Top 25 talk

[Ralph Turner]

Thanks, Pat.  I went over to msn.

bouttime, the voters seem to be consolidating their opinions.  No one from #15 on down had an unexpected outcome.  I can imagine that CMU might get more votes that would have gone to teams below them, but I don't think that they rise in the polls.

This week's polls may not show much change.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Was there a vote this week or are we waiting until next week?

[Pat Coleman]

There is a vote this week. We have a couple coaches and SIDs at new year's-type tournaments so we pushed it all back a day.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Gotcha, we'll be looking forward to it.

[Ralph Turner]

bouttime,  ... f I were to speculate the rise that CMU gets from the win, I would expect maybe another 25 votes in the vote total, e.g., every voter will rank CMU one spot higher by virtue of the win.  I have not calculated the impact of any teams that have lost in the last 2 weeks.

bouttime, CMU picked up 49 votes, about 2 more votes per voters!  Twenty-five more would have left CMU in a tie with Lincoln for 21st.  The Tartans "catapulted" (how about that for a great Medieval verb    )  to 19th on the strength of those extra 24 votes!

[Titan Q]

Final from L.A...

Occidental 73
#4 Amherst 68


Great game to listen to.

Absolutely ridiculous that a game like this doesn't count for anything (not "in-region").

[IWU DC]

so exactly how many losses will it take for hanover to drop out of the top 25?  4 losses this early and still this highly rated?

Their wins arent exactly overwhelming...the opponents they have beaten (not including Berea whose record i could not find) have a combined record of 24-40.  One would think they would have to come out on top in one of their big matchups and show the voters an impressive win to still deserve a top 25 ranking with this many early season losses.

just my two cents.

[Pat Coleman]

Centre's the only thing close to a bad loss on this schedule, and Centre only has three losses itself. People extol the virtues of Robert Morris-Chicago all the time and don't you guys think that the two CCIW teams are worthy opponents? After all, to see some talk, the CCIW is invincible.

That's why it has taken so long to fall out of the poll. The voters respond to bad losses more than anything.

[David Collinge]

Great game at the Rock tonight.  Oxy took it to Amherst throughout the first half, as Amherst looked lost on offense the whole time, and at the other end had no answer for Sam Betty, Oxy's 6'7" junior wing with great instincts in the paint.  Oxy's sophomore point Gemayal McBride simply owned Amherst's point (soph. Andrew Olson), which helped keep the Lord Jeffs in an offensive funk for 20 minutes.  But Olson hit a big NBA 3-pointer with 0:01 in the half to reduce the Oxy lead from a disheartening 9 to a manageable 6.

In the second half, Amherst executed much better, and a couple of ticky-tack fouls on McBride forced him to spend a good part of the half on the bench.  Oxy had plenty of chances to put the game away, but kept missing free throws, and Amherst ground their way back to a tie.  That's when Oxy stepped up the defensive pressure, began to out-hustle the Jeffs, and started hitting free throws.  The game was still in doubt right up to the last two possessions, but Oxy's defense kept Amherst at bay and pulled out the victory.

This game might have come out differently on a neutral court, but I'm willing to say that the better team won tonight.  Certainly the best player on the floor, at least at the offensive end, wore Tiger white--that being Sam Betty.  As long as Amherst failed to deny the entry pass, he pretty much did whatever he wanted inside: drive left, drive right, pull up jumper, dish back out. 

As for Amherst, while they are a quality team who showed a lot of poise in their comeback, there is no way that they deserve the #1 vote they are getting.  Of the teams I have seen, IWU and Wooster are clearly better, and UW-Stout, St. Thomas, Puget Sound, and (obviously) Occidental are right in the mix with the Lord Jeffs.

[Greek Tragedy]

Rober Morris-Chicago is awesome.  NAIA or not. 

[Titan Q]

Below is a post I made last week on the WIAC board re: Robert Morris-Chicago.  Hanover's close loss to them should be looked at very favorably.

I've seen Hanover twice this year and there is no question that they are not as good as the last two years.  They lost so much from last year's team - Tommy Dennis, Matt Moore, and Ryan Lanning - and the guys stepping into those roles just aren't at that level...at least yet.  Hanover is probably OK at 20-25, but if they fall out of the poll at some point it wouldn't surprise me.

Great HCAC game Saturday - #25 Bluffton @ #24 Hanover.
-----
Just a heads up on NAIA D1 #6 Robert Morris-Chicago...they're unbelievably talented.  Their best players are...

* Reggie George (6-10, Jr) - transfer from D1 Iowa State.

* Freeman Taylor (6-6, Jr)

* Jerome Harper (6-5, Jr) - McDonald's All-American...transfer from JUCO, D1 Cincinnati

http://www.hoopscooponline.com/visitors/mcdonalds.html

* James Parker (6-1, Sr) - transfer from D1 Butler

* Aaron Wellington (5-11, Sr) - transfer from D1 Maryland Eastern Shore

* Melvin Council (6-3, Jr)


Any D3 team that hangs with Robert Morris-Chicago, as Wash U (lost by 3), Platteville (lost by 6), and Hanover (lost by 7) did, should be commended.


http://www.robertmorris.edu/athletics/mensbasketball/chicago/

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet:

1     Illinois Wesleyan (24)     10-0     624     1
2    Wittenberg    10-1    565    3
3    Wooster    10-1    541    2
4    Amherst (1)    8-0    535    4
5    Albion    9-1    493    6
6    Hope    11-0    483    7
7    Lawrence    8-0    471    8
8    Puget Sound    8-2    445    5
9    Worcester Polytech    9-0    402    9
10    UW-Stout    11-1    399    11
11    York (Pa.)    8-1    398    10
12    Baldwin-Wallace    10-1    343    17
13    Augustana    10-1    330    13
14    Wartburg    8-1    238    15
15    Hampden-Sydney    9-0    220    19
16    Elmhurst    8-3    202    16
17    Randolph-Macon    9-2    200    12
18    Rochester    6-2    159    20
19    Carnegie Mellon    10-1    139    22
20    St. John Fisher    5-2    121    18
21    Lincoln    12-3    115    21
22    Ohio Northern    8-2    108    24
23    Mississippi College    8-1    85    —
24    Hanover    7-4    67    14
25    Bluffton    10-1    65    —

Dropped out: No. 23 St. Thomas, No. 25 UW-Oshkosh.

Others receiving votes: Widener 60, Catholic 58, Transylvania 43, UW-Whitewater 37, Maryville (Tenn.) 33, North Central 31, Ramapo 24, UW-Oshkosh 16, Hamilton 13, Occidental 11, St. Thomas 9, New Jersey City 8, Washington U. 7, Gustavus Adolphus 7, Virginia Wesleyan 6, Carroll 6, John Carroll 4, Calvin 3, Trinity (Texas) 1.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

WOW - 4 Great Lakes Region teams in the top 6

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Baldwin Wallace is proving their mettel at this point.  Those teams from the Great Lakes Region are really rolling so far.  Check out this chain:  Witt's only loss is to Wooster, their only loss is to Baldwin Wallace, their only loss is to Albion and their only loss is outside d3.

Normally chains like this fall apart quickly and don't make for ver accurate rankings, but this one seems to hold up quite well.  You throw in Hope to the mix (who hasn't lost yet, but could top the chain with a win over Albion on the 11th) and you've got a solid core of 2-6 which would be hard to argue with.  Add Stout, Lawrence and any two of the following (Amherst, WPI, UPS, Augustana or Wartburg) and you've got a kick-ass top ten.

[sac]

With Amherst's loss last night, next Wednesday nights game between Hope and Albion in Albion could be a #4 vs #5 matchup.

Not to get ahead of ourselves of course but Hope faces Kalamazoo and Olivet this week, while Albion plays Adrian and Tri-State.  Both should win both games.

Quite a matchup coming our way!