Posters' Poll

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I have E Mennonite at #6, just ahead of Guilford.  The ODAC teams have some impressive early season games, a component severely lacking in some of the other contenders.

Teams like Middlebury, Mississippi College, Amherst, and MIT are barely beating bad teams with few signature wins.  At this early point in the season, a signature win spoke much more loudly to me than a loss or two.

[Hugenerd]

I had them ranked Eastern Mennonite, VWU, and then Guilford, because EM hasnt lost a d3 game and beat VWU and VWU beat Guilford.  All three were in my top 10 but I forget exactly where (either 7-9 or 8-10).  The Eastern Mennonite/Randolph Macon matchup will be big this week.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Well, the new official d3 poll is out.  I had five teams not in my top 25, but four of the five I replaced them with were getting votes (most were just outside the top 25).

My #25 didn't get any votes and probably will not get any from this group either.  It's a super stretch and I don't expect them to last long; I just couldn't make a case for anyone else to get in over them (mainly on their results versus a decently tough early schedule).

In retrospect, I probably should have put Linfield in in their place, but I wanted to see a few NWC games first.

[Mr. Ypsi]

We're now up to nine ballots.  Any more in the pipeline?

I'll post early this evening unless I hear of a voter who needs more time.

[nescac1]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

[Ralph Turner]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

[Hugenerd]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front.  

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March.  

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

In most cases I would agree with you, but all 4 teams have done really well for themselves by not losing to any d3 teams, so far, other than eachother.  If they continue to win the rest of their games and they split amongst eachother, they would each still only have 3 or 4 losses (currently R-M and EMU have none, VWU and Guilford only have one to another team in this group).  In the past we have seen teams with 6 or 7 losses make the tourney (Brandeis last year).  On the other hand, if one team really is a step below the others, and loses a bunch of those matchups, then that team would likely be left out.  I cant see, however, a team getting left out if all four of those teamsare 21-4 or better (even 20-5).  It wouldnt be unprecedented, as the UAA has gotten four in several times over the last decade, but they have the obvious advantage of being in different regions.  I still think it is possible, however.  I am sure it would also be a lot easier to schedule in terms of travel arrangements.

[Ralph Turner]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

In most cases I would agree with you, but all 4 teams have done really well for themselves by not losing to any d3 teams, so far, other than eachother.  If they continue to win the rest of their games and they split amongst eachother, they would each still only have 3 or 4 losses (currently R-M and EMU have none, VWU and Guilford only have one to another team in this group).  In the past we have seen teams with 6 or 7 losses make the tourney (Brandeis last year).  On the other hand, if one team really is a step below the others, and looses a bunch of those matchups, then that team would likely be left out.  I cant see, however, a team getting left out if all four of those teamsare 21-4 or better (even 20-5).  It wouldnt be unprecedented, as the UAA has gotten four in several times over the last decade, but they have the obvious advantage of being in different regions.  I still think it is possible, however.  I am sure it would also be a lot easier to schedule in terms of travel arrangements.

For the newbies reading this board, the selection process is done by regional rankings and the regional teams being considered for the next bid.

Because the UAA is a multi-region conference, there may be 3-4 UAA teams being considered for a bid at the same time in each round of the process.

The ODAC is stuck with the teams being considered one team at a time for each of the 19 rounds.  After the first team is selected, then the next one can move up to the table.

[Mr. Ypsi]

POSTERS' POLL, Jan. 10, 2010:

1.  UWSP         220 (1,1,1,1,1,1,2,2,4)
2.  Randy-Mac  216 (1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,3)
3.  WashU       207 (2,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,4)
4.  UWW         203 (2,3,3,3,4,4,4,4,4)
5.  St. Thomas 181 (5,5,5,5,5,6,6,6,10)
6.  Guilford      176 (5,5,5,6,6,6,7,8,10)
7.  Williams      171 (5,6,7,7,7,7,7,8,9)
8.  Va. Wes.     156 (7,7,8,8,8,9,9,10,12)
9.  MIT             128 (7,9,10,11,11,12,13,14,19)
t10 Anderson   126 (8,10,11,11,12,13,13,14,16)
t10 EMU            126 (6,6,8,9,12,13,13,17,24)
12 Amherst       109 (8,9,11,12,13,13,15,18,-)
13 St. Norbert    94 (9,11,12,12,15,16,18,21,-)
14 Wilmington    90 (10,14,14,15,16,18,18,19,20)
15 F & M             83 (9,10,10,14,15,20,22,25,-)
16 Middlebury    82 (8,14,14,16,18,19,20,21,22)
17 Whitworth    67 (10,11,13,14,19,24,24,-,-)
18 Miss Col        66 (15,16,16,17,18,19,20,21,-)
19 Medaille        64 (11,12,12,16,19,24,25,25,-)
20 IWU              60 (14,15,17,18,21,21,22,22,24)
21 UW-LaX        59 (9,11,17,18,23,23,23,25,-)
22 Chapman      44 (17,17,19,19,20,23,23,-,-)
23 UT-Dallas      42 (13,16,19,21,22,23,-,-,-)
24 Wheaton      32 (15,17,17,24,25,-,-,-,-)
25 St. Mary's (Md) 31 (15,20,21,21,22,-,-,-,-)

26 Brandeis       28 (15,18,20,23)
27 Willy Pat       27 (16,17,22,22)
28 Maryville (Tn)  11 (20,21)
29 R, Stockton    6 (20)
30 York (Pa)       5 (21)
t31 WPI              3 (24, 25)
t31 Baruch         3 (23)
t31 JCU              3 (23)
t34 SJU              2 (24)
t34 Wooster       2 (24)
t36 Calvin          1
t36 SJF              1

[Mr. Ypsi]

One thing I found interesting - the real poll had a 'big six' then a big drop-off.  We had a 'big four' (capturing every single 1-4 vote), then a tight race for 5-7.

I was also curious about the 24th place vote for EMU (even 21st and they jump from t10th to 9th), but that came from one of our most respected voters, so ...

The non-vote for Amherst also seemed suspicious (being on the only ballot received AFTER they lost to Babson), but the voter (also a well-respected veteran) assured me by return PM that he already had them below the top 25 due to their Massey rank (#38) on Sunday.

As an IWU partisan, I was pleased that they were ranked on every ballot (something 6 teams above them can't say!).  BTW, partisan though I am, I only had them 18th - if I were a TOTAL homer, I could have raised them 3 slots on the final tally!

Let the debates commence!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

We also have to couple that with the fact that upsets during the ODAC conference play are pretty common.  With four top teams, it seems unlikely they'll all finish with records that will assure them of even getting to the table for Pool C selection.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I was the lowest (or tied for lowest) on eight teams and the highest (or tied for highest) on six of the Top 25.  I had William Patterson at 16, the only team from my Top 20 not to make it into the actual Top 25.

That doesn't seem too bad for a poll in which 2/3rds of the slots were virtual toss-ups.

[Hugenerd]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

We also have to couple that with the fact that upsets during the ODAC conference play are pretty common.  With four top teams, it seems unlikely they'll all finish with records that will assure them of even getting to the table for Pool C selection.

There are going to be extra spots this year, though.  One additional Pool C to begin with, plus the UAA, CCIW, and OAC are down so there will be extra spots on the table. Unless Rochester, NYU, or Brandeis distinguish themselves, this is the first time in a long time that the UAA could conceivably be a one bid conference.  Brandeis already has two losses, they still have to play Amherst, WashU twice, Rochester twice, Chicago twice, NYU once, and the rest of the slate.  I doubt they get in with 7 losses again, so they are going to at least need a 10-4 record in conference, which is no easy feat, if they lose to Amherst.  NYU always seems to fall apart in league play, and also have two losses already, so they would need at least a 10-4 record in conference.  Same thing goes for Rochester.  No one else in the UAA really has a chance with the out-of-conference results.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front.  

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March.  

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

We also have to couple that with the fact that upsets during the ODAC conference play are pretty common.  With four top teams, it seems unlikely they'll all finish with records that will assure them of even getting to the table for Pool C selection.

There are going to be extra spots this year, though.  One additional Pool C to begin with, plus the UAA, CCIW, and OAC are down so there will be extra spots on the table. Unless Rochester, NYU, or Brandeis distinguish themselves, this is the first time in a long time that the UAA could conceivably be a one bid conference.  Brandeis already has two losses, they still have to play Amherst, WashU twice, Rochester twice, Chicago twice, NYU once, and the rest of the slate.  I doubt they get in with 7 losses again, so they are going to at least need a 10-4 record in conference, which is no easy feat, if they lose to Amherst.  NYU always seems to fall apart in league play, and also have two losses already, so they would need at least a 10-4 record in conference.  Same thing goes for Rochester.  No one else in the UAA really has a chance with the out-of-conference results.

That's very true.  Perhaps we'll see a larger number of conferences with two bids this year.

[magicman]

Reading up a bit on the ODAC teams, EMU does not seem to be a fluke, in that they had a decent record last year, returned all their key guys (one of whom in particular seems really improved), and added what seems to be a top-notch transfer.  They are a bit on the short side, so I wonder how they'll deal with RMC and Guilford's tremendous size up front. 

RMC and EMU both are dominated by strong junior classes and have no seniors of note, so those two teams will likely be even stronger next year (VWU and Guildford's big stars are both seniors).   Given that several usual power conferences are struggling a bit (CCIW and OAC in particular), and considering how weak the rest of the south region is, ODAC has a legit shot of sneaking four teams into the tourney come March. 

My only  concern about the practical aspects of the ODAC getting 3 Pool C bids is that the logistics of having a South Region team come off 3 times in the 19 rounds seems remote.  All three of those teams will get a loss in the ODAC tourney, and they have at least 3 regular season games among the 4.

We also have to couple that with the fact that upsets during the ODAC conference play are pretty common.  With four top teams, it seems unlikely they'll all finish with records that will assure them of even getting to the table for Pool C selection.

There are going to be extra spots this year, though.  One additional Pool C to begin with, plus the UAA, CCIW, and OAC are down so there will be extra spots on the table. Unless Rochester, NYU, or Brandeis distinguish themselves, this is the first time in a long time that the UAA could conceivably be a one bid conference.  Brandeis already has two losses, they still have to play Amherst, WashU twice, Rochester twice, Chicago twice, NYU once, and the rest of the slate.  I doubt they get in with 7 losses again, so they are going to at least need a 10-4 record in conference, which is no easy feat, if they lose to Amherst.  NYU always seems to fall apart in league play, and also have two losses already, so they would need at least a 10-4 record in conference.  Same thing goes for Rochester.  No one else in the UAA really has a chance with the out-of-conference results.

That's very true.  Perhaps we'll see a larger number of teams with two bids this year.

I believe you meant to say conferences with two bids.