Our gift to you is the scoreboard, both the live version posted off the front page and the standard versions of the men’s and women’s schedules.

To help you follow the exciting day ahead, we’ve posted as many audio, video and live stat links to championship games as we could find. This is one of the best days of the season and, if you can’t make it to your game (or after you return from one), we hope this helps you participate in the excitement.

Please feel free to share game updates, playoff hope analysis and anything else that strikes your fancy here.

Meanwhile the list of teams who’ve locked up automatic bids follows below.

Women – 39 of 39

Medaille (AMCC)
Howard Payne (ASC)
Mary Washington (CAC)
Muhlenberg (CC)
Colby-Sawyer (CCC)
Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW)
Baruch (CUNYAC)
Utica (Empire 8 )
Emmanuel (GNAC)
Piedmont (GSAC)
Manchester (HCAC)
Simpson (IIAC)
Eastern Connecticut (LEC)
St. Lawrence (Liberty League)
Messiah (MAC-Commonwealth)
DeSales (MAC-Freedom)
Bridgewater State (MASCAC)
Hope (MIAA)
Carleton (MIAC)
St. Norbert (MWC)
Becker (NAC)
Denison (NCAC)
D’Youville (NEAC)
Amherst (NESCAC)
Wheaton, Mass. (NEWMAC)
Kean (NJAC)
Puget Sound (NWC)
Baldwin-Wallace (OAC)
Bridgewater (ODAC)
Cabrini (PnAC)
Thomas More (Presidents’)
DePauw (SCAC)
La Verne (SCIAC)
Mount St. Mary (Skyline)
Maryville, Mo. (SLIAC)
Brockport State (SUNYAC)
Chicago (UAA)
Greensboro (USA South)
UW-Stevens Point (WIAC)

Men – 38 of 38

Penn State-Behrend (AMCC)
Mary Hardin-Baylor (ASC)
St. Mary’s (Md.) (CAC)
Ursinus (CC)
Curry (CCC)
Augustana (CCIW)
John Jay (CUNYAC)
Nazareth (Empire 8 )
Lasell (GNAC)
Franklin (HCAC)
Loras (IIAC)
Rhode Island College (LEC)
Clarkson (Liberty League)
Widener (MAC-Commonwealth)
King’s (MAC-Freedom)
Salem State (MASCAC)
Hope (MIAA)
St. Thomas (MIAC)
Lawrence (MWC)
Elms (NAC)
Ohio Wesleyan (NCAC)
Baptist Bible (NEAC)
Trinity, Conn. (NESCAC)
Coast Guard (NEWMAC)
Richard Stockton (NJAC)
Whitworth (NWC)
Heidelberg (OAC)
Guilford (ODAC)
Immaculata (PnAC)
Bethany (PrAC)
Millsaps (SCAC)
Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC)
Farmingdale State (SKY)
Fontbonne (SLIAC)
Plattsburgh State (SUNYAC)
Chicago (UAA)
Averett (USA South)
UW-Whitewater (WIAC)

Pat Coleman coaxed me into listening to the end of the Webster-Maryville SLIAC men’s semifinal on Thursday night and I was glad that I did.

The color commentator on Webster’s broadcast, a young lady whose name I didn’t catch, provided quite the entertaining listen. Her commentary wasn’t so much description of game action, but rather sentiments of fanhood. Things like “Ooh…I can’t take this any more” and “I told coach not to put us through this.” When the game ended, and Webster’s unbeaten league season had gone for naught, she barely was able to speak…”No words can describe it.”

Normally, I’m not a proponent of that sort of commentary, but in this case, I thought it was perfectly appropriate. And it sums up why Saturday and Sunday are the two best days of the year in Division III sports.

When I was a student announcer at College of NJ in the mid-1990s, I was the male version of the announcer I heard on Thursday night. Except I kept those thoughts to myself and tried very hard to concentrate on just calling the plays. My junior year, the CNJ (then Trenton State) women’s team went to William Paterson for the NJAC semifinals and took a rather sizable lead at halftime. It was a dominant effort and I enjoyed every second of it immensely. I took off my headset and did something I had never done before or since.

“We’re gonna win,” I said to my broadcast partner with the great confidence and enthusiasm of someone who had followed the basketball teams as avidly as anyone on the campus.

Well, in the second half, the lead shrunk and shrunk, and shrunk, until it was no more. The likes of Stephanie Arrigo, Bridget Brennan and Kathy Sinram (It’s been 12 yrs and I still recall the names) did in my alma mater with some incredibly impressive shooting and very skilled play. I can still see the final play (a missed CNJ baseline jumper attempt to try to tie at the buzzer) like it happened yesterday.

There are moments in which I have been totally crushed as a sports fan…the Knicks losing to the Bulls when Charles Smith had 5 shots blocked in the final seconds of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals…Carlos Beltran looking at strike three in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS…and this game would rank right near the top of that list.

That may sound silly, but to me, it sums up what this weekend is all about. We don’t have any Dukes, North Carolinas or Memphises in Division III, but we have athletes who care, and fans who care too. And that’s a great thing. There are dozens of championships decided in these next two days. Athletes will be sacrificing their bodies and their minds for the quest of something rather elusive. There are so many ways that you can follow it. If you can get to a game, go. If you can’t, watch or listen and offer support to your team by any means that you can. This is the best time to be a fan and make yourself some great, amazing memories.

I think one of the things that has kept me so into following Division III is trying to recapture the feeling from that day at William Paterson. The recollections of that day rang more clearly in my mind a few hours after listening to that Webster webcast, and I’m glad that they did. Even if it was a little painful, both for myself and the student announcer.

Some of tonight’s more interesting games involve regular season conference champions who know they are in “win or else” mode. They either weren’t ranked in the third regional rankings released yesterday or are ranked so low that the only way they could possibly be comfortable on selection/speculation Sunday is to clinch the automatic bid.

– Webster is undefeated in SLIAC men’s play but, unless they finish that way, they probably aren’t going to the NCAA tournament. The Gorloks are ranked eighth in the Midwest. They’ve been in this situation before, finishing tied for first last season but missing the big dance because of a SLIAC tournament loss to Fontbonne. Webster hosts Maryville (Mo.) in tonight’s SLIAC semifinals.

– Salem State has been the perennial MASCAC men’s representative in the NCAA tournament and is the favorite to claim that title again this weekend. But the competition just to get ranked in the Northeast region is fierce and the Vikings didn’t appear on Wednesday’s list. Unless Salem State wins its next two, they are probably headed to the ECAC tournament. The Vikings host Bridgewater State, with whom they split the season series, in the conference semifinals.

– Occidental is the top seed on the women’s side of the SCIAC which will hand out its automatic qualifiers by tournament this year. Unlike the Oxy men who are in decent shape for an at-large bid, the Oxy women can’t afford a stumble. No SCIAC team was ranked in the West, not even the Tigers who have won 10 straight. Cal Lutheran travels to Los Angeles for the semifinals this evening.

Don’t forget D3hoopsNet also has an important Pool B battle between Aurora and Milwaukee School of Engineering with Tim Calderwood on the call.

All listings EST

7:00 PM: Men – Bridgewater State at Salem State (MASCAC semifinals) (Pay-per-view)

8:00 pm: Men – MSOE at Aurora (D3hoopsNet)

9:00 PM: Men – Maryville (Mo.) at Webster (SLIAC semifinals) (Live Stats // Audio)

10:30 pm: Women – Cal Lutheran at Occidental (SCIAC semifinals) (Audio)

Since this is the busiest night of championship week, at least by volume of games, there will be a lot of special players who finish their sports career this evening. I could try to wax poetic about this, but others like Steve Mistler have already done so more adeptly. Mistler, who writes for the Forecaster publications in Maine, wrote this in his blog about the 2006 NCAA women’s tournament game between Southern Maine and Bowdoin.

“The finality of the last game is no more palpable than it is in Division III. There is no next game for seniors like [Justine] Pouravelis, Lauren Withey, Ashleigh Watson and Vanessa Russell. And if you think the magnitude of that is overstated, then you really needed to see USM senior Ashley Marble abandon her fear of a fifth foul to grab a critical offensive rebound and score the go-ahead bucket with 1:15 remaining in her career; or the complete devastation slowly, inevitably wash over Russell as her last-second 3-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the rim; or when it was over, the ever-quotable, jovial Pouravelis – who played Saturday’s game with a heavier heart than most will ever know – slumped over the media table and muttering broken syntax into reporters’ microphones.”

We can’t get to all the players facing similar emotions tonight, but here are a few who made All-Region last year and tonight fight for one more game.

– Andrew Zimmer, Wabash: The Little Giants big man averages 17.5 ppg (3rd best in NCAC) and 7.5 rpg (4th best in the NCAC). The preseason coaches’ poll predicted Wabash to finish fourth just in front of Kenyon, but reality worked out the other way around. The Lords beat the Little Giants 67-66 in Gambier, Ohio in the teams’ conference opener.

– Jeremiah Lawrence, Shenandoah: Lawrence finished the season on a tear for SU with nine consecutive double-doubles. He needs just three rebounds tonight for 1,000 in his career. Don’t expect the Pride to feel bad about ruining Lawrence’s party. They already did that once this year when they beat the Hornets on the night Lawrence set the school career rebounding record.

– Whitney Tyriver, UW-Oshkosh: The senior from Oshkosh, WI probably played her last game at home but at least it was a memorable performance – 24 points, 9 rebounds and eight steals against UW-Superior. She and her Titan teammates have a tall order since they open the WIAC tournament at No. 19 UW-Stevens Point.

Feel free to talk up these or other games as lots of tournaments get underway.

All listings are EST

6:00 pm: Men – Wabash @ Kenyon (NCAC tournament) (Video // Audio)

7:00 pm: Men – Greensboro @ Shenandoah (USAC tournament) (Live Stats // Audio)

8:00 pm: Women – UW-Oshkosh @ No. 19 UW-Stevens Point (WIAC tournament) (Audio // Live Stats)