March 11, 2023

By Riley Zayas

Well, our Elite Eight field is set for today! Here is who is still playing after what was a great Round of 16 last night…

#1 Christopher Newport vs #21 Tufts, 7 pm EST

#6 NYU vs #2 Transylvania, 6:30 pm EST

#20 Trinity CT vs #4 Smith, 8 pm EST

Rhode Island College vs #13 Babson, 7:30 pm EST

As you can see, our final eight teams are almost 100% located in the northeast with the exception of CNU and Transylvania. Rhode Island College is also the only non-Top 25 team still alive in this tournament, which is pretty notable. All the way around, I think we will see some incredible basketball tonight. Lots to like about the way these sectional have shaken out.

Now to take a look at last night’s Round of 16 matchups…

I think you have to start with your buzzer beater alert. And of all teams, it was Smith who needed a 3-pointer at the end of overtime in order to break the 75-75 tie against Mary Washington, and win 78-75. It was wild! Smith dribbled around for close to 12 seconds before the ball found its way into the hands of Ally Yamada, who fired an off-balance 3 that hit nothing but net. Those are the moments you live, and Smith is now one win away from the Final Four because of it.

The game appeared close to over entering the fourth, as Smith led by 15. Then Mary Washington flipped the switch. The Eagles mounted a 20-5 run to close the game, and I was very impressed by how efficient UMW was under pressure. They didn’t seem to rush their offensive possessions, even though they were down by double digits with about six minutes left, and they stayed aggressive, which did not make it easy on Smith.

Of course in OT, it was just as tight, with Smith outscoring UMW 11-8. Smith controlled the boards in this game BIG-TIME, outrebounding UMW 46-29. That is huge.

Chicago hadn’t played great in either the first or second round, but still, I did not expect Rhode Island College to end the Maroons’ season last night. RIC played a very complete game, and came out with a 64-56 victory, leading by as many as 17 points. RIC jumped out to a 20-13 lead and never looked back, shooting 8-of-15 from 3-point range and 42.3% from the field. Chicago never could catch up, and had some good 3-point looks in the final minutes that were missed, sending RIC to the Elite Eight. RIC feels like a wild card. They were one of my deep dive picks on Hoopsville a while back, but even in the LEC Tournament, didn’t impress me all that much. Whatever they’re doing must be working. A win over Babson today, and they’re into the Final Four.

Trinity TX vs Tufts was the big one for me, as I anticipated it would be competitive and feature some emotion with the “controversy” when it came to who hosted this sectional pod. As it turned out, the hosts did prevail, as Tufts came alive in the second half, winning 65-52. It was closer than the final score, but the Jumbos certainly kept their foot on the accelerator and never let up. Trinity was outscored 32-18 in the second half.

Maggie Russell was fantastic for Tufts, with 32 points and 21 rebounds. That might be the most dominant performance of this entire tournament. She literally took over the game, and carried the Jumbos to victory. I’m interested to see how CNU approaches Russell today, especially with Anaya Simmons out.

In a game that began pretty close, NYU raced away from Trine, and won convincingly, 66-49. Can’t wait to watch NYU battle Transylvania this afternoon. Big stats that jumped out to me…

• NYU was +12 on the boards (41 rebounds to Trine’s 33)
• NYU had 12 more points in the paint
• NYU had 15 2nd-chance points, Trine had 6
• NYU grabbed 10 of the game’s first 11 offensive rebounds

Natalie Bruns had a double-double for the Violets, with 16 points, and 13 rebounds, while Belle Pellecchia went toe-to-toe with Trine’s guards, scoring 15 points.

Top-ranked CNU ended Wartburg’s magical run with a 60-51 win early in the evening. CNU went up 21-9 early, and Wartburg, despite a valient effort down the stretch, never caught back up. CNU shot just 22% from 3-point range and had 10 fewer assists, but tallied 18 points off turnovers and scored 14 2nd-chance points. CNU had just 1 2nd-chance point. As I mentioned above, it will take that sort of defensive effort once again today if CNU wants to reach the Final Four. The Captains need to contain Russell and limit Tufts’ offense as a whole.

Babson did one thing incredibly well in the 73-59 win over Marietta: the Beavers got to the FT line, and were automatic there. That’s right…Babson was a perfect 20-for-20 from the charity stripe. I can’t think if many situations where you don’t win a game doing that. Not to mention, the Beavers shot 42% compared to Marietta’s 32%, and though Marietta won the rebounding battle by six, it didn’t make up for Babson’s exceptional free throw shooting.

Trinity CT is now one win away from playing in the Final Four on its home court. How cool is that? The Bantams took down UW-Whitewater, 63-56, ending the season for the last team standing that is located west of the Mississippi. It’s an all-eastern Elite Eight now, as Trinity got out to a 17-9 lead and stayed there. We’ve been talking about how much Trinity needed to establish a scoring presence outside of Reilly Campbell in some of these games, and that’s what they did against the Warhawks. 3 starters scored in double figures. Aleah Grundahl did not play for Whitewater due to an injury, and that definitely challenged the Warhawks in the post.

Transylvania punched its ticket to the Elite Eight once again, now 30-0! The Pioneers sent Ohio Northern home after jumping out to a 23-11 advantage and outscoring ONU in all four quarters. As usual, I thought Transy’s defensive intensity was incredible; ONU shot just 29.8% from the field and just 20% from 3-point. 25 points off turnovers helped too and I think Transy HC Juli Fulks put almost her entire bench into the game when the final buzzer sounded. 15 different players saw action for the Pioneers in the victory. NYU-Transy might be the game of the day in the Elite Eight round.

Enjoy today’s action! I’ll check back in tonight or tomorrow with some thoughts as our Final Four field gets set. Such an exciting day in D3 hoops! Looking forward to it.