2012 Division III NCAA Tournament

[ECSUalum]

Thank you... but you should watch more often!

Dave,
You Bet, especially now that my boys are in the thick of things!!
Very interesting, professional, and informative, presentation.
Isn't it amazing how D3 sports has come along with you guys at the helm  !!!

[sac]

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-men/d3

NCAA bracket now with times listed.

[ExTartanPlayer]

I am surprised that NYU who lost 3 of their last 5, got an at-large bid.  Stockton goes 4-1 down the stretch and has a tougher schedule and doesn't get in..

Couple of points:

1) Choosing the arbitrary "Last five games" cutoff makes your argument look better than it really is.  Expand that to be the last six games and now Richard Stockton is 4-2 to NYU's 3-3.  Expand it further to "February" and it's Richard Stockton at 5-2 vs. NYU at 5-3.  See how meaningless an arbitrary cutoff like that is?

2) Also worth noting is that one of those two Stockton losses "down the stretch" came at the hands of a Brooklyn team who NYU defeated in nonconference play.  Did Richard Stockton beat anyone that NYU lost to head-to-head?

(hint: the answer to that is "no" because NYU went 11-0 in nonconference play)

3) I see the point you're trying to make that early-season losses are somehow different than late-season losses...but they really aren't when you're considering the overall body of work.  A loss is a loss, whether it happened at a Christmas tournament or in February. 

4) As for the assertion that the jury is still out on just how good the UAA is this year...the top four UAA teams lost a total of five nonconference games, which is the same number that Stockton lost themselves.  Yes, most of Stockton's losses came against pretty good teams, but if we let in every team that lost eight games to "mostly good teams" the tournament would be tripled in size.

[pjunito]

Tournament Odds


https://sites.google.com/site/d3basketballindex/tourney-odds

[njachoopsfan]

William Paterson better figure out how to turn their game around or they're going to be watching tomorrow's game from the stands.  They are getting spanked by Becker 60-47 3:53 left

[pjunito]

Great night for the New England Region!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Just got back from Cabrini.  One great game and one giant joke.

Hobart and Ohio Wesleyan was awesome.  Craziest game I've seen in a while.  Hobart came out scared and OWU came out tight.  Wesleyan missed a bunch of easy shots in the first half, which kept Hobart in it.  Once they got over the nerves, they weren't too far behind, so they still had some confidence.

OWU was the better team all the way around, on the court.  Winters, the PG was spectacular.  Davis, sat quite a few minutes in both halves and really didn't get into the flow of the offense much.  The team was working so well and seemingly in control of the game, he didn't really need to do so.

Hobarts big man was held without a FG until 20 seconds left in the game.  He had made a ton of bad passes and no one could figure out why he played so many minutes.  Then, in that 20 second span, he drove the lane for two, made a steal and got fouled, hit a FT, missed the second, but then scored to take the lead.

Mike Neer, in my mind, won the game.  He simply coached a masterful performance out of an overmatched squad.  There's some real, young talent there for the future, but two games this year is an amazing success.

I don't think they have any chance to beat Cabrini tomorrow, but impressive night for Hobart.

Cabrini can play.  They've got a roster stocked with athletes that really doesn't drop off much at all from 2-10.  #1 is obviously Cory Lemons.  The man is amazing and he actually seems to give a crap this year.  They played sloppy, but against the monstrosity that was Castleton, there's not much else you could expect.

Castleton plays about 1.5 out of the five pillars of the Grinnell system.  They rotate a full five guys in and out about every 90 seconds or so.  They shoot lots of threes and run around like madmen on offense.  They do not press, although the do matchup full court (and Lemons, generally, made them look silly) and they don't send guys to the offensive boards.  They also are pretty methodical on offense.

In the end, they just didn't have height or athletes to compete with Cabrini.  The game was not nearly as close as the scoreboard indicated.  I give credit to the coach, they had to play this was to win their conference, but with the talent they had, there was a limit.  The guys played hard and they never gave up.  They cut a nearly 30 point lead to 13 with a couple minutes to go.  Castleton can be proud of their boys.

Cabrini is better than I thought and they're better than last year.  This year's team would not have lost to last year's Wooster team, for what it's worth.  I don't know if I'll make it back tomorrow, but it will be nice to see them in a "regular" game at some point to judge poise and decision-making.

[ronk]

Pat,Dave, Gordon
   You might want to check out a dunk attempt by Lance Brown(Wm Paterson) in the 1st half. Don't remember when cuz in the play-by-play, he didn't shoot foul shots. But he took off from near the foul line(ala Dr. J), jumped over the defender, got nearly to the rim before he got flipped head over heels. Might be a utube hilite.
   Becker started the game shooting 2 technical foul shots; didn't hear why but Wm. Paterson was wearing solid orange shirts(presumably, their road uniforms) and Becker was wearing solid blue.

Dave, hope you're fine in Ky.

[goscots]

Tournament Odds


https://sites.google.com/site/d3basketballindex/tourney-odds

Thats a very interesting link. Being a very anaytical person I find this fascinating. What is also intersting is that even though the odd are being spread amoung fewer teams in the second round, quite a number of teams are projected as having a weaker chance of winning the tournament. It's all about the match-ups..

[David Collinge]

#1 Hope is tied with IWU with 0:14.2 left in regulation, Hope ball.
Update: Going to OT. The two winningest programs all-time in D3 (Wittenberg and Wooster) have already advanced in this bracket; IWU is #3 on that list.
Update: Hope takes a 2-point lead when the NCAC ref crew gifts them 2 points by missing an obvious shot clock violation.
Update: Double overtime.
Update: IWU by 4 with 1:28 left in the 2nd OT. If they go to the 3rd OT, the mascots are going to have to play, unless they have foul trouble too.
Update: 0:14.7 left, IWU by 3 and they have the ball.
Update: Titans ice it at the line, and the #1 team is vanquished on their palatial home court, 108-101 (2OT).

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Hey, I know Amherst men can't host next week (which means we're probably at F&M, right?)

I had heard somewhere that Whitewater might have a conflict as well, is that true?  If so, that pod is definitely at Wheaton/Edgewood, right?  The other two teams have to fly in anyway.

It'll clearly be between Middlebury and Cabrini for hosting duties.  Cabrini might have the seed advantage, but we all know Midd is better.

If WashU wins, then Witt is likely to host, right?  Woo and WashU are over 500 miles apart.

[Hugenerd]

Hey, I know Amherst men can't host next week (which means we're probably at F&M, right?)

If the bracket is laid out like a typically seeded bracket (I know that it may not be), F&M wouldn't be the next highest seed as they are on the same side of the bracket as #1 Amherst.  That would make Hartwick and Staten Island the #2/#3 seeds, and since Hartwick lost, Staten Island may be the highest seed in that bracket with the possibility of hosting.  Staten Island is also the most centrally located geographically, so I wouldn't be surprised if they hosted.  I would obviously love to see MIT host, but I dont know if they are even eligible from a capacity standpoint, although they did do some renovations this summer which may give them some outside shot.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So what seemed like a down year for the CCIW results in the pre-season #1 not even making the tournament, but the THREE teams who do all getting to the Sweet Sixteen.

Midwest bracket is all CCIW and NCAC.

I think Wooster can host now, if they are indeed the top seed remaining.

[fantastic50]

With Wooster and Witt very comparable, and Wooster having hosted a regional last year (when they weren't the highest seed remaining), my guess is that Witt gets it.  (However, as a Scots fan, I would be thrilled if I'm wrong!)

[Hugenerd]

With Wooster and Witt very comparable, and Wooster having hosted a regional last year (when they weren't the highest seed remaining), my guess is that Witt gets it.  (However, as a Scots fan, I would be thrilled if I'm wrong!)

I dont think last year's regional will have any bearing on this year's hosting.