Just three days left in the conference season, time is running out to improve (or destroy) that post-season resume.

Last Night
#18 Louisiana 66   #9 Ozarks 84
Ozarks went on a big run about halfway through the first half to break this one open and then never looked back.  The home team combined stifling defense and 50%+ shooting from the floor to build a big lead and carry it through to the final buzzer.  Ozarks and timmytfk have now clinched the division title while Louisiana and discodave are a game out of second place and a first round bye in the CT.

Also considered: #11 Texas Lutheran stayed perfect in conference by downing Austin 94-84, #13 Willamette got past Whitworth 76-71, #14 Dickinson had no trouble with Washington MD 109-66, and #19 Mount St. Mary cruised past Stevens Tech 68-46.

Sim blowout watch: Nazareth avoided the blowout and covered against #17 Vassar 56-86.

ITaLRbHAGotN: You can all rest easy, the apocalypse has been averted after Wentworth Tech defeated New England 84-72 to take a one game lead in the Commonwealth Coast standings.

GotN
Buena Vista (15-9)(westcoast22) at #16 Simpson (20-3)(dshook30)
Over in the Iowa conference, Simpson is 13-0 in conference play and a cross-divisional visit from Buena Vista is the last significant threat to an undefeated conference run.  BV has second place in their division wrapped up so they'll be looking to play the spoiler on the road.  westcoast leads the series 7-1 but the home team is favored by 7 points in this one.

Also considered: #22 Merchant Marines at Centenary, Christopher Newport at #24 Oglethorpe, and Whittier at #25 Occidental

Sim blowout watch: Ferrum is getting 57 points at they go on the road to #3 Palm Beach Atlantic while Rutgers Newark is a 47 point home dog to #6 Ramapo.

ITaLRbHAGotN
Maranatha Baptist Bible (20-3)(Sim AI) at Kalamazoo (14-9)(zac9)
We've got an important cross-divisional game in the Michigan conference.  Maranatha is 13-0 in conference and takes their perfect record on the road to visit a team in the thick of a divisional race.  Kalamazoo is one game ahead of Calvin for the east division and the two teams already split their season series.  A big home win here will put Kalamazoo in good shape to hold on to the division title and spoil Maranatha's undefeated run.  It's Crusaders at Hornets and the visitors are favored by 1 point.

[Insert clever and or interesting comment here]

Last Night
Buena Vista 61   #15 Simpson 80
After opening the scoring with an early 3ptr Simpson never trailed in this one and pretty much cruised to another conference victory.  Simpson and dshook improved to 14-0 in conference with the win and will look to finish off a perfect run the final two games.  Buena Vista and westcoast will have to look forward to a possible CT semifinal rematch to get some revenge.

Also considered: #20 Merchant Marines had an easy time getting past Centenary 94-63, Christopher Newport got a nice road win over Oglethopre 75-68, as did Whittier 74-56 over Occidental.

Sim blowout watch: Ferrum managed to cover against #4 Palm Beach Atlantic 51-83 while Rutgers Newark got even closer to #7 Ramapo 61-84.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Kalamazoo dealt Maranatha Baptist Bible their first conference loss in an important 74-63 home victory.  The home team held a 6 point lead at the half and then slowly extended the lead throughout the second half.  With the win, Kalamazoo and zac stay a game ahead of Calvin in the divisional race with just two games to play.

GotN
#8 Ursinus (23-1)(barjaz) at #16 Dickinson (20-4)(mfnmyers)
We go to the Centennial conference for a big cross-divisional battle between ranked teams.  Dickinson is 14-0 and looking for a perfect conference run while Ursinus has just one conference loss and will try to share the one-loss love.  barjaz holds a 23-11 all-time lead between these two and his squad is a 1 point favorite on the road tonight.

Also considered: Southwestern at #1 Millsaps, #3 Emory at Hendrix, #5 Piedmont at Christopher Newport, Emerson at #10 S. Vermont, Sewanee at #18 Louisiana, and #21 Wooster at Allegheny

Sim blowout watch: Not a huge spread but it's the closest we've got, William Paterson is getting 39 points on the road to #7 Ramapo.

ITaLRbHAGotN
#20 Merchant Marines (19-5)(lynchmob1414) at #17 Mount St. Mary (20-4)(bstevens07)
Ok so this violates the idea of this section with two ranked teams playing each other, but this one deserved to be a featured game too.  This one is over in the Skyline conference where another team is chasing an undefeated run through conference and has the other division leader in the way.  Merchant Marines is 14-0 and this is pretty much the last obstacle to 16 wins.  Mount St. Mary has two losses and has wrapped up the division title and now will try to play spoiler at home.  lynchmob leads the series 12-6 and is also favored by 1 point on the road.

I think i have lost just about every game where the spread was 3 or less than that.... By a big margin...

My advice would be to stop playing in games where the spread is 3 or less.  I won't even charge you for that gem.  You're welcome.

One last night of conference play and that means tomorrow is the last GotN writeup for a couple weeks.  Stay strong.

Last Night
#11 Ursinus 78   #15 Dickinson 91
This one was really close with the home team holding a slim 3 point lead at the half.  Dickinson was able to slowly build that lead in the second half and it seemed like the uptempo pace of the game took a toll on the visitors.  Dickinson and mfnmyers move to 15-0 and will try for the perfect conference season tonight.  Ursinus and barjaz dropped their second game in conference and will look to possibly meet Dickinson again in the CT final.

Also considered: #1 Millsaps handled Southwestern 91-50, #3 Emory ran away from Hendrix 75-46, #4 Piedmont got the road victory over Christopher Newport 86-70, #9 S. Vermont made a clutch shot at the end to secure a 67-63 win over Emerson, #18 Louisiana defended the home court against Sewanee 75-65, and #20 Wooster were victorious on the road over Allegheny 60-45.

Sim blowout watch: William Paterson just barely covered in a 50-86 loss to #7 Ramapo.

ITaLRbHAGotN: #17 Mount St. Mary led by 12 at the half but still had to fend off several charges from Merchant Marines to hold on to a 88-79 home victory to spoil Merchant Marines' bid for a 16-0 conference run.

GotN
#18 Louisiana (18-7)(discodave) at #23 Dallas (17-8)(tarvolon)
Last night of conference play and we have a meeting of ranked teams in the University conference playing for a first round bye in the CT.  Both teams are 10-5 in conference so the winner here avoids the first round, and in the University conference that's a serious reward.  Louisiana won the first game between these two at home but now they're on the road.  The odd-makers have this one as an even pick, should be a great final featured game of the season.

Also considered: Oglethorpe at #4 Piedmont, #16 Willamette at E. Oregon, Ohio Wesleyan at #20 Wooster, Christopher Newport at #21 Greensboro

Sim blowout watch: La Rouche is getting a tasty 73 points as they host #14 Penn St. Altoona while Swarthmore is a 48 point road dog at #11 Ursinus.

ITaLRbHAGotN
John Carroll (19-6)(whit6r) at Capital (19-6)(xatomsmasher)
Huge game in the Ohio conference where these two teams are tied atop the north division.  Both teams are 14-1 in conference so winner tonight takes the division title.  John Carroll won the first meeting at home and they're favored by just a single point in this one.

We finished off the conference season last night and head into the conference tourneys tonight.  Nobody finished undefeated in the regular season while four teams were winless.  Five losses is a pretty snazzy record to have, I hear.

Last Night
#20 Louisiana 68   #22 Dallas 74  (OT)
It took extra time but Dallas was able to get the clutch home victory.  This was an extremely close, back-and-forth game and Louisiana had a slim two point lead at the half.  They were behind near the end of regulation though and needed a made shot with twenty-three seconds left to tie the game.  In the next possession Dallas probably thought they had it wrapped up when they went to the line for a one-and-one after a foul call with just one second.  Sadly for the home fans, the free throw didn't fall and we went to overtime.  Dallas got over the disappointment and were able to build a small lead through overtime and hold on for the 6 point win.  Dallas and tarvolon secured second place in the division and a first round bye in the CT while Louisiana and discodave had to settle for third place and a first round game.

Also considered: #4 Piedmont edged Oglethorpe at home 61-58, #13 Willamette ran away in the second half to down E. Oregon 77-57, #18 Wooster got a potential game winning dunk rejected at the end of regulation but then sunk a fadeaway with two seconds left in overtime to down Ohio Wesleyan 75-73, and Christopher Newport got a big road win over Greensboro 91-81.

Sim blowout watch: La Rouche didn't keep it close but still covered against #17 Penn St. Altoona 49-85 as did Swarthmore vs #11 Ursinus 53-82.

ITaLRbHAGotN: This one was tied at the break but didn't have any of the second half drama of the other featured game.  Capital went on a big second half run to take down visiting John Carroll 73-55.  With the win Capital clinched their first conference title in five years, finishing just one game ahead of John Carroll.

Well, that does it for another season of GotN writeups.  I hope everyone enjoyed the ride and good luck to everyone in the post-season.

Thanks pseudochamp!!! Great job.

A quick look at the conference winners this year.

Regular Season Conference Champions

ASC -- #10 Texas Lutheran (blapo21) went 16-0 for the second time in three seasons to claim their third straight conference title.  And yes, I copied/pasted that from last season's writeup and replaced Hardin-Simmons with Texas Lutheran.
Capital -- Hood (Sim) beat up on the rest of the sims again to go 16-0 for a second straight title.
Centennial -- #15 Dickinson (mfnmyers) also finished 16-0 to win the conference, their nineteenth straight first place finish.
CUNY -- Hunter (Sim) is the first imperfect winner on the list, going 15-1 for a second straight title.
CCIW -- #21 Northland (raucous) was perfect at 16-0 for a fourth straight banner.
Coast -- You're not going to believe this but Wentworth Tech (chewchad) isn't getting a first round bye.  They and sim-controlled Nichols and New England all finished tied for first at 13-3.  Nichols gets the first bye via best overall record while Wentworth Tech gets the second thanks to a sweep of New England, I think that's how it worked.
Commonwealth -- #17 Penn St. Altoona (frankgrimes1) rolled through at 16-0 to get a second straight conference title.
Empire -- #19 Vassar (theriddler) went 16-0 again to capture another title, they've lose just one conference game in the last five seasons.
Freedom -- Delaware Valley (Sim) was best of the sims at 16-0 for a second straight finish atop the standings.  Still not in Delaware.
GNE -- Johnson and Wales (spasticity) and #9 S. Vermont both finished 14-2 but JDub gets the nod thanks to the head-to-head victory, their fifth straight.
Heartland -- Manchester (goldenboy00) won the conference with a 15-1 record.
Iowa -- #14 Simpson (dshook30) got the school's first perfect 16-0 record in forty seasons to claim the title.
Lil East -- UMass Dartmouth (purh21) lost more conference games than the last four seasons but 14-2 was still good enough for a fourth straight banner.
Michigan -- Kalamazoo (zac9) and Maranatha Baptist both finished 15-1 but Kalamazoo gets the first title in three seasons thanks to the head-to-head win.
Midwest -- Lawrence (Sim) road a 14-2 record to a third straight conference title.
Minnesota -- Hamline (foofighter13) finished 15-1 again for their fourth straight first place finish.
NESCAC -- #12 Worcester St. (Sim) was the pride of the sims this season and ran through the conference to a perfect 16-0 record.
New Jersey -- #7 Ramapo (pgj930) went 16-0 again for back-to-back perfect non-conference seasons.
N. Atlantic -- Husson (Sim) was 14-2 and won the school's first title in five seasons.
N. Coast -- Earlham (paul836) and #18 Wooster (pseudochamp) both finished 14-2 but since I'm such a nice guy I let Earlham win the cross-divisional game so they could have their first title in nine seasons.  Damn I'm generous.
Northwest -- #13 Willamette (bullman17) was a perfect 16-0 to finish in first by two games.
Ohio -- Capital (xatomsmasher) got a clutch victory on the final day of conference play to win the title by one game in the standings.
ODAC -- Lynchburg (googs04) actually lost one game to finish 15-1 but they still won their fifth straight banner.
Penn -- Misericordia (Sim) went 16-0 for a second straight title.
Skyline -- #24 Merchant Marines (lynchmob1414) went 15-1 for their fourteenth straight conference win.
So. Cal. -- #2 Colorado (bdpoor) won a fifth straight title with a 15-1 record.
St. Louis -- #6 Webster (mschulte24) GORLOKS 16-0 GORLOKS again GORLOKS GORLOKS seventh straight GORLOKS GORLOKS
SUNY -- SUNY Cortland (cuck) got a sixth straight conference win with a 15-1 record.
University -- #3 Emory (phalla) edged the top ranked team in the country to finish atop the standings at 15-1.
Upstate -- #25 New York U. (ajlillie) finished a perfect 16-0 for the second straight season.
USA South -- #5 Palm Beach Atlantic (osgonlz) and #4 Piedmont (bunkerbuster) both finished 14-2 in conference but PBA gets the nod thanks to being one game better in the overall record.
Wisconsin -- Wisconsin La Crosse (theaaskimo) was perfect at 16-0 for a second straight conference win.

Great job this season, as always, with the write-ups pseudo!

Conference Championship Games

ASC -- #24 Austin (23-5, 23) vs #9 Texas Lutheran (27-1, 21)
Capital -- Hood (27-1, 42) vs Baptist Bible (17-12, 168)
Centennial -- #15 Dickinson (24-4, 12) vs #10 Ursinus (26-2, 13)
CUNY -- Polytechnic (17-12, 155) vs Bard (14-15, 174)
CCIW -- Elmhurst (22-6, 55) vs Martin Luther (22-7, 79)
Coast -- Nichols (24-4, 40) vs Roger Williams (18-11, 113)
Commonwealth -- #16 Penn St. Altoona (25-3, 20) vs Susquehanna (19-9, 58)
Empire -- Elmira (14-14, 250) vs #20 Vassar (26-2, 33)
Freedom -- Scranton (24-4, 78) vs Frostburg St. (19-9, 112)
GNE -- Johnson and Wales (22-6, 24) vs #8 S. Vermont (25-3, 6)
Heartland -- Franklin (21-8, 115) vs Mt. St. Joseph (21-7, 100)
Iowa -- Dubuque (22-6, 63) vs #11 Simpson (25-3, 14)
Lil East -- UMass Dartmouth (24-4, 34) vs Rhode Island (19-10, 103)
Michigan -- Kalamazoo (19-9, 69) vs Maranatha Baptist (24-4, 72)
Midwest -- Carroll (18-10, 169) vs St. Norbert (21-8, 130)
Minnesota -- Hamline (25-3, 39) vs Gustavus Adolphus (23-5, 66)
NESCAC -- #12 Worcester St. (26-2, 15) vs Trinity CT (22-6, 73)
New Jersey -- #5 Ramapo (27-1, 8) vs College of NJ (21-7, 46)
N. Atlantic -- Salem St. (23-5, 101) vs Maine Presque Isle (15-13, 212)
N. Coast -- Earlham (24-4, 41) vs #18 Wooster (23-5, 18)
Northwest -- Pacific (22-6, 81) vs #14 Willamette (27-1, 17)
Ohio -- Capital (22-6, 30) vs John Carroll (21-7, 45)
ODAC -- Lynchburg (21-7, 54) vs E. Mennonite (19-10, 127)
Penn -- Alvernia (22-6, 97) vs Misericordia (26-2, 49)
Skyline -- #17 Mount St. Mary (24-4, 19) vs #21 Merchant Marines (22-6, 22)
So. Cal. -- #2 Colorado (27-1, 2) vs #22 Whittier (23-5, 16)
St. Louis -- #6 Webster (27-1, 11) vs Aurora (16-12, 136)
SUNY -- SUNY Cortland (22-6, 47) vs SUNY New Paltz (20-8, 116)
University -- #1 Millsaps (26-2, 1) vs #19 Dallas (20-8, 7)
Upstate -- Skidmore (23-5, 67) vs #23 New York U. (23-5, 27)
USA South -- #4 Palm Beach Atlantic (26-2, 4) vs #3 Piedmont (25-3, 5)
Wisconsin -- Wisconsin La Crosse (27-1, 50) vs Wisconsin Superior (17-11, 162)

Six games with teams outside the top 64 in the projection report pushes the cutoff to 58.  Fifteen games involve only one team outside the top 58, so that means the cutoff will be between 43 and 58.  After tonight, 1-43 on the projection report will automatically be in and teams lower than 58 will be in the PIT at best.  The teams between will be rooting hard for the higher projected teams.

I lost to Martin Luther!  I hope only a SIM gets bumped out of the NT.

Posted by pseudochamp on 11/8/2013 3:36:00 PM (view original):
My advice would be to stop playing in games where the spread is 3 or less.  I won't even charge you for that gem.  You're welcome.

I'll look into that next year...

Ugh.  I am 58 and I am certain I am going to miss by 2.  Damn.

Three cheers for Cazenovia, making its first appearance in the NT in its 69-season existence. Every D3 school in the Rupp world has now made at least one national tournament appearance in its history.

Hooray Cazenovia, simmies everywhere rejoice!

Good luck in the post-season to everyone still playing.