Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 - Basketball Forum : Professional and College Basketball Forums

**OldHawk** · 11-28-2012, 08:41 AM

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-ba...mid-major-poll

COMMENTARY
Dayton new No. 1 in mid-major poll
Updated: November 28, 2012, 4:24 AM ET
By Graham Hays | espnW
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AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Ally Malott and Dayton went from unranked in our preseason poll to the No. 1 spot.
An updated mid-major top 10 through Tuesday's games:

1. Dayton (6-0): It shouldn't appear this easy to replace four starters who helped make Dayton a regular in the NCAA tournament. But the new-look Flyers soar to the No. 1 ranking on the strength of victories against DePaul, Vanderbilt and Toledo. Everything is working. Sophomore Ally Malott is shooting 46 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, showing the kind of all-around game that made her a McDonald's All-American in high school. Senior Samantha MacKay is already almost halfway to a career high in assists, with 35 against just 15 turnovers. And freshman Amber Deane had 39 points, 13 rebounds and just four turnovers in the wins against the Blue Demons and Commodores.

2. Middle Tennessee (4-1): They could have and maybe should have knocked off Iowa in the WNIT semifinals, losing in Iowa City after Iowa's Jaime Printy hit a 3-pointer with one second left to force overtime, but the Blue Raiders look legit. Junior Ebony Rowe played all 45 minutes in that game, and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. The big game obviously is Wednesday's tilt against Tennessee in Knoxville, but the next two weeks also feature a tough trip to South Dakota State and an even tougher, if shorter, trip to Kentucky. One concern is that Middle Tennessee's 3-point accuracy slipped badly last season and shows few indications of improving early this season.

3. Delaware (2-2): You can rank Delaware exclusively on the merits of a 2-2 record that includes victories against Sam Houston State and Providence, hardly powerhouses, or you can rank the Blue Hens as a team that just regained the services of Elena Delle Donne. Since these rankings are about as scientific as Norse mythology to begin with, I'm invoking the Delle Donne codicil. Assuming she is back for good, games this month against Princeton and Maryland should reveal more about just where this team stands. Senior Danielle Parker (11.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg) continues doing her part.

4. Gonzaga (6-1): The Bulldogs were unsuccessful in their first attempt to claim a signature win, losing 55-42 against No. 7 Louisville in Mexico at a holiday tournament, but chances remain at home against No. 1 Stanford this weekend and later in the month against No. 15 Ohio State. With wins already to their credit against Southern California and Wisconsin, the Bulldogs are building a résumé. Freshman Elle Tinkle has yet to earn a regular place in the playing rotation, but the younger sister of Stanford standout Joslyn set a career high with 14 points off the bench against Winthrop in Mexico.

5. UTEP (5-0): Maintaining this ranking will be more difficult after the Miners lost 6-foot-4 senior post Kristine Vitola to a season-ending injury earlier in the month. The Latvian appeared headed for a breakthrough season as the team's leading scorer through three games. But even without Vitola, UTEP beat Arizona over the Thanksgiving holiday, giving the Miners a sweep of the Pac-12 Arizona schools. At least the Miners have depth in Latvians. Senior Anete Steinberga (yep, Latvian) led UTEP with 18 points in just 23 minutes in the win against Arizona.

6. Green Bay (4-1): An overtime loss in Cancun, Mexico, against James Madison was a disappointment, the Phoenix unable to find a way to slow down Tarik Hislop, but things seem stable in Kevin Borseth's return. Green Bay got a quality road win at Northern Iowa to open the season, and followed the loss against James Madison with victories against Missouri and Richmond. Seniors Adrian Ritchie (17.8 ppg) and Sarah Eichler (16.2 ppg) have stepped up the way returning starters always seem to when shifted to leading roles in the program, but Stephanie Sension's emergence after a bit role in seasons past is equally notable.

7. Chattanooga (4-1): What can Chattanooga do for an encore? No team wants to peak before the leaves are all off the trees, but the Lady Mocs already have one of the season's highlights as a result of a season-opening win against Tennessee. It will take some work to top that. They're also going to have to work to overcome a rebounding deficit that currently stands at 5.8 per game, something that cost them in a loss at Saint Mary's over the holiday weekend. The team opens conference play this week, but games against Auburn, Alabama and UAB offer some remaining regional tests out of conference.

8. Duquesne (4-1): Leading North Carolina in Chapel Hill with fewer than five minutes to play in the WNIT, Duquesne had to settle for a 52-48 loss in the end. But that effort, along with a win against Delaware (minus Delle Donne) and over a solid Liberty team earn Duquesne a place. The only person in Pittsburgh who could be more readily associated with turnovers than Jocelyn Floyd is poor Charlie Batch. Fortunately for Duquesne, Floyd is usually the one doing the taking in the transaction. She had 35 steals in her team's first five games this season. Here in the mid-major rankings, we call that Wojta-esque.

9. Hartford (5-1): The Hawks came close to a signature win at home against St. John's over Thanksgiving, leading the game midway through the second half before the Big East power turned things around for a 12-point victory. Even so, with wins against Marist and Richmond, Hartford looks capable of acquitting itself well against a December schedule that includes a trip to Vanderbilt and the always-daunting encounter with Connecticut (at least it will be on Hartford's court). An all-rookie selection in the America East last season, Amber Bepko keeps improving (10.8 ppg, 2.7 spg, 36 percent 3-point shooting).

10. Marist (3-3): Scheduling counts, and other than the opener against a rebuilding Vermont program, Marist hasn't had an easy night. Wake Forest is not the strongest ACC program, but bouncing back from losses against Connecticut and Purdue to beat the Demon Deacons in each team's third game in as many days is a quality result for the Red Foxes. Granted, if Marist continues to shoot 25 percent from the 3-point line (and that's after 12-of-28 shooting against Wake Forest), it's going to be a long season. But beating Wake Forest on tired legs and fellow top-10 contender Princeton in the wake of losing post Tori Jarosz to long-term injury shows some resilience.

Next five: Princeton, Arkansas-Little Rock, Toledo, Old Dominion, San Diego State

Previous polls: Nov. 9

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Graham Hays writes for Page 2 and contributes to ESPN.com's women's basketball, softball and soccer coverage. Hays began with ESPN in 1999. He's now an editor for ESPN.com's SportsNation.

The College Insider Top 25

http://www.collegeinsider.com/new/wo...jor-top-25.php

BUmbles · 12-01-2012, 11:47 AM

BU wallops #15/17 St John.s 66-49. AE Women's Basketball should be quite good this year.

**OldHawk** · 12-01-2012, 01:10 PM

Unfortunately, Hartford was ahead of St. John's halfway through the second half and let it slip away.

mainejeff · 12-01-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUmbles

BU wallops #15/17 St John.s 66-49. AE Women's Basketball should be quite good this year.

Could be a 2 bid league this season.

usslider · 12-11-2012, 09:55 AM

BU has just had two quality OT wins in a row, over Marist and Harvard, and 5 straight wins overall. RPI is now best is the league at #52

**OldHawk** · 12-11-2012, 10:07 AM

Look at the good teams vs. the bad teams. Huge difference between the top five teams and the bottom four. Those bottom four are really killing the Conference RPI.

Women's Basketball - America East (2012-2013)

Conf. RPI Rank: 23 Conf. SOS Rank: 26
Only games against Division I opponents are counted.
Teams that made the tournament are in bold
update every 5 mins.
Last updated - Tue Dec 11 09:54:23 PST 2012

View Power Ratings View Real Time RPIsvip
RPI Rk America East Conf All RPI SOS Rk SOS
52 Boston U. 0-0 8-3 0.6100 64 0.5684
74 Hartford 0-0 7-2 0.5753 149 0.5113
118 Stony Brook 0-0 5-3 0.5337 189 0.4866
134 Albany 0-0 7-2 0.5218 281 0.4333
138 New Hampshire 0-0 4-5 0.5172 140 0.5191
304 Maine 0-0 1-9 0.3890 197 0.4839
322 MD Baltimore Cty. 0-0 2-7 0.3663 274 0.4371
329 Vermont 0-0 3-7 0.3448 332 0.3715
338 Binghamton 0-0 1-9 0.3097 333 0.3713
2011-2012 America East standings

Join Discussion now in America East Message Board new

**Seth** · 12-11-2012, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usslider

BU has just had two quality OT wins in a row, over Marist and Harvard, and 5 straight wins overall. RPI is now best is the league at #52

There's a lot of basketball left to be played, but an at-large bid here isn't out of the question. That would certainly be a coup considering the AE Tourney ban.

I've only been to the St. John's game so far, but it was an awesome win, and Chantell looks better than ever.

UAalum72 · 12-11-2012, 10:25 AM

Interesting difference with the RealtimeRPI Power Ratings
NCAA Women's Basketball Power Ratings - America East (2012-2013)
Conf. Ranking: 18 Conf. SOS Rank: 19

Join Discussion now in America East Message Board new
Only games against Division I opponents are counted.
Rankings update every 5 mins.
Last updated - Mon Dec 10 11:30:34 PST 2012 Switch to RPI Ratings

Rank America East Conf All Index SOS Rk SOS
85 Boston U. 0-0 0-0 64.00 227 42.70
90 Albany 0-0 0-0 63.19 214 42.91
125 Hartford 0-0 0-0 59.90 152 44.69
152 MD Baltimore Cty. 0-0 0-0 57.33 141 45.00
196 New Hampshire 0-0 0-0 52.67 301 40.63
226 Binghamton 0-0 0-0 50.73 215 42.86
280 Vermont 0-0 0-0 46.19 261 41.93
310 Maine 0-0 0-0 41.71 262 41.92
329 Stony Brook 0-0 0-0 38.49 188 43.61

**OldHawk** · 12-11-2012, 10:30 AM

That makes them look a little better.

umainealum · 12-11-2012, 10:31 AM

UAAlum...your RPI rankings show all the teams to be 0-0. Is this a preseason look at RPI?

umainealum · 12-11-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth

There's a lot of basketball left to be played, but an at-large bid here isn't out of the question. That would certainly be a coup considering the AE Tourney ban.

I've only been to the St. John's game so far, but it was an awesome win, and Chantell looks better than ever.

The only possibility for an at-large bid will be if they go undefeated through the conference schedule and even then it is a HUGE long shot. St. John's is a pretty good win, but the "Johnnies" are only #61 in RPI and their best win to date is #74 Hartford. Obviously they will have ample opportunities for more quality wins when they get into Big East action but as of right now, that win won't cut it, especially considering BU has a bad loss to cross-town rival Northeastern. Usually with mid-majors in WBB, you cannot afford a loss that is considered bad (outside Top 100) unless you have a huge win or 2.

At this point, I would say that any loss, regardless of who it is, would eliminate BU from any at-large discussion.

UAalum72 · 12-11-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umainealum

UAAlum...your RPI rankings show all the teams to be 0-0. Is this a preseason look at RPI?

Must be preseason power rankings, even though it says it's updated today. Never mind.

**Seth** · 12-11-2012, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umainealum

The only possibility for an at-large bid will be if they go undefeated through the conference schedule and even then it is a HUGE long shot. St. John's is a pretty good win, but the "Johnnies" are only #61 in RPI and their best win to date is #74 Hartford. Obviously they will have ample opportunities for more quality wins when they get into Big East action but as of right now, that win won't cut it, especially considering BU has a bad loss to cross-town rival Northeastern. Usually with mid-majors in WBB, you cannot afford a loss that is considered bad (outside Top 100) unless you have a huge win or 2.

At this point, I would say that any loss, regardless of who it is, would eliminate BU from any at-large discussion.

I'd say that's about right.

16-0 in conference has been done, but that's a very difficult climb. Regardless, I'll enjoy this team, and hope they get some sort of shot at the post-season!

11-28-2012, 08:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
OldHawk OldHawk Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Marin County, CA Posts: 127 Rep Power: 5	Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 http://espn.go.com/womens-college-ba...mid-major-poll COMMENTARY Dayton new No. 1 in mid-major poll Updated: November 28, 2012, 4:24 AM ET By Graham Hays \| espnW 6 14 1 EMAIL PRINT AP Photo/David J. Phillip Ally Malott and Dayton went from unranked in our preseason poll to the No. 1 spot. An updated mid-major top 10 through Tuesday's games: 1. Dayton (6-0): It shouldn't appear this easy to replace four starters who helped make Dayton a regular in the NCAA tournament. But the new-look Flyers soar to the No. 1 ranking on the strength of victories against DePaul, Vanderbilt and Toledo. Everything is working. Sophomore Ally Malott is shooting 46 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, showing the kind of all-around game that made her a McDonald's All-American in high school. Senior Samantha MacKay is already almost halfway to a career high in assists, with 35 against just 15 turnovers. And freshman Amber Deane had 39 points, 13 rebounds and just four turnovers in the wins against the Blue Demons and Commodores. 2. Middle Tennessee (4-1): They could have and maybe should have knocked off Iowa in the WNIT semifinals, losing in Iowa City after Iowa's Jaime Printy hit a 3-pointer with one second left to force overtime, but the Blue Raiders look legit. Junior Ebony Rowe played all 45 minutes in that game, and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. The big game obviously is Wednesday's tilt against Tennessee in Knoxville, but the next two weeks also feature a tough trip to South Dakota State and an even tougher, if shorter, trip to Kentucky. One concern is that Middle Tennessee's 3-point accuracy slipped badly last season and shows few indications of improving early this season. 3. Delaware (2-2): You can rank Delaware exclusively on the merits of a 2-2 record that includes victories against Sam Houston State and Providence, hardly powerhouses, or you can rank the Blue Hens as a team that just regained the services of Elena Delle Donne. Since these rankings are about as scientific as Norse mythology to begin with, I'm invoking the Delle Donne codicil. Assuming she is back for good, games this month against Princeton and Maryland should reveal more about just where this team stands. Senior Danielle Parker (11.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg) continues doing her part. 4. Gonzaga (6-1): The Bulldogs were unsuccessful in their first attempt to claim a signature win, losing 55-42 against No. 7 Louisville in Mexico at a holiday tournament, but chances remain at home against No. 1 Stanford this weekend and later in the month against No. 15 Ohio State. With wins already to their credit against Southern California and Wisconsin, the Bulldogs are building a résumé. Freshman Elle Tinkle has yet to earn a regular place in the playing rotation, but the younger sister of Stanford standout Joslyn set a career high with 14 points off the bench against Winthrop in Mexico. 5. UTEP (5-0): Maintaining this ranking will be more difficult after the Miners lost 6-foot-4 senior post Kristine Vitola to a season-ending injury earlier in the month. The Latvian appeared headed for a breakthrough season as the team's leading scorer through three games. But even without Vitola, UTEP beat Arizona over the Thanksgiving holiday, giving the Miners a sweep of the Pac-12 Arizona schools. At least the Miners have depth in Latvians. Senior Anete Steinberga (yep, Latvian) led UTEP with 18 points in just 23 minutes in the win against Arizona. 6. Green Bay (4-1): An overtime loss in Cancun, Mexico, against James Madison was a disappointment, the Phoenix unable to find a way to slow down Tarik Hislop, but things seem stable in Kevin Borseth's return. Green Bay got a quality road win at Northern Iowa to open the season, and followed the loss against James Madison with victories against Missouri and Richmond. Seniors Adrian Ritchie (17.8 ppg) and Sarah Eichler (16.2 ppg) have stepped up the way returning starters always seem to when shifted to leading roles in the program, but Stephanie Sension's emergence after a bit role in seasons past is equally notable. 7. Chattanooga (4-1): What can Chattanooga do for an encore? No team wants to peak before the leaves are all off the trees, but the Lady Mocs already have one of the season's highlights as a result of a season-opening win against Tennessee. It will take some work to top that. They're also going to have to work to overcome a rebounding deficit that currently stands at 5.8 per game, something that cost them in a loss at Saint Mary's over the holiday weekend. The team opens conference play this week, but games against Auburn, Alabama and UAB offer some remaining regional tests out of conference. 8. Duquesne (4-1): Leading North Carolina in Chapel Hill with fewer than five minutes to play in the WNIT, Duquesne had to settle for a 52-48 loss in the end. But that effort, along with a win against Delaware (minus Delle Donne) and over a solid Liberty team earn Duquesne a place. The only person in Pittsburgh who could be more readily associated with turnovers than Jocelyn Floyd is poor Charlie Batch. Fortunately for Duquesne, Floyd is usually the one doing the taking in the transaction. She had 35 steals in her team's first five games this season. Here in the mid-major rankings, we call that Wojta-esque. 9. Hartford (5-1): The Hawks came close to a signature win at home against St. John's over Thanksgiving, leading the game midway through the second half before the Big East power turned things around for a 12-point victory. Even so, with wins against Marist and Richmond, Hartford looks capable of acquitting itself well against a December schedule that includes a trip to Vanderbilt and the always-daunting encounter with Connecticut (at least it will be on Hartford's court). An all-rookie selection in the America East last season, Amber Bepko keeps improving (10.8 ppg, 2.7 spg, 36 percent 3-point shooting). 10. Marist (3-3): Scheduling counts, and other than the opener against a rebuilding Vermont program, Marist hasn't had an easy night. Wake Forest is not the strongest ACC program, but bouncing back from losses against Connecticut and Purdue to beat the Demon Deacons in each team's third game in as many days is a quality result for the Red Foxes. Granted, if Marist continues to shoot 25 percent from the 3-point line (and that's after 12-of-28 shooting against Wake Forest), it's going to be a long season. But beating Wake Forest on tired legs and fellow top-10 contender Princeton in the wake of losing post Tori Jarosz to long-term injury shows some resilience. Next five: Princeton, Arkansas-Little Rock, Toledo, Old Dominion, San Diego State Previous polls: Nov. 9 RECOMMEND6TWEET14COMMENTS1EMAILPRINTSUBSCRIBE Graham Hays \| email Women's Sports FollowArchive Graham Hays writes for Page 2 and contributes to ESPN.com's women's basketball, softball and soccer coverage. Hays began with ESPN in 1999. He's now an editor for ESPN.com's SportsNation. The College Insider Top 25 http://www.collegeinsider.com/new/wo...jor-top-25.php

12-01-2012, 11:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
BUmbles 6th Man Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 275 Rep Power: 1704	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 BU wallops #15/17 St John.s 66-49. AE Women's Basketball should be quite good this year.

12-01-2012, 01:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
OldHawk OldHawk Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Marin County, CA Posts: 127 Rep Power: 5	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 Unfortunately, Hartford was ahead of St. John's halfway through the second half and let it slip away.

12-11-2012, 09:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
usslider Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 2,243 Rep Power: 8124	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 BU has just had two quality OT wins in a row, over Marist and Harvard, and 5 straight wins overall. RPI is now best is the league at #52 __________________ ~v^v~GO TERRIERS~v^v~ BU Hoops Blog

12-11-2012, 10:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
OldHawk OldHawk Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Marin County, CA Posts: 127 Rep Power: 5	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 Look at the good teams vs. the bad teams. Huge difference between the top five teams and the bottom four. Those bottom four are really killing the Conference RPI. Women's Basketball - America East (2012-2013) Conf. RPI Rank: 23 Conf. SOS Rank: 26 Only games against Division I opponents are counted. Teams that made the tournament are in bold update every 5 mins. Last updated - Tue Dec 11 09:54:23 PST 2012 View Power Ratings View Real Time RPIsvip RPI Rk America East Conf All RPI SOS Rk SOS 52 Boston U. 0-0 8-3 0.6100 64 0.5684 74 Hartford 0-0 7-2 0.5753 149 0.5113 118 Stony Brook 0-0 5-3 0.5337 189 0.4866 134 Albany 0-0 7-2 0.5218 281 0.4333 138 New Hampshire 0-0 4-5 0.5172 140 0.5191 304 Maine 0-0 1-9 0.3890 197 0.4839 322 MD Baltimore Cty. 0-0 2-7 0.3663 274 0.4371 329 Vermont 0-0 3-7 0.3448 332 0.3715 338 Binghamton 0-0 1-9 0.3097 333 0.3713 2011-2012 America East standings Join Discussion now in America East Message Board new

12-11-2012, 10:25 AM	#8 (permalink)
UAalum72 Veteran Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Gateway to the Mohawk Valley Posts: 1,170 Rep Power: 175	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 Interesting difference with the RealtimeRPI Power Ratings NCAA Women's Basketball Power Ratings - America East (2012-2013) Conf. Ranking: 18 Conf. SOS Rank: 19 Join Discussion now in America East Message Board new Only games against Division I opponents are counted. Rankings update every 5 mins. Last updated - Mon Dec 10 11:30:34 PST 2012 Switch to RPI Ratings Rank America East Conf All Index SOS Rk SOS 85 Boston U. 0-0 0-0 64.00 227 42.70 90 Albany 0-0 0-0 63.19 214 42.91 125 Hartford 0-0 0-0 59.90 152 44.69 152 MD Baltimore Cty. 0-0 0-0 57.33 141 45.00 196 New Hampshire 0-0 0-0 52.67 301 40.63 226 Binghamton 0-0 0-0 50.73 215 42.86 280 Vermont 0-0 0-0 46.19 261 41.93 310 Maine 0-0 0-0 41.71 262 41.92 329 Stony Brook 0-0 0-0 38.49 188 43.61 __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. " - B. Franklin

12-11-2012, 10:30 AM	#9 (permalink)
OldHawk OldHawk Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Marin County, CA Posts: 127 Rep Power: 5	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 That makes them look a little better.

12-11-2012, 10:31 AM	#10 (permalink)
umainealum Veteran Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2,414 Rep Power: 28923	Re: Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Hartford #9 UAAlum...your RPI rankings show all the teams to be 0-0. Is this a preseason look at RPI? __________________ UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

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