NCAA Tournament

[Backseat Driver]

Illinois Wesleyan wins CCIW Final, 68-67 over Carthage.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

FYI - we are tracking the winners on our Daily Dose... here is the women's link: http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/women/2011-12/schedule

[BlueZoneBruin]

As Dave said, check out the official list at: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2012/02/25/whos-in-the-2012-womens-tournament/

Who's in...
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference - La Roche
American Southwest Conference
Capital Athletic Conference - Mary Washington
Centennial Conference - Muhlenberg
City University of New York Athletic Conference - Baruch
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin - Illinois Wesleyan
Colonial States Athletic Conference - Gwynedd-Mercy
Commonwealth Coast Conference - Salve Regina
Empire 8 - Ithaca
Great Northeast Athletic Conference - Emmanuel
Great South Athletic Conference - Maryville
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Coe
Landmark Conference - Catholic
Liberty League - Vassar
Little East Conference - Rhode Island College
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference - Bridgewater State
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association - Calvin
Middle Atlantic Commonwealth - Lebanon Valley
Middle Atlantic Freedom - Misericordia
Midwest Conference - Monmouth
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - St. Thomas
New England Collegiate Conference - Elms
New England Small College Athletic Conference
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
New Jersey Athletic Conference - William Patterson
North Atlantic Conference - Castleton State
North Coast Athletic Conference - DePauw
North Eastern Athletic Conference
Northern Athletics Conference - Wisconsin Lutheran
Northwest Conference - George Fox
Ohio Athletic Conference - Mount Union
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Presidents Athletic Conference - Thomas More
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Westminster
Skyline Conference - Mount St. Mary
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Cal Lutheran
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
State University of New York Athletic Conference - Oneonta State
University Athletic Association - Chicago
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference - Martin Luther
USA South Athletic Conference
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - UW-Stevens Point

[Ralph Turner]

Thanks BZB

As Dave said, check out the official list at: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2012/02/25/whos-in-the-2012-womens-tournament/

Who's in...
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference - La Roche
American Southwest Conference - Concordia TX
Capital Athletic Conference - Mary Washington
Centennial Conference - Muhlenberg
City University of New York Athletic Conference - Baruch
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin - Illinois Wesleyan
Colonial States Athletic Conference - Gwynedd-Mercy
Commonwealth Coast Conference - Salve Regina
Empire 8 - Ithaca
Great Northeast Athletic Conference - Emmanuel
Great South Athletic Conference - Maryville
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference - Franklin
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Coe
Landmark Conference - Catholic
Liberty League - Vassar
Little East Conference - Rhode Island College
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference - Bridgewater State
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association - Calvin
Middle Atlantic Commonwealth - Lebanon Valley
Middle Atlantic Freedom - Misericordia
Midwest Conference - Monmouth
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - St. Thomas
New England Collegiate Conference - Elms
New England Small College Athletic Conference - Amherst
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference - Babson
New Jersey Athletic Conference - William Patterson
North Atlantic Conference - Castleton State
North Coast Athletic Conference - DePauw
North Eastern Athletic Conference - Keuka
Northern Athletics Conference - Wisconsin Lutheran
Northwest Conference - George Fox
Ohio Athletic Conference - Mount Union
Old Dominion Athletic Conference - Guilford
Presidents Athletic Conference - Thomas More
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Westminster
Skyline Conference - Mount St. Mary
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Cal Lutheran
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference - Centre
State University of New York Athletic Conference - Oneonta State
University Athletic Association - Chicago
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference - Martin Luther
USA South Athletic Conference - Ferrum
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - UW-Stevens Point

[Roundball999]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

[bballfan13]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

The top 25 polls aren't factored into the NCAA selection process.  It looks like there were 10 or 11 upsets in conference tournaments making the Pool C at large bids more competitive.  Hope's SOS and in region record did not help them this year for regional rankings.  The loss to Trine really hurt them.

[Roundball999]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

The top 25 polls aren't factored into the NCAA selection process.  It looks like there were 10 or 11 upsets in conference tournaments making the Pool C at large bids more competitive.  Hope's SOS and in region record did not help them this year for regional rankings.  The loss to Trine really hurt them.

Yes, I understand the regional criteria and why Hope was not selected.  They did not achieve what was necessary for selection under the current selection process. 

I was simply congratulating the Hope girls on a very nice season nonetheless and pointing out that the current selection process left out the only team that is so highly regarded by coaches and by D3hoops.  Such anomolies are useful to consider for fine-tuning the selection process in the future.

[bballfan13]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

The top 25 polls aren't factored into the NCAA selection process.  It looks like there were 10 or 11 upsets in conference tournaments making the Pool C at large bids more competitive.  Hope's SOS and in region record did not help them this year for regional rankings.  The loss to Trine really hurt them.

Yes, I understand the regional criteria and why Hope was not selected.  They did not achieve what was necessary for selection under the current selection process. 

I was simply congratulating the Hope girls on a very nice season nonetheless and pointing out that the current selection process left out the only team that is so highly regarded by coaches and by D3hoops.  Such anomolies are useful to consider for fine-tuning the selection process in the future.

I agree that the NCAA tournament selection process has its weaknesses.  Looks like that win for Hope against Ithaca would have been a factor if these new changes get passed by the NCAA.  Check out this link to KnightSlappy's blog that describes them:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/2012/02/big-changes-coming-for-division-iii.html

[Roundball999]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

The top 25 polls aren't factored into the NCAA selection process.  It looks like there were 10 or 11 upsets in conference tournaments making the Pool C at large bids more competitive.  Hope's SOS and in region record did not help them this year for regional rankings.  The loss to Trine really hurt them.

Yes, I understand the regional criteria and why Hope was not selected.  They did not achieve what was necessary for selection under the current selection process. 

I was simply congratulating the Hope girls on a very nice season nonetheless and pointing out that the current selection process left out the only team that is so highly regarded by coaches and by D3hoops.  Such anomolies are useful to consider for fine-tuning the selection process in the future.

I agree that the NCAA tournament selection process has its weaknesses.  Looks like that win for Hope against Ithaca would have been a factor if these new changes get passed by the NCAA.  Check out this link to KnightSlappy's blog that describes them:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/2012/02/big-changes-coming-for-division-iii.html

Wow, very interesting, thanks for posting.  I would surely support those changes, they seem like a great compromise between maintaining the regional focus and giving a team some credit when they have an opportunity to "step out" and play well against good teams from other regions.  In addition to the Ithaca win, I know that the Hope girls enjoyed the opportunity to get a nice win against a solid Balwin Wallace team over the winter break.  Nice to think that such games may count toward NCAA in the future.

[Ralph Turner]

I noticed the latest D3Hoops and WCBA national rankings are out.  Hope is #20 and #18 respectively.  Despite being 22-5 and top 20 all year, only team to beat Calvin, win over the top-ranked team from the East region, Hope is the only team from the top 25 in either poll that is not still playing.  I think I understand why, given the nature of the present NCAA selection process, but do feel badly for the Hope girls especially the two seniors. 

One last congratulations to the Hope girls on a fine season.

The top 25 polls aren't factored into the NCAA selection process.  It looks like there were 10 or 11 upsets in conference tournaments making the Pool C at large bids more competitive.  Hope's SOS and in region record did not help them this year for regional rankings.  The loss to Trine really hurt them.

Yes, I understand the regional criteria and why Hope was not selected.  They did not achieve what was necessary for selection under the current selection process. 

I was simply congratulating the Hope girls on a very nice season nonetheless and pointing out that the current selection process left out the only team that is so highly regarded by coaches and by D3hoops.  Such anomolies are useful to consider for fine-tuning the selection process in the future.

I agree that the NCAA tournament selection process has its weaknesses.  Looks like that win for Hope against Ithaca would have been a factor if these new changes get passed by the NCAA.  Check out this link to KnightSlappy's blog that describes them:

http://tomaroonandgold.blogspot.com/2012/02/big-changes-coming-for-division-iii.html

Would the Ithaca coach have scheduled the game if he knew that the loss would be counted as "primary" criteria?

Sometimes you want a game against a D-III program to show your team what the "next level" looks like without major consequences.  A "non-in-region" game against Hope can do that for you.

[ronk]

Ralph,
  A very cogent point.

[Roundball999]

Good point and good question.  Without running the numbers to know for sure, my guess is a loss to a very good team doesn't end up hurting much compared to a win against a mediocre team, while the upside of the possibility of a win against a very good team is large.  Not to mention the less quantifiable and longer term benefits to challenging your team, recruiting, and so forth.  I'm sure it depends on the individual, but I'd like to think that many coaches would see the benefits of challenging their team.  Is the goal to make the NCAAs or is it to have a chance to go deep because you've played tournament caliber teams??

[gordonmann]

Is the goal to make the NCAAs or is it to have a chance to go deep because you've played tournament caliber teams??

That depends on where how good your program is now and what it's goals are. 

[sumfun]

So much for the Kean upset of Mary Washington as Messiah handles them easily in the first round.  Thanks, Gordon for at least trying to pick an upset or two. 

[sumfun]

Wild night with lots of close games...just as it should be in March Madness.  King's proves they belong.  All 3 NESCAC schools survive close games.  No WIAC schools still in, and a Final Four without Wash U for the first time is at least 3 years.  Can't wait for next weekend!!!