Since we’re entering 2008 – 2009 schedules into our system, this is a good time to mention that nine teams are now “active” members of Division III. That means they are eligible for rankings and post-season participation.

The nine members who are fully in the fold are:

• Bethany Lutheran (UMAC)
• Crown (Minn.) (UMAC)
• Maine-Presque Isle (Independent)
• Minnesota-Morris (UMAC)
• Mount Aloysius (AMCC)
• Northwestern (Minn.) (UMAC)
• Penn State-Berks (NEAC)
• SUNY-Purchase (Skyline)
• Salem (Independent)

Four of these schools are in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) along with St. Scholastica, Martin Luther and Northland. That leaves Presentation as the only UMAC team that isn’t a full member yet.

This also brings the active Division III membership to 429 schools, a net increase of seven from 2007 – 2008 since Maryville (Mo.) and non-D3hoopsters Cal State-East Bay are headed to Division II.

Assuming the NCAA keeps the same policy as last year, schools in the third or fourth year of the four-year process to become active members are not eligible for the post-season. But games against them count in the primary tournament selection criteria. That means games against the following teams are regional contests:

Fourth Year

• Mitchell (NECC)
• Mount Mary (Independent)
• Presentation (UMAC)
• Morrisville State (SUNYAC)

Third Year

• Lancaster Bible (Independent)
• La Sierra (Independent)
• Lyndon State (NAC)
• North Central (Minn.) (Independent)
• St. Vincent (PrAC)

There are four teams in the second year of their provisional status. Games against these teams don’t count as regional contests, but we will track them on our site.

• Franciscan of Steubenville, Ohio (AMCC)
• Geneva of Beaver Falls, PA (PrAC)
• Penn State-Harrisburg (NEAC)
• St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn, NY (Independent)

Three schools are in their first year of provisional status – Cincinnati-Clermont, Spalding (Ky.) and Cobleskill (NY) State. There are also seven schools in the exploratory phase, most of which are in the Nebraska or Georgia. We’ll wait to track these guys, but you can see the list here.

Other than the schools who became eligible for post-season play, the real winners are the teams in the West region who have a few more places they can get regional games.

Obscure stuff? Yep. But hopefully it comes in handy come regional ranking time. 🙂

The NCAA released its third regional rankings today. These are through games of Sunday, Feb. 24. Please note, the overall record and regional record are listed. This is not the conference record.

This is the final ranking we see. The NCAA prepares a final ranking through next Sunday’s games to use in the selection and bracketing process; however, it does not release it to the public.

Men’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record.

Number of teams ranked is relative to the number of teams in the region.

Women’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record.

The NCAA released its second regional rankings today. These are through games of Sunday, Feb. 17. Please note, the overall record and regional record are listed. This is not the conference record.

Men’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record.

Number of teams ranked is relative to the number of teams in the region.

Atlantic
1. Richard Stockton 16-6 16-5
2. William Paterson 17-5 17-5
3. Farmingdale State 19-4 18-3
4. York (N.Y.) 19-7 17-6
5. SUNY-Old Westbury 14-9 14-7

East
1. Plattsburgh State 21-2 18-0
2. Rochester 17-5 16-5
3. Brockport State 18-6 15-4
4. Stevens 20-4 20-4
5. Nazareth 17-6 17-6

Great Lakes
1. Capital 20-3 19-3
2. Wooster 20-3 13-2
3. Hope 19-3 13-2
4. Albion 16-5 12-3
5. Penn State-Behrend 19-4 17-3
6. Heidelberg 18-5 16-4

Middle Atlantic
1. Ursinus 22-2 19-1
2. Gettysburg 19-3 17-2
3. Widener 19-4 16-3
4. DeSales 19-4 16-3
5. York (Pa.) 17-6 17-5
6. Messiah 15-8 14-7
7. Moravian 18-6 17-6
8. Lycoming 15-8 13-7

Midwest
1. Washington U. 18-4 15-3
2. Augustana 18-5 17-5
3. Lawrence 18-2 16-2
4. Chicago 15-7 14-7
5. Illinois Wesleyan 15-8 14-6
6. Wheaton (Ill.) 17-6 13-6
7. Elmhurst 17-6 16-6
8. Carroll 14-6 13-6

Northeast
1. Amherst 22-2 22-1
2. Mass-Dartmouth 21-2 21-2
3. Brandeis 18-4 17-4
4. Worcester Tech 18-5 17-4
5. Rhode Island College 18-5 18-5
6. Bowdoin 19-5 19-5
7. Trinity (Conn.) 18-6 16-5
8. Middlebury 18-6 17-5
9. Emerson 20-3 19-3
10. Bates 17-7 16-6

South
1. Centre 21-1 16-1
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor 20-3 18-2
3. Guilford 19-4 18-4
4. Virginia Wesleyan 19-5 18-4
5. Maryville (Tenn.) 21-2 15-2
6. DePauw 18-5 15-4
7. Millsaps 21-3 16-2
8. Randolph-Macon 18-5 13-5

West
1. UW-Stevens Point 19-4 17-4
2. St. Thomas 20-3 18-2
3. Occidental 19-3 12-2
4. UW-Whitewater 19-4 17-4
5. Cal Lutheran 19-3 15-3
6. Buena Vista 19-4 15-2
7. UW-Platteville 17-6 15-5
8. UW-Oshkosh 17-6 14-5

Women’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record.

Atlantic
1 Mary Washington 21-2 20-1
2 Marymount 20-3 19-3
3 Kean 21-2 20-2
4 William Paterson 18-5 18-5
5 Mount St. Mary (N.Y.) 21-2 21-2
6 New Jersey 18-5 17-5

Central
1 UW-Whitewater 21-2 19-2
2 UW-Eau Claire 18-5 16-4
3 UW-Stevens Point 19-4 18-4
4 Illinois Wesleyan 21-2 18-2
5 Washington U. 16-6 13-4
6 Chicago 17-5 15-5

East
1 Rochester 18-4 16-4
2 William Smith 19-2 17-2
3 St. Lawrence 19-4 15-4
4 Medaille 21-2 19-2
5 Brockport St. 20-4 17-3
6 Stevens 20-4 19-4

Great Lakes
1 Thomas More 23-0 19-0
2 Hope 22-0 20-0
3 DePauw 20-3 17-1
4 Baldwin-Wallace 21-2 21-2
5 Wilmington 18-5 16-5
6 Ohio Northern 17-6 16-6

Middle Atlantic
1 Messiah 21-2 18-2
2 DeSales 21-3 21-3
3 Albright 19-4 17-3
4 Scranton 18-5 17-4
5 Muhlenberg 18-5 18-5
6 Gwynedd-Mercy 19-5 18-5

Northeast
1 Tufts 21-2 21-2
2 Brandeis 17-5 17-4
3 Southern Maine 21-2 21-2
4 Amherst 22-2 21-2
5 Salem State 18-4 18-2
6 Bowdoin 17-7 15-5
7 Bates 15-9 15-7
8 Bridgewater State 17-4 17-2

South
1 Howard Payne 23-0 21-0
2 Oglethorpe 20-3 18-3
3 McMurry 20-3 20-2
4 Trinity (Texas) 17-5 16-4
5 Piedmont 20-3 16-3
6 Christopher Newport 18-4 17-3

West
1 Simpson 21-2 17-1
2 George Fox 20-3 13-2
3 Puget Sound 19-4 14-2
4 Chapman 22-3 15-3
5 St. Benedict 19-4 18-4
6 Gustavus Adolphus 16-7 16-7

The NCAA released its first regional rankings today. These are through games of Sunday, Feb. 10. Please note, the overall record and regional record are listed. This is not the conference record.

Men’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record, opponents winning percentage and opponents opponents winning percentage. OWP and OOWP are calculated by D3hoops/PrestoSports
Number of teams ranked is relative to the number of teams in the region.

Atlantic Region
1. Richard Stockton 15-5 15-4 .544 .518
2. William Paterson 16-4 16-4 .516 .518
3. Farmingdale State 16-4 15-3 .462 .481
4. York (N.Y.) 17-7 15-6 .472 .495
5. St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 16-5 15-5 .415 .477

East Region
1. Rochester 17-3 16-3 .629 .573
2. Plattsburgh State 19-2 16-0 .505 .524
3. Brockport State 16-6 13-4 .585 .532
4. Stevens 19-3 17-2 .447 .532
5. Nazareth 15-5 15-5 .606 .544

Great Lakes
1. Capital 18-3 17-3 .536 .530
2. Wooster 18-3 11-2 .525 .495
3. Hope 17-3 10-2 .501 .519
4. Ohio Wesleyan 14-6 13-4 .545 .498
5. Heidelberg 16-5 14-4 .507 .528
6. Penn State-Behrend 17-4 15-3 .425 .501

Middle Atlantic Region
1. Ursinus 19-2 16-1 .526 .518
2. Gettysburg 17-3 15-2 .553 .521
3. Widener 17-4 14-3 .553 .524
4. Messiah 15-6 14-5 .650 .519
5. DeSales 17-4 14-3 .522 .507
6. Albright 14-5 14-4 .528 .544
7. York (Pa.) 16-6 16-5 .557 .506
8. Moravian 17-5 16-5 .462 .511

Midwest Region
1. Augustana 17-4 16-4 .573 .571
2. Washington U. 16-4 13-3 .690 .556
3. Lawrence 16-2 14-2 .519 .511
4. Wheaton (Ill.) 16-5 12-5 .565 .559
5. Chicago 13-7 12-7 .641 .569
6. Illinois Wesleyan 13-8 12-6 .619 .555
7. Carroll 14-5 13-5 .537 .492
8. Webster 15-5 13-5 .529 .475

Northeast Region
1. Amherst 21-2 21-1 .616 .539
2. Mass-Dartmouth 20-1 20-1 .558 .540
3. Bowdoin 18-4 18-4 .565 .529
4. Trinity (Conn.) 18-5 16-4 .610 .543
5. Middlebury 17-5 16-4 .609 .513
6. Brandeis 16-4 15-4 .583 .584
7. Worcester Tech 16-5 15-4 .548 .539
8. Rhode Island College 16-5 16-5 .537 .541
9. Emerson 18-3 17-3 .437 .511
10. Bates 15-6 14-5 .567 .540

South Region
1. Centre 20-1 15-1 .474 .497
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor 18-3 16-2 .486 .511
3. Guilford 16-4 15-4 .562 .530
4. Maryville (Tenn.) 20-2 14-2 .487 .505
5. Virginia Wesleyan 17-5 16-4 .533 .534
6. DePauw 18-4 14-3 .478 .514
7. Millsaps 19-3 14-2 .456 .492
8. Randolph-Macon 17-4 12-4 .534 .542

West Region
1. Occidental 18-3 11-1 .496 .535
2. St. Thomas 19-3 17-2 .487 .529
3. UW-Platteville 17-4 15-3 .510 .554
4. UW-Whitewater 18-3 16-3 .466 .545
5. Cal Lutheran 17-3 13-3 .504 .522
6. UW-Stevens Point 17-4 15-4 .566 .530
7. Buena Vista 18-4 14-2 .464 .543
8. Loras 17-5 14-3 .511 .547

Women’s basketball
In-region record, followed by overall record, opponents winning percentage and opponents opponents winning percentage. OWP and OOWP are calculated by D3hoops/PrestoSports
Atlantic Region
1. Kean 20-1 21-1 .561 .548
2. Mary Washington 19-0 20-1 .499 .534
3. Marymount 18-2 19-2 .587 .526
4. William Paterson 16-5 16-5 .594 .544
5. Mount St. Mary (N.Y.) 19-2 19-2 .532 .505
6. New Jersey 15-5 16-5 .631 .551

Central Region
1. UW-Whitewater 18-1 20-1 .628 .570
2. UW-Eau Claire 16-3 18-4 .594 .570
3. Washington U. 12-3 15-5 .646 .565
4. Illinois Wesleyan 16-2 19-2 .477 .534
5. Chicago 13-5 15-5 .623 .580
6. UW-Stevens Point 16-4 17-4 .548 .535

East Region
1. Rochester 15-3 17-3 .657 .577
2. William Smith 16-1 18-1 .558 .553
3. Medaille 17-2 19-2 .508 .494
4. Stevens 18-3 19-3 .475 .500
5. Brockport State 15-3 18-4 .524 .522
6. St. Lawrence 13-4 17-4 .488 .544

Great Lakes Region
1. Thomas More 18-0 21-0 .521 .514
2. Hope 18-0 20-0 .538 .528
3. DePauw 16-1 19-3 .601 .537
4. Baldwin-Wallace 19-2 19-2 .584 .538
5. Ohio Northern 15-5 16-5 .596 .527
6. Wilmington 14-5 16-5 .601 .538

Mid-Atlantic Region
1. Messiah 16-2 19-2 .665 .548
2. DeSales 19-3 19-3 .574 .533
3. Scranton 15-4 16-5 .643 .527
4. Albright 15-3 17-4 .597 .535
5. Lebanon Valley 17-3 18-3 .487 .514
6. Muhlenberg 16-5 16-5 .513 .508

Northeast Region
1. Tufts 19-2 19-2 .648 .569
2. Southern Maine 19-2 19-2 .568 .557
3. Amherst 20-2 21-2 .550 .562
4. Brandeis 15-4 15-5 .620 .580
5. Salem State 16-2 16-4 .573 .544
6. Bowdoin 15-3 17-5 .612 .560
7. Williams 15-6 16-6 .615 .570
8. Bridgewater State 16-2 16-4 .473 .527

South Region
1. Howard Payne 19-0 21-0 .575 .512
2. McMurry 18-2 18-3 .550 .515
3. Oglethorpe 17-3 18-3 .572 .549
4. Trinity (Texas) 14-4 15-5 .607 .522
5. Piedmont 14-3 18-3 .568 .502
6. Virginia Wesleyan 16-5 17-5 .530 .518

West Region
1. Simpson 15-1 19-2 .544 .538
2. George Fox 12-1 19-2 .558 .537
3. Puget Sound 13-1 18-3 .507 .544
4. Chapman 13-3 20-3 .556 .490
5. St. Benedict 16-4 17-4 .496 .514
6. St. Thomas 15-6 15-6 .536 .512

With apologies to John Mayer:

Now if we had the power
To send our best teams off to play
They wouldn’t be around next weekend
Put the WIAC in today

It’s hard to make a difference
When they keep changing our distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the rules to change

Something running through my head this evening, hoping the new strength of schedule formula promised for next year does a better job.

Quality of Wins Index is going to go down in D-III basketball history with terms such as “64-team play-in” and “seven Pool C teams.” Remember, we used to have opponents’ record and opponents’ opponents’ record as part of the sanctioned selection conversation, but we got this system foisted on us a few years back. It used to be called Strength of Schedule Index, but that formula made no sense as a strength of schedule formula.

So they fixed it.

They changed the name instead of changing the formula.

“Quality of Wins” Index, you are dead to me. Good riddance!