2023 NCAA Tournament

[SpringSt7]

Was there a concerted effort to start the games earlier this year? I remember some early starts in the past but it seems like a lot more this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Was there a concerted effort to start the games earlier this year? I remember some early starts in the past but it seems like a lot more this year.

No, this is the new normal and the third year it has been like this.

[deiscanton]

Final-- Nichols 74, Rochester 71

This continues a trend-- Teams that got a Pool C selection with a winning pct below .667 are now 0-3 in NCAA DIII Men's basketball tournament games.

The 2016-17 UW-Oshkosh team (Pool C with a .630 winning pct) lost at Hope in the first round by 2 points.

The 2018-19 UW-La Crosse team (Pool C with a .654 winning pct) lost to St. Thomas (MN) in the first round on a neutral court by 14, and now--

The 2021-22 Rochester team (Pool C with a .640 winning pct) has just lost to Nichols in the first round on a neutral court by 3 points.

It just gives fuel to all of the mid-level DIII teams to advocate to demand the DIII Championships Committee to set a line in the sand at .667 winning pct to even be considered for eligibility for Pool C selection for all DIII Championships in all sports.  Their point will be that since you are wasting a bid on a high-level DIII team who will not win the national championship, why not give a limited opportunity to another mid-level team who does not have as many opportunities in the regular season to play the best teams to give the mid-level DIII team a chance to test themselves in the NCAA tournament?

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Biggest upset so far today. Lancaster Bible 67 NYU 64
Tied at 61, LBC hit a 3 with less than a minute left, NYU tied it again with 37 seconds left, but LBC hit the game winning 3 with 6 seconds left and NYU couldn't answer.

[Ralph Turner]

Biggest upset so far today. Lancaster Bible 67 NYU 64
Tied at 61, LBC hit a 3 with less than a minute left, NYU tied it again with 37 seconds left, but LBC hit the game winning 3 with 6 seconds left and NYU couldn't answer.

Is not that the D-3 equivalent of a D-1 Power 5 conference team losing to, for example, the Summit League AQ winner?

[SpringSt7]

Yes, but there is a big range in seeding amongst Power 5 teams. It would be like Clemson or Northwestern losing, not Kansas or Duke. Not to mention, Oral Roberts in the Summit League is pretty good this year 

[Pat Coleman]

Final-- Nichols 74, Rochester 71

This continues a trend-- Teams that got a Pool C selection with a winning pct below .667 are now 0-3 in NCAA DIII Men's basketball tournament games.

The 2016-17 UW-Oshkosh team (Pool C with a .630 winning pct) lost at Hope in the first round by 2 points.

The 2018-19 UW-La Crosse team (Pool C with a .654 winning pct) lost to St. Thomas (MN) in the first round on a neutral court by 14, and now--

The 2021-22 Rochester team (Pool C with a .640 winning pct) has just lost to Nichols in the first round on a neutral court by 3 points.

It just gives fuel to all of the mid-level DIII teams to advocate to demand the DIII Championships Committee to set a line in the sand at .667 winning pct to even be considered for eligibility for Pool C selection for all DIII Championships in all sports.  Their point will be that since you are wasting a bid on a high-level DIII team who will not win the national championship, why not give a limited opportunity to another mid-level team who does not have as many opportunities in the regular season to play the best teams to give the mid-level DIII team a chance to test themselves in the NCAA tournament?

Teams at the bottom of Pool C are not always favored to win regardless of winning percentage.

[Ralph Turner]

Biggest upset so far today. Lancaster Bible 67 NYU 64
Tied at 61, LBC hit a 3 with less than a minute left, NYU tied it again with 37 seconds left, but LBC hit the game winning 3 with 6 seconds left and NYU couldn't answer.

Is not that the D-3 equivalent of a D-1 Power 5 conference team losing to, for example, the Summit League AQ winner?

Yes, but there is a big range in seeding amongst Power 5 teams. It would be like Clemson or Northwestern losing, not Kansas or Duke. Not to mention, Oral Roberts in the Summit League is pretty good this year 

Exactly. I wondered if NYU, from the very elite UAA and the sport journalism megahub of New York City, underestimated that tiny Bible college from rural Pennsylvania.

[kiko]

Final-- Nichols 74, Rochester 71

This continues a trend-- Teams that got a Pool C selection with a winning pct below .667 are now 0-3 in NCAA DIII Men's basketball tournament games.

The 2016-17 UW-Oshkosh team (Pool C with a .630 winning pct) lost at Hope in the first round by 2 points.

The 2018-19 UW-La Crosse team (Pool C with a .654 winning pct) lost to St. Thomas (MN) in the first round on a neutral court by 14, and now--

The 2021-22 Rochester team (Pool C with a .640 winning pct) has just lost to Nichols in the first round on a neutral court by 3 points.

It just gives fuel to all of the mid-level DIII teams to advocate to demand the DIII Championships Committee to set a line in the sand at .667 winning pct to even be considered for eligibility for Pool C selection for all DIII Championships in all sports.  Their point will be that since you are wasting a bid on a high-level DIII team who will not win the national championship, why not give a limited opportunity to another mid-level team who does not have as many opportunities in the regular season to play the best teams to give the mid-level DIII team a chance to test themselves in the NCAA tournament?

*Strongly* disagree here.

Two of those three teams you cite as being wasted bids lost by one score.  They may not win the NCAA tournament, but they are far from the outlier in the field.

Those three teams are every bit as good as or better than a lot of other teams in the tournament.  Rochester led this game by 16 at halftime, which is not a sign of a team that was out of its depth.  (For reference, we have a Pool A team today that is currently losing 44-8 at halftime.)  Rochester didn't finish the job, but neither did 31 other teams today.  The Yellowjackets 100% deserved to be on the court and not sitting in the stands.

[Pat Coleman]

Yes, but there is a big range in seeding amongst Power 5 teams. It would be like Clemson or Northwestern losing, not Kansas or Duke. Not to mention, Oral Roberts in the Summit League is pretty good this year 

Exactly. I wondered if NYU, from the very elite UAA and the sport journalism megahub of New York City, underestimated that tiny Bible college from rural Pennsylvania.

I doubt it's the culture war or anything like that. This is bracketed like an 8-9 game or a 7-10 game.

Third tournament in a row that the UEC has won a first-round game.

[Greek Tragedy]

Multi-bid leagues

NESCAC goes 4-0
UAA goes 2-3
NJAC goes 2-1
WIAC goes 2-0
CC goes 2-0
ASC goes 2-0 (against the SCAC)
C2C goes 2-0
CCIW goes 2-0
E8 goes 2-0
GNAC goes 1-1
OAC goes 2-0
ODAC goes 2-0
SCIAC goes 0-2
SCAC goes 0-2 (against the ASC)

[blue_jays]

Biggest upset so far today. Lancaster Bible 67 NYU 64
Tied at 61, LBC hit a 3 with less than a minute left, NYU tied it again with 37 seconds left, but LBC hit the game winning 3 with 6 seconds left and NYU couldn't answer.

Is not that the D-3 equivalent of a D-1 Power 5 conference team losing to, for example, the Summit League AQ winner?

Yes, but there is a big range in seeding amongst Power 5 teams. It would be like Clemson or Northwestern losing, not Kansas or Duke. Not to mention, Oral Roberts in the Summit League is pretty good this year 

Exactly. I wondered if NYU, from the very elite UAA and the sport journalism megahub of New York City, underestimated that tiny Bible college from rural Pennsylvania.

I mean... NYU wasn't some great team. They were .500 in conference and cleaned up in the non-con because that's what they always do. Playing Helen Keller's School For the Blind will get you easy wins, but that's about it. NYU did look much improved this year and had a legit squad of players, unlike the past 5-6 years of teams. But the UAA was overrated this year at the top. It's the deepest the league might have ever been, but the top was very spongy and prone to losing. These current UAA squads don't hold a candle to the power teams of past years in the league.

[stlawus]

For all the talk about how good the UAA was this year, I have to agree.  Does anyone really think this year's UAA teams could compete with a WashU circa 08/09? 

[Greek Tragedy]

Biggest upset so far today. Lancaster Bible 67 NYU 64
Tied at 61, LBC hit a 3 with less than a minute left, NYU tied it again with 37 seconds left, but LBC hit the game winning 3 with 6 seconds left and NYU couldn't answer.

Is not that the D-3 equivalent of a D-1 Power 5 conference team losing to, for example, the Summit League AQ winner?

Yes, but there is a big range in seeding amongst Power 5 teams. It would be like Clemson or Northwestern losing, not Kansas or Duke. Not to mention, Oral Roberts in the Summit League is pretty good this year 

Exactly. I wondered if NYU, from the very elite UAA and the sport journalism megahub of New York City, underestimated that tiny Bible college from rural Pennsylvania.

I mean... NYU wasn't some great team. They were .500 in conference and cleaned up in the non-con because that's what they always do. Playing Helen Keller's School For the Blind will get you easy wins, but that's about it. NYU did look much improved this year and had a legit squad of players, unlike the past 5-6 years of teams. But the UAA was overrated this year at the top. It's the deepest the league might have ever been, but the top was very spongy and prone to losing. These current UAA squads don't hold a candle to the power teams of past years in the league.

The NYU coaching staff got "Coaching Staff of the Year" finishing tied for 4th with a 7-7 conference record.

[hopefan]

I loved the staggered start times of every game... allowed for a D3 hoops internet junkie like myself to see many more endings of games!!!  FAN-tastic!!!!!!