2017 NCAA Tournament

[HOPEful]

The NE is much less congested now...

[middhoops]

Less congested to be sure, but 6 out of 16 ain't chopped liver.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

One thing I keep reminding myself about teams from conferences that aren't as highly regarded... there is no reason they can't make runs.

Too many times people conflate good or great conferences with good or great teams and that they should be the only ones who will be able to compete for championships. That has been proven more and more often untrue in Division III. We don't have to go back that far to see how teams at the top of some of the "weaker" conferences constantly prove themselves in the NCAA tournament. Benedictine last year, Morrisville State out of the NEAC got to the Sweet 16 two years in a row - something Keene State has now replicated. Cabrini represented the CSAC very well for a number of years. There are many other examples, even Catholic back in the early 2000s when the CAC wasn't as highly regarded.

Sure, the best conferences certainly have some very good teams. I am not saying that. I just think Division III proves great teams are everywhere. It doesn't matter the conference or the region. Too many people poo-poo teams based on their conference. It may be hard to gauge a team and how good they are based on their conference and there is certainly room for debate on when to call them good, great, Top 25, but as we always say... when they prove themselves it is hard to ignore. Hanover may have already done some of their proving, but this weekend is a perfect chance to turn even more heads.

[HOPEful]

Less congested to be sure, but 6 out of 16 ain't chopped liver.

More like filet mignon. I had not backhanded motivations for the comment. Simply that map was prettier since I wasn't trying to fit a bagillion teams into Massachusetts.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If Hanover were actually located where they are on the map, they could've hosted!

[HOPEful]

If Hanover were actually located where they are on the map, they could've hosted!

Ah... fix made. But they still wouldn't have been able to host if they didn't put in a bid.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Marietta is right on the West Virginia border if we are starting to slit hairs. They are right on the Ohio River. LOL

[HOPEful]

Marietta is right on the West Virginia border if we are starting to slit hairs. They are right on the Ohio River. LOL

Hairs have been split. And I'm aware of Hope's geography as well but it's more aesthetically pleasing to place the logo where it is...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I didn't mean for you to fix anything, just making a point.  It's not like you could even get the New England teams to their geographic locations without a whole lot of overlap anyway.

[Gregory Sager]

Here's how Massey rates the Sweet Sixteen:

  1. Whitman
  3. Middlebury
  4. Christopher Newport
  5. Marietta
  6. Babson
13. Augustana
14. Hanover
15. Hope
17. Rochester
19. Williams
20. Wartburg
22. Hardin-Simmons
23. Tufts
43. Susquehanna
53. Endicott
66. Keene State

Massey's predictions for Friday night:

Whitman 96, Hardin-Simmons 87 (WC 79%, HSC 21%)
@ Marietta 80, Rochester 73 (MC 75%, UR 25%)
Christopher Newport 76, Keene State 66 (CNU 82%, KSC 18%)
@ Babson 82, Tufts 75 (BC 74%, TU 26%)
Williams 75, Susquehanna 71 (WC 62%, SU 38%)
@ Middlebury 87, Endicott 76 (MC 84%, EC 16%)
Augustana 80, Wartburg 78 (AC 53%, WC 47%)
@ Hope 76, Hanover 71 (Hope 67%, Hano 33%)

... and Massey's championship probabilities:

1. Whitman	20.63
2. Middlebury	19.07
3. Christopher Newport	13.54
4. Marietta	13.25
5. Babson	8.79
6. Hope	5.24
7. Augustana	4.68
8. Wartburg	3.35
9. Rochester	3.23
10. Williams	3.13
11. Hanover	1.35
12. Tufts	1.10
13. Hardin-Simmons	0.86
14. Endicott	0.84
15. Susquehanna	0.74
16. Keene State	0.19

[augie77]

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Augustana, after losing their top six players and roughly 80% of their production (points, rebounds, minutes) from last season's quarterfinalist team.  Has any other surviving team lost so much from the prior season?

[nescac1]

Of the New England teams, all save for Tufts feature a mostly identical group of key players as last year, although Keene did lose its star big guy.  Tufts has surprised / impressed me considering that they lost two key starters to graduation, Pace has been limited by his ACL tear suffered last March, and Palleschi missed a good chunk of the season with a dislocated knee.  Only one returning starter has been healthy all year. 

[Gregory Sager]

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Augustana, after losing their top six players and roughly 80% of their production (points, rebounds, minutes) from last season's quarterfinalist team.

Augustana also lost sophomore forward Pierson Wofford, who played in 20 games last season as a freshman and was projected to be one of the top players on this season's team, in late January for undisclosed reasons.

Has any other surviving team lost so much from the prior season?

Good question. I'll look into that.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Of the New England teams, all save for Tufts feature a mostly identical group of key players as last year, although Keene did lose its star big guy.  Tufts has surprised / impressed me considering that they lost two key starters to graduation, Pace has been limited by his ACL tear suffered last March, and Palleschi missed a good chunk of the season with a dislocated knee.  Only one returning starter has been healthy all year.

Keene is also missing guard Dizel Wright, one of their best players, but it's not quite the same since he was injured for the second half of last season also.  Imagine what they could've done with him last year and this year.

[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:
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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

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