‘Stasis’ is the word of the week in both polls. Both the men’s and women’s top 10s were mildly reorganized but entirely unchanged in their constituency. There was so little movement in either poll that I had to relax my standards just to populate my “Movers & Shakers” category. This period of calm is only going to last one week, however; 21 of the 25 teams in each poll are competing in conference tournaments this week, the exceptions being the seven ranked UAA teams and the Occidental men. And four of the ranked UAA teams run into each other this week as well, guaranteeing that next week’s final regular season polls will be significantly different from this week’s lineups. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, sit a spell, and enjoy the relative calm before the storm.
Debutantes:
Women: In a week with little movement at the top, there was considerable movement near the bottom, as three schools enjoy coming-out parties this week. #24 Maine-Farmington ended its regular season on a 15-game winning streak, and enter the NAC tournament as one of the #1 seeds. The Beavers’ historic season has earned them their first-ever ranking in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll. Further down, two schools made their vote-getting debuts this week. The Keene State Owls are no strangers to the men’s poll, but the 19-5 women are first time vote-getters this week. They are joined in this achievement by the 21-4 East Texas Baptist Tigers.
Men: The women’s team at Messiah College have been mentioned in 104 straight polls, earning more vote-points than all but 8 women’s programs. This week, the male Falcons have joined their more lauded counterparts, receiving a vote for the first time ever.
Congratulations to these fine programs on their achievement!
Streakers:
Women: Eighth-ranked Southern Maine, despite being upset this week, appears in the top 25 for the seventy-fifth consecutive week. #10 McMurry is ranked for the 25th straight week. #5 Messiah and #6 NYU each are in the top 10 for the tenth straight poll, while #2 Calvin appears in the voting results for the 30th straight week.
Men: #3 Amherst is a member of the top 10 for the 20th consecutive week, while #2 Virginia Wesleyan is a ranked team for the 20th straight time. VWC’s conference rival #17 Guilford can celebrate their tenth consecutive week as a vote-getter.
Milestones:
Women: Alongside their ranking streak, #8 Southern Maine can now claim that they have been ranked an even one hundred times. Congratulations to the Huskies! #6 NYU is ranked for the 90th time overall and is in the top 10 for the fiftieth time. #2 Calvin is a top 25 team for the 30th time. #17 UW-Stout received votes for the 60th time. Chicago received votes early and often and appear on the voting list for the 30th week, while #18 Illinois Wesleyan and #22 Medaille are each among the vote-getters for the 20th time.
Men: Sixth-ranked St. Thomas is a member of the top 25 for the fiftieth time. #22 DePauw, after an eight-week delay, can celebrate their 25th week as a ranked team. #24 Ohio Northern is in the top 25 for the 40th week. #20 Trinity (CT) is ranked for the 30th time, and received votes for the 60th time. Fifth-ranked Mississippi College is a top 10 team for the tenth time, and appears on the voting list for the 70th time. Keene State is among the elect for the 40th week, while #17 Guilford received votes for the tenth time.
High-Water Marks:
Women: #3 Howard Payne just keeps on truckin’ in this category, tying their all time high rank this week. This marks the 13th consecutive week that the Yellow Jackets set or tied their high-water mark. #16 Lake Forest and debutante #24 Maine-Farmington set new high marks this week, while #2 Calvin and #25 Norwich tied their highest-ever ranks.
Men: No men’s teams plowed any new ground this week. #15 Aurora and #17 Guilford each tied their highest rankings, each set just last week.
Movers & Shakers:
Women: #8 Southern Maine shed 122 points and dropped 4 places; #21 Rochester fell 5 spots and lost 87 points; and Baldwin-Wallace shed 72 points and fell out of the top 25 for the first time in 28 weeks. More or less everyone else moved up a little bit to compensate; the biggest gain of the week was recorded by Washington U., whose modest 38-point gain was insufficient to change their #12 ranking.
Men: #10 Wittenberg fell 4 spots and lost 136 points; #23 Puget Sound lost 61% of their vote, dropping two places and 77 points; and Johns Hopkins dropped out of the poll, leaving behind 72 of their 78 Week 11 points. Much like the women, the upward movements were generally compensatory, with #11 Chicago (+89 points and 3 placements) and #13 WPI (+73 points, but no change in rank) leading the gainers.