Top 25 talk

[diehardfan]

the insult to injury could be that in addition to my team losing to a top 5 team on overtime, I said something that made me look utterly idiotic 

I should have said carthage student posters... guys like kmark totally excluded! though I'm sure he doesn't read this board I just had to clarify 

[cardinalpride]

the insult to injury could be that in addition to my team losing to a top 5 team on overtime, I said something that made me look utterly idiotic 

I should have said carthage student posters... guys like kmark totally excluded! though I'm sure he doesn't read this board I just had to clarify 

You have over 3000 posts.  You get a pass for one hiccup!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

You know there's an edit button April, you can go fix your mistakes and then Pat's post becomes very enigmatic.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Three ARV teams that I thought should be in the top 25 proved their mettle last night.  Oshkosh took out Whitewater, VA Wesleyan finished off HSC's horrible week and Carroll stuck close at Lawrence.  I was also a ONU supporter, but now maybe the voters will have to take a look at Muskingum.

[Knightstalker]

If carroll is really the #2 MWC team this year, they are probably a pretty good squad... Assuming the do well for the rest of the week, I hope they garnish some more top 25 votes next week. 

I always like a little parsley with my votes, makes them much more palatable.

[Pat Coleman]

You know there's an edit button April, you can go fix your mistakes and then Pat's post becomes very enigmatic.

Yes, but I quoted her, and the edit doesn't change the quote.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

True, true.  Never try to beat the master.

[diehardfan]

Sorta like this Hoops Fan:

I love it when people who haven't played anybody good whine about not being in the Top 25.

(And this is where I get banned) 

one hiccup

If only! 

Now back to the top 25 instead of making me feel like I'm back in third grade and getting made fun of on the back of the bus where the driver can't hear... or uhm... come to think of it, is participating  ....

Albion got by Kalamazoo in a squeeker last night.... whereas Wooster beat Kalamazoo by 18. I'm NOT saying that Wooster is 12 points better than Albion. What I am asking is... do you think this widens the gap, and possibly gives Wooster a few more first place votes?

Another question... what do you do with IWU?

While they are certainly overflowing with talent, and are feeling some good karma and momentum now, after their overtime win vs their rival Wheaton...

NCC creamed Carthage last night, after IWU had trouble with them. NCC also actually beat IWU already this season, at IWU... and while NCC lost at Millikin by 1 pt, it took IWU to overtime to beat them. NCC has the most brutal opening set in the CCIW by far, playing their first six games on the road, and have three road wins already in a league that is very difficult to win on the road. When does NCC start getting ranked higher than IWU?

Augie too, is arguably in the drivers seat in the conference, as they are undefeated in the CCIW.

Merely curious. (Prepare to be bombarded by IWU people.) 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'll get banned with you, but unfortunately its always Pat catching me in my errors and never (yet) the other way around.

[Titan Q]

"Augie too, is arguably in the drivers seat in the conference, as they are undefeated in the CCIW."

April, Augustana has really just won games they should have won as a "contender" - at North Park, at home vs Elmhurst, at home vs Wheaton, at Carthage, at home vs Millikin.  They are 5-0 but haven't played @ North Central, @ IWU, or @ Elmhurst yet.  You can't use the term "driver's seat" quite yet for Augustana (in fact, you can't use it yet for any CCIW team).  Let's wait until they play North Central at home Saturday at then at IWU Wednesday before we start talking about the driver's seat.

This is similar to what I mentioned on Hoopsville this week regarding the WIAC.  My point was that Stevens Point should not have been considered the "favorite" just because they were 6-1.  Sure 6-1 is good, but the Pointers haven't played @ Oshkosh, @ Stout, and even @ Platteville, the team that just beat them at home, for that matter.

In balanced leagues like the WIAC and CCIW it is best not to try to use the early season standings as a method of "ranking" the teams.  You have to let some of the big games play out.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Speaking of the WIAC.  I know the poster's hated to be wrong about Oshkosh being so high in the polls pre-season, but they certainly appear to be the strongest contender now.  With that win over Whitewater last night, they might actually make it back in the poll this week.

[Titan Q]

"NCC creamed Carthage last night, after IWU had trouble with them. "


April, all indications on the CCIW board are that Carthage just didn't show up to play last night...and that is coming from Carthage posters.  After the IWU/Carthage game, the Carthage fans were praising the Red Men for playing incredibly hard, blah, blah, blah.  Now, I obviously wasn't in Kenosha last night so I can't confirm how Carthage played vs NCC, but this is one of the dangers of playing that common opponent game.  What if Carthage was as brutal as their fans make it sound...is it accurate to draw a comparison to IWU?

I think there is a very good chance North Central is the CCIW's best team...again, they beat IWU at IWU.  But I don't think there is any reason to use a common opponent score to prove that.  NCC and IWU already played a head-to-head game - a game where Keelan Amelianovich had a shot with 3 seconds left to tie the game.  In other words, we already know IWU and NCC are just about dead even.  The fact that IWU and Carthage played a close one (just like Augie and Carthage did in Kenosha) while NCC blew Carthage out in the same building means just one thing.........the common opponent game can be very misleading.  

I mean, how do you explain North Park winning at Millikin, Millikin winning at Elmhurst, and Elmhurst winning at North Park?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Oh, I get it now, April.  It works kinda like this:

I really do think IWU is getting the raw end of the deal; they never get enough respect.

In fact, it's kinda fun.

[hugenerd]

I was looking over Carnegie Mellons schedule and I noticed something, every team the play from here on out currently has a winning record.  So I decided to see how tough the rest of the top 13 teams schedules are in terms of opponents being over 0.500 (a team that is currently 0.500 was not counted for this list):

(Teams with over half their games against opponents with winning records are highlighted)

Wittenberg         4/9
Wooster             4/9
Albion                 3/9
Hope                  2/9
Lawrence           2/9
IWU                   5/9
Puget Sound      4/10
York                   5/10
Augustana         6/9
Baldwin-Wall.     4/9
Carnegie            11/11
Amherst              8/11
NCU                    7/10

[cardinalpride]

NCC creamed Carthage last night, after IWU had trouble with them. NCC also actually beat IWU already this season, at IWU... and while NCC lost at Millikin by 1 pt, it took IWU to overtime to beat them. NCC has the most brutal opening set in the CCIW by far, playing their first six games on the road, and have three road wins already in a league that is very difficult to win on the road. When does NCC start getting ranked higher than IWU?

Diehard, NCC jumps ahead of IWU and augie with a win at augie on saturday, a win at home against elmhurst, a win at wheaton the following saturday (sorry), and a home win against IWU on 2/1.  After this upcoming stretch, NCC should find themselves in the top 5 of the polls and clearly in the driver's seat of the CCIW.