How the Pioneers Can Blaze a Trail to Fort Wayne

One that Must Travel Through “The Banjo”

January 31, 2022 by C. Jay Prescher

Banjo 6
"The Banjo"

The Marietta College Pioneers’ men’s basketball team is currently ranked #6 in the country. Ahead of the upcoming week number eight NCAA Division III men’s national poll, “The Blue” are all but assured to climb at least two full spots. These mid-season accolades are nice for on-campus conversation and sound impressive during recruiting conversations.

Nonetheless, as the D3 Hoops.com rankings evolve throughout February, they only provide a general idea of which schools might earn the right to host early round games.  The first 4 rounds of the 2022 NCAA DIII Championship will be played at selected campuses. These games will whittle the field of 64 down, ahead of this year’s Final Four in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Owning one of the top-four spots in the D3 Hoops national poll is not a guarantee of being picked as a host site. However, logic would presume that certain criteria, at least the mindset used by the 25-member D3 Hoops panel of coaches and administrators, is similar to what the selection committee will apply when filing out this year’s championship field.

Factors used to determine where the D3 Hoops panel ranks teams in the weekly polls, may in some manner reflect decisions used to build the final tournament bracket, including picking the sites for early-round games. Therefore, while a lofty ranking in the final D3 Hoops poll isn’t a guarantee of anything, it can’t hurt.

It shows that the top-ranked teams have been taking care of the business at hand; winning. As the remainder of the season unfolds, that’s exactly what the Marietta College Pioneers need to do. Subsequently, rankings, seeding, and who gets to play where in the upcoming D3 version of March Madness, will take care of itself.

The NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Selection Committee’s process of building the 64-team field ahead of “Selection Monday” will consider a number of factors.  As the date draws closer for “Selection Show Monday”, we’ll post a story outlining some of the details the 10-person committee will use to make these all-important decisions.

If the Pioneers can maintain their focus, and cement a spot in the committee’s mind as one of the four most deserving teams in the nation, it will prove a huge step towards hanging the “biggest NCAA banner of all” inside “The Banjo”. So, yes, the polls “could” matter. Here’s why.

Unlike the Division I tournament, the “NCAA Division III Championship” plays the four early round games on the home campuses of individual schools. Ranking in the eyes of the committee, both regionally and nationally, certainly could enter into the committee’s decision for seeding, especially host locations. Anyone who has experienced “The Banjo” knows exactly why that could provide a tremendous edge for the Pioneers.

So, let’s get back to the upcoming new D3 Hoops.com poll. Prior to the release of this latest DIII ranking of schools, three current top-5 teams lost during the past week. Therefore, Marietta College stands a solid chance to reclaim its preseason #3 spot nationally. Here’s what happened last week to open the door, and reveal how the newest NCAA D3 Hoops men’s basketball rankings should look.

How the Week #8 D3 Poll “Should Look”

Mainstream technology meets basketball nostalgia

Pioneers’ First Jump: The first two openings allowing for the Pioneers to climb in the polls are pretty simple. They each involve a pair of teams who lost twice last week. First, the third-ranked team, the Washington University Bears (St. Louis, Missouri), lost a pair of games to fall to 14-3.

One loss was in OT to Carnegie Mellon, the other was to Case Western Reserve. Both Bears’ defeats came away from home. However, WU is going to fall below Marietta College. In an unusual scheduling format, the Bears play both Carnegie and Western this coming Friday and Sunday.

Pioneers’ Second Jump: A second team in the top-five ahead of Marietta College also dropped their last two games. Previously sitting at #2 in the country, Illinois Wesleyan lost at Elmhurst this past Wednesday. Then, they got upset on their own court by Concordia-Chicago.

In the conference standings, Illinois Wesleyan managed to maintain a ½-game lead over Wheaton, which is currently ranked 18th. The Titans host the Thunder in two weeks in what is a critical game ahead of the “Division III Selection Show”. The point is, Marietta College will leapfrog the previously second-ranked team as well. That makes “The Blue” no worse than 4th ranked.

Pioneers’ Third Jump: The third possible upward shift in the rankings might not happen, but it should. Another team to lose last week was The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. UW-Oshkosh lost its third game of the season, and like one of the losses by the WU Bears and IW Titans, OW-Oshkosh’s only loss was in a tough overtime game.

This Titan team fell to UW-Eau Claire in an OT thriller. But UW-Oshkosh also had problems with a 9-8 UW-River Falls team on their home court. Maybe the Titans were looking ahead to a huge Wednesday battle when they host probably what we expect to be the second-ranked team in the country, UW-Platteville.

The biggest home court advantage in NCAA Division III basketball.

Even if Marietta doesn’t push past Oshkosh this week, a loss at UW-Platteville on Wednesday night should finish the jump. Now, an Oshkosh win over the “other Pioneers” on Groundhog’s Day could erase another roadblock towards MC’s push towards the top spot in the NCAA D3 rankings.

Just like the always tough Ohio Athletic Conference, each game in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference can be a challenge. Barring a highly unlikely scenario where the current #7 and #8 ranked teams leapfrog the Pioneers, The Blue will head into Wednesday night’s tip-off ranked as one of the top-four Division III basketball teams in America.

They’ve earned it. But why are the latest D3 rankings so important, even with a full month of games left on the schedule? Since how the D3 Hoops panel views the national rankings doesn’t necessarily dictate tournament seeding, why will being perceived one of the four most deserving Division III men’s basketball teams in the nation be important for the Pioneers?

Why is a Top-Four National Ranking Important for the Pioneers?

The banners lining the wall tell the story.

When they’re posted, the new D3 Hoops rankings will tell us which teams poll voters think have the strongest shot to pave a road to Fort Wayne, Indiana. For Marietta College, taking care of business could mean four of those stops are at “The Banjo”.

“Fenton Court”, nestled inside the walls of the iconic Ban Johnson Arena, is a snake pit for opponents. It’s arguably one of the most impressive home court advantages in small college basketball.

“Banjo Proud” will tell you it is. By securing, and of course, holding one of the top-four rankings in the nation, the Pioneers have a strong probability of forging a trail that “could” mean playing four games of the Division III March Madness inside these friendly walls. You can be certain the 70+ year old brick fortress will be vibrating.

By continuing to take care of business, one Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) challenge at a time, Marietta will finish the season easily within the top four nationally. Furthermore, an OAC regular season crown, paired with a conference tournament title, could cement one of the top two seeds in the NCAA Division III 2022 Championship.

While an unbeaten conference regular season has a nice ring to it, the OAC tournament championship is critical. An at-large berth in the D3 version of March Madness is all but secured with a clinch of the regular-season OAC crown.

However, another conference tournament banner hanging in the Banjo will cement the conference’s March Madness bid. It would also virtually assure Ban Johnson Arena as the host site for at least the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Division III Basketball Championship.

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This isn't just a place to play basketball, this is THE place to play.

That would bring four teams to Marietta for the opening two rounds. Two wins by the Pioneers on their home court in the opening rounds would then hand Marietta College its second opportunity to host the Sectional Semifinal and Sectional Final NCAA Championship games. The last time Marietta hosted the sectional round in 2016-17, the Pioneers were hit by a furious second half comeback on their own floor.

In an exciting back-and-forth battle, tied 80 to 80 with 1:39 left, Marietta fell 85-80 in a heart-breaker to the Rochester Yellow Jackets. One-and-you’re-done tournament games are like that. The talent is always some of the best in the country and they are a challenge, regardless of where you play.

We call it “March Madness” for good reason. While it didn’t happen for Marietta College on March 10, 2017, there’s a new opportunity waiting in 2022. Winners from the four sectionals make up the D3 Final Four. Regardless of how disappointing the 2017 loss was, “The Banjo Advantage” is still huge.

A raucous home crowd will be a weapon for the Pioneers. Nevertheless, the Marietta College men’s basketball team will have to earn the right to have this advantage throughout their remaining games. Marietta still has three conference home games left on the schedule, plus three visits ahead into enemy territory.

Two of those battles are going to be extremely tough challenges. Mount Union and Heidelberg both sit two games behind the Pioneers for the regular season crown. With the OAC regular season title comes a win-and-host advantage throughout the OAC tournament. Regardless of where the voters put the Pioneers on the national ranking ladder, there’s business still at hand.

The first order of business tips off Wednesday night at the Banjo. The Pioneers welcome the rival Muskingum University Muskies. By taking one small step at a time, Marietta College could produce a season we’ll all remember. It’s time to begin blazing a trail to Fort Wayne that goes through the Banjo.

The Word Jester is not employed by Marietta College, and is not affiliated with the Ohio Athletic Conference or D3 Hoops.com

The opinions expressed in this article are the exclusive viewpoints of the author.

They do not reflect the points of view, policies, or principles of any outside agency or organization.

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