WBB: Little East

[AllStar]

Keene hands Western their first LEC loss, Eastern beats Dartmouth & USM beats RIC so all 4 are 3-1.  Still think Keene is the best team of the bunch, but if I had to pick a winner today I'd pick USM because their 3 farthest trips (Eastern, Western & RIC) are all done and have a backloaded home stretch of conference games coming up as they've already played 3 conference games on the road.  Don't think Eastern & Western are gonna score enough against the other 3, though Eastern has done fairly well since they got beat up by Amherst, Tufts & USM the end of November.  Keene doesn't have the marquee victories, so even with their gaudy 13-1 record, this is a 1 bid league regardless of which of the 8 teams wins.

Boston & Dartmouth are by far the 2 biggest disappointments.  Not even close in that department either.

I think there will be a lot of congestion at the top of the standings this year.  Every time you think one team is playing better, they go backwards.  I would say the top four will be some order of Eastern, Western, Keene, and Southern Maine.  Then you have the UMass schools Boston and Dartmouth sort of in the middle, followed by RIC and Plymouth at the bottom.  Plymouth is better to some degree, but still has work to do to move up. Obviously, though, you are right...only 1 bid again this year.  The conference one of these years needs to actually get a few marquee non conference wins, otherwise it will never change from what it is now.  Keene is better, sure...but they have played several tomato cans, so I'm not really sure what they actually are (and blowing a 17-point lead with two minutes left in the 3rd the other day at USM is a bad look).

[7express]

Eastern beats Western, while the Owls & Huskies beat their tomato can conference opponents last night, so Keene/USM/Eastern are all 5-1 while Western falls to 4-2.  Still think those will be the top 4 at seasons end in some order.  Dartmouth & Boston are talented clubs playing lousy, but they may have dug themselves too big of a hole to dig themselves out of.  Dartmouth & Boston play conference leaders this weekend (Dartmouth home vs. Keene, Boston @ Western) before they play each other @ Dartmouth next Wednesday.  If one of those teams can finish 2-0 those 2 games they'll give themselves a chance to crash the top 4 party.

[AllStar]

Keene's dreadful loss to UMass Dartmouth and Eastern Connecticut's win over Southern Maine means ECSU is in control at the top of the standings.  Overall, though, this league is thoroughly mediocre.  Keene seems to be getting worse as the season goes on...and they played a weak non conference schedule, too.

[7express]

They (Keene) still play Eastern twice, but those are 2 bad losses to USM and Dartmouth.

[AllStar]

They (Keene) still play Eastern twice, but those are 2 bad losses to USM and Dartmouth.

Quite bad.  To put it simply, if a team is even remotely good, you don't lose those games.  Particularly when in one game (USM) you are up 17 points late in the 3rd and in the other the opposition shoots a pathetic 33% (UMD).

[7express]

Keene loses again, this time to Eastern.  Western (over RIC) & USM (vs. the hapless Plymouth Panthers) also get wins to pass the Owls in the standings.  In one of the bigger games of the day Boston wins @ Dartmouth.  IF Keene can beat Boston on Saturday, the top 4 could be pretty much set.

[AllStar]

Keene loses again, this time to Eastern.  Western (over RIC) & USM (vs. the hapless Plymouth Panthers) also get wins to pass the Owls in the standings.  In one of the bigger games of the day Boston wins @ Dartmouth.  IF Keene can beat Boston on Saturday, the top 4 could be pretty much set.

This league is pretty pathetic right now.  The men's side is better overall from top to bottom, but not by much.

[7express]

Only interesting game on the schedule for Saturday is Western @ USM for the 2/3 spot.  Loser (especially if it's USM) is probably out of the running for the top spot in the conference.
Eastern will run away from RIC, Dartmouth should beat Plymouth, but they've had trouble up in Plymouth with Colleen Moriarty, Erica Bornemann & Kelsey Garrity on the team though, while Boston/Keene could be interesting, but Boston is disappointing and Keene is sliding.

[7express]

So Eastern loses to RIC, 3rd time in the last 4 games the Anchorwomen have beaten the Warriors.  Last 2 years the Warriors are 17-3 against the other 6 conference teams but just 1-3 against RIC.
Western wins at USM, WOW!  Now tied with Eastern at the top but Eastern won the only meeting so they'll hold the tiebreaker for now.  However, Western swept the Huskies while the Warriors only split with them, so if Western can win the rematch in a few weeks, they'll hold the tiebreaker.
Keene will beat Boston, up 13 with 2:30 to play
Dartmouth wins @ Plymouth, no real surprise there.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

For the third consecutive year, Hoopsville will air for 12 hours as the regular season enters the final four weeks. Dave McHugh will chat with coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and others involved in Division III basketball from around the country. Other guests will include those who have Division III roots or appreciate the division and the game along with the student-athletes who play the sport.

Hoopsville will air from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (and maybe later) on Thursday, February 4 live from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can see what guests are scheduled, get more information, and watch the show here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2015-16/feb4

You can also read the press release about the show: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/hoopsville-marathon-2016

Here is the guest list as we speak. All times are Eastern and subject to change. Additional guests to be added if and when necessary:


   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Time	Guest	School
10:15am	Connie Tilley	St. Norbert (WBB) - WBCA Center Court
10:40am	Jamie Purdy	Peidmont (WBB)
11:00am	Keri Carollo	UW-Whitewater (WBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
11:20am	Brent Pollari	Saint Mary's (Minn.) (WBB)
11:40am	Kent Madsen	No. 21 Wheaton (Ill.) (WBB)
12:00pm	Russell Loyd	Rose-Hulman (MBB)
12:20pm	Kevin Broderick	Nazareth (MBB)
12:40pm	Justin Scott	Arcadia (MBB)
1:00pm	Sam Hargraves	No. 12 Alma (MBB)
1:20pm	Lenny Reich	Mount Union (SID)
1:40pm	Maureen Webster	Clarkson (WBB)
2:00pm	Betsy Witman	York (Pa.) (WBB)
2:20pm	Sara Lee	Denison (WBB)
2:40pm	Klay Kneuppel	Wisconsin Lutheran (MBB)
3:00pm	Brian Van Haaften	Buena Vista (MBB) - Nat'l Committee Chair
3:30pm	Sydney Moss	No. 1 Thomas More (WBB)
3:45pm	Aaron Rousell	Bucknell (WBB) - former Chicago coach
4:00pm	Tim Shanahan	Staten Island (WBB)
4:20	Pat Cunningham	Trinity (Texas) (MBB) - NABC Coach's Corner
4:50pm	Bubba Smith	Sewanee (MBB)
5:15pm	Ben Strong	Former Guilford All-American
5:30pm	Kevin Connors	ESPN SportsCenter Anchor - Ithaca alumnus
6:00pm	Kristen Dowling	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (WBB)
6:20pm	Allison Coleman	Sage (WBB)
6:40pm	Landry Kosmalski	Swarthmore (MBB)
7:00pm	Dave Niland	No. 23 Penn State-Behrend (MBB)
7:20pm	Aaron Galletta	Lasell (MBB)
7:40pm	John Baron	Gwynedd-Mercy (MBB)
8:00pm
8:20pm
8:40pm	Melissa Hodgdon	Wheaton (Mass.) (WBB)
9:00pm	G.P. Gromacki	No. 2 Amherst (WBB)
9:20pm	James Wagner
9:40pm	HAPPY HOUR	Free-for-all of calls, tweets, and fun!

We hope to get at least the full show on a podcast, or several podcast, during the on Friday. You can find it here:
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
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

And a reminder the Hoopsville Fundraising Project has begun yet again. Please consider helping us cover Division III basketball the way it deserves to be covered. If you can not donate, please don't worry about - we understand. At least share the campaign with anyone you think might be interested: http://igg.me/at/hoopsville-fundraiser/x/6029509

Also, if you know any advertisers interested in promoting their company or products on the show, send them our way: hoopsville@d3hoops.com

Thanks!

[7express]

So, Western plays Eastern Wednesday & Keene Saturday, both at home
Eastern has a home game vs. Dartmouth Saturday sandwiched between 2 road games (@ Western this Wednesday, @ Keene next Wednesday)
Keene eats the Plymouth cupcake tonight and will tie the loser of Eastern/Western in the standings before playing those 2 teams the next 2 games.
USM has lost a couple games here to drop themselves off the pace, but their remaining schedule is a joke the rest of the way (home vs. Boston, RIC & Plymouth, @ Dartmouth).  Don't think it's gonna be enough to give them the title, considering they'll be basically 3 games back of Eastern/Western since BOTH teams hold the tiebreaker on them (Eastern would win the tiebreaker against them due to a better record they would've had against Western [worst they will finish is 1-1 while USM went 0-2] while Western has the head-to-head sweep in their pocket), but they'll easily get themselves in the top 4.  Those 4 will be your home teams in the quarterfinals a couple weeks from today, in some order.  To round out the rest:
The winner of Boston/Dartmouth next week probably gets the 5 seed and the loser is 6th, RIC will finish 7th, Plymouth 8th.  I don't like any road teams advancing, but I'm still drinking the Boston & Dartmouth Kool-Aid.  Neither team can win in Maine in the 4/5 or 3/6 game, but I think they can give Western or Keene problems.

[Pat Coleman]

Alright, folks -- the NCAA's first women's basketball regional rankings are posted. Check out the full list from D3hoops.com:
http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2016/02/10/first-2016-regional-rankings-released-today/

[7express]

Eastern #8, Keene #9 in the first regional rankings.  Not good enough for either team to grab a pool A.  Eastern can probably move up to #6 by the time the season ends if they win out, but the problem is they'll be stuck behind at least 3 NESCAC teams in the rankings.  Keene probably can't move much with their weak out of conference schedule.  That's why these next 3 games for Eastern, Keene & Western (not ranked) will go a long way to determining who gets the conference's lone selection.

[7express]

So apparently USM loses again at home to Boston.  They were like 69-0 or something career vs. Boston before last season when Boston edged them at home, and this year they did it again.
Keene eats the Plymouth cupcake, but hopefully AllStar can tell us whether it was close or not (my guess would be no).
Eastern beats Western, and sweeps the series from the Colonials.  They still have to play @ Keene, but they look good especially since they own the tiebreaker against Western, and I believe would own the tiebreaker against Keene as well even if they lose next week.
Who cares about RIC vs. Dartmouth, but I think RIC ended up winning (WTF happened to Dartmouth??)

[7express]

Grace Geary with 33 points.  Unfortunately I don't see them winning again in Maine, but that's why I could see them winning on the road.  After starting slow they have won 3 straight.
Dartmouth is now tied with RIC at 4-7, and would be the #7 seed in the LEC tournament if the season ended today as RIC owns the tiebreaker.