Top 25 talk

[Hugenerd]

CMU finishes its out of conference schedule 10-1 with a 71-56 victory over Lycoming on the road.  CMU hosts Chicago and WashU this weekend.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

#9 Amherst falls to visiting Brandeis 73-58. Tied at 44 at the 10:20  the Judges go on a 19-6 run to grab a 13 pt lead at 63-50 with 3:24 to play. The foul parade started soon after to account for the final score

This was Amherst's chance to get a significant out of conference win (they do still have RIC near the end of the season on the road), but instead they ended up losing badly at home because of their poor play over the final 10 minutes.  Their only out of conference wins against teams with winning records are now Lasell (9-4), Westfield State (9-6), and Babson (8-7), not exactly a who's who of top New England teams.  With the NESCAC seemingly down this year (Massey has them ranked as the #15 conference in the country, behind #14 NEWMAC in NE), will their very subpar out of conference schedule come to haunt them come tournament time for seeding (or selection, if it comes to that).  With two losses, it is obviously not time to panic, but if they drop a couple more games in conference and then lose to RIC, they could quickly find themselves with 5 or 6 losses and on the bubble.

RIC is not having the best year so far and it doesn't look to improve with more conference games.  Amherst could have a very weak non-con schedule this year, even for them.

[magicman]

#9 Amherst falls to visiting Brandeis 73-58. Tied at 44 at the 10:20  the Judges go on a 19-6 run to grab a 13 pt lead at 63-50 with 3:24 to play. The foul parade started soon after to account for the final score

This was Amherst's chance to get a significant out of conference win (they do still have RIC near the end of the season on the road), but instead they ended up losing badly at home because of their poor play over the final 10 minutes.  Their only out of conference wins against teams with winning records are now Lasell (9-4), Westfield State (9-6), and Babson (8-7), not exactly a who's who of top New England teams.  With the NESCAC seemingly down this year (Massey has them ranked as the #15 conference in the country, behind #14 NEWMAC in NE), will their very subpar out of conference schedule come to haunt them come tournament time for seeding (or selection, if it comes to that).  With two losses, it is obviously not time to panic, but if they drop a couple more games in conference and then lose to RIC, they could quickly find themselves with 5 or 6 losses and on the bubble.

RIC is not having the best year so far and it doesn't look to improve with more conference games.  Amherst could have a very weak non-con schedule this year, even for them.

Well, RIC's year just got a little better as they went on the road to beat conference rival #14 Mass-Dartmouth Tuesday night 69-66.  RIC is now 11-4 and tied for 1st in the LEC.
But I agree Amherst DOES have a very weak non-conference schedule. 8 teams with losing records in their 13 non-con games.

[April]

Who voted for 13 Days in the poll?  Twice the boom mic made a lengthy appearance in shots, but was less conspicuous than Costner's magical disappearing accent.

That would be me.

I really don't like any president movies much, though I do love the TV drama "West Wing" with a passion. I almost wanted to vote for "An American President" just cause it has Martin Sheen in it. However, Martin sheen looks so ridiculously out of place as Michael Douglas's mere Chief of Staff rather than holding his rightful place as the leader of the free world.

So why Thirteen Days?

#1 It's critically acclaimed, I am not the only one who thinks it's a good movie.
#2 It portrays a very important period in US history. It adequately captures the humanity of the people in power, and yet is idealistic enough to inspire.
#3 I actually didn't even remember it had Kevin Costner in it. However it does have the house majority(minority?) leader from the West Wing on it, playing Robert Kennedy. He's a great actor.

I like Will Smith and all, but seriously? That is not an important film. It was a fun summer block buster, but it doesn't make you contemplate humanity years after you watch it.

[OshDude]

President poll ... Other: The War Room.
Don't remember what board had the basketball movie poll, but to not include Hoop Dreams and The Heart of the Game must have been an oversight. See those if you have not. Hoop Dreams is in my top five movies of all time. Then again I like documentaries.

[David Collinge]

[sac]

Should I be concerned I've only seen 2 1/2 of those movies?

[David Collinge]

Should I be concerned I've only seen 2 1/2 of those movies?

I've only seen one of them, as far as I can recall. 

[cardinalpride]

Should I be concerned I've only seen 2 1/2 of those movies?

I've only seen one of them, as far as I can recall. 

I hope its JFK!

[gordonmann]

I've only seen three (Independence Day, Airforce 1 and An American President) but  I was moderately surprised that All the Presidents Men didn't make the cut.

[OxyBob]

Should I be concerned I've only seen 2 1/2 of those movies?

I've only seen one of them, as far as I can recall. 

Best "President" movie: Duck Soup.

http://www.earthstation1.com/Marx_BrosFiles/dsbadoff.wav

OxyBob

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Should I be concerned I've only seen 2 1/2 of those movies?

I've only seen one of them, as far as I can recall. 

Best "President" movie: Duck Soup.

http://www.earthstation1.com/Marx_BrosFiles/dsbadoff.wav

OxyBob

Hail, Hail Fredonia

(I almost went there).

DGP

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Presidential movies:

Seven Days in May
All the President's Men
Clear and Present Danger

dgp

[iwumichigander]

I'm curious as to how Wheaton will be treated in the poll. Is it possible that the injury to Kent Raymond could cause Wheaton to drop even though to this point they are still undefeated. Any thoughts?

Wheaton won't drop until they actually lose.  And should they lose sans Raymond, they might not actually fall as far as they would have, with him.

Completely agree.  A loss without Raymond likely drops Wheaton 3-5 spots at most.  I would think the voters would be looking for a trend to develop first prior to any significant change.

[KnightSlappy]

I'm curious as to how Wheaton will be treated in the poll. Is it possible that the injury to Kent Raymond could cause Wheaton to drop even though to this point they are still undefeated. Any thoughts?

Wheaton won't drop until they actually lose.  And should they lose sans Raymond, they might not actually fall as far as they would have, with him.

Completely agree.  A loss without Raymond likely drops Wheaton 3-5 spots at most.  I would think the voters would be looking for a trend to develop first prior to any significant change.

IMO, voters and fans usually put way too much emphasis on wins and loses in selecting the order of the Top 25.  Without Kent Raymond, Wheaton is still a very good team but are they still the best in the country?  Would you expect Wheaton to beat all of the other teams in the top 5 without Raymond?  If you can answer "Yes" to both of these questions then Wheaton is still your #1 team.  These are questions that should be asked on a weekly basis in addition to the usual W/L comparison.