Welcome to another Midweek Musing! Just a few hours ago the NCAA National Committees released the official regional rankings for each of the eight regions in both men’s and women’s basketball for Division II.
Take a gander at the men’s NCAA East Region Rankings:
1 Bridgeport
2 St. Thomas Aquinas
3 Thomas Jefferson University
4 Le Moyne
5 Saint Anselm
6 Stonehill
7 Daemen
8 Dominican (New York)
9 Franklin Pierce
10 Adelphi
The top eight are unchanged as predicted. Games from Tuesday are not included, which means Dominican has gained even more distance on Franklin Pierce and Adelphi, who were both upset in their final regular season game. Daemen benefits from Mercyhurst now being ranked in the Atlantic Region at #7. That triumph, coupled with the tally over West Liberty (ranked #4 in the same region), boost the Wildcats. Should Stonehill drop a Sunday NE10 quarterfinal game against Southern Connecticut, the Skyhawks will be in peril. Le Moyne could drop to five without another win on Sunday. A home loss to Pace isn’t what the doctor ordered, but it isn’t enough to move them at this time. If there’s one team that baffles, it’s Pace. Wins over Le Moyne, Adelphi, Stonehill and Bentley prove the Setters can compete amongst the elite but they haven’t been consistent, as evidenced by an inexcusable loss at home to American International. Pace could do enough to get the eight seed if Dominican finds a way to lose one more in the regular season and does not capture the CACC crown. The path for the Setters - home win over SNHU, win at St. Anselm and then win an NE10 semifinal game against another top-tier team which would need to be Stonehill. We keep waiting for a team to emerge and get hot from the NE10, but there’s just too much parity.
Another exceptional job by the men’s basketball regional committee.
As we hop over to the women’s side, let’s first glance at how the teams are ranked.
1 Adelphi
2 Stonehill
3 University of the Sciences
4 Bentley
5 Saint Anselm
6 Daemen
7 St. Thomas Aquinas
8 Le Moyne
9 Molloy
10 Pace
Let’s note the changes which eerily resemble the top eight of McCaffrey’s Musings with one exception. The RAC has the top six correct. It’s possible that some rankings were changed by the national committee, but, however it happened, let’s give credit where it’s due! I’m well aware that STAC holds a slight edge by the numbers on Le Moyne, but it has to be noted what the committee did at numbers nine and ten. Molloy is now virtually assured that if it wins out to the finals of the ECC tournament they will have an at-large bid, assuming Le Moyne does not win on Sunday against Bentley. We also could be looking at three ECC teams rounding out the lower portion of the field. Pace just has too much ground to make up, since the Setters were swept by the Dolphins and beaten at home by STAC. I’m a big fan of rewarding schools that played great non-league schedules and Molloy’s slate could pay dividends with a weekend home-sweep of Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan. Tall order, but it is possible. St. Anselm moved up two slots and didn’t really do much. Sure, they won two games, but both were against teams that aren’t making the postseason. It’s clear that somebody on the committee took a deeper look into the numbers.
What do Tuesday’s results mean for NE10 teams? Bentley is in more trouble than you think. Should it lose on Sunday and get swept by Le Moyne on the season series (both in Syracuse), coupled with deep runs by the Dolphins and Hawks in the NE10 tournament, and perhaps an upset winner of the CACC or ECC, the Falcons will be on the outside. The Hawks are a Sunday NE10 quarterfinal win away from leaping to number four. Bentley should be rooting for Molloy and NYIT to upend Daemen. If the Wildcats were to get swept, it would likely mean that, even with a Sunday loss at Le Moyne, the Falcons would be no worse than sixth in next week’s rankings. Stay tuned!!
One last thing - how unusual is it that all four Sunday quarter final round games in the NE10 will be double-headers? Adelphi, Stonehill, Le Moyne and St. Anselm will all have two games!
I’ll be back on Monday for my usual column, where we’ll break down the conference tournament picture and the NCAA bracket! Until then always do what’s right, not what’s easy! Happy Hooping everyone!!