December 8, 2022: Rochester shines in big win over Ithaca
Well…I’m back! You can thank the D-III football playoffs for keeping me away, haha. After a somewhat light slate of games Tuesday, yesterday’s action seemed nonstop, with a number of intriguing matchups and a few tight finishes as well. So far, the Top 25 has gone 9-1, with the lone loss being Ithaca’s defeat against Rochester, which I’ll get into in a second. So that consistency is nice to see, but as we saw last week, you never know what can happen once the Friday and Saturday games roll around!
Before looking at Wednesday’s action, take a glance at tonight’s game of the day, set to be played in the far northeast…
Game of the Day: Bowdoin @ Bates, 7 pm EST
A little NESCAC action for you on this Thursday night, as both teams open their conference schedules. Bowdoin is a team on my Top 25 watch list, who is 6-1, with its lone loss coming by 5 to #11 Smith. Bates is 5-2, and despite having to replace do-it-all guard Mia Roy, is finding more contributors as the season goes on. I do not anticipate this one being decided by more than 10 points.
Thoughts from a huge slate of Wednesday games…
In what I considered to be one of, if not the, biggest games of the night, #21 Rochester hosted #17 Ithaca and put on a show, winning 83-66. It was a tremendous performance that solidified Rochester’s place as a Top 25 team, at least in my head, after the YellowJackets were tripped up by a good Hamilton team on the road this past Saturday. They were sharp offensively, shooting 47.5%, and that continues to be one of my biggest takeaways when watching Rochester play. Head coach Jim Scheible has so many shooters on the floor at any given time, making Rochester a tough match for opposing defenses.
To stick with Rochester for a second, Katie Titus continues to emerge in every key game that the YellowJackets play. This year’s UAA Player of the Year award might be the toughest player of the year award to win in any conference this season, considering how many stars are playing in this league. In my opinion, Titus has to be near the top at this point. The D-II East Region Player of the Year in 2021-22, Titus is experienced as a grad transfer, scores with ease, and at 6’0, is a strong rebounder for Rochester as well. She put up a season-high 33 points against a high-caliber Ithaca team last night, along with 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and four steals. Wow.
#11 Smith was on my upset watch for quite of a few minutes of last night’s eventual 67-60 road win at Williams. Williams is a quality team (5-5 overall), but by no means a Top 25-caliber squad. And yet, similar to what has been the case in a number of Smith’s previous games, it was a difficult win to pull out. Plenty of credit goes to Williams for challenging Smith’s offense, and finding scoring opportunities well into the second half, even when Smith seemed to have made halftime adjustments. It was a two-point game minutes into the fourth, but this is where I give Smith a lot of credit. When points were needed, they stepped up, with a 7-0 run that widened the margin enough to the point that Williams never seriously contended for the lead again.
Everyone on #d3hoops Twitter was talking about the highly-anticipated matchup between John Carroll and Mount Union, and rightfully so. What a contest that was, between a pair of Top 10 opponents. But the women’s matchup between the OAC rivals proved just as good, with it registering as the closest game of the night, a 64-63 win for JCU. I’d have to go back and watch more of it to analyze just how competitive this matchup was, but a simple look at the box score gives a pretty good idea. Except for two glaring anomalies…JCU shot just 1-of-10 from three-point range, which typically makes for an uphill battle. But the Blue Streaks also had double the amount of rebounds, dominating on the glass with a 50-24 rebounding advantage. Honestly, it’s somewhat of a shock that MU stayed in it until the final buzzer, having given up 17 second-chance points, with just four of its own. But the Purple Raiders were 11-of-26 from 3-point range, which aided greatly in their cause. Continue to shoot like that and we could see MU make some noise in a deep OAC this year. They were down 12 with 2:30 left…and tied it at the 14-second mark. I know MU didn’t win, but that’s an incredible rally.
#14 UW-Whitewater made a statement against Augustana in what I consider a quality win for the Warhawks, with a 92-64 final score. Whitewater was balanced offensively, and controlled the tempo from the opening tip. Very good to see, especially after losing to UW-River Falls on Saturday.
Speaking of UW-River Falls, the Falcons are rolling right now, and are certainly on my Top 25 watch list, at 7-2 overall. They have the high-quality road win at Whitewater, fell to #9 UW-Eau Claire by just 3, and have looked better and better in seemingly every game they’ve played since the loss to Augsburg on Nov. 15. UWRF took down Finlandia behind a 19-4 second-quarter run, winning 73-51.
Last notable for you…as was reported by D3Playbook yesterday, Cazenovia College will shut down following the spring semester “due to financial concerns”. Cazenovia sponsors a total of 16 sports. It’s women’s basketball team, playing in the NAC conference, has started the year with a 1-10 record.
That’s all for today. We’ll see what tonight’s action has in store. Enjoy your Thursday, and as always feel free to reach out with any questions/comments/feedback! All of it is appreciated.