Latest Division III Rankings
February 25, 2009 by Kevin Hunter
Filed under Basketball
Here’s all you need to know from the fine folks at d3hoops.com.
Jostens finalists named
The top 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy were announced today by members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The club is responsible for the initial review of annual nominations and narrowed the pool to 10 men and 10 women finalists.
The men’s finalists: Jimmy Bartolotta, MIT; Jose Guitian, Lasell; Rashawn Johnson, Wesley; Tim Madson, Bethel; Scott Morton, Geneseo State; John Noonan, Ursinus; Joel Patch, Susquehanna; Kent Raymond, Wheaton (Ill.); Jeff Skemp, UW-Platteville; Tony Thrasher, Hamline.
The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., to honor the most outstanding men’s and women’s Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account three vital parts: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. The trophy models the Rotary motto of “Service above Self” by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded Division III student-athlete. This year’s class marks the 12th year the award has been presented.
The list will be forwarded to the 35-person national selection committee, which will complete the selection process by picking the two Jostens Trophy winners.
Last year a surprise Sweet 16 team, this year St. Mary’s (Md.) is 21-4 and hoping to avoid all bubble references.
A week for the strong
A week from now we’ll know who all 123 NCAA Tournament teams are and where they’ll be playing. But before then, we’ve got a lot of business to attend to. Here’s what’s coming in this most crucial week of the Division III basketball regular season, with all but two tournament bids still up for grabs.
If you’re not already following D3hoops on Twitter, you should be. That may be your quickest source for conference tournament upsets that change the face of the NCAA Tournament.
Wednesday: The NCAA releases the final regional rankings that you and I are allowed to see, through games of Sunday.
Thursday: Hoopsville takes a look at the first wave of conference upsets — you know there will be one — and talks to coaches of teams on the bubble and still in control of their own destiny.
Friday: The CUNYAC crowns its automatic qualifiers as do the NJAC men, as we start handing out tournament bids in earnest. The ASC and SCAC begin their three-day, eight-team events, while many other conferences play their semifinals.
Saturday: Automatic bids fly left and right. We’ll have live broadcasts from conference title games (CCIW and MIAC for starters), plus links to any others we can find, audio or video.
Sunday, March 1: Bright and early in the morning we’ll have our first NCAA Tournament bracket projection, based on the games already played. That afternoon the final handful of bids will be awarded, including the NESCAC, SCAC, ASC, NEWMAC and others. We’ll update our bracket projections, if necessary. That evening, Hoopsville airs after all the dust has settled, and we’ll also find out what teams made the women’s NCAA Tournament, scheduled for release around 10 p.m. ET.
And you’ll hear many cliches about madness, I’m sure.
Monday, March 2: The bracket announcements, which will be streamed on live video by the NCAA and simulcast on Hoopsville, are scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (men) and noon ET (women). After each announcement we’ll talk to teams affected as well as decision-makers. We’ll also open our NCAA Tournament Pick ‘em contests on Monday.
Week 12 men’s poll About the Top 25
1 St. Thomas (24) 25-0
2 Washington U. (1) 22-2
3 Puget Sound 23-2
4 Wheaton (Ill.) 22-3
5 UW-Platteville 21-4
6 UW-Stevens Point 21-4
7 UW-Whitewater 21-4
8 Ithaca 24-1
9 Buena Vista 23-2
10 Richard Stockton 23-2
11 Capital 22-3
12 Elms 24-1
13 Trinity (Texas) 22-3
14 Middlebury 22-3
15 John Carroll 20-4
16 Centre 20-4
17 Rhode Island College 21-4
18 Mass-Dartmouth 22-3
19 Guilford 21-4
20 Elmhurst 19-6
21 Amherst 20-5
22 Randolph-Macon 20-5
23 Franklin and Marshall 21-4
24 Worcester Polytech 20-4
25 Lawrence 16-6
Dropped out: No. 22 Texas-Dallas, No. 25 Carnegie Mellon.
Others receiving votes: Augustana 29, Transylvania 24, Texas-Dallas 23, Whitworth 18, Chapman 17, Carnegie Mellon 14, DePauw 13, Montclair State 10, St. Mary’s (Md.) 10, William Paterson 4, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2, Widener 2, Salem State 1.
