My bracket is totally busted. Not one of my Final Four picks are left; Ramapo, Alvernia, Rivier, and Fontebonne were all bounced before the Sweet Sixteen -- the Division III Tournament, that is -- which is where we find ourselves today. That's right, we're playing hooky from the big boys regional to catch the final between Amherst and Virginia Wesleyan in Salem, Virginia. Anyone catch an Ohio State-Xavier score?
The Lord Jeffs avoided the snow storm but got hit with the confetti showers.
If the Mid-Majors are the sweethearts of college basketball, then D-III is the sweetheart's cute, undeveloped little sister. Amherst College, an academic enclave in Western Mass, is known as a "little Ivy" for its propensity to churn out power brokers, not power forwards.
After watching D-I hoops consistently for ten weeks, the first thing we noticed about the D-III players is how much smaller and less strong they were than their D-I counterparts. The Lord Jeffs players all look like AJ Graves, and celebrate like Tiger Woods. Even their coach looks small time. For his national television appearance Dave Hixon is wearing a shirt and tie tucked into wind pants!
VIDEO: HOOPS ODYSSEY CHILLIN' WITH THE LORD JEFFS BEFORE THEIR BIG VICTORY
At the Salem Civic Center 3,075 fans have come to see the final despite today being a delicious convergence of St. Patrick's Day and Round 2 of March Madness. Virginia Commonwealth is the reigning champ, while Amherst is appearing in its first finals.
The game's in Virginia. VWC is in Virginia. Yet somehow Amherst has the home court advantage. About forty Amherst students, wearing purple and a touch of green St. Patty's flair, have trekked 12 hours through the snow to get here. "J-E-F-F, Jeffs, Jeffs, Jeffs" they cheer. (For a moment we thought we were at an NFL game in New York.) "We're being twice as loud as we usually are since there are fewer of us here," says one student who asks that her name be withheld for fear of retribution from the professors' whose classes she skipped.
Unlike most students who, in reality, root for laundry, these fans are cheering for the guys they chat with in the laundry room. "Amherst is so small," says Jaclyn Demais ('08). "We lived with (center) Kevin (Hopkins) and guard Andrew (Olson) in our freshman dorm and now we're all best friends with the guys on the team. If they win, we'll probably all go out together and celebrate St. Patrick's Day."
The VWC Marlins look like they've seen the ghost of Lord Jeffery Amherst
As for the actual game, there isn't a "No dunking rule" but there might as well be. The well-below-the-rim game is an exercise in fundamentals, with high-low passes and mid-range shots galore. "I prefer it to D-I," says Amherst student Edward Linden ('08). It's much more about just basketball. There's no money involved, no advertisements, no NBA Draft."
Led by (the shorter, slower) Steve Nash clone, Andrew Olson, NESCAC's Player of the Year, the Jeffs build a double-digit first half lead that they never come close to relinquishing, winning 80-67. Olson, after netting a team high 15 points and handing out five assists, was also named tourney MVP.
The final buzzer triggers an pop-pop-pop explosion in the rafters. The players hop up and down in the tipoff circle as rainbow confetti wafts down on them. Fresh national championship hats are handed out, then yanked askew. Amherst finished the year 30-2, the best season in school history. "Not bad for a bunch of bookworms," says an onlooker.
In a back room of the arena, a large screen TV shows the final seconds of the Texas A&M-Louisville game. There are plush couches and the game's gone down to the final possession but no one watches, The game out on this court suits everyone just fine.
