The D3 Datacast Pool C Fantasy Draft returns for the new season! As we have done during previous seasons, we have some fun making way too early predictions on which teams will secure at-large bids to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament.

Our contest is set up in a draft format where we alternate picks. At the end of the season each team on our list that does indeed make the tournament as a Pool C pick earns three points while any team that we selected that ends up a Pool A team will earn us one point.

We also look back at how we did against our week six picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week seven picks, then wrap up with a check in with our viewers in the mailbag.

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

NPI: https://d3datacast.com/npi/

Show Links:

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Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

A total of 79 different teams have received at least one vote through the three D3Hoops.com Top 25 polls that have been released this season. Does that mean all the good teams are accounted for and already on the radar of voters? Not according to the D3 Datacast computer efficiency ratings!

According to the D3 Datacast computer, ten of its top 50 teams (as rated by games played through 12/8/24) have yet to be named on a single voter ballot in either the preseason Top 25 poll or either of the two in-season polls. We take a look at each of these ten teams to see if we can figure out what the computer seems to like so much and whether or not we think the human voters in the Top 25 poll will agree that these are teams that should be in the mix.

We also look back at how we did against our week five picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week six picks, then wrap up with a check in with our viewers in the mailbag.

Related Episodes:

2024-2025 MBB Preseason Efficiency Ratings - Episode 85: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShM6jk94NhA

Teams on the Rise! - Episode 95: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5xgpnmVIi0

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG
Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

Now that we are a few weeks into the 2024-2024 Division III basketball season it’s fair to start setting aside preseason expectations as teams show us who they truly are for this season. With each game played the D3 Datacast computer ratings rely less and less on the preseason ratings and more and more on this season’s results. Most teams have played enough games that the weighting has moved to at least 50% of current season results feeding into their computer rating rather than relying on any historical data.

That being the case, we thought it would be a good time to check in to see who some of the biggest movers have been based on games played through December 1, 2024 compared to the preseason computer ratings we published prior to the season and discussed in episode 85. Which teams are exceeding their preseason rating more than others? Which teams are underperforming their preseason rating by the most? We dive into the numbers to look at the early season trends to see who is on the rise and who is struggling out of the gate.

We also look back at how we did against our week four picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week five picks, then wrap up with a look at some ranked teams who have important games against unranked opponents this week and check in with our viewers in the mailbag.

Related Episodes:

2024-2025 MBB Preseason Efficiency Ratings - Episode 85: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShM6jk94NhA

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The 2024 Great Lakes Invitational is in the books and it once again gave us two great days of action. After seeing all eight games in person, we asked a panel of Division III basketball media to vote in a poll to determine our power rankings based on what we saw from Calvin, Emory, Hope, John Carroll, Johns Hopkins, Marietta, Saint John’s, UW-La Crosse this weekend.

These games involving so many high-level teams will have a definite impact on the first in-season D3hoops.com Top 25 poll expected to be released on Monday evening. Matt will talk us through how he’s been thinking about what happened at the GLI along with other results from around the country as he reveals his ballot for this week.

We also look back at how we did against our week three picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week four picks, then wrap up with a look at some ranked teams who have important games against unranked opponents this week and check in with our viewers in the mailbag.

Related Episodes:

Top 50 D3 Basketball Games in November 2024 - Episode 90: https://youtu.be/wmPIxcmBxjI

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The first full week of the 2024-2025 Division III men’s basketball season is in the books and in a lot of ways the preseason Top 25 picture has been completely blown up. As we did in last week’s show, we take a look at some of the big results involving Top 25 teams and other games that caught our eye this past week. We are still a week away from the first in-season D3hoops.com Top 25 poll but Matt put together a mock bracket to give his updated outlook on the Top 25 picture.

We also look back at how we did against our week two picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week three picks, then wrap up with a look at some ranked teams who have important games against unranked opponents this week and check in with our viewers in the mailbag.

Related Episodes:

Top 50 D3 Basketball Games in November 2024 - Episode 90: https://youtu.be/wmPIxcmBxjI

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The 2024-2025 Division III men’s basketball season got off to a fast start over the weekend and it is already having an impact on the Top 25 picture. Join us this week as we react to the biggest wins, surprising losses and best games and how that makes us think about the national rankings moving forward.

We also look back at how we did against our week one picks slate and make our decisions on a new five-game slate for week two picks, then wrap up with a look at some ranked teams who have important games against unranked opponents this week.

Related Episodes:

Top 50 D3 Basketball Games in November 2024 - Episode 90: https://youtu.be/wmPIxcmBxjI

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings: https://d3datacast.com/efficiency-ratings/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

▶ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@d3datacast

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The first week of the 2024-2025 Division III basketball season is finally here! We dive right back into the comfort of our familiar weekly show. Back again this season are discussions about Matt’s Top 25 ballot and the Top 25 poll as a whole, a main show topic, a five game slate we pick against the efficiency ratings computer line and our weekly mailbag.

We are also bringing back upset watch but in a slightly different format. Rather than trying to predict an upset we will take a weekly look at some of the most compelling “ranked vs. unranked” matchups.

Join us this week as we have some fun with bold predictions and hot takes as we enter the season - both from our great viewers and ourselves. And is the supposed “AI revolution” coming for D3 hoops? We have some fun looking at reasons to believe it is not.

Related Episodes:

Conference Champion Draft! - Episode 88: https://youtu.be/9COFVWtfU9o

Unpacking NPI - New Tournament Selection Metric for Division 3 Sports - Episode 83: https://youtu.be/xrKp8McryUA

Top 50 D3 Basketball Games in November 2024 - Episode 90: https://youtu.be/wmPIxcmBxjI

Related Links:

Efficiency Ratings

D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The Division III men’s basketball season gets off to a hot start when play begins on November 8. It seems more and more teams are out in search of high-level non-conference competition and we get great games as a result!

As has been our tradition since the creation of The D3 Datacast, we prepare for the turn of the calendar from October to November by taking a look at what we consider to be the top 50 games in November. We exclude any conference games and don’t project any games that may take place depending on tournament results. Add in a bunch of other games we just couldn’t fit in our list and we are in for a heck of an opening month of play.

We see every year how big games early in the season are just as important as big games late in the season. That means these 50 games are likely to be some we not only look at with anticipation now but look back at later in the year in shaping the national picture heading into NCAA tournament play.

We trust that everyone is ready for another great season but this week’s show should really get the D3 blood pumping through your veins!

Related Episodes:

Conference Champion Draft! - Episode 88: https://youtu.be/9COFVWtfU9o

Unpacking NPI - New Tournament Selection Metric for Division 3 Sports - Episode 83: https://youtu.be/xrKp8McryUA

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

▶ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@d3datacast

▶ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/d3datacast

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▶ D3 Datacast Merch: https://www.bonfire.com/store/d3-datacast/

Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

It’s the time of the year when more and more focus shifts onto the national picture as Division III football fans try to make sense of the developing playoff picture. In the past that meant trying to filter through weekly regional rankings but that system is gone, replaced by the NCAA Power Index, also known as NPI.

We have been digging into the details of NPI going back to last summer and while we may not be equipped to break down the teams on the field we are equipped to break down the teams in the data. Sport committees had three seasons of data they looked through in their process to set the initial dials for NPI. By replicating NPI and applying it to those years we can get a historical look at NPI to build in some expectations and a framework as we watch the actual first year of NPI play out.

While we can’t say for certain which teams will finish as top 8 seeds or make the tournament as an at-large selection, we can get a pretty good idea of what the teams that ultimately do will look like.

Related Episodes:

Unpacking NPI - New Tournament Selection Metric for Division 3 Sports - Episode 83: https://youtu.be/xrKp8McryUA

Related Links:

D3 Datacast Football NPI: https://d3datacast.com/npi/football/

Show Links:

▶ Website:  https://d3datacast.com/

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Show hosts:

Matt Snyder: https://twitter.com/FFTMAG

Zac Snyder: https://twitter.com/ZacSnyder

The weeks leading into a new Division III basketball season is the perfect time for previews and predictions and we’re putting those two things together in our second-annual conference champion draft contest!