We’ve played all year for this. Or more importantly, the thousands of student-athletes in Division III basketball have played all year for this.
I’m just excited to be heading to a Final Four in Salem where I’m familiar with all four teams. Usually I’m not lucky enough to see two teams at the Final Four that I have watched play four times each, but that’s what we have in Amherst and Wooster. I saw Wash U play at NYU back in February (though I have to throw that game out because what I saw does not suggest a Final Four team). We saw a Virginia Wesleyan team very similar to this one last year in Salem, and I saw them in last year’s sectionals.
On the women’s side, I’ve only seen Wash U and NYU play this year, but that’s still pretty good. Haven’t seen Mary Washington since last season and DePauw is on the to-do list, with about 600 other programs of the 800 I haven’t seen play.
We’ll have more coverage through the week but wanted to send our official congratulations to the eight teams advancing to Salem and Springfield!
And don’t forget to spring your clocks forward if you haven’t already. 🙁
Hey, Pat! That “Spring forward, Fall back” thing occurring in mid March is great for all of us who have gotten out to the ball park so far this season. All of those D3 baseball programs without lighted fields may enjoy the extra daylight even sooner than we had imagined. And, D3Baseball.com will one month old on Tuesday!
The playoff coverage for men’s and women’s hoops has been great so far, and I expect the Final Four environments to be even better. We D3 fans have had another year to learn more about other D3 schools and the D3 community has grown bigger. The technology is on the horizon for real basketball action, streaming audio, streaming video, live stats, all being used by more teams.
Travel safely and have fun. I will listen for you on Hoopsville! Thanks!
I had the pleasure of seeing the Bowdoin vs Mary Washington game in Scranton PA last night. Being a Scranton fan, it still was a pleasure to see one of 8 Div III semis. Watch out for Mary Washington. Their center plays well around the basket and did extremely well playing with 4 fouls somewhere at the 10 min mark of the 2nd half. Mary U kept their composure and came back to take the lead for a trip to Springfield. Bowdoin did not react well the final 3 minutes and it looked like they did not get the support from their coaching staff that a team with only one loss should have after such a great season. Finally…thanks to the Lady Royals Seniors for 4 incredible seasons. Also…will Coach Mike Strong retire after his 801st game and having to play in the new Landmark Conference next year? Have fun in Springfield….we had a great time last year!