Top 25 discussion

[newtonnancy]

I see that Rochecter, Brandeis and Chicago are all bunched up 3-4 and 5th in the UAA coaches poll

[ILive4This]

is there a link to this poll?

[David Collinge]

is there a link to this poll?

Link.  It also includes the men's poll and preview.
(Warning! PDF file!)

[David Collinge]

HOW THEY FARED...

#1 Mary Washington (2-0) def. Ursinus 74-46 at Va. Wesleyan and won at Va. Wesleyan 75-71
#2 Howard Payne (2-0) def. Chapman 71-60 at Redlands and won at Redlands 66-49
#3 Messiah (2-0) def. Albany Pharmacy 80-40 and won at Pitt-Greensburg 77-59
#4 Hope (2-0) def. Oberlin 93-44 and def. Ohio Northern 81-69
#5 DePauw (2-0) def. Olivet 96-63 and def. #15 Illinois Wesleyan 77-66
#6 Washington U. (1-1) lost to #15 Illinois Wesleyan 69-51 at DePauw and def. Olivet 68-38 at DePauw
#7 Kean (2-0) def. Oneonta St. 72-49 and def. Hamilton 74-65
#8 NYU (2-0) def. Trinity (Conn.) 61-40 and def. Farmingdale St. 71-61
#9 Calvin (2-0) won at Mt. St. Joseph 62-52 and def. Illinois Coll. 79-41 at Mt. St. Joseph
#10 McMurry (2-0) def. St. Thomas 70-60 at Colorado Coll. and def. St. Olaf 59-46 at Colorado Coll.
#11 Bowdoin (1-1) def. Arcadia 83-49 at Rochester and lost at Rochester 76-56
#12 Luther (0-1) lost to UW-Eau Claire 62-53
#13 Millikin (1-1) lost to #18 UW-Whitewater 92-46 and def. Robert Morris-Springfield 90-53
#14 Brandeis (1-1) def. Mt. Holyoke 77-38 and lost to Kenyon 67-62
#15 Illinois Wesleyan (1-1) def. #6 Washington U. 69-51 and lost at #5 DePauw 77-66
#16 Simpson (2-0) won at Northwestern (MN) 68-44 and def. Jamestown Coll. 74-45 at Northwestern (MN)
#17 Southern Maine (2-0) def. Emerson 79-65 at Me.-Farmington and won at Me.-Farmington 62-41
#18 UW-Whitewater (2-0) won at #13 Millikin 92-46 and def. Maryville (Mo.) 93-74 at Millikin
#19 Puget Sound (2-0) def. Evergreen St. 65-62 and def. Corban Coll. 64-50
#20 Capital (2-0) won at Manchester 71-57 and def. Kalamazoo 75-49 at Manchester
#21 Emmanuel (2-0) def. Smith 79-41 and def. Colby-Sawyer 62-47
#22 George Fox (2-0) def. Multnomah Bible 111-13 and won at Warner Pacific 50-34
#23 Randolph-Macon (2-0) won at Mt. Aloysius 78-46 and def. Vassar 70-42 at Mt. Aloysius
#24 UW-Stevens Point (2-0) def. Augsburg 85-60 and def. St. Scholastica 81-30
#25 Scranton (2-0) def. New Paltz St. 61-52 at Muhlenberg and won at Muhlenberg 84-60

[bbald eagle]

DC
Thanks for doing this; enjoyed this type of info much last season.

[David Collinge]

DC
Thanks for doing this; enjoyed this type of info much last season.

You're quite welcome; I'm glad you find it useful! 

[Ralph Turner]

McMurry lost to Birmingham Southern tonight at Maryville, 57-63.  BSC plays hostess Maryville tomorrow night.

BSC still had 2 players from their 2006 D-1 team, and BSC only lost to D-1 Centenary LA by 3 points last week.

BSC should be a strong (first year provisional) team this year.  BSC plays Oglethorpe and DePauw twice and Trinity TX once this season.

Games versus first year provisionals do not count in Regional Rankings.

More data on B-SC from the 2007-08 Media Guide.  They returned 7 players from their 6th place 2007 Big South (conference tourney playoff) team including First String All-Conference Reba Ross.

This is not your usual re-classification team.  Some BSC men may have moved on to other programs since 2006, but the women are strong.

IMHO, BSC games should be assessed very carefully later in the season.

(BSC beat Maryville 73-57 and won the Maryville TN tourney.  BSC led 52-30 with 15:54 left in the game.  BSC/Maryville TN game report.)

[David Collinge]

HOW THEY FARED (week of Nov. 19-25)      

#   1   Mary Washington (3-0) won at Washington & Lee 79-64
#   2   Howard Payne (2-0) is idle
#   3   Messiah (3-0) def. Johns Hopkins 85-40
#   4   Hope (3-0) won at Defiance 93-70
#   5   DePauw (3-1) def. Case Western Reserve 70-63 and lost to Thomas More 65-59, both at Thomas More
#   6   Washington U. (4-1) def. Blackburn 82-36, def. Kenyon 78-75 (2 OT), and def. Carleton 58-51
#   7   Kean (3-0) def. Lehman 106-67
#   8   NYU (4-0) def. FDU-Florham 84-40 and def. Worcester St. 90-55
#   9   Calvin (3-0) won at Concordia (MI) 59-52
#   10   McMurry (3-1) lost to Birmingham-Southern 63-57 and def. Greensboro 70-49, both at Maryville (TN)
#   11   Bowdoin (2-1) def. Univ. of New England 91-64
#   12   Luther (1-2) lost to Carleton 66-56 and def. Kenyon 66-45, both at Washington U. in St. Louis
#   13   Millikin (1-2) lost to Carroll 64-59
#   14   Brandeis (2-2) won at Wellesley 70-37 and lost to Tufts 57-43
#   15   Illinois Wesleyan (2-1) def. Eureka 90-40
#   16   Simpson (4-0) def. Neb. Wesleyan 99-58 at Buena Vista, and def. Presentation 115-68
#   17   Southern Maine (3-0) def. Bates 76-57
#   18   UW-Whitewater (3-0) def. Cornell 85-48
#   19   Puget Sound (2-0) is idle
#   20   Capital (3-1) def. Carnegie Mellon 77-39 and lost to Ohio Wesleyan 71-61, both at OWU
#   21   Emmanuel (2-1) lost at Eastern Conn. 75-57
#   22   George Fox (4-0) def. Trinity (TX) 55-53 and def. St. Mary's (IN) 69-58, both at Trinity (TX)
#   23   Randolph-Macon (2-0) is idle
#   24   UW-Stevens Point (5-0) def. Wis. Lutheran 90-42, won at North Central (IL) 81-64, and won at Wheaton (IL) 65-54
#   25   Scranton (2-0) is idle

[deiscanton]

Just some comments on the newly released Week 1 rankings:

1.)  I'm not sure that Southern Maine should even be ranked as high as #12 this week-- it is true that they beat Bates and Maine-Farmington and will play Bowdoin today, but the Huskies needed a good strong out-of-region team early on their schedule this year to challenge them on a national basis, and they chose to stay in-region exclusively in a region that, as of now, seems to be down from last year.  Still, one of the best teams from that region even with the graduation of Ashley Marble and the Huskies haven't lost yet.

2.)  With Rochester losing to Medaile after beating Bowdoin, Chicago may be the third best team in the UAA at the moment after Wash U and NYU.  But the conference games are still at least a month away....

3.)  Other than that, no problems with the women's poll.  Just a question, even though Kenyon did not get a vote in the preseason poll, and is now 2-3, is Kenyon more of a top 50 team right now, or a top 75 team?  Obviously, Kenyon is not a top 25 team.

[David Collinge]

3.)  Other than that, no problems with the women's poll.  Just a question, even though Kenyon did not get a vote in the preseason poll, and is now 2-3, is Kenyon more of a top 50 team right now, or a top 75 team?  Obviously, Kenyon is not a top 25 team.

Kenyon finished fourth in a weak conference last season, and so far this year has lost by 11 to Ohio Northern (who lost to Hope by 28) and by 21 to a Luther team that was 0-2 coming in.  The tough part of their schedule is behind them now, and they could end up with, say, 18 wins, but for right now IMO it would be quite premature for even a single voter to put them on a top 25 ballot.

[Ralph Turner]

Birmingham-Southern will be a coach's delight this year.

A strong program with great fundamentals...post player, outside threat and good defense.

Playing in a strong conference (SCAC) with lots of high profile teams...DPU, Oglethorpe, Trinity, etc., to give common opponents.

Year one provisional so the outcome won't be a primary criterion.

[bbald eagle]

#   3   Messiah (3-0) hosts #23 Scranton Wed. looks like the game of the week, but #   10   UW-Whitewater (3-0) plays at #18 Chicago Wed. and hosts #16 UW-Stevens Point Sat. sure looks like a fun week for UW-W.

[deiscanton]

Looking to check up on a team that does not have a vote in this week's top 25 poll, but could break into the top 25 this season?

Then, let's talk about the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors.

Through Tuesday, E. Connecticut is 4-0, with all 4 wins coming at Geissler Gym in Willimantic, CT by an average of 23 points per game.   Among them are 2 convincing blowout wins over 2nd tier Maine schools, followed by a 18 pt. victory over Emmanuel, and a 17 point win over defending TCCC champion Salve Regina.

Unfortunately, E. Connecticut had no strong out-of-region teams on the schedule in the first few weeks of the season to test their national caliber.  However, when I talked with Emmanuel coach Andy Yosinoff yesterday, he thinks that E. Connecticut is now playing better as a team than they ever did when Allison Coleman was playing for the Warriors.  He also believes that Eastern Connecticut is strong enough this season to break the Southern Maine dominance in the Little East and win the conference.

Aside from S. Maine, E. Connecticut has a schedule now that last year's Fitchburg State team could go undefeated against.

The Warriors are not a top 25 team yet, but I place them along my top 50 d3 women's basketball teams right now based on this information.

[Ralph Turner]

After David's compilation of game results, it is hard to drop anyone from the Top 25, unless Bowdoin's loss to Emmanuel raises a few eyebrows.

Medaille, BWC and Oglethorpe are waiting in the wings.

Oglethorpe's home win over former D-1 Birmingham-Southern, 75-72, caught my eye Friday night.

BWC lost to Capital in OT today.

I shall be interested in how those teams move next week. 

[David Collinge]

After David's compilation of game results, it is hard to drop anyone from the Top 25, unless Bowdoin's loss to Emmanuel raises a few eyebrows.

Emmanuel had as large as a 17-point lead (at 15:09 2nd), and still led by 12 with 5:12 left, before Bowdoin put on a furious comeback.  The PBs got to within 1 in the final minute, but it was not enough.  I've got to figure that Bowdoin says bye-bye to the top 25 this week, but who knows?

I get to see Wash U. play at Capital tomorrow.  Wash U. has been tested by all the Ohio teams they've played so far (beat Kenyon in double OT and Denison by 11), and Capital will be the best Buckeye squad of the bunch.  Should be a good game.