Top 25 talk

[David Collinge]

Top 25 scores, week of Dec. 11-17 (final):

#1 Wooster (7-0) def. Cedarville 104-95
#2 Amherst (8-0) won at Worcester St. 70-42
#3 Virginia Wesleyan (6-1) won at Newport News Apprentice 85-67
#4 St. Thomas (6-0) was idle
#5 UW-Stevens Point (9-0) won at Viterbo 75-49
#6 Wittenberg (6-1) was idle
#7 Ohio Northern (6-1) won at Mt. Union 64-51
#8 Whitworth (10-0) was idle (until Jan. 2)
#9 Lawrence (4-1) lost to #25 Carthage 93-86 (2OT)
#10 Augustana (7-1) won at Cornell 64-60 and def. Wartburg 92-77
#11 William Paterson (8-1) won at FDU-Florham 70-57 (and lost at Seton Hall 83-56 in an exhibition)
#12 Mississippi College (5-1) def. Schreiner 83-69
#13 UW-Platteville (6-1) lost at RMC-Springfield 82-74
#14 Johns Hopkins (9-0) was idle (until Dec. 29)
#15 Averett (8-0) def. Newport News Apprentice 85-68 (and had a game at So. Virginia cancelled)
#16 Bates (8-0) was idle (until Jan. 5)
#17 Puget Sound (6-1) won at La Verne 114-104
#18 Lincoln (5-3) lost at PSU-Altoona 95-86
#19 Aurora (6-0) lost at Edgewood 68-65
#20 Wheaton (Ill.) (5-3) lost at Northwestern (Ill.) 41-39
#21 UW-La Crosse (6-3) lost at Carleton 75-64 (OT)
#22 Hope (4-2) won at Aquinas 65-62
#23 Chicago (6-1) won at Illinois Wesleyan 64-60
#24 DePauw (6-1) def. Illinois Tech 84-63
#25 Carthage (5-1) won at #9 Lawrence 93-86 (2OT)

**UPDATED** for Sunday's final scores

[John Gleich]

Not a good week for the non-SP UW's...

[Mr. Ypsi]

In three polls, the CCIW has already had 5 different teams ranked (though IWU and NCC have fallen out).  Since Elmhurst has won 7 straight since an opening loss (including over two WIAC teams), I wonder if the CCIW can get 75% of the teams in before the conference season even begins?

On a different note, Wheaton played only one game this past week and lost it.  But considering it was by two points to a D1 school, I wonder if they will actually RISE in the poll?

[Greek Tragedy]

Point, Oshkosh, Whitewater, Platteville and La Crosse have also been in the Top 25.  I don't see Stout, Eau Claire, River Falls or Superior getting in. 

[John Gleich]

I honestly thought Stout would have a chance at the beginning of the year... but when they lost their backcourt, their chances dropped considerably.  Two 7 footers or not, if they don't have the guys to feed them, they'll starve on the blocks.

[Gregory Sager]

With apologies to the rest of the Championship teams in 2004 and 2005, aside from Jason Kalsow and Nick Bennett, Point probably didn't have the most talent either. 

"Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" 

[sac]

On a different note, Wheaton played only one game this past week and lost it.  But considering it was by two points to a D1 school, I wonder if they will actually RISE in the poll?

I think there's a good chance they go up a couple spots considering the 2 teams directly ahead of them Lincoln and Aurora both lost.

Behind them is Hope, who they beat by 3, Chicago who beat Wheaton by 4,  DePauw who also lost to Chicago but by 8.  Carthage who has 1 loss.  Wheaton's only other loss was to 10-0 Whitworth.


Actually looking at it maybe Chicago should be ahead of Wheaton.

Could be close but I bet Wheaton moves up 1 spot.  Truthfully I was more impressed with Carthage than Wheaton when I saw the two play 2 weeks ago, but Wheaton is very good.

Is there a poll this week?

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  #1 Wooster 97  Pomona-Pitzer 77

Wooster jumped out to a 12-0 start and actually led this game by 30 points in the 2nd half before the Sagehens cut the margin in garbage time.   Wooster was led by Tom Port with 18 points, Brandon Johnson with 18 points, James Cooper with 16 points and Devin Fulk with 13 points.  This was a solid road win for Wooster.

Pomona-Pitzer was led by David Knowles with 22 points and Jabarri Reynolds with 21 points.

Wooster is now 9-0.   Next up is California Baptist on Wednesday.

GO SCOTS!

[David Collinge]

Top 25 News and Notes, Vol. VIII, Issue 113

The poll exhibited some exam-week stability, with nine top 10 teams, 22 top 25 teams, and 46 of 48 vote-getters achieving the same status this week.  There was a certain shuffling of positions, such as Lincoln losing 161 points and #18 Carthage gaining 123, but generally speaking, stability was the rule of the week.

Wooster remained in the #1 spot in the poll for the third straight week.  #2 Amherst held on to its three first place votes, but #3 Virginia Wesleyan sliced their gap in half, gaining 21 points on the Lord Jeffs.  North Central re-entered the poll at #24, which means that exactly half of the CCIW is ranked this week, with a fifth team (Elmhurst) in the "others receiving votes" category.

Debutantes:
In keeping with the "stability" theme, no teams meet the requirements for "debutante" status this week. 

Streakers:
The record streaks are all still intact:

• #1 Wooster, with 113 straight poll appearances and 43 straight weeks in the top 10, and
• #2 Amherst , with 68 consecutive top 25 placements.
• Calvin attracted voter interest for the 30th straight week;
• #9 Augustana and #19 Hope each received votes for the 20th consecutive poll.

High-Water Marks:

• #12 Averett continues to plow new ground, reaching an all-time high ranking for the third straight week;
• #23 NYU also reached an all-time high this week; and
• #4 St. Thomas, #8 Whitworth, and #16 Bates each held their ranking, matching their all-time highs.

Milestones:

• #5 UW-Stevens Point is ranked for the 90th time;
• #18 Carthage is a member of the top 25 for the 60th time;
• #9 Augustana and #11 Mississippi College are each top 25 teams for the 30th time;
• #15 Puget Sound received votes for the fiftieth time;
• UW-Oshkosh is a vote-getter for the 80th time, while Aurora and Lincoln attracted votes for the 20th time each.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding programs, and a warm Happy Holidays to all! 

[woosterbooster]

Twenty-third in the DIII poll, an all-time high.  This from NYU, a school that was near the forefront of New York City basketball back in the early 1960s.  NYU sported such stars such as third-team AP All-American Barry Kramer, he of the one-handed hesitation jump shot, and Happy Hairston of Los Angeles Laker and Miller Lite Beer fame. (His was one of the best commercials, the one where he's spinning a ball on his finger in a bar, removes his hand, and the ball continues to spin)

From the Wikipedia on Hairston:

In 1971-72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 while his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. This remains the only time any two NBA teammates have grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in the same season. He led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, and set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 (vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, November 15, 1974).

During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.

After his retirement in 1975, Hairston established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation in Century City. With financial help from celebrities like Kelsey Grammer, the foundation found bright children from broken homes and paid for their college education. He also hosted a celebrity golf tournament.

Hairston died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles from complications due to prostate cancer.

[John Gleich]

Big matchup as #6 Wittenberg and #7 Ohio Northern battle it out tonight

[David Collinge]

ONU wins 68-51.  Polar Bears had the lead pretty much the whole game. 

[Pat Coleman]

FINALLY, Top 25 rankings appear to be working on the daily scoreboard pages.

[njlincolnlion]

Ralph:

Lincoln will get back the five players in January (hopefully sooner) which should get them back on track,  the flip side playing North Central without the "five" could add an additional loss on the Lions record.

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  Cal Baptist 94  #1 Wooster 89

Wooster was beaten on the road by a big NAIA Division I team tonight.  Wooster hung in this game and only trailed by 3 points with one minute left before the Lancers made the clinching free throws on their home floor.  Scots were led by Tom Port with 21 points, James Cooper with 20 points and Devin Fulk with 15 points.

Cal Baptist was led by big 6'9" Andrew Bruckner with 24 points, 6'7" Mark Roussin with 19 points, Junior Denson with 18 points and Jemell Swafford with 13 points.  6'9" Andrew Bruckner is 270 lbs and is a Division I transfer from UC Irvine.  Wooster had no answer for the big guy.

Wooster is now 9-1.  Next up is Ohio Northern on 12/29.

GO SCOTS!