WBB: Landmark Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

One more curve ball... depends on what the committee on the men's side does with Tufts should they advance. Technically they are in position to host, though the committee has also stated that Babson was treated as the #1 even if they are not in that slot on the bracket (in DIII, sometimes they don't follow the exact bracketing model in an effort to balance the brackets). If Tufts men are hosting (which seems like a stretch), they have priority. Of course if Babson or others are upset and Tufts is the lone high-seed... hosting becomes more realistic. In that case... hello Scranton.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

One more curve ball... depends on what the committee on the men's side does with Tufts should they advance. Technically they are in position to host, though the committee has also stated that Babson was treated as the #1 even if they are not in that slot on the bracket (in DIII, sometimes they don't follow the exact bracketing model in an effort to balance the brackets). If Tufts men are hosting (which seems like a stretch), they have priority. Of course if Babson or others are upset and Tufts is the lone high-seed... hosting becomes more realistic. In that case... hello Scranton.

If Tufts women can't host, it'll go to WashU before Scranton, right?  I guess unless the WashU men are also hosting, but that would take some serious upsets.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

No... Tufts can still drive to Scranton. The 500 mile for one team will trump any flight plans.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

No... Tufts can still drive to Scranton. The 500 mile for one team will trump any flight plans.

But oshkosh can drive to WashU - if its two flights either way, they'll go WashU over Scranton, right?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

No... Tufts can still drive to Scranton. The 500 mile for one team will trump any flight plans.

But oshkosh can drive to WashU - if its two flights either way, they'll go WashU over Scranton, right?

Oh good point! Forgot about that. In that case, Wash U might be the #1 period in this bracket. They tend to be in the lower part of the lower brackets to be honest.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

A point was raised elsewhere... WashU's men would most certainly could host next weekend as well... which makes this more interesting. Could be played almost anywhere.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

A point was raised elsewhere... WashU's men would most certainly could host next weekend as well... which makes this more interesting. Could be played almost anywhere.

We could have Tufts, Scranton, and WashU all playing at Oshkosh - if the men's tournament shakes out a certain way.

[saratoga]

If the bracket plays out with those winners, just double book at Scranton.

The men love early games, let them play at 1:00 and 3:00 and the women will take 5:00 & 7:00.

Winners on Sat. at 5 & 7:00.

Full day of great basketball & I'll throw in a parade & let the NCAA sell 50.00 tee shirts.

Just do it!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I know you would love it... but the NCAA will say no. 

[saratoga]

What an ending last night.

Bruised, battered & sick...Bridgett just kept firing away & the law of averages played out.

Unbelievable...the Lady Royals only lead of the game was the final score.

Kudo's to Tevor for settling everyone down in the time out & simply saying to Bridgett get open & shoot.

Also...the Royals didn't have very many offensive rebounds last night but Sarah certainly saved the day by grabbing one of the few so we had one last chance with 6 seconds to go.

UNE did every little thing they had to do to slow the game down into their half court sets & his kids played about as well as they could in executing their game plan.

Has to sting when you lead for 39 minutes & 54 seconds but they are an extremely well coached team.

Certainly hope the Lady Royals bring the defensive intensity they played with in spurts the entire game tonight.

Survive & advance.

Ugly wins are still better than the alternative.

[Reserved Seat]

A lot of woe was avoided for Scranton.

[ronk]

 Congrats to the Lady Royals on the 1000th win in program history Friday nite against UNE(did u have to wait so long to take the lead?) and #1001 yesterday; best wishes in St. Louis Friday - It's a Jumbo task, but most of u know what you're up against; every possession counts!

[saratoga]

All the very best to the Lady Royals as they advance to yet another Sweet 16.

Besides the basics of take care of the ball, no unforced turnovers & play tough D...the ladies have to get second chance shots underneath.

Too many times I've seen set plays go up with less than 10 on the clock & no one is hitting the offensive glass.
Can't afford to have 4 players running backwards.

Keys could be the ability to get offensive boards & no silly fouls at any time but especially early in the game..

Baptista & North are great players that will get their points, try & neutralize the supporting cast & mix up the D so they don't get too comfortable in their half court sets.

Have some fun & keep playing the game the right way.

Go Royals

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The Division III NCAA tournaments have already seen their fair share of twists and turns. Both defending champions eliminated on the opening night, several home teams beaten, off-the-radar squads tearing Top 10 teams apart, and much more.

It has been an exciting start. What's next?

Can the home teams parlay a perceived advantage into a Championship Weekend appearence? What Cinderalla team will hear the chimes of midnight? What program will continue to make history? How will the battle of Top 25 teams shake out? And will a storied career end this weekend or in Salem?

There is plenty to talk about ahead of the Sectional Weekend and Dave McHugh has a super-sized list of guests on Thursday night's Hoopsville.

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can watch the show LIVE staring at 7:00 p.m. ET here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/mar9 --- or via the Facebook Live simulcast. If you missed any part of the show, you can watch it On Demand or listen to the podcast.

Despite the large list of guests, Dave will find time to answer questions as well. Make sure to email them to hoopsville@d3hoops.com or tweet them and Dave will answer them on air.

Guests scheduled (in order of appearance):
- Brian Morehouse, No. 18 Hope women's coach
- Trevor Woodruff, No. 17 Scranton women's coach
- Craig Carse, Hardin-Simmons men's coach
- Ruth Sinn, No. 2 St. Thomas women's coach
- Michelle Ferenz, No. 16 Whitman women's coach
- Kevin App, Williams men's coach
- Grey Giovanine, Augustana men's coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
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
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Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
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[ronk]

 Tufts defeats the Lady Royals for the 2nd year in a row of NCAA sectional play 65-48. Tufts combined their customary tough defense causing 13 1st half turnovers with uncustomary 3-pt shooting(11-25). Each time the lead could be cut to single digits in the 2nd half, Tufts made a 3-pter to build it back up to 14. Although the Lady Royals shot decently, the turnovers limited them to 15 fewer attempts than Tufts. Best wishes to Tufts as they continue play with an opportunity to meet with Amherst for a 3rd time.
  It's been a great 4 years for Sarah, Alex, and Denise with an overall record of 106-13, 4 NCAA appearances, and maintaining Scranton's position of most NCAA appearances in D3 WBB(30 years). 5 summers ago, I probably saw Sarah and Denise play 10 AAU games each on separate teams while evaluating an AAU teammate and they've exceeded my expectations ever since. Sarah broke in with the most impressive debut of a Royal in my memory in the Gwynedd-Mercy tipoff tourney with back-to-back double-doubles(1 vs Montclair, a top 10 team in the country). Denise has improved each year with significant contributions as the 1st big off the bench, limited only by playing behind 2 All-Americans. The 3 seniors have shown the high standard of Lady Royals basketball(as did Noelle and Jackie last year); hopefully, the 6 newcomers this year will continue that tradition.