The 2017-18 D3 Men's Basketball has quickly come towards its regular season close, and that means it is time to honor the best players, coaches, and teams of the year.
It's now time to look at which teams impressed the most this season. Here's a look at the 8 Breakout Teams of the Year. Each team has had a phenomenal season in many different ways.
*Statistics current through games completed by 2/27/18
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Yeshiva (18-10, 13-7 Skyline)
Yeshiva might be the best story of the 2018 season as the Maccabees embark on their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Taking down the top two seeds in the Skyline Conference Tournament, the team fought to their first conference crown, and fourth-straight winning record.
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Southern Vermont (22-5, 12-2 NECC)
Southern Vermont had been one of the more consistent teams for a three-year period between 2013-16, but took a step backwards last season to the tune of 17-10. This year, SVC was back and took the NECC crown and grabbed one of the top spots in the D3 tourney.
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Hobart (21-5, Liberty League)
After starting the year with two ranked-opponent victories, Hobart barely slowed down and finished with 19 more victories. After a 16-11 year in 2016-17, the Statesmen came oh so close to the NCAA Tournament, but were left out of the at-large pool. While the season ended in disappointment, Hobart was a big improvement from a year ago.
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East Texas Baptist (21-7, 13-5 ASC)
With their most wins since a 26-victory campaign in 2014-15, ETBU seemed to be officially back among the better teams in their region. Another squad that just missed out on the NCAA's, the Tigers have a handful of young talent who could keep this team afloat at the top over the next few years.
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Ohio Northern (19-9, 12-6 OAC)
The Polar Bears recorded the most victories for their team since the 06-07 campaign where the team also had 19, and 21 the year prior. Since that time, ONU has hovered just above .500 and had losing records in two of the last three years. But with a group of seven seniors, the team made a big jump and shows promise for the future of Polar Bear basketball.
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Albright (20-6, 12-4 MACC)
After a disappointing 13-14 season in the 2016-17 year, Albright responded with their most wins since the 2012-13 season, and also their first winning season since that same year. With just two seniors and needing to count the amount of freshmen on two hands, this Lions team is definitely a sign of things to come.
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UW-Oshkosh (20-7, 9-5 WIAC)
For the first time since the 2006-07 season, Oshkosh has won 20 games in a year and has made the NCAA Tournament for their third straight time. With a great 10-2 home record, the titans should hope to build off a year they finally reached a critical plateau for success.
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Bridgewater State (18-9, 9-3 MASCAC)
The Bears of Bridgewater were able to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2014 thanks to an improvement of their record by three wins from a season ago. An increase in scoring by about three-and-a-half points per game has improved their ability to win, and maybe we might see this team become a future force thanks to this season.
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