MM Poll 2/6 - Salukis and Griz Fall Six Spots

[TexasTerror]

1. Gonzaga (30) 18-3 774 1
2. Bucknell (1) 18-3 731 2
3. Northern Iowa 20-4 705 3
4. Wichita State 19-5 655 5
5. Creighton 16-5 649 6
6. George Mason 17-5 612 8
7. Western Kentucky 16-5 563 10
8. Southern Illinois 16-7 534 4
9. Kent State 16-6 468 17
10. Hofstra 16-4 433 18
11. Wisconsin-Milwaukee 16-6 411 7
12. UNC-Wilmington 17-7 407 11
13. Old Dominion 16-7 327 12
14. Northwestern State 15-6 324 19
15. Montana 16-5 292 9
16. Akron 15-5 284 16
17. Iona 16-5 214 15
18. Winthrop 14-6 201 13
19. South Alabama 16-5 163 24
20. Pacific 16-6 149 21
21. San Diego 15-6 122 NR
22. Ohio 12-6 118 14
23. UC-Irvine 13-9 89 20
24. VCU 15-6 85 23
25. Murray State 16-5 78 NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Missouri State 74, Northern Arizona 74, Northern Illinois 69, Miami-Ohio 56, Northeastern 45, Birmingham Southern 44, East Tennessee State 30, Manhattan 28, Samford 28, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 25, Butler 24, IUPUI 21, Davidson 20, Bradley 19, Oral Roberts 19, Penn 15, Marist 14, Lipscomb 14, Tennessee Tech 13, Buffalo 12, Sam Houston State 12, Albany 9, Lehigh 6, North Dakota State 3, Georgia Southern 2, Delaware State 1.

[blackfordpu]

Why such a far fall TT?

[AZGrizFan]

After those two ugly losses, I'm surprised the Griz are still even IN the poll... :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Pard4Life]

Gonzaga is not a mid-major anymore... so Bucknell is the real number one.

[wannabegaucho]

As long as Gonzaga is in a mid-mjor conference, then they are a mid-major.

Look out for Loyola Marymount. They have a better conference record then San Diego.

[nmatsen]

Gonzaga is not a mid-major anymore... so Bucknell is the real number one.

They will not be number one after next weekend in the Dome. They have played absolutely no one all year! How they are ahead of us now I have no freaking clue!

[grizband]

After those two ugly losses, I'm surprised the Griz are still even IN the poll... :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
And we should have won both games, thats what bugs me.

[grizband]

They will not be number one after next weekend in the Dome. They have played absolutely no one all year! How they are ahead of us now I have no freaking clue!
Mon, Nov 21 at (24) Maryland W 88-76
Tue, Nov 22 at (12) Michigan St. W 109-106
Wed, Nov 23 (3) Connecticut L 63-65
Sun, Dec 4 at (18) Washington L 95-99
hu, Dec 8 Washington St. W 67-53
Sat, Dec 10 Oklahoma St. W 64-62
Sat, Dec 17 Virginia W 80-69
Tue, Dec 27 at (4) Memphis L 72-83
Sat, Feb 11 Stanford 9:00 pm

Those are some of the "nobodies" they have played this year. They have lost to UCONN and Memphis by a combined 13 points. While they may be slightly overrated, I wouldn't say that they haven't played anybody.

[kardplayer]

Mon, Nov 21 at (24) Maryland W 88-76
Tue, Nov 22 at (12) Michigan St. W 109-106
Wed, Nov 23 (3) Connecticut L 63-65
Sun, Dec 4 at (18) Washington L 95-99
hu, Dec 8 Washington St. W 67-53
Sat, Dec 10 Oklahoma St. W 64-62
Sat, Dec 17 Virginia W 80-69
Tue, Dec 27 at (4) Memphis L 72-83
Sat, Feb 11 Stanford 9:00 pm

Those are some of the "nobodies" they have played this year. They have lost to UCONN and Memphis by a combined 13 points. While they may be slightly overrated, I wouldn't say that they haven't played anybody.

I think he was referring to Bucknell. They've had 4 or 5 games against Power Conference types BTW -
Lost to Duke
Lost to 'Nova (at home)
Beat Syracuse (in the dome)
Beat Depaul

[nmatsen]

I think he was referring to Bucknell. They've had 4 or 5 games against Power Conference types BTW -
Lost to Duke
Lost to 'Nova (at home)
Beat Syracuse (in the dome)
Beat Depaul

Ya, sorry about that, I should have clarified that I was referring to the person who said that Gonzaga should not be a mid-major and that Bucknell should be number one saying that if your threw Gonzaga out I don't think that anyone should be above the Panthers. Not the way they are playing right now even missing a player or two.

[grizband]

I think he was referring to Bucknell. They've had 4 or 5 games against Power Conference types BTW -
Lost to Duke
Lost to 'Nova (at home)
Beat Syracuse (in the dome)
Beat Depaul
Your're right, my bad. Sorry NMatsen, I should have reread your post before trying to prove you wrong. :bang:

[bison95]

They will not be number one after next weekend in the Dome. They have played absolutely no one all year! How they are ahead of us now I have no freaking clue!

And how UNI is ahead of Creighton is even a bigger mystery : flamemad

[nmatsen]

And how UNI is ahead of Creighton is even a bigger mystery : flamemad

Because we have a better record. Plain and simple. If we had the same record then they should be ranked ahead of us, also plain and simple. Should North Dakota be ranked above Wisconsin? No

[crunifan]

Not only does UNI have a better record than Creighton, we have better wins. We have Iowa and LSU in Baton Rouge. Creighton's best win...is UNI.

[bison95]

Not only does UNI have a better record than Creighton, we have better wins. We have Iowa and LSU in Baton Rouge. Creighton's best win...is UNI.


Twice!!!.

Just trying to make a point that the polls make no difference because it is all played out on the floor. Win the conference turny, and your in the dance, Baby. :hurray:

[nmatsen]

Not only does UNI have a better record than Creighton, we have better wins. We have Iowa and LSU in Baton Rouge. Creighton's best win...is UNI.


Twice!!!.

Just trying to make a point that the polls make no difference because it is all played out on the floor. Win the conference turny, and your in the dance, Baby. :hurray:

bison95,
We have reached a point in our program, similar to Creighton (I don't think we are quite there yet) that it is not about getting into the tournament anymore, pulling a 14 seed and leaving in day one is un-acceptable. It is about a seed my friend. Rankings bring exposure, exposure tells people that sit in the smoke filled room the night before selection Sunday more knowledge about the Panthers helping them get a respectable, realistic seed to make a run in the dance.

[kardplayer]

The NY Daily News has projected seeds - never gone back to check the accuracy of this guy, but thought y'all might find it interesting... he has the Oakland bracket as the I-AA bracket...

N. Iowa - 6
Bucknell - 8
Penn - 13
Northern Arizona - 14
Elon - 16
(and UConn, I-AA not all that long ago as the 1 seed)

In the other brackets, he has:
Washington bracket
Iona 13
Murray State 15

Atlanta bracket
Western Kentucky 14
NW State 15
Albany/Southern in the play-in

Minneapolis
Villanova 2
Delaware State 16

[crunifan]

Twice!!!.

Just trying to make a point that the polls make no difference because it is all played out on the floor. Win the conference turny, and your in the dance, Baby. :hurray:[/QUOTE]

UNI is all but guaranteed in the dance now. We are fighting for the best possible seed now. What it comes down to is UNI has 4 losses and two amazing wins. Creighton has 5 losses with 2 good wins. At this point, UNI has proved more. I will say, that I do think Creighton is amazing, and has not had the opportunities against big name teams to prove this like UNI has.

[crunifan]

UNI increases its list of victims with its second win over current Mid-Major poll #4 Wichita State.

[Pard4Life]

They will not be number one after next weekend in the Dome. They have played absolutely no one all year! How they are ahead of us now I have no freaking clue!

Um, Ws at Syracuse, St. Joseph's, and playing Villanova very close. Plus it's the same exact team that beat Kansas.

[crunifan]

Um, Ws at Syracuse, St. Joseph's, and playing Villanova very close. Plus it's the same exact team that beat Kansas.

I don't want to come off as a Bucknell basher, for I am not in any way. I complete support them, it gives us "mid-majors" hope for acheiving national success.

But let's compare Bucknell and UNI's wins against top 50 RPI teams:

Bucknell (42):

Syracuse (33)
St. Joseph's (45)

UNI (15):

Iowa (7)
LSU (21)
@ Wichita State (23)
@Missouri State (36)
Southern Illinois (39)
Wichita State (23)

Now, UNI has 6 wins against top 50 teams and is number 15 itself, Bucknell has two wins and is at 42. These stats show, that this UNI has performed better. Now, none of this matter's when Bucknell visits the dome on the 18th. But I believe UNI will be too much to handle for the Bison.

[kardplayer]

Hate to turn my back on my Patriot League brethren, but if you are looking only at quality of victories (and some pollsters don't), then UNI is a no-brainer here.

I do believe that Pard's point about them being the same exact team that beat Kansas is why they are ranked as high as they are. For those that are gauging how good they think a team is (vs. what they've proved on the court this season), I can see why they'd count last year's Kansas win - and the Pitt win for that matter. Of course, if they're doing that, they should also include Bucknell's losses - which since they weren't the top seed in the Patriot League tourny must have been at least 2-3 PL teams (including Lehigh)...

If I had a vote, I'd be voting UNI over BU...

[Pard4Life]

Hate to turn my back on my Patriot League brethren, but if you are looking only at quality of victories (and some pollsters don't), then UNI is a no-brainer here.

I do believe that Pard's point about them being the same exact team that beat Kansas is why they are ranked as high as they are. For those that are gauging how good they think a team is (vs. what they've proved on the court this season), I can see why they'd count last year's Kansas win - and the Pitt win for that matter. Of course, if they're doing that, they should also include Bucknell's losses - which since they weren't the top seed in the Patriot League tourny must have been at least 2-3 PL teams (including Lehigh)...

If I had a vote, I'd be voting UNI over BU...

I agree with a Lehigh fan on someting at least... No. Iowa does have an impressive, and yeah I'd change my stance and say No. Iowa should get the nod over BU if they were vying for the last slot.

But I don't think that has any bearing on a BU vs. UNI match-up. BU has more than enough skill and experience to beat UNI, especially if they can win in Syracuse and Pittburgh. I haven't been to UNI, but can they match Syracuse in terms of atmosphere? Probably not. That dome experience will help for their upcoming dome game.

But back to tourney selection, I read on espn or somewhere that a good criteria for selecting teams is records vs. above RPI 150 teams. In 2004, Utah St. was ranked 25, was 24-3, and got snubbed. Why? They were only 3-3 or 2-3 in above 150 games. Makes sense to me... garbage wins.

[AppGuy04]

some nice pub:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AtC0ve5IrASrjsMnXBLjCqbevbYF?slug=cnnsi-wildcards&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

from the article:
From the under-the-radar department, keep your eye out for Justin Williams, a 6-10 senior at Wyoming who is averaging 10.7 rebounds. One NBA scout who really likes him told me Williams reminds him of Dennis Rodman.

Do whatever you have to do to catch these Missouri Valley games, folks. They really are great theater

[dbackjon]

some nice pub:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AtC0ve5IrASrjsMnXBLjCqbevbYF?slug=cnnsi-wildcards&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

from the article:
From the under-the-radar department, keep your eye out for Justin Williams, a 6-10 senior at Wyoming who is averaging 10.7 rebounds. One NBA scout who really likes him told me Williams reminds him of Dennis Rodman.

Do whatever you have to do to catch these Missouri Valley games, folks. They really are great theater

Note that the two have nothing to do with each other, since Wyoming is not in the MVC.....

Also, from that article:

Seed Report

Atlanta

1. Duke 2. Illinois 3. Tennessee 4. Northern Iowa

Washington, D.C.

1. UConn 2. Gonzaga 3. UCLA 4. Pittsburgh

Minneapolis

1. Memphis 2. West Virginia 3. Georgetown 4. LSU

Oakland

1. Texas 2. Villanova 3. Michigan State 4. George Washington

[AppGuy04]

Note that the two have nothing to do with each other, since Wyoming is not in the MVC.....

Also, from that article:

Seed Report

Atlanta

1. Duke 2. Illinois 3. Tennessee 4. Northern Iowa

Washington, D.C.

1. UConn 2. Gonzaga 3. UCLA 4. Pittsburgh

Minneapolis

1. Memphis 2. West Virginia 3. Georgetown 4. LSU

Oakland

1. Texas 2. Villanova 3. Michigan State 4. George Washington


I know, just highlighting the I-AA stuff

[crunifan]

But I don't think that has any bearing on a BU vs. UNI match-up. BU has more than enough skill and experience to beat UNI, especially if they can win in Syracuse and Pittburgh. I haven't been to UNI, but can they match Syracuse in terms of atmosphere? Probably not. That dome experience will help for their upcoming dome game.


Bucknell most definitely can beat UNI, without question. If UNI doesn't show up to play and Bucknell does, it is over. BUT, if UNI is hot (which it has been lately) and Erik is back full force, I honestly don't think Bucknell (or any team short of Duke, Mempis, or UConn) has a shot in that Dome.

Also, remember that the UNI-Dome is smaller and has a metal roof. I guarantee you it gets louder in there. UNI has AMAZING atmosphere in football, and for basketball in the Dome it is growing tremendously each year.