Top 25 talk

[Gregory Sager]

The PBP from the IWU @ Augie game indicates that Nelson scored the putback with two seconds left. So I guess that it technically doesn't fall into the category of "buzzer-beater."

[Pat Coleman]

OK, thanks. Not to bust balls or anything, just wanted to know if I needed to ask for video footage.

[Mr. Ypsi]

An actual buzzer beater? Horn sounds with the ball in the air?

That I don't know - I was on livestats.  They reported the score as at 0:00 (though I have seen a post elsewhere saying it was at 0:02).  Someone who was actually there will have to field this one.

I saw Greg's post just before I hit 'post' - I will yield that it was apparently not literally a 'buzzer-beater' (though it sure was a 'stake in the heart'! ).

[Mr. Ypsi]

OK, thanks. Not to bust balls or anything, just wanted to know if I needed to ask for video footage.

Pat, from livestats it appeared to be a 'buzzer-beater', but I forgot that you now have an on-going segment with such videos!  In the future I will try to remember to double-check before using the term and causing you extra work!

[dahlby]

From Augustana's web site "...Nelson's put back with 2.8 seconds left...."

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared--Midweek Report

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	621	Wooster	19-0	def. Kenyon, 103-67
#2	585	Whitworth	17-0	01/28 vs. Linfield; 01/29 vs. #24 Lewis and Clark
#3	553	Augustana	18-0	def. #20 Illinois Wesleyan, 69-67; 01/29 at Elmhurst
#4	542	Middlebury	15-0	01/25 at Hamilton; 01/27 vs. Southern Vermont; 01/29 at #5 Williams
#5	515	Williams	18-1	def. Skidmore, 84-61; 01/29 vs. #4 Middlebury
#6	482	Amherst	16-0	01/28 vs. Colby; 01/29 vs. Bowdoin
#7	478	Virginia Wesleyan	17-1	def. Bridgewater (Va.), 86-59; 01/26 at #18 Eastern Mennonite POSTPONED; 01/29 at Washington and Lee
#8	451	St. Thomas	16-1	def. Augsburg, 82-66; 01/29 vs. Bethel
#9	443	Randolph-Macon	16-2	01/27 vs. Roanoke; 01/29 at Guilford
#10	416	UW-River Falls	17-2	def. UW-Superior, 62-59; 01/29 vs. UW-Oshkosh
#11	394	Wabash	15-3	LOST at Ohio Wesleyan, 76-87; 01/29 vs. Kenyon
#12	365	UW-Stevens Point	16-3	def. #36 UW-Whitewater, 85-59; 01/29 vs. UW-Superior
#13	299	St. Norbert	14-3	def. Lawrence, 73-52; 01/29 vs. Ripon
#14	273	WPI	16-3	def. Babson, 67-47; 01/29 at #38 MIT
#15	272	Western Connecticut	16-2	def. #40 Eastern Connecticut, 86-78; 01/29 vs. Mass-Dartmouth
#16	196	St. Mary's (Md.)	14-4	01/26 at Hood POSTPONED; 01/29 vs. Mary Washington
#17	173	Centre	13-3	01/28 vs. Austin; 01/30 vs. Colorado College
#18	140	Eastern Mennonite	13-4	01/26 vs. #7 Virginia Wesleyan POSTPONED; 01/29 at Roanoke
#19	127	Ferrum	17-2	def. Averett, 75-54; 01/30 vs. Methodist
#20	115	Illinois Wesleyan	13-5	LOST at #3 Augustana, 67-69; 01/29 vs. Carthage
#21	109	Chapman	16-3	01/29 at Southwestern (AZ)
#22	92	Franklin and Marshall	13-4	01/26 at Johns Hopkins POSTPONED; 01/29 at Haverford
#23	79	Marietta	16-2	def. Muskingum, 67-50; 01/29 at Otterbein
#24	59	Lewis and Clark	14-3	01/28 at Whitman; 01/29 at #2 Whitworth
#25	56	Ramapo	15-4	01/29 at New Jersey

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	53	Becker	15-2	def. Southern Vermont, 73-41; 01/27 at Salem State; 01/29 vs. Daniel Webster
#27	32	Scranton	14-2	01/28 at Merchant Marine; 01/29 at Drew
#28	31	Hanover	12-5	LOST at Transylvania, 67-77; 01/29 vs. Defiance
#29	29	Concordia (Wis.)	16-2	def. Wisconsin Lutheran, 82-65; 01/28 at Concordia (Mich.); 01/29 at TBD
#30	27	Mary Hardin-Baylor	14-3	01/27 at Howard Payne; 01/29 at Sul Ross State
#31	24	Wittenberg	13-5	def. Denison, 82-54; 01/29 at Oberlin
#32	15	Anderson	13-5	def. Defiance, 85-56; 01/29 at Earlham
#33	12	Emory	13-3	01/28 at T#34 Brandeis; 01/30 at New York University
T#34	11	Brandeis	12-3	01/28 vs. #33 Emory; 01/30 vs. T#45 Rochester
T#34	11	Wheaton (Ill.)	13-5	def. Millikin, 69-55; 01/29 vs. North Central (Ill.)
#36	10	UW-Whitewater	12-6	LOST to #12 UW-Stevens Point, 59-85; 01/29 vs. UW-Stout
#37	8	Ithaca	13-4	01/28 at Nazareth; 01/29 at Rochester Tech
#38	6	MIT	13-5	01/27 vs. Coast Guard; 01/29 vs. #14 WPI
#39	5	Manchester	12-6	def. Earlham, 75-57; 01/29 at Mount St. Joseph
#40	4	Eastern Connecticut	12-5	LOST to #15 Western Connecticut, 78-86; 01/29 at Plymouth State
T#41	3	Kean	14-5	01/26 vs. Richard Stockton POSTPONED; 01/29 at William Paterson
T#41	3	La Roche	17-1	def. Pitt-Greensburg, 59-47; 01/29 at T#43 Penn State-Behrend
T#43	2	Hobart	13-3	01/28 vs. St. Lawrence; 01/29 vs. Clarkson
T#43	2	Penn State-Behrend	15-2	def. Hilbert, 70-51; 01/29 vs. T#41 La Roche
T#45	1	Randolph	12-4	01/27 vs. Guilford; 01/29 at Hampden-Sydney
T#45	1	Rochester	12-4	01/28 at New York University; 01/30 at T#34 Brandeis

[Pat Coleman]

OK, thanks. Not to bust balls or anything, just wanted to know if I needed to ask for video footage.

Pat, from livestats it appeared to be a 'buzzer-beater', but I forgot that you now have an on-going segment with such videos!  In the future I will try to remember to double-check before using the term and causing you extra work!

No big deal -- the only extra work I did was to post here.

[magicman]

#4 Middlebury moves to 16-0 with an 81-63 win over Southern Vermont. Next up for the Panthers is the much anticipated matchup on the road against #5 Williams on Saturday.

Just found out that Middlebury's leading scorer Ryan Sharry had to undergo laser eye surgery yesterday after getting poked in the eye 3 weeks ago. He's been playing with goggles on but had the surgery to correct retinal problems. He's out this weekend against Williams.

[nescac1]

Not sure where to post this, but the La Roche story is receiving some national attention:

http://www.thepostgame.com/homepage/201101/big-coach-little-gym

[nwhoops1903]

#2 Whitworth defeats Linfield at home 70-43.  Great defense from starters for 30 minutes, then they got the rest of the night off.

http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/BasketballMen/Releases/10_11/Lin2.htm

[magicman]

#5Williams defeats unbeaten #4 Middlebury 69-64.

Middlebury keeps it close but a dunk by Troy Whittington with 1:16 to play gives Ephs a 66-62 lead. Two free throws by Panthers' Joey Kizel make it 66-64 and after Williams' James Wang misses a jumper with 31 seconds left Middlebury looks to tie or win it . Panthers' Andrew Locke is fouled with 14 seconds to go and misses both free throws. Panthers forced to foul as Ephs grab the rebound and Williams' James Klemm makes them both with 13 second left. Middlebury turns it over and another foul sends Whittington to the line for a pair. He makes 1 of 2 for the final margin.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

#9 RMC loses at Guilford 62-61... final shot bounced on the rim twice before bouncing out at the buzzer.

[nescac1]

Wow, brutal ending it sounds like for RMC.  Is there is a "buzzer non-beater" or "nearly-buzzer-beater" feature on D3hoops ? 

Ephs-Midd was a great game; I posted my full thoughts on the NESCAC board.  Middlebury played very tough without their star and are a team to be reckoned with; as usual, their offense is inconsistent, but when they turn it on defensively as they did in the second half, they become very difficult to score against, even for an elite offensive team like Williams.  Nolan Thompson, much like Tim Edwards last year, is a lock-down perimeter defender, and he made life very difficult today for all-American James Wang.  Likewise, Andrew Locke is an intimidating defensive presence, even though Whittington still had a strong game, he really had a tough time and had to make some very difficult, heavily-contested shots inside, unlike his usual offensive dominance.  When Sharry comes back and gives them a go-to guy on offense, they will be capable of beating anyone in the country, and I think they are marginally better than last year's very strong Midd team.  Having seen Midd, Williams, and Amherst now, I think they are as even as three teams can be, and all very deserving of a top 6-7 ranking.   

[John Gleich]

#12 Stevens Point dominates another WIAC opponent 89-48 against UW Superior.

[nescac1]

A few updates on the Williams game from the NESCAC board: Wang apparently had the flu and hadn't practiced all week, explaining (in addition to a great defensive effort) not playing at his usual level, and Whittington received ten staples to his head before returning to the game.  I'd say Wang with the flu plus Whittington missing time then returning with staples roughly equals, more or less, no Sharry for Midd .  In all events, on a neutral court, I think these two teams, at full strength, are roughly even.   And Amherst may be playing the best of anyone in the NESCAC right now -- Toomey has to be the leader for national frosh of the year at this point, he has helped turned Amherst from an also-ran into a title contender in just one year.  For a flavor of the atmosphere at the game (the crowd was pretty good considering that Williams is on a break right now):

http://athletics.williams.edu/video/index