Top 25 discussion

[troutman]

Thanks Guy Formerly PSBBG,poles are simply something to do to create talk around the water cooler(lol).And you are right, ranked teams have a bullseye on their back for sure.

[GuyFormerlyPSBBG]

Although there is no snow down here in FL, I did watch a little bit of ranked basketball last night.  I watched Mount Union and Babson.  Couple of things I noticed:

Both teams should be ranked.

Both these teams are offensive oriented teams.  They executed well out of their half-court sets.  The players know how to create their own shots.  Their offenses were geared to get good/easy looks at the basket.

To tell you which team is better, I don't know. (Both teams had no trouble winning yesterday)  I will say this, there isn't much parity between the teams that are ranked 5th-18th.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared--Midweek Report

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	598	Thomas More	18-0	def. Chatham, 90-40; 01/29 at Westminster (Pa.)
#2	589	Amherst	17-1	01/28 vs. #36 Colby; 01/29 vs. #26 Bowdoin
#3	569	Kean	16-2	01/26 vs. Richard Stockton POSTPONED; 01/29 at #21 William Paterson
#4	558	Hope	18-1	def. Kalamazoo, 102-37
#5	509	Babson	17-0	def. Wheaton (Mass.), 74-43; 01/29 vs. Smith; 01/30 at Salem State
#6	486	Illinois Wesleyan	15-3	def. Augustana, 91-58; 01/29 vs. Carthage
#7	476	UW-Stevens Point	17-2	def. #9 UW-Whitewater, 66-47; 01/29 vs. UW-Superior
#8	440	Washington U.	13-3	01/28 vs. Carnegie Mellon; 01/30 vs. Case Western Reserve
#9	418	UW-Whitewater	15-3	LOST at #7 UW-Stevens Point, 47-66; 01/29 vs. UW-Stout
#10	379	Williams	17-1	01/27 vs. Eastern Connecticut; 01/29 vs. Middlebury
#11	376	Christopher Newport	15-2	01/27 vs. Mary Baldwin; 01/29 at Peace; 01/30 at Meredith
#12	302	Rochester	13-3	01/28 at New York University; 01/30 at Brandeis
#13	288	Chicago	13-3	01/28 vs. Case Western Reserve; 01/30 vs. Carnegie Mellon
#14	264	Lebanon Valley	17-1	01/29 vs. Arcadia
#15	245	Denison	18-0	01/29 at Hiram
#16	234	DePauw	15-3	01/28 vs. Colorado College; 01/30 vs. Austin
#17	208	Greensboro	16-0	01/28 vs. Methodist
#18	204	Mount Union	15-3	LOST at Baldwin-Wallace, 53-74; def. John Carroll, 94-79; 01/29 vs. Capital
#19	159	Louisiana College	15-1	def. Mississippi College, 71-56; 01/27 at Texas-Tyler; 01/29 at LeTourneau
#20	154	St. Benedict	14-2	LOST at Hamline, 58-77; 01/29 at St. Olaf
#21	117	William Paterson	17-2	def. Drew, 87-62; 01/29 vs. #3 Kean
#22	94	St. Vincent	16-2	def. Westminster (Pa.), 82-46; 01/29 at Chatham
#23	88	Calvin	16-3	def. Albion, 62-36; 01/29 vs. Kalamazoo
#24	77	St. Norbert	15-2	def. Lawrence, 76-41; 01/29 vs. Ripon
#25	66	Medaille	16-2	def. Pitt-Bradford, 75-64; 01/29 vs. Franciscan (Ohio)

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	54	Bowdoin	14-3	01/28 at Trinity (Conn.); 01/29 at #2 Amherst
#27	50	Gallaudet	16-0	01/29 at Cazenovia; 01/30 at Morrisville State
#28	35	Coe	16-2	def. Grinnell, 65-51; 01/29 vs. Central
#29	28	Mount St. Mary	15-2	01/27 at Bard; 01/29 at SUNY-Old Westbury
#30	12	Millikin	13-5	LOST at Wheaton (Ill.), 59-62; 01/29 vs. North Park
#31	11	Puget Sound	13-4	01/28 at Pacific; 01/29 at Willamette
T#32	10	Chapman	16-4	01/28 vs. Southwestern (AZ)
T#32	10	Johns Hopkins	14-3	01/26 vs. Franklin and Marshall POSTPONED; 01/29 at Muhlenberg
#34	6	Simpson	16-3	def. Loras, 73-68; 01/29 at Dubuque
#35	4	Tufts	13-3	def. Emmanuel, 63-56; 01/28 vs. Connecticut College; 01/29 vs. Wesleyan
#36	3	Colby	13-3	def. Regis (Mass.), 69-56; 01/28 at #2 Amherst; 01/29 at Trinity (Conn.)
#37	2	Lewis and Clark	13-4	01/28 at Whitman; 01/29 at Whitworth
T#38	1	George Fox	13-5	def. Willamette, 87-46; 01/28 vs. Pacific Lutheran
T#38	1	Hanover	16-1	def. Transylvania, 87-71; 01/29 vs. Defiance

[Pat Coleman]

Although there is no snow down here in FL, I did watch a little bit of ranked basketball last night.  I watched Mount Union and Babson.  Couple of things I noticed:

Both teams should be ranked.

Both these teams are offensive oriented teams.  They executed well out of their half-court sets.  The players know how to create their own shots.  Their offenses were geared to get good/easy looks at the basket.

To tell you which team is better, I don't know. (Both teams had no trouble winning yesterday)  I will say this, there isn't much parity between the teams that are ranked 5th-18th.

I don't think Babson is the fifth-best team in the country, for what it's worth. In my mind they are clearly getting ranked primarily on what they did last year. Best win this year is a six-point home win against Western Connecticut, which makes them pretty even in my mind.

[Ralph Turner]

Sometimes it is hard to prevent a team getting the benefit of "float-up".  They are undefeated and have managed to "float up" in the rankings each week that they have not lost a game and the teams around them have.

#10-8-6-8-7-7-6-5

[GuyFormerlyPSBBG]

Although there is no snow down here in FL, I did watch a little bit of ranked basketball last night.  I watched Mount Union and Babson.  Couple of things I noticed:

Both teams should be ranked.

Both these teams are offensive oriented teams.  They executed well out of their half-court sets.  The players know how to create their own shots.  Their offenses were geared to get good/easy looks at the basket.

To tell you which team is better, I don't know. (Both teams had no trouble winning yesterday)  I will say this, there isn't much parity between the teams that are ranked 5th-18th.

I don't think Babson is the fifth-best team in the country, for what it's worth. In my mind they are clearly getting ranked primarily on what they did last year. Best win this year is a six-point home win against Western Connecticut, which makes them pretty even in my mind.

Now you are going to make me say it.  I was trying to be casual about it .  I agree with you Pat.  After watching both those games.  I thought Mount Union, well might actually be better.  It is hard to be certain about it after watching just one game.  I didn't want to throw certainties out there because of that. I thought maybe the lack of parity was there because Babson was ranked so high 

I think Babson might be a little bit on the high side.  I do think 6-10 could beat them on a neutral court, for sure. (Something I didn't say before.) 

That was before I watched the game.

[troutman]

Hey Pat,I was just wondering are you hearing impaired?(Because of working at Gallaudet)and are you fluient in ASL

[Pat Coleman]

I am neither, sorry. I did pick up some ASL while I was working there, but this was ... gosh, 13 years ago.

[GuyFormerlyPSBBG]

#16/#17 Greensboro gets it done tonight 64-47 against Methodist.  I guess Team of the Week wasn't enough for Danielle Duncan.  Followed it up with a 33 pt 11 reb game.  Tough road ahead for them, 4 games in 7 days next week.

Only one team has managed to shoot 40%+ against them.  It wasn't even #11 CNU.  Ferrum did at .6% above 40%

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared--Complete


Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	598	Thomas More	19-0	def. Chatham, 90-40; def. Westminster (Pa.), 53-37
#2	589	Amherst	19-1	def. #36 Colby, 82-60; def. #26 Bowdoin, 72-48
#3	569	Kean	17-2	def. #21 William Paterson, 79-64
#4	558	Hope	18-1	def. Kalamazoo, 102-37
#5	509	Babson	19-0	def. Wheaton (Mass.), 74-43; def. Smith, 78-55; def. Salem State, 85-60
#6	486	Illinois Wesleyan	15-4	def. Augustana, 91-58; LOST to Carthage, 55-63
#7	476	UW-Stevens Point	18-2	def. #9 UW-Whitewater, 66-47; def. UW-Superior, 95-49
#8	440	Washington U.	15-3	def. Carnegie Mellon, 61-39; def. Case Western Reserve, 80-58
#9	418	UW-Whitewater	16-3	LOST at #7 UW-Stevens Point, 47-66; def. UW-Stout, 69-53
#10	379	Williams	19-1	def. Eastern Connecticut, 64-54; def. Middlebury, 72-55
#11	376	Christopher Newport	18-2	def. Mary Baldwin, 77-36; def. Peace, 79-35; def. Meredith, 81-58
#12	302	Rochester	14-4	LOST at New York University, 69-82; def. Brandeis, 61-50
#13	288	Chicago	15-3	def. Case Western Reserve, 81-61; def. Carnegie Mellon, 90-65
#14	264	Lebanon Valley	18-1	def. Arcadia, 62-48
#15	245	Denison	19-0	def. Hiram, 65-49
#16	234	DePauw	17-3	def. Colorado College, 90-60; def. Austin, 69-30
#17	208	Greensboro	17-0	def. Methodist, 64-47
#18	204	Mount Union	16-3	LOST at Baldwin-Wallace, 53-74; def. John Carroll, 94-79; def. Capital, 77-54
#19	159	Louisiana College	17-1	def. Mississippi College, 71-56; def. Texas-Tyler, 77-69; def. LeTourneau, 93-59
#20	154	St. Benedict	15-2	LOST at Hamline, 58-77; def. St. Olaf, 81-59
#21	117	William Paterson	17-3	def. Drew, 87-62; LOST to #3 Kean, 64-79
#22	94	St. Vincent	17-2	def. Westminster (Pa.), 82-46; def. Chatham, 69-46
#23	88	Calvin	17-3	def. Albion, 62-36; def. Kalamazoo, 75-40
#24	77	St. Norbert	16-2	def. Lawrence, 76-41; def. Ripon, 57-39
#25	66	Medaille	17-2	def. Pitt-Bradford, 75-64; def. Franciscan (Ohio), 78-46

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	54	Bowdoin	15-4	def. Trinity (Conn.), 62-51; LOST at #2 Amherst, 48-72
#27	50	Gallaudet	18-0	def. Cazenovia, 64-60; def. Morrisville State, 64-57
#28	35	Coe	17-2	def. Grinnell, 65-51; def. Central, 70-60
#29	28	Mount St. Mary	17-2	def. Bard, 62-28; def. SUNY-Old Westbury, 59-49
#30	12	Millikin	14-5	LOST at Wheaton (Ill.), 59-62; def. North Park, 68-48
#31	11	Puget Sound	15-4	def. Pacific, 63-49; def. Willamette, 69-63
T#32	10	Chapman	17-4	def. Southwestern (AZ), 83-36
T#32	10	Johns Hopkins	16-3	def. Franklin and Marshall, 57-49; def. Muhlenberg, 67-57
#34	6	Simpson	17-3	def. Loras, 73-68; def. Dubuque, 81-64
#35	4	Tufts	15-3	def. Emmanuel, 63-56; def. Connecticut College, 64-32; def. Wesleyan, 57-47
#36	3	Colby	14-4	def. Regis (Mass.), 69-56; LOST at #2 Amherst, 60-82; def. Trinity (Conn.), 58-48
#37	2	Lewis and Clark	15-4	def. Whitman, 64-61; def. Whitworth, 74-70
T#38	1	George Fox	14-5	def. Willamette, 87-46; def. Pacific Lutheran, 68-65
T#38	1	Hanover	17-1	def. Transylvania, 87-71; def. Defiance, 102-91

[ichouse]

biggest surprises for the week:

1.St. Benedict losing to Hamline by 19, 58-77
2.Illinois Wesleyan losing to Carthage by 8, 55-63
3.Mount Union losing to Baldwin-Wallace by 21, 53-74

[Wydown Blvd.]

biggest surprises for the week:

1.St. Benedict losing to Hamline by 19, 58-77
2.Illinois Wesleyan losing to Carthage by 8, 55-63
3.Mount Union losing to Baldwin-Wallace by 21, 53-74

Not quite... IWU losing to Carthage wasn't that big of a surprise.

Rochester losing at NYU is probably no. 2 on that list.

[Mr. Ypsi]

biggest surprises for the week:

1.St. Benedict losing to Hamline by 19, 58-77
2.Illinois Wesleyan losing to Carthage by 8, 55-63
3.Mount Union losing to Baldwin-Wallace by 21, 53-74

Not quite... IWU losing to Carthage wasn't that big of a surprise.

Rochester losing at NYU is probably no. 2 on that list.

Au contraire.  IWU losing to Carthage IN BLOOMINGTON, scoring THREE points in the first 10 minutes and 14 points in the entire first half, was a HUGE surprise (at least to me)!

Christina Solari had a legitimate medical redshirt available, but chose to graduate and get on with her life - some kids just have no proper priorities!   Add her to this current team and I have little doubt they would be undefeated and ranked #1.

[Hoosier Titan]

The IWU loss to Carthage wasn't a total surprise; it was the manner of the loss.  3 points in more than 10 minutes for a team that normally scores close to 80 per game?  Carthage played an excellent game but IWU came out totally flat.  They used all their energy coming back from a 19-point deficit to tie the score, and didn't have enough to finish.

It's not unreasonable to think that the Titans would be better with Christina Solari on the team for one more year, but that's one of those "what if" questions that can never be answered. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

The IWU loss to Carthage wasn't a total surprise; it was the manner of the loss.  3 points in more than 10 minutes for a team that normally scores close to 80 per game?  Carthage played an excellent game but IWU came out totally flat.  They used all their energy coming back from a 19-point deficit to tie the score, and didn't have enough to finish.

It's not unreasonable to think that the Titans would be better with Christina Solari on the team for one more year, but that's one of those "what if" questions that can never be answered. 

I think adding a two-time All-American to the team is rather beyond 'not unreasonable' that they would be better!