Top 25 talk

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Everytime I see this I'm reminded of Mr. Rogers episodes.  That could be King Friday's servant.

Maybe that just shows my age.

YES! Me too!

"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow..."

They do have the animated Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood now.  In animation, he's way less creepy - although all the little songs will be stuck in your heard for the rest of time.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yes... this is true. Gordon will learn that soon enough LOL

[magicman]

Everytime I see this I'm reminded of Mr. Rogers episodes.  That could be King Friday's servant.

Maybe that just shows my age.

YES! Me too!

"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow..."

Gordon,

That looks a lot like one of Just Bill's weasels.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Everytime I see this I'm reminded of Mr. Rogers episodes.  That could be King Friday's servant.

Maybe that just shows my age.

YES! Me too!

"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow..."

Gordon,

That looks a lot like one of Just Bill's weasels.

Careful, magicman - they're in the process, too.  That's Just Bill's weasels^TM!

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting very nervous about posting anything for fear of trademark violation^TM.  (Down, weasel^TM, down!)

[John Gleich]

Numbers 1, 3, 5, 9, 19, 22, and 24 all lost last night - only one of them (IWU) to a higher ranked team.  Going to be another shakeup this week - not to mention the heart attack it's going to give the regional committees.

Though WW was higher ranked, Whitewater at Point wasn't an upset, especially with Evans being out. Massey had UWSP a 3 point favorite. Point should have likely been the favorite or at least a pick-em.

I don't think that result changes things in the Central, especially with Augustana's W over Illinois Wesleyan last night. I mused at length about SP vs. Augie on the WIAC page... I don't see UWSP jumping to #2 unless Augustana loses and Whitewater would need to lose at least one more to drop out of the top spot in the Central.

Central – Records as of 2/8
1 UW-Whitewater 18-1 19-2
2 Augustana 18-4 18-4
3 UW-Stevens Point 18-4 18-4
4 Washington U. 16-4 16-4
5 Illinois Wesleyan 17-5 17-5
6 St. Norbert 19-1 19-1
7 Elmhurst 17-5 17-5
8 North Central (Ill.) 14-6 16-6


1. Whitewater's remaining schedule:

2/14 Vs. River Falls (#3 WIAC 8-5; Last time: WW 67 RF 63)
2/18 Vs. Oshkosh (#5 WIAC 6-7; Last time: WW 78 Osh 59
2/21 @ Stout (#9 WIAC 0-13; Last time: WW 96 Stout 67)
2/24 WIAC Tournament Bye
2/26 WIAC Tournament vs (TBD)

2. Augustana's remaining schedule:

2/14 Vs. Millikin (#7 CCIW 3-9; Last time Augie 71 Millikin 68)
2/21 @ Wheaton (#6 CCIW 4-8; Last time Augie 78 Wheaton 74)
2/27 CCIW Tournament (location TBD)

3. Stevens Point remaining schedule:

2/14 Vs. Stout (#9 WIAC 0-13; Last Time Point 73 Stout 56)
2/18 Bye
2/21 @ Superior (#8 WIAC 2-11; Last Time Point 77 Superior 54)
2/24 WIAC Tournament Bye
2/26 WIAC Tournament vs (TBD)

After that, though... it gets interesting.

4. Wash U - UAA MADNESS

2/13 @ Emory (Tied #2 UAA 5-4; Last Time Wash U 80 Emory 67)
2/15 @ Rochester (Tied #2 UAA 5-4; Last Time Wash U 90 Roch 85)
2/20 Vs. NYU (Tied #2 UAA 5-4; Last Time NYU 91 Wash U 67)
2/22 Vs. Brandeis (#8 UAA 2-7; Last Time Wash U 79 Brand 68)
2/28 Vs. Chicago (#1 UAA 6-3; Last Time Chi 63 Wash U 43)

Yikes.

5. IWU already lost once, has to play Elmhurst and a North Park team fighting for a CCIW conference tourney birth.

6. St Norbert can only screw things up for everybody else by losing in the conference tournament. Carnage will be strewn around them...

7. Elmhurst has North Central and IWU, as mentioned before.

8. North Central has Elmhurst and North Park.


Chicago has to be close to cracking the ranking.... but they've got a meat grinder of and end of the year too... Same schedule as Wash U, their UAA traveling partner.


In other words, I'm fairly confident about the top 3. And maybe Norbert. But everybody else? Not so much.

And beyond any regular season nuttiness, all of these teams have to lose AGAIN in the conference tournament to be eligible for a Pool C.  (which is maybe where this post should have gone in hindsight...)

[Greek Tragedy]

Or have kids of the right age.  I know much more about Barney and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than I wish I did!

My wife can name all the Thomas the Train trains...among other useless trivia.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (Complete)

Probably one of the highest red-to-blue ratios ever ...

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	610	UW-Whitewater	20-3	LOST at #12 UW-Stevens Point, 69-72; def. UW-River Falls, 85-66
#2	598	St. Thomas	20-2	won at Macalester, 68-48; LOST at Concordia-Moorhead, 66-72
#3	591	Marietta	21-2	LOST at Mount Union, 92-102; LOST at John Carroll, 71-86
#4	540	Randolph-Macon	21-2	def. Hampden-Sydney, 79-65; won at Randolph, 74-66
#5	498	Virginia Wesleyan	19-4	LOST at Eastern Mennonite, 75-87; won at Washington and Lee, 71-53
#6	483	Albertus Magnus	21-1	won at Mount Ida, 95-59; won at Johnson and Wales, 77-75
#7	470	St. Norbert	21-1	def. Lake Forest, 93-80; won at Knox, 73-40
#8	417	Babson	21-2	def. Springfield, 76-57; won at Clark, 77-73
#9	409	Dickinson	19-4	LOST at McDaniel, 73-78; def. #10 Johns Hopkins, 59-57
#10	380	Johns Hopkins	20-3	def. Gettysburg, 66-54; LOST at #9 Dickinson, 57-59
#11	362	Augustana	20-4	won at #24 Illinois Wesleyan, 82-56; def. Millikin, 73-65
#12	358	UW-Stevens Point	20-4	def. #1 UW-Whitewater, 72-69; def. UW-Stout, 85-44
#13	293	WPI	19-4	def. #38 MIT, 69-56; won at Coast Guard, 65-47
#14	230	Washington U.	17-5	LOST at #20 Emory, 87-93; won at Rochester, 94-87
#15	209	St. Olaf	20-3	def. St. Mary's (Minn.), 68-40; won at Augsburg, 67-58; won at Hamline, 100-88
#16	195	Catholic	20-3	won at Goucher, 100-85
#17	162	St. John Fisher	20-2	def. Houghton, 97-65; def. Nazareth, 71-51
#18	158	Chapman	18-3	LOST to Whittier, 63-79
#19	154	Richard Stockton	19-5	LOST to New Jersey City, 65-70; won at Kean, 64-63
#20	147	Emory	17-5	def. #14 Washington U., 93-87; def. #33 Chicago, 85-82
#21	143	Whitworth	20-3	def. George Fox, 90-76; def. Pacific, 89-50
#22	126	William Paterson	19-5	won at New Jersey City, 62-59; LOST at Kean, 65-66; LOST at TCNJ, 70-80
#23	124	Ohio Wesleyan	19-4	def. Wabash, 81-80; won at Allegheny, 80-66
#24	101	Illinois Wesleyan	17-7	LOST to #11 Augustana, 56-82; LOST at North Park, 83-85
#25	54	Elmhurst	19-5	def. North Park, 89-49; def. #36 North Central (Ill.), 84-78

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	51	Franklin and Marshall	19-4	def. Ursinus, 91-38; won at Muhlenberg, 65-56
#27	47	Wooster	18-5	def. Hiram, 79-44; won at Wittenberg, 63-59
T#28	44	NYU	16-6	def. Case Western Reserve, 94-73; def. Carnegie Mellon, 94-82
T#28	44	Eastern Connecticut	19-4	def. Keene State, 82-76; won at Mass-Dartmouth, 74-65
#30	29	Penn State-Behrend	21-2	def. Medaille, 89-60; won at Mount Aloysius, 80-57
#31	19	Scranton	18-5	LOST to Susquehanna, 60-74; won at Goucher, 82-64
#32	16	Amherst	18-6	def. Lasell, 69-52; LOST at Middlebury, 69-82
#33	14	Chicago	15-7	won at Rochester, 72-63; LOST at #20 Emory, 82-85
#34	13	Bates	18-5	LOST at Bowdoin, 70-98; won at Colby, 82-77
#35	11	Trinity (Conn.)	19-5	won at Middlebury, 90-85
#36	10	North Central (Ill.)	17-7	def. Carthage, 65-61; LOST at #25 Elmhurst, 78-84
#37	5	Centre	18-4	won at Birmingham-Southern, 69-42; won at Millsaps, 61-59
#38	4	MIT	16-6	LOST at #13 WPI, 56-69; def. Wheaton (Mass.), 71-56
#39	3	Cal Lutheran	17-4	won at La Verne, 71-64; def. Whittier, 111-108
T#40	1	Clarkson	18-5	LOST at Union, 70-75; won at RPI, 59-57
T#40	1	Rhode Island College	16-7	LOST at Western Connecticut, 76-84; def. Southern Maine, 65-44
T#40	1	Sage	19-4	won at SUNY-Purchase, 101-75; def. Yeshiva, 64-47

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

New number one on the men's side: Randolph-Macon. Here is the Top 25: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2014-15/week11

And here is my take: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/16/daves-top-25-ballot-week-11-3/

[y_jack_lok]

New number one on the men's side: Randolph-Macon. Here is the Top 25: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2014-15/week11

And here is my take: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/16/daves-top-25-ballot-week-11-3/

Very interesting to read your comments on your ballot. As a Randolph-Macon alum and fan I share the slight unease with which you voted them #1. I will nitpick about one thing. You said they had beaten everyone in the conference. Actually, they play Shenandoah for the first and only time Wednesday night. I'm hoping that game and the final game at E&H work out so you can keep the Jackets at the top of your ballot.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yeah... I was being broad stroked by saying everyone - basically everyone they had faced so far. Rare end of season, first time playing game Wednesday.

[John Gleich]

I'm struck by the #1 vote that Stevens Point got and that they're up to #5. I think that's a bit of an over-reaction on the win over Whitewater... Or maybe it's simply a reaction to the carnage elsewhere in the poll.

Or maybe I'm just unconvinced by the lack of consistent production by a star or two... I just don't know how far defense and clean play can take them when the competition really ramps up come tournament time.

If you look at Point's four losses, some very curious things can be found.

Against St. Olaf, SP gave up 70, but shot 51% from the field, 58% from 3, and just turned it over 10 times. Certainly should have been able to score more than 69.

The North Central game was one that Stevens Point turned it over just 6 times, caused 17 NC TO's, shot 19 more times and held them to 63... But Point scored just 56.

Against St Thomas, SP shot 60% and 53% from 3, and turned it over just 4 times. But UST shot 51% and 58% from 3 and just turned it over 2 times and won 68-66.

In game 1 at Whitewater, Point hung with them for a half, but feel apart and has no offense in the second half. Granted, it was the first game that Pelkofer missed, but even in game 2, with KJ Evans gone for Whitewater, Point shot nearly 60% and turned it over just 6 times and barely squeaked by by 3, surviving two different tying attempts.

But... I guess SP has won 17/19, with the two losses being to WW and UST, and it makes sense that it would take Point some time to find its identity, after losing so much talent last year.

I would love to see them have great success as the post season unfolds... But I just don't know if they have what it takes for a sustained run.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Randolph-Macon was, in my opinion, far and away the most impressive team at the Hoopsville Classic in November.  Obviously everybody's had some issues this year.  I imagine the long winning streak got them this position.

I tend to think St. Thomas is still #1 - they lost a trap game (with the St. Olaf matchup tonight), which isn't great, but there aren't usually trap games in the tournament - I don't know that this will matter in the long run.

In any event, no one really "deserves" the #1 spot, so it's tough to argue with any of a half dozen teams getting #1 votes.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Randolph-Macon was, in my opinion, far and away the most impressive team at the Hoopsville Classic in November.  Obviously everybody's had some issues this year.  I imagine the long winning streak got them this position.

I tend to think St. Thomas is still #1 - they lost a trap game (with the St. Olaf matchup tonight), which isn't great, but there aren't usually trap games in the tournament - I don't know that this will matter in the long run.

In any event, no one really "deserves" the #1 spot, so it's tough to argue with any of a half dozen teams getting #1 votes.

To be honest... number one teams shouldn't be losing trap games. That is why I took UST off of my number one slot.

And I do think there are trap games sometimes in round one or two... depending on the match-ups. We have seen some games that shouldn't be close become nail bitters because clearly the top team didn't take the AQ team very seriously.

And I agree, I was very impressed with RMC at the Hoopsville Classic, but some of their results after that weekend worried me. I gave them the nod because they have won 18 straight and they have taken on a lot of good teams and won. Sometimes simply winning matters the most.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Randolph-Macon was, in my opinion, far and away the most impressive team at the Hoopsville Classic in November.  Obviously everybody's had some issues this year.  I imagine the long winning streak got them this position.

I tend to think St. Thomas is still #1 - they lost a trap game (with the St. Olaf matchup tonight), which isn't great, but there aren't usually trap games in the tournament - I don't know that this will matter in the long run.

In any event, no one really "deserves" the #1 spot, so it's tough to argue with any of a half dozen teams getting #1 votes.

To be honest... number one teams shouldn't be losing trap games. That is why I took UST off of my number one slot.

And I do think there are trap games sometimes in round one or two... depending on the match-ups. We have seen some games that shouldn't be close become nail bitters because clearly the top team didn't take the AQ team very seriously.

And I agree, I was very impressed with RMC at the Hoopsville Classic, but some of their results after that weekend worried me. I gave them the nod because they have won 18 straight and they have taken on a lot of good teams and won. Sometimes simply winning matters the most.

Did they keep starting that freshman PG?  If so, that might explain early struggles, right?

[y_jack_lok]

Randolph-Macon was, in my opinion, far and away the most impressive team at the Hoopsville Classic in November.  Obviously everybody's had some issues this year.  I imagine the long winning streak got them this position.

I tend to think St. Thomas is still #1 - they lost a trap game (with the St. Olaf matchup tonight), which isn't great, but there aren't usually trap games in the tournament - I don't know that this will matter in the long run.

In any event, no one really "deserves" the #1 spot, so it's tough to argue with any of a half dozen teams getting #1 votes.

To be honest... number one teams shouldn't be losing trap games. That is why I took UST off of my number one slot.

And I do think there are trap games sometimes in round one or two... depending on the match-ups. We have seen some games that shouldn't be close become nail bitters because clearly the top team didn't take the AQ team very seriously.

And I agree, I was very impressed with RMC at the Hoopsville Classic, but some of their results after that weekend worried me. I gave them the nod because they have won 18 straight and they have taken on a lot of good teams and won. Sometimes simply winning matters the most.

Did they keep starting that freshman PG?  If so, that might explain early struggles, right?

From what I can determine, R-MC's freshman pg Rip Engle has not started any games. He is averaging 13.3 mpg for the season.