Top 25 talk

[David Collinge]

http://athletics.uwsp.edu/sports/2014/12/10/MBB_1210140918.aspx

Pointer article came out with the preseason Top 25 and had some nice historical information on them.

They've been ranked for 46 weeks in a row now (start of the 2012-2013 season). Probably not a huge feat. It was also noted that they've been in the Top 25 for 135 of the last 137 weeks (the other two weeks, they still received votes) dating back to the start of the 2006-2007 season.

I only mention this because last year there was talk about Amherst finally dropping out and the NESCAC not in the polls for the first time since 2002 (?).

The only other team I could think of off hand that could have such a streak would be St. Thomas since they've won the last 10 or so MIAC championships. Any thoughts or ideas of other streaks or who holds the all-time record and current streak?

Back when I still tracked stuff like this, Amherst and Wooster were neck and neck and far ahead of everyone else in categories like most top 10s and top 25s, both overall and consecutively. IIRC, both had been in every top 25 from the very first poll through the first 10 years or so. Been a few years, though, and memory fades. Also, memory fades.

[Greek Tragedy]

So how much did Whitworth have to pay La Verne to play a 12:01 am Friday morning game?     

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Knowing the LaVerne coach... nothing. He likes unique things like that.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

"The off-season is over. The basketball season has arrived, but it can't start without Hoopsville hitting the air! Tune in tonight as Dave talks to the two preseason number one teams, touches base with a major coaching change, checks in with the men's basketball National Committee chair, and previews the Northeast Region.

Show starts at 7PM ET! www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2015-16/nov12

Guests include:
- Grey Giovanine, head coach for #1 Augustana men
- Jeff Hans, head coach for #1 Thomas More women
- Brian Van Haaften, men's basketball committee chair and head coach for Buena Vista
- Trevor Woodruff, head coach for Scranton women
- Matt Noonan, Northeast Regional Reporter"

You can also catch up on the Hoopsville New Rules Special we did and published yesterday. We chatted with:
- Bill Raleigh, Southwestern Assistant Athletic Director and former men's basketball coach along with being on the men's rules committee
- Brad Duckworth, Alverno Athletic Director and women's head coach along with being the current chair of the women's rules committee
- Tim Fitzpatrick, Coast Guard Athletic Director

You can watch or listen to that show here: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2015-16/rules-special

AND BIG NEWS... Hoopsville has added Sunday shows to this year's November and December schedule. That means the show will air Thursdays and Sundays from the beginning of the season until the end. Each show will air at 7pm ET (unless noted) with a few shows in November and December being canceled due to holidays or other responsibilities (i.e. Gagliari Trophy and Stagg Bowl Week).

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville
SoundCloud (podcast): www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville

[Greek Tragedy]

Based on the preseason poll, Stevens Point plays:

Vs #15 St. Olaf
Vs#16 Hope
Vs St. Norbert  RV (57)
At #1 Augustana
At North Central RV (10)
Vs #4 St. Thomas
Vs Keene St. RV (4)

Any other similarly tough nonconference schedules?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Augustana:
at UW-Whitewater RV (60)
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
at Wash U RV (15)

And those three games are in a course of ten days in December.

They also have:
at UW-La Crposse
vs. UW-Oskosh
vs. Edgewood

North Central:
vs. #7 Mount Union
vs. #17 Chicago
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
vs. Centre RV (8)

Plus UW-Platteville.e

[Darryl Nester]

Just a quick note to reassure anyone who might be wondering: I'm once again planning to post "How They Fared" updates this season. I just did a trial run of my program to confirm that it is still working correctly (after moving it from my old PC to my new Macbook).

I'll post a "mid-week" update on Thursday morning (or perhaps Wednesday evening), and then another report on Sunday night, so the voters can refer to it for the first in-season poll.

(P.S. Thanks for the nudge, scottiedawg.)

[Gregory Sager]

[Titan Q]

Final from Elmhurst...

Benedictine 94
#8 Elmhurst 86

Benedictine has now won at #24 IWU and at #8 Elmhurst.  I've watched them play quite a bit and they look like a very legitimate Top 25 team to me.  Great perimeter play and a 6-9 stud in the low post (and some other good bigs).

[AndOne]

Augustana:
at UW-Whitewater RV (60)
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
at Wash U RV (15)

And those three games are in a course of ten days in December.

They also have:
at UW-La Crposse
vs. UW-Oskosh
vs. Edgewood

North Central:
vs. #7 Mount Union
vs. #17 Chicago
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
vs. Centre RV (8)

Plus UW-Platteville.e

Plus North Central has #1 Augie, #8 Elmhurst, and #24 IWU twice each.
That's 9 games against Top 25 teams plus one ORV, and Plateville, and now (3-0) Benedictine.

[Titan Q]

Augustana:
at UW-Whitewater RV (60)
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
at Wash U RV (15)

And those three games are in a course of ten days in December.

They also have:
at UW-La Crposse
vs. UW-Oskosh
vs. Edgewood

North Central:
vs. #7 Mount Union
vs. #17 Chicago
vs. #9 UW-Stevens Point
vs. Centre RV (8)

Plus UW-Platteville.e

I think IWU's non-conference schedule is as tough as Augustana's...maybe tougher.  Here is how I'd rank IWU's opponents, strongest to weakest...

1. Ohio Wesleyan (#13), 22-6/16-2 NCAC/picked 1st in NCAC
2. Chicago (#17), 16-9/8-6 UAA; picked 1st in UAA
3. Benedictine, 18-9/15-5 NACC; picked 2nd in NACC (lost 86-88)
4. Washington U. (ORV), 20-6/9-5 UAA; picked 4th in UAA
5. Texas Lutheran, 18-10/11-3 SCAC; picked 2nd in SCAC
6. Rose-Hulman, 14-10/10-7 HCAC; picked 2nd in HCAC (won 86-76)
7. Southwestern, 15-11/8-6 SCAC; picked 5th in SCAC
8. Milwaukee School of Engineering, 13-13/10-10 NACC; picked 4th in NACC
9. Loras, 10-15/5-9 IIAC; picked 6th in IIAC
10. Wilmington, 11-14, 8-10 OAC; picked 8th in OAC (won 84-61)
11. Greenville, 13-12/10-8 SLIAC; picked 5th in SLIAC (won 150-117)

Augustana's...

1. UW-Stevens Point (#9) 27-5/15-1 WIAC; picked 1st in WIAC
2. UW-Oshkosh (#23), 16-10/9-7 WIAC; picked 3rd in WIAC
3. UW-Whitewater (ORV) 24-4, 15-1 WIAC; picked 2nd in WIAC
4. Washington U. (ORV), 20-6/9-5 UAA; picked 4th in UAA
5. Lewis & Clark, 16-11/10-6; picked 3rd in NWC
6. Puget Sound, 12-12/7-9 NWC; picked 5th in NWC
7. UW-La Crosse, 11-14/6-10; picked 7th in WIAC  (won 88-60)
8. Edgewood, 14-13/12-8 NACC; picked 7th NACC
9. George Fox, 5-20/3-13 NWC; picked 7th in NWC
10. Fontbonne, 13-14/11-7 SLIAC; picked 3rd in SLIAC  (won 80-57)
11. MacMurray, 13-13/13-5 SLIAC; picked 4th in SLIAC

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (So Far)

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	623	Augustana	2-0	def. UW-La Crosse, 88-60; won at Fontbonne, 80-57
#2	462	Virginia Wesleyan	2-2	LOST at Wesley, 91-92; def. Milwaukee Engineering, 73-59; def. Averett, 88-66; LOST at #45 Salisbury, 60-71; 11/28 vs. Emory and Henry; 11/29 vs. North Carolina Wesleyan
#3	452	Whitworth	3-0	def. La Verne, 87-80; def. Caltech, 80-58; def. Northwest (Wash.), 84-54; 11/27 vs. Hamline (n); 11/28 at Colorado College
#4	443	St. Thomas	3-0	won at UW-Eau Claire, 76-62; def. (n) #18 Emory, 82-70; def. (n) T#48 Southern Vermont, 79-67
#5	416	Amherst	3-0	def. Johnson State, 104-52; def. Worcester State, 97-79; def. Anna Maria, 86-64
#6	399	Catholic	2-2	def. Neumann, 75-64; def. (n) La Roche, 84-65; LOST at #11 Marietta, 90-92; LOST at Washington and Lee, 72-74; 11/29 vs. Wesley
#7	359	Mount Union	3-2	LOST to (n) #31 William Paterson, 78-100; def. (n) Potsdam State, 70-56; def. Penn St. Beaver, 118-91; LOST at #40 North Central (Ill.), 68-83; def. (n) #17 Chicago, 74-58
#8	356	Elmhurst	3-1	won at Curry, 83-61; won at Greenville, 123-111; def. (n) Westminster (Mo.), 81-58; LOST to Benedictine, 86-93; 11/29 vs. Alma
#9	355	UW-Stevens Point	3-1	won at UW-Superior, 69-61; def. #15 St. Olaf, 68-65; LOST to #16 Hope, 56-68; def. T#33 St. Norbert, 66-61
#10	350	Babson	5-0	def. Framingham State, 69-41; def. Anna Maria, 97-67; won at Lasell, 74-72; def. Elms, 103-71; won at Becker, 70-65; 11/29 at Bowdoin
#11	335	Marietta	4-1	def. Westminster (Pa.), 100-82; won at Bethany, 78-65; def. Methodist, 79-64; def. #6 Catholic, 92-90; LOST at St. Vincent, 80-85
#12	292	Trinity (Conn.)	1-1	LOST at Springfield, 69-80; won at Framingham State, 71-60; 11/27 vs. Me.-Fort Kent (n); 11/28 vs. TBA (n)
#13	268	Ohio Wesleyan	5-0	won at Otterbein, 80-75; def. (n) Capital, 72-59; def. Alma, 96-77; def. T#41 Calvin, 91-83; def. Trine, 70-53; 11/28 at #24 Illinois Wesleyan
#14	249	Eastern Connecticut	2-2	LOST to (n) #36 WPI, 50-60; def. (n) Western New England, 80-51; LOST to (n) Johnson and Wales, 59-72; def. (n) Ramapo, 96-71; 11/28 vs. Hartwick (n); 11/29 vs. TBA (n)
#15	224	St. Olaf	1-1	def. Bethany Lutheran, 82-53; LOST at #9 UW-Stevens Point, 65-68; 11/28 vs. UW-River Falls
#16	219	Hope	2-0	won at UW-La Crosse, 65-47; won at #9 UW-Stevens Point, 68-56; 11/27 vs. Aquinas (n); 11/28 at Cornerstone
#17	209	Chicago	2-2	LOST at North Park, 66-72; def. Lake Forest, 67-61; LOST to (n) #7 Mount Union, 58-74; won at #40 North Central (Ill.), 74-61; 11/27 at Pacific Lutheran; 11/28 at Puget Sound
#18	194	Emory	4-1	def. Piedmont, 72-60; def. Birmingham-Southern, 88-54; def. Belhaven, 72-65; LOST to (n) #4 St. Thomas, 70-82; won at Stevenson, 79-75; 11/28 at Maryville (Tenn.); 11/29 vs. LaGrange (n)
#19	193	Franklin and Marshall	4-1	def. Elizabethtown, 80-49; def. Oneonta State, 79-71; def. (n) New Jersey City, 79-67; LOST to (n) Lancaster Bible, 66-94; won at Muhlenberg, 81-78
#20	159	Wooster	2-1	def. Silver Lake, 89-48; LOST to Skidmore, 63-72; won at Cabrini, 79-59
#21	157	Dickinson	1-3	LOST to Cabrini, 82-87; won at Stevenson, 77-67; LOST to (n) #22 St. John Fisher, 68-82; LOST at McDaniel, 56-66
#22	134	St. John Fisher	3-0	def. SUNYIT, 96-73; def. (n) DeSales, 74-64; def. (n) #21 Dickinson, 82-68
#23	132	UW-Oshkosh	2-2	LOST at T#33 St. Norbert, 62-68; LOST to Coe, 70-75; def. Wisconsin Lutheran, 88-81; def. Edgewood, 99-53
#24	129	Illinois Wesleyan	3-1	LOST to Benedictine, 86-88; def. Greenville, 150-117; def. Wilmington, 84-61; def. Rose-Hulman, 86-76; 11/28 vs. #13 Ohio Wesleyan
#25	114	East Texas Baptist	2-0	won at Rhodes, 58-55; won at Centenary (La.), 72-61; 11/27 vs. Schreiner (n); 11/28 at Texas Lutheran

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	99	Randolph-Macon	1-3	LOST to Mary Washington, 66-83; LOST to (n) St. Vincent, 68-70; won at Frostburg State, 84-74; LOST to T#46 Christopher Newport, 65-74; 11/29 at Averett
#27	84	NYU	3-0	def. SUNY-Purchase, 75-53; def. Moravian, 104-76; def. Arcadia, 90-87; 11/29 vs. Massachusetts College
#28	82	Johns Hopkins	1-3	LOST to Lynchburg, 80-91; def. (n) DePauw, 82-74; LOST at #39 Washington U., 62-78; LOST at Gettysburg, 70-83
#29	75	Bates	2-1	def. (n) Norwich, 79-49; def. (n) Me.-Fort Kent, 86-65; LOST at Southern Maine, 92-106; 11/29 vs. University of New England
#30	69	Scranton	3-1	def. Bryn Athyn, 94-68; def. Ursinus, 71-62; def. Ithaca, 78-67; LOST to Hobart, 73-79; 11/28 vs. King's (n); 11/29 vs. Wilkes
#31	63	William Paterson	3-2	def. (n) #7 Mount Union, 100-78; won at Drew, 70-62; def. Lehman, 73-71; LOST at Brooklyn, 66-80; LOST to Ramapo, 0-2; 11/28 vs. Rosemont (n)
#32	60	UW-Whitewater	2-1	won at T#48 Ripon, 74-60; LOST to Davenport, 74-85; def. Finlandia, 80-52; 11/28 vs. Ohio Northern
T#33	57	St. Norbert	1-1	def. #23 UW-Oshkosh, 68-62; LOST at #9 UW-Stevens Point, 61-66; 11/28 at Monmouth
T#33	57	John Carroll	4-0	def. (n) Transylvania, 92-75; won at St. Mary's (Md.), 100-88; def. (n) Birmingham-Southern, 117-93; def. (n) Rust, 120-88; 11/28 at La Roche
#35	54	Oswego State	4-0	won at St. Lawrence, 73-67; def. Mount St. Mary, 71-46; def. (n) Morrisville State, 61-59; won at Clarkson, 73-58; 11/28 vs. Middlebury (n); 11/29 vs. TBA (n)
#36	52	WPI	5-0	def. (n) #14 Eastern Connecticut, 60-50; won at Westfield State, 59-50; def. Curry, 89-64; def. Staten Island, 66-62; def. Worcester State, 57-51
#37	47	Stockton	3-1	LOST to Staten Island, 68-72; def. Neumann, 86-71; def. Gwynedd Mercy, 81-64; won at Rowan, 88-71
#38	23	Bethel	4-0	def. Martin Luther, 94-71; won at UW-River Falls, 62-55; def. UW-La Crosse, 83-76; def. Buena Vista, 91-86
#39	15	Washington U.	3-0	def. Blackburn, 90-60; def. Pomona-Pitzer, 87-65; def. #28 Johns Hopkins, 78-62; 11/27 at Spalding; 11/29 at Hanover
#40	10	North Central (Ill.)	1-1	def. #7 Mount Union, 83-68; LOST to #17 Chicago, 61-74; 11/28 at Aurora
T#41	9	Albertus Magnus	3-0	def. SUNY-Purchase, 101-84; won at Mitchell, 99-91; def. Norwich, 65-64
T#41	9	Calvin	2-1	def. (n) Waynesburg, 83-77; LOST at #13 Ohio Wesleyan, 83-91; won at Manchester, 89-77; 11/27 at Cornerstone; 11/28 vs. Aquinas (n)
T#43	8	Centre	3-1	LOST to Maryville (Tenn.), 62-70; won at Franklin, 71-60; won at Transylvania, 61-46; def. Berea, 80-66; 11/28 vs. Thomas More
T#43	8	Hardin-Simmons	2-3	won at Schreiner, 76-70; LOST at Southwestern, 74-80; won at Trinity (Texas), 85-72; LOST to Schreiner, 82-84; LOST at Texas Lutheran, 89-99; 11/28 vs. Southwestern
#45	7	Salisbury	5-0	def. (n) Rowan, 62-61; won at Widener, 83-50; def. (n) T#48 Southern Vermont, 60-59; def. (n) DeSales, 89-79; def. #2 Virginia Wesleyan, 71-60
T#46	4	Christopher Newport	3-0	def. Lynchburg, 72-56; def. Washington and Lee, 70-52; won at #26 Randolph-Macon, 74-65; 11/29 vs. Frostburg State
T#46	4	Keene State	5-0	def. Green Mountain, 108-104; def. T#50 Endicott, 100-88; def. Lasell, 93-91; won at University of New England, 89-66; won at Springfield, 87-78
T#48	2	Ripon	2-1	LOST to #32 UW-Whitewater, 60-74; def. Lawrence, 88-80; won at Wisconsin Lutheran, 85-73
T#48	2	Southern Vermont	1-2	def. Massachusetts College, 102-72; LOST to (n) #45 Salisbury, 59-60; LOST to (n) #4 St. Thomas, 67-79; 11/29 at Castleton State
T#50	1	Endicott	2-2	def. (n) Elms, 93-89; LOST at T#46 Keene State, 88-100; def. (n) Clark, 88-72; LOST to (n) Lyndon State, 81-87
T#50	1	Northwestern (Minn.)	5-0	def. Gustavus Adolphus, 75-73; won at Hamline, 81-67; def. Marian, 87-66; def. Concordia-Moorhead, 83-64; won at Macalester, 64-61

[7express]

That's a lot of red there  .  I think for sure WPI cracks the next poll (when is it anyways??), and Keene State should too.

[magicman]

Lots of big bolded black marks in Darryl's first "How They Fared" report. 24 losses among the Top 25 teams and another 24 losses among the 26 teams in the ORV category. That's a whole lot of carnage.

Ten teams had 2 losses:

#2 Virginia Wesleyan
#6 Catholic
#7 Mt. Union
#14 Eastern Connecticut
#17 Chicago
#23 UW-Oshkosh
#28 Johns Hopkins
#31 William Paterson (with their unfortunate forfeit)
#48 Southern Vermont
#50 Endicott

And three teams had 3 losses:

#21 Dickinson
#26 Randolph-Macon
#43 Hardin-Simmons

One interesting fact...Benedictine University is responsible for 2 of the losses on this board as they defeated #24 Illinois Wesleyan 88-86 back on November 14th and last night held on to down Elmhurst 94-86. At halftime they had a 28 point lead. I wonder if they'll get some love from the Top 25 voters? In between these 2 wins Benedictine defeated Wheaton College (Ill) by a 76-61 score, so the Eagles are currently in 1st place in the CCIW with a 3-0 record. They could conceivably  improve that CCIW record to 5-0 as they will play at North Central on Dec.22nd and end the year with a Dec. 30th game hosting Carthage. At that time they will have played 11 games...6 in their own NACC conference and 5 in the CCIW. Too bad that on New Year's Day they can't choose which conference they would like to be in for the rest of the season.

And plus K to Darryl for doing this again.       

[Titan Q]

One interesting fact...Benedictine University is responsible for 2 of the losses on this board as they defeated #24 Illinois Wesleyan 88-86 back on November 14th and last night held on to down Elmhurst 94-86. At halftime they had a 28 point lead. I wonder if they'll get some love from the Top 25 voters? In between these 2 wins Benedictine defeated Wheaton College (Ill) by a 76-61 score, so the Eagles are currently in 1st place in the CCIW with a 3-0 record. They could conceivably  improve that CCIW record to 5-0 as they will play at North Central on Dec.22nd and end the year with a Dec. 30th game hosting Carthage. At that time they will have played 11 games...6 in their own NACC conference and 5 in the CCIW. Too bad that on New Year's Day they can't choose which conference they would like to be in for the rest of the season.

Benedictine is very good.  Their starters:

G - Tahron Harvey, 6-2/185 Jr.   16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.7 apg
G - John Dodson, 6-0/185 Sr.   12.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg   
G - Michael Blaszczk, 6-3/190 Jr.  16.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F - Adam Reynolds, 6-5/225 Jr.   12.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg
F - Luke Johnson, 6-9/235 Sr.   13.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg


They have great balance -- a strong group of perimeter players, and strong posts, led by 6-9 Luke Johnson.  Johnson started 9 games for Division II St. Leo in 2014-15 - he is one of the better 5s in Division III.

Elmhurst is a big, deep, and very talented team - what BU did to the Bluejays last night in the 1st half, on Elmhurst's floor, was impressive.

Having watched parts of Benedictine's first 3 games, I see a team that could be ranked as high as about #15 right now.