This week, I have the honor of unveiling the News and Notes Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Men’s and Women’s Hoops, or NNAOAMWH for short. Without further ado…the envelope please.
First, the schools that finished sixth through tenth in the balloting of our panel of experts (well, expert…and even that is debatable!). UW-Stevens Point finishes in sixth place on the strength of having both teams ranked (men #12, women #24). New men’s #1 Washington U. is seventh, conference foe Brandeis eighth, and Randolph-Macon ninth; these schools each have one team ranked with the other in the “receiving votes” category. Coming in tenth is Carthage, with both teams among those receiving votes.
The fifth-place winner, and the best counter-argument to the alleged “east coast bias,” is Puget Sound. The men from Tacoma moved up to #7 in this week’s poll, and are tied with cross-state rival Whitworth atop the Northwest Conference. Their female counterparts are ranked #23, and trail only #12 George Fox in the NWC standings. Together, these programs have compiled a record of 28-5.
In fourth place are the Lord Jeffs of Amherst college. A frequent visitor to the men’s Final Four, and the 2007 men’s champion, Amherst moved up to #2 in this week’s men’s poll after decisively beating archrival #13 Williams on their home court. The women’s team suffered its first loss of the season this week, but still sit at #17 in the poll. Together, these teams have racked up 33 victories against just 3 defeats.
Taking home the Bronze NNAOAMWH Medal are the Rochester Yellow Jackets of the UAA. The women’s team pulled off an incredible comeback at Emory this week, maintaining their conference lead and moving into the women’s Top 10. The men were not so fortunate in Atlanta, suffering their first defeat of the season in an overtime loss to the Eagles, but still occupy the #3 ranking in the men’s poll. Together, the Yellow Jackets are 30-2 on the season.
UW-Whitewater has put together two outstanding basketball teams to complement its national champion football team, and is rewarded by standing second in the coveted NNAOAMWH field. The male Warhawks are ranked #8 in this week’s poll and are in a three-way tie atop the WIAC; their female counterparts are ranked #3 and trail only #20 UW-Eau Claire in the conference standings, with the two set for a rematch this Saturday. Overall the Warhawks are 31-4 on the season.
These great basketball programs are all looking up at the NNAOAMWH Gold Medalists, the Flying Dutch of Hope. The men’s squad reached #4 this week after beating their archrivals from Calvin, while the women’s team recorded their fifth consecutive week atop the women’s poll. These two teams lead the MIAA standings, and have combined for an outstanding record of 31-2.
Tune in next week, when I reveal the winners of the Awards for Excellence in men’s and women’s swimming, also known as a 10,000 word essay on Kenyon. 🙂
Debutantes:
Women: None this week.
Men: #5 UMass.-Dartmouth became the 38th men’s program to join the #1 Votes club. Congratulations to the Corsairs!
Streakers:
Women: This being the tenth poll of the season (including the preseason poll), the number 10 recurs with great frequency in this category. For example, six women’s teams now have 10-poll voting streaks: #3 UW-Whitewater, #15 Tufts, #20 UW-Eau Claire, #24 UW-Stevens Point, #25 Baldwin-Wallace, and unranked Chicago. Longer voting streaks were recorded by top-ranked Hope (50 weeks), #4 Mary Washington (40), #6 McMurry (40), #21 NYU (25), and #12 George Fox (20). Wilmington dropped from the voting rolls for the first time in 25 weeks. Hope is in the Top 10 for the 10th straight week, and in the top 25 for the 40th. #2 Howard Payne is ranked for the 20th consecutive time, while #3 UW-Whitewater, #18 Illinois Wesleyan and #24 UW-Stevens Point have each been ranked in 10 straight polls.
Men: Top-ranked Washington U., #3 Rochester, #12 UW-Stevens Point, and #24 Wheaton (IL) each received votes for the 25th straight week, while #4 Hope and #10 Augustana have voting streaks that have reached 40 weeks. Rhode Island College dropped from the voting for the first time in 25 weeks. Both #6 Capital and #7 Puget Sound have been in both the voting and the Top 25 for 10 straight weeks. Other teams that celebrated a tenth consecutive ranking include #3 Rochester (all ten weeks in the Top 10), #8 UW-Whitewater, #13 Williams, #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor, and #16 Plattsburgh St. #12 UW-Stevens Point has been ranked for 25 straight weeks, while #1 Washington U. has been in 20 consecutive Top 25s.
Milestones:
Women: DeSales re-entered the voting this week, marking their 75th appearance among the vote-getters. #5 Thomas More received votes for the 25th time. Other vote-getting milestones were reached by #8 Simpson (80 weeks), Eastern Conn. (70), and Chicago (40). #2 Howard Payne is ranked for the 30th time, 20 of which have been within the Top 10. #4 Mary Washington is among the Top 10 for the 25th time, while #3 UW-Whitewater is ranked for the tenth time.
Men: #1 Washington U. is in the Top 10 for the 50th time. #10 Augustana is a Top 10 team for the 25th time, and a ranked team for the 50th time. #18 Wooster is in the Top 25 for the 125th time, extending their record in this category. Not far behind is #12 UW-Stevens Point, ranked for the 110th time. #16 Plattsburgh St. has some catching up to do, but has now been ranked in ten polls. Sixth-ranked Capital has received votes in 50 polls, twenty fewer than Randolph-Macon.
High-Water Marks:
Women: #14 Medaille reached a new high for the third straight week. All-time highs were equaled by #2 Howard Payne, #5 Thomas More, and #6 McMurry, as well as by William Smith, whose ranking of #16 matches their best-ever mark established in the very first D3hoops.com women’s poll in 1999.
Men: #5 UMass-Dartmouth’s metoric rise in the poll has set another new all-time high for the program. #6 Capital and #11 Centre also established new high-water marks this week.
Movers and Shakers:
Women: Despite the fact that no teams dropped from the Top 25 this week, the two biggest moves were still made by women’s teams, both downward. #24 UW-Stevens Point had an 0-2 week and lost 309 points, falling 14 slots in the poll. #21 NYU also went 0-2, losing twice at home, and shed 292 points and 13 poll placements. The biggest gain was recorded by #20 UW-Eau Claire, which beat Stevens Point and moved up 100 points and 5 spots.
Men: Ninth-ranked Brandeis, losers of three straight games but two of them to the last two #1-ranked teams, shed 202 points and fell seven poll slots. Millsaps made their first appearance in the Top 25 since 2002 a brief one, losing 163 points and falling out of the rankings after a two-week stay. The largest upward movements were made by #19 Lawrence, entering the poll on the strength of a 128-point gain, and by #11 Centre, which beat Millsaps in overtime and gained 124 points.