One of the most exciting weekends of the Division III Basketball Season is almost upon us. On Friday night (or afternoon in some cases) the 2006-2007 basketball season begins.
Which team has the most interesting opening weekend is up for debate. But which team is the busiest is not.
That honor goes to TBA.
TBA starts off with a handful of games on Friday night. They play Messiah and then Pitt-Greensburg at Dickinson’s Tip off Tournament. It’s so much fun, let’s play two! In fact, let’s play ourselves. That’s what will happen at the Keene State Tournament Tip Off on Friday night where TBA plays TBA.
Then Saturday is really an interesting day for the TB of A. It plays Morrisville State, Montclair State, McMurry, Muhlenberg, Mt. St. Joseph, Medaille, Maine Presque-Isle and Manhattanville. And those are just some of the Ms! TBA is equal opportunity, so it’ll play King’s men and women.
Of course, TBA isn’t a real team. It’s “to be announced” the three dreaded words that will plague us this weekend as we try to enter scores, update schedules and, oh yeah, cover that playoff thing that starts in Division III football.
So please bear with us as we do our best to keep both sites running without running ourselves down. Will we be able to do so? Well, that’s TBD.
Wish you were here: If I could pick any Division III basketball game on the landscape to attend this weekend, it would be Waukesha, Wisconsin where No. 17 Carroll and Nathan Drury (pictured) hosts No. 25 UW-Stevens Point on Saturday night.
This isn’t the only match-up between ranked teams (more on that later), but I’m intrigued by the Pointers debut in the Top 25. With three starters and 78.1 percent of their scoring for a year ago returning, perhaps second year Coach Bob Semling and his crew are ready to return to the national stage.
If so, that’s a heck of a rebuilding job – from two-time champs to a “down year” of 17-10 to the Top 25 again. And if the Pointers are going to stick in the rankings, they are going to earn it. After Carroll, Stevens Point heads to No. 13 Lawrence
This is only a test: 2005 women’s tournament participant Oglethorpe isn’t just playing two ranked teams to start the season. They are doing it 2,691 miles from home when the Stormy Petrels play No. 25 Puget Sound in Tacoma and then No. 16 Pacific Lutheran. And if you think I’m highlighting Oglethorpe just so I can write “Stormy Petrels,” you’re only half right.
Starting five: Here are five games that grabbed my eye on this week’s slate.
Saturday – Men: No. 25 UW-Stevens Point @ No. 17 Carroll
UW-Stevens Point Broadcast
Carrol Broadcast
Live Stats
Friday – Women: No. 3 DePauw vs. No. 12 Washington U. (at Illinois Wesleyan)
Both teams were knocked off by national champ Hope last year. Both teams are good – again – this year.
DePauw Broadcast
Friday – Men: No. 9 St. Thomas vs. No. 20 Occidental (at La Verne)
If the team match-up isn’t enough fun, you’ve got First Team All American Isaac Rosefelt (UST) vs. Fourth Team All American Sam Betty (Oxy)
Friday – Men: No. 16 Lincoln vs. Widener (at Franklin & Marshall)
Last Saturday I spotted Pride Forward Malcolm Thomas at Widener’s football game. He said the team looked young and good. You could say the same about Lincoln.
Saturday – Women: Cal Lutheran @ No. 25 Puget Sound
How about four tournament teams from a year ago in one place? Along with Oglethorpe, UPS and PLU, the defending SCIAC champs join the fun in Tacoma.
UPS Broadcast
Reader’s Digest The (Lewiston, Maine) Sun Journal shines the preseason spotlight on Senior Guard Zak Ray of Bates. According to Bobcats Coach Joe Reilly “if he wanted to, [Zak] could score 25 points a game. But he chooses to score 12 and distribute the ball.” Ray and his teammates open with Western New England and Southern Vermont at Williams this weekend.
Staying in New England, the Barre Montpelier (Vermont) Times Argus checks in with the Norwich Cadets women’s team as they get ready to defend their GNAC crown with a new head coach. Mark Miller replaces Steve Lanpher who stayed in state to take an Assistant Coach position at University of Vermont.
Meanwhile two other 2005 tournament teams tip off their season against one another when Villa Julie travels to York (Pa.). The York Dispatch previews the Spartans who will open the stunning New Charles Wolf Gymnasium on Saturday against the Mustangs.
And finally…
Sort of gives new meaning to ‘coast to coast’:State University of New York-Maritime (SUNY-Maritime for short) opens against California Maritime in men’s action on Friday night. And where do they play? Maine Maritime, of course.
I’m gonna pat myself on the back, since all three men’s games you mention in your starting five I have chosen in the new National Pick Em contest! 🙂
Friday – Women: No. 3 DePauw vs. No. 12 Washington U. (at Illinois Wesleyan)
Both teams were knocked off by national champ Hope last year. Both teams are good – again – this year.
That’s part of a yearly tournament DePauw, IW, and WashU take turns hosting with the host starting off playing a fresh opponent invited each year to be the fourth team.
I might be getting ahead of myself, but we may have a matchup of women’s top-10 teams tomorrow here at DeVos Fieldhouse. Hope College (in case you last checked, the defending national champion) is hosted a pretty solid tip-off tourney that has itself (#4 preseason), Baldwin-Wallace (#9), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2003 Final Four participant) and a pretty good Davenport University team that went 28-6 and reached the NAIA tourney last year in just its third year as a program. BW meets UWEC at 6, the Flying Dutch take on Davenport at 8. Saturday’s games are at 1 and 3. Would love to see a Hope-BW contest.
Quite a weekend at Hope for the first weekend of women’s hoops action. A great championship game Saturday afternoon at DeVos Fieldhouse as Hope edged out Baldwin-Wallace 68-66. Julie Henderson went coast-to-coast to score the winning basket with 1.7 seconds to give the Flying Dutch the win over a very good B-W team that I think will be hard to handle in the OAC.
Some observations from the weekend: Hope obviously misses Bria Ebels, but the cupboard is not exactly bare in Holland. Brian Morehouse brought back 11 returning players, including three starters, plus added three outstanding freshmen who are contributing immediately. The one in that group to watch is Philana Greene, a 5-9 guard with tremendous quickness and athleticism. She made a block on what appeared to be a sure layup Friday, I had no idea where she came from. Among the returnees, Jordyn Boles is definitely ready to take on the lead scorer role, although she had a scary moment on Saturday when she hurt her knee in a collision late in the game. She’s OK though.
B-W has plenty of talent of its own. OAC teams, remember this name: Selena Budge. She’s a 5-9 transfer from the University of Miami (Fla.). She lit up Eau Claire for 22 off the bench Friday and had 15 more against Hope Saturday, including a late 3-pointer that tied things up at 66-66, setting the stage for Henderson’s dramatics. Budge has a great shooting touch, and looks like she can run the point as well. Cheri Harrer also has plenty of returnees as well, led by Michelle White and Amanda Mondrach, last year’s freshman of the year in the OAC.
It’s a long season, but don’t be surprised if these two don’t collide again in March.