Top 25 talk

[magicman]

Let's see how UDallas does in the NEAC tournament.

Ralph,
I think the winner of the NEAC tournament will be the same team that won it last year, SUNYIT. And if they do get upset, it will probably be Wells College that does it. 

[gordonmann]

Is Brandeis just SO inconsistent that their games need to be discounted, or does today's result reflect negatively on WashU?

I've been wondering the same thing about Wash U.  They've had some results that raised eyebrows for the wrong reasons including smaller-than-expected margins of victory over Case, Chicago and NYU.  I know they have injury problems.  I know the Bears are winning despite them.  I know I wouldn't want to play them in the tournament.

But I don't know if they are the No. 4 team in the country at this moment.

[toooldtoplay]

Common thread among good (not great) teams with losses to average or poor teams is the 3 point shot. Many of the middle of the road teams don't have the dominant inside players that can carry a team when shots aren't going.  It looks like highly ranked teams seem to have the poor shooting night (mental) against a mediocre teams and lose. I see numbers like 3-17, 1-14, 0-6, 4-20 and it is tough to overcome.  Once you get behind those shots are harder to hit at any level. The inside game is more consistent and therefore needs to be considered a bit more importantly when evaluating teams.

[nwhoops1903]

Topic:  Win Streak

Whitworth and Anderson both on 14 game roll.  For Whitworth that's a school record.  Anyway, are these the longest amongst D3's this year (oh lookie there, William Paterson on a 16 gamer)?  Does a win streak have a bearing in voters minds?  Go Pirates!!

[John Gleich]

Topic:  Win Streak

Whitworth and Anderson both on 14 game roll.  For Whitworth that's a school record.  Anyway, are these the longest amongst D3's this year (oh lookie there, William Paterson on a 16 gamer)?  Does a win streak have a bearing in voters minds?  Go Pirates!!

While winning streaks are impressive, I think just as important are the teams included in that win streak.

As an aside, I see WW's as being the best, by virtue of their strength of schedule.

Team	SOS
Whitworth	.530
William Paterson	.511
Anderson	.455

[Hugenerd]

New poll is out, no big surprises:

www.d3hoops.com/top25

[Ralph Turner]

Here is another interesting development in the Top 25 this season.

I have listed the number of votes that were not given to the 25 teams in the Top 25 for Week #7 for the last 5 seasons.

Year	Votes not given to the 25 in the Top 25
2009-10	138
2008-09	226
2007-08	258
2006-07	318
2005-06	271

I think that the voters don't think that there are 25 teams that deserve to be in the Top 25.

(Corrections to the back-of-the-napkin math are appreciated.)

I'd interpret it just the reverse - that the voters have reached a rough consensus on who the top 25 are.

Week #8 has all but 125 points allocated to the Top 25 teams in the poll.

[toooldtoplay]

It may come down to the amount of information available. If everyone is using the same info to select teams then the votes will tend to be more consolidated.  The only difference would be regional or league bias and relative importance given to different criteria.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It may come down to the amount of information available. If everyone is using the same info to select teams then the votes will tend to be more consolidated.  The only difference would be regional or league bias and relative importance given to different criteria.

I think, also, in a year like this with a large pool of teams people are unsure about, the confidence of other voters may play into it.

If I'm choosing between Team A and Team B, but not excited about either one.  The fact that Team A received 65 votes the previous week and Team B received 3 might be a deciding factor - if I have been unable to choose based on other available data.

[toooldtoplay]

Are you saying you are still subject to a bit of "peer pressure"??

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Are you saying you are still subject to a bit of "peer pressure"??

I don't tend to be subject to it, hence the fact that my poster's poll nickname has become "captain outlier."  I do think it makes some sense for a poster to trust the judgment of others as a legitimate factor.  If a voter really feels Team A is better than Team B, they'll vote for Team A.  If they can't tell the difference, trusting their peers makes some sense.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

15 of the top 25 in action this evening.

[magicman]

#9 Randolph-Macon drops a 65-57 decision to Washington & Lee.

[Hugenerd]

#9 Randolph-Macon drops a 65-57 decision to Washington & Lee.

The game was at RMC, that is their 3rd loss in 5 games, their second at home (and the other was at EMU by 23).

[magicman]

Stevens Point up by 15 36-21 over Whitewater at the half.