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| Colorado College athletics photo |
By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com
We wait in anticipation all summer. This year, opening day for Division III basketball was Nov. 8. Hardcore fans want to watch as much as possible, but what is it really like to catch 14 hours of basketball in one day?
I’ll be honest, it was a lot tougher than I expected. Come along on the ride with me:
11:41 p.m. (Nov 7)
Settled in on the couch for the midnight men's game between Thomas and the University of New England. I Opened the Boxcast app on my Roku TV only to discover that even though UNE uses Boxcast to broadcast games, they’re not on the app. Don’t panic! I can still stream from my laptop to the TV via the Chromecast. My 15 year old self would be proud of how well I can use a variety of technologies in my 40s.
11:47 p.m. (still Nov 7)
8:29 until tip off. No sound yet. I’m already tired.
12:00 a.m. (finally Nov 8)
Finishing up the anthem. We do indeed have a play-by-play announcer. I really like the UNE logo; understated, but very well done. We’re being told Thomas has 12 new players on their roster!
12:01 a.m.
After two misses from Thomas, UNE’s Jimmy Hulland hits a three on a pass from Adrian Torres to chalk up the first points and first assist of the D3hoops season.
12:10 a.m.
Really good crowd at UNE. I mean, what else are you going to do on a Thursday night in Maine? The sun’s already been down for eight hours.
12:18 a.m.
Kha Cao Ra James, a sophomore forward from DC, playing for UNE - clubhouse leader for the All-Name team this season.
12:29 a.m.
Jimmy Hulland slams home the first dunk - attention D3datacast!
12:35 a.m.
A must-have for a midnight game is pace. UNE is always fast, but neither team is quite in midseason form just yet. Despite a few crisp passes, the teams combined to shoot 25-for--71 in the first half. UNE up six - let’s hope it’s close for some opening night drama like we had with WPI and Worcester State the last time we had a midnight game to start the season.
12:52 a.m.
UNE unveils a third camera angle to start the second half. Did our operator oversleep? At 1 a.m.?
1:01 a.m.
Thomas cuts the deficit to three and unleashes the season’s first full court press. UNE is surprised, but manages to break it and score.
1:12 a.m.
UNE took a big lead and, to be honest, I spent a little time second screening some youtube videos.
1:42 a.m.
UNE wins the first game 90-78 and vaults to the top of the NPI ranking, for the time being.
2:05 a.m.
I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, because I’m an absolute mad man… then I went to bed. Next game tips in 10 hours.
6:30 a.m.
Regular weekday alarm goes off. Roll around in bed half-conscious - somehow certain that the insane dream I had was confirmed by the real life news. Wake up for real. Pet the cat. Procrastinate. Bemoan this whole idea.
7:24 a.m.
Get out of bed. Shave. Coffee. Gym. Haircut. General Errands. Thank God my daughter is home (mildly) sick today, providing even more cover for irresponsible basketball watching. Feel (mildly) bad about feeling that way. She’s contagious, but not feeling poorly - I promise, I’m a slightly above average parent.
11:55 a.m.
OAC app on Roku. Yeshiva at Mount Union (men). Sure looks like the crowds are staying away from a noon Friday game. That’s got to help the Macs. A raucous UMU crowd is an entirely different environment.
12:32 p.m.
The UMU student broadcasters are doing a great job of being home announcers, but not biased.
12:30 p.m.
Yeshiva up 9 at the half. I know lots of people feel the Macs have gotten too much attention, but they’ve got a killer non-conference schedule this year and, from what we’re seeing right now, a well-rounded, deep team that’s entirely capable of competing to the level of that attention. Of course, one of my general rules is to almost entirely discount the first game of the season, so…
12:58 p.m.
Getting ready for the first women’s game of the season, Whitman vs Franklin & Marshall. Whoops, the game is at Rochester, so it’s out of my price range. Whitman is a perennial Top 25 team, but I think the Diplomats are poised to break through. (I promise you I wrote this before the game - no later editing allowed!)
1:00 p.m.
I think I’m bad luck for All-American Christian Parker. I’ve seen the highlights and boxscores - I know he’s good - but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him dominate live, either on stream or in person.
1:17 p.m.
The late-arriving crowd finally has something to cheer for at just the wrong time for Yeshiva. The Macs have a history of struggling to close out wins. You have to wonder if the motion “no set plays” offense has something to do with that?
1:29 p.m.
Zevi Samet playing like an All-American in the first game of the season. We’ve seen it before. We’re told he’s worked on conditioning over the summer - we’ll have to see if that plays out with all the minutes Yeshiva will need him to put in this year.
1:33 p.m.
No offense to anyone, but Mount Union’s press is WAY better than Thomas’s.
1:39 p.m.
F&M down 28-18 against Whitman at the half. I didn’t say they’d win, just do well. I’m a little worried about that prediction, though.
1:42 p.m.
UMU announcers giving up with nine seconds to go in a seven point game? Malpractice! Especially with Christian Parker actually having one of those dominant second halves I’ve seen on boxscores the last four years!
1:44 p.m.
Yeshiva pulls off the win. Great performance. I didn’t vote for UMU in the preseason, largely because they lacked consistency last year. It remains to be seen how big this win is - but it’s definitely big for Yeshiva’s progress. Next up for the Macs is Wooster, who gave D1 South Carolina a really good exhibition game last week. I expect a lot out of the Scots.
2:38 p.m.
After a nice walk to our new Philly Pretzel Factory location (five for $4.50 is a steal!), settling back in. Whitman won 63-48. Other than a rough second quarter, the Dips acquitted themselves quite well - this might turn out to be a decent prediction after all!
2:48 p.m.
Excited to see Oswego and Muhlenberg (men), but that game is also behind the paywall at Rochester, so Castleton and Delhi (men) it is!
2:49 p.m.
Delhi is in the western Catskills of southern Upstate NY, not far from Oneonta.
3:07 p.m.
What’s the concussion protocol in Division III basketball? Castleton’s Justin Schwarzbeck just got tangled up with one of the largest guys I’ve seen outside of an offensive line, Delhi’s Warren Davis. Both hit the deck, but Schwarzbeck slammed the back of his head on the floor. I very much hope he’s ok; that was scary!
3:14 p.m.
No play-by-play or on-screen score. I have absolutely no idea who’s winning this game.
3:56 p.m.
Discovered there’s a second Hudl stream with play-by-play on it. My apologies, Delhi. (FYI: Schwarzbeck is back on the court playing - he seems to be performing okay, but, man, I’m not sure I’d’ve sent him back out there.)
3:59 p.m.
Second-screening Geneseo at RIT - getting my first chance to see women’s basketball this season. I think this will be pretty good, right?
4:10 p.m.
RIT takes a 14-0 lead to start the game. Melissa Kuberka has taken over the program after a great run at St. John Fisher. She’s making a difference right away. RIT was 9-17 last season.
4:15 p.m.
Only in D-III do you get the announcer saying of a player, “I have the pleasure of also being his resident assistant.”
4:19 p.m.
I don’t get much opportunity to watch games like UNE-Thomas or Castleton-Delhi, but I’m incredibly impressed with the skill and athleticism of these players - not something you would’ve seen on mid-level D-III teams 15 or 20 years ago. The game is improving everywhere!
4:41 p.m.
Geneseo fought back to take a lead at the half.
4:46 p.m.
Huge three to break a tie from Delhi with four seconds remaining. Our first Buzzer Beater Alert of the season! Castleton runs a legit hook and ladder, but can’t get a good shot off.
4:54 p.m.
Going to check out the start of NYU’s title defense and Bridgewater State men vs St. Joe’s of Maine - both teams selected to do well in their respective conferences.
5:01 p.m.
Well, NYU looks like it hasn’t missed a beat. Wow. Might switch over to Whitewater-DePauw (also women). The Violets are just mauling MIT. Wow.\
5:07 p.m.
Jamie Behar, NYU’s grad transfer from Lehigh, is a confident shooter and also the biggest player on the floor. She’s definitely going to make a difference this season.
5:41 p.m.
Bridgewater State leads St. Joe’s (Maine) 44-42 at the half. Both teams are sneaky good. Now I have to get dinner in the oven before the 6 p.m. games kick off.
6:05 p.m.
This is the time of night when I start to get overwhelmed with all the games I want to check in on. It takes a little while to get into midseason form, even for the viewer.
6:08 p.m.
Ben Pearson gets a great look for Martin Luther to tie Rockford at the buzzer, but it rims out! Still waiting for our first buzzer beater of the year. Two, so far, just haven’t gone down.
6:09 p.m.
Josh Fridman, the highly touted IWU freshman, comes in VERY early. That makes me feel better about drafting him in one of the D3boards fantasy leagues this summer. The kid looks very confident at the point and that’s not nothing for a young guy on a veteran team in a big spot.
6:10 p.m.
Dinner break. (We had nuggets and fries from the air fryer, if you must know…)
6:40 p.m.
IWU is putting the screws to Cal Lu late in the first half. It’s pretty impressive the way the young guys are coming on to complement a team many of us thought had plenty of returners.
6:53 p.m.
Bard and Sarah Lawrence (men) headed to OT. I think this is our first OT of the season. Have to check it out! 53 points a piece, though, that doesn’t bode well for the entertainment value.
6:54 p.m.
I’ve never seen a gym where the camera has an obstructed view before. It certainly adds character to the game.
7:13 p.m.
Filling in scores while I wait for Trine-UMHB (men) to start. Virginia Wesleyan beat Ripon (also men) by 43! I’ve been skeptical of their ceiling, but I’ll have to reconsider.
7:19 p.m.
Belhaven guard successfully executed the inbound off her opponent’s back for a layup maneuver. Respect.
7:26 p.m.
Trine announcer opens by quoting Beyonce “If you like it, put a ring on it” in reference to the Trine national title. I mean, that takes guts, I guess. I can respect the attempt, anyway.
7:28 p.m.
Ohio Wesleyan (women) has a little dollar sign next to their “watch” link for their game against Widener at Elizabethtown. Truth in advertising at last!
7:41 p.m.
Trine is just killing UMHB early, so I’m turning on my first (I think) Flohoops broadcast to watch Trinity (Texas) play Bethany Lutheran at Colorado College (men). Also to try and pick my brother out in the stands (Hi, Phil)! Yes, Flo gave me media access to the site, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to not watch.
7:49 p.m.
Bethany Lutheran must have 30 guys behind the bench. They clearly brought the JV, plus a vocal crowd. Did everybody drive 12 hours across the Great Plains? That’s dedication for sure! Lots of questions given what BLC lost from last year, but keeping pace with Trinity is a good sign.
8:13 p.m.
Christian Green got hurt at the ten minute mark. Trainers worked on him for a while. He tried to come back in, but no go. Very last thing you want to see. Hopefully they’ll figure it out at halftime. Bethany Lutheran is scrappy; doesn’t seem like they should be hanging around, yet they are.
8:16 p.m.
LaRoche (men) not just beating Carnegie Mellon, but beating them on the boards, too. Tight game with six minutes to go. Could this be another ranked team going down on night one?
8:18 p.m.
Pizza Parma is the official pizza provider of CMU athletics. Remember that when you’re at the Final Four in a few years.
8:29 p.m.
Behrend women beat CWRU on a buzzer beating layup that was so close they had to go to the replay to confirm. I think that’s our first buzzer beater of the year!
8:31 p.m.
So much riding on this LaRoche-CMU game. LaRoche coach, Hermie Carmichael works at CMU (in the finance office, I think), not to mention they’re geographic rivals - plus it’s CMU’s first game in their new building. Redhawks can’t quite close out the upset, though.
8:37 p.m.
Logan Pearson gets a second foul in just four minutes, but it might not matter with the intensity and discipline Calvin is showing. No one knew what to expect without Jalen Overway, but they’re looking every bit as big and as focused as ever.
8:38 p.m.
Seriously, Calvin is getting every rebound. All of them.
8:41 p.m.
All these IWU fans who left after the first game sure don’t know what they’re missing. I blame Bob Quillman for not properly communicating the quality of game two of the Sikma!
8:45 p.m.
Guilford had eight guys play 15 minutes or more in a road win at Pfeiffer. I really believe they’ve got just as many pieces as last year’s Final Four team. Look out!
8:48 p.m.
Still second screening the Trinity-BLC game. I’m very interested in both these teams, but there have been so many whistles in the second half, it’s hard for anyone to build momentum. Trinity is big and athletic at most positions, with some decent depth. Hard to understand how they haven’t put this one away.
8:51 p.m.
It seems like everyone is in central Illinois this weekend. In one shot you can see Hall of Famer Jack Sikma in the stands, TitanQ and the D3datacast guys behind the Calvin bench, and Division III men’s basketball head of officials, Jim Haney, up on the track.
8:55 p.m.
These high level games early in the season are often actually quite boring. The talent level is there, of course - and they might be close, but it’s very clear there’s still a lot of rust to shake off. Calvin and Platteville are clearly GREAT basketball teams, but this isn’t a great game. [Author’s Note: This is how you know I was writing this in real time…]
8:57 p.m.
As soon as I mention not understanding why Trinity hasn’t put BLC away, they push out to a 13 point lead. Still 11 minutes to go, but it feels like BLC has given all they’ve got tonight.
9:22 p.m.
I definitely think this Trinity team is better than last year. They may not be able to play as much zone as they did before - at least it’s not working as well as man against BLC. The length and athleticism that makes the zone strong will likely be even better in man to man, unless the opponent is much, much bigger. (Green did get back in the game and seems to be moving decently well.)
9:37 p.m.
I have just been made aware that Fredonia is up 41-37 at the half at D-I Buffalo (men). Going to have to find an ESPN+ stream somewhere to watch some of this. Fredonia, never known as world beaters in D3, seem to be more suited to D1 basketball.
9:51 p.m.
One of the problems with so many games going at once, you forget or miss some good ones. Elmhurst trails Wisconsin Lutheran (men) by three with just 90 seconds to play and I’m just now tuning in. (Meanwhile Fredonia continues to keep pace with Buffalo - up 2 with under 15 minutes to play.)
9:53 p.m.
IWU play-by-play guy continues to mispronounce Riemersma (unless we were all pronouncing it incorrectly while his dad was in the NFL all those years).
9:55 p.m.
WLC holds on to defeat a CCIW squad as a favorite. An unusual position for these guys, but they seem ready for what comes ahead. One of the best stories to watch for this season. A bunch of fifth-year guys decided to come back together to announce WLC on the national stage.
9:59 p.m.
Fredonia is just taking it to Buffalo. They're destroying them on defense, beating them to the boards, hitting shots. Buffalo has only had the lead twice in the game. Still too much time left to think they'll win it, but they won the first 27 minutes handily.
10:05 p.m.
It looks like Calvin is going to knock out Platteville. The Pioneers had a lot of unusual foul trouble - not sure this is a good representation of what they can do. That being said, Calvin looked great throughout. Physical, tenacious - re-took the lead after Platteville came back. Bill Sall has them rolling, even without Overway.
10:11 p.m.
I may have spoken too soon. Is Platteville pulling a Trine on Calvin?
10:14 p.m.
Logan Pearson scored 33 points, all in the second half. He’s truly the clubhouse leader for National Player of the Year.
10:19 p.m.
IWU camera guy sneezed, apparently, and missed Pearson’s game winner (35 points, I think). Quite the finish. That’ll mean a lot come March. Wow.
10:30 p.m.
Fredonia was the better team for 35 minutes, and played Buffalo even for another three. They do not beat the Bulls tonight, but they shot 16-for-32 from three and went toe to toe with a D-I team.
10:35 p.m.
Don’t look now, but Kurt Heinz, the big German from Maine Maritime, played all 40 minutes, scored 15 with 13 boards, 7-for-11 from the floor and led his team to a win at Messiah.
10:44 p.m.
Will Bartozek didn’t play for Hardin-Simmons. They still beat Texas Lutheran, but they’ll need their All-American to get where they want to go this season.
10:53 p.m.
Just a few Mountain and Pacific time zone games left to go. Most of the scores are updated. Now, especially in November, the tedious work begins adjusting the D3hoops.com scoreboard to change all the TBAs for tomorrow’s second round games of tournaments to reflect proper times and opponents.
11:14 p.m.
Pacific has a 7-2 transfer. He got into foul trouble fast, but he seems like a guy who can get minutes. That’ll be an interesting mismatch in the NWC.
11:50 p.m.
Men’s TBAs are resolved. Yes, it took about an hour. Yes, it does suck. Colorado College finally put Pacific away. Their giant center fouled out in seven minutes. I hope he can play longer tomorrow! I’ve been keeping this diary for 24 hours now. I might be clinically insane.
12:11 a.m.
Chapman is finishing up against George Fox (men), the final game of the night. All the games and times have been corrected for tomorrow today. Ordinarily I’d enjoy getting to know some of the west coast teams better with late night games, but after the onslaught of basketball today, it’s tough to evaluate well anymore. Both Chapman and CMS beat NWC teams handily, but I don’t know what that means for their overall talent. I may be hallucinating.
12:19 a.m.
Last game is over. Hitting the bathroom, brushing my teeth, heading to bed. I’m not sure I’ll ever watch this much basketball in one day ever again, but now you know what it’s like to cover the entirety of opening day for #d3hoops. Goodnight.
