BB: Central Region Rankings

[Yatzee]

The SLIAC's relatively weak conference kills their member's SoS numbers so I still think the SLIAC will only be a one-bid conference. It will all come down to who wins the tourney. SoS hurts the conference when forced to go head to head at the Pool C table.

Agreed. Although it's still early, I think Spalding will take down Webster's reign as SLIAC Champ.

Yes it is early, but I do not really see that happening this year. Looking at their schedules, Spalding has lost to 2 teams that Webster has beaten, and after the past few years, a loss to MacMurray and playing Eureka so closely isn't that good. Granted from what I have been hearing MacMurray has gotten a lot of good players because of the new coach. But I am predicting Webster taking all 3 from Spalding this year.

[D3Vike11]

D3Vike's Central Region Rankings as of Easter.    **(Overall Record, In-Region Record)


1.) North Park (21-4, 17-2)   CCIW
Went 4-1 this week, sweeping Carthage and taking 2 of 3 from Wheaton. They are playing real good baseball and are still the team to beat in the Central.

2.) Washington U (23-7, 21-3)   UAA
Had their 11 game winning streak broken by a solid Hendrix team, but still managed to take 2 out of 3 from them. I would love to see a Regional Championship matchup of Wash U. and North Park.

3.) Central (19-5, 14-4)   IIAC
They have taken control of a weaker IIAC conference. Not as strong as some of the other teams in the region, but still continue to win.

4.) North Central (15-6, 10-3)   CCIW
Taking 2 of 3 from Wesleyan was a real confidence booster. Their starting pitching has been a nice surprise so far.

5.) Webster (16-8, 14-3)   SLIAC
Webster beats out Il. Wesleyan based on their In-Region record (14-3 vs. 11-6). Their offense needs to step up if they are going to do any real damage.



GAME I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS WEEK:

4/11 North Park at Carthage (NP looks to sweep the season series for the 1st time under Luke Johnson)

[BigPoppa]

BigPoppa's Top 25: (I am sure than, once again, many will disagree... especially with North Park and WashU, but they continue to get it done)

1 Christopher Newport
2 Marietta
3 Concordia-Austin
4 St. Thomas
5 North Park
6 Wheaton (Mass.)
7 Birmingham-Southern
8 Trinity (Texas)
9 Misericordia
10 Washington U.
11 Eastern Connecticut
12 Salisbury
13 Kean
14 DePauw
15 Adrian
16 Texas-Tyler
17 UW-Stevens Point
18 Keystone
19 St. Joseph's (Maine)
20 Shenandoah
21 Washington and Jefferson
22 Cortland State
23 William Paterson
24 Aurora
25 Concordia-Chicago

Teams I really looked at:
Linfield (19-8) Clawing their way back into the picture.
Lynchburg (26-6)
Pacific (16-9) 7 of their 9 losses are to either NAIA or D2 programs. Only two in-region losses
Central (19-5) Quickly becoming the class of the IIAC
UW- Lacrosse (14-8) Eight losses is tough, but take a look at who those losses are to.
Whitewater (11-6) SoS has to be through the roof.

[BigPoppa]

My Central Region Rankings:

1. North Park
2. WashU
3. Central
4. North Central
5. Webster


This region is a mess right now outside of NPU and WashU.

[D3Vike11]

My Central Region Rankings:

1. North Park
2. WashU
3. Central
4. North Central
5. Webster


This region is a mess right now outside of NPU and WashU.

Looks familiar!

[D3Vike11]

Below are the updated Rankings. This is what the NCAA uses for Regional Rankings.

Win%   OWP   OOWP   SOS   RPI   Rank   School   Reg   W   L
0.875   0.524   0.548   0.532   0.617   1   Washington U.   C   21   3
0.647   0.616   0.552   0.595   0.608   2   Illinois Wesleyan   C   11   6
0.769   0.536   0.554   0.542   0.599   3   North Central (Ill.)   C   10   3
0.619   0.562   0.530   0.551   0.568   4   Coe   C   13   8
0.563   0.594   0.521   0.570   0.568   5   Beloit   C   9   7
0.500   0.654   0.457   0.588   0.566   6   St. Norbert   C   4   4
0.571   0.566   0.556   0.563   0.565   7   Chicago   C   8   6
0.895   0.396   0.572   0.455   0.565   8   North Park   C   17   2
0.778   0.464   0.536   0.488   0.560   9   Central   C   14   4
0.385   0.671   0.511   0.617   0.559   10   Wheaton (Ill.)   C   5   8
0.824   0.433   0.538   0.468   0.557   11   Webster   C   14   3

I think we will see Wash U ranked 1st and North Park ranked 2nd when the first regional rankings comes out.

[CCIWFAN6]

This is why I am still somewhat skeptical of North Park.  I am becoming a believer (slowly but surely), however there has not been a marquee game/series domination that has mean thinking they are a top 10 team.

[Gregory Sager]

That's a fair criticism. NPU's strength of schedule to date is comparatively weak.

[D3Vike11]

That's a fair criticism. NPU's strength of schedule to date is comparatively weak.

I agree. What is good to see though is their 17-3 In-Region record.

[CCIWFAN6]

That's a fair criticism. NPU's strength of schedule to date is comparatively weak.

I agree. What is good to see though is their 17-3 In-Region record.

D3Vike, if they get that 3 game road sweep that you predicted on the CCIW board, that might be the domination of a series I was looking forward to become a true believer.

[D3Vike11]

That's a fair criticism. NPU's strength of schedule to date is comparatively weak.

I agree. What is good to see though is their 17-3 In-Region record.

D3Vike, if they get that 3 game road sweep that you predicted on the CCIW board, that might be the domination of a series I was looking forward to become a true believer.

In the last 3 seasons, North Park is 8-1 versus Augustana, including 6 in a row. Believe!

[BigPoppa]

That's a fair criticism. NPU's strength of schedule to date is comparatively weak.

I agree. What is good to see though is their 17-3 In-Region record.

D3Vike, if they get that 3 game road sweep that you predicted on the CCIW board, that might be the domination of a series I was looking forward to become a true believer.

In the last 3 seasons, North Park is 8-1 versus Augustana, including 6 in a row. Believe!

... AND in the last three seasons, Chapman was a world series team... now they have close to 20 losses. Last season(s) has NO bearing on this season. Not saying they won't sweep Augustana, but last year is not much of an indication.

[BigPoppa]

BigPoppa's Updated Central Region Rankings:

1. WashU: 23-7 Off last week so they should be well-rested for the stretch run starting with Webster tomorrow night. A nice SoS helps keep them atop the standings.

2. Central: 23-5 Really starting to get on a roll in the IIAC. They could be setting themselves up for a Pool C chance should they stumble in the IIAC tourney.

3. North Park: 22-7 They take a huge hit this week losing 3 of 4 games. They already have an iffy SoS so I am not sure how this will affecty them once the regional rankings appear.

4. Webster: 17-9 It's dejavu as Webster slams the SLIAC (again) and find themselves at 10-1 in league play

5. Spalding: 19-6-1 A solid SoS could eventually bump them a bit further up the list here. I see the SLAIC as a one-bid conference so either Webster or Spalding will be left home.

6. Illinois Wesleyan (18-9)/Augustana(19-8): Both sit at 7-5 in the CCIW... they are likely going to remain tied together until their three game series in two weeks.

[CCIWFAN6]

BigPoppa's Updated Central Region Rankings:

1. WashU: 23-7 Off last week so they should be well-rested for the stretch run starting with Webster tomorrow night. A nice SoS helps keep them atop the standings.

2. Central: 23-5 Really starting to get on a roll in the IIAC. They could be setting themselves up for a Pool C chance should they stumble in the IIAC tourney.

3. North Park: 22-7 They take a huge hit this week losing 3 of 4 games. They already have an iffy SoS so I am not sure how this will affecty them once the regional rankings appear.

4. Webster: 17-9 It's dejavu as Webster slams the SLIAC (again) and find themselves at 10-1 in league play

5. Spalding: 19-6-1 A solid SoS could eventually bump them a bit further up the list here. I see the SLAIC as a one-bid conference so either Webster or Spalding will be left home.

6. Illinois Wesleyan (18-9)/Augustana(19-8): Both sit at 7-5 in the CCIW... they are likely going to remain tied together until their three game series in two weeks.

I believe Augustana is 6-6 in the conference.

[BigPoppa]

You are right. Tha Carthage site has the CCIW records wrong. Still, I think they are relatively equal in my eyes and I am not a believer at all in Elmhurst at this point.