December 29, 2022

By Riley Zayas, @ ZayasRiley

We are back! Hope you enjoyed the Top 25 breakdown and wow, are we in for some great basketball the next two days. I cannot wait, especially with so many afternoon duels being played across the country. Looking at the schedule, I thought I’d put together a list, in no particular order, of my Top 5 matchups, between today and tomorrow’s slates. I am aware that we might get a few more big-time games at various tournaments, but seeing as those games are not confirmed (the top two teams have to win today or tomorrow to advance to the championship game), I’ll save mention of those for a later post. For now, here are five good ones you will want to tune into.
1. #15 UW-Eau Claire @ #10 Trine, Thursday, 4 pm EST: This is a huge matchup for both teams as they aim to solidify their non-conference resumes, especially playing in deep conferences (WIAC and MIAA). UWEC can shoot the ball from just about anywhere on the floor, at 45.4 percent from the field this season. That’s a dangerous matchup for any defense, considering the guard play from the Blugolds is at a high-level, and they find ways to get open shots on the perimeter. But that’s exactly what Trine took away in its massive win at Hope a couple weeks ago, a game in which the Flying Dutch were just 29 percent from the field. I think this one comes down to perimeter shooting. In UWEC’s loss to Loras, the Blugolds struggled from beyond the arc, and shooting just above 50 percent from the free throw line didn’t help much either. If Trine’s guards stay aggressive and contest the Blugolds’ long-range shots, and Sidney Wagner scores at least 20 for the Thunder, Trine could pull out a victory. That said, I can see this one going the other way too.
2. #23 Calvin @ Loras, Thursday, 5 pm EST: Can Loras pull off another shocking upset? We shall see this afternoon. Loras already upset then-#14 UWEC a couple weeks ago and went down to Florida a couple days prior to Christmas, taking down #9 Babson by 19. I like the product that Loras is putting on the floor, and the Duhawks currently rank 28th nationally in field goal percentage (42.4%). But Calvin has some big wins of its own, notably the November upset of UW-Whitewater. The offense is highlighted by 6’3 center Gabby Timmer, though she is not the only scorer on the floor for the Knights. Sydney Clearly, a transfer from Central Michigan, has been exceptional as the primary ballhandler, with a team-best 39 assists. I’m interested to see how Loras opts to match up with Timmer in the post. I’d think that 6’1 forward Sami Martin might be the best one-on-one matchup against Timmer, but Loras will need some strong help defense, especially in the paint, if the Duhawks are to limit Timmer’s point production. She can take over a game by herself if the opponent does not react in due time.
3. Bowdoin @ #1 NYU, Friday, 3 pm EST: This is an interesting matchup, and those of us that were following the 2020 NCAA Tournament know that the last time these two teams met, Bowdoin won 86-67, only to have the world shut down about a week later. Now almost three years later, these two opponents matchup with NYU entering as the favorite. Both rosters have changed, but I’m not quite sure that the way this game plays out, in terms of style of play, will be all that different. Paint points are going to be key for both teams, and watching the film, so is the rebounding. Interestingly, NYU is 18th in the nation in rebounding margin, Bowdoin is 23rd; a sign that each side has been fairly good at creating second-chance opportunities on the offensive side, while taking away the opponent’s offensive rebounding chances on the defensive end. NYU likely has more depth in the post, but Jess Giorgio has been fantastic in the low post for Bowdoin this season. Another storyline that I’m watching here is how NYU decides to use Belle Pellecchia. She had an off game against Tufts (the last time NYU took the floor), going 0-for-7 from the field. Undoubtedly one of the country’s best guards, I wonder if NYU will try to get her some more touches in this one, and some better looks than she had in the Tufts game, especially from midrange. How will Bowdoin defend that? Will they take a one-on-one matchup? Their guards are quick enough to do so, but it’s also possible that NYU uses Pellecchia more to draw the defense away from the scorer, than to be the scorer. This is all purely my thought, but I always enjoy watching how teams matchup with an All-American player. I like NYU’s chances here, but don’t count Bowdoin out!
4. Trinity (CT) @ #13 Springfield, Friday, 5:30 pm EST: If Zac and Matt Snyder of the D3 Datacast were putting together an “upset watch” for the women’s slate this week, I’d have to think this one is near the top of the list. Plug this matchup into the Massey matchup tool and the predicted result is Springfield winning 60-56. That’s awfully close, especially for a matchup between a Top 15 team and an unranked one. But Trinity (CT) has a solid resume, and a good start to NESCAC play could see them ranked in the Top 25 by the end of January. Trinity’s Reilly Campbell is a tough player to defend on the offensive end, and actually ranks fifth in D-III in effective field goal percentage (63.9% courtesy of @D3SportsData). She is incredibly consistent and as a 6’2 center, is probably Trinity’s best weapon in the paint. She is a big reason why the Bantams nearly upset Smith last month. Springfield is on an eight-game win streak entering this one, though I think this might be their biggest test since falling to Amherst back on Nov. 11. Springfield needs to be effective on the boards in order to pull out a win on their home court, while Trinity has to find ways to score from the perimeter, rather than relying on paint points. Springfield’s strength starts with its post play in my opinion, especially on the defensive end.
UW-Stout vs WashU, Friday, 1 pm EST: This is not a Top 25 matchup, but is intriguing nonetheless. Stout is on a 10-game win streak, but has just three wins over teams above .500, which diminishes the “wow” factor to the win streak just a little bit. WashU is 6-3, preparing to enter a very deep UAA conference come January. An overtime win over Millikin somewhat put WashU on the map in the early part of the year, but they have lost their last two as they battle injuries and other factors. Hopefully we see a fully healthy WashU team back on the floor for this one. Honestly, the matchup between WashU and Oshkosh on Thursday is one you won’t want to miss either (that’s my way of making it a “6 games to watch article” without listing out six games). Depending on how WashU plays Oshkosh, we’ll have an idea of what to expect against Stout. Overall, I’m just looking forward to watching Stout go up against a quality opponent, and eager to see if the two-week break alllowed WashU to get back on track. They’ve dropped three of their last five entering this one. I anticipate a competitive game that comes down to the wire in Oshkosh.

Looking forward to being on press row for two games at Mary Hardin-Baylor today. The women play Piedmont at 3:30 CT in what should be a solid matchup. I was excited because UC Santa Cruz and ETBU were scheduled to play ahead of that one, but travel issues caused the UCSC vs. ETBU and UCSC vs. UMHB games to be pushed to early next week. Anyway, it’s always good to be at D3 hoops games in person. I’ll cover all the best action from today in tomorrow’s post, so stay tuned for that!