MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[Sir Charles]

Beware GNAC teams, if you thought Emerson already had enough motivation with their coach yelling constantly from the bench, oh boy, now they are really fueled and playing with a major chip on their shoulder.  I'm sure every member of that team is heated by the recent rankings and feel like they really need to prove a point by whip lashing every team ahead till they get what they deserve (top 25 ranking).  Not to sound like everyone else, but how do you drop a bunch of votes after winning more games?  I feel even worst for the other GNAC teams than I feel for Miami having to take on the Pats this weekend. 

[atn alum]

Yikes. Heard that before. I'd hope other things are motivating them besides the poll...whatever works, I guess. They aren't the first school to use the poll as motivation and won't be the last.

I'm one of the Emerson voters in the Top 25. I have them 25th and have voted them in  for 3 straight weeks. I was surprised by the drop too, but Pat is right. Fluctuations happen a lot at this point. Our pollsters are excellent. They're not perfect.

Let me just say this. Cracking the top 25 is tough, especially if you have never even been to the point of earning votes before. Have discussed this with voters many times. If you come from a conference with a shaky rep, NCAA and non-conference wise, it takes a little longer to earn a voter's trust. Like it or not, the GNAC is what it is. A conference in which most teams are unimpressive outside of league.

Lets be fair too. Emerson has 3 wins over teams for whom that is their only loss this season. That bodes in their favor for sure and it's part of the reason for the 25th-place vote.

But at the same time, those 3 schools (William Paterson, Vassar, Wheaton), haven't beaten anyone who has been ranked in our Top 25 all season, so you can call it a good win, but not a great win.

The MIT win is also a good win. I don't dispute that, but lets distinguish between good wins and signature wins, with a signature win being one over a team that was in the Top 25 at some point. Emerson probably needed one of those to really open some eyes.

If you look at the top 25, those teams almost all fall into category of a) Made NCAAs last yr, returned a lot of talent, off to a good start, b) have strong reputation, league has strong reputation, off to good start

Regarding a comment previously made: I guarantee you that I'm the biggest supporter of the Northeast Region in our top 25 and I'd say it's tough to call the Northeast Region the toughest in the country. Tougher than people think? Yes. Toughest? Prob not.

Last thing: There's nothing wrong with being the sleeper who sneaks up on people. Most coaches seem to prefer that actually.

Hoping to see Emerson play at some point. I've heard a lot of good things.

[All-around]

Great insight "Atn"

[atn alum]

Thanks, though I feel like I grounded the conversation to a screeching halt...

I was thinking about this last night: Analogy from a D1 perspective would be something like "Gonzaga didn't become Gonzaga overnight." Took em time to get respect.

Worth noting: Emerson #13 in the Massey Ratings, D3's equivalent of the RPI, which is updated every Monday (and yes, I'll be letting them know that WNEC is no longer in GNAC)

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

[hoopjunkie]

Thanks for that website Massey very interesting . I love seeing strength of schedule
you should post it on the Nescac site as well . Great job.

[goldenpipes]

Ant,

I think your comments are on point, and thanks for your support. I think the semester break has slowed the conversation quite a bit since there won't be any games for a few weeks.

I'm all for being a sleeper, but everyone in the Northeast knows Emerson plays a very intense game, so I don't think we'll be sneaking up on anyone unless we make the tournament and play someone out of region.

I hope you get a chance to see us play and if so I'd love to hear your thoughts about our team.

Happy holidays to everyone reading and posting...can't wait for '08. 

[newenglandball]

i guess with emerson at 13 in the massey ratings proves that their record is worthy and it is strong enough to get top 25 votes

[ILive4This]

What are the massey ratings and where can they be found?

[Pat Coleman]

They can be found at the link in atnwriter's post.

[ILive4This]

Interesting, I actually googled those ratings and the list i found had emerson in the top spot. I am curious what goes into this computer system

[Pat Coleman]

That's the ranking that's dumbed down by not including margin of victory.

As in, it's the style of ranking the BCS uses.

The more accurate one includes margin of victory, which is why atnwriter posted the link to it.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Massey's got Emerson's non-con as #100 in the country.  That's not great, but it's about where Puget Sound and Elmhurst are.  The only difference is that each of their schedules will get tougher with conference play, while Emerson's will get easier.

That's why we have tournaments though.  I hope they, and the rest of New England, represent themselves well.

[goldenpipes]

Emerson moves to 8-0 with a 67-63 victory according to the Lions website. Game details to follow.

[NortheastHoopsGuru]

Emerson came out with a huge victory last night against Rivier last night. Sloppy game overall by both teams relatively. Emerson was ICE cold from the free throw line, shooting a horrific 11-26, to go along with a bounty of mised layups. Rivier played a solid all around game, but could never really get into the swing of things. The sloppiness of this game was aided by the referees, who were noticeably mediocre in both directions. One ref even stopped in the middle of play to yell at a Rivier fan!

On a different note, it is impressive to see that Emerson can win when only dressing 7 players, with perhaps the best big man in the GNAC (Soph. Bryan Rouse) and best pure shooter in the GNAC (Frosh. Tom Messinger) on the injured list. Truly a remarkable effort by the 7 men left standing. If Emerson can get those two healthy later on in the season, they could make a serious run to the NCAA's and even a few rounds into the NCAA's. Thats just how good this program is, and just how talented those injured go-to-guys are.

Rivier showed alot of potential to be a dangerous team as well. Bryant Mills had some HUGE shots, showing an effortless release off the dribble, i was very impressed with his scoring ability, while i have to question his ability to run the show. He looked to be more suited for a 2 guard role rather than a lead guard. Danny Ford and Carpenter are dangerous long, lenky players with range. Carpenter only to about the elbow, but Ford has pretty good three point range as well. They seem to have the foundation in place for another decent year. I have a feeling that Rivier and Emerson will be meeting again in the future.

I can't wait to see more GNAC games this year, hopefully a few more Emerson games as well. Good luck to all the GNAC teams, represent well.

[Ralph Turner]

Welcome to the boards NEHoopsguru! 

I enjoyed reading the post.