All Things D2 and D3 College basketball

[Goph4Lyfe]

Only went to the Hamline game, but loved the program and tidbits thrown in at the bottom on the national stats and rankings. It was like a cram sheet for a test, and I mean that in a totally positive way. Great job.

Really appreciate it. I am the kind of guy who loves the obscure stats and fun tidbits. Had a spreadsheet with all the 20 PPG scorers so i could make the tidbits of Beckler being 1 of 3 in the country with 21 pPG and shooting 50 from the field and 40 from 3

 

[Ope3]

Given how few non-confernce games there are, tough to gage but heading into the week Carleton wasn't in the Top 25. They were in the Others receiving votes (#27) so with the Playoff title should crack into the rankings.

D3hoops.com men's Top 25, Week 12 2022-23

Oswego State's winning streak continues, and the Lakers have reached a new high-water mark in the D3hoops.com men's basketball Top 25. Check out the full poll.

www.d3hoops.com

Overall record at 24-3 is gaudy but due to not so great strength of schedule, probably less than 50/50 they draw a top 16 seed and get to host 1st & 2nd Rds.

Pairings will be released tomorrow at Noon.

Either I misread the time or it got pushed back to 1 PM Central time.

DIII Men's College Basketball - Home | NCAA.com

The NCAA Men's Basketball DIII official home. Get Men's Basketball rankings, news, schedules and championship brackets.

www.ncaa.com

EDIT - I didn't misread. Conflicting info from another source. Good write up on the Knights though.

Carleton punches its ticket to NCAA tournament after winning the MIAC Playoffs for first time since 2010

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Led by 35 points from Jeremy Beckler, the Carleton College men's basketball team captured its first MIAC Playoff Championship since 2010 with an 86-76 victory over Saint John's University.

www.d3hoops.com

 

[Goph4Lyfe]

Carleton going to Wheaton (IL), will play St Norbert in the first round. Wheaton plays Illinois College and the potential sweet 16 matchup would be against the #2 seed St. Joseph (CT). No La Crosse at-large bid, and that was the only way I saw them hosting.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I watched most of the Carleton-Johnnies game.

my first reaction was that it was a really physical game. I was surprised with some of the stuff the refs allowed in the first half. then it seemed to tighten up in the second half.

Carleton got the big early lead and then they just kept holding off the Johnnies. Every time St. John's made a little run and got the lead down to single digits, Carleton would get a defensive stop or a bucket to keep the margin around 10 points.

Carleton seemed like they just had a little more poise and didn't let themselves get rattled. Fun game.

 

[Ope3]

Carleton going to Wheaton (IL), will play St Norbert in the first round. Wheaton plays Illinois College and the potential sweet 16 matchup would be against the #2 seed St. Joseph (CT). No La Crosse at-large bid, and that was the only way I saw them hosting.

Hmmm. My aunt and uncle live less than 10 minutes from the Wheaton campus.

Tough to consider making the trip though with a Springsteen show on tap here in St Paul on Sunday.

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

Couple more tidbits from the Hamline game (I think I watch games too closely sometimes...):

• I don't know names, but at the end of the half, #14 from Carleton made a basket from about 80', but he let it fly about a half-second after the horn sounded so it didn't count. I'm not sure if he even saw it go in, he threw it up and was turning and heading into the locker room by the time it went through the net. Pretty amazing shot though.
• With the large Carleton lead, when there was about 30 seconds left in the game the Carleton coach did a second round of emptying his bench (he had subbed in others earlier with about a minute or so left). The second round included #45. 45 went to the scorers' table to check into the game, but he was wearing a necklace so they wouldn't let him onto the court. He couldn't get the necklace (a small gold chain) unclasped and removed from his neck until after the final buzzer sounded, so he blew his chance to get into the game, all over a small gold chain. Hope he made it into the St. John's game...

 

[AO54]

Bethany gets a winnable first round matchup against Hope, played at Oshkosh. Opposite side of the bracket from Carleton means we could see an all-Minnesota championship game....

 

[Bad Gopher]

How did I not know Chad Walthall retired last year?!

Moorhead and Bemidji State at halftime right now. On Channel 1270, whatever the hell that is.

 

[Ope3]

Carleton did break into the rankings at #21. Wheaton is #9, host of their pod.

D3hoops.com men's Top 25, Week 13 2022-23

Carleton, North Park and East Texas Baptist join the poll, while Rowan returns ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

www.d3hoops.com

 

[Bad Gopher]

How did I not know Chad Walthall retired last year?!

Moorhead and Bemidji State at halftime right now. On Channel 1270, whatever the hell that is.

Fantastic finish! Buzzer beater for a one-point Dragon win in the conference semifinal.

 

[disco]

Fantastic finish! Buzzer beater for a one-point Dragon win in the conference semifinal.

Incredible game. Watched the whole thing.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

update on D3 playoffs:

The Carleton men's team will play St. Norbert in the first round Friday in Wheaton, Ill.

Carleton (24-3) won the MIAC playoff championship by beating St. John's 86-76 on Sunday for its 10th victory in a row. The Knights are in the NCAA field for the third time overall and the first time since 2010. Their opening opponent is St. Norbert (19-7), champion of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

The winner of that game will play the winner of Wheaton-Illinois College on Saturday. Weekend host Wheaton (22-4) received one of the 20 at-large bids to the tournament after losing in its conference tournament semifinals.

The other Minnesota men's team in the field is Bethany Lutheran (23-4). The UMAC champion from Mankato, which has set a program record for victories in a season, plays Hope College (19-9) on Friday in Oshkosh, Wis.

(not saying I'm old, but the Bethany Lutheran Coach is Pat Garvin. I covered some of his games when he was in HS in Jackson, MN.)

--------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------

MIAC women's champion Gustavus Adolphus (25-2) has won 17 consecutive games, including a 79-57 victory over Concordia (Moorhead) that earned the Gusties a repeat trip to the NCAA tournament. They play Ohio Wesleyan (18-10) on Friday in Whitewater, Wis. The winner of that game plays either Wisconsin-Whitewater or Webster on Saturday.

UMAC women's champion Northwestern (Roseville) plays host University of Chicago on Friday. The Eagles (!9-8) are in the NCAA tournament for the second time overall, with their other appearance coming in 2014.

 

[disco]

Congrats to MSUM on winning the NSIC tournament.
Speculation last night was that MSUM, UMD and Northern State would get into the NCAA tournament.

Dragons are a very good and entertaining team, and made up of almost all Minnesota (or Fargo) kids. Just one player each from Montana, Wisconsin and Georgia.

 

[Ope3]

MIAC Men's Basketball Awards for 2022-23 have been been declared.

MIAC announces 2022-23 men’s basketball awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its men’s basketball awards for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday.

miacathletics.com

Having seen every team except Concordia & Gustavus, no argument from me on the 4 most prominent awards.

Saint Mary's senior guard Raheem Anthony and Macalester sophomore forward Badou Ba were voted the MIAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, while St. Olaf first-year guard Kobe Kirk received MIAC Rookie of the Year honors, and Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw was celebrated as the MIAC Coach of the Year.

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

Kershaw really turned it around at Carleton. Has any DIII coach ever worked their way up to becoming a P5 head coach? That's gotta be a long path to take...

 

[GopherPharmaBiz]

Kershaw really turned it around at Carleton. Has any DIII coach ever worked their way up to becoming a P5 head coach? That's gotta be a long path to take...

Bo Ryan?

 

[Bad Gopher]

Bo Ryan?

Straight from 3 to 1.

 

[Holy Man]

Straight from 3 to 1.

Pretty low level 1, though.

 

[Ope3]

Kershaw really turned it around at Carleton. Has any DIII coach ever worked their way up to becoming a P5 head coach? That's gotta be a long path to take...

Bo Ryan?

Also John Beilein.

 

[Ope3]

Straight from 3 to 1.

Pretty low level 1, though.

Just like John Tauer.

 

[Bad Gopher]

Pretty low level 1, though.

Even Ryan wasn't sure how he'd translate to high major, but he felt he owed it to himself to give it a try. Maybe coaching is coaching. Maybe when you're ready, you're ready. Maybe when you're not, you're not.

 

[Ope3]

Kershaw really turned it around at Carleton. Has any DIII coach ever worked their way up to becoming a P5 head coach? That's gotta be a long path to take...

Actually Kershaw maintained and bolstered the momentum Carleton had going for them. Last season they finished 3rd (13-5) but got bounced by Macalester in the Quarters of the playoffs. The cupboard was pretty solid.

He was part of the building process as lead assistant and it has been taken for granted that he would be taking the helm, eventually, when Kalland stepped aside. Back in 2019-20, that team was primarily Freshman, I want to say 5 of the 7 players in the rotation. They struggled that year to begin with, went on a run in January but fell back, 1 game short of the Top 6/Playoffs.

I could tell they had a good nucleus to build around, but then then the next year was wiped out. A few left the program. Beckler and Page remain from that group. With the Harris (#14) arrival last year in the back court, the Knights were on their way. Good season last year, and I felt they were a threat to win the MIAC this year.

In a bit of irony, Kershaw is a St Olaf Alum.

 

[Goph4Lyfe]

Actually Kershaw maintained and bolstered the momentum Carleton had going for them. Last season they finished 3rd (13-5) but got bounced by Macalester in the Quarters of the playoffs. The cupboard was pretty solid.

He was part of the building process as lead assistant and it has been taken for granted that he would be taking the helm, eventually, when Kalland stepped aside. Back in 2019-20, that team was primarily Freshman, I want to say 5 of the 7 players in the rotation. They struggled that year to begin with, went on a run in January but fell back, 1 game short of the Top 6/Playoffs.

I could tell they had a good nucleus to build around, but then then the next year was wiped out. A few left the program. Beckler and Page remain from that group. With the Harris (#14) arrival last year in the back court, the Knights were on their way. Good season last year, and I felt they were a threat to win the MIAC this year.

In a bit of irony, Kershaw is a St Olaf Alum.

Losing Beckler and Page could hurt next season. Banovetz's usage rates were down a ton this season, but he has showed the ability to play like a beckler-lite and has been one of the best defensive players on the team. Need Sweat to be consistent off the bench in the Page role. Only brought in one freshman last year, future of the program (at least for a bit) could depend on this years incoming class.

 

[Ope3]

Losing Beckler and Page could hurt next season. Banovetz's usage rates were down a ton this season, but he has showed the ability to play like a beckler-lite and has been one of the best defensive players on the team. Need Sweat to be consistent off the bench in the Page role. Only brought in one freshman last year, future of the program (at least for a bit) could depend on this years incoming class.

Yes, I would expect some regression without Beckler but should still be able to compete to be in the top half for a playoff spot. Without diving too deep, I think Macalester and Hamline bring back virtually everyone.

 

[Ope3]

Link to Carleton game for anyone interested:

 

[Ope3]

Just like that, it's over for the Knights, lost 81-77. St Norbert was hot early going ahead by 16. Carleton made several runs at but couldn't take the lead in the 2nd half.

It was a fun ride, following them on their way to a school record 24-4 campaign.

 

[IceBoxGopher]

The NCAA DII Basketball Tournament gets underway on Saturday. Two Minnesota teams are in the dance, Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

The No. 4 Dragons play the No. 5 Crimson Storm from Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma, Great American Conference regular season champs with a 25-4 record.

The No. 6 Bulldogs play the No. 3 Bronchos from Central Oklahoma University, an MIAA team that finished 26-5.

 

[Ope3]

Post mortem on my following of the Northfield MIAC teams in 2022-23.

I went to 9 Carleton games. Only loss was to St Olaf.
I went to 5 St Olaf games. Only loss was to Carleton.

They went 10-0 in the games I witnessed when they did not play each other.

 

[bga1]

Post mortem on my following of the Northfield MIAC teams in 2022-23.

I went to 9 Carleton games. Only loss was to St Olaf.
I went to 5 St Olaf games. Only loss was to Carleton.

They went 10-0 in the games I witnessed when they did not play each other.

Obviously you didn't attend any Gopher games....

 

[Ope3]

Obviously you didn't attend any Gopher games....

Actually, the Gophers were UNDEFEATED with Ope3 in the Barn. My sole appearance appearance was last Thursday against Rutgers! No joke.

Attending the Oles/Gophers Exhibition would have really put it to the test, but I missed it.