Top 25 talk

[Gregory Sager]

This first-round gem from 2002 is the first and last word on lopsided tournament games:

Williams 121, Cazenovia 49

In 1985, North Park faced Monmouth in the tournament's opening round. The Vikings scored something like the first 21 points in the game, or thereabouts, and went on to win by a score of 95-55. North Park had a very small roster that season, usually only playing an eight-man rotation, and when one of the starters broke his leg in midseason the roster got even smaller. Desperate for warm bodies to fill out practices, first-year head coach Bosko Djurickovic, who was also the head baseball coach at North Park, asked two of his senior baseball players who had played basketball in high school, Bob Kohlendorfer and Tim Saltess, to join the team so that he'd have enough guys for practice (they boosted the roster number from eleven healthy players to thirteen). Neither of the baseball players had played any hoops aside from intramurals in four years, and neither of them suited up for any games after they'd joined the team for practices in midseason. They were strictly on the team for the purpose of allowing Bosko's actual players to get a breather during practice, or to fill in for one of them if he had to miss practice for an academic reason or for illness or injury.

Bosko had Saltess and Kohlendorfer suit up for the Monmouth game, figuring that, since the NCAA allowed fifteen players to dress for tournament games, it wouldn't do any harm to let them sit on the bench in uniform as a reward for chipping in and helping with practices. As it turned out, both Saltess and Kohlendorfer ended up playing about seven or eight minutes apiece in that laugher over Monmouth in what was to be the only college basketball game either of them ever played. Bosko clearly went above and beyond the call in trying to do the sportsmanlike thing by holding down the score -- and the Vikings still won by forty points.

Ironically, the Vikings won their next four games by a grand total of ten points en route to winning the national championship.

[Greek Tragedy]

In 1985, North Park faced Monmouth in the tournament's opening round. The Vikings scored something like the first 21 points in the game, or thereabouts, and went on to win by a score of 95-55.

As you know, U of Chicago scored the first 17 points in the first round of this year's NCAA tourney and lost. lol...

[Gregory Sager]

Your point being ...?

[Knightstalker]

Next year is fairly uncompetitive as well:

Championship
Calvin 62, Rochester 49

Third Place
Wisconsin-Platteville 72, Jersey City State 61

National Semifinals
Rochester 61, Wisconsin-Platteville 48
Calvin 81, Jersey City State 40

Coach Brown has said several times that the 92 Calvin team is one of the best teams he has ever seen.  He didn't think anyone could have stopped them that weekend.

[OshDude]

Interesting that the top eight teams – and 12 of the preseason Top 25 – are from either the West or Midwest regions.

Without looking, I'd think the former is unprecedented; the latter could just be the way it goes this year.

And take this for what it's worth given my name, but I have no doubt UW-Oshkosh is one of the top 53 teams (that many received preseason votes) in the country.

[Pat Coleman]

This is one voter who's been fooled too many times by UW-Oshkosh. They'll have to prove it too me on the floor this year, not just on paper.

[OshDude]

There's a chance Oshkosh could be off voter's minds for a long time after the Titans' first 33 days that includes Lawrence (home), Augustana (road) and Whitewater (road). Then again a win or two validates my hunch.

[hopefan]

Please don't take me as a Fontbonne fanatic or an unreasonable SLIAC supporter  -  but after all the years of being one of the weakest conferences in the country (not to say the SLIAC still doesn't rate that way), last year's effort by Fontbonne down in Mississippi in the TOURNEY was admirable.   

Reasonably and Logically:

In the NCAAs, Fontbonne loses in Mississippi, an area totally foreign to the team, to MH Baylor by 3, who loses to home standing Milsaps by 1.   Fontbonne returns 4 starters this year, and recruits a pretty decent transfer and at least one notable freshman.   MH BAYLOR is preseason top 25, Milsaps just out of it - Fontbonne nary a vote.  Yes, Fontbonne needs to prove itself this year, but hopefully voters will take note if things go well and start to give this program recognition for what it is, and nevermind what the conference has been historicallly.  It's tough to break through the barrier, but this group may deserve it.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Please don't take me as a Fontbonne fanatic or an unreasonable SLIAC supporter  -  but after all the years of being one of the weakest conferences in the country (not to say the SLIAC still doesn't rate that way), last year's effort by Fontbonne down in Mississippi in the TOURNEY was admirable.   

Reasonably and Logically:

In the NCAAs, Fontbonne loses in Mississippi, an area totally foreign to the team, to MH Baylor by 3, who loses to home standing Milsaps by 1.   Fontbonne returns 4 starters this year, and recruits a pretty decent transfer and at least one notable freshman.   MH BAYLOR is preseason top 25, Milsaps just out of it - Fontbonne nary a vote.  Yes, Fontbonne needs to prove itself this year, but hopefully voters will take note if things go well and start to give this program recognition for what it is, and nevermind what the conference has been historicallly.  It's tough to break through the barrier, but this group may deserve it.

Workin' the refs already, eh?

Beat (or even seriously scare) WashU and/or Elmhurst in December, and I guarantee the voters will notice you.

[hopefan]

Two good opportunities, eh....... 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Well, with the rest of FU's schedule, if you drop those two you might have to reach about 18-2 before the votes arrive.

[LogShow]

This is one voter who's been fooled too many times by UW-Oshkosh. They'll have to prove it too me on the floor this year, not just on paper.

ha very true...

[OshDude]

Forgive me if this was posted somewhere. Didn't see it.
Copies of College Hoops Illustrated: The Preview Issue were given away in Oshkosh today in which Brett Mauser's D-III predictions for good, better and best teams (in that order below) in each region were:

NE – Coast Guard/Mass-Dartmouth, Amherst/Salem St., Brandeis
E – Oswego St./Hamilton, Stevens/St. Lawrence, Cortland
A – Richard Stockton/St. Joseph's, Brooklyn/Farmingdale St, Ramapo
MA – DeSales/Scranton, Ursinus/Mary Washington, Gettysburg
S – Centre/Methodist, Randolph-Macon/Mary Hardin-Baylor, Virginia Wesleyan
GL – Hope/Calvin, Wittenberg/Wooster, Capital
MW – Wash U/Defiance, Lawrence/Augustana, Wheaton
W – Cal Lutheran/Buena Vista, Puget Sound/Whitewater, St. Thomas

[fcnews]

#22 Chicago falls to Edgewwod in opener. This has to be a shocker.

[John Gleich]

#22 Chicago falls to Edgewwod in opener. This has to be a shocker.

Wow... Chicago missed SIXTEEN free throws, outrebounded Edgewood by 11... but Edgewood shot 60% from the field, including 52.9% from 3 and scored 101 points.  There were some other pretty close games in the top 25 tonight... but either Edgewood was absolutely on fire tonight, or Chicago wasn't defending very well.

Oh, and there were 51 fouls in the game.  Yikes...

Other close top 25 games...

#2 Augie 82 Simpson 79  (Per CCIW page, Simpson leading much of the second half, tied at halftime)
#4 UW Whitewater 87 Wisconsin Lutheran 78  (Warhawks were down 4 @ the half)
#8 Buena Vista 68 UW Stout 61 (OT)  (Stout was up 5 with under 2 mins, BV ties it then wins in OT)
#13 Centre 67 Franklin 65
D-1 Richmond 81 #14 Randolf Macon 57
#23 Widener 60 Montclair St 56

#1 Wash U (22), #6 UWSP (27), #7 UW Platte (31), and #24 Va Wesleyan (11) all won by double digits.  (EDIT: missed one... #25 Elms won by 17 too)

No score yet for #17 Elmhurst and MacMurry.