Top 25 talk

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Strangely, Keelan may be the one unseated as he failed to garner a first team Midwest position.

I see Myrick, Dauksas, Rhoten, Wansley and Braier.

[Pat Coleman]

I've addressed this elsewhere but just for the record here, we are not obligated to use the All-Region team as a guide when choosing All-Americans. We retained control over the All-American process when we agreed to administer and host the SIDs' All-Region team.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Good for you Pat; smart move.

[Gregory Sager]

Let the annual Street & Smith's debate begin...

(Division III preview by Chuck Mistovich, Basketball Times)

1. Illinois Wesleyan
2. Mississippi College
3. UW-Oshkosh
4. York
5. Virginia Wesleyan
6. Ursinus
7. Amherst
8. Ramapo
9. Wittenberg
10. Wilkes


Illinois Wesleyan

Coach Scott Trost's Titans are loaded.  The top eight scorers return on this senior-laden team that was 21-5 last year, and they are looking every bit as good as the Wesleyan team that won the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1997.  All-America candidates are 6-6 Keelan Amelianovich (17.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and 6-3 Adam Dauksas (15.1 ppg, 5.6 apg).  Wesleyan also features 6-7 Zach Freeman (14.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and three 6-6 inside men who make the Titans look more like a Division II team than Division III.  These seniors have reached the NCAA playoffs three straight years with a combined 64-18 record.


Street & Smith's Preseason All-America Team:

First

Keelan Amelianovich, Illinois Wesleyan
Adam Dauksas, Illinois Wesleyan
Tyler Rhoten, Trinity (Conn)
Justin Wansley, Randolph-Macon
Tyler Winford, Mississippi

Second

Chris Braier, Lawrence
Sekani Francis, Lehman
Cedric Isom, East Texas Baptist
Kyle Myrick, Lincoln (Pa)
Daniel Russ, Wittenberg

From almost 6 months ago.  They had all four Final 4 teams in their Top 10...not a bad effort.

True, and far be it from me to badmouth Chuck Mistovich, but he also picked three teams for his Top 10 that failed to win their respective conferences and subsequently missed making the national tournament field. I can't for the life of me figure out why he and whatever intern(s) he's got working for him picked Wilkes, a team that didn't receive even a single vote in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25. Someone must've tipped him off that the Colonels had a 6'8" transfer from the College of Charleston sneaking onto the campus at the last minute. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Pat, 

When does your final poll come out?  I'm guessing this week sometime, tomorrow?

[David Collinge]

Top 25 News and Notes, Vol. VII, Issue 108

The final men's top 25 poll is out!

As unofficial (and self-appointed) D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 Historian, let me add my congratulations to Virginia Wesleyan for winning the national championship.  The Marlins move up to the unanimous #1 position in the final poll, becoming just the 18th member of the elite fraternity of teams who have reached the top spot in the poll.

Debutantes:

Three other squads turned their outstanding tournament performance into all-time highest rankings:
#7 Transylvania (first time ever in top 10)
#10 Lincoln (first time ever in top 10)
#22 Tufts (first time ever in top 25)

Further congratulations to Utica and SUNY-Farmingdale for receiving votes in the poll for the first time ever.

Streakers:

#4 Amherst is ranked in the top 25 for the 63rd consecutive week, establishing a new record in this category (the previous record of 62 weeks was shared with Catholic (1999-2003) and UW-Stevens Point (2001-05).  Amherst's streak dates all the way back to the final poll of the 2001-02 season.

#9 Wooster is ranked in the top 10 for the 38th consecutive week, tying the all-time record held by Carthage (2000-03).  Wooster's current streak began in Week 9 of the 2003-04 season, and considering that they lose just one senior to graduation and return two All-Americans, it seems likely that this record will be broken in next year's preseason poll.

Wooster also extended their perfect run of receiving votes to 108 consecutive weeks[/u] (i.e., every week in the poll's history.)  That means that the longest streaks of all time in all three of these categories (receiving votes, top 25, and top 10) are active streaks.

#8 Puget Sound has now received votes in 40 consecutive polls[/u].  For #23 Albion, this streak stands at 30 weeks[/u]; for #21 Carroll and ORV Occidental, the streak has reached 10 weeks[/u].

Milestones:[/u]

#9 Wooster is in the top 25 for the 100th time[/u].
#15 UW-Whitewater is in the top 25 for the 50th time[/u], and has now received votes in 90 polls[/u].
#6 Hope is in the top 10 for the 20th time[/u].
#24 William Paterson and ORV Ohio Northern each received votes for the 50th time[/u].  Christopher Newport's one vote marks their 70th week[/u] with at least one vote in the poll.

Congratulations to all of these fine programs on their achievements, but most of all congratulations to #1 and National Champion Virginia Wesleyan!

[Knightstalker]

I was really happy to see Farmingdale get votes.  The way they are building their basketball program reminds me of the way CNU built their football program.  Play good competition and it will reward you in the long run.  The kids that got blown out by teams like NJCU four years ago made a little noise in the tournament this year.

Congrats to VWC, number 1.  If it can't be a NJ school I am happy it was one from a state and region I really enjoyed living in for several years.

[Mr. Ypsi]

David,

Have you done anything with the Women's Poll?  I'm curious what schools have been tops in both - e.g., Hope this year finishes at #1 and #6.  I'm guessing that is probably not THE best ever, but it must be close.  Has any school ever ranked #1 in both simultaneously (if so, I'll guess WashU)?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

David -

Curious... I noticed the top four teams were in order of how they "finished" the season in Salem. How many times has it happened that the four teams who got to the Final Four... were actually voted 1 through 4, just as they finished?

Congrats to IWU on a good season and an incrediable finish in the tournament. You certainly represented the school, CCIW, and region extremely well.

It was also nice to finally meet and see Keelan, Adam, and Zach. They are incrediable players and its too bad IWU has to lose two of them. They are all class acts, but Dauksas certainly impressed me in the last few weeks when ever I chatted with him (including when he walked up to me to initiate a conversation).

[Greek Tragedy]

Very nice, David!

[Pat Coleman]

David -

Curious... I noticed the top four teams were in order of how they "finished" the season in Salem. How many times has it happened that the four teams who got to the Final Four... were actually voted 1 through 4, just as they finished?

This previously happened in 2003-04 and 2000-01.

[David Collinge]

You beat me to it...

In order of tournament finish, with final ranking shown:
2006:
#1 VWC
#2 Wittenberg
#3 IWU
#4 Amherst

2005:
#1 UW-SP
#4 Rochester
#2 Calvin
#13 York (Pa)

2004:
#1 UW-SP
#2 Williams
#3 JCU
#4 Amherst

2003:
#1 Williams
#3 Gustavus Adolphus
#2 Wooster
#4 Hampden-Sydney

2002:
#1 Otterbein
#3 Elizabethtown
#2 Carthage
#6 Rochester

2001:
#1 Catholic
#2 William Paterson
#3 IWU
#4 Ohio Northern

2000:
#1 Calvin
#2 UW-Eau Claire
#8 Salem St.
#4 Franklin & Marshall

[David Collinge]

David,

Have you done anything with the Women's Poll?  I'm curious what schools have been tops in both - e.g., Hope this year finishes at #1 and #6.  I'm guessing that is probably not THE best ever, but it must be close.  Has any school ever ranked #1 in both simultaneously (if so, I'll guess WashU)?

No, I don't do anything with the women's poll; maybe this offseason I'll take that on.  The best finishes for schools in both polls would be as follows:
2006: Hope (Men #6, Women #1)
2005: Trinity (TX) (Men #3, Women #7)
2004: UW-Stevens Point (Men #1, Women #4)
2003: Wash U. (Men #8, Women #4)
2002: Wash U. (Men #5, Women #3) and DePauw (Men #4, Women #4)
2001: Wash U. (Men #10, Women #1)
2000: UW-Eau Claire (Men #2, Women #3)

If any school has held the top spot in both polls simultaneously, it would probably be either Wash U. or UW-Stevens Point, and I don't doubt that it has happened.  But since I don't track the women's poll, it would be as easy for you to look this up as it would be for me.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think I remember a headline about that some time in the last year or two.  One of the Point Championship years I think Stevens Point had #1 in both polls the same week.

[njlincolnlion]

Congratulations to the Lincoln University Lions on making the D3 Hoops top ten for the First time in school history.  Kudos also to Lincoln's Kyle "Fase" Myrick on being named D3 National Player of the Year (another first for Lincoln).  Myrick's first team All American honor makes it consectutive years for a Lincoln athlete making the first team.  Jarrett Kearse was on the team for the 2004-2005 season.

Congratulations to Lincoln's coach Garfield Yuille on being named the D3 Regional Coach of the Year & D3 Independent National coach of the year.

We can't wait until next year and hope the Lions Basketball team continues the phenomenal progress exhibited over the last two years under Coach Yuille and his staff.