Top 25 talk

[nwhoops1903]

Whitworth defeats Whitewater in Spokane 94-84.  Pirates lead entire second half and commit only 3 turnovers.  NWC games start this weekend on Sat and Sun.

[WUPHF]

Holy moly!  Oh, what a night?

[usee]

#8 Wheaton is down double digits to Hamline in the second half at Calif Lutheran.

[magicman]

Whitworth on their way to upsetting UW-Whitewater up by 12 in the last minute. Total reshuffling of the top 4 next week??

#1 Wash U
#2 St. Thomas
#3 UW Whitewater
#15 St. Norbert

All lose their first game tonight.  Not a good night for undefeated midwestern teams!

The old saying: It happens "once in a blue moon". Well, tonight just happened to be that blue moon. (If you want to be technical it is actually on Thursday the 31st but tonight was close enough to account for all the undefeateds going down.)The next one will occur on August 31st 2012.

[John Gleich]

#8 Wheaton is down double digits to Hamline in the second half at Calif Lutheran.

Wheaton fought back and had a 1 point lead with under 10 seconds on the FT line to seal it and miss two FT's.  Hamline hits a hook shot with 1.1 seconds to go and Wheaton throws it away out of a timeout to seal the game.

[bufordscot]

What's up with Wooster? I haven't been following them but was told this was their year to make a real run. I was really looking forward to the Wooster-Wash.U game but with 3 L's in the early going,  a WUSTL victory would seem to virtually be a foregone conclusion. Anyone have a scoop?

This post says something about just how much the good times are rolling with the Wash U men's basketball program!  It would seem to take back-to-back national titles, and an undefeated start, for a fan to actually come on here and post that a win @ Wooster "would seem to virtually be a foregone conclusion."

Well, that plus Marty's refusal to click through to the Wooster page on this site to find out who beat the Scots (information later provided by ScotsFan).

Marty,  How'd it work out for ya?

[Greek Tragedy]

Stevens Point will probably jump to #1 (assuming they win tonight).  I don't see St. Thomas dropping too far, maybe to #5, more likely #4.  I guess it depends how the voters look at that 22-point loss.  It is to a highly ranked team on the road.  Stevens Point didn't lose much after losing to highly ranked Whitewater on the road, but that game was in overtime.

[gordonmann]

I think next week's Top 25 vote will actually be very wide open with at least four teams getting a close look - Washington U, UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point and Randolph Macon (provided they handle Williams tonight).  I could make a case for each of them.  I don't think Middlebury will be in that conversation nor will St. Thomas given the margin of defeat last night. 

[usee]

I have to believe Wheaton falls considerably given they lost to a 3-4 team (who travelled from the same time zone) on a neutral floor. I am guessing the Thunder will be an enigma all year to voters (losing games as a favorite, blowouts in pickem games and wins as an underdog). 

[Titan Q]

I have to believe Wheaton falls considerably given they lost to a 3-4 team (who travelled from the same time zone) on a neutral floor. I am guessing the Thunder will be an enigma all year to voters (losing games as a favorite, blowouts in pickem games and wins as an underdog). 

Agree.  Wheaton's loss to Hamline on a neutral floor can only be considered a "bad loss."  (Elmhurst won @ Hamline...and I think most CCIW followers expect Elmhurst to finish in the bottom 4 this year.)

[John Gleich]

Not again...  #5 Point losing at Viterbo at the half 33-23.  A little let down from last night?

Also, Randolph Macon (new #4, hopped over Point) losing to Williams 39-31 at the half.

EDIT:  Not at the half... R-M leading 67-66 with 2:34 in the game.

[John Gleich]

R-MC is going to hold serve on their home court.  Williams led by 16 with 12 minutes to go in the game and R-MC outscored Williams 40-19 over the last 12 minutes.

79-74 Randolph Macon beats Williams.  Are they the new #1 after they hopped over Point in this week's top 25 and yesterday's results?

I think it definitely depends on what happens in La Crosse tonight... Point is down 6 now, 33-27 with 17:33 to go.

[John Gleich]

Point recovers and retakes the lead 51-50 with about 4:30 to go in the game and wins going away 75-57.  Nailed 17/19 FT's for the game to seal it.

[Hugenerd]

What are poeples' thoughts on JCU and Wilmington?  Wilmington shot into the polls a couple weeks ago, from receiving no votes to #10 in the country, largely in part due to their upset of JCU.  Since that time, they have a bad loss and JCU has looked very beatable, losing 4 of 5.  Does that win over JCU carry less weight in the eyes of voters after what has transpired with JCU recently?  Meanwhile, JCU was still ranked in the top 10 this past week, despite their two losses.  How far will they fall with their 0-2 week and four losses overall (remember that Wooster dropped from the rankings after their 4th loss, and it was seemingly against stronger competition)?  JCU is 1-4 in the past 4 weeks, including the 22 point trouncing by Bethany today.  Will Medaille be the next Wilmington and dart into the polls after a win over JCU, or will this win not carry as much weight as when Wilmington accomplished the same feat due to JCU's recent losses?

[magicman]

What are poeples' thoughts on JCU and Wilmington?  Wilmington shot into the polls a couple weeks ago, from receiving no votes to #10 in the country, largely in part due to their upset of JCU.  Since that time, they have a bad loss and JCU has looked very beatable, losing 4 of 5.  Does that win over JCU carry less weight in the eyes of voters after what has transpired with JCU recently?  Meanwhile, JCU was still ranked in the top 10 this past week, despite their two losses.  How far will they fall with their 0-2 week and four losses overall (remember that Wooster dropped from the rankings after their 4th loss, and it was seemingly against stronger competition)?  JCU is 1-4 in the past 4 weeks, including the 22 point trouncing by Bethany today.  Will Medaille be the next Wilmington and dart into the polls after a win over JCU, or will this win not carry as much weight as when Wilmington accomplished the same feat due to JCU's recent losses?

I think John Carroll drops out of the top 25 and probably ends up at best in the middle of the ORV's.  Medaille gets a few votes but won't benefit nearly as much as Wilmington did because of their weak schedule. I'm guessing they end up around the 33rd spot.
Wilmington with a loss to unranked Thomas More will probably tumble a few spots as well.