Tag Archives: NCAA Tournament

2010 Regional Ranking, Week 4

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The fourth women’s regional rankings of the 2009-10 season have been released. We are waiting on the men’s.

Remember there are three ways a game can be classified as in region.

Men’s rankings

Atlantic Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.William Paterson 22-2 23-2
2.Merchant Marine 20-4 21-4
3.Rutgers-Newark 16-5 20-6
4.Richard Stockton 19-5 19-6
5.Ramapo 17-7 18-8

East Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.St. John Fisher 20-4 21-4
2.Plattsburgh State 17-6 18-7
3.Oneonta State 19-5 20-5
4.Ithaca 15-6 18-7
5.Medaille 20-4 21-4
6.New York University 15-8 16-8

Great Lakes Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.John Carroll 17-5 19-5
2.Wooster 20-4 20-5
3.Hope 13-3 18-7
4.Calvin 13-3 17-8
5.Thomas More 19-6 19-6
6.Wilmington 17-6 18-7

Middle Atlantic Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.St. Mary’s (Md.) 20-3 22-3
2.Albright 18-5 19-5
3.Franklin and Marshall 21-4 21-4
4.Cabrini 23-2 23-2
5.Lycoming 16-5 20-5
6.DeSales 19-4 20-5
7.Messiah 15-5 16-8
8.York (Pa.) 18-6 19-6
9.Wesley 14-5 17-7

Midwest Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.Washington U. 19-2 22-2
2.Carthage 16-3 20-5
3.Wheaton (Ill.) 17-7 18-7
4.Illinois Wesleyan 18-6 19-6
5.St. Norbert 19-3 20-3
6.Anderson 19-4 21-4
7.Defiance 18-5 20-5
8.Augustana 16-8 16-9

Northeast Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.Williams 22-0 24-1
2.Middlebury 19-2 23-2
3.MIT 21-2 22-3
4.Colby 17-4 19-5
5.Brandeis 18-6 18-6
6.Rhode Island College 18-7 18-7
7.Bridgewater State 16-5 17-7
8.Gordon 20-4 21-4
9.Western Connecticut 17-6 18-6
10.WPI 17-6 18-6
11.Eastern Connecticut 17-8 17-8

South Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.Eastern Mennonite 17-2 21-3
2.Guilford 23-2 23-2
3.Texas-Dallas 20-3 21-4
4.Virginia Wesleyan 19-4 21-4
5.Randolph-Macon 14-5 20-5
6.Maryville (Tenn.) 14-3 21-4
7.Austin 19-6 19-6
8.Mary Hardin-Baylor 19-5 19-6

West Region In-Region Record Overall Record
1.UW-Whitewater 21-4 21-4
2.St. Thomas 20-2 23-2
3.Whitworth 21-2 23-2
4.UW-Stevens Point 20-4 21-4
5.Central 19-2 21-4
6.Chapman 17-1 23-2
7.UW-La Crosse 16-7 17-8
8.Claremont–Mudd-Scripps 15-4 19-5
9.Augsburg 17-7 18-7

Women’s rankings

Through games of Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010.

Atlantic Region Record Overall Record
1. Kean 23-0 24-1
2. William Paterson 24-1 24-1
3. Marymount 21-1 24-1
4. Mary Washington 19-3 20-4
5. Farmingdale State 23-1 23-1
6. Mount Saint Mary 20-4 21-4

Central Region Record Overall Record
1. Illinois Wesleyan 21-1 24-1
2. Carthage 19-2 22-3
3. Washington U. 19-2 22-2
4. Chicago 19-5 19-5
5. UW-Whitewater 18-5 19-6
6. St. Norbert 20-3 20-3

East Region Record Overall Record
1. Ithaca 21-2 21-4
2. Rochester 16-6 18-6
3. Medaille 22-1 23-2
4. Cortland State 21-3 22-3
5. St. Lawrence 18-6 18-6
6. Skidmore 19-3 20-4

Great Lakes Region Record Overall Record
1. Hope 21-0 24-1
2. Thomas More 22-2 22-3
3. Washington and Jefferson 22-2 22-3
4. DePauw 19-2 22-3
5. Calvin 17-2 22-3
6. Capital 17-6 18-7

Mid-Atlantic Region Record Overall Record
1. Moravian 23-2 23-2
2. Muhlenberg 20-4 20-4
3. Lebanon Valley 22-2 22-3
4. Messiah 19-3 21-4
5. Scranton 19-4 21-4
6. McDaniel 18-6 18-6

Northeast Region Record Overall Record
1. Amherst 25-0 25-0
2. Colby 19-3 22-3
3. Bowdoin 17-5 20-5
4. Tufts 17-4 20-5
5. Williams 18-6 18-7
6. Emmanuel 17-5 19-5
7. Western Connecticut 19-5 20-5
8. Eastern Connecticut 17-8 17-8
9. Southern Maine 18-7 18-7
10. Babson 22-3 22-3

South Region Record Overall Record
1. Christopher Newport 24-0 25-0
2. Roanoke 20-2 22-2
3. Louisiana College 18-2 21-2
4. Mary Hardin-Baylor 19-5 20-5
5. Howard Payne 20-5 20-5
6. Texas-Dallas 18-6 19-6

West Region Record Overall Record
1. George Fox 17-1 23-2
2. Puget Sound 17-2 22-3
3. Redlands 19-4 20-5
4. Gustavus Adolphus 20-4 20-5
5. Coe 17-7 18-7
6. St. Benedict 20-5 20-5

Hope 09: Whodda thunk?

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There are too many great stories from the 2008 – 2009 women’s Division III basketball season to summarize them all in one post. Doubtless there are many we never uncovered the past four months, despite our efforts. But the one that will define the year from a national perspective is George Fox’s incredible, undefeated run to the national championship.

By now, you’ve heard the story several times already. The Bruins graduated all five starters and added 10 first year players to a trio of juniors and senior Kristen Shielee whose play before this season was pretty non-descript. George Fox rumbled through the regular season but, in a year in which NWC observers said the conference was a little down, it was tough for some of us east coasters to determine exactly how good the Bruins were until the NCAA tournament began. Then they cruised by Chapman, rolled past Oglethorpe, handled Hope, took care of The College of New Jersey and withstood Washington U. in a run that touched most of Division III’s regions. And so George Fox becomes just the fifth program to win a Division III women’s national championship without a loss.

Given the make-up of the George Fox roster and their preseason placement (fifth in the NWC poll), the Bruins’ run was certainly unexpected. It’s even more unlikely if you consider where Kristen Shielee was entering the off season at this point last year. The quiet giant who anchored the stingy 2-3 zone defense and scored the biggest baskets of the year late in Saturday’s championship wasn’t even a lock to return for her senior season, as we learned in the retrospective posted below.

Other than returners Elise Kuenzi, BB Gardner and Lindsay Keener, the other contributors to the title team were also hidden in unknown places at this point last year. Sage Indendi, D3hoops.com Rookie of the Year, was playing high school ball in Livingston, Mont. and looking for a college home. She told us about her journey to Oregon and what she wants to do for an encore in the podcast below.

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Is it too early to look ahead to next season since this one only ended a couple hours ago? If we do, we see a George Fox team that returns four starters, another exceptionally deep Hope team, and an Amherst squad with most of the big contributors back. And maybe somewhere out there, there’s a couple role players who are ready to take a much larger role, a couple high school seniors who haven’t even picked a college yet and a team that will have us scratching our heads with a smile on our face at this point next season.

More championship coverage:

Game story (Greg Chandler, MIAA)
D3hoops.com: Magicial run was not foretold
Holland (MI) Sentinel (Dan D’Addona): From cubs to champs – Young George Fox wins Division III national championship (with photo gallery)
Holland (MI) Sentinel (Alan Babbitt): Long, unlikely road for tournament MVP
The Oregonian (Lindsay Schnell): George Fox women win title, go undefeated
Photo gallery (The Oregonian)
St. Louis Post Dispatch (Alan Babbitt): Bears come up short in final
Holland (MI) Sentinel (Alan Babbitt): Hope defeated by best…again

More George Fox coverage:

D3hoops podcast: Rejector, Rookies, Rueck
Around the Nation: George Fox hunting again
Holland Sentinel (Alan Babbitt): Alaska family reels in some hoops

Hope 09: Getting ready for game day

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Welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2009 Women’s Division III Basketball Championship tournament. Throughout the next couple days, we’ll use the Daily Dose as command central for all sorts of coverage from Holland, Mich. where Hope College hosts the final four teams in the tournament.

Check back for game previews and reviews, interviews, podcasts and links galore. Our broadcast coverage begins with pregame coverage at 3:00 pm EDT on Friday. But if you can’t wait until then, let’s take a look ahead to tomorrow’s games.

National Semifinal Game 1 – 4 PM EDT
No. 6 Washington U. Bears (25-4, 13-1 UAA) vs. No. 11 Amherst Lord Jeffs (29-2, 8-1 NESCAC)

Video broadcast
Audio broadcast
Live Stats

Bears’ road to Hope: UAA champion (automatic bid); tournament wins over Capital (77-72), Transylvania (83-57), St. Benedict (56-43) and No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan (58-53)

Lord Jeffs’ road to Hope: At-large bid; tournament wins over Babson (77-54), Emmanuel (76-37), No. 14 NYU (74-51) and No. 25 Brandeis (68-54)

Washington U, the most experienced team in the semifinal field, meets one of three national semifinal newbies.

Amherst is in just its second NCAA Tournament appearance ever after advancing to the sectional round in 2008 when the Lord Jeffs fell to DePauw. Wash U is in its 20th straight tournament, but failed to reach the sectionals a year ago. The Bears will be the Lord Jeffs’ third straight opponent from the UAA. Last weekend Amherst handled NYU and three-time UAA Player of the Year Jessica McEntee, who was limited to just six points in the defeat. Amherst won the sectional for the first time in school history by topping Brandeis. Amherst Head Coach G.P. Gromacki takes his second different school to the Final Four after reaching the championship game with St. Lawrence in 2002. The Lord Jeffs only allow 48.7 points per game and outrebound opponents by more than eight per contest.

Washington U. doesn’t have a single player averaging more than 8.9 points but is in the national semifinals for an eighth time to tie the University of Scranton for most appearances ever. The Bears won four straight titles under current Head Coach Nancy Fahey from 1998-2001, and Fahey’s squad brings a 14-game win streak to Holland. The Bears lost to DePauw in the 2007 National Championship Game during their last visit to the Final Four. Nine players currently on the roster were a part of that defeat and will look to make their second visit much more memorable. The Bears, who stumbled to a 4-3 start, also outrebound their opponents by over eight per game and won at #1 Illinois Wesleyan to advance to Holland and avenge an earlier defeat.

(Game preview by Tim Calderwood, D3hoops.com)

More Washington U. coverage:
Team page (D3hoops)
Team page (Wash. U)
D3hoops.com feature: Off the floor, Bears all friends
Game notes (Wash. U)

More Amherst coverage:
Team page (D3hoops)
Team page (Amherst)
D3hoops.com feature: Nope, no pressure
Player blogs (Amherst)
Game notes (Amherst)

National Semifinal Game 2 – 6 PM EDT
No. 3 George Fox Bruins (30-0, 16-0 NWC) vs. The College of New Jersey Lions (27-4, 11-2 NJAC)

Video broadcast
Audio broadcast
Live Stats

Bruins’ road to Hope: NWC champion (Automatic bid); first round bye, defeated Chapman (83-40), defeated No. 5 Oglethorpe (71-56), defeated No. 2 Hope (58-46)

Lions’ road to Hope: NJAC champion (Automatic bid); defeated No. 19 DeSales (64-51), defeated No. 16 Tufts (57-55), defeated No. 8 Rochester (70-58), defeated No. 20 Scranton (54-48)

Defense will be the name of the second game when two zone defenses battle for a chance to win a national championship. Both schools are making their first ever visit to the national semifinals.

After losing to Hope in last year’s sectional semifinal, George Fox graduated its entire starting five, yet still finds itself as the last remaining unbeaten in Division III. The Bruins, who won their third straight Northwest Conference title, avenged their loss to Hope by denying the Flying Dutch the chance to play for the title on their home floor with a 58-46 decision at Thomas More in the sectional final last Saturday. West Region Player of the Year Kristen Shielee blocked nine shots in the win over Hope, including five in the final eight minutes. The Bruins have 10 first year players, including All Region selection Sage Indendi and fellow back court starter Keisha Gordon.

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) has been the surprise of the tournament, becoming the first team to reach the national semifinals after entering the tournament unranked since Wilmington did it in 2004. After starting the season 3-3, the Lions switched from man-to-man to a 2-3 zone defense. TCNJ has won 13 in a row since a loss to confernece foe Kean on January 29. Led by Atlantic Region Player of the Year Hillary Klimowicz, who is the tournament’s leading scorer at 21.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, the Lions denied Scranton another Final Four appearance by beating the Lady Royals in Rochester last Saturday. Klimowicz is a strong National Player of the Year candidate, but don’t sleep on Alexandra Gregorek who anchors the zone defense and came up big last weekend. TCNJ outrebounds opponents by over 10 a night, ninth best nationally.

(Game preview written by Tim Calderwood with contributions from John McGraw, D3hoops.com)

More George Fox coverage:
Team page (D3hoops)
Team page (George Fox)
D3hoops podcast: Rejector, Rookies, Rueck
Game notes (George Fox)

More TCNJ coverage:
Team page (D3hoops)
Team page (TCNJ)
D3hoops feature: Hillary K, TCNJ in the Final Four

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Rejector, Rookies and Rueck

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When George Fox’s lone senior Kristen Shielee is asked what she thought upon first meeting her team’s 10 first year players, she doesn’t hesitate: “They’re loud,” she says with a smile. By contrast Shielee seems quiet, though her play speaks volume. The recently named West Region Player of the Year is the 6-foot-4 anchor for the Bruins’ stingy zone defense and her 10 blocks thwarted Hope in the sectional finals. And, along with youthful exuberance, the freshmen bring a ton of talent that has fueled this unexpected, undefeated run to the national semifinals. We caught up Shielee, Coach Scott Rueck and first year guard Keisha Gordon after the Bruins’ sectional final victory.

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Up next: The Field of 4,096

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D3hoops.com contributed a photo but can take no credit for the hilarious mockery The Onion has made of the NCAA Tournament. Their Onion Sports Network video is below. It previews an NCAA Tournament bracket of 4,096 basketball teams, from D-I to D-III, community colleges to trade schools.

4096 teams

Swarthmore freshman guard Will Scheuing is from a Lou Rabito photo.

As OSN “college basketball analyst” Joe Monticello puts it: “Look out for Eckerd. They’ve got a full roster, and they’re having practices.”

When the matchups scroll by in the video, see if you can spot D-III schools Johns Hopkins, SUNY-Geneseo, Suffolk, Gustavus Adolphus … and the conference rematch in the first round. I suspect that’s probably in a 488-537 game, and you know it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season. Wait, this would be just twice.

Not sure the embed is working here so if not, click on the link.

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams