NCAA DII Tournament Discussion

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Going forward I think it would be best to have less threads going so our discussions for certain topics can be all in one place rather than across multiple threads, so I made this thread for all NCAA Tournament discussion.

Anyways, I am certainly surprised CWU still held onto the #1 seed in the West despite losing 3 of their last 4 games and not getting a win in their conference tournament. Clearly there was no dominant women's team in the west this year then. But cool to see Ellensburg hosting a tournament in the new(ish) Nicholson Arena. Sure enough, CWU will first face #8 Billings, who beat them and then WWU to win the GNAC Tournament.

As for the men's, well, I am not really following that tournament too closely this year. Rooting for the GNAC teams though.

[ucmjennies]

I was happy to see CWU holding on to the 1 seed in their region when seeds came out last night. I’m keeping an eye on Cal Poly in this region, they can look great or lackluster. I like their first round matchup against Azusa Pacific. They beat Cal Poly early in the season by 1 point.

[Goods]

Everyone needs to be concerned about MSUB and Cal State LA. I hope my CWU Wildcats can right the ship, but Cal State LA rattled off 15 straight wins and then just won their tourney. MSUB came from out of nowhere to take the GNAC. I think CWU's only saving grace is their overall strength of schedule and the fact that both WWU and CPP lost, and that Vanguard has a loss against CWU earlier this year.

CWU better do all they can to pack the arena. I'm told that all tix are $10, all seats. $8 for seniors, $5 for CWU students. This is a huge thing for the CWU women's squad. 5 total west region bids and 4 of those have come in the last five years I believe it is.

Obviously, smart money is on East Bay for the men, but I'm really hoping St. Martin's or Anchorage can do something.

[Goods]

Women's bracket
1. CWU (23-6)
8. MSUB (17-14)

4. Vanguard (24-5)
5. Cal State LA (4-6)

3. CPP (26-4)
6. Azusa (23-9)

2. WWU (24-7)
7. PLNU (21-8)

Men's bracket
1. Cal State East Bay (30-0)
8. Humboldt (17-14)

4. Anchorage (21-10)
5. Dominquez Hills (22-8)

2. St. Martin's (25-5)
7. Hawaii Pacific (18-11)

3. PLNU (25-5)
6. NNU (18-10)

[tsull]

I think the division 2 men's and women's tournaments are so much better than division 1. D1 sends like the 9th place team from the Big Ten or the ACC to the tournament. Just two weeks ago (sorry husky fans), Jay Bilas on ESPN said Washington was the 40th best team in the country because they beat up Northwestern really bad. They are not the 40th best team in the country.

Division II you have to earn it, that's what I like. Are there some weird things where good teams get left out now and then? Sure. But for the most part it's really fair. This year three CCAA teams, three GNAC teams got in, and only two PacWest teams. The PacWest is usually a lot stronger but this year it wasn't so they didn't get as many teams. I'm sure in the future they'll get more. The division 2 is just great how they do it with regions also.

[Goods]

Wildcat Nation..............you going to be there on Friday?

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Wildcat Nation..............you going to be there on Friday?

No sorry I haven't made it out to any home games this season.

[tsull]

Men's pairings, only region to start on Friday. With the exception of East Bay, I see a lot of teams fairly even here ... these are Eastern Times copied from NCAA.com.

First round

• Friday, March 13
  • 3 p.m. | No. 3 Point Loma vs. No. 6 Northwest Nazarene
  • 5:30 p.m. | No. 2 Saint Martin's vs. No. 7 Hawaii Pacific
  • 8 p.m. | No. 4 Alas. Anchorage vs. No. 5 Cal State Dom. Hills
  • 10:30 p.m. | No. 1 Cal State East Bay vs. No. 8 Cal Poly Humboldt

[tsull]

Women's pairings with Western times, Friday, March 13:

12 p.m. -- Cal Poly Pomona vs. APU

2:30 p.m. -- Western Washington vs. Point Loma

5 p.m. -- CWU vs. MSU-Billings

7:30 p.m. -- Vanguard vs. Cal State L.A.

[tsull]

Point Loma defeats Northwest Nazarene in the battle of the Nazarenes. St Martin's losing in the second half to Hawaii Pacific, could be a rough tournament for the GNAC. I hope not. Hawaii Pacific is not bad. I believe they beat Boise State in non-league play.

[tsull]

St Martin's rallies for the victory, good job.

[tsull]

Alaska Anchorage in a tight one down 41-40 to Cal State Dominguez Hills midway through the second half. It would be great to send Rusty off with some victories.

[tsull]

UAA loses.

Congratulations coach Osborne on a tremendous career and for helping Division II basketball make its mark in the West. Great job.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Central and Western women both advance

[tsull]

There's probably no stopping the East Bay train right now on their way to the Elite 8, however, today's St Martin's versus Point Loma game should be epic. I've seen both teams play and they are really good, and super well coached. Should be a great one.