Category Archives: General

Rivalries rev up

Posted on by

The last weekend of January brings us Division III’s biggest rivalry as Calvin and Hope meet in Grand Rapids this afternoon at 2 pm EST.

In addition to watching the game on CSTV (if you have it), there are plenty of other ways to track the game.

Hope Live Audio
Calvin Live Audio
Live Stats

Division III’s second-best rivalry (in my opinion) also continues today as the undefeated No. 16 Amherst women travel to Williams (13-5) at 2 pm EST followed by the No. 3 Amherst men playing No. 10 Williams at 4 pm EST. The Lord Jeffs won the first meeting at home 87-80, but this one is even bigger since it counts in conference. Plus, a win here by the Lord Jeffs may vault them to No. 1 in the country given last night’s loses by No. 1 Rochester and No. 2 Brandeis.

Amherst Audio
Live Stats

Catching my breath on Friday night!

Posted on by

While I will admit I got a late start to the festivities Friday night (Jan. 25), I quickly got caught up and now I am catching my breath.

In a matter of an hour, I – and the rest of those D3hoops.com die-hards – got a chance to witness the #1 and #2 teams in the men’s poll fight to remain on top, only to both trip and fall. There was Millsaps and Centre battling into OT to claim the top spot in the SCAC. And a number of other games were coming down to the end… all at the same time!

I started off by logging into the broadcast of the Chicago-Brandeis game with Chicago clinging to a small lead and not much time left. And talk about a crazy ending. Brandeis found some way to inch within two thanks to a huge three point shot from Andre Roberson. A quick foul sent Chicago’s Jake Pancratz to the line for two free throws and only 3.1 seconds left. But Pancratz would miss both FT’s and Brandeis was able to rebound the ball and call timeout without any time coming off the clock (home-team clock syndrome?!). But despite the play drawn up during the TO, Brandeis’ baseball pass down the court was tipped away by Chicago… and the Maroons pulled off the first big upset of the night – 79-77.

But I didn’t have time to savor that game, I had to quickly log off that broadcast and log into the #1 Rochester vs. Emory game, since the Eagles were leading Rochester late in the 2nd half of that game. And just like Chicago, Emory was clinging on to a small lead over the undefeated Yellowjackets. And what a finish to the second half.

Rochester with the ball… less than 10 seconds left… and Mike Chmielowiec would miss his attempt and it sounded like the game was over. But several refs whistles later and a conversation, 0.8 seconds were put back on the clock and Rochester had the ball. They really only had one choice – catch and shoot. Jeff Juron would inbound the ball and alley-oop the pass to Jon Onyiriuka would connect… and Onyiriuka’s shot would bounce around the rim before falling through – forcing OT.

But Emory was not phased. They would score the first four points of OT, force three fouls on Onyiriuka to foul him out of the game, and while the Yellowjackets would climb back to within one point several times, the Eagles stayed composed and eventually knocked off Rochester 81-76 – handing the #1 team in the nation it’s first loss and giving us what Rochester radio’s play-by-play’s J.C. DeLass called the biggest upset of the season.

And that wasn’t all the excitement on the D3hoops.com Scoreboard… in the SCAC, #14 Centre was taking on #18 Millsaps for the top spot in the conference. The game, which was at Centre and broadcast on D3hoopsnet, matched two one-loss teams in their only conference game of the season (thanks to the new division format in the SCAC). And it didn’t disappoint! Centre needed a near-buzzer beating shot from Thomas Britt to force OT on their home court (D3hoops.com’s Wes Anderson’s call on D3hoopsnet)!

And apparently that was the wake up call the Colonels needed as they easily dispatched Millsaps in OT to win 90-80, handing the Majors their second loss of the season and first in the SCAC.

So… three thrilling games in 45 minutes and I was looking for more. My heart was racing. The excitement and great games and close finishes was more like late February or March! But this was late January and now I was looking for another game to quench my thirst for some exciting basketball.

Only one problem, there was nothing left. Mainly because there were no other games with audio or video links… or it was just that time of night where there were simply no more games, I was out of luck.

So, I sat back and caught my breath. What a night! This is what makes Division III Basketball so great! So many games in so many places and so many ways to listen, watch, or peak in… and from now until March 2nd, it is only going to get better. And then we hit the NCAA Tournament, when it doesn’t get any better!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Insider: Post Play in D3

Posted on by

In this piece, I will briefly touch on some games that we (MIT) have played this season and how two of our post players made significant impacts in those games.

The impact that a solid post presence has on the game is often overlooked in D3 basketball. This division is guard heavy and, as a result, many systems are built around guard play. This season I have had the privilege of playing alongside two outstanding big men. Night in and night out Bill Johnson (Everett, WA) and Hamidou Soumare (Bamako, Mali) do the dirty work that is mostly underappreciated.

On November 27, 2007 Gordon College came into our gym on a roll. At the time Gordon was 3-1 and MIT was 4-1. It stayed close for most of the first half but we closed out on a nice run to put us up 37-25 at half. Gordon is a great shooting team and was really trying to get it going by getting to the rim early to open up their outside game. Dou displayed his tremendous athletic ability by blocking 3 or 4 of Gordon’s shots. He finished the night with 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. The next game he had 22pts, 16 rebs, and 5 steals.A block is often more than just a play that alters a shot. It changes the opponent’s perception of what type of shot he will be able to take. I have seen a few players choose to ignore an open lane to the basket because they have recently had similar shots blocked. As a guard it is a wonderful feeling to be able to pressure the defense intensely because I know that I have a player like Dou behind me. These tiny parts of the game all add up and can be the difference between a win and loss at the end of the night.

On December 6, 2007 we headed to Amherst in what was going to be a battle. Amherst is known for having a strong interior with a lot of height. They are a great team but Bill and Dou really established themselves as elite players that night. MIT held a 34-26 lead at halftime. Amherst came out and went on a solid run to go up about 12 with 4:40 left in the game. MIT came back and hit some tough shots to get it to 2 with 1:23 seconds left. It was as close as we would get as I missed 2 shots to tie (what I would give to be able to take those again). However, our post players were the reason that we had those shots.

A versatile post player is, in my opinion, the most dangerous player on the floor. Bill Johnson is the definition of versatile. He is 6’8”, is arguably one of the best shooters that I have ever played alongside, is developing a killer post game, and is one heck of a teammate. This versatility gives coaches a lot of options in games. Against Amherst we were able to pull Bill outside to open the lane for others. Amherst had to guard him because he is such a tremendous shooter. On the other end of the court he played straight lock up defense on some very good athletes and players.

Sometimes I feel that guys with height are always expected to just get rebounds and play with their back to the basket. This is true in certain cases but when versatility is such a valuable asset at the D3 level, I feel that using that versatility in different ways is critical. So much of interior defense, screening, and post play is overshadowed by fancy passes or deep threes. The truth is that the inside game is as important as any other facet of basketball.

As far as conference play is concerned, the NEWMAC is crazy right now. The conference has very solid teams from top to bottom. After a few weeks of play it is clear that any team can win on any given night. It is a great way to play and I am really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season unfolds.

Take care,

Jimmy Bartolotta

Searching for Jessica McEntee

Posted on by

There’s a little bit of buzz about NYU’s Jessica McEntee today, thanks to a New York Times feature on the All-American forward. The Times piece linked to D3hoops.com (and thanks for the traffic) and it looks like people are searching for more about her and hitting us as well.

So I thought we should put our Jessica McEntee feature from last March back up where it’s a little easier to find.

“She’s a great competitor, really skilled, very smart, and very coachable,” said NYU women’s head coach Janice Quinn. “Fans love watching her play. She’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. I can tell her something that she can process and apply to situations that we haven’t even talked about yet. That’s different from being skilled, being an athlete or being strong. That’s a rare kind of player that can do that.”

The mask she wore on the road to the Final Four last year is no more, obviously, but the player remains. Read on at: http://www.d3hoops.com/notables.php?item=971

Top 25 News and Notes–Week 8

Posted on by

It’s mid-January: would you rather be in the Frozen North, or in the Sunny South? While most people in the barest possession of their faculties might give one answer, the poll voters have quite a different response.

Above all, the place to be this week was Rochester. The men’s and women’s teams each rang up 2-0 weeks, each knocking off a team ranked in the top 3, and each moved up strongly in this week’s poll. The distaff Yellow Jackets dispatched #3 NYU and exhibited the largest gain in this week’s women’s poll, moving up nine spots to #12. Not to be outdone, their male counterparts were the victors in the second-ever matchup of the two top-ranked teams in the D3hoops.com poll, knocking off #2 Brandeis. While their ceiling was limited by the fact that they were already ranked #1, the Yellow Jackets have now joined that most exclusive club in poll history, becoming just the 8th team to be voted #1 unanimously during the regular season. In this they join the Washington U. women’s and men’s teams, unanimous #1 teams 17 and 5 times respectively, as well as the men’s teams at UW-Stevens Point (8 times), Hampden-Sydney (6), Carthage (3), and Illinois Wesleyan (2) and the Bowdoin women (5).

As sunny as Rochester was, conditions in Massachusetts (outside of Brandeis, at least) were also quite pleasant. The Bay State is home to two of the hottest teams in D3 basketball. The men’s team at UMass-Dartmouth share with Rochester the distinction of being the only unbeaten teams left among the men’s teams in D3. The Corsairs, absent from the national stage since their 2001 Sweet 16 run was ended by a 49-point drubbing by Carthage at Ohio Northern, are back with a vengeance, cracking the top 10 for the first time in poll history this week. Over in Amherst, home of the 2007 men’s national champs and one of the most successful programs of the decade, the women’s team is threatening to steal the spotlight, having started 16-0 under new coach G.P. Gromacki. The Lord Jeffs ended Tufts’ unbeaten season on the Jumbos’ home court this week, and moved up strongly to a best-ever ranking of #16 this week.

Things were not so nice in the South, however. The Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders carried their #4 men’s ranking, an all-time high, into Abilene, TX, and three days later crawled back to Belton with two losses and an eleven spot drop in the poll. Over in the southeast, the Guilford men, a team which carried extremely high expectations into the season, dropped their fourth game (at new #24 Roanoke) and disappeared from the top 25, while the women of Randolph-Macon saw their perfect season come to an end at the hands of Virginia Wesleyan, causing the Jackets to cascade eight spots to #20 in this week’s poll, one spot lower than their male classmates.

Yes, the South may have warm weather in January, but for hot hoops, look to the North.

Debutantes:
Women: None this week.
Men: The eighth-ranked Corsairs of UMass-Dartmouth, one of just two undefeated men’s teams, broke into the Top 10 for the first time ever this week. Congratulations!

Streakers:
Women: Four teams extended ranking streaks to 10 polls this week: #7 Kean, #9 Simpson, #14 George Fox, and #20 Randolph-Macon. This also marks the 10th consecutive week in which Simpson has been in the voting, while #23 Puget Sound’s voting streak has now reached 30 weeks.
Men: Both #2 Brandeis and #21 Stevens have been ranked in ten straight polls. #13 Elmhurst ran its vote-getting streak to 20 weeks, while Stevens and #17 Plattsburg St. have received votes in 10 straight polls.

Milestones:
Women: Tenth-ranked UW-Stevens Point is in the voting rolls for the 100th week, while #4 Mary Washington is on the list for the 50th time. Both St. Thomas and Hardin-Simmons achieved voting milestones in their 2007-08 voting debuts: for the Tommies, it is their 50th appearance, while the Cowgirls are vote-getters for the 125th time. #1 Hope is also in the voting for the 125th time. Other voting milestones were achieved by Wilmington (110 weeks), #6 McMurry (60), and #7 Kean (30.) UW-Eau Claire re-enters the Top 25 this week, marking their 80th time as a ranked team. #11 Messiah is ranked for the 110th time, while William Smith is in the Top 25 for the tenth time.
Men: Tenth-ranked Williams is counted among the top 10 for the 40th time. Both #11 Puget Sound and #20 UW-Oshkosh are ranked for the 60th time, while #21 Stevens is now a ten-time Top 25 team. Vote-getting milestones were reached this week by Trinity (CT) (70 weeks), #13 Elmhurst (60), Whitworth (60), Ursinus (20), and #17 Plattsburgh St. (10).

High-Water Marks:
Women: This poll marks the new all-time high ranking for #5 Thomas More, #6 McMurry, #16 Amherst, and #17 Medaille. #2 Howard Payne matched their highest-ever ranking.
Men: Top 10 debutant UMass-Dartmouth is, at #8, at its highest-ever ranking, as are the SCAC leaders #14 Centre and #18 Millsaps. #2 Brandeis matched their high-water mark for the 5th straight week.

Movers and Shakers:
Women: As discussed above, the biggest gains were recorded by #12 Rochester (up 162 points and 9 places) and #16 Amherst (+154/+6). Five teams lost at least 128 points, led by #20 Randolph-Macon (-167 points and down 8 places.)
Men: #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor’s 0-2 week cost them 302 points and 11 slots in the poll. Preseason #4 Guilford lost 160 points and fell out of the Top 25 for the first time in 17 weeks. UMass-Dartmouth extended its winning streak to 15 games, and showed the best gain of the week (+136 points and six placements), leading a pack of 6 teams that each gained at least 100 points.