Top 25 talk

[Gregory Sager]

So I've taken the liberty of moving the pyramid so this board can head back to topic.

What few people realize is that Hall of Fame status gives us the strength of 10,000 ancient Egyptian peasants.

[nwhoops1903]

"YOU COULD MAKE A FINAL FOUR OUT OF THAT BRACKET!"

You could make two final fours out of that bracket; it's likely to happen in the second round.


Eleven of Massey's top 13 are in that bracket, including the top 9.

Well maybe if the team out of this bracket wins it's final 2 games by 30+ then the NCAA might consider competition over $$$ in the future but, of course, I doubt it.

hmmm...so far so good..kinda

Bracket of Death 2009 shall live in infamy.

[Ralph Turner]

I am trying to find the recommendation that Pat Coleman made about the brackets to break up the concentration in the midwest.  (I think that he made the recommendation in a podcast.)
 
Which pods did he recommend be flipped?

Thanks

[TheOsprey]

I am trying to find the recommendation that Pat Coleman made about the brackets to break up the concentration in the midwest.  (I think that he made the recommendation in a podcast.)
 
Which pods did he recommend be flipped?

Thanks

I remember he said to switch the Centre pod with one of the "Death" pods!!

[mellymel]

Check out this live interactive blog from the championship game:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/126/story/435213.html

[nescac1]

Never too early, right?  Without factoring in recruiting and transfers, who on paper look to be the big dogs heading into next year?  Seems like all four Final Four teams are all absolutely loaded next year and will go into the season as the favorites.  Throw in Wooster, John Carroll (thanks great lakes region guys for correcting me there on an earlier thread), whoever is the WIAC pre-season favorite, maybe Illinois Wesleyan (they have essentially everyone back, right, and the rest of the conference is fairly depleted?) St. Thomas, and maybe UMass Dartmouth from New England squeezing in at number 10.  Maybe one of Hope or Calvin as well, not sure what they have bringing back? 

I'd say New England (the region I know best) has three in the top 20 range, but probably not higher than 10, unless one of them gets an instant impact transfer: UMass Dartmouth, Williams (who at long last I expect to return to making noise on the national level), and Amherst.  Middlebury is a possibility as well but they lose a ton to graduation.   WPI will put up, as usual, gaudy win totals but have a tough time advancing far in the tourney.  No one else from New England looks particularly menacing on paper at this point, again, absent a major impact transfer or something. 

[KorsairKILLAH]

Never too early, right?  Without factoring in recruiting and transfers, who on paper look to be the big dogs heading into next year?  Seems like all four Final Four teams are all absolutely loaded next year and will go into the season as the favorites.  Throw in Wooster, John Carroll (thanks great lakes region guys for correcting me there on an earlier thread), whoever is the WIAC pre-season favorite, maybe Illinois Wesleyan (they have essentially everyone back, right, and the rest of the conference is fairly depleted?) St. Thomas, and maybe UMass Dartmouth from New England squeezing in at number 10.  Maybe one of Hope or Calvin as well, not sure what they have bringing back? 

I'd say New England (the region I know best) has three in the top 20 range, but probably not higher than 10, unless one of them gets an instant impact transfer: UMass Dartmouth, Williams (who at long last I expect to return to making noise on the national level), and Amherst.  Middlebury is a possibility as well but they lose a ton to graduation.   WPI will put up, as usual, gaudy win totals but have a tough time advancing far in the tourney.  No one else from New England looks particularly menacing on paper at this point, again, absent a major impact transfer or something. 

I think mass dartmouth will be in the top ten next year.  They have a bigtime player in tom henneberry (transfer from d2 umass lowell).

[sac]

  Maybe one of Hope or Calvin as well, not sure what they have bringing back?  

They both lose enough they should remain out of the poll, each lose 4 year Senior starters, MVP types........both teams have some very good young players returning.  Both will probably have similar seasons to this year..............but I expect one of them to be a top 25 team by the  midpoint of next season.  Could be either really, I have not seen either teams 09-10 schedule yet.

[usee]

The best team from the CCIW is likely to be Carthage next year. If they are able to add 1 decent big man they will be pretty scary with virtually everyone returning and Steve Durjkovic as the best player in the cciw.

[BornBalla]

KorsairKILLAH:  Wasn't Henneberry there this past season? I thought I saw his name in box from Desales game.What was his role this year? Why mention him like he's some hidden gem ready to burst onto scene next year to put UMD in TOP 10? Was he playing injured?

[Gray Fox]

This will soon all be moot.  All schools will be part of March (June) madness.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/ncaa_expands_march_madness_to

[Titan Q]

Organizing some of the Preseason Top 25 research I've been doing (ballot due Monday 10/19) by listing possible conference "favorites" at this early stage.  Also trying to slot into categories of potential Top 10 vs potential Top 11-25.  

All thoughts welcome...thanks.



WIAC
T1 UW-Platteville*/UW-Stevens Point*/UW-Whitewater*/UW-Oshkosh*

(no consensus - wide open)


CCIW
T1 Wheaton*/Augustana*/Carthage*/Illinois Wesleyan*

(no consensus - wide open)


UAA
1 Wash U** (clear cut national #1)
2 Brandeis*
3 Carnegie Mellon*


OAC
1 John Carroll**


NESCAC
T1 Williams*/Amherst*

(no consensus)


ODAC
1 Guilford**
T2 Randolph-Macon*/Virginia Wesleyan*


NJAC
1 Richard Stockton**


NWC
1 Whitworth*
2 Linfield
3 Puget Sound


MWC
T1 Carroll*/Lawrence*/St. Norbert*

(no consensus - wide open)


MIAA
T1 Calvin*/Hope*
3 Olivet


Centennial
1 Franklin & Marshall**


HCAC
1 Transylvania*


MIAC
1. ST. Thomas*


NCAC
1 Wooster**
T2 Ohio Wesleyan/Wittenberg/Wabash


SCIAC
1 Cal Lutheran**
2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps*


IIAC
?


SCAC
1 Oglethorpe*
?


ASC
?


MACF
1 DeSales**


LEC
1 Mass-Dartmouth**


MASCAC
1 Bridgewater State*


Landmark
1 Catholic*


CAC
1 St. Mary's*


USA South
1 Christopher Newport*



IND
Chapman*


** = Top 10 candidate
* = Top 25 candidate (spots 11-25)

[John Gleich]

This is a pretty big departure from last year... last year, the midwest (small m) was stacked and some teams were pretty much in a class by themselves.  This year, the midwest seems pretty inexperienced (due to the number of great seniors that graduated) and the balance has shifted.

[Titan Q]

This is a pretty big departure from last year... last year, the midwest (small m) was stacked and some teams were pretty much in a class by themselves.  This year, the midwest seems pretty inexperienced (due to the number of great seniors that graduated) and the balance has shifted.

Good catch, Point.  Last year the preseason poll had 12 of the 25 teams from the Midwest and West regions...

http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/09/index.html

While the pollsters were wrong about a few of the teams, and the order of some of the teams, the fact is that the 2008-09 season validated the heavy emphasis on those two regions.  Results throughout both the regular season and post-season demonstrated just how many Top 25-caliber teams – even Top 10-caliber teams - the two regions had.  The final poll had 10 Midwest/West teams...

http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/

As we head into '09-10, the picture looks different.  The Midwest has lost guys like Kent Raymond (Wheaton), Brent Ruch (Elmhurst), Ryan Kroeger (Lawrence) and several others.  Similarly, the West has lost the likes of Jeff Skemp (Platteville), Myles McKay (Whitewater), etc, etc.  The two best leagues in these regions (the WIAC and CCIW) were both oustanding last year, but are now are in "reloading" mode a little bit.  I'm confident each will see national powers emerge...but it may be January before we know who those are.

It sure looks to me like the power in Division III in '09-10 is pretty balanced.
 

[Titan Q]

This is the Preseason Top 25 ballot I submitted this morning.  I feel strongly about the top 10...after that, it was llike picking out of a hat.


1 Washington U.
2 John Carroll
3 Wooster
4 Guilford
5 Franklin and Marshall
6 Richard Stockton
7 DeSales
8 Mass-Dartmouth
9 Cal Lutheran
10 St. Thomas
11 Randolph-Macon
12 Bridgewater State
13 Williams
14 UW-Platteville
15 Amherst
16 UW-Stevens Point
17 Brandeis
18 Oglethorpe
19 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
20 St. Mary's (Md.)
21 Whitworth
22 Transylvania
23 Carthage
24 Ohio Northern
25 Ohio Wesleyan