Daily Archives: February 21, 2006

Rant: Regional Problem

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We are less than a week from Selection Monday and that means looking ahead at who is going to make it… and who isn’t.

Pool A teams are obvious. Win the tournament with an automatic bid up for grabs, and you get in the post-season.

But those who don’t win those tournaments, don’t have automatic bids available, or are independents are now being grouped into two different groups with all the other schools from around the nation.

So, how does the National Committee chose who will get Pool B and Pool C bids? By regional records.

Yes, I know, we have been through this all season… and the last few seasons. But, let me point out a team that could get into the tournament thanks to a loop-hole in this regional record rule.

Nebraska-Wesleyan. A few times this season, on this show, it has been stated that unless NWU was able to earn a .500 record, they would not be eligible for the NCAA Tournament. Well, it turns out, we were wrong.

According to the NCAA, teams below .500 are not prohibited.

Well, that’s a relief. If Goucher went and won the CAC Tournament, they would be 6-20 overall. At least we know the NCAA will allow them into the NCAA tournament, despite the below .500 record. But, that also means that Nebraska-Wesleyan is also eligible.

Yes… if the Prairie Wolves win their last two games of the season, they will finish 11-16 overall and 8-1 in the West Region. The import thing to keep in mind is that regional record. With just one loss in region and with the NCAA officially saying that no team below .500 is prohibited from the tournament, NWU could get one of the handful of Pool B bids available.

Talk about taking advantage of a loop-hole. Nebraska-Wesleyan might get into the tournament while only playing nine Division III games all season. That’s less than forty-percent of their games this season.

Unless a team plays a schedule that has more than 75% Division III, they shouldn’t be allowed in the tournament… besides having a losing record.

Now, this comes down to regional schedules. Teams are encouraged to play teams in their region, or a 200-mile radius. But NWU is simply not playing opponents outside of their region. It results in all of their Division III opponents being regional foes, but still only giving them a total of nine games.

I am sure some would argue that Nebraska-Wesleyan simply can’t schedule teams without a lot of travel. Fine, then explain to me Colorado College’s schedule. They are more isolated from Division III schools the Prairie Wolves, yet this season’s schedule has 15 of their 24 games against Division III opponents; with six of them in-region.

Yes, NWU is playing more regional games, but Colorado College is at least scheduling most of their games with Division III opponents. NWU could skate into the Division III tournament with barely a Division III schedule.

The NCAA has to do something about this. Whether they let NWU into the tournament or not, they need to change a few rules.
1 – If you are an independent school, you better have a .500 record or better to make the tournament.
2 – A team’s schedule must have a strong majority of Division III teams.
3 – Fix the “regional” problem.

There was talk that next season, games played in the winter break at tournaments, would probably be declared as regional games… no matter who the opponent was or where the game was played. This was to allow teams to have more regional opponents, while getting the chance to travel to other tournaments.

Well, that “rule” has been tabled. Now, there is talk about changing the “regional” games to the four actual regions the NCAA recognizes. This along with maybe pushing the “mileage” circle from 200 miles to 300 miles or more may work as well.

What ever the NCAA does, they have to make these regional records mean a bit more and be less restrictive on opponents. To compare teams from different regions… based on regional records… in an effort to place them in the NCAA Tournament is not the best solution.

If so, based on regional records, Nebraska-Wesleyan will have a better chance than Lincoln to get into this year’s NCAA Tournament. Lincoln has played a total of four opponents outside of Division III or Nebraska Wesleyan’s 18 teams, including only two or three D3 teams… since January 1.

12 Days: Hello Again

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Otterbein Holbrook

Sometimes the opening round of conference tournaments brings rematches of lopsided regular season contests. Like the undefeated UMW women playing Gallaudet, whom they’ve beaten by an average of 50.5 points. Or the Wooster men, fresh off the OWU loss, hosting Kenyon.

Not likely to be cliffhangers.

But sometimes familiarity breeds interesting results, even in early rounds. With that in mind, here are a few Tuesday tilts to watch:

– One Falls Swoop: When does No. 12 in the nation hosting a team who lost to Macalester become an interesting game? When it’s the WIAC!

UW-Stout opens the conference tournament with a visit from UW-River falls (6-18). Last time they met in Menomonie, it was almost a double-digit victory…for the Falcons. Can UWRF do it again? Listen and find out (8 PM EST).

– The Graduate: Sometimes I go to the basketball court where I’m attending grad school and I get dominated by the undergrads. Then I sulk home and take solace in knowing I could’ve beaten them when I was their age. Of course, they would’ve only been 11 then but that’s not the point.

Graduate school students need to band together when their own kind are carrying the older, wiser but not necessarily richer banner into battle. So tonight, Danielle Holbrook (pictured), I salute you. You are the Otterbein Cardinals’ leading scorer going into tonight’s rubber match against John Carroll. And you have inspired me to take that 6-foot-3 undergrad to the rack for a serious facial the next time I hoop it up.

– Memory Loss: Forget going into the conference tournament with momentum. The Ramapo Roadrunners have lost 5 of 6. Forget about the last meeting with NJCU in Jersey City. Ramapo lost by 20. And forget about last year’s tournament appearance. Because if the Roadrunners don’t run the table, they are going nowhere.

But you think it won’t be a battle when Ramapo and NJCU square off tonight? Forget about it…

But don’t forget to add your own thoughts below. There’s plenty to talk about with lots of tournaments tipping off.