2016 NCAA Tournament

[Brother Flounder]

Tufts with most of the possession in the first half and knock 2 in the second half to advance.....2-0. Springfield's defense closed fast but the Jumbos attack finally scored 2....

[Falconer]

Montclair State another 1st round knock out 5-1. When was that last year they made it out of the first round?

It got very cold last night so I did not stay for the second half, but the first half was a wide open, up-and-down game--the kind of game in which Lucas Terci could very well have scored at least one goal (in that half).  Both teams were dangerous, but MSU would surely have been more dangerous than they were (they probably get more SOG than they did), if he had been in there, and perhaps it's a 2-2 tie at the half instead of 2-1 in favor of CNU.  We aren't going to know.

What we do know is that Terci played his last collegiate game in the NJAC semifinal.  The significance of that red card (his second for the season) was magnified last night.

The first game went pretty much as expected, though (if anything) Messiah played even better than I had anticipated.  A nearly perfect game for them.  If they do it again tonight, then CNU's season will be over.  But, they don't play 'em on paper, and I expect CNU to be the toughest opponent Messiah has faced all year.  It could go either way.  Indeed, IMO, every remaining game on Messiah's schedule now features a Final-Four quality opponent.  I don't think that can be said for the other three top seeds.  Whoever comes out of next week's sectional will have earned it.

[Mr.Right]

I thought the Tufts v Springfield game was a scrappy workmanlike game. Springfield works very hard but were extremely UGLY as their backs were whacking everything. Springfield had a few dangerous players but Springfield did not have enough weapons to beat Tufts. That  said Tufts showed they have some serious weaknesses that better teams(Rowan) can exploit. I thought Tufts backline looked awful last night. Tufts LB who i believe got an assist on the goal is a major weakness IMO and Rowan has speed on the flanks and skill to beat him 1v1. Sullivan and Coleman(Tufts CB's) looked very vulnerable last night as they were missing their marks and again Coleman is SLOOOWWW which will hurt against better teams(Rowan). Tufts works very hard and are playing as a team more than I have ever seen them play because they do not have the star power they did in 2014. Becharano scored on a nice header but again before that I had not noticed him all game. Majumder looks a shade of himself as his injuries have obviously affected him. Rojas came into the game and showed his skill but looked soft in tackle for a Jersey player. I think they can beat Rowan but will need to play their "A" game to do so. Their backs MUST play better or they will give up 2-3 goals in this game. I am expecting a tight affair and one of the better games of the day today. BTW, excellent stream from Rowan, no announcers which I like(Haverford games would have been much better had those girls been MUTED), and quality stream.

[Mr.Right]

A ton of the questionable Pool C bids that teams got are showing that the committee really has no clue...WAKE UP...

UR--losing to Eastern 2-0
OWU----losing a tight game to CMU but that was not a great OWU side and did not look like a OWU side of old.
SLU---Did not deserve their bid after finishing the season 2-3-0 and then got dispatched on PK's to W&L..Tough way to go out but that SLU side was average at best.
Dubuque--10 men or not a Pool C team should not be losing to a weaker AQ from a weak league.
Wash U---Tough match v Redlands but they coughed up a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes left. Another UAA team to lose.
Babson----Overrated and over ranked all year this team was anemic up front and lose to a weak AQ from a weak league. St.Joe's 6'7" GK is a bonus but he can be beaten low.
Kean----This 4th NJAC team is NOT nearly as good as the Top 3 in the NJAC. UMASS Boston handled them rather easily 3-0, the game was closer than the score but again a Pool C to team that was not Top 6 in their own conference and then a shellacking opened my eyes.

[Mr.Right]

Watching MSU vCNU last night I finally saw MSU's very leaky defense LIVE. Firstplacecloser told us all year how bad they defensively but when I saw the beat RUN and Rowan in the NJAC Tournament I just saw the opposite. Their defense worked hard and while not completely organized they got the job done. LAST NIGHT MSU was a disaster defensively. The 1st Half was a free flowing fun game to watch but the 2nd Half after MSU failed to even the match up 2-2 they CAVED. CNU took advantage went up 3-1 and MSU panicked and started SENDING everyone forward with 35 minutes left. It was to early as MSU could have come back from 3-1 but there team is very unorganized defensively and frankly do not play like a cohesive team. They have individual studs but they did not play like a cohesive unit last night and frankly that falls all on the coach.

[Mr.Right]

Honestly, the biggest surprise for me was RUN only beating New England College 1-0. New England College comes from the weakest league in the country possibly. They were not even a Top 2-3 side in that league. To only beat that team 1-0 is concerning and the Shots looked somewhat even as this was a game they should have had a 30-4 Shot advantage and a 4-5 goal win. What does is all mean? Maybe nothing but ETOWN might have a great chance to get back to the Sweet 16 in like 20 years if RUN comes out asleep again.

[PaulNewman]

Montclair State another 1st round knock out 5-1. When was that last year they made it out of the first round?

It got very cold last night so I did not stay for the second half, but the first half was a wide open, up-and-down game--the kind of game in which Lucas Terci could very well have scored at least one goal (in that half).  Both teams were dangerous, but MSU would surely have been more dangerous than they were (they probably get more SOG than they did), if he had been in there, and perhaps it's a 2-2 tie at the half instead of 2-1 in favor of CNU.  We aren't going to know.

What we do know is that Terci played his last collegiate game in the NJAC semifinal.  The significance of that red card (his second for the season) was magnified last night.

The first game went pretty much as expected, though (if anything) Messiah played even better than I had anticipated.  A nearly perfect game for them.  If they do it again tonight, then CNU's season will be over.  But, they don't play 'em on paper, and I expect CNU to be the toughest opponent Messiah has faced all year.  It could go either way.  Indeed, IMO, every remaining game on Messiah's schedule now features a Final-Four quality opponent.  I don't think that can be said for the other three top seeds.  Whoever comes out of next week's sectional will have earned it.

Falconer, we're on the same page about MSU.  Don't forget that in addition to Terci supposedly another senior star, Bziukiewicz, quit.  Maybe that's not true, but if it is, there's a volatility there that would concern me if I was a MSU fan.  We'll see what CNU can do with Messiah.  The concern on this site seemed almost exclusive to MSU as an early (and unfair?) threat to Messiah.  CNU is certainly a more than fair challenge for a 2nd round game for a #1 seed.

That said, I think you're going too far as a Messiah surrogate.  Messiah isn't the only #1 seed that could face Final Four type teams the rest of the way.  I'll give you Chicago.  DePauw, Redlands, UWW, Luther, etc are all good teams but not great teams.    Any of them beating Chicago would be considered a massive upset.  Carthage was the one team I thought could give the Maroons a run for their money and they are gone.   Amherst is the next closest, basically getting a bye all the way into the Sweet 16.  Brandeis could beat them and RUN or Oneonta could beat team.  Would be considered upsets but not major ones.  Amherst will have to win two tough but winnable games.  Rowan's draw, though, fairly matches Messiah's.  Want to switch CNU and Tufts right now because you think Tufts would be an easier game?  Then potentially Haverford (or even UMass-Boston), followed by Trinity or Lynchburg/Kenyon?  The Messiah and Rowan draws are very similar IMO.

There are teams that have a much easier road to the Sweet 16 than others.  As noted, Chicago and Amherst basically got byes to the Sweet 16.  Brandeis will have had to beat only WNEC and St. Josephs.  Oneonta only St John Fisher and Eastern.  RUN only NE College and E'town (I know E'town is good but that's still not a blockbuster opponent).  UWW, Benedictine, Luther and STU all have to like their chances with no huge heavyweight standing in the way.  Trinity is a big favorite in both of their pod games to advance. 

Calvin actually may have gotten the toughest overall draw among contenders, with ONU, CMU and probably Messiah and at least CNU.

[PaulNewman]

A ton of the questionable Pool C bids that teams got are showing that the committee really has no clue...WAKE UP...

UR--losing to Eastern 2-0
OWU----losing a tight game to CMU but that was not a great OWU side and did not look like a OWU side of old.
SLU---Did not deserve their bid after finishing the season 2-3-0 and then got dispatched on PK's to W&L..Tough way to go out but that SLU side was average at best.
Dubuque--10 men or not a Pool C team should not be losing to a weaker AQ from a weak league.
Wash U---Tough match v Redlands but they coughed up a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes left. Another UAA team to lose.
Babson----Overrated and over ranked all year this team was anemic up front and lose to a weak AQ from a weak league. St.Joe's 6'7" GK is a bonus but he can be beaten low.
Kean----This 4th NJAC team is NOT nearly as good as the Top 3 in the NJAC. UMASS Boston handled them rather easily 3-0, the game was closer than the score but again a Pool C to team that was not Top 6 in their own conference and then a shellacking opened my eyes.

Agreed.  Basically every one of those teams backed into the tournament, and none of them should have felt aggrieved had they not been selected.  At least this year shows that the emphasis on SoS and RvR can result in questionable decisions.  Midd must look at that list and shake their collective heads (although, in fairness, Midd would have backed in as well).

[Falconer]

Montclair State another 1st round knock out 5-1. When was that last year they made it out of the first round?

It got very cold last night so I did not stay for the second half, but the first half was a wide open, up-and-down game--the kind of game in which Lucas Terci could very well have scored at least one goal (in that half).  Both teams were dangerous, but MSU would surely have been more dangerous than they were (they probably get more SOG than they did), if he had been in there, and perhaps it's a 2-2 tie at the half instead of 2-1 in favor of CNU.  We aren't going to know.

What we do know is that Terci played his last collegiate game in the NJAC semifinal.  The significance of that red card (his second for the season) was magnified last night.

The first game went pretty much as expected, though (if anything) Messiah played even better than I had anticipated.  A nearly perfect game for them.  If they do it again tonight, then CNU's season will be over.  But, they don't play 'em on paper, and I expect CNU to be the toughest opponent Messiah has faced all year.  It could go either way.  Indeed, IMO, every remaining game on Messiah's schedule now features a Final-Four quality opponent.  I don't think that can be said for the other three top seeds.  Whoever comes out of next week's sectional will have earned it.

Falconer, we're on the same page about MSU.  Don't forget that in addition to Terci supposedly another senior star, Bziukiewicz, quit.  Maybe that's not true, but if it is, there's a volatility there that would concern me if I was a MSU fan.  We'll see what CNU can do with Messiah.  The concern on this site seemed almost exclusive to MSU as an early (and unfair?) threat to Messiah.  CNU is certainly a more than fair challenge for a 2nd round game for a #1 seed.

That said, I think you're going too far as a Messiah surrogate.  Messiah isn't the only #1 seed that could face Final Four type teams the rest of the way.  I'll give you Chicago.  DePauw, Redlands, UWW, Luther, etc are all good teams but not great teams.    Any of them beating Chicago would be considered a massive upset.  Carthage was the one team I thought could give the Maroons a run for their money and they are gone.   Amherst is the next closest, basically getting a bye all the way into the Sweet 16.  Brandeis could beat them and RUN or Oneonta could beat team.  Would be considered upsets but not major ones.  Amherst will have to win two tough but winnable games.  Rowan's draw, though, fairly matches Messiah's.  Want to switch CNU and Tufts right now because you think Tufts would be an easier game?  Then potentially Haverford (or even UMass-Boston), followed by Trinity or Lynchburg/Kenyon?  The Messiah and Rowan draws are very similar IMO.

There are teams that have a much easier road to the Sweet 16 than others.  As noted, Chicago and Amherst basically got byes to the Sweet 16.  Brandeis will have had to beat only WNEC and St. Josephs.  Oneonta only St John Fisher and Eastern.  RUN only NE College and E'town (I know E'town is good but that's still not a blockbuster opponent).  UWW, Benedictine, Luther and STU all have to like their chances with no huge heavyweight standing in the way.  Trinity is a big favorite in both of their pod games to advance. 

Calvin actually may have gotten the toughest overall draw among contenders, with ONU, CMU and probably Messiah and at least CNU.

We agree, NCAC, that Calvin's draw might have been even tougher than Messiah's--but, that's supposed to be the case, if you aren't a number one seed.  I don't think I overstated the point, saying that Messiah will probably face a Final Four quality team all the way through (now that round one is over), and that no other number one seed has that facing them.  I enjoy differences of opinion on things like this, so I'll defend mine.

IMO, neither Haverford nor UMASS nor Tufts is a Final Four team--I'd certainly swap Tufts for either CNU or Calvin.  Trinity is a Final Four quality team, and we might indeed see Trinity vs Rowan in the Elite Eight.  Rowan would face only one of the combination Trinity-Lynchburg-Kenyon, and I am not persuaded that either of the others is top drawer at this point in this season.  On the other hand, Messiah is now looking at CNU, Calvin, and then probably F&M or Cortland.  Perhaps Cortland is Final Four quality; I have yet to see them play.  F&M certainly is that quality.  Both Calvin and CNU are that quality, IMO.  Next week's sectional could actually feature four teams, all of them of Final Four quality.  Where else will that happen? So, that's why I made that claim. 

In a couple of weeks, of course, we'll all know who has proved to be Final Four quality--and that's the bottom line, regardless of how tough it is to get there.

[PaulNewman]

Falconer, we'll just have to agree to disagree.  First of all, I wasn't bringing in Calvin regarding your argument about the #1 seeds.  Secondly, CNU looks formidable now after a 5-1 thumping of MSU, but I think most of us agree that basing opinions on MSU results is a haphazard proposition.  I don't think you have any real basis to suggest that CNU and F&M are more legit Final Four candidates than Haverford or Kenyon or even Tufts.  I mean, Haverford just beat F&M last week.  And I would think most would consider CNU versus either Lynchburg or Kenyon as toss-up games.  I will give you this...Messiah except for yesterday does not have an easy path, although we are talking about Messiah, home field advantage, and the Messiah tradition.

[PaulNewman]

BTW, Falconer or FW, is the Danny Rowe on the broadcast team for Lynchburg the Messiah Danny Rowe?  The lead announcer Joe Hurtzler is certainly a professional and entertaining "voice of the Hornets."  His commercial with him out of the field at night by himself is classic.  Another one of the better broadcasts for a D3 school.

[firstplaceloser]

i think everyone saw the MSU that i've been trying to tell you guys about.. Granted their two best players weren't playing(terri red card) and buckiwitz quit right before the NJAC tournament. Newark is another team... they are good don't get me wrong but top 10 in the country? NO. i will be watching rowan tonight as well as the messiah and cnu game. good luck to all

[Mr.Right]

Amherst goes up early on Daniel Webster 1-0 in what could be the "easiest" path to the Sweet 16 in NCAA D3 History...Game could end up being 5-0.

In a very even game and well played game so far Haverford has its full with UMASS Boston today. Could be one of the better games today.

Brandeis and St.Joseph's(ME) just underway

[golordsiamlord]

Kenyon takes an early 1-0 lead against Lynchburg at Lynchburg.  Here's the history of Lynchburg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Virginia#History

[Domino1195]

Kenyon takes an early 1-0 lead against Lynchburg at Lynchburg.  Here's the history of Lynchburg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Virginia#History

Should have been two with the Eudy miss. LC not tidy in the back as I said yesterday - and the Kenyon keeper commits a boneheaded play to level the score. If I had a nickel for every over-aggressive keeper mistake this year I'd have a lot of nickels.