D3hoops.com Daily Dose

In an era where the price of a barrel of oil has gone through the roof, where air travel has become slower, more expensive and less convenient and where conferences as big as the WAC have talked about making changes to their schedules to save money, the North Eastern Athletic Conference has expanded into that bastion of the Northeast: Dallas, Texas.

I almost don’t have to say anything more, do I?

This is what pursuit of the automatic bid can do to you. We don’t know how the conference will schedule itself this season or how it will actually determine who gets the AQ (remember, that’s the conference’s decision, not the NCAA’s), but at some point, someone will be getting on a plane from New York or Pennsylvania to Dallas and seemingly vice versa.

I’m not sure this is what Division III is all about. I can’t imagine what the Division IV crowd would think of such a thing. I also can’t imagine what these schools are thinking: It’s not like these are the University of Chicagos, NYUs and Case Western Reserves of the world, large research institutions with endowments to match. The NEAC is made up of athletic departments so small that one coach told me a couple years ago their program could only schedule 22 games because that was all they could afford, not the Division III standard 25.

I feel for the University of Dallas, which has lived the lonely life of an independent ever since leaving the American Southwest Conference early this decade in hopes of gaining admission to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. And I feel for the NEAC, which has seen its membership change faster than the Law & Order cast,  but I can’t see spending all this money in pursuit of an automatic bid. And if the conference doesn’t play a full round-robin in order to save money, then why bother? You’d only be crowing an illegitimate champ.

Championship access is all well and good, but at what cost?

The DeSales offense is built on quick cuts, accurate outside shooting and mobile post players and it is a treat to watch when it’s working well. Every orchestra needs a conductor and the Bulldogs have one in senior point guard Eddie Ohlson.

Ohlson has more than 600 assists in his career and is on track to become the school’s all-time leader in that category. He talked with D3hoops.com’s Gordon Mann about how he breaks down an opposing defense and what the Bulldogs need to do to finally get over the hump and into the NCAA tournament. Use the player below to listen.

With five weeks remaining in the regular season, most teams are in the thick of their conference schedule. But not Elizabethtown who doesn’t begin MAC Commonwealth play until its Tuesday trip to Lycoming. It’s just another effect of the conference realignment that shook the Mid-Atlantic region this year. Elizabethtown coach Bob Schlosser talks about the Blue Jays place in the new look MACC and whether he likes the changes. He also talks about the team’s impressive turnaround from 9-15 last year to 13-1 to date.

As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball.

So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.

As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball. So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.As I mentioned back in April, I’m back in the Washington, D.C., area this season rather than Norwalk, Conn. While the nine months I spent in exile from Northern Virginia, working at another job and planning to move my family, were tough on everyone, it was great for basketball. So I’ll miss the trips to Amherst and NYU this year. Don’t expect I’ll get up to Keene State again. Not likely going to see Worcester Tech play, though I hear they’ll be a little more exciting this year. Don’t foresee any Skyline games, no trips to Stevens that I call in sick at work to make. But it was a good time getting to see all those new places and meet new people. Hope to get out to as many new places in the upcoming years.

Baptist Bible, Keystone and Philadelphia Bible from the NEAC to the PAC. Earlier in the fall, the NEAC lost D’Youville to the AMCC. As previously detailed in this category, the Mid-Atlantic Region is all over the place. The Centennial is the only league in the region untouched for all sports, though it did accept two football-only members, which started play this year.

The MAC? The new PAC, really. Now they have Alvernia, Arcadia, Eastern and Misericordia.

The Landmark? The new MAC, with Drew, Juniata, Moravian, Scranton and Susquehanna.

The NEAC? They’re left with Cazenovia, Keuka, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisburg, Wells and Wilson. They recently added SUNYIT (a full Division III member) and SUNY-Cobleskill (a future provisional member).

What a mess.

Lincoln’s term in Division III is over, as the Lions are officially moving into their Division II membership starting this season. Lincoln might still play Division III schools, but we will no longer be tracking their schedules and results and they will no longer be eligible for the postseason.

Lincoln struggled to find games as an independent in Division III and was unable to gain conference affiliation.

The Lions hit our radar strongly on Feb. 8, 1999, when a broken backboard at Marymount forced the suspension of their game with approximately eight minutes left. I went down to Marymount for the conclusion on a Sunday afternoon shortly thereafter, which was the last time I saw Lincoln play until the Sweet 16 at Virginia Wesleyan in 2006.

Lincoln was part of some epic games in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, as well as some infamous games.

Best of luck to Lincoln after moving down to Division II.