Mid-Major Top 25

[crusaderjoe]

It's like how much more black could this picture be?  And the answer is none, none more black.

[crusaderjoe]

Oh come on, people.  No other references at all to Nigel?  This place can't be devoid of Spinal Tap fans, can it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46kXH6GGtT0


OK, I'm done hijacking the thread. 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Oh come on, people.  No other references at all to Nigel?  This place can't be devoid of Spinal Tap fans, can it?

look dude i just got here and as soon as i read that i thought, oh i'm going to post that, and then you did.

so well played.

i declare you to be the patron saint of quality blogwear.

[vu72]

So I was wondering how we might match-up against the teams ranked ahead of us (Wichita State, UNI, Gonzaga and Murray State) We all know how well we played against Murray, but what about the others?  We have a common opponent for Wichita State and UNI in the form of Drake, and a common opponent for Gonzaga in the form of Portland.

Here's what we know:  We beat Portland by 15 and Gonzaga beat them by 12 and 18.   We beat Drake by 20 and they lost to UNI by 16 and 8 and lost to Wichita State by 8 and...33!

On balance I guess it is fair to think that we could certainly hang with these top 11 teams.  On a neutral court? Who knows... 

[covufan]

So I was wondering how we might match-up against the teams ranked ahead of us (Wichita State, UNI, Gonzaga and Murray State) We all know how well we played against Murray, but what about the others?  We have a common opponent for Wichita State and UNI in the form of Drake, and a common opponent for Gonzaga in the form of Portland.

Here's what we know:  We beat Portland by 15 and Gonzaga beat them by 12 and 18.   We beat Drake by 20 and they lost to UNI by 16 and 8 and lost to Wichita State by 8 and...33!

On balance I guess it is fair to think that we could certainly hang with these top 11 teams.  On a neutral court? Who knows... 

Massey has a tool to look at matchups.  Here is Valpo/UNI:

http://www.masseyratings.com/game.php?s0=267615&t0=Valparaiso&h=0&s1=267615&t1=Northern+Iowa

You can change teams and location of game.  You can also simulate a 3, 5, or 7 game series.

[justducky]

Massey has a tool to look at matchups.  Here is Valpo/UNI:

http://www.masseyratings.com/game.php?s0=267615&t0=Valparaiso&h=0&s1=267615&t1=Northern+Iowa

You can change teams and location of game.  You can also simulate a 3, 5, or 7 game series.

They have us as a 7 point underdog to Wichita St. Watched much of the Detroit vs Wichita St game (bracketbuster return) in mid December. Detroit played them close until very late. I have also seen parts of a couple other games and they are beatable.

[agibson]

I'd not noticed that the college insider folks did a post-season poll too.  April 8, 2015.  Valpo #6, SFA #4, Murray State #5, Green Bay #12, Iona #17.

1.   Gonzaga (31)   35-3   775   1   West Coast
2.   Wichita State   30-5   742   4   Missouri Valley
3.   Northern Iowa   31-4   715   2   Missouri Valley
4.   Stephen F. Austin   29-5   669   3   Southland
5.   Murray State   29-6   610   5   Ohio Valley
6.   Valparaiso   28-6   605   6   Horizon
7.   Wofford   28-7   563   7   Southern
8.   Harvard   22-8   554   9   Ivy League
9.   BYU   25-10   512   8   West Coast
10.   Buffalo   23-10   478   10   Mid-American
11.   UC Davis   25-7   411   11   Big West
12.   Green Bay   24-9   410   12   Horizon
13.   Albany   24-9   363   13   America East
14.   Eastern Washington   26-9   339   14   Big Sky
15.   Yale   22-10   318   15   Ivy League
16.   Georgia State   25-10   313   23   Sun Belt
17.   Iona   26-9   304   16   Metro Atlantic
18.   Sam Houston State   26-9   220   18   Southland
19.   Saint Mary's   21-10   218   17   West Coast
20.   North Florida   23-12   139   19   Atlantic Sun
21.   Belmont   22-11   136   20   Ohio Valley
22.   Central Michigan   23-9   121   21   Mid-American
23.   UC Irvine   21-13   92   24   Big West
24.   Northeastern   23-12   77   25   Colonial
25.   Evansville   24-12   56   NR   Missouri Valley


OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: New Mexico State 51, Illinois State 38, NJIT 34, Coastal Carolina 22, Sacramento State 18, Northern Arizona 17, Eastern Michigan 15, Kent State 14, North Dakota State 14, Florida Gulf Coast 9, Charleston Southern 8, Loyola Chicago 8, Texas Southern 8, North Carolina Central 7, Toledo 7, Georgia Southern 6, South Dakota State 6, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 6, Saint Francis Brooklyn 5, Akron 4, UL-Monroe 4, USC Upstate 4, William & Mary 4, UL-Lafayette 3, Robert Morris 3, Bolwing Green 2, Eastern Kentucky 2, High Point 2, Lafayette 2, Manhattan 2, UT-Martin 2, Bucknell 1, Chattanooga 1, Montana 1, New Hampshire 1, Norfolk State 1, Rider 1, UMES 1, UNC Wilmington 1.

[VULB#62]

And before Vashil was confirmed as returning.

[a3uge]

And before Vashil was confirmed as returning.

That was based on the 2014-15 season - had nothing to do with predictions this year. Murray State and Northern Iowa won't be nearly as impressive.