Top 25 talk

[njlincolnlion]

Ralph: 

If Lincoln makes the postseason, I don't think they will be hosting any games like last year.  I have painful memories of the "Fish Tank" from last years sweet 16 loss to VWC.  Lincoln's road record this year is not what is was last year. 

[David Collinge]

Top 25 At-a-Glance, Week of Feb. 19-25 (UPDATED with Tuesday scores and relevant tournament results)

#   1   UW-Stevens Point (23-2) def. UW-Eau Claire 89-55 (WIAC quarterfinal); hosts UW-Whitewater Thu. (WIAC semifinal), finals Sat.
#   2   Virginia Wesleyan (22-3) plays Washington & Lee Thu. at Salem, VA (ODAC qtr.); semis Sat., finals Sun
#   3   Amherst (24-1) hosts Colby Sat. (NESCAC semifinal); finals Sun.
#   4   Wooster (23-3) def. Earlham 94-76 (NCAC quarterfinal); hosts Wabash Fri. (NCAC semifinal), finals Sat.
#   5   Mississippi College (22-2) hosts Concordia-Austin Fri. (ASC quarterfinal); semifinals Sat., finals Sun.
#   6   St. Thomas (22-3) hosts St. Olaf Wed. (MIAC semifinal); finals Sat.
#   7   UW-Oshkosh (21-5) def. UW-River Falls 83-65 (WIAC quarterfinal); plays at #18 UW-Stout Thu. (WIAC semifinal), finals Sat.
#   8   Hope (21-3) hosts Alma Wed. (MIAA quarterfinal); semifinals Fri., finals Sat.
#   9   Augustana (20-5) hosts TBD Fri. (CCIW semifinal); finals Sat.
#   10   Wittenberg (22-4) def. Hiram 72-49 (NCAC quarterfinal); plays Ohio Wesleyan Fri. at Wooster, OH (NCAC semifinal), finals Sat.
#   11   Chicago (20-4) plays at #12 Washington U. Sat.
#   12   Washington U. (19-4) hosts #11 Chicago Sat.
#   13   Worcester Polytech (21-2) hosts TBD Sat. (NEWMAC semifinal); finals Sun.
#   14   Elmhurst (19-5) plays at Millikin Wed. and plays TBD Fri. at Rock Island, IL (CCIW semifinal); finals Sat.
#   15   Aurora (23-2) hosts Lakeland Fri. (NATHCON semifinal); finals Sat.
#   16   Whitworth (22-3) hosts TBD Sat. (NWC championship)
#   17   Guilford (21-3) plays Bridgewater (VA) Thu. at Salem, VA (ODAC qtr.); semis Sat., finals Sun
#   18   UW-La Crosse (18-7) def. UW-Stout 63-58 (WIAC quarterfinal); hosts UW-Oshkosh Thu. (WIAC semifinal), finals Sat.
#   19   Occidental (18-5) def. La Verne 85-54 and plays at Whittier Thu.
#   20   Trinity (CT) (21-3) plays Williams Sat. at Amherst (NESCAC semifinal); finals Sun.
#   21   NYU (19-5) hosts Brandeis Sat.
#   22   DePauw (21-4) plays Sewanee Fri. at Memphis (SCAC qtr.); semifinals Sat., finals Sun.
#   23   Puget Sound (18-6) plays at Lewis & Clark Wed. (MWC semifinal); finals Sat.
#   24   Ohio Northern (19-6) hosts Otterbein Wed. (OAC quarterfinals); semifinals Fri., finals Sat.
#   25   Mary Hardin-Baylor (21-4) plays Louisiana Coll. Fri. in Clinton, MS (ASC qtr.); semis Sat., finals Sun.

[frodotwo]

I know its just a typo DC, but LaCrosse beat Stout and will host Oshkosh on Thursday.

[David Collinge]

I know its just a typo DC, but LaCrosse beat Stout and will host Oshkosh on Thursday.

Thanks; fixed.   

[smedindy]

I finally (FINALLY) got the data to do my Smed amalgamation as we pretty well conclude the regular season.

Some interesting results here:

1. WI - Stevens Point
2. Wooster
3. Amherst
4. Augustana
5. Chicago
6. Wash U.
7. Guilford
8. WI - Oshkosh
9. Virginia Wesleyan
10. Whitworth
11. Elmhurst
12. Wittenberg
13. Rhode Island College
14. Occidental
15. Trinity (CT)
16. Ohio Northern
17. NYU
18. St. Thomas (MN)
19. Lewis & Clark
20. WPI
21. Mississippi College (SOS kills 'em)
22. Brandeis
23. Hope (A weak MIAA hurt 'em)
24. Rochester
25. Loras

Others of note (in Top 25 or receiving votes)

26. Centre
27. Aurora  (SOS bugaboo)
28. A School That I Cannot Name (heh)
29. WI - LaCrosse
30. Keene State
31. Grinnell
32. Mary Hardin-Baylor
33. Lake Erie
35. John Carroll
36. Salem State
37. Messiah
38. Wheaton (IL)
41. Puget Sound
42. Carthage
43. WI - Whitewater
48. Baldwin Wallace
49. Capital
50. Averett
57. Johns Hopkins
67. North Central
80. NJ City

[smedindy]

For yuks (or is it yucks) here's the bottom 10:

403. Green Mountain
402. Principia
401. Bard
400. Crown
399. D' Youville
398. Mt. St. Vincent
397. Centenary
396. Maine - Presque Isle
395. Albertus Magnus
394. Maranatha Baptist

[David Collinge]

Guilford being ahead of Va. Wesleyan is extremely interesting to me.

[smedindy]

Guilford - Massey 11, Wolfe 6, SOS 57

Va. Wesleyan - Massey 10, Wolfe 11, SOS 73.

i think the loss to Emory & Henry (a team with a profile lower than Roanoke) and the fact that Guilford beat Averett while Va. Wesleyan lost, plays into the computer rankings for some level.

[Pat Coleman]

Ahh, see, and the computers don't know that the Averett that VWC lost to was at full strength while the Averett that Guilford beat was missing at least one starter to injury.

[sac]

Its all right the selection committee won't take that into account either.

[smedindy]

That's true, but still the big difference is the total strength of schedule. If the SOS was even, by my system, Va. Wesleyan would be ahead of them.

[Pat Coleman]

That's true, too, at least not officially. But I would be surprised if it doesn't get at least talked about somewhere.

And on the topic of "Top 25 talk" it's very relevant.

[AndOne]

Augustana who was #9 last week, looses to North Central, and still retains the #9 ranking this week.
North Central beats the #15, #12, and #9 teams in the country in a row and receives all of 10 votes? 
Seems like if a team looses to a team not in the top 25, it should drop at least a little in the rankings. Also, that consecutive wins against #s 15, 12, and 9 should be worth more than 10 votes, especially since all three wins were against fellow CCIW teams and the CCIW is alledgedly the toughest overall conference in the country.
Evidently, some of the voters haven't gotten that message yet! 

[Pat Coleman]

You can't erase the entire rest of the season and take those three games, though. Four wins in a row means they have gone 6-5 in their past 11 games.

[smedindy]

North Central is a good team, but no where near the top 25.

I still don't know how a team "looses" to someone!