Unless your computer only shows the top few inches of the site for some reason, you’ve probably seen that the Men’s Preseason Top 25 poll was released.

One voter said this was one of the hardest preseason polls he’s ever voted in. I actually thought it was one of the easiest to vote in. It’s funny how much simpler dart boards make everything.

Here are some more serious thoughts on the Top 25.

– Biggest surprise William Paterson at No. 7. The Pioneers should be very solid with most of last year’s Sweet 16 team back. But I didn’t think they’d place this highly in the preseason given some of their low scoring results (Va Wes 46 WPUNJ 35).

– Thunderstruck: I liked the way Wheaton (Ill.) finished the season, so they were No. 22 on my ballot. Getting Kent Raymond back after he sat out last year should be a lift. You can read more about the Thunder in their team preview.

– Oshkosh, By Gosh: Last year I had the Titans ranked in the Top 10 to start the year. I wasn’t alone as Oshkosh was the No. 2 team in the preseason. The Titans were “upset” by unranked Lawrence in the opener – the first of 25 straight wins for the Vikings — and then lost 5 of 7 to close the year. Maybe the slow start or the weak finish deterred some voters from putting the Titans on their ballot. Nonetheless, I went with the Titans again in the Top 25 along with Whitewater. Given my predictive powers, UWO fans everywhere may be ducking for cover.

For those keeping score: Division III teams got beaten soundly by Division I counterparts in their preseason exhibition games. You can check out the UNI-Central box score or the St. Norbert game story below if you enjoy carnage.

George Mason 84 Marymount (Va.) 48
Pittsburgh 103 Carnegie Mellon 45
Northern Iowa 75 Central 41
UW-Green Bay 70 St. Norbert 37

The Division III basketball season is underway. You just don’t know it yet.

Unless, that is, you’re one of the many players or coaches who started practice back about 10 days ago. While a lot of work is happening behind closed gym doors, that doesn’t make it unimportant. Now is the time to build stamina, work on chemistry with new players and – for two teams – begin a march to a national championship.

Since there are way too many teams for us to cover them all fairly during the preseason, I’ll try to use the Daily Dose to highlight some stories that others are writing about for the upcoming season.

Our first stop is Gorham, Maine where MaineToday.com takes a look at last year’s women’s runner-up Southern Maine. The Huskies are gearing up for another run at the national semifinals but will have to do so with a considerably different starting five. Three starters have graduated and first team D3hoops.com All-American Ashley Marble is recovering from ankle surgery.

The Appleton (Wisc.) Post-Crescent gives Lawrence basketball fans a look at life without 2006 Jostens Trophy winner Chris Braier. Hopefully senior co-captain Matt Osland didn’t read that last sentence. Says Osland, “Obviously Chris was a huge part in what we did…I’ve heard so much the last… I’m a little sick of it.” The Vikings were the last Division III team to lose a game last year, falling to Illinois Wesleyan in the Regional Semifinals.

Speaking of CCIW teams, Millikin is taking its Big Blue nickname to heart with three freshman who are at least six-foot-seven. Millikin finished in seventh place in the CCIW last year at 3-11, 10-15 overall. The (Decatur, Ill.) Herald & Review has more.

Keep in mind that we’re also working to add schedules for every team from Adrian to York (Pa.) for men and women. Our partnership with D3scoreboard.com makes that a little easier, but there’s still plenty to do. This month I’ve learned a lot about non-Division III small college basketball in the Husker State while entering Nebraska Wesleyan’s schedule. Hello, Hastings.

Crossover season.

Basketball practices begin Oct. 15. Football is in the heart of its season. We’re still collecting schedules (and waiting for D3Scoreboard.com to dump in schedules for its conferences). It’s the time we solicit info from schools for the preseason Top 25. Somewhere in here we have to get the preseason All-American teams together.

Had my first discussion with Mark Simon about the Around the Nation column last night. Still have a day job, of course, as do the rest of us here at D3football.com/D3hoops.com.

And it’s no easier for the SIDs working at D-III schools, especially schools with football.

So I’m down to six and a half hours of sleep a night, basically spending any available waking moment on the sites. I’ll probably be cutting back to six hours a night soon.

So be patient. We’re gearing up. The info is coming. Stick around and talk on the boards. Enjoy the run-up.

As the front page shows, NCAA Division I Final Four participant George Mason is opening their 2006 season with an exhibition against one of our own, Marymount, on November 1st.

With our new partnership with D3scoreboard.com we can now list these exhibition games, a fair number of which involve Division I opponents. Usually there’s some connection between the schools, either geographic proximity or through staff relationships. For example, St. Joseph’s Assistant Coach Dave Duda will see the team he coached to the Division III Sweet 16 last year when Widener visits the Hawks in Philadelphia.

Here are some of those Division III vs. Division I exhibitions. If you’re near one and so inclined, they’ll give you a chance to see some Division III basketball a couple weeks before we start for real on November 17.

Men

Wednesday, November 1: Marymount @ George Mason
Wednesday, November 1: Carnegie Mellon @ Pittsburgh
Wednesday, November 1: Central (Guard Brett De Hoogh pictured) @ Northern Iowa
Wednesday, November 8: UW-Platteville @ Purdue
Wednesday, November 8: UW-La Crosse @ UW-Green Bay
Thursday, November 9: Widener @ St. Joseph’s (Pa.)
Friday, November 10: Buena Vista @ Iowa
Friday, November 10: Washington U. @ Southern Illinois-Carbondale

Women

Thursday, November 2: UW-River Falls @ Wisconsin
Thursday, November 2: Concordia (Wisc.) @ UW-Milwaukee

I’m sure there are more out there, particularly on the women’s side, so please feel free to share.