Polls

[agibson]

Two losses on the road (Youngstown State, Cleveland State) is enough to knock Milwaukee out of the top 25, and down to 10 votes.  Otherwise, not much change for the Horizon League.

I suppose winning at Cleveland State might get us back into the top 25, proper.  Or, a lossless streak, with some losses above us, would probably also work.

From January 23.

  1.    Murray State (31)    20-0    775    1    Ohio Valley    
  2.    Creighton    18-2    733    2    Missouri Valley    
  3.    Saint Mary's    19-2    692    3    West Coast    
  4.    Harvard    16-2    675    4    Ivy League    
  5.    Middle Tennessee    19-2    640    5    Sun Belt    
  6.    Gonzaga    16-3    627    6    West Coast    
  7.    Wichita State    17-3    598    7    Missouri Valley    
  8.    Iona    15-4    544    8    Metro Atlantic    
  9.    Long Beach State    14-6    499    11    Big West    
10.    Cleveland State    17-4    486    10    Horizon    
11.    Davidson    14-4    444    12    Southern    
12.    BYU    17-5    413    9    West Coast    
13.    Oral Roberts    18-4    409    16    Summit    
14.    George Mason    15-5    377    14    Colonial Athletic    
15.    Weber State    15-3    362    15    Big Sky    
16.    Ohio    15-4    297    17    Mid-American    
17.    VCU    15-5    288    19    Colonial Athletic    
18.    Belmont    13-7    191    18    Atlantic Sun    
19.    UT-Arlington    15-5    142    25    Southland    
20.    Drexel    14-5    141    NR    Colonial Athletic    
21.    Long Island    14-6    115    NR    Northeast    
22.    Kent State    12-6    107    13    Mid-American    
23.    Norfolk State    15-5    106    NR    Mid-Eastern Athletic    
24.    Wagner    15-4    94    20    Northeast    
25.    Denver    15-5    66    21    Sun Belt    

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  South Dakota State 57, Akron 30, Georgia State 22, Valparaiso 22, College of Charleston 17, Northern Iowa 16, Missouri State 14, Bucknell 12, Yale 12, Loyola MD 10, Milwaukee 10, UC-Santa Barbara 8, UNC-Ashville 6, Coastal Carolina 5, Mercer 5, Illinois State 3, Montana 2, Manhattan 1, North Texas 1, Old Dominion 1.

[valpo84]

Interesting, we are 2-0 against teams ahead of us in the poll.

[agibson]

From Jan 30

  1.    Murray State (31)    21-0    775    1    Ohio Valley    
  2.    Creighton    20-2    734    2    Missouri Valley    
  3.    Saint Mary's    21-2    717    3    West Coast    
  4.    Harvard    18-2    665    4    Ivy League    
  5.    Gonzaga    17-3    638    6    West Coast    
  6.    Middle Tennessee    20-3    619    5    Sun Belt    
  7.    Long Beach State    16-6    548    9    Big West    
  8.    Wichita State    18-4    546    7    Missouri Valley    
  9.    Iona    17-5    503    8    Metro Atlantic    
10.    Cleveland State    18-4    487    10    Horizon    
11.    Oral Roberts    20-4    480    13    Summit    
12.    George Mason    18-5    399    14    Colonial Athletic    
13.    Davidson    15-5    389    11    Southern    
14.    BYU    18-6    348    12    West Coast    
15.    VCU    18-5    335    17    Colonial Athletic    
16.    Ohio    17-4    320    16    Mid-American    
17.    Weber State    16-4    269    15    Big Sky    
18.    Belmont    15-7    210    18    Atlantic Sun    
19.    UT-Arlington    15-5    209    19    Southland    
20.    Drexel    17-5    142    20    Colonial Athletic    
21.    Akron    14-7    106    NR    Mid-American    
22.    Kent State    14-6    104    22    Mid-American    
23.    Long Island    15-7    92    21    Northeast    
24.    Wagner    17-4    83    24    Northeast    
25.    Bucknell    17-6    61    NR    Patriot    

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  Denver 56, South Dakota State 49, Loyola MD 44, Manhattan 25, Mercer 24, Norfolk State 22, Valparaiso 13, Northern Iowa 12, UC Santa Barbara 10, Montana 9, UNC-Ashville 8, Stony Brook 5, UTSA 5, Robert Morris 4, Missouri State 3, Illinois State 2, Coastal Carolina 1, College of Charleston 1, Loyola Marymount 1, Saint Francis (NY) 1.

[valpo84]

Here's another take on ranking mid-majors: http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/2/2/2766774/mid-major-top-25-wichita-state-falls-out-of-top-five

Opponents: Cleveland State at 10 and Akron at 20.

[agibson]

And here's the Feb 6 College Insider poll.  SDSU gets into the top 25 on the strength of a win over #11 ORU, in South Dakota.  Perhaps knocking off #10 Cleveland State, at their place, can have a similar affect on our ranking.

But, mostly, the parity in the Horizon League (or is it the relative weakness?) seems to hurt the league's performance in the poll.  We're the only other team, after Cleveland State, even receiving votes.

  1.    Murray State (31)    23-0    775    1    Ohio Valley    
  2.    Saint Mary's    22-2    740    3    West Coast    
  3.    Creighton    21-3    682    2    Missouri Valley    
  4.    Harvard    20-2    677    4    Ivy League    
  5.    Long Beach State    17-6    606    7    Big West    
  6.    Gonzaga    18-4    599    5    West Coast    
  7.    Middle Tennessee    21-4    587    6    Sun Belt    
  8.    Wichita State    20-4    561    8    Missouri Valley    
  9.    Iona    19-5    514    9    Metro Atlantic    
10.    Cleveland State    20-4    501    10    Horizon    
11.    BYU    20-6    426    14    West Coast    
12.    VCU    20-5    408    15    Colonial Athletic    
13.    Davidson    17-5    387    13    Southern    
14.    Oral Roberts    21-5    373    11    Summit    
15.    George Mason    19-6    333    12    Colonial Athletic    
16.    Ohio    19-4    316    16    Mid-American    
17.    Weber State    18-4    294    17    Big Sky    
18.    Drexel    19-5    199    20    Colonial Athletic    
19.    Belmont    17-7    177    18    Atlantic Sun    
20.    UT-Arlington    17-5    172    19    Southland    
21.    Akron    16-7    114    21    Mid-American    
22.    South Dakota State    19-6    91    NR    Summit    
23.    Long Island    17-7    86    23    Northeast    
24.    Wagner    19-4    76    24    Northeast    
25.    Bucknell    18-6    68    25    Patriot    
25.    Loyola MD    18-5    68    NR    Metro Atlantic    

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  Kent State 46, Northern Iowa 44, Denver 31, UNC-Asheville 23, Mercer 19, Valparaiso 13, Lehigh 10, Buffalo 9, UC Santa Barbara 8, Montana 7, Coastal Carolina 6, Stony Brook 5, Loyola Marymount 4, Texas San Antonio 2, St. Francis NY 1.

[historyman]

But, mostly, the parity in the Horizon League (or is it the relative weakness?) seems to hurt the league's performance in the poll.  We're the only other team, after Cleveland State, even receiving votes.

Murray State is the only Ohio Valley team in the poll or receiving votes. How do you think that makes the rest of the OVC feel about the poll?

[agibson]

Cleveland State is, needless to say, no longer receiving votes in the AP or USA Today polls.  I doubt they'll exit the midmajor poll entirely.  But, I also doubt that we'll enter it (OK, we might... but I doubt it).

[vuweathernerd]

Cleveland State is, needless to say, no longer receiving votes in the AP or USA Today polls.  I doubt they'll exit the midmajor poll entirely.  But, I also doubt that we'll enter it (OK, we might... but I doubt it).

yeah...the ysu loss kinda hurt us in that regard. 

[agibson]

I guess beating Cleveland State (again!) gets us some respect after all.  Heck, even Butler got a vote.

#27 is, undoubtedly, not our Loyola.

Note that ORU now outranks all Horizon League teams.

  1.    Murray State (20)    24-1    734    1    Ohio Valley    
  2.    Gonzaga (3)    20-4    724    6    West Coast    
  3.    Long Beach State (3)    19-6    674    5    Big West    
  4.    Saint Mary's (1)    23-3    663    2    West Coast    
  5.    Wichita State (4)    22-4    618    8    Missouri Valley    
  6.    Creighton    21-5    591    3    Missouri Valley    
  7.    Middle Tennessee    23-4    589    7    Sun Belt    
  8.    Harvard    21-3    569    4    Ivy League    
  9.    BYU    21-6    511    11    West Coast    
10.    Iona    20-6    508    9    Metro Atlantic    
11.    VCU    22-5    431    12    Colonial Athletic    
12.    George Mason    21-6    401    15    Colonial Athletic    
13.    Drexel    21-5    400    18    Colonial Athletic    
14.    Oral Roberts    23-5    369    14    Summit    
15.    Cleveland State    20-6    337    10    Horizon    
16.    Davidson    19-6    324    13    Southern    
17.    Weber State    20-4    296    17    Big Sky    
18.    UT-Arlington    19-5    218    20    Southland    
19.    Belmont    19-7    188    19    Atlantic Sun    
20.    Akron    18-7    180    21    Mid-American    
21.    Long Island    19-7    116    23    Northeast    
22.    Valparaiso    18-9    81    NR    Horizon    
23.    Wagner    21-4    80    24    Northeast    
24.    Bucknell    20-6    72    25    Patriot    
25.    Tennessee State    17-10    61    NR    Ohio Valley    

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  Ohio 59, Loyola 51, SD State 40, UNC-Asheville 28, Montana 27, Kent State 26, Mercer 24, Buffalo 9, UC Santa Barbara 8, Coastal Carolina 6, Fairfield 5, Missouri State 5, Stony Brook 5, Illinois State 4, Butler 1, Denver 1, Savannah State 1.

[valpo84]

And we are now 3-0 against teams ahead of us in the mid-major poll (and 4-0 against all schools receiving votes).

[StlVUFan]

And we are now 3-0 against teams ahead of us in the mid-major poll (and 4-0 against all schools receiving votes).

I see Cleveland State and Akron, but I don't see number 3.

[valpo04]

And we are now 3-0 against teams ahead of us in the mid-major poll (and 4-0 against all schools receiving votes).

I see Cleveland State and Akron, but I don't see number 3.

Cleveland State twice?

[StlVUFan]

And we are now 3-0 against teams ahead of us in the mid-major poll (and 4-0 against all schools receiving votes).

I see Cleveland State and Akron, but I don't see number 3.

Cleveland State twice?

Oh yeah 

[agibson]

And we are now 3-0 against teams ahead of us in the mid-major poll (and 4-0 against all schools receiving votes).

And we have more losses than everyone above us in the poll.

[valpotx]

ESPN's take:

The Mid-major Power 15
(MWC, A-10 and C-USA are not included)


1. Wichita State: Can't understand how this team failed to crack the latest coaches' poll.
2. Saint Mary's: Loss at Gonzaga stopped Gaels from running away with WCC title.
3. Long Beach State: Monson's squad is 12-0 in the Big West and faces Creighton this week.
4. BYU: New kid on the block still in WCC fight with 9-3 record and second matchup versus Zags coming.
5. Gonzaga: Bulldogs' reign over WCC ending? Not so fast.
6. Murray State: It was bound to happen at some point. First loss might take pressure off.
7. VCU: Shaka Smart's team has won 11 in a row but has a tough week ahead.
8. George Mason: Paul Hewitt's new team entered the week in a three-way tie for first in CAA.
9. Drexel: This CAA squad has won 13 in a row. Forgive me for overlooking Dragons in past polls.
10. Harvard: Amaker's squad suffered its first Ivy League loss against nemesis Princeton.
11.Creighton: The Bluejays' success story has taken a hit with three straight losses.
12. Valparaiso: The Crusaders beat Cleveland State on the road last week and sit atop the Horizon.
13. Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles are in complete control of the Summitt League.
14. Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders have gotten back on track since a loss to Denver.
15. Loyola (Md.): Missed chance to seize first place in MAAC with Sunday loss to Fairfield.

[agibson]

Interesting!

The whole article's at
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7573300/mid-major-report-taking-pulse-league-races-college-basketball

[valpotx]

I love that not only are we ahead of ORU in this one, but that it shows the relevance of our old conference in that the name is misspelled 

[agibson]

On a win against Milwaukee, and a loss to LMU, we drop to 24.

On a loss at Milwaukee and a pasting by Drexel, Cleveland State drops out of the poll to 26th.  (Drexel climbs from 13 to 9.)

That's right, the Summit League has two teams in the poll.  Both ahead of us, the lone Horizon League entrant.  In the "receiving votes" category, Butler's picked up a few more and Detroit now has one (both coming off two wins, including the Bracketbuster).  Apparently we went 7-3 in the Bracketbuster.  But, still.... the Ivy League's ahead of us in RPI?

  1.    Murray State (23)    26-1    763    1    Ohio Valley    
  2.    Wichita State(7)    24-4    745    5    Missouri Valley    
  3.    Creighton    23-5    665    6    Missouri Valley    
  4.    Gonzaga    21-5    655    2    West Coast    
  5.    Middle Tennessee    24-4    639    7    Sun Belt    
  6.    Long Beach State    19-7    602    3    Big West    
  7.    Harvard    23-3    576    8    Ivy League    
  8.    Saint Mary's    23-5    556    4    West Coast    
  9.    Drexel    23-5    506    13    Colonial Athletic    
10.    Iona    22-6    463    10    Metro Atlantic    
11.    Oral Roberts (1)    25-5    452    14    Summit    
12.    George Mason    23-5    419    12    Colonial Athletic    
13.    BYU    23-6    412    9    West Coast    
14.    VCU    23-6    395    11    Colonial Athletic    
15.    Weber State    22-4    371    17    Big Sky    
16.    Belmont    21-7    261    19    Atlantic Sun    
17.    Davidson    20-7    247    16    Southern    
18.    Montana    20-6    191    NR    Big Sky    
19.    UT-Arlington    20-6    189    18    Southland    
20.    Long Island    21-7    141    21    Northeast    
21.    Wagner    23-4    137    23    Northeast    
22.    Akron    19-8    125    20    Mid-American    
23.    South Dakota State    22-7    93    NR    Summit    
24.    Valparaiso    19-10    84    22    Horizon    
25.    Tennessee State    19-10    83    25    Ohio Valley    

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  Cleveland State 79, Ohio 65, Loyola Marymount 30, Denver 24, Kent State 22, Lehigh 13, Bucknell 12, Butler 8, Old Dominion 8, UC Santa Barbara 8, Vermont 8, Mercer 4, Stony Brook 4, USC Upstate 4, Buffalo 3, Cal State Fullerton 2, Loyola MD 2, San Francisco 2, UNC-Ashville 2, Detroit 1, Illinois State 1, Mississippi Valley State 1, Savannah State 1, Utah Valley State 1.

[sectionee]

We have 10 losses and really don't deserve to be any higher then 24 in my opinion. 

[MattCarter]

We have 10 losses and really don't deserve to be any higher then 24 in my opinion.

Agree.  Not only the number of losses, but who we lost them to....IUPUI, IPFW, ect

[okinawatyphoon]

Wow, we are the only Horizon league team in the top 25!

[valpotx]

The HL is ahead of the Ivy and Summit.  Back to our rightful spot between 10-13 as a conference.

1   Big Ten  0.5858  0.5751 1 12
2   Big East  0.5747  0.5682 2 16
3   Big 12  0.5721  0.5622 4 10
4   Southeastern  0.5705  0.5626 3 12
5   Mountain West  0.5670  0.5431 6 8
6   Atlantic Coast  0.5624  0.5600 5 12
7   Atlantic 10  0.5427  0.5360 7 14
8   Missouri Valley  0.5343  0.5332 8 10
9   Conference USA  0.5325  0.5330 9 12
10   Pacific-12  0.5248  0.5295 10 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11   West Coast  0.5170  0.5191 11 9
12   Western Athletic  0.5043  0.5001 13 8
13   Horizon League  0.5012  0.5008 12 10
14   Ivy League  0.4986  0.4960 14 8
15   Colonial Athletic  0.4937  0.4922 15 12
16   Mid-American  0.4882  0.4880 17 12
17   Summit  0.4867  0.4811 19 10
18   Metro Atlantic Athletic  0.4841  0.4836 18 10
19   Sun Belt  0.4835  0.4915 16 12
20   Atlantic Sun  0.4786  0.4768 20 10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21   Ohio Valley  0.4745  0.4746 21 11
22   Patriot League  0.4726  0.4605 26 8
23   Southern  0.4656  0.4719 22 12
24   Big West  0.4625  0.4637 23 9
25   Northeast  0.4607  0.4630 24 12
26   Big Sky  0.4594  0.4614 25 9
27   Southland  0.4518  0.4548 27 12
28   Big South  0.4509  0.4514 28 11
29   America East  0.4346  0.4360 31 9
30   Mid-Eastern  0.4309  0.4428 30 13

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31   Independents  0.4181  0.4458 29 9
32   Southwestern Athletic  0.4053  0.4230 32 10

[covufan]

The teams in the Summit have improved over the last few years.  We should try to continue our series with IUPUI, IPFW and Oakland - hopefully with better results in the coming years. 

[valpotx]

The Dakota schools are really helping the Summit, as well as Centenary dropping to D-3, and SUU leaving next year for the Big Sky.  ORU leaving for the Southland will not help though.

Interesting article on mid-majors below.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7596308/mid-major-schools-big-potential-ncaa-tournament-men-college-basketball

[agibson]

The HL is ahead of the Ivy and Summit.  Back to our rightful spot between 10-13 as a conference.

What's your source?  WarrenNolan and RealTimeRPI both have the Ivy a nose above the Horizon.  WarrenNolan did last night as well. At the moment, they both have the Ivy at 0.4987 but disagree about the Horizon: 0.4982 vs. 0.4985.