Top 25 talk

[gordonmann]

Yeah.  Don't look at the results from Guilford-St. Mary's or Manhattanville-Moravian either.

[Hugenerd]

Well, there is always next week.  New poll is out now:

http://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2010-11/week5

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

All these losses and close wins after I was happy shaking up my Top 25 last week... looks like I will have to rethink it AGAIN!

[magicman]

#6 Middlebury and #22 Plattsburgh St. battle it out once again as The Panthers come out on top 88-82. Middlebury remains undefeated as they improve to 8-0. The Cardinals fall to 6-2, with both losses coming to Top 25 teams. Definitely think Middlebury will make the NCAA tournament and be at least a sweet 16 team.
Plattsburgh also has a good chance to make the tourney and they showed tonight that they can play with anyone. These 2 teams might even meet again down the road come tournament time.

   

[magicman]

This is part of a post that I wrote on the SUNYAC board concerning the Middlebury-Plattsburgh State game that I attended Tuesday evening. I got to see an amazing display toward the end of the game and thought I would share it point by point. The post is from the start of the 2nd half of the game which was tied at 37 at the break. The player in the post, Josh Bruno is a senior for Plattsburgh State, who is averaging a career high 11 minutes a game this year and has a 3.1 ppg average for his career. D3hoops had a small article about the game on the front page but only mentions that Bruno was 6x6 from behind the arc and that he had 24 points.


The teams continued to trade baskets through the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half with Middlebury gaining a slight advantage in that they maintained a 1 or 2 possession lead. The turning point of the game came with about 7 minutes left to play and it was an old nemesis of the Cardinals, foul shooting, which was partly responsible. Plattsburgh had made 6 of 7 free throws in the 1st half but they were down 59-55 when they made three trips to the line for 2 shot fouls over the next 1:56. They missed 5 straight free throws before making 1 and that would have kept the game a 1 or 2 possession contest. Instead the Panthers scored after each of the Cards free throw trips, and quickly had the first double digit lead by either team at 70-59. The Cardinals continued to fall further behind and then with 1:53 remaining, Cardinal Guard Josh Bruno, who had 14 minutes of playing time at that point, re-entered the game. Bruno had taken 3 shots earlier in the game, all from behind the arc and made all 3. He promptly proceeds to hit another triple with 1:43 left, then steals the ball, makes a layup is fouled and hits the free throw at the 1:21 mark for another 3 point play. With 33 seconds left he nails another 3 pointer, is fouled and makes the free throw to complete the 4 point play. With 21 seconds left he is fouled again and makes both foul shots(Damn only 2 pts). The Cards get another steal and Bruno, this time from about 3 feet behind the line nails another 3 pointer with 16 seconds left on the clock, to complete a run of 15 pts in ONE MINUTE AND 37 SECONDS. Josh ended up playing 16 minutes in the game and he tied Ryan Wholey of the Panthers for the game's scoring honors with 24. Bruno was a perfect 7x7 from the field and 6x6 from 3 point land. Strangely enough when the Cards missed those 5 free throws in a row, he missed 2 of them( both spun out) but did make his next 4 attempts. Bruno's heroics did bring the Cardinals back from a double digit deficit and made the final score of 88-82 a bit more respectable. Even Panther coach Jeff Brown got a touch nervous as he watched a 16 pt lead dwindle to 5, forcing him to call a time out with just a few seconds left. It seems to me that 15 points scored by an individual in 97 seconds (and it's not by a player that is on a winning team and is repeatedly being fouled so most of his points are coming as free throws) should be some kind of record. It's probably not, but it sure was fun to watch.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared--Midweek Report

Men's games:
Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	601	Wooster	13-0	01/08 at #7 Wabash
#2	582	Williams	13-0	def. Elms, 82-65; 01/08 at #17 Amherst
#3	563	Virginia Wesleyan	13-0	def. Hampden-Sydney, 69-61; 01/08 vs. Washington and Lee
#4	520	Whitworth	11-0	01/07 vs. Pacific Lutheran; 01/08 vs. Puget Sound
#5	515	St. Thomas	11-0	def. St. Mary's (Minn.), 90-58; def. Carleton, 62-59; 01/08 vs. Gustavus Adolphus
#6	500	Middlebury	8-0	def. #22 Plattsburgh State, 88-82; 01/06 at Colby-Sawyer; 01/08 vs. Skidmore; 01/09 vs. Lyndon State
#7	474	Wabash	13-0	def. Denison, 73-57; 01/08 vs. #1 Wooster
#8	428	UW-Stevens Point	10-2	def. UW-Oshkosh, 76-47; 01/08 vs. UW-La Crosse
#9	427	Augustana	12-0	def. North Park, 62-49; 01/08 vs. Elmhurst
#10	414	Eastern Mennonite	9-2	def. #27 Ferrum, 85-79; LOST at Washington and Lee, 92-93; 01/07 at Penn St.-Beaver; 01/08 at Berkeley
#11	381	Randolph-Macon	11-2	def. Randolph, 71-64; 01/08 at Bridgewater (Va.)
#12	309	St. Mary's (Md.)	10-3	LOST at Guilford, 57-61; def. Marymount, 74-65; 01/08 at Wesley
#13	288	Franklin and Marshall	8-2	LOST to Ithaca, 97-107; 01/06 vs. Lancaster Bible; 01/08 vs. Swarthmore
#14	277	Brandeis	8-0	01/06 at Emerson; 01/08 vs. #28 New York University
#15	266	UW-River Falls	12-2	def. UW-Stout, 86-71; 01/08 at UW-Whitewater
#16	264	St. Norbert	8-2	01/08 vs. Carroll
#17	260	Amherst	11-0	def. Wesleyan, 87-74; 01/08 vs. #2 Williams
#18	213	Illinois Wesleyan	10-2	def. North Central (Ill.), 72-67; 01/08 at Carthage
#19	180	MIT	10-3	LOST to Bridgewater State, 70-82; def. Tufts, 71-69; 01/08 vs. Babson
#20	126	Chapman	12-2	LOST at Cal Lutheran, 53-58
#21	100	Ramapo	10-3	LOST at Union, 88-97; def. Mass-Dartmouth, 96-88; 01/07 vs. Vassar
#22	94	Plattsburgh State	6-3	LOST to #6 Middlebury, 82-88; LOST to Elms, 58-70; 01/07 vs. Geneseo State; 01/08 vs. Brockport State
#23	86	Western Connecticut	11-1	def. Albertus Magnus, 103-99; def. Regis (Mass.), 71-65; 01/08 vs. Plymouth State
#24	45	Marietta	13-0	def. Mount Union, 64-54; 01/08 at Heidelberg
#25	41	Manhattanville	10-2	LOST at Moravian, 63-74; 01/08 at Wilkes

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	39	Wheaton (Ill.)	10-2	def. Carthage, 62-55; 01/08 at North Central (Ill.)
#27	29	Ferrum	12-1	LOST at #10 Eastern Mennonite, 79-85; def. Averett, 95-68; 01/08 at Methodist
#28	28	New York University	10-0	def. Swarthmore, 73-58; 01/08 at #14 Brandeis
#29	23	WPI	10-3	def. Wheaton (Mass.), 77-58; 01/08 at Trinity (Conn.)
#30	14	Rhode Island College	7-3	LOST at Roger Williams, 80-90; 01/08 vs. Keene State
#31	9	Hanover	9-2	def. Bluffton, 66-55; 01/08 at Earlham
#32	8	Emory	9-2	def. Piedmont, 104-64; 01/08 at Rochester
#33	6	Becker	8-2	01/06 at Western New England; 01/08 at Mitchell
T#34	4	Centre	8-2	01/07 at Sewanee; 01/09 at Oglethorpe
T#34	4	Ripon	6-4	LOST to Illinois College, 64-76
T#34	4	Transylvania	9-3	LOST at Defiance, 68-78; 01/08 at Anderson
#37	2	John Carroll	8-4	01/08 vs. Wilmington
#38	1	Catholic	10-2	01/07 at Juniata; 01/08 at Susquehanna

[nwhoops1903]

Whitworth defeats Pacific Lutheran 93-58.  Pirates shoot 17-30 from 3 land.  WOW!!

[wooscotsfan]

Final: #1 Wooster 67  #7 Wabash 65

Huge road win for Wooster.  Scots won this game with better shooting than Wabash.

Ian Franks was unstoppable for Wooster with 27 points and Bryan Wickliffe added 15 points inside.

Wooster is now 14-0 and next game is Oberlin at home on 1/12

[smedindy]

Wabash shouldn't fall too much in the poll. They showed great resilience in coming back, though it is a home loss.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared

Sorry about not getting this posted last night; I was busy watching The Cape getting ready for the first day of classes and forgot.

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	601	Wooster	14-0	def. #7 Wabash, 67-65
#2	582	Williams	13-1	def. Elms, 82-65; LOST at #17 Amherst, 89-92
#3	563	Virginia Wesleyan	14-0	def. Hampden-Sydney, 69-61; def. Washington and Lee, 71-61
#4	520	Whitworth	13-0	def. Pacific Lutheran, 93-58; def. Puget Sound, 72-65
#5	515	St. Thomas	12-0	def. St. Mary's (Minn.), 90-58; def. Carleton, 62-59; def. Gustavus Adolphus, 68-64
#6	500	Middlebury	11-0	def. #22 Plattsburgh State, 88-82; def. Colby-Sawyer, 80-54; def. Skidmore, 85-72; def. Lyndon State, 87-50
#7	474	Wabash	13-1	def. Denison, 73-57; LOST to #1 Wooster, 65-67
#8	428	UW-Stevens Point	11-2	def. UW-Oshkosh, 76-47; def. UW-La Crosse, 89-58
#9	427	Augustana	13-0	def. North Park, 62-49; def. Elmhurst, 67-45
#10	414	Eastern Mennonite	11-2	def. #27 Ferrum, 85-79; LOST at Washington and Lee, 92-93; def. Penn St.-Beaver, 98-71; def. Berkeley, 107-60
#11	381	Randolph-Macon	12-2	def. Randolph, 71-64; def. Bridgewater (Va.), 75-49
#12	309	St. Mary's (Md.)	10-3	LOST at Guilford, 57-61; def. Marymount, 74-65; 01/08 at Wesley (postponed)
#13	288	Franklin and Marshall	10-2	LOST to Ithaca, 97-107; def. Lancaster Bible, 109-51; def. Swarthmore, 85-46
#14	277	Brandeis	10-0	def. Emerson, 65-54; def. #28 New York University, 61-59
#15	266	UW-River Falls	13-2	def. UW-Stout, 86-71; def. UW-Whitewater, 85-79
#16	264	St. Norbert	9-2	def. Carroll, 57-55
#17	260	Amherst	12-0	def. Wesleyan, 87-74; def. #2 Williams, 92-89
#18	213	Illinois Wesleyan	10-3	def. North Central (Ill.), 72-67; LOST at Carthage, 52-73
#19	180	MIT	10-4	LOST to Bridgewater State, 70-82; def. Tufts, 71-69; LOST to Babson, 56-73
#20	126	Chapman	12-2	LOST at Cal Lutheran, 53-58
#21	100	Ramapo	11-3	LOST at Union, 88-97; def. Mass-Dartmouth, 96-88; def. Vassar, 94-69
#22	94	Plattsburgh State	7-4	LOST to #6 Middlebury, 82-88; LOST to Elms, 58-70; def. Geneseo State, 73-51; LOST to Brockport State, 65-75
#23	86	Western Connecticut	12-1	def. Albertus Magnus, 103-99; def. Regis (Mass.), 71-65; def. Plymouth State, 109-77
#24	45	Marietta	13-1	def. Mount Union, 64-54; LOST at Heidelberg, 77-81
#25	41	Manhattanville	10-3	LOST at Moravian, 63-74; LOST at Wilkes, 68-74

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	39	Wheaton (Ill.)	10-3	def. Carthage, 62-55; LOST at North Central (Ill.), 75-83
#27	29	Ferrum	13-1	LOST at #10 Eastern Mennonite, 79-85; def. Averett, 95-68; def. Methodist, 79-56
#28	28	New York University	10-1	def. Swarthmore, 73-58; LOST at #14 Brandeis, 59-61
#29	23	WPI	11-3	def. Wheaton (Mass.), 77-58; def. Trinity (Conn.), 69-61
#30	14	Rhode Island College	8-3	LOST at Roger Williams, 80-90; def. Keene State, 96-82
#31	9	Hanover	10-2	def. Bluffton, 66-55; def. Earlham, 79-48
#32	8	Emory	9-3	def. Piedmont, 104-64; LOST at Rochester, 65-81
#33	6	Becker	10-2	def. Western New England, 65-63; def. Mitchell, 85-74
T#34	4	Centre	9-3	def. Sewanee, 65-51; LOST at Oglethorpe, 59-64
T#34	4	Ripon	6-4	LOST to Illinois College, 64-76
T#34	4	Transylvania	9-4	LOST at Defiance, 68-78; LOST at Anderson, 58-69
#37	2	John Carroll	9-4	def. Wilmington, 96-66
#38	1	Catholic	10-4	LOST at Juniata, 54-55; LOST at Susquehanna, 81-83

[Hugenerd]

Not a good week for #18-#25 (and all of the ORV receiving more than 10 votes) this past week.  Everyone lost except #23 West Conn and ORV 29 WPI. In fact, #18-#25 went 9-11 on the week!  If you add in ORV receiving at least 10 votes, #18-ORV30 went just 16-15.  Tough week!

[WcsuAlum]

Western Connecticut may be a dangerous team come tournament time. They are winning by a considerable margin each game and are 3-0 against tournament teams from last year. They have a good balance of scoring coming from Daquan Brooks, Wilburt Jarrett and Gary Robinson. The point guard play of Addy and Bentil really proves to be a problem for most teams on offense and defense. And with Redding Pelletier and Gates adding points and rebounds, finally the Colonials may be considered elite again. Hopefully they make a favorable jump in the polls with all the losses and upsets this past week. Go Colonials!!

[Pat Coleman]

They did. And welcome to the board, by the way.

[John Gleich]

They did. And welcome to the board, by the way.

That's Pat's way of saying there's a new Top 25!

[John Gleich]

Stevens Point slips 1 place to #9 in the poll despite the fact that the team right ahead of them lost and SP beat two conference opponents by 29 and 31 points this past week.

Tonight they won their 6th straight game by 29 or more points as they beat Macalester 82-51.


Concerning the poll...


Nice to see Whitworth getting some votes... I just don't know how good they are compared to teams like St. Thomas, River Falls, or Stevens Point because I don't think they've played competition as tough. 

Massey has Whitworth at #1 but playing just the 22nd toughest schedule.  On the other hand, St. Thomas is #2, playing the #2 schedule and Stevens Point is #3, playing the #3 schedule.  And though the schedule remains tough for UST and UWSP (#3 and #2 projected schedules, respectively), Whitworth's actually gets easier (30th going forward).  I think there's a distinct possibility that they may be undefeated come tournament time.  I just don't see any proof that they're any better than St. Thomas... who has played a tough schedule and passed the tests.

And I also think that River Falls is too low.