Monthly Archives: February 2012

Our 2012 men’s projections

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Illinois Wesleyan battles
Illinois Wesleyan is playing the waiting game, but we think they are safer than the conventional wisdom might suggest.
IWU photo by Jeff Findley

It’s a late night, as always, but our full projection is up, with the bracket.

Having a third Texas team make the tournament, as Trinity (Texas) did by winning the SCAC on Sunday afternoon, actually helped part of the bracketing process. That made it possible to bring Claremont-Mudd-Scripps into Texas to be the fourth team (well, really, the second team) of a four-team pod. Whitworth then gets a first-round bye, based mostly on geography, and awaits the winner of two other West Region teams.

In our projection, Amherst gets the other bye, based on their high seeding. Remember, with 62 teams in the tournament this season, there are only two first-round byes instead of three. Hope was also a candidate. If the NCAA is looking to spend a lot on gas, it could send Westminster to Hope and Rose-Hulman to Wash U., but we think our bracket works out just fine for seeding purposes without sending Westminster an extra 350 miles.

Here are the Pool C teams. (Pool B is Maryville.) In order of selection:

Middlebury
UW-Whitewater
Rhode Island College
Wheaton (Ill.)
Western Connecticut
UW-Stevens Point
Mary Hardin-Baylor
Wittenberg
Gustavus Adolphus
Transylvania
Hobart
Hartwick
WPI
Ohio Wesleyan
Illinois Wesleyan
Keene State
Randolph-Macon
St. Mary’s (Md.)
Birmingham-Southern

Transylvania dropping into the at-large pool actually helps Gustavus Adolphus. It’s a non-regional result, but Gustavus defeated Transylvania at the D3hoops.com Classic, and by the time we get this deep into the selection process, we have to consider the NCAA’s secondary criteria.

When doing so, Illinois Wesleyan scored better, picking up wins against regionally ranked opponents Bethany and Staten Island. I took the committee’s penchant for SOS this year to mean that when push comes to shove, they would take the teams with the better SOS, so I ranked Illinois Wesleyan ahead of Lake Forest and Randolph-Macon ahead of Birmingham-Southern.

Left on the table: St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 21-3, .470 SOS, 1-0 vs. regionally ranked opponents; Nazareth (18-7, .552, 0-4); John Carroll (15-7, .491); Keystone (21-6, .505, 0-3); Lake Forest (19-4, .516, 0-1); Wesleyan (20-5, .513, 3-3); Puget Sound (15-7, .513, 4-3). Emory was next in the South.

Take a look at the full bracket.

Our projected women’s bracket

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JHU tips it up with Muhlenberg
Johns Hopkins is hosting games in our bracket. Why?

Well, here we are, another Selection Monday.

Hoping that Matt Snyder’s projected men’s field would whet appetites for a while, we started with the projected women’s bracket this year. And this year, it turned out nothing was particularly easy to figure out.

As a reminder, this is equal parts what we think the committee WILL do and what they SHOULD do. It’s meant to give readers some idea what might happen on Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET, when the selection show is scheduled to start. (Show will be linked from the front page of D3hoops.com.)

We talked extensively on Hoopsville about a glut of teams with very similar resumes, and that was the most difficult group to parse out. But after selecting St. Joseph’s (Bklyn.) as the only Pool B team, here was how Pool C broke down, in the order selected:

Kean
Washington U.
Juniata
UW-River Falls
UW-Whitewater
Tufts
Rochester
Southern Maine
U. New England
Hartwick
Johns Hopkins
Louisiana College
St. Vincent
Bowdoin
York (Pa.)
St. Lawrence
Colby
Carthage
Simpson
Lewis and Clark

Left on the table were Rutgers-Newark, Buffalo State, UW-Eau Claire, Hope, King’s, Williams, Virginia Wesleyan and Gustavus Adolphus was next up in the West. It was once thought King’s was in, but the Monarchs played just one game against a regionally ranked opponent, and lost that one at that. Messiah was trapped behind King’s because King’s had a better record against common opponents (8-0 to Messiah’s 7-1) and Virginia Wesleyan lost to Messiah.

St. Vincent moved itself out of the glut of teams with a win against Messiah and another against Misericordia. Colby edged in over Rutgers-Newark with two wins against Williams, while Rutgers-Newark was 0-1 against the Ephs. Carthage edged out Simpson with a 2-2 record against common opponents, although both eventually got in, and Lewis and Clark was lucky to find a spot still there when they came up. They have a pretty good strength of schedule (.539) but were 0-3 against regionally ranked opponents.

Bracketing was even more fun, trying to spread out New England teams that had played each other quite frequently. In fact, Rhode Island College’s first-round opponent changed twice just while copying names into the bracket.

Take a look at the full bracket.

Bear in mind that William Paterson and Amherst wouldn’t be able to host the opening weekend in women’s basketball this year because their men’s teams are expected to host games.

Who’s in the 2012 women’s tournament?

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Sixty-four teams will participate in the 2012 Division III women’s basketball tournament. There are 43 automatic bids awarded to conference champions (Pool A), one for teams not in those 42 conferences (Pool B) and 20 at-large teams (Pool C).

Here are the teams that clinched the 43 automatic bids. The number in parentheses is the team’s seeding in their conference tournament. The NCAA bracket will be announced on Monday, February 27. You can read more about the tournament’s structure here.

Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference: La Roche (1)
American Southwest Conference: Concordia (Texas) (1-West)
Capital Athletic Conference: Mary Washington (1)
Centennial Conference: Muhlenberg (3)
City University of New York Athletic Conference: Baruch (2)
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Wesleyan (1)
Colonial States Athletic Conference: Gwynedd-Mercy (1)
Commonwealth Coast Conference: Salve Regina (2)
Empire 8: Ithaca (1)
Great Northeast Athletic Conference: Emmanuel (1)
Great South Athletic Conference: Maryville (Tenn.) (1)
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference: Franklin (1)
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Coe (2)
Landmark Conference: Catholic (3)
Liberty League: Vassar (3)
Little East Conference: Rhode Island College (1)
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference: Bridgewater State (1)
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association: Calvin (1)
Middle Atlantic Commonwealth: Lebanon Valley (1)
Middle Atlantic Freedom: Misericordia (2)
Midwest Conference: Monmouth (2)
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: St. Thomas (1)
New England Collegiate Conference: Elms (2)
New England Small College Athletic Conference: Amherst (1)
New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference: Babson (1)
New Jersey Athletic Conference: William Paterson (1-North)
North Atlantic Conference: Castleton State (1)
North Coast Athletic Conference: DePauw (1)
North Eastern Athletic Conference: Keuka (2-North)
Northern Athletics Conference: Wisconsin Lutheran (1)
Northwest Conference: George Fox (1)
Ohio Athletic Conference: Mount Union (1)
Old Dominion Athletic Conference: Guilford (3)
Presidents Athletic Conference: Thomas More (1)
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Westminster (Mo.) (1)
Skyline Conference: Mount St. Mary (1)
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Cal Lutheran (4)
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference: Centre (1-East)
State University of New York Athletic Conference: Oneonta State (3)
University Athletic Association: Chicago (No tournament)
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Martin Luther (1)
USA South Athletic Conference: Ferrum (1)
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: UW-Stevens Point (1)

Who’s in the 2012 men’s tournament?

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Sixty-two teams will participate in the 2012 Division III men’s basketball tournament. There are 42 automatic bids awarded to conference champions (Pool A), one for teams not in those 42 conferences (Pool B) and 19 at-large teams (Pool C).

Here are the teams that clinched the 42 automatic bids. The number in parentheses is the team’s seeding in their conference tournament. The NCAA bracket will be announced on Monday, February 27. You can read more about the tournament’s structure here.

Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference: Medaille (1)
American Southwest Conference: McMurry (3-West)
Capital Athletic Conference: York (Pa.) (4)
Centennial Conference: Franklin and Marshall (1)
City University of New York Athletic Conference: Staten Island (1)
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin: North Central (Ill.) (1)
Colonial States Athletic Conference: Cabrini (1)
Commonwealth Coast Conference: Endicott (3)
Empire 8: Ithaca (4)
Great Northeast Athletic Conference: Albertus Magnus (1)
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference: Rose-Hulman (3)
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Buena Vista (2)
Landmark Conference: Scranton (1)
Liberty League: Skidmore (2)
Little East Conference: Eastern Connecticut (1)
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference: Salem State (1)
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association: Hope (1)
Middle Atlantic Commonwealth: Messiah (1)
Middle Atlantic Freedom: Misericordia (1)
Midwest Conference: Carroll (4)
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: St. Thomas (1)
New England Collegiate Conference: Becker (1)
New England Small College Athletic Conference: Amherst (1)
New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference: MIT (1)
New Jersey Athletic Conference: William Paterson (1-North)
North Atlantic Conference: Castleton State (1)
North Coast Athletic Conference: Wooster (2)
North Eastern Athletic Conference: Morrisville State (1-North)
Northern Athletics Conference: Edgewood (3)
Northwest Conference: Whitworth (1)
Ohio Athletic Conference: Capital (2)
Old Dominion Athletic Conference: Virginia Wesleyan (1)
Presidents Athletic Conference: Bethany (1)
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Westminster (Mo.) (2)
Skyline Conference: Farmingdale State (2)
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1)
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference: Trinty (Tex.) (1 West)
State University of New York Athletic Conference: Oswego State (1)
University Athletic Association: Washington U. (No tournament)
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Northwestern (Minn.) (2)
USA South Athletic Conference: Christopher Newport (1)
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: UW-River Falls (2)

NCAA regional rankings, Week 3

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The third NCAA regional rankings of the 2011-12 season have been released. For women’s rankings, scroll down.

Need to know more about the regional rankings process and what they mean? Check our blog post — updated for 2012. Need to know more about the NCAA Tournament? Check out our NCAA Tournament FAQ.

Through games of Sunday, Feb. 19.

The first record is in-region record, followed by overall.

Men’s rankings
Atlantic Region
1 Staten Island 20-2 22-4
2 William Paterson 22-3 22-3
3 St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 21-2 21-3
4 Richard Stockton 17-6 18-7
5 New Jersey City 15-6 17-7

East Region
1 Hartwick 22-2 23-2
2 Oswego State 22-2 22-3
3 Hobart 20-4 21-4
4 New York U. 19-5 19-5
5 Medaille 22-2 23-2
6 Nazareth 17-6 17-8

Great Lakes
1 Hope 16-0 24-1
2 Wittenberg 18-4 20-5
3 Wooster 19-4 21-4
4 Ohio Wesleyan 18-6 19-6
5 Bethany 21-2 22-3
6 John Carroll 15-6 18-6

Mid-Atlantic
1 Cabrini 24-0 24-1
2 Franklin & Marshall 23-2 23-2
3 St. Mary’s (Md.) 17-5 19-6
4 Keystone 20-5 20-5
5 Messiah 17-6 18-6
6 Misericordia 19-6 19-6
7 Widener 14-7 18-7
8 Mary Washington 16-6 17-8
9 Albright 13-7 17-8

Midwest
1 Washington U. 18-5 18-6
2 Wheaton (Ill.) 17-5 19-5
3 Transylvania 21-2 22-3
4 Lake Forest 19-3 20-3
5 Illinois Wesleyan 17-6 19-6
6 Concordia (Wis.) 19-4 20-4
7 North Central (Ill.) 17-5 18-7
8 Augustana 18-5 19-5

Northeast
1 Amherst 21-2 23-2
2 Middlebury 21-2 23-2
3 MIT 23-1 23-1
4 Rhode Island College 20-5 20-5
5 Western Connecticut 20-5 20-5
6 Eastern Connecticut 20-5 20-5
7 WPI 18-6 18-6
8 Wesleyan 20-4 20-5
9 Albertus Magnus 24-1 24-1
10 Keene State 15-6 18-7
11 Becker 21-4 21-4
12 Salem State 17-7 18-7

South
1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 23-1 24-1
2 Virginia Wesleyan 21-3 22-3
3 Birmingham-Southern 21-1 24-1
4 Randolph-Macon 17-4 20-5
5 Christopher Newport 18-4 21-4
6 Emory 19-5 19-5
7 Hardin-Simmons 17-6 19-6
8 Texas-Dallas 19-4 21-4

West
1 UW-Whitewater 22-3 22-3
2 Whitworth 21-2 22-3
3 UW-River Falls 18-5 18-7
4 UW-Stevens Point 17-6 19-6
5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 17-1 23-1
6 St. Thomas 18-6 19-6
7 Gustavus Adolphus 18-6 19-6
8 Puget Sound 14-6 19-6
9 Whitman 16-7 18-7

Regional score reporting forms (including SOS) below:
Atlantic  |  East  |  Great Lakes  |  Middle Atlantic  |  Midwest  |  Northeast  |  South  |  West

Women’s

The first record is in-region record, followed by overall record.
Atlantic
1 Mary Washington 23-0 25-0
2 William Paterson 21-2 23-2
3 Kean 19-3 22-4
4 Mount St. Mary 21-3 22-3
5 Rutgers-Newark 17-7 17-7
6 York (Pa.) 22-4 22-4

Central
1 Chicago 24-0 24-0
2 UW-Stevens Point 20-3 21-4
3 Washington U. 19-3 20-4
4 UW-River Falls 19-5 20-5
5 UW-Whitewater 20-5 20-5
6 Illinois Wesleyan 16-5 20-5

East
1 Rochester 18-5 19-5
2 Ithaca 20-2 21-4
3 Hartwick 20-4 21-5
4 St. Lawrence 20-3 20-4
5 Buffalo State 21-2 23-2
6 Oneonta State 16-6 16-8

Great Lakes
1 Mount Union 22-1 24-1
2 DePauw 22-1 23-1
3 Calvin 17-1 23-1
4 Franklin 21-2 23-2
5 Thomas More 20-2 21-4
6 St. Vincent 20-4 20-5

Mid-Atlantic
1 Juniata 23-0 24-1
2 Lebanon Valley 21-3 22-3
3 King’s 20-3 21-4
4 Johns Hopkins 20-3 22-3
5 Messiah 21-3 22-4
6 Franklin & Marshall 18-7 19-7

Northeast
1 Amherst 23-0 25-0
2 University of New England 21-4 21-4
3 Rhode Island College 22-3 22-3
4 Tufts 20-4 20-5
5 Southern Maine 19-5 20-5
6 Bowdoin 18-5 19-6
7 Babson 22-2 23-2
8 Colby 19-6 19-6
9 Williams 17-6 19-6
10 Emmanuel 18-5 19-6

South
1 Louisiana College 20-2 22-3
2 Centre 20-3 21-3
3 Virginia Wesleyan 19-4 20-5
4 Concordia (Texas) 19-4 20-4
5 Maryville (Tenn.) 16-4 17-6
6 Eastern Mennonite 20-3 21-3

West
1 George Fox 20-0 25-0
2 St. Thomas 24-1 24-1
3 Simpson 17-5 20-5
4 Lewis & Clark 16-2 23-2
5 Gustavus Adolphus 19-6 19-6
6 Occidental 20-2 22-3

Regional score reporting forms (including SOS) below:
Atlantic | Central | East | Great Lakes | Mid-Atlantic | Northeast | South | West