Pool C

[bopol]

Not piling on but just an FYI...the Marietta pod has a couple rematches as well. Marietta played both Mt. St. Joseph and Wooster at Wooster's holiday tournament.

Thanks.  I'll fix that.  It wasn't in good enough shape to post it, but I was too tired to play with it anymore last night, and it's always fun for a little disucssion.  The St. Norbert pod creates problems for me.  I think if I move the Texas teams to Augie and then play around take advantage of Benedictine being closer to Chicago I can make it work.  Or I'll have to move St. Norbert to Hope, which I don't want to do because I think St. Norbert deserves it for winning their league, whereas Hope didn't.

[ronk]

Worked out half a bracket.  Will look at again tomorrow to work out the other half and clean up mistakes.  This is more west, central, great lakes.  The top team hosts the bracket.  The Pool C's are based on my picks above.

Bracket of 16 (target 2nd weekend at Augustana or St. Thomas)
Augustana
Westimister
Hope
Ohio Wesleyan

Emory
Covenent
LaGrange
Birmingham Southern

Whitworth
bye
Chapman
Whitman

St Thomas
Northwestern
Elmhurst
UW-Oshkosh

Bracket of 16 (target 2nd weekend at Benedictine or John Carroll)

Benedictine
bye
Texas Lutheran
Hardin-Simmons

Marietta
Mt St. Joseph
Rochester
Wooster

John Carroll
Denison
Carroll
Scanton

St. Norbert
Central
North Central
Alma

Your last pod contains two rematches, the NCAA tries their best to avoid that.  Alma played both St. Norbert and North Central.

Just in the 1st round; Alma could play Central in that scenario.

[Titan Q]

Not piling on but just an FYI...the Marietta pod has a couple rematches as well. Marietta played both Mt. St. Joseph and Wooster at Wooster's holiday tournament.

Thanks.  I'll fix that.  It wasn't in good enough shape to post it, but I was too tired to play with it anymore last night, and it's always fun for a little disucssion.  The St. Norbert pod creates problems for me.  I think if I move the Texas teams to Augie and then play around take advantage of Benedictine being closer to Chicago I can make it work.  Or I'll have to move St. Norbert to Hope, which I don't want to do because I think St. Norbert deserves it for winning their league, whereas Hope didn't.

I have St. Norbert as a top-8 seed...it wouldn't be right for them to go to a mid-Pool C team.

1. St. Thomas  .923/.562/11-0
2. Benedictine  1.000/.525/4-0
3. Christopher Newport  .963/.540/5-1
4. Augustana  .963/.537/4-1
-----
5. Marietta  .893/.555/5-3
6. Amherst .846/.561/5-1
7. St. Norbert  .920/.539/3-1
8. John Carroll  .893/.541/4-2


This bracket is going to be really hard to construct.

[sac]

Not piling on but just an FYI...the Marietta pod has a couple rematches as well. Marietta played both Mt. St. Joseph and Wooster at Wooster's holiday tournament.

Thanks.  I'll fix that.  It wasn't in good enough shape to post it, but I was too tired to play with it anymore last night, and it's always fun for a little disucssion.  The St. Norbert pod creates problems for me.  I think if I move the Texas teams to Augie and then play around take advantage of Benedictine being closer to Chicago I can make it work.  Or I'll have to move St. Norbert to Hope, which I don't want to do because I think St. Norbert deserves it for winning their league, whereas Hope didn't.

Hope actually did win its league, just not the tournament.

[Greek Tragedy]

Which begs the question...what's more relevant when it comes to who gets to host. Does it look better to win the regular season or the AQ through the tourney?

[Titan Q]

Which begs the question...what's more relevant when it comes to who gets to host. Does it look better to win the regular season or the AQ through the tourney?

Neither is a factor at all.  It just comes down to the numbers.

[sac]

Alma would probably be asked to host before Hope if there was a reason to slide down the rankings for hosting.  The last few years hosting has gone to each regions #1 and #2 with exceptions for being unable to host.  Alma will most definitely be ranked ahead of Hope.

Depending on how the committee wants to build its bridge to the East (direction not region) its very possible the Great Lakes gets 3 hosting sites in Ohio.   JCU and Marietta are able to pull quite a few teams in from the East without flights so that becomes a very attractive way to fill brackets.  (I'd actually prefer it go the other way for competitive balance but that's really tricky this year)

[7express]

Which begs the question...what's more relevant when it comes to who gets to host. Does it look better to win the regular season or the AQ through the tourney?

Neither does, but winning the regular season should count more than what you do over a 3 game stretch in a week in the end of February.

[Titan Q]

Your last pod contains two rematches, the NCAA tries their best to avoid that.  Alma played both St. Norbert and North Central.

I don't think there is any regard for non-conference rematches.  I think they just try to avoid having teams from the same conference face each other in the first 2 rounds.

[KnightSlappy]

Three games still pending tonight, but I've updated the numbers.

http://detroitjockcity.com/division-iii-mens-basketball-regional-rankings-data/

Not a Pool C question, but wouldn't Catholic pass Susquehanna?  Catholic finished 2-1 against them (including a win tonight), and the rest of the numbers are a virtual dead heat.  (Catholic has the slimmest of advantages on SOS, and a game advantage on vRRO), SUS with a very small RPI advantage and a game better in overall win/loss.  But given the fact that everything else is even, doesn't the fact that Catholic beat them twice, including the two most recent games (road and championship) push them in front?

Probably, yes.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

In recent years they've tried to have two teams from each region host (unless geography dictates otherwise).  I doubt they'll get too far away from that this year. 

[KnightSlappy]

I don't think these USAC teams have done enough to move ahead of VA Wesleyan on the RR.  If they're stuck behind the Marlins, I think they're stuck.

I think that those three (VWU, LaGrange, NC Wesleyan) could be ranked in any order, but with VWU at 18-9 (WP .667), that might override their great schedule.  It's tough sledding when your WP gets below .700.

That's when you look at last week - what did these teams do this week?  LaGrange maybe, they went 2-1, but VWC and NCW both went 1-1, VWC has a .35 SOS advantage, two more wins overall and a better looking vRRO.  You can make the argument for LaGrange, but I don't think the NCW one has merit.  Honestly, I think VWC stays ahead of both.

NC Wesleyan, I think, will be behind both. The LaGrange v. VA Wesleyan question gets interesting.

LaGrange          0.708   / 0.551   / 3-2
Virginia Wesleyan 0.667   / 0.562   / 4-4

Both have beaten Emory. LaGrange was 0-1 vs. Lynchburg, VA Wesleyan was 1-1. Virginia Wesleyan was also 1-1 vs. Roanoke which could come out of the RRO in the end. I'd give the slight edge to LaGrange and their WP.

[Titan Q]

NEWMAC final:

Babson 81
MIT 69

[sac]

NEWMAC final:

Babson 81
MIT 69

Is......is that good?

[Titan Q]

NESCAC final:

Middlebury 81
Amherst 79

#Pop