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CoBL-area Division III Power Rankings (MBB): Dec. 5, 2021

12/06/2021, 9:45am EST
By Jeff Griffith

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)

The first edition of City of Basketball Love’s 2021-22 D-III power rankings has arrived, with undefeated DeSales leading the way.

It’s worth noting that these rankings are almost entirely based on body of work and results to date, as opposed to preseason expectation. Teams have been in action since early November, and most have as many as seven or eight games under their belts, so there’s already plenty of data on each team’s early-season résumé. 

With that in mind, here’s how things look a month into the 2021-22 college basketball season:

Others to Watch: Alvernia (6-4, 1-1 MAC Commonwealth), Cabrini (4-4, 0-0 Atlantic East), Cairn (6-3, 0-0 CSAC), Dickinson (3-4, 2-1 Centennial), Elizabethtown (4-4, 0-1 Landmark), Haverford (4-4, 1-2 Centennial), Penn State-Abington (4-2, 0-0 United East), York (4-3, 1-1 MAC Commonwealth)

10. Widener (4-3, 0-2 MAC Commonwealth)


Pat Holden (above, in 2019-20) and Widener are the only team to knock off Swarthmore so far this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Widener is currently being buoyed by one impressive note on its résumé to date — unlike all but a small handful of teams over the past three years, they own a win over Swarthmore, and it was a double-digit win to boot. That said, the Pride has entered a bit of a lull since earning the impressive win, dropping back to back contests in blowout fashion to Lebanon Valley (78-63) and Hood (100-79). Widener — which has been led this season by 16.8 ppg from senior guard Pat Holden — will have its chance to prove itself again, with both Eastern and Urisinus coming to Chester for games this coming week. 

This week’s games: Wednesday vs. Eastern, Saturday vs. Ursinus

9. Neumann (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic East)
The Knights already have a pair of wins — one on the road — against teams on this list, taking down Delaware Valley by six and winning at Widener by seven in the same week. Neumann’s two losses — one by 29 against Stockton and one by 17 against Swarthmore — immediately followed, but the Knights quickly responded with victories byt 23 and 16 apiece against Bryn Athyn and Penn State-Lehigh. So far, it’s been sophomore wing and Pocono Mountain West alum Jalen Vaughns leading the way in emphatic fashion, averaging 21.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. 

This week’s games: Tuesday at Washington College, Thursday vs Lancaster Bible, Saturday vs Susquehanna

8. Susquehanna (5-2, 1-0 Landmark)
The River Hawks got off to a firing start, winning the first three games by 16, 18 and 18, but immediately dropped their next two in resounding fashion, falling by 31 to Ithaca and 19 to Lycoming. Since then, it’s been another pair of wins, by a combined 33 points. Led by 17 ppg from senior guard Lukas Yurasits, Susquehanna is a tough team to nail down, but at 5-2, its body of work is impressive enough to earn a Top 10 position amongst the area’s D-III squads. They’ll be tested quite soon, though, as a home contest with Swarthmore looms Wednesday. 

This week’s games: Wednesday vs. Swarthmore, Saturday at Neumann

7. Delaware Valley (6-3, 2-0 MAC Freedom)
One of the key highlights of Delaware Valley’s early list of results is a win over otherwise unbeaten Penn State-Harrisburg; the Aggies earned that victory by six in the Lebanon Valley Tournament championship game on Nov. 13. An overtime loss at Moravian followed just three days later to drop the Aggies to 2-3, but they’ve been red-hot since, ripping off four in a row, all on the road, including wins by 24, 16 and 14. Penn Wood alum Pernell Ghee, a redshirt senior guard from Penn Wood, currently leads the way with 17.6 ppg on 55 percent shooting from the field, plus 6.8 rpg to boot. 

This week’s games: Wednesday at Arcadia

6. Gwynedd-Mercy (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic East)
The Griffins’ two losses have come by just a combined 14 points, both to teams over .500. Otherwise, it’s been all victories for Gwynedd-Mercy, which has won three of its last four, and currently holds a season-opening 19-point win over Delaware Valley, by far the most important result on its ledger to date. Sophomore guard Aziz Parker — who currently leads the Griffins with 16.3 ppg — dropped 25 in the win over the Aggies. 

This week’s games: Monday at Penn State Brandywine, Saturday at Cairn

5. Ursinus (5-1, 3-0 Centennial)
It’s hard to have a full feel for the Bears yet based on volume of games played — they’ve had just six, the least of any squad on this list — but they’ve been pretty efficient to date, and haven’t lost since falling by 16 at The College of New Jersey November 17. Ursinus has made its leaving in close games; the Bears have yet to earn a victory by more than eight points, and that was their opener at Rosemont. Since the loss to TCNJ, it’s been wins by four, two, six and five for Ursinus. But 5-1 is 5-1, and the Bears will face a pair of teams among this Top 10 in the next two weeks, with upcoming matchups against Widener (Dec. 11) and Susquehanna (Dec. 21).

This week’s games: Tuesday vs. FDU-Florham, Saturday at Widener

4. Eastern (6-2, 1-0 MAC Commonwealth)
It was a close race for the fourth spot behind the one- and no-loss teams in the region, but Eastern takes it on the grounds of being one of the Philadelphia area’s hottest Division III programs. The Eagles, like PSU Harrisburg, are winners of their first five, after a 1-2 start, and have won three of those five by 15 or more points. Most recently, Eastern edged out Messiah by five to improve to 6-2, but a pair of intriguing road conference tests in MAC Commonwealth play await this week against Widener and Stevenson. So far, Eastern has been led by a 14.1-point, 7.8-rebound start from redshirt senior forward William Biet

This week’s games: Wednesday at Widener, Saturday at Stevenson

(Photo Courtesy PSU-Harrisburg Athletics)

3. Penn State-Harrisburg (8-1, 2-0 United East)
Led by 16.8 ppg from guard Donyae Baylor-Carroll (above), plus 14 points and over eight rebounds per game from forward Dylan Daniels, Donald Friday’s Lions have been on a tear so far this season. Like Swarthmore, the Nittany Lions have just one loss, a six-point defeat at the hands of Delaware Valley, but otherwise, they’ve been lights out. PSU-Harrisburg already owns seven double-digit wins, including four by 20 or more. A five-game winning streak, including blowout wins over Messiah, Bridgewater and Morrisville State, has vaulted PSU-Harrisburg into the area’s top three early on this season. 

This week’s games: Saturday vs. Scranton

2. Swarthmore (6-1, 3-0 Centennial)
The top spot on this list has largely been Swarthmore’s over the past couple of years, and for good reason; the Garnet went a combined 82-11 in their three most recent seasons. Were it not for DeSales’ undefeated mark, Swarthmore may hold the top spot, but the Garnet have one lone blemish on their young season, losing by 11 on November 20 to a hot-and-cold Widner squad. Since that loss, Swarthmore has responded resoundingly, winning at Muhlenberg by four before running through Haverford and Dickinson by a combined 61. Junior guard George Visconti (team-high 15.6 ppg) is off to a hot start, especially from beyond the arc, where he’s currently shooting 41.9 percent on the season.

This week’s games: Wednesday at Susquehanna

1. DeSales (8-0, 2-0 MAC Freedom)
It’s pretty hard to ignore undefeated; as such, it was pretty hard not to put DeSales at the top of this list through the first month of the season. The Bulldogs have had their fair share of close calls, including four wins by five-or-fewer — including recent contests against Wilkes and Scranton, plus a nine-point win over Arcadia — but until they drop a contest, No. 1 is their spot to lose. DeSales so far has been led by a trio of double digit scorers — junior guard Jordan Holmqvist (10.6 ppg), senior guard Dat Lambert (10.6 ppg), and sophomore forward Elijah Eberly (10.1 ppg) — all of whom hail from eastern Pennsylvania.

This week’s games: Wednesday at Stevens, Saturday vs. Misericordia 


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