Great Lakes Region

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oops, yeah lets do one this week.

Good plan - you can warm up for the national PP!

Although I have lived in Michigan for many more years than Illinois, I'm still a CCIW guy at heart; I MAY vote here, but whether or not I do, I will certainly be watching to check my impressions with the 'local' experts.  (The Northeast is also starting a regional top 10 this year.  I wish all the regions would; it's fun, and a great source for identifying the not-yet-on-the-radar teams.)

Assuming sac, FlyingDutchFan, and smedindy all return again this year, the GL is NOT among the underrepresented regions in the national PP, but we can always make room for one more (and we have no one from Ohio, despite my repeated twisting of David Collinge's arm ).  If you follow the national scene, come visit and perhaps join us on the Multi-Region Topics board.

[sac]

Of course anyone's welcome to vote, so feel free Mr Y.  We have no Great Lakes Region Fan Only requirements here. 

[David Collinge]

We'll see what kind of participation we get.  Please remember the AMCC is in the Great Lakes Region. 

Half of the AMCC is GL, half isn't.  But all of the PrexyAC is GL, and so are Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve.  And, of course, so are the NCAC, OAC, and MIAA.  And, uhm, Finlandia too.   http://www.d3hoops.com/region/greatlakes/mens

[Mr. Ypsi]

Ah, yes, Finlandia.  IF I vote, I may be forced to include the Lions just as a 'protest vote' (much like the Democratic primary in Michigan ).   There are at least 20 teams closer in the West Region (and probably over 30 that are more reasonable in the winter) -  my obsession is to get Finlandia moved to the West where they obviously belong [disclosure: I have no ties to Finlandia, and my obsession will clearly have no effect ].

And David (one last try ), you are more than welcome in the PP.

[ScotsFan]

Assuming sac, FlyingDutchFan, and smedindy all return again this year, the GL is NOT among the underrepresented regions in the national PP, but we can always make room for one more (and we have no one from Ohio, despite my repeated twisting of David Collinge's arm ). If you follow the national scene, come visit and perhaps join us on the Multi-Region Topics board.

I try to follow the national scene, but I just don't have the time to try and sort out who I think are the top 25 teams in the country.  I just tried to sort out my GL top 10 and that was hard enough.  I made it through the top 4 easy enough, but as far as 5-10, I might as well have been pulling their names out of a hat.  

I'll PM my rankings to you later sac.

[sac]

Deadlines tonight-ish, if anyone's intereted in voting.

[sac]

First Great Lakes Region fan poll, brought to you by the number 6.

1. Wooster 10-2 (3)..............57
2. Hope 8-2 (3).....................55
3. Capital 9-2........................41
4. Carnegie-Mellon 8-2.........39
5. Heidelberg 9-2..................29
6. Ohio Wesleyan 6-4...........25
7. Wilmington 9-3.................16
8t. Albion 6-3........................12
8t. Wabash 8-4.....................12
8t. Wittenberg 7-5................12

Others receiving votes:  PSU-Behrend 9, Calvin 8, Ohio Northern 5, Lake Erie 4, Case Western 3, Grove City 3

Milestone's:  Wooster extends their record streak atop the GL poll at 1 week.
Consecutive Weeks:  All 10 teams appear in the poll for a record 1 consecutive week
Debutants:  All 10 teams appear in poll for the first time in their school's history, congratulations to these fine programs.

Key regional matchups this week between ranked teams

Wednesday Jan. 9
#8t Albion at #2 Hope

Saturday Jan. 12
#1 Wooster at #8t Wabash

Thanks to those who submitted votes, I can edit if anyone wants to throw thier 2 cents in before tommorrow.

[kiltedbryan]

Milestone's:  Wooster extends their record streak atop the GL poll at 1 week.

Wooster again insists on holding every poll record possible...

Sac, any breakdown on who/whose supporters submitted ballots? Also, too bad none of those top four teams will meet the remainder of the regular season, as they are all different conferences. (CMU's victory over Cap is the only head to head among them, I think.)

[sac]

Sac, any breakdown on who/whose supporters submitted ballots? Also, too bad none of those top four teams will meet the remainder of the regular season, as they are all different conferences. (CMU's victory over Cap is the only head to head among them, I think.)

I think its 2 Hope, 4 Wooster.........not a very diverse group. ........and only 1 voter voted for his own team #1.

[David Collinge]

Milestone's:  Wooster extends their record streak atop the GL poll at 1 week.
Consecutive Weeks:  All 10 teams appear in the poll for a record 1 consecutive week
Debutants:  All 10 teams appear in poll for the first time in their school's history, congratulations to these fine programs.

You'll be hearing from my lawyers in the morning. 

My 2c: Capital is overrated.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Aw, c'mon David, don't hide behind a hired gun - sue him yourself!

FWIW, I would have had Woo #1 and Hope #2, but I'm just not up to speed to go beyond that.  Once I've boned up for the national PP (starting this weekend), I MAY have studied enough GL teams to join in next week.  That way you can exoand your voter base to 2 Dutch, 4 Scots, and 1 Titan!  (Where are the Knights? )

[kiltedbryan]

Saturday Jan. 12
#1 Wooster at #8t Wabash

Wooster eeks out a win at Wabash, 72-70.  Incredibly tense game. Wooster's largest lead was 8-0 to start the game, then Wabash got it going.  It was 34-33 Bash at half, then Wabash dominated the first ten minutes of the second half and opened up its largest lead of 11 (57-46 I think) at about the 11 minute mark after draining a couple three pointers (at that point, the LGs were an incredible 10-15 from 3).

Wooster chipped away until regaining the lead at the 3-4 minute mark, then it was tight till the end.  Wabash had the ball down two with six seconds to go, but failed to get a shot off.

Wabash is only the second team to outrebound Wooster on the season (Lake Erie was the other), and they held Wooster to 2-10 shooting from behind the arc (I imagine that's a season low).

[onefan]

Cap wins a tight one at Ohio Northern 69-67....Bears were a miserable 9 of 19 from the foul line and were outrebounded 45 to 24....Capital now sits atop the OAC with no losses and will be in the driver's seat for now. ONU on the other hand remains inconsistent with too many turnovers and inability to get their big men to remain aggressive on the boards...Capital is a good basketball team with a great deal of experience.....but I personally think they're #16 ranking is giving them a little too much credit....If they continue to play like they did today, they are going to lose a few more games this year.

[kiltedbryan]

Posted a lot about this game in the OAC board, but here I'll say that I saw Heidelberg beat Otterbein tonight in a game that was not as close as the final score (82-72) would indicate.

Heidelberg essentially held around a 15 point lead from the 12 minute mark of the first half until the very end, when Otterbein picked up buckets in garbage time.

I'm very impressed with the 'Berg.  They have a dynamic and dominating duo underneath in Andrew Lemmon and Brian Schmidt.  Lemmon posted his sixth double double of the season with 17 pts. and an impressive 19 rebounds tonight, while Schmidt scored at will all night on his way to 24 points with 7 boards.

I think Heidelberg is probably the favorite when it squares off with Capital in Tiffin on Wednesday.  A convincing win there should put them not only near the top of our informal poll, but should gain them serious voting support in the real Top 25. 

[ScotsFan]

I think Heidelberg is probably the favorite when it squares off with Capital in Tiffin on Wednesday.  A convincing win there should put them not only near the top of our informal poll, but should gain them serious voting support in the real Top 25. 

I agree with this assessment bryan.  Although, I think a 'Berg win, whether convincing or not, should suffice in gaining the Student Princes some recognition not only on the regional stage, but also on the national stage.

I had the 'Berg 5th in our 1st GL fan poll behind Wilmington because Wilmington had handed the 'Berg their only in region loss.  But after watching Wilmington drop their midweek tilt to ONU and then blow a 9 point 2nd half lead to lose to lowly MUC???  Dare I say, maybe I had the Quakers a bit overrated?  I don't see a change among my top 3 this week, but the 'Berg is definitely on my radar and a win over Cap this week would go a long way to get a lot of people to take notice of the Student Princes.