Daily Archives: November 21, 2022

Dave’s Top 25 Ballot (’22-’23) – Preseason (Part 2)

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In the previous blog on my preseason ballot I gave a brief idea of my methodology this preseason along with a look at who was in the Top 10 of my D3hoops.com Preseason Men’s Basketball Top 25. Here we will go through 11-20. A quick reminder, here are the Top 10 on my D3hoops.com Men’s Preseason Top 25 ballot:

Josiah Johnson and his Crusaders found themselves #2 on Dave’s Preseason Top 25 ballot. (D3photography.com)

1 – Randolph-Macon
2 – Mary Hardin-Baylor
3 – Christopher Newport
4 – UW-Oshkosh
5 – Mount Union
6 – Case Western Reserve
7 – Middlebury
8 – St. Joseph’s (Conn.)
9 – Oswego State
10 – Pomona-Pitzer

Reminder, the note after each team in parenthesis is where I ranked them at the end of last season – information I did not know or look-up prior to voting this season.

11 – Emory (#12)
One of the most consistent programs in the last decade has been in Atlanta. Jason Zimmerman has built a very good program not only in the deep south, but the UAA. Emory had the winningest class in program history graduate, including two starters and 60% of their points. That may seem like a lot for a near-Top 10 team. Like Middlebury, I didn’t initially expect Emory to be this high, but I needed to fill in areas with teams I initially expected to be lower. The Eagles do have their leading scorer, Logan Shanahan, back who was also second in rebounding and tops in blocks. Plus, watch out for Max Fried who gained a lot of experience and his game excelled in the final half of last season.

Trinity (TX) looked to be a beast, but they appear to not have their leading scorer back from last season … which raises questions. (Trinity Texas Athletics)

12 – Trinity (Texas) (unranked)
I spent much of last season watching the Tigers wondering when their balloon would pop. I had my own red flags placed on Trinity, but they continued to prove to not only be the best in the SCAC, but one of the best in Texas – which is saying something. Jimmy Smith has all five starters returning including multiple all-conference selections and SCAC Player of the Year Kaleb Jenkins. Trinity also has Ben Hanley returning after showing he would be a key contributor before a season-ending injury. The challenge will be they can’t fly under anyone’s radar anymore.

13 – Dubuque (unranked)
While doing the lead-up work and putting my ballot together I couldn’t get a voice in my head to stop saying “you may be the only one putting Dubuque (this high) on your ballot.” It did make me wonder if I was over-thinking things. Yes, losing a two-time conference player of the year stings, but there are still three starters back and half the team with lots of experience. I was also intrigued with some of the transfers coming in including one who played in every game for UW-Parkside last season.

Ethan Bartlett and the Blue Jays hope to keep JHU in the national conversation. (Johns Hopkins Athletics)

14 – Johns Hopkins (#21)
I debated putting JHU higher on my ballot, but I am curious how the Blue Jays adjust to losing Conor Delaney who helped shoot Johns Hopkins to a couple of Centennial championships. Hopkins has a wealth of talent back for a program that under Josh Leffler has returned to its former glory. The conference should be a tougher road this season, but JHU seems to be in the driver’s seat and Goldfarb Gymnasium is usually pretty difficult for visitors.

15 – WPI (#11)
I’m nervous on whether I’m making the right call with the Engineers. I mentioned on Bob Quillman’s Q-Cast in October that WPI is a team to watch. They had a seemingly unexpected, but great season last year and I mentioned I am expecting them to be even better. However, I then wondered if I had misread things when we got the Top 25 data. That data showed WPI graduated 35% of its offense. I still think WPI will be at the top of a competitive NEWMAC and looking to make waves, but they are 15 when I had initially thought they would be a Top 10 program.

Hardin-Simmons is out to a 1-3 start. Cowboys looked like a serious threat this season, but it may require reevaluating later in the season. (HSU Athletics)

16 – Hardin-Simmons (unranked)
Texas could be an interesting place to watch in DIII this season, especially the ASC. The Cowboys bring back a lot while losing some key pieces. However, I am more intrigued with the core group returning along with the transfer the team informed us via the Top 25 data request. They also may be a faster, more up-tempo, team than in the past and that could make Hardin-Simmons far more difficult to beat. They just must stay consistent. I thought about waiting to see more on HSU before buying in but went with a vote for the Cowboys anyway.

17 – Rowan (unranked)
The NJAC is always competitive as a lot of teams in the last few years have had coaching changes and are building strong programs. Rowan is a great example of that shift. Joe Crispin took over the program a few years ago and has seemingly re-built the Profs. Last year’s squad was pretty good but fell short a conference title. They bring back four starters, eight players who saw significant time, which adds up to most of their offense. Plus, they bring in a few DII transfers and Ryan Ems formerly of Scranton who is a large presence inside for Rowan.

Welseyan had it’s best season in program history in 2021-22. Nicky Johnson and the rest of the Cardinals could make it an even better history this season. (Wesleyan Athletics)

18 – Wesleyan (16th)
The Cardinals are coming the program’s best ever season. Yes, like many programs, Wesleyan graduated some of their talent, but they still have a wealth of experience returning. The NESCAC will not be easy (has it ever?). The bottom of the league has become more competitive and coaching changes in the last few years are starting to show results. I like Wesleyan and think they could maybe surprise while everyone is watching Williams, Middlebury, and others.

19 – Heidelburg (unranked)
The Student Princes surprised everyone last season and likely were a year ahead of expectations. Four starters and more than three-quarters of their scoring returns and they will need all the experience they can muster. The OAC will be yet another battle at the top with half the conference capable of winning the title.

Sophomore Nate Amado is averaging 25 ppg for Babson to start the season.

20 – Babson (unranked)
Something about Stephen Brennan’s squad has me intrigued. I didn’t think I would be voting for more than one NEWMAC team when I started this, but the Beavers have peaked my interest. They may be one of the riskier teams I’m eyeing as they have three starters and less than 30% of their scoring returning. However, Amado and Kirkpatrick are a strong duo and some of the talent coming in looks like it could contribute immediately.

In the final installment of the blog, I’ll share with you my 21-25 ranked preseason Top 25 men’s teams in Division III along with some final notes and personal reactions.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 21, 2022: My Top 10 through the first two weeks of the season

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Welcome back! Hope your weekend was a good one. As some may know, I am a Top 25 voter for the D3hoops.com Women’s Top 25 Poll each week. With it being so early in the season, we did not have a poll this week, but I thought I’d put down a Top 10 based on my thoughts from watching these teams play the last 12 days or so. So here you go…

  1. Hope: The Flying Dutch don’t rebuild, they reload. Despite losing a strong senior core from last year’s national championship team, Hope was seldom challenged in its first three contests against Geneva, Illinois Wesleyan, and Finlandia. Even UW-Eau Claire, who I would put around #11 or #12 right now, wasn’t able to keep the score within single digits on Saturday. Hope is the clear No. 1 and I’d be surprised if anyone else picks up a No. 1 vote in next week’s official poll.
  2. Transylvania: The Pioneers opened the season late, just a few days ago on Nov. 18. Their swing through Texas saw them pick up wins over Concordia (TX) and UT-Dallas, good ASC teams, but not the most high-level competition. Still, Transylvania’s play on the court suggests another dominant season seems to be in store. Perhaps, as we spoke about on Hoopsville last week, an undefeated season…
  3. UW-Whitewater: Here is where I differ from the Preseason Top 25. NYU has done nothing but roll to big wins in these first two weeks, but Whitewater has done the same…and against what appears at this point to be better competition. Millikin is a Top 25 program at this point, despite some recent struggles on the road, and IWU will compete right alongside Millikin for the top spot in the CCIW. Those two wins give the Warhawks the upper hand from my perspective, and for what it’s worth, Massey has Whitewater #8 in defensive efficiency, while NYU is #25. Defense wins championship. But seriously, the margin between these two is very thin.
  4. NYU: So keeping on with that same conversation, NYU’s four wins are over Alvernia, Haverford, Vassar, and Kean, who has a combined record of 8-11 right now. You certainly can’t punish a team for the poor play of its opponents, but when the margin is thin in this early part of the season, the quality of its non-conference opponents is significant in all of this. NYU won’t truly be tested until Dec. 11, when it faces #11 Tufts in a must-see battle.
  5. Trinity (TX): Going very much off of the eye test here, but watching Trinity play is just so impressive. The execution in transition is flawless, and the overall offense is one of the best I’ve seen at this point. They move the ball well and create shots, which have led to four fairly one-sided wins. The real tests come this week in a home-and-home with #18 Hardin-Simmons. Trinity goes to Abilene tomorrow, before HSU makes the return trip to San Antonio on Saturday.
  6. Christopher Newport: CNU has opened its season strong, winning all five of its games by double digits. ETBU came the closest, falling just 63-53 at home on Nov. 11. Massey has CNU at #3 in offensive efficiency, and I’d believe it. Four starters average 9.0+ PPG.
  7. Amherst: Amherst slides up to #7 for a few different reasons. One is the resume; notably, the 54-50 win over No. 16 Springfield, and the fact that all three opponents have been held to 50 points or lower. There’s a reason Amherst is the No. 1 defensive team according to Massey. Even on days when the shots aren’t falling, the Mammoths are often in the lead, due to superior defense. But #8 Trine’s loss to Baldwin-Wallace slides them back a spot, and #7 Smith had close calls at Maine-Maritime and Bowdoin this weekend, which drop them back as well.
  8. Scranton: #10 to open the season, Scranton is 5-0, and has given no reason why they don’t deserve to slide two spots up. Once I get all the numbers next week, this could change, but watching Scranton’s game against Wilkes yesterday, the Royals are clearly a title contender. They are so deep, which makes them dangerous for any opponent. We’ll get a good look at the Royals on Nov. 29 when they face #20 Ithaca. That will be a great indicator of where both teams are at.
  9. Trine: The Thunder didn’t look all that good at Baldwin Wallace, but it was also the second game of the season, and the bottom line is that they found a way to push it into double overtime. Though BW won 75-70, that is Trine’s only loss in four games. I can’t see putting them any lower than #9 based on what I’ve seen up to this point.
  10. Smith: Yes, Smith is undefeated. But in the two games that would give us the best indication of where the Pioneers were at, they struggled, nearly losing to Maine-Maritime (but eventually winning 66-60 in OT) and trailed Bowdoin 32-21 at the half on Saturday. Again, they came back to beat Bowdoin 54-50, and there is little doubt they are a good team, but at this point, I can’t see them still as the seventh-best team in the nation. They will have a good test against a 3-0 Trinity (CT) team on Nov. 27, that I’ll certainly be watching to get another look at Smith and where they might stack up in next week’s top 10.

Other notes:

  • Not a whole lot of other action today, but NJCU does play at D-I Delaware State in a winnable game for the Gothic Knights. Their only game currently played is a 79-70 loss to D-I Monmouth, and they looked sharp for much of that one. If they can stay strong on the boards, this could end up as a win. DSU is just 1-3 overall.
  • Concordia-Chicago plays a UW-La Crosse team that is 5-0. Concordia has won its last two, but nobody has been able to stop UWL yet. Consistency on the defensive end will be important to both teams in this one.
  • Colorado College and Augustana play in what could be a good game at 6 pm EST. CC is looking to get back on track after a 1-3 start, though the schedule has been tough with Emory and Calvin on there. Augustana is 3-1, coming off the loss to Calvin.

That’s all for today. Hope you enjoyed reading through my thoughts on the Top 10…what are yours? Feel free to add a comment below!