-1	def. Alfred State, 81-45; 02/06 at Franciscan (Ohio)
#24	45	Plattsburgh State	15-3	02/05 vs. SUNY Oneonta; 02/06 vs. SUNY New Paltz
#25	43	Mount Union	14-5	02/06 vs. Ohio Northern

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	37	Tufts	16-4	def. Mass-Dartmouth, 101-82; 02/05 vs. #33 Trinity (Conn.); 02/06 vs. #11 Amherst
#27	30	Texas Lutheran	16-4	02/05 vs. Trinity (Texas); 02/06 vs. Schreiner
#28	24	NYU	15-3	won at Stevens, 74-66; 02/05 at Carnegie Mellon; 02/07 at Case Western Reserve
#29	22	Emory	13-5	02/05 vs. #21 Chicago; 02/07 vs. Washington U.
#30	19	Aurora	16-4	LOST to #3 Benedictine, 70-93; 02/06 at Milwaukee Engineering
#31	18	Delaware Valley	16-4	LOST at Manhattanville, 74-81; 02/06 at DeSales
#32	17	Roanoke	16-4	won at Guilford, 64-62; 02/06 at Hampden-Sydney
#33	16	Trinity (Conn.)	14-6	02/05 at #26 Tufts; 02/06 at Bates
T#34	10	Babson	14-5	def. Wheaton (Mass.), 86-75; 02/06 vs. #19 WPI
T#34	10	Wooster	15-5	def. Kenyon, 101-88; 02/06 at Denison
T#34	10	Northwestern (Minn.)	17-3	02/06 at North Central (Minn.)
#37	8	Albertus Magnus	14-3	won at Rivier, 92-82; 02/06 at Lasell
#38	7	Catholic	15-5	won at Elizabethtown, 73-60; 02/06 at Drew
#39	5	Carroll	14-4	LOST at Ripon, 65-75; 02/06 vs. Grinnell
#40	4	MIT	15-4	won at Springfield, 53-43; 02/06 at Coast Guard
#41	2	Salisbury	15-5	won at Penn State-Harrisburg, 82-56; LOST to #6 Christopher Newport, 59-61; 02/06 vs. Mary Washington
T#42	1	Brooklyn	16-5	LOST to York (N.Y.), 94-96; 02/05 vs. Hunter
T#42	1	Gettysburg	14-6	LOST at Johns Hopkins, 48-68; 02/06 at Haverford
T#42	1	New Jersey City	13-7	def. Kean, 79-52; LOST at Ramapo, 73-80; 02/06 at TCNJ
T#42	1	North Park	14-7	won at Wheaton (Ill.), 74-61; 02/06 vs. Millikin
T#42	1	Swarthmore	16-4	def. Ursinus, 83-64; 02/06 vs. #16 Franklin and Marshall