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The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: My Week 2 Top 25 ballot…with context

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It’s Monday. And you what time that is! The Top 25 poll from D3hoops.com will be released tonight. As a voter for D3hoops.com, this is a day that is both a lot of fun, and a bit challenging. Getting up to No. 20 wasn’t all that hard, but filling those final five spots is always a real challenge. Bob Quillman, a D3hoops men’s voter, made a comment yesterday that voters will have to vote for teams they are not 100% sure on yet. That’s where I’m at in my Week 2 ballot. With six Top 25 teams falling to unranked opponents on Saturday alone, putting together this one was a little tougher than last week’s.

Anyway, here’s a look at how I’m putting together my Top 25 ballot…with context (though for the sake of time and word count, I did not put my full thinking on paper when writing up this post).

#1 Hope: Hope looked like a national title team at Calvin Wednesday night, making good in-game adjustments and putting tremendous pressure on the ball defensively. It resulted in a 62-56 win for the Flying Dutch over the nation’s #15 team, and makes No. 1 the easiest spot to fill in my ballot. An 86-64 win over Wittenberg improves Hope to 7-0.

#2 NYU: NYU slides up to No. 2 on my ballot after a week in which the Violets dominated in duels with Brooklyn and Connecticut College. They have continued to look sharp, and are playing all-around near-perfect basketball. Once they get into UAA play, that will be the real test, but for the time being, NYU is looking very unstoppable.

#3 Transylvania: No. 2 was really a 50-50 between NYU and Transylvania, though I felt (and the computer rankings backed this up) that NYU has been more complete in their contests up to this point. With that said, I would say Transy has faced slightly better competition early in this season (though they also just beat a Rose-Hulman team on Saturday that soon after canceled its season) and proven itself to be one of the nation’s best. Don’t want to take anything away from Transy here. Really not sure when we’ll see them actually tested…likely best possibility will be Dec. 29 against Wisconsin Lutheran.

#4 Trinity (TX): Against two opponents a combined 1-19 this season, the Tigers rolled to a pair of victories, including a 100-point performance at Centenary. They’ve met every challenge thus far, and for now, it appears the SCAC title is theirs to lose.

#5 Christopher Newport: Against a 6-1 Bridgewater team on Wednesday, CNU won by 28, and picked up another road win over Greensboro days later. CNU is playing very well on the offensive end right now, and remains at No. 5 in this week’s ballot.

#6 Scranton: I was interested to see how Scranton would fare against its first Top 25 opponent of the season in #14 Ithaca on Tuesday. The Lady Royals left little doubt in a 74-53 win, at least for me as a voter. Say what you want about the weak non-conference schedule for any of these highly-rated teams, but when they show up and play the way Scranton did against Ithaca, that’s what gives me confidence to slide them up to No. 6.

#7 Amherst: Amherst also moves up, having taken care of business against an NJCU team that I still can’t quite figure out. Amherst controlled the game for the larger part of three quarters, though NJCU did make a run in the closing minutes, but to no avail. The Mammoths are 5-0, and despite a close five-point win over Emmanuel earlier in the week, they’re still the favorite to win the NESCAC in my opinion.

#8 Baldwin-Wallace: At 7-0, Baldwin Wallace continues to impress, and I see no reason not to slide the Yellow Jackets up to No. 8. They came up with a solid victory over Wilmington (who is 5-2) in OAC play on Saturday, winning by nine, and added a 54-41 win over Heidelberg to open conference action on Wednesday.

#9 UW-Eau Claire: The only WIAC Top 25 team that did not lose on Saturday, UWEC instead came up with what I’d rate as its best win of the year, beating an 8-2 UW-La Crosse team 68-56. To add to that, the Blugolds edged UW-River Falls on Wednesday, winning 74-71, which is notable considering UWRF rebounded by beating #9 Whitewater on Saturday.

#10 UW-Whitewater: Before you say anything, I get it, Whitewater has two losses. But this poll is about grading the top 25 best teams, not the top 25 best records. The Warhawks have dropped two games by a combined margin of five points to two teams that I value somewhat highly (Calvin, UW-River Falls). Plus, they were impressive in a 64-56 win over UW-La Crosse, who was unbeaten entering Wednesday’s matchup. So while Whitewater does slide down four spots in my ballot, I am going to keep them in the Top 10 for the time being, especially considering the fact that we know deep the WIAC is this year.

#11 Mary Hardin-Baylor: The Crusaders needed a late layup to beat Schreiner on the road on Wednesday, but remain perfect, at 4-0, having opened ASC play with a 78-57 road win at Concordia (TX) Saturday. I haven’t seen Mark Morefield’s team play enough to get a good enough feel for where UMHB stands against the rest of the nation’s best, but by this point, I’m feeling good about where the Crusaders are at, heading into a notable matchup at ETBU on Dec. 10.

#12 Smith: Smith drops back two spots in my ballot, as I just haven’t seen it from the Pioneers yet. A 78-74 loss at Framingham State is not a bad loss by any means, but I just haven’t seen a Top 10-caliber performance yet. The talent is certainly there, and I believe it will only be a matter of time before Smith gains serious traction and is considered for a Top 10 spot once again, at least in my ballot.

#13 Tufts: Tufts fell on the road to a good Emory team who is 7-1, though I would’ve liked to have seen the margin be smaller than 15 points. It was not a great showing by Tufts, and on Sunday, the Jumbos did get back in the win column, edging Piedmont, 79-78. This really seemed to be an off weekend on the road, considering Piedmont is fairly good, but not great (4-3 overall).

#14 Trine: Trine actually doesn’t move in my ballot this week! It’s almost as if I had projected they would take down #15 Calvin on Saturday, by putting them No. 14 when they ended up No. 20. But the one thing I know about Trine is that even with two losses, the Thunder are deep and have begun playing better defensively. It led to a 2-0 week, and I’m keeping them at No. 14 for the time being.

#15 Springfield: Springfield also stays at #15 for me. The Pride put up a 12-point win over a Middlebury team at .500 on Saturday, and I see no reason to move them down. Springfield is 6-1 overall with the lone loss coming at Amherst.

#16 Babson: I’ll need to see more from Babson to move them higher, but they remain perfect at 6-0, having taken down a 6-2 Bridgewater State squad by a convincing 22-point margin at a neutral site, and came back for a 59-56 win over Williams on Williams’ home court.

#17 DeSales: Still undefeated, DeSales breaks into my ballot, having defeated #25 Messiah on Monday night very convincingly, 61-35. That win alone was enough for me to put DeSales into the Top 20, but they then followed that by making a statement against winless FDU-Florham, with a 113-32 victory. A 77-35 win over King’s made it a 3-0 week for DeSales.

#18 Ithaca: Ithaca did not meet the challenge against Scranton to the level I had thought they would, falling by 21 on the road, leading me to drop the Bombers by three spots. With that said, I still think their resume is very strong, with wins over Cortland, SUNY-Geneseo, and at Catholic. And to put it this way, I was 50-50 between Ithaca and Calvin, but ultimately, Ithaca’s three most notable wins compared to really just one for Calvin (over Whitewater) led me to put Ithaca just ahead of Calvin.

#19 Calvin: Yes, Calvin lost twice this past week. But show me a tougher span of four days than what the Knights faced a few days ago, hosting Hope then traveling to Trine. No doubt an extremely challenging start to conference play, I’m looking past the scores as I evaluate the overall body of work. Calvin played Hope tougher than I’ve seen any other team (including UW-Eau Claire) this season. That is worth a lot in my opinion. The 15-point loss at Trine is the main reason I expect Calvin will drop, though the win at UW-Whitewater is enough of a resume boost to keep Calvin in the Top 20.

#20 Hardin-Simmons: HSU looked sharp in an 81-65 home win over ETBU, who received votes in last week’s poll. The Cowgirls rebounded nicely from losing to Trinity twice a week ago, displaying that facing tough competition, regardless of the result, often proves beneficial in the long run. HSU is 2-0 in ASC play, having beat LeTourneau by 29 on Thursday as well. Also should note that UTD played without starting PG Paris Kiser for both games this week.

#21 Rochester: Rochester has notable wins this season over UT-Dallas, Messiah, and St. John Fisher, but falls back by three spots due to a five-point loss at Hamilton on Saturday. Because the loss was on the road, by single digits, to a team I’d likely rank in the Top 35, I’m going to keep Rochester at No. 21 for now.

#22 Whitman: Every voter has a couple teams in which he/she spends more time on when putting together a ballot than any of the others. For me that was Whitman and Puget Sound this week. Here’s why. Whitman went to Puget Sound on Saturday, and lost by 15 in their first D-III loss of the year. Now, the trouble is that Puget Sound lost at home to Wheaton (5-3 overall), just two weeks ago. 62-56. Because they are so similar besides those two results, I’m not going to put Puget Sound above Whitman just yet. They do share a common opponent in Chapman, whom they both beat rather easily, though Whitman was on the road, while Puget Sound was at home. I don’t see a bad loss on Whitman’s resume, and losing at Puget Sound is much different than losing on your home court. Time will tell. One of these two will separate itself.

#23 Puget Sound: Reference my explanation above when discussing Whitman. But side note that the Loggers looked really good on Saturday, as well as in the win over Whitworth. Definitely a team trending upwards in my opinion, which is why they jump up to No. 23 after a 2-0 week.

#24 UC Santa Cruz: UCSC’s lone game of the week was on the road at D-I Santa Clara, and ended in a 74-30 loss. As I said last week, I really try not to let non-D3 results affect my rankings all that much. So I’m putting UCSC at No. 24, especially when you consider that leading scorers Kaylee Murphy and Ashley Kowack did not even see action at Santa Clara. The win for Puget Sound over Whitman forced me to slide UCSC down, though the margin between Whitman, Puget Sound and UCSC is relatively thin in my opinion. I’m interested to see how UCSC fares against Linfied and Cal Lutheran next weekend.

#25 Ohio Northern: ONU has crept up on a lot of people, with a solid resume, but little attention. The Polar Bears had just 1 vote in last week’s poll, and it wasn’t from me. But I’ve been tracking ONU’s progress, and the 11-point win over Marietta on Saturday was enough to land ONU a spot in my ballot. They won by three at Trine, and also handed Washington & Jefferson its only loss thus far. Fairly strong team at No. 25. I could see ONU moving into the Top 20 by the time we hit the new year.

Dropped out: Millikin, UW-Oshkosh, Illinois Wesleyan

Who I’ll be watching this week: Bowdoin, Hamilton, WashU, UW-Stout

Got comments? Questions? Opinions? Drop them below!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: December 2, 2022: Business as usual in the world of D3 women’s hoops

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It was business as usual in the world of D3 women’s hoops last night. The Top 25 teams took care of business, and the rest of the “favorites” did the same, with no large-scale upsets coming about, a stark difference from the way Wednesday night went. And that’s a good sign. As much as I enjoy the fact that on any given night, “anybody can beat anybody”, it is good to see a level of consistency as we approach the one-month mark of the season. Most teams are close to one-third of the way through their schedules, and after nearly two full months of practice, are finding their rhythms.

Friday’s slate has the potential for another night of Top 25 teams going undefeated, but it won’t be easy. For one thing, Babson has a test tonight in Bridgewater, MA…

Game of the Day: #17 Babson (4-0) @ Bridgewater State (6-1), 8 pm EST

Babson has started off well, but so has Bridgewater State, and this is a big one for both teams, as it should increase each of their the non-conference SOS numbers. BSU’s offense looked good in Tuesday’s 95-91 win over Mass-Dartmouth, with Kylie Grassi and Sydney Bradbury forming a scoring duo that tallied 47 points. But they’ll be up against a strong test tonight, as Babson’s defense has not allowed more than 69 points in a game, and limited opponents to 28.2% from the field this season. Expect a game decided by single digits, with the score getting into the high-60s, maybe 70s.

Thoughts…

  • Top 25 teams went 2-0 last night, with #6 Smith pulling out a 66-55 win over Eastern Connecticut, and #24 Hardin-Simmons taking down LeTourneau, 81-52.
  • Bench production is something I always try to pay attention to, as it is a good indicator of the depth of a team. Smith’s Ally Yamada came off the bench last night, scoring 16 points in 26 minutes on 4-of-6 three-point shooting. Also worth a mention, MIT’s Elise Harvey had 12 points off the bench in MIT’s 82-77 overtime win at Worcester State, and Mary Washington’s Sydney Sherman scored 18 in just 23 minutes, making all 10 of her free throw attempts as Mary Washington rolled to victory.
  • Speaking to that same point about individual performances, forward Jordan Ouellette played a full 40 minutes in the win for St. Joseph (CT) and Mitchell, scoring 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting and added eight rebounds.
  • My game of the day, between ETBU and McMurry, was very competitive through the first half, with ETBU leading by just three, 34-31, at halftime. But ETBU held nothing back in the third quarter, outscoring McMurry 24-8 in the third quarter, as the Tigers ran away with a 76-51 victory. McMurry, now 6-1, has started very well as I said yesterday, and the Warhawks proved they could play with one of the ASC’s top-level programs last night, even leading 18-12 after the first quarter. ETBU, having to replace a number of key players due to graduation, has continued getting solid contributions from Jade Goynes and Bridget Upton, who each scored in double figures.
  • There was a conversation on Twitter yesterday in regards to the Coast-to-Coast Conference, which is an eight-team conference comprised of schools in 7 different states and all parts of the country. Due to this set up, very few conference games are played, though the conference does have an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. Why not? The C2C meets the requirements set forth for an AQ, but I can understand the argument from the other side too; the side that says the C2C having an AQ is somewhat unfair, considering the lack of conference games, and that the C2C teams should be forced instead to vie for a Pool B bid. It is definitely an intriguing situation, but we must remember that it is the coaches of those programs who are forced to schedule nearly triple the number of non-conference games as most teams across the country. Their job is not easy. Potentially something could be worked out to increase the number of conference games within the C2C during the regular season (thus making scheduling a little easier on the coaches and adding some confirmation to the C2C getting an AQ) though finances become a factor there as well. For the time being, the C2C has an AQ. And to be honest, whichever conference CNU plays in, there’s a good chance they will win the league title, so it’s really not all that controversial. Unless the NCAA changes its AQ requirements, there’s no reason for the C2C to change its way of life. Just my $0.02. So the question is, should those requirements for an AQ be changed?

With that, I’ll end it here. Lots of great action set for tomorrow, but there will be some great games out of this slate tonight as well. Enjoy the action, and as always, feel free to leave a comment, question, or feedback in the comments section below.

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: December 1, 2022: Conference openers did not disappoint!

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Welcome back! Plenty of thoughts for you on last night’s action, but first, the Game of the Day…

Game of the Day: ETBU @ McMurry

I have to venture down to my home state for this one on a fairly light night for ranked teams. Neither of these two are in the Top 25, but nonetheless, there’s a few storylines here. One being that McMurry is 5-0, the program’s best start to a season in I don’t know how long. Th Warhawks will face an elevated level of competition in this ASC opener, but are on their home court, and it might be their biggest test of the year so far. ETBU has won its last four, after opening the year with a loss to CNU, three of those victories coming on the road. We’ll see how both teams fare. I haven’t gotten a good look at either squad yet, so I’m interested to see what has been working for each team.

Thoughts…

  • The much-anticipated duel between #1 Hope and #15 Calvin certainly lived up to the expectations, as Hope came out with a 62-56 win. It’s hard to describe, but just by watching it, you can tell that is what good basketball truly is. Both sides were exceptional defensively, and yet it showed just how good each offense was, to find scoring opportunities despite the intensity opposing them. Hope did a nice job of keeping pressure on the ball, which led to 21 turnovers, and Calvin defended the three-point arc very well, holding the Flying Dutch to a 4-of-20 mark from long range. Ultimately, it was visible, as it always is, just how much this rivalry means to both sides. Each team had thoroughly prepared, and it showed. Also, thought it was notable that neither side went deep into its bench, instead relying on a small rotation. For Hope, that was just eight players, and Calvin played just one more, with nine.
  • UW-La Crosse hosted #9 UW-Whitewater in a key WIAC battle, as Whitewater was looking to rebound from the Calvin loss and UWL attempted to keep its undefeated record alive. What played out was a fantastic chess match of sorts in La Crosse, as Whitewater won by the low score of 58-53. Whitewater shot 41.5% from the field, 50% from three-point range, compared to a 28.8% shooting mark, and 7.1% three-point mark for UWL. So what kept the Eagles in it? They got the free throw line. When shots aren’t going down, the free throw line becomes your best friend, and UWL found ways to get there frequently, making 18-of-24 attempts. Maggie Trautsch was very impressive for Whitewater. She has a good feel for the game, and shoots the ball with a lot of confidence. Had 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting last night.
  • Staying in the great land of Wisconsin, #12 UW-Eau Claire was given all it could handle by UW-River Falls, on UWEC’s home court. The final was a 74-71 win for UWEC, but UWRF deserves a ton of credit. Down by 19 in the third quarter, the Falcons stormed back, cutting it to single digits early in the fourth then all the way to two. The shots just didn’t fall at the right times for UWRF late in that one, as UWEC kept its lead intact…barely. Just like in football, you never know what you’re going to get from the WIAC on any given night. Nobody has an easy victory in this league.
  • Speaking of ranked teams battling in close games, #13 Mary Hardin-Baylor trailed Schreiner by six with under five minutes left, before slowly chipping away, leading to Catherine Kaiser’s layup with three-tenths of a second on the clock that broke a 61-61 tie. Great resilience by UMHB, who overcame a cold shooting night, and I’m also impressed by Schreiner’s play as of late. A team that uses a pressing defense, the Mountaineers had won three of their last four entering last night, and also lost to #24 Hardin-Simmons by just four at HSU back on Nov. 12. Pay attention to Schreiner in the SCAC.
  • Getting back to the WIAC, be sure you’re paying attention to what head coach Kelly McNiff and her team from UW-Platteville is doing. At #19 UW-Oshkosh, UWP came away with a 60-35 win behind a huge second half. Very impressive effort from UWP, who had great bench contribution, and came up with 25 turnovers.
  • Loras is probably one of those unranked teams you should keep an eye on. I’m not sure if they have a Top 25 resume just yet, but it possible they will if they can keep this momentum going. At home last night, Loras took down a solid, yet somewhat struggling Coe squad, 58-53, moving to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in ARC play. Honestly, it looked like Coe might pull this one out, leading by two as the fourth quarter began. But Loras outscored Coe 24-17 in the final quarter.
  • Augustana looked really good in its CCIW opener against Wheaton last night, fighting for a 65-63 overtime win. I like what I’m seeing from Augie as of late, now 6-1 overall, and 1-0 in the CCIW. The Vikings shoot the ball so well (41% last night), and demonstrated tremendous poise down the stretch in what should give them some momentum heading into the duel with Millikin on Saturday.

I’m going to stop there! But the bottom line is there was a ton of great basketball last night, and so many impressive performances, both from teams and from individual players. That’s what conference play will do…it just elevates the intensity all the way around. Feels weird to be writing about conference play on December 1, but here we are. Whether a game is played on November 30 or February 15, every contest in conference play counts once it comes to tournament selection time. Hope you are doing well! Enjoy the start to the final month of 2022!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 30, 2022: The Rivalry tips off tonight…

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Today marks a game that you’re not going to want to miss. It’s known simply as The Rivalry, and holds such a distinction, because, of all the rivalries in D3 hoops, this one has achieved a reputation, on both the men’s and women’s side, as being one that entire alumni bases seem to turn out for, great teams play in each season, and a significant amount of school pride on the line. Of course, I’m talking about Hope and Calvin. It’s the game of the day, and ever since I saw a tweet from Hope last night, proclaiming that it was 24 hours until tip-off, I’ve been excited. More on that below…

Game of the Day: #1 Hope @ #15 Calvin, 7:30 pm EST

This matchup, even in November, holds plenty of significance for both teams. For one thing, Calvin will be on its home floor, and provide a favorable backdrop for the Knights, who look to continue the momentum after taking down #9 UW-Whitewater on Saturday. Hope also needs this win, as it might just be the toughest test the Flying Dutch will face in the entirety of MIAA play. Stopping Gabby Timmer, Calvin’s talented preseason All-American forward, will be the No. 1 objective for Hope. If they can do that, chances of victory likely improve significantly. Plus, this is the first game in MIAA play! It feels way too early for Hope-Calvin. But here we are…

Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/@CalvinKnights

Keep an eye on…

#9 UW-Whitewater @ UW-La Crosse, 8:00 pm EST

John Carroll @ Denison, 5:00 pm EST

Wittenberg @ Capital, 7:00 pm EST

For a complete schedule, visit D3hoops.com.

Thoughts…

The biggest game of the night was the Top 15 duel between #14 Ithaca and #8 Scranton. Scranton seemed to have the upper hand all the way through, and emerged with a 74-53 win, in an impressive performance that solidified the Lady Royals’ standing as one of the nation’s Top 10 teams. The win is significant considering we as voters did not have a whole lot to go on when figuring out where to rank Scranton on Monday, considering the Lady Royals really didn’t have any notable wins within the first three weeks of the season. This was Scranton’s first test, and by my grade, they passed with flying colors. They were 7-of-17 from 3-point range, and had two 20-point scorers in Bridget Monaghan (20 pts) and Kaci Kranson (24 pts).

Western Connecticut State has now won three straight, after taking down St. Joseph (CT) in overtime last night, 65-63. WestConn is playing good basketball right now, and will be a contender in a very deep Little East Conference. They trailed 29-24 at halftime, but a Malaysia Dingle three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation sent it into an extra period. I was impressed by the play of forward Katelyn Fanning, who had 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. She is a do-it-all type of player for WestConn.

Emmanuel definitely gave #7 Amherst a run, though the Mammoths pulled it out, 58-53, staying perfect at 5-0. I’ll say this though, Amherst’s defense did not look good down the stretch. And neither did the offense. Emmanuel finished the game on a 19-4 run, but simply ran out of time for the comeback. So takeaways from this one were…Emmanuel is once again going to be competitive in the GNAC and the offense that put 104 points on Brooklyn this past Sunday might be the best offense Amherst has faced so far…and to its credit, Amherst made the plays necessary to stay in front, especially in the first half. It’s also surprising that Amherst continues to keep such a tight rotation, but it’s been what’s worked for Coach Gromacki for quite some time. Only eight saw the floor last night for the Mammoths.

An All-Region/All-American candidate to be paying attention to is Rochester’s Katie Titus. A D-II transfer who is a graduate student at Rochester, she is averaging 19.5 points per game through Rochester’s first four contests, and had 21 last night against Keuka. She is 38.7% from 3pt range and 53.8% from the field. Plus, she’ll be facing great competition in the UAA this season.

That’s all I have for today. Be sure to tune into a game or two tonight. You won’t regret it. Great basketball is being played across the country, and many conferences are tipping off tonight, adding an extra level of excitement and intensity to the mix. It’s a great day for D3 hoops!

The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops: November 29, 2022: The Week 1 Top 25 has been released!

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Welcome back to another edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! The much-anticipated Week 1 Top 25 poll was released yesterday, and I’ve included some notes below on that. To check out the complete D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, click here. As a , voter, I also broke down my ballot in an article here. But before getting to that, there is a Top 15 matchup you should be sure to tune into this evening…

Game of the Day: #14 Ithaca @ #8 Scranton, 7 pm EST

This will be not only the game of the day, but certainly one of the best games of the week, as we should see Scranton truly tested for the first time this season, while Ithaca is seeking yet another big win, after beating Cortland and Catholic in the last three weeks. Bridget Monaghan leads Scranton’s offensive attack, as 12.8 points per game, though first-year head coach Ben O’Brien has four starters averaging double figures in points. Ithaca can score too, and is averaging 65.0 points per game, behind the emergence of freshman Zoraida Icabalceta (11.0 PPG, 7-of-12 on 3pt) and senior forward Emily Dorn (12.0 PPG).

Some Top 25 Thoughts…

  • To start off at #1, I’m surprised that Hope was not a unanimous top pick. The Flying Dutch picked up 21 of the 25 possible first-place votes, but NYU had three and Transylvania had one. I just don’t see. Not yet, at least. Neither Transylvania nor NYU has beaten a team even close to the Top 25 this season. Hope has wins over #12 UW-Eau Claire, and a strong Illinois Wesleyan team, who received votes in the poll.
  • I understand that Smith was #7 in the preseason, and they are certainly a talented squad. But moving them up to #6, after barely beating Maine Maritime and Trinity (CT) in overtime is not something I would have expected. Time will tell with Smith.
  • Calvin had an incredible 48 or so hours. The Knights did not land on anybody’s preseason ballot, but after coming up with a two-point win over #9 UW-Whitewater (at the time ranked #4) on Saturday, Calvin found itself at #15 when yesterday’s ranking was released. The MIAA will be an intriguing conference to watch this season.
  • Rochester joins the club of being a team with zero preseason votes who ended up in the Top 20, coming in at #18. Consecutive wins over Messiah and St. John Fisher, teams ranked in the preseason who have now dropped out of the poll, certainly helped Rochester’s case. In a stacked UAA, they will have a great schedule to build their SOS, and also contend for the league title.
  • UC Santa Cruz made it debut in the poll, coming in at No. 22 with a 7-0 record. That is a big accomplishment for a team that seemed to be on the fringe of the Top 25 for most of last year.

Notes from around the division…

  • The biggest game yesterday was between DeSales and #25 Messiah, in which DeSales left no doubt in a 61-35 victory that saw its starting five account for all but seven of its points. I did not have DeSales in my ballot, in large part because I wanted to see how the Bulldogs fared against Messiah. You don’t anticipate seeing wins, even in November, by that margin between ranked teams. DeSales entered the Top 25 at #23, but ballots were submitted a few hours prior to tip-off. I anticipate the Bulldogs sliding up at least a few spots as long as there are no hiccups in the first two games of MAC Freedom play.
  • Alma took a three-point lead into the final quarter, and gave Capital all it could handle. But Capital put 23 points on the board in the fourth, winning on Bri O’Connor’s buzzer-beating jumper, as the Comets won 65-64. It was a great effort from an Alma team now 1-5 overall, while Capital is 4-1. Very exciting game down the stretch.
  • We had two postponements yesterday, one in which a reason was stated, and one in which it was not. Oglethorpe was scheduled to play Emory tonight, but “due to injuries and illness” the game was postponed, and will be rescheduled, according to a tweet from Ogelthorpe women’s basketball. Wentworth was also scheduled to play Dean, with both teams posting “gameday” announcements yesterday morning, before Wentworth released a tweet just after noon, saying simply: “Tonight’s women’s basketball game against Dean has been postponed. A make-up date, if available, will be announced.” Two postponements on the same day is not something we see all that often, though in D-III, where programs sometimes carry roster of only 10 or 11, a few players being out could risk injuring or overplaying the remaining healthy players available.
  • I received a message about McMurry in the American Southwest Conference yesterday from a loyal reader. Even as someone who covers the ASC, I had not noticed McMurry’s 5-0 start. Perhaps because the Warhawks aren’t exactly a team that has contended for titles in the ASC in a quite a long time. To put the 5-0 start into context, McMurry was 3-20 last season, so head coach Drew Long is doing something right. The university removed his interim tag following last season, and that will be a turnaround story to keep an eye on as the year progresses.

That’s all for today…but the plan is to have more notes and news in tomorrow’s post. Until then, enjoy your day and feel free to leave a comment with any questions or thoughts you might have.