Well, we’ve almost made it. The regionals are days away and the East has an odd look. Congrats to all the teams. It’s really hard for this regional to have any credibility when the records of at-large teams were rough, but let’s try to take a (mostly) positive look at what went down this weekend.
Often I air grievances (I have a lot of problems with you people) in the musings, but since my annual Festivus column was shelved due to a global pandemic I’ll start and end with complaints. I tuned in to watch the Women’s NCAA Division II selection show, and was stunned. I can’t believe they put a team from California in the East bracket. Yes, you heard me, the Dominican Penguins are the #1-seed in the East. There are a couple problems there. That Dominican is from California. They don’t play in the CACC, let alone the region. There was once an athletic conference called Great West. They admitted as a member the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). I’m not even sure they’re in the western part of Newark, but I digress. More on NJIT later when we air some more grievances. The second problem is: how is Daemen not the #1?? They beat both Mercyhurst AND Gannon who were a combined 24-7. More impressive for the Wildcats, they were the only team to beat Gannon. In reality Gannon and Mercyhurst lost four times to teams not named Gannnon and Mercyhurst and two of the four were at the hands of Daemen.
I have a soft spot in my heart for underdogs, and it’s safe to say the Concordia women’s basketball program is the ultimate underdog most seasons. The program hasn’t had a winning season since the 86-87 campaign (13-10) and has only won double figure games once since (04-05). Time for some predictions:
#6 Concordia vs. #3 Georgian Court: GCU…. Sorry Clippers. The sad part is a loss for Concordia and they are .500.
#4 AIC vs. #5 Roberts Wesleyan: I like AIC here, and BTW if you watched the NCAA selection show the school is not Robert Wesleyan. That broadcast was awful.
From there I like Daemen and AIC to meet in the final, with the Wildcats advancing.
Once again Men’s Regional Chair and New Haven men’s basketball coach Ted Hotaling got it right. It should come as no surprise. I’ve been around this region on and off since 2003, and nobody cares about making sure the right teams are slotted in the right location more than Coach Hotaling. I couldn’t bring myself to watch the men’s selection show, for obvious reasons.
#3 Bloomfield vs. #6 Nyack: Bloomfield
# 4 Dominican vs. #5 Caldwell. Caldwell’s first appearance in the Big Dance since they won the CACC title in 2007. If you recall they nearly upended top-seed and undefeated Bentley, succumbing by three in a game that could have gone either way. I like Dominican based on experience, but don’t be stunned if Caldwell can complete a chronicle of a championship run.
The record of the four at-large teams is a combined 21-16.
I expect Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas to meet in the finals with STAC (which may have won the regional in a normal season) prevailing.
Finally, back to the grievances. As a former SID (Sports Information Director), I am extremely disappointed I can’t tell you exactly what happened in Post’s 2003-'04 101-91 win over NJIT, because over the past six weeks neither school could find EITHER the box score OR the play-by-play. Normally, I’d chalk it up to such is life, but this one is a bit more personal. I took great time in organizing a department that was scattered when I was the SID at first Teikyo Post and then Post. The idea that box scores could be “lost” is so hard for me to fathom. Let’s hope they are found AND fast. It brings up this point. Keep your pictures in an album. If you have 10,000 pictures and lasting memories on a hard drive or wherever the kids keep their rock music these days, they can be lost just like that. I did talk with Post men’s basketball coach at the time and current Florida Southern head coach Mike Donnally and NJIT SID at the time Mark Mentone in order to attempt to reconstruct the final few minutes as best as possible. Post was trailing by 16 with about 3:30 to play when one of the most unlikely comebacks occured. Post not only won the game but as I mentioned, did it by 10. That’s a 26 point swing. I would love to tell you what the run was, but since it’s no longer on either website I can’t.
Mentone, currently the Felician SID, is one of the best in the industry. Never flashy, he gets the job done. I had the honor or working in the same conference as Mark for years and he never wants credit, he only wants to get the job done. In a world where people want credit without doing anything, his approach is a breath of fresh air.
Good luck to all the individuals competing in the regionals. Enjoy every second! The musings will be around sporadically this offseason. Thanks to everyone who is so supportive of everything we do here. For me, it’s off to the college baseball world for a while. Some of you may be booing me soon!! I can’t wait!
I'm always reachable and will return every email! Hit me up at t.p.mccaffrey@gmail.com If you'd like to continue to follow my work please join me at Closecallsports.com See you soon!