Need to know more about the regional rankings process and what they mean? Check our blog post — it’s from last year but it’s still good. Need to know more about the NCAA Tournament? Check out our NCAA Tournament FAQ.

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

Men’s rankings
Atlantic Region
1 Staten Island 15-2 16-4
2 William Paterson 19-3 19-3
3 St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 17-1 17-2
4 Richard Stockton 14-6 15-7
5 New Jersey City 14-4 16-5

East Region
1 Hartwick 19-2 20-2
2 Oswego State 17-2 17-3
3 New York University 17-2 17-2
4 Hobart 15-4 16-4
5 Medaille 19-2 20-2
6 Nazareth 15-5 15-7

Great Lakes
1 Hope 12-0 20-1
2 Wittenberg 15-3 17-4
3 Wooster 16-3 18-3
4 Ohio Wesleyan 15-5 16-5
5 Wabash 13-6 15-6
6 Capital 13-6 14-7

Mid-Atlantic
1 Cabrini 21-0 21-1
2 Keystone 17-3 17-3
3 Lycoming 15-4 17-5
4 Mary Washington 14-4 15-6
5 Franklin & Marshall 19-2 19-2
6 St. Mary’s (Md.) 14-5 16-6
7 Messiah 13-6 14-6
8 Misericordia 15-6 15-6
9 Alvernia 13-6 15-6

Midwest
1 Washington U. 15-4 15-5
2 Transylvania 18-1 19-2
3 Lake Forest 17-2 18-2
4 Wheaton (Ill.) 15-4 17-4
5 North Central (Ill.) 14-4 15-6
6 Illinois Wesleyan 14-5 16-5
7 Edgewood 14-5 16-5
8 Concordia (Wis.) 15-4 16-4

Northeast
1 Amherst 18-2 20-2
2 Middlebury 18-1 20-1
3 Rhode Island College 16-4 16-4
4 Western Connecticut 17-4 17-4
5 WPI 16-4 16-4
6 Eastern Connecticut 17-4 17-4
7 MIT 20-1 20-1
8 Keene State 14-3 17-4
9 Wesleyan (Conn.) 17-4 17-5
10 Tufts 16-6 16-6
11 Becker 16-4 16-4
12 Albertus Magnus 20-1 20-1

South
1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 19-1 20-1
2 Virginia Wesleyan 17-2 18-2
3 Birmingham-Southern 17-1 20-1
4 Randolph-Macon 14-3 17-4
5 Christopher Newport 15-4 18-4
6 Emory 16-4 16-4
7 Guilford 14-5 15-6
8 Hardin-Simmons 14-5 16-5

West
1 UW-River Falls 16-3 16-5
2 UW-Stevens Point 16-4 18-4
3 UW-Whitewater 19-2 19-2
4 Whitworth 17-2 18-3
5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 13-1 19-1
6 St. Thomas 14-6 15-6
7 Gustavus Adolphus 14-5 15-5
8 Dubuque 15-3 16-6
9 Whitman 13-6 15-6

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 Kean 17-2 20-3
2 William Paterson 19-1 21-1
3 Mary Washington 19-0 21-0
4 Mount St. Mary (N.Y.) 17-3 18-3
5 York (Pa.) 17-3 17-3
6 Catholic 16-4 18-4

Central
1 Chicago 20-0 20-0
2 UW-Stevens Point 18-2 19-3
3 Washington U. 15-3 16-4
4 Illinois Wesleyan 12-5 16-5
5 UW-Eau Claire 17-4 17-5
6 Carthage 15-4 17-4

East
1 Rochester (N.Y.) 16-3 17-3
2 Ithaca 17-2 18-4
3 Hartwick 18-2 18-3
4 St. Lawrence 17-3 17-4
5 Oneonta State 14-4 14-6
6 Buffalo State 16-2 18-2

Great Lakes
1 DePauw 19-1 20-1
2 Mount Union 18-1 20-1
3 Calvin 14-1 20-1
4 Franklin 18-1 20-1
5 Ohio Northern 18-3 18-3
6 St. Vincent 17-3 17-4

Mid-Atlantic
1 Juniata 20-0 21-1
2 Lebanon Valley 19-2 19-2
3 King’s 17-2 18-3
4 Johns Hopkins 17-2 19-2
5 Messiah 15-3 16-4
6 Muhlenberg 15-5 15-5

Northeast
1 Amherst 20-0 22-0
2 Rhode Island College 19-2 19-2
3 Babson 17-2 18-2
4 Tufts 18-4 18-5
5 Williams 16-4 18-4
6 University of New England 17-4 17-4
7 Southern Maine 15-5 16-5
8 Connecticut College 15-4 16-4
9 Keene State 14-4 14-5
10 Colby 15-5 15-5

South
1 Louisiana College 17-1 18-2
2 Centre 18-1 19-1
3 Howard Payne 17-3 18-3
4 Christopher Newport 17-4 17-4
5 Eastern Mennonite 17-2 18-2
6 Piedmont 15-3 18-3

West
1 George Fox 16-0 21-0
2 St. Thomas 20-1 20-1
3 Lewis and Clark 12-2 20-2
4 Gustavus Adolphus 17-4 17-4
5 Wartburg 16-5 16-5
6 Simpson 13-5 16-5

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

Teams have started to clinch regular season titles and the first regional rankings will be published this week. So we must officially be in the stretch run. Here’s a couple of points of view on the men’s and women’s basketball season so far — who has surprised, who has disappointed and who is the player of the year…so far.

MEN

Who is the biggest surprise?
Gordon Mann: The Hope Flying Dutchmen didn’t make the preseason Top 25. In fact, they wouldn’t have made the Top 30 since they were seven slots out of the preseason poll. Now Hope is the only team left that is unbeaten against Division III opponents.
Pat Coleman: Whitworth. Losing the consensus Player of the Year from a team with an already-tight rotation, then losing the head coach, seemed like a recipe for mortality. But the Pirates have done pretty well for themselves, at 18-3 with one of the losses to a scholarship school, one to UW-Whitewater and another to rival Whitman. The addition of another transfer, Idris Lasisi, has been huge for Whitworth. (Understandable about Hope — however, since they wouldn’t provide our voters with a preseason breakdown of who was returning, we didn’t speculate.)
Dave McHugh: New York University. The Violets always seem to start their season strong, but once they enter UAA play they have struggled in recent years. After losing to Brandeis, it appeared to be deja vu, but NYU has since then only lost one more game against Carnegie Mellon at home (figure that one out!). They have beaten Chicago and Wash U. on the road and still have those teams to play in New York City. However, the big test will be the three games on the road against Emory, Rochester, and Brandeis.

Who is the biggest disappointment?
Gordon Mann: Rochester isn’t the only preseason Top 10 team to fall off the national radar. Marietta is in the same predicament. But unlike Marietta, Rochester doesn’t have a chance to save its season by winning its postseason conference tournament. The UAA awards its automatic bid to the regular season title winner and the Yellowjackets are three games out of first place with four to play.
Pat Coleman: Williams. The Ephs have struggled in the second semester. Heck, even in the first semester, a home loss to Salem State is not an indication of a stellar season. Whether it’s the back injury or the absence of Troy Whittington, James Wang is simply not the player we’ve seen on the national scene.
Dave McHugh: Marietta. The Pioneers looked poised to dominate the OAC, but instead have struggled with two loses to Ohio Northern and one against Baldwin Wallace (both behind Marietta in the standings). They have also lost to the two teams ahead of them, Capital and John Carroll, and still have to face both teams in the last two games of the season. Those five in-conference loses with potentially more could put the Pioneers in a very difficult role of a road team who needs to win the conference title to get an NCAA AQ.

What team are you buying stock in?
Gordon Mann: Wittenberg seems like a good buy on the virtual Division III basketball stock market. The Tigers sit atop a quality conference and have just three regional losses. So they are in decent position to host an NCAA tournament pod … if they can win their last four games … and the NCAC tournament. Well, stock picking is speculative, isn’t it?
Pat Coleman: Buffalo State. The Bengals dropped off the radar with back-to-back losses, one of them by 24, when Justin Mitchell (12.8 points per game) was out. They’ve bounced back to win six in a row, averaging 95.5 points per game in the process. They lost to Oswego State in December and must travel to Oswego on Feb. 17.
Dave McHugh: Transylvania. There is something about how the Pioneers are playing basketball that impresses me. They have two loses on the season to Gustavus Adolphus, who was a giant killer in Las Vegas, and Defiance, which is a head scratcher. Coach Brian Lane nearly broke his dad’s record for start to a season at 10-0 with a team that is unselfish (check out their assist numbers) and several players like Ethan Spurlin, Brandon Rash, Barrett Meyer and Tate Cox who contributing on all levels. And if they don’t get very far in the NCAA Tournament this season, get ready because pretty nearly the entire team returns next season.

Which ranked team are you not sold on?
Gordon Mann: MIT. Dominating the NEWMAC is not a precursor to national success. The NEWMAC teams have received 17 bids to the NCAA tournament since 2002 (sixth most among all conferences) and won 16 games. MIT’s own NCAA tournament record is 2-3 in the last four years with loses to DeSales, Rochester and Farmingdale State.
Pat Coleman: Hope. Clearly they’ve beaten everyone we would expect them to, though, with the only loss to D-I Western Michigan. I just am not sure who they have beaten, because they play so many non-Division III teams. It’s hard to tell what a win against Cornerstone or Mount Vernon Nazarene means. The best win on a D-III level is a one-point win against Wheaton (Ill.) on a neutral floor. That at least puts Hope on par with the best teams in the CCIW, so considering them for No. 1 is not at all a stretch. But just not sold.
Dave McHugh: Franklin and Marshall. The Diplomats have two loses in a sub-par Centennial Conference: on the road against Muhlenberg and at home against Washington College. Outside of the conference, F&M has played mostly lowly teams with just ONE game outside of the Mayser Gymnasium (Lancaster Bible) and two games against Oneonta State (2-19), though just one of those games counts in the eyes of the NCAA. In all, they are 19-2 against an opponent record of 150-164 (.478) (counting Oneonta State twice, it would be 152-183). They are having trouble playing an inside-outside game, which has made them tough in the past. It appears teams are choosing to stop either Hayk Gyokchyan or Georgio Milligan, the teams only major threats, and that seems to be working to keep games tight.

Who is your player of the year so far?
Gordon Mann: Ryan Sharry of Middlebury leads his team in scoring (20.6 per game), rebounding (10.1 per game) and blocks (32). He scores efficiently – 66.3 percent shooting from the field and 42.4 percent from behind the arc. And he has helped establish the Panthers as legit national title contenders.
Pat Coleman: Matt Johnson of Chicago. The guy’s streak of late is obviously impressive, and he has been carrying a Maroons team that would otherwise really be struggling. He’s upped his average above 20 points per game, shoots 38 percent from three-point range (with a lot of attempts) and is 88 percent from the line. But another game like Sunday’s at Rochester and I’ll be looking for someone else.
Dave McHugh: Matt Addison of Hardin-Simmons. The nation’s second leading scorer (28.0 ppg) has also made his Hardin-Simmons team much better – e.g. he missed the Cowboys’ home game against Mary Hardin-Baylor which the Cowboys’ lost in overtime. Addison is tough to stop because he can slice to the rim, stop and hit from 12 feet, and is 33rd in the nation in three-point shooting at .417. And don’t put him on the line, because he is shooting .883 which is 15th best in Division III. And we aren’t done… he has 2.6 steals/game (20th in the NCAA) and handing out 4.9 assists/game (33rd in the NCAA). He is also a difficult defender, usually taking on the opponent’s biggest threat on the outside. Oh, and he is a father of two and a Ministry major.

What is the best conference race?
Gordon Mann: MAC Freedom, though the MAC Commonwealth race is also very good. In both cases, only the top four teams make the conference playoffs and at least six are alive. On the Freedom side, it’s unlikely any team will get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so the urgency adds to the entertainment value. Defending champion Delaware Valley won’t make the playoffs, but the Aggies can still play spoiler. Their two conference wins come against co-first place holders Wilkes and Eastern.
Pat Coleman: The NJAC North, where two strong teams will get left out of the conference playoffs, while either Kean (5-18, 4-7) or TCNJ (8-15, 2-9) will get in because of being in the NJAC South. In the NJAC North, New Jersey City (16-5, 6-4), Rutgers-Newark(13-9, 6-4), Montclair State (16-7, 6-5) and Ramapo (15-7, 6-5) are battling for two playoff spots.
Dave McHugh: I could have gone with the NCAC, UAA, or NESCAC, but the Landmark Conference has surprised me. While Scranton is up two games with three to play on Juniata and Moravian (tied for second) and three games on Catholic and Susquehanna (tied for fourth), these teams have been beating on each other all season. And then there is Merchant Marine. The Mariners have rebounded with three straight wins including games against Juniata and Catholic to put them 5-6 and one game back of a playoff spot. Who makes the four-team tournament and in what positions won’t be decided until the final game of the season. And then anything is possible for the tournament crown since anyone can beat anyone, anywhere.

WOMEN

Who is the biggest surprise?
Gordon Mann: UW-Eau Claire and Mary Washington both qualify as pleasant surprises, but the team that made the biggest jump from preseason to now is Franklin. The Grizzlies had no votes in the preseason Top 25 and then vaulted into the first regular season poll, buoyed by a 52-47 win over preseason No. 10 DePauw.
Pat Coleman: St. Thomas. The Tommies having a team in the top 15 in our poll is not surprising, but it being the women, that’s a different story. Now, it could be said that the Tommies have lost to the best team (or only regionally prominent team) they’ve played, and that was the opener, 70-53 at UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16.
Dave McHugh: Mary Washington. I know Deena Applebury can not only do a terrific job of coaching, but she is also a solid recruiter, but I didn’t see a 21-0 record at this point in the season. York (Pa.) is one game behind them, but already lost to the Eagles 59-42 in Fredricksburg, Vir. The Eagles have also dominated many of their other opponents while getting solid victories over teams like Christopher Newport, Ferrum, and Keene State. The Eagles are also outscoring their opponents by nearly 23 ppg with seniors Katie Wimmer and Jenna McRae leading the way, but not the team’s only threats.

Who is the biggest disappointment?
Gordon Mann: Denison. DePauw moved into the NCAC this season and instantly became the favorite over the Big Red, who were last year’s conference champions. But Denison still had high expectations coming off a 28-1 year and was ranked No. 12 in the preseason. Now, a year removed from going undefeated in the NCAC, Denison is 7-5 in conference.
Pat Coleman: Muhlenberg. Rallying from 17 down at Rochester last season put the Mules in the Sweet 16. The Mules’ standout player, Alexandra Chili, returned this year. But this year, when the Mules rallied from 17 down, it was to beat Washington College (12-9). Without that rally, Muhlenberg would have lost six of its past eight games. Five of eight isn’t much better.
Dave McHugh: I have to agree with Pat and say Muhlenberg. The Mules looked to be in control of the Centennial Conference after winning their first 12 games of the season and 7 in the conference climbing to as high as #9 in the country. But, they have stumbled badly since then. They still have time to turn it around with five games left in the season, but they have put themselves in a win-or-go-home scenario in the conference tournament.

What team are you buying stock in?
Gordon Mann: Illinois Wesleyan, and I’ve pretty much cornered this market. The Titans had 38 points in the Week 9 Top 25 poll and I account for almost a third of them because Illinois Wesleyan is No. 14 on my ballot. From what I’ve seen, they have a great scorer in Olivia Lett and good depth. They are physical enough to beat big teams and quick enough to beat small teams. On paper, only two of their losses are “bad” and even those aren’t terrible. UW-Whitewater is a quality program from an elite conference and Wheaton (Ill.) beat the Titans in double overtime.
Pat Coleman: Mount Union. Although they’re getting about as high as I feel comfortable. I’ll feel more comfortable in a couple of weeks, if they win at Ohio Northern (18-3, 12-2 OAC) and Baldwin-Wallace (14-7, 9-5).
Dave McHugh: If this was last week, I would have said Millsaps, but after losing two games this past weekend, my focus has switched to Centre. The Colonels have one blemish on their resume which was a heart-breaking OT loss to Thomas More when a jumper wouldn’t fall at the buzzer. They have beaten Millsaps and Rhodes to site 2.5 games up on their side of the SCAC while outscoring their opponents by 15. And Maggie Prewitt is leading the way with 16.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 7.3 apg while shooting .460 from the floor, .385 from beyond the arc, and .890 from the charity strip… impressive.

Which ranked team are you not sold on?
Gordon Mann: Lewis and Clark has been high on my ballot all season. But after watching the Pioneers struggle late against George Fox again on Tuesday, I’m not sure what to make of them (more on the Bruins below). The Pioneers’ win over Kean is nice, but that was months ago and the Cougars were missing second leading scorer Brittany Powell. If Lewis and Clark is as good this year as they were last year, that’s still pretty good. But last year’s version of the Pioneers split its regular season series with George Fox and still ended the year without a single vote in the Final Top 25 poll. Maybe the Pios’ Top 10 ranking is too high.
Pat Coleman: Franklin. It’s hard to argue with the only team that beat DePauw. Digging into the box score reminds me that Ali Ross fouled out for DePauw at Franklin with just five points, and it’s the only time a DePauw player has fouled out all season. The Tigers shot only 33 percent from the floor and made two three-pointers. Scoring only 36 in the home loss to Manchester is a head-scratcher. The HCAC isn’t traditionally a strong Division III women’s basketball conference, and while Franklin played three MIAA teams, they were Kalamazoo, Trine and Alma, a combined 10-27 in the MIAA.
Dave McHugh: Juniata. I realize the Eagles only have one loss and they have a two-game lead on Catholic in the Landmark Conference. They also have swept Scranton, but the Lady Royals are no longer the dominating team of yester-year. However, I have seen the Eagles in action not only in person, but via video, and I have not been impressed. They can’t seem to put together a 40 minute game and even in games they seem to dominate, they tend to allow opponents to hang around just a bit too much

Who is your player of the year so far?
Gordon Mann: Hannah Munger of George Fox. Among the players I’ve seen live or on video, Calvin’s Carissa Verkaik has the most unique skill set and Amherst’s Caroline Stedman is the one I’d want most in the clutch. But Munger is the most irreplaceable to her team. Her height in the middle takes away the opponents’ inside game and her athleticism makes her tough to stop on offense. The Bruins would still be good without Munger. They are championship contenders with her.
Pat Coleman: Well, I like those players too. UW-Eau Claire center Ellen Plendl belongs in that conversation as well. Even though she only averages 12.2 points per game, the 6-5 senior also averages 10.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots.
Dave McHugh: I know, this IS a strange pick, but Megan Robertson has been a major factor in Amherst’s success this season (along with Caroline Stedman). In fact, Coach G.P. Gromacki will tell you she is their biggest surprise. Robertson is a freshman who is third on the team in scoring at 10.7 ppg, first on the team in rebounding (7.4) while shooting .531 and blocking 22 shots. And while she may play a lot of time inside, she can easily switch to point guard which gives Amherst all kinds of match-up advantages.

What is the best conference race?
Gordon Mann: The WIAC has three ranked teams (Stevens Point, Eau Claire and River Falls) and two others who’ve proved they are contenders (Whitewater and La Crosse). Stevens Point leads the pack, and it split the regular season series with fifth place La Crosse. If the teams don’t beat each other up too much, this conference could put four teams in the NCAA tournament.
Pat Coleman: The Iowa Conference. Four teams are within a half-game of the lead, with Simpson and Wartburg at 9-3, Coe and Loras at 9-4. Loras has yet to travel to Wartburg and Simpson, so they have the toughest road to the top seed of the bunch. Coe also travels to Wartburg, so while Wartburg has two games against first-place contenders remaining, at least they are both at home.
Dave McHugh: While I like the WIAC and IIAC races, the USAC is intriguing. There is a three-way tie at the top between Greensboro, Christopher Newport, and Ferrum. Greensboro has beaten Christopher Newport once with one to play. Ferrum has split against Christopher Newport including a dominating 82-58 victory on Sunday and will take on Greensboro, who they already beat earlier this season, on Wednesday. The Pride are beatable, proven by the fact they lost to Ferrum and Christopher Newport in back-to-back games earlier this season, but have won 9 straight since. Who wins the regular and tournament titles is too hard to call.

• More of Lakeland’s blogs from Prague

Part of the value of a trip like this is certainly the experiences. All 11 student-athletes were enjoying their first time on foreign soil, and Prague was a good selection. A lot of people in the city speak English, but you’re surrounded by enough discussions, signs, etc., in Czech to remind you that you’re far from home. That made navigating the subway and tram and ordering off a menu a bit tricky sometimes, but all the more fun. To their credit, the players embraced the opportunity and ran with it, seeing and doing as much as they could stuff into a week, learning plenty and having fun in the process.

What made this trip even more special, and it’s something the players talked about all week, is the people. You could see the bond between this team, already pretty tight, growing stronger. It was an especially fitting way for graduated seniors Trevor McKown and Sam Schroeder to end their time at Lakeland together. Despite coming to Lakeland from towns nearly 900 miles apart (Sam from Shawano, Wis., and Trevor from Hot Springs, S.D.), the two have become best friends. Their mothers also made the trip, and they talked about seeing one another again some day when each of their sons gets married, because Sam and Trevor are certain to be in each other’s wedding. When the group parted ways in the parking lot outside Lakeland’s Wehr Center, there were plenty of hugs and best wishes for a great summer. The memories will last each time they glance at the hundreds of pictures taken this week, and during stories sure to be told over and over when the players return to campus in August, and when the parents re-connect at games this season. The two games the Muskies played were neat experiences, but when the student-athletes recall the trip years from now, no doubt the memories and stories will focus on what happened both on and off the court.

For our final two videos, we turn to freshman Michael Koeppen and junior Jake Schwarz to wrap up the trip.

In a few hours, the journey for the Lakeland College men’s basketball team begins as we head to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for nearly an eight-hour flight to London Heathrow, then a two-hour flight to our destination – Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. We’re scheduled to land in Prague at 10:55 a.m. on Sunday, and we’ll be here for six nights to play some basketball and take in all the amazing things this 1,100-year-old city has to offer. Now approximately 20 years removed from Communist rule, Prague is a hotbed of culture and history in Central Europe, and we’ve got plans to make the most of it during our stay.

The Muskies are scheduled to play three games, and will spend the rest of the time seeing the sites including the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, the Lennon Wall and the Communism Museum (to name a few). Some of the 44 people in our travel group will likely check out the 10th annual Fringe Festival, a nine-day mix of comedy, theatre and music with companies from across the world. We’ll also be there for the final week of the 66th Prague Spring International Music Festival, a showcase for the world’s best symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles.

The team making the trip has a roster of 11 student-athletes, including nine returnees and two seniors who recently graduated, Trevor McKown and Sam Schroeder. Coaches, family members and some Lakeland alumni and friends round out the group.

The trip is through Moose Tours, which has booked international basketball experiences for teams at all levels since it was founded in 1972 by legendary Lakeland basketball coach and athletic director Duane “Moose” Woltzen. Woltzen’s son, Scott, a 1982 Lakeland graduate, is president of Moose Tours today and will be joining the Muskies on this trip.

This trip is a throwback of sorts, and many alumni who played for Moose will remember that trips to major U.S. cities and international play were a staple at Lakeland under Moose. He took Lakeland teams on trips in 18 of his 23 years at Lakeland. The Muskies played in Denmark, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and Aruba.

One of Lakeland head basketball coach Aaron Aanonsen’s goals is giving his players the best college basketball experience possible. “We want to offer opportunities that aren’t possible with every program,” Aaron said. “Coach Woltzen made trips like these a priority, and I’ve spoken to our alumni who still talk about the value of those trips. We’re excited to be able to provide a similar experience for our players this year.”

Two of Lakeland’s 11 players have been to Canada, but no one has been outside of North America. “This will be a memorable cultural experience for these young men, and having a chance to do this with their teammates and members of their family will make it extra special,” Aaron said. “Playing against teams in Prague will be a unique experience on the court, and getting a chance to explore a city with such a long, rich history will be an incredible experience off the court.”

That’s it for our first installment. I’ll post again Sunday night (Prague is seven hours ahead of Wisconsin time) to recap the trip and get some early reaction from the players on their first trip to Europe. This is going to be fun!

It is currently 5:30 in the morning and we are waiting at our terminal to head back home to Atlanta. After a week full of non-stop sightseeing and traveling, it seems we are all sleepwalking through the airport and even the wonderful coffee of this country can’t help wake us up.

The last few days have been filled with a couple days at the beach, zip lining, and a game against the Costa Rican national team. The beach resort we stayed in was one of the most serene and relaxing scenes we could have hoped for, with the rainforest stretching all the way up to palm trees and the stunning beach. The surrounding landscape was mountainous so it felt as though we were enclosed in our own beach paradise separated from the rest of the world. While swimming in the pool the first afternoon we experienced a tremble and most of us really thought nothing of it; moments later we were ordered to evacuate the pool because just 40 miles away a 6.0 earthquake had taken place. Living in California in my young life, I had experienced earthquakes before but it was a first-time experience for most of my teammates to add to the list of firsts already accumulated during the trip.

The next morning we embarked on our zip-lining expedition through the rainforest canopy. We glided through the trees on 14 zip lines traveling at speeds of 35 mph on some of them. The most uneasy part of the whole experience though was standing on wooden platforms built around trees suspended hundreds and even thousands of feet above the ground. After the zip-lining we had the rest of the day off at the beach to relax and enjoy our last days of Costa Rica and its beautiful scenery.

The last day we had our final friendly game against the Costa Rican national team, only it wasn’t as friendly as advertised. The teamas extremely physical and coupled with their excessive size, the game became a little chippy from the get go. One of their best players even got ejected after throwing a elbow into the jaw of Branden Jovaag. Exhausted from a long week of travel, we did not bring our best effort and eventually fell to the team 87-64. It was amazing to play top tier competition though, as this is the team that represents the whole country of Costa Rica when competing for a bid to the Olympics and other international competition.

Overall, Costa Rica was an experience that surpassed everyone’s expectations: from the food, to the sights, to the basketball competition, to the friendly people, and most importantly the memories and companionship we formed as a team. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that everyone on this team will cherish for the rest of their lives. Saying goodbye to this country and this experience is a tough pill to swallow but the thought of sleeping in our own beds tonight is enough to ease the transition.

Halfway through our excursion through Costa Rica has our team feeling cultured and a bit tired.

The past couple days have been filled with a game against the five-time defending champs of the top professional league in Costa Rica, a community outreach activity, sightseeing of an active volcano, a relaxing night indulging in natural hot springs, and a whitewater rafting trip.

Our game against Barva was highly anticipated by me and my teammates to see how we stacked up against top flight international competition. We would not be disappointed as the Barva team was one of the biggest and most athletic teams I have personally ever played against on the collegiate level. Undersized and considerably younger (most of Barva’s players were around 28 or 29 years old), we struggled to compete early as Barva jumped out to an early double digit lead. Our team once again showed tremendous heart and defensive effort as we clawed back to take the lead halfway through the third quarter, only to eventually fall to the Barva squad. Barva’s best player, a wing from Panama, was one of the most athletic and best physical specimens I have ever shared the hardwood with.

Once again Alec Pitts was named the MVP followed closely by Sam Purdy who was once again lights-out from 3-point range. Two other players rounded out the night with double figures: freshman Tyler Courson and myself.

The next morning we embarked on a community outreach activity at a local children’s center in San Jose. We came bearing gifts of candy, coloring books, clothes, and of course some stuffed “Peteys” to share with the children. Unanimously, the most rewarding part of the trip thus far was when we spent a few hours with the kids playing on the playground, with the most favorite activity of the children being carried on our shoulders throughout the playground. Not to be outdone, Coach Ponder had a record crowd as he shared with the children some of his famed magic tricks.

When the time to depart came it was hard to tell who was more upset we were leaving: the children or the players. After departing the center, we began our 4-hour bus ride to the famed Arenal volcano located in the rainforest region of the country. The scenery throughout the ride was breathtaking as we climbed through the mountainous terrain to views that were dubbed “postcard worthy” by Price Hamilton. We arrived at the base of the volcano to take some snapshots of the scenery and to explore the surrounding lake.

Later that night we traveled to a resort to experience some of the natural hot springs formed by the active volcano. The resort included 11 different hot spring pools of various temperatures with the hottest being a scorching 122 degrees. The most popular aspect of the resort was by far the three water slides which we rode for a good 2 hours straight. The most popular slide had a steep 10-foot drop that resulted in a few injuries as Coach Tulowitzski claims he experienced a slight concussion and I proceeded to inflame my bursa sac in my elbow that is still considerably swollen more than 24 hours later. Overall, the hot springs were a great experience that helped restore our sore bodies as well as relax us from our long day of travel.

Today we began our day with a whitewater rafting trip through the rainforest. With some views that seemed to be taken straight from the “Jurassic Park” series, we traveled more than 30 miles downriver that we all enjoyed except maybe for Alex Vital whose screams of terror from the rapids echoed throughout the forest. We ended our trip in a traditional lunch that included everything from chicken, beef, to fresh sea bass which I found to be extraordinarily delectable.

Exhausted from our rafting workout and a long day in the sun, we are now enjoying a few hours of relaxation at the hotel before another great meal later tonight. Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Playa Hermosa on the Pacific coast of the country to partake in a couple of days of sun and zip lining through the rainforest canopy which has been giving Tyler Cerone nightmares for the whole trip thus far. So far, the trip has been much more than advertised and by far the best vacation I have ever had the privilege to be a part of.

My name is Andrew Steioff, a rising senior and communications major from Duluth, Ga., and a member of the Oglethorpe men’s basketball team which is embarking on a week long tour of the country of Costa Rica.

Before the trip, my teammates and I were all anxious and excited to see what the trip had in store for us. Little did we know that our first day would end up being a little hectic. We departed for the airport at 6 a.m. Monday. Needless to say, it was a little earlier than most of us were used to waking up, but our excitement had our whole team wide awake. That quickly changed, however, as the majority of us were already asleep on the plane before takeoff. The plane ride was quite turbulent and it was funny to see my fellow senior Tyler Cerone freaking out at every patch of turbulence we hit along the way.

Shortly after touching down, we ran into a major speed bump when Sophmore Alex Vital could not find his bag that he checked. Even worse, the bag contained his uniforms, shoes, change of clothes, and the majority of his spending money. After frantically searching for the bag, we came to the conclusion that a man named “Lester” had accidentally taken the wrong bag, since his was still at baggage claim.

Accepting defeat for the moment, we called Lester to inform him of the mix up and continued to go check into our first hotel, the Barcelo San Jose Palacio, which is one of the nicest hotels most of us have ever stayed in. The view from our windows overlooks the whole city of San Jose.

We proceeded to have our welcome lunch with a selection of many of the native foods. We figured out quickly that we would be spoiled as far as meals went on this trip, considering our plates were overflowing with some of the best food many of us have ever had, along with the freshest fruit I have ever tasted. During lunch our tour company showed us a powerpoint presentation, including many interesting facts about Costa Rica along with the itinerary for our trip. We then had some time to hang out in our rooms before dinner and our first game later that night.

Dinner was not to be outdone by lunch, continuing the trend of amazing meals, and as a team we devoured the selection of fresh veggies, fish, and according to Christian Molinet, the best chicken dish he had ever tasted.

The last thing on our schedule for the night was our first game against Escazu, a professional team that finished second in the top professional league in Costa Rica. Even after a whole day’s worth of international travel, we came out on fire against Escazu, hitting 12 3-pointers in the first half. Lead by Brandon Jovaag and Sam Purdy, we raced out to a 49-31 lead at halftime.

We more or less hit a wall in the second half as Escazu adapted to our pace coupled with the fact we only hit two 3-pointers in the half. We stayed strong as a team, though, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch along with key defensive stops to squeak out a win 74-71.

Alec Pitts was voted MVP of the game by our opponent and awarded the trophy of a red Powerade.

Satisfied with our win, we were eager to get back to the hotel and take advantage of some well deserved sleep, considering we had been going basically non-stop since 6 am that morning.

Tomorrow we have a city tour scheduled followed by a game against the team that finished first in the top Costa Rican league. We are all anxious for the sights and for the challenge of some top-flight competition as we continue our trip tomorrow.

In-region record is first, followed by overall record.

Atlantic
1 SUNY-Purchase 23-4 23-4
2 Ramapo 19-4 20-6
3 St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 20-6 22-6
3 Kean 17-6 18-8
5 New Jersey City 17-8 19-9

East
1 Oswego State 23-4 23-4
2 Ithaca 19-6 20-6
3 Rochester 19-4 20-5
4 Buffalo State 18-6 21-6
5 Stevens 19-7 19-7
6 Skidmore 18-8 18-9

Great Lakes
1 Wooster 23-2 26-2
2 Marietta 22-3 25-3
3 Hope 18-2 22-6
4 Penn State-Behrend 23-3 23-4
5 Wittenberg 16-6 19-8
6 Wabash 19-6 20-6

Mid-Atlantic
1 La Roche 24-2 25-2
2 St. Mary’s (Md.) 20-3 22-5
3 Cabrini 22-5 22-5
4 Gwynedd-Mercy 20-5 21-6
5 Franklin and Marshall 20-5 22-5
6 Lebanon Valley 18-7 20-7
7 Keystone 21-6 21-6
8 Alvernia 17-6 18-6
9 Scranton 19-5 20-5

Midwest
1 Augustana 23-3 24-3
2 Concordia (Wis.) 21-3 23-4
3 Manchester 20-5 21-6
4 Hanover 19-7 19-7
5 Illinois Wesleyan 18-8 19-8
6 Benedictine 20-6 21-7
7 St. Norbert 20-5 20-5
8 Edgewood 18-8 18-10

Northeast
1 Middlebury 22-1 25-1
2 Williams 23-2 25-2
3 WPI 22-4 22-5
4 Becker 23-4 23-4
5 Amherst 21-3 22-3
6 Western Connecticut State 20-5 21-5
7 Rhode Island College 19-7 19-7
8 Elms 18-6 20-7
9 Eastern Connecticut State 17-8 19-9
10 Bridgewater State 18-8 19-9
11 MIT 19-7 19-8

South
1 Virginia Wesleyan 23-4 21-4
2 Randolph-Macon 24-4 23-4
3 McMurry 20-6 21-7
4 Mary Hardin-Baylor 21-7 21-7
5 Texas-Dallas 20-5 21-6
6 Ferrum 20-5 23-5
7 Eastern Mennonite 16-5 22-5
8 North Carolina Wesleyan 16-4 21-6

West
1 Whitworth 26-1 26-1
2 St. Thomas 23-3 24-3
3 UW-Stevens Point 23-3 24-3
4 Chapman 16-1 24-3
5 UW-River Falls 18-6 20-7
6 Carleton 18-6 18-8
7 Whitman 14-6 19-8
8 Lewis and Clark 12-6 18-8
9 UW-Whitewater 16-9 17-9

For a PDF of the regional score reporting form click on the links below: 

Atlantic  |  East  |  Great Lakes  |  Middle Atlantic  |  Midwest  |  Northeast  |  South  |  West

Women’s rankings

Atlantic
1. Kean 19-2 22-4
2. Mount Saint Mary 25-2 25-2
3. William Paterson 22-3 23-3
4. Baruch 22-4 23-5
5. Gallaudet 22-3 24-3
6. Richard Stockton 16-9 17-9

Central
1. UW-Stevens Point 25-2 25-2
2. Illinois Wesleyan 20-3 23-4
3. UW-Whitewater 18-6 21-6
4. UW-La Crosse 19-7 20-7
5. Chicago 22-3 22-3
6. Washington U. 17-4 20-5

East
1. Geneseo State 23-2 25-3
2. Rochester 18-5 20-5
3. Medaille 22-4 22-4
4. Keuka 23-2 24-2
5. Ithaca 19-5 20-7
6. Oneonta State 20-6 21-7

Great Lakes
1. Thomas More 27-0 28-0
2. Calvin 20-1 24-4
3. Hope 24-2 26-2
4. Denison 26-0 28-0
5. Hanover 24-1 25-1
6. DePauw 22-2 25-3

Mid-Atlantic
1. Lebanon Valley 25-2 25-2
2. Juniata 21-3 21-6
3. Johns Hopkins 21-5 21-5
4. Muhlenberg 21-5 21-5
5. Messiah 19-6 19-7
6. DeSales 19-8 19-8

Northeast
1. Amherst 26-1 26-1
2. Bowdoin 22-4 22-5
3. Colby 19-5 21-5
4. Williams 19-5 21-5
5. Babson 25-0 27-0
6. Western Connecticut State 23-3 23-3
7. Eastern Connecticut State 20-6 20-8
8. Bates 15-7 17-8
9. Tufts 17-6 18-6
10. Salve Regina 23-3 25-3

South
1. Christopher Newport 23-3 25-3
2. Greensboro 25-2 26-2
3. Louisiana College 23-3 25-3
4. Randolph-Macon 22-4 22-6
5. Howard Payne 20-7 21-7
6. Roanoke 19-7 19-8

West
1. Coe 23-3 24-3
2. George Fox 17-3 22-5
3. Chapman 16-3 22-5
4. Lewis & Clark 17-4 21-6
5. Simpson 19-5 21-6
6. Concordia-Moorhead 21-6 21-6

As a reminder, we take the automatic bids, and we take the NCAA’s selection criteria, and we project the at-large bids, then create a bracket out of it.

The one Pool B bid went to Chapman and the 20 Pool C bids went as selected, in the following order:
Kean
Bowdoin
UW-Whitewater
Greensboro
Rochester
Johns Hopkins
Louisiana College
UW-La Crosse
Colby
Williams
Eastern Connecticut
Messiah
Hope
St. Vincent
Lewis and Clark
Washington U.
Gallaudet
Medaille
Ithaca
Simpson

The teams left on the board: Mary Washington, Wheaton (Ill.), Oneonta State, Baldwin-Wallace, Gettysburg, Bates and Maryville. Wartburg was next in the West when Simpson was taken with the last spot.

I talked to one former committee member tonight who said that when they were on the committee, if you weren’t ranked, you didn’t get in. In men’s basketball we know that the regional committees rank extra teams so that there are more at-large candidates available in case they run out. In women’s, they said that didn’t happen — if a region ran out, they simply had an empty spot on the board.

I called that “ludicrous” — thankfully I don’t think that’s the case anymore. If it is, Thomas More doesn’t get in.

And from that, here’s our bracket: Projected 2011 women’s basketball bracket

The NCAA makes its announcement starting at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

Following that, I’ll give my take and we’ll work from there.

Here’s the official D3hoops.com men’s basketball bracket projection.

The Matt Snyder Bracketology Pool C bids
Listed Alphabetically: Amherst, Becker, Carleton, Concordia (Wis.), Gwynedd-Mercy, Hanover, Ithaca, Keystone, Oswego State, Penn State-Behrend, Ramapo, Texas-Dallas, UW-River Falls, Virginia Wesleyan, Western Connecticut, Williams, Wittenberg, WPI

I italicized the spots where we differ. We think Mary Hardin-Baylor will hope Texas-Dallas in the South Region rankings. (And the South Region rankings are a mess after this weekend!) UMHB beat UTD two out of three. And we project Keystone out in favor of Kean. We think Kean remains ahead of St. Joseph’s (L.I.) in the Atlantic Region ranking.

I’m going to say the same sort of thing I said the last time around, in that I don’t think the third CSAC team gets in. Given the criteria, there are certainly cases you could make for several teams in the final spot, and it’s like that every year.