Liberty League

[Pat Coleman]

As several have said including the committee chair, the New Jersey schools were allowed to put in for hosting sites outside of their state... the committee bracketed not worrying about the hosting situation first and foremost... and in the long run didn't want to punish the students involved for something out of their control. They found a place to host... they deserved to host... they got it.

From what I have learned, Hobart finished sixth in the regional rankings in the final East rankings... RIC was fourth in the Northeast... that is a fair match up.

If you look at the bracket however it appears as though RIC is a 2 seed and Hobart a 15....

Guess we'll find out Saturday night.  Hopefully HOB can give them a scare like they did to Cabrini, maybe even pull off the (big) upset.

Yeah, this doesn't read like a D-I bracket, though, especially with the island teams thrown in. I'd think of it like a 7-10 game feeding into a 2 Ramapo or a 6-11 game feeding into a 3 Ramapo.

[Argylebballer]

Pat you really think RIC is a 6 or a 7 if you think D1 brackets? How would Ramapo be such a metter seed?

[Pat Coleman]

A bracket of 16 generally would have two regions' worth of rankings in it. Ramapo was No. 1 in the Atlantic and RIC was No. 4 in the Northeast. Mid-Atlantic No. 1 is in the bracket as well, as is South No. 2, Mid-Atlantic No. 3 and West No. 4. That's a good number of teams who certainly could be seeded ahead of RIC.

[7express]

A bracket of 16 generally would have two regions' worth of rankings in it. Ramapo was No. 1 in the Atlantic and RIC was No. 4 in the Northeast. Mid-Atlantic No. 1 is in the bracket as well, as is South No. 2, Mid-Atlantic No. 3 and West No. 4. That's a good number of teams who certainly could be seeded ahead of RIC.

Where do you think a RIC Ramapo second round matchup would take place?? 
Do you know if Ramapo sent in to host at a neutral site (Nyack) for the second and third rounds, or just the first??

[Pat Coleman]

I don't know the details on their hosting, unfortunately. I believe it's safe to say Ramapo is seeded to host, but I don't know if it will be able to.

[magicman]

For the 2nd year in a row the Hobart Statesmen suffer a tough overtime loss on the road  to a  highly ranked team . Last year it was a 90-88 overtime loss at Cabrini to the eventual 2nd place Cavaliers who came within 3 points of winnning the National Championship.

This year they traveled to Rhode Island College and lost to the Anchormen 62-59 in overtime. Hobart couldn't hold a 50-48 lead with less than a minute to play and after a turnover with 37 seconds left allowed RIC to tie it up at 50, the Statesmen turned it over on their next 2 possessions and never got a shot off for a chance to win it. Instead RIC had 2 chances to win but missed both of their attempts and the extra period was necessary. The teams traded 3 pointers to open the overtime session and after RIC got another basket, Hobart hit 2 free throws to tie it at 55. But the Anchormen hit another big 3 pointer and once again Hobart turned the ball over and this time RIC made them pay as they scored again for a 5 point lead with 2:53 left on the clock. 2 Hobart layups sandwiched a single RIC free throw to cut the lead to 61-59 with 17 ticks left. Hobart had to foul and the Anchormen made 1 of 2 to make it a 3 point lead. With the clock ticking down Rhode Island chose to foul rather than risk a three pointer for the tie. With only 2 second left Hobart was out of options and after missing the 1st free throw intentionally missed the second but RIC corraled the rebound and the win.

The Anchormen did their homework because they held the Liberty League Player of the Year, Stefan Thompson to a season low 3 points. Richie Bonney led Hobart with a huge game of 22 points and 19 rebounds. Connor Rehbaum scored 13 points and  Rezin Davis had 10 points off the bench. If Thompson can just get half of his ppg average the Statesmen win this one in regulation. Hobart finishes the year with a 21-7 record.

[Ethelred the Unready]

A bracket of 16 generally would have two regions' worth of rankings in it. Ramapo was No. 1 in the Atlantic and RIC was No. 4 in the Northeast. Mid-Atlantic No. 1 is in the bracket as well, as is South No. 2, Mid-Atlantic No. 3 and West No. 4. That's a good number of teams who certainly could be seeded ahead of RIC.

Where do you think a RIC Ramapo second round matchup would take place?? 
Do you know if Ramapo sent in to host at a neutral site (Nyack) for the second and third rounds, or just the first??

At Morrisville?   

[magicman]

A bracket of 16 generally would have two regions' worth of rankings in it. Ramapo was No. 1 in the Atlantic and RIC was No. 4 in the Northeast. Mid-Atlantic No. 1 is in the bracket as well, as is South No. 2, Mid-Atlantic No. 3 and West No. 4. That's a good number of teams who certainly could be seeded ahead of RIC.

Where do you think a RIC Ramapo second round matchup would take place?? 
Do you know if Ramapo sent in to host at a neutral site (Nyack) for the second and third rounds, or just the first??

At Morrisville?   

Good one Ethelred.  Would have been nice for the Mustangs if they had been chosen to host Rhode Island but we knew the NCAA wouldn't let that one fly.

[magicman]

It's that time of year when we can choose a player to play in the NABC All Star Game that is taking place in Salem, Va. this year. Last year East Region player Ralph Temgoua from St. Lawrence was voted onto the team. This year one of the players that can be voted onto the team is SUNYAC Player of the Year, forward Hayden Ward from Oswego State. I urge all the visitors to this board to go to the front page of D3hoops and vote for Hayden. He needs our support as he's way behind the current leaders.
 
Here's the link:  http://d3hoops.com/landing/index?t=1363029315978

The voting only lasts for 2 days so don't wait to cast your vote. Do it now.

[magicman]

The NABC has released their All District Teams for Division III today.
 
Players from the Liberty League:

Stefan Thompson from Hobart was selected for the 1st Team.

Richie Bonney from Hobart and Kevin Donahue from Union were selected for the 2nd Team

Also:
John DiBartolomeo of Rochester was chosen as the East District Player of the Year.

Coach Tom Spanbauer from Cortland State was the selected as the Coach of the Year

Congratulations to all.

Here's the complete East Region Teams:

EAST
First Team                                                                             Second Team

*John DiBartolomeo, Rochester                                               Richie Bonney, Hobart
Sheldon Jones, Stevens Institute of Technology                        Kevin Donohue, Union
Sean Rossi, Ithaca                                                                 Jason Norsen, St. John Fisher
Stefan Thompson, Hobart                                                       Jake Simmons, Buffalo State
Hayden Ward, SUNY Oswego                                                   Carl Yaffe, NYU
Jesse Winter, SUNY Cortland
Coach of the Year: Tom Spanbauer, SUNY-Cortland
*District Player of the Year

Here's a link showing the complete NABC All District Teams from the entire country:

http://static.psbin.com/z/e/dtmf3oj4do2ttt/2013_NABC_Division_III_All-District_Teams_and_Coaches.pdf

[with age came?]

Congratulations to Amherst on its d-3 championship!!  Of course I always have my fantasies but the way I look at it - Springfield Pride beat Amherst and Ithaca beat Springfield and Clarkson beat Ithaca - so Clarkson had a team capable of winning the national championship!!!!  At least on a given day!!

[magicman]

I must have looked at that game between Clarkson and Ithaca about a dozen times when I was trying to determine if I would draft an Ithaca player for my fantasy team. I wanted to draft Warech in one of the later rounds and didn't think he'd get taken but just before it was my turn to draft in the 5th round another guy took him. But yeah Clarkson, with the win over Ithaca, who beat Springfield, who beat Amherst  has a legitimate claim to #1. Too bad the Knights couldn't beat RPI and get into the LL tournament, though.

[thebear]

And then of course, My Bears, who were undefeated against their St. Lawrence County Rivals also beat Clarkson (by 12), Who 10 days earlier had beaten Ithaca (by 2), Who Beat Springfield, Who Beat Amherst.  And yet the Bears didn't crack the top 6 of the 'yac.

It could drive you Crazy!